# Layout Construction Begins!



## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Well construction began today... all shop work. I did get the full length of the Phase 1 bench work done and part of the phase 2 bench work before I ran out of lumber. 1 x 4 construction assembled with pocket hole and screws.... strong and tight! The bench top will be 1/2 inch plywood sanded one side. I still have to make the wall braces. It's great to get this finally started! 

Due to a medical condition I don't have very good balance and usually walk with a cane. I fell and hit my forehead square on the concrete... hurts like hell and work ended at that time I hope to get these sections installed and attached to the walls on Sunday... Lord Willing!

And some info on the actual layout and what it will be and a little background on myself:

Well I have been planning ** in March i had spine surgery and while out on leave and sitting in my chair zoning out on pain meds with my laptop I got the itch for model railroading again after being out of the hobby for about 18 years or so. Lost my layout room shortly after my duaghter was born 16 years ago and she is a young adult now. I will be building the new layout in the basement. 

I want to avoid all the mistakes of the past and build a railroad that:
1. Can be completed in a reasonable time

2. Is fun to operate

Those are the two most important items and everything else leads back to them. The railroad will be an HO Scale shelf layout that depicts railroad operations in my hometown, Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is a town which a very rich history in the railroads. The primary motive power on the layout will be with the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) who operates on the old Rock Island Line from Council Bluffs to Chicago, Illinois. The UP and CNW will also show up periodically. I will not get too crazy with prototype stuff (#2) so it will loosely depcit industry in CB, some industry still in operation today but some long gone but for the sake of operation on the layout we will pretend those are still around today. 

The track will not be permanently laid until it works flawlessly on each phase to avoid headaches. My NCE Power Cab arrived today and I am ready! I have half a dozen locos to get decoders in stalled in. Some will be more dificult then others. 

Anyway, this is the weekend and i am very excited! Thanks for looking!

Stay Tuned!

Corey


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Corey,

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing your layout build with us, with the show-and-tell starting at ground zero. Sorry to hear about your health / balance issues ... be patient, don't rush, and you'll likely be pleased with the end results.

You should offer a few words of introduction over in this thread, too:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=1&page=74

Regards,

TJ


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thank you TJ, and I will do that!

Corey


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## inxy (Dec 10, 2010)

Checked out your website. Beautiful carvings and a very nice shop. I am jealous of your wood (Gerstner, I would guess) tool box. I was a machinist for a number of years and only had the steel equivalent.

B


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

inxy said:


> Checked out your website. Beautiful carvings and a very nice shop. I am jealous of your wood (Gerstner, I would guess) tool box. I was a machinist for a number of years and only had the steel equivalent.
> 
> B


Hello and thank you very much. That Oak box is actually one of Harbor Freights Gems. Very nice.. not built like a Gerstner but it's still very well put together. It hold some of my carving tools. 

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

No progress today other than i got the plywood wall braces cut out. Wife is cleaning the area where i will build the layout and she did not give me my warrant to move in  Looks like i will move some stuff out tomorrow and set the area up but won't get to install the phase 1 section. Will start that on Tuesday or Wed evening. 

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*September 9 ,2011 Update*

OK the first of the bench work was installed last night. This is a 2 foot by 10 foot sections. Ground Zero with the foam and plywood will be right at 51 inches. I have another 10 foot section to get installed today and to screw down the top as well. I modified an old computer desk and made it into my modeling desk. I put furniture sliders on it and it just slides right underneath with room to spare. It's 2 foot deep as well so eventually when the layout is skirted with masonite and fabric it will not even be noticed. 

Thanks for looking! And you can follow along on my blog as well: http://rrincb.blogspot.com/


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Corey,

Nice update. 51" is a high layout surface, not that there's anything wrong with that. We've had lots of discussions in the past on table height ... pros and cons flying left and right. You said you had back health issues, so if the high surface works for you, then that's the right answer.

Do you have wall outlets nearby somewhere? For powering the transformer, etc ...

I like the way you plan to tuck your work desk underneath. Easy. Clever. Hidden.

Keep us posted!

TJ


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

It is higher but not as high as many i have seen.. i have read numerous times that armpit height is perfect height.. i am 6' 1" and it's under armpit. I don't have back troubles as much as balance issues from my numb leg and foot. I considered building it at normal sitting height but just messing around i figured out that put more stress on the back. I can stand at this comfortably and when i get tired of standing my Craftsman bar stool with a back rest is perfect height. 
I have two outlets but the are lower. I will be adding a panel under the bench that will have a power strip attached to it to plug in all the goodies. It's coming along and thanks for the comments.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Looks like you are on a roll and a good start too! 51" is not too far off my layout which is right now at 54" and 59" I found this to be comfortable for viewing and under layout maintainance. It is a little high for construction, as I have to stand on a stool most of the time.

Massey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks guys Massey having fun now!

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Update 9-10-2011*

Well i got another 10 foot section of bench work installed. Still have another 4 foot for the long wall but ran out of 1 x 4's.... another day. I have plenty to keep me busy now. Plywood is fitted and ready to be screwed down tomorrow. My wife gave me the little chest.. it has shallow drawers and perfect for rolling stock and locomotives. 


Thanks for looking and you can follow along on my blog as well: http://rrincb.blogspot.com


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Very nice. I like how clean the benchwork is comming out. Keep up the good work.

Massey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks Massey, I appreciate it. Headed down to start screwing down the ply and hope to get the 1 x 2's up for the back drop.

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Final Weekend Update 9-11-2011*

Well here is the final update for the weekend. You can't tell a lot of difference but I did get the top screwed down and started on the back drops but thought i had more 1 x 2's. Oh well, next weekend. Going to start working on the track layout now. Anyway, thanks for following along!

You can see all the photos and follow the progress as well on my blog:
http://www.rrincb.com

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Layout Update -18-2011*

Well I worked on the trackage this weekend. I have the Phase 1 track the way I want it and most of the Phase 2 section as well. Will tweak some of that later. I will be installing some foam next, then laying my N scale cork sheets. Most of the track is yard and low profile trackage but wanted some lift so i went with the sheets of N Scale.

Thanks for looking. 

The old farm implement section. I will use the Walthers REA warehouse building for the International Harvester Corp manfacuring building and the Walthers Engineering building for the office and warehouse. 










More of the Implement District. The middle track will be a team track and loading platform and also that is the track that the 3 foot cassette will attach to for a temporary yard while operating. The forground building will be a small warehouse that the local newspaper received and stored newsprint at. 










This will be South Main Street area

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eCPc7G1E6cQ/TnakRWCoWQI/AAAAAAAAAEw/kywuQ7OT0-8/s1600/LayoutConst19.jpg

To the left of the boxcar will be A. I . Root Co. and the Faller kit will represent the Readi Mix plant in town. 









Several scene breaks here in this area in the form of bluffs in the back corner, around the Readi-mix plant and in front of the Red Giant Oil area. 










Red Giant Oil spurs. Not sure on that one yet. 










The look from the far end. The whooptydo in the passing siding will be removed. Looks stupid.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

That whooptydoo looks like it can be fixed if you were to cut a few inches off the flex track and also remove the short curved pieces right after the turnout. Those are not needed the flex track can do the job of those things. All and all it looks like you are moving right along here. Good work.

Massey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks Massey, yeah i fixed it. I used the short 22 radius pieces to flare the track out a bit but the end closest needed turn the other way.... couple cuts like you say and she is on the straight and narrow. Made a few other changes but getting close to what i want. Phase one is ready for the cork. 

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Track Plan Finally*

Finally have a track plan to post of the layout. It is hand drawn, I don't have time to learn one of those software programs. The camera bent the image a little but it is square 

The left side is the phase 1 section and is 10 foot by 2 foot , the center section is phase 2 and is 15 foot long and the right hand side is phase 3 and is 9 foot long and is yet to be built along with a portion of phase 2 bench work. The layout is HO scale and using the Power Cab from NCE. 

The layout will feature fall scenery as i love the time of year and you can use lots of color and will feature the terrain of Council Bluffs.. which has many wooded bluffs. Council Bluffs get's it's name from the bluffs where the many Indian tribes would gather in the bluffs and hold large council meetings. The back side of the center section will feature a large bluff with a mainline section running through it to connect one side of the layout to another and offer some good scenery for photography. Anyway, a little look at what i am planning.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Looks like it will be a fun little switching layout. Good work.

Massey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Layout Update 9-15-2011*

Well this weekend I big plans on laying the cork and getting the wiring done and working on a locomotive but as it turns out, I am slow! I got the cork done and that was about it. Wiring is next. Here are a few pics with the cork in place. I used N scale 3 x 30 pieces to keep it on a low profile.

Thanks for looking as always and you can follow along on my blog as well at: http://www.rrincb.com


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi all, a little progress this weekend. I installed the back drop, painted it the base color and began carving some foam terrain and doing a little plaster work. The terrain is just sitting in place for now.. will be melted into the layout later when i decide I am happy with it. I have also posted a video version of this update as well as 2 locomotive sound install test videos on my blog: http://www.rrincb.com/

Thanks for looking!


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Looks good Geep Have you ran the layout yet to see how well it all works? I highly recommend that you do before you get too involved with the scenery. I found that there were a couple places on my layout that did not work too well and thankfully I was not too deep into the scenery to make changes. Now I have a better designed city area and staging under my yard. Check out my thread to see what happened if you have not seen it already. I am going to do another operating session here soon to see if I need anything else.

Massey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks Massey, yup that is why it has been so long to get to this stage. Went thru some issues with wiring and a loco that had out of gauge wheels but this section runs great and i am happy with it! 

Corey


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

That's a nice choice of sky blue for the initial backdrop color.

Did you apply the plaster cloth over carved pink-stuff foam? Just curious as to why ... perhaps it evens out all of the rough-cut edges nicely?

Nice to see the progress ... enjoy!

TJ


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

HI TJ, yes i apply the plaster mat over the foam as it is easier to hide the build up of layers of foam, yes you can just use the sculptamold but i like this and then sculptamold to model the final shape etc. Thanks TJ,

Corey


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

*Layout Update 12-30-2011*

Well most likely this is the last update for 2011. Today I made some progress and got Main Street roughed in and also finished the first building on the layout. 

In the next two photos I have cut and fit the foam core street base. 



















In the following two photos the styrene has bee cut and fit. 



















Next I will cut and fit the sections inside the rail and then get it ready to paint and weather. As I add buildings I will place foam core bases and set the buildings on sidewalk sections. Also some photos of the first completed building on the layout .


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

A Few More Photos ....

Here with the crossing sections cut and fitted into place. Getting it ready for paint now. Thanks for looking.....


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## flyvemaskin (Nov 19, 2011)

wow, a carver and model railroader to. Caricature carving is also my thing. Bought the book ,"Full Moon Saloon," and the goal is to carve my own for it. Am an N scale guy also. count your blessings, few of us have a place for a layout.


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## Geep Fan (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks! That's a good one... love the CCA group. I have been entering the CCA competition now for the last few years. Good experience. Yes I had a spare room back in early 90's and my daughter showed up unexpectedly so that was that... been 14 -15 years and had the basement available now so the time was write. Keep modeling and carving!

Corey


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## flyvemaskin (Nov 19, 2011)

thanks sir, and believe me, I will. Am retiring to our mountain home in a month so will have time for both. Sit out on the deck and listen to the peace and quiet while I whittle away when not working on the layout.


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