My Layout's Got 99 Problems and a Switch Ain't One

 Well hello there! I know, it's been forever since I've posted. But I've been working on the layout in fits and starts. As you can see from the above photo, I've gotten most of the Altoona yard tracks ballasted and am starting to apply ground cover. 

My most recent project involved my turnouts, chiefly, the double crossovers at each end of the layout. My trains were consistently stalling on them. Nothing kills my enthusiasm faster than balky trains, so I finally attacked the problem.

The Achilles heal of these Peco Electro Frog turnouts is their reliance on the points to ferry current to the rest of the turnout. If you point rails don't make perfect contact with the stock rails, your turnout becomes a dead spot. Painting the rails and ballasting, no matter how careful I am, tend to gum these turnouts up. 

It took a few hours of careful cleaning with Goof Off and tweaking, but now my trains run around flawlessly. It was well worth the effort. 

The main fruit of my labors was being able to teach my son Victor to run the trains with the DCC throttle. Talk about a proud papa moment!

Finished American Model Builders' Railroad Rooming House Kit

 My first structure kit in quite some time. As with other laser-cut wood kits, I painted everything prior to assembly. I went wit Tamiya "Linoleum Deck Brown"on the walls, Floquil "Reefer White on the doors, windows and trim, Floquil "Grimy Black" on the roof and Floquil "Caboose" on the chimneys.

As is typical for an AMB kit, assembly is a bit tedious. Each window contains three separate pieces. Truth be told, I left off the upper sashes on the back windows since they won't be visible. 

They way the paint turned out, I think the building doesn't really require additional weathering.

Full Steam Ahead!

 

 

 Today was a productive day on the layout. First and foremost, I decided to try and return my I1 to service. It had stopped responding to the throttle and then one of it's tender trucks fell apart. I put it on the programing track, addressed the decoder and, when tested, the locomotive moved! Thank God! with ongoing chip shortage (damn pandemic) getting a replacement may be a tall (and not to mention costly) order.

After the I1, only my T1 and Alco FB remain out of service.

 

 

 

 Next on my list was ballasting. Now, all but about ten feet of main line are ballasted. That just leaves the yard and a few tracks in the Juniata Shop. That will have to wait until I get to the hobby shop.

Another project, painting the fascia burnt umber. It looks so much better in a neutral color.

 

 

I finally started laying track in the Pittsburgh staging yard. About damn time! The track is the old Atlas code 80 stuff.

 

 

Lastly, I added some turf to a small area near Altoona with some help from  Victor.

This is about all I can do until all the stuff I ordered arrives. I swear waiting is the hardest part. Didn't Tom Petty write a song to that effect?

More Buildings for Altoona

     I stuck with my Altoona plan for a whole ten seconds. I was going to leave the whole area inside the Altoona loop undeveloped. Well, the more I thought about, I realized there were some structures I really wanted to include.   

    To wit, I have ordered up American Model Builders' "Railroad Rooming House" and Blair Lines "Green Door Lounge" kits. Both should lend a nice seedy, wrong-side-of-the-tracks vibe to the area. I've always wanted to include the former on a layout. Perhaps I'll add a few more structures and make a few blocks long area. I'll add a few businesses and a few houses.

    I've also realized I goofed when it comes to the mountains. The shops are south of the tracks and the city is to the north! Um, oops! I guess I'll need to hunt down some generic city backdrops. On that same note, I went ahead and moved Alto Tower to the north side of the tracks.

    Lastly, I thought the shop complex needed a power house. Thankfully, I had Model Power's "Coverall Paints" building sitting under my layout. This was salvaged off my last layout. I previously removed the base, painted it Floquil "Boxcar Red" and did the mortar effects. So all I had to do was pull off the "Coverall Paints" signs, plunk it on the layout and call it a day. Eventually I will add roads and parking areas.

Fixed the blasted Corssever!

Isn't it funny how minor problems can snowball into catastrophes?  Oh, wait, funny isn't the word I'm looking for. Infuriating is more like it. Case and point, I fired up the layout for some roundy-rounding the other night. ow, when the layout sits idle for a while, things can squirly when it's awakened from its slumber.

So, the first catastrophe, I noticed my T1 wasn't responding to the throttle. So, I placed it on the programming track and readdressed it. Unfortunately I forgot to flip the DPDT switch from the layout to the programming track! I suddenly found myself faced with the task of reprogramming every locomotive on the layout! This took me the better part of an evening.

With the decoder issue licked, I tried running trains. The trains on the inside loop stalling on the Peco double crossovers at the entrance to Johnstown.  After futsing with the point rails (the usual culprit with Peco turnouts) and getting nowhere, I dug out the multimeter.  I found the outside rail was dead as Dillinger. This was baffling since one of the two rail joiners was connected to a feeder wire.

I tried soldering the joint on the end opposite the feeder, something I'm always loath to do on a turnout. That didn't work. I soldered a feeder to said joiner. That didn't work either. So I decided to move the feeder to the turnout itself. So I drilled another hole through the layout, unsoldered the feeder wire and went to feed it through the new hole. It wouldn't go through. That's usually the case, so I grabbed a small dowel and pushed it through and "crack!"

I got out from under the table to see the crossover and part of the inside loop lifted into the air. I just can't seem to catch a break.  Long story short, I got the wire fed and solder, the track repaired and the ballast touched up. Thankfully, after all, that the trains are running fine again.

Finished the Rail Painting and Ballasting at Johnstown

As stated in my yearly progress report, one of my goals for the season was to get done with all the scut work. In service of that goal, I painted the remaining rails and ballasted nearly all the track in Johnstown.

Since the track in this area is visible from multiple angles, I had to paint both sides of the rails, essentially doubling an already tedious task.  I just cracked open a beer, put on an Alan Keller video and got on with it.

As for the ballasting, well, you've already read enough blog posts in which I bitch about Woodland Scenics ballast, so I'll spare you. In all honesty, it wasn't so bad this time around. I don't know what I did to make the gods so happy but hey, I'll take it.

 In other news, I decided to add some elevation to one corner of Johnstown. I laid a few pieces of white styrofoam packaging and cut it to shape with my hot knife. And yo, with the window open, the fumes from the white beaded stuff are nasty.

With the foam layers cut, I glued them together with some Elmers and painted everything raw umber. I decided the top of the hill would be a perfect place for my Model Power "Victorian House" kit. This was one of the first structures I built for this layout and for a while, it seemed like I wouldn't find a home for it. It just looked out of place to me, which is mind-boggling since this style of architecture is found all over this part of Pennsylvania. 

I'm toying with the notion of adding a sign reading "Historic Floode Mansion." Hmm, no if I recall correctly, there's some significant event in Johnstown's history that might make that in bad taste. We'll see how it shakes out.

With this done, I have some more mountains to build and a bit more ballasting at the far end of Johnstown.  Stay tuned.

Ballast, Turf and More

 

Another productive afternoon of chipping away at the Johnstown to do list. First and formost, I ballasted bout half of the industrial track. You already know of my misgivings with ballasting so I won't bore yo with them again. But I will say this, this ballasting experience was pretty painless as far as that particular task goes.

With the ballasting done, I went ahead and applied the turf around Superior Paper and the ice house. With the turf in place, the scene really started to come together. But there's still plenty to be done.

I think the next project will be to paint the gutters in between the yard tracks black. This will make accidental holes in the ballast much less noticeable. 

The last thing I did scenery wise was to add a pair of Tichy Train Group crossing signs at the grade crossing.

 

Another little project was to add about eight inches of track to the Water Street Freight Terminal siding. This came about because I was spotting boxcars and found my little NW2 didn't quite respond to the throttle quickly enough. My boxcars ended up on the ground. The extra bit of track gives an operator a bit more margin for error.

Making Tacks

Not a whole lot to report here. But, I laid the roadbed for the staging yard lead and cut a tunnel through the styrofoam. I stuck and Chooch Industries tunnel portal left over from my last layout at the tunnel mouth. The next step will be track.

Although the section of track is relatively short and straight, it's in a nearly inaccessible area of the layout. So naturally me enthusiasm for the project has been limited. But I have to get it done before I cane finish up a lot of other projects. So rahter than procrastinate and let the season slip away, I'm forcing myself to do it.

 

Speaking of tedious projects, I dug out my jar of "Rail Brown" and started painting the rails on the Johnstown Industrial Track.  This is another one of those jobs, like wiring, that I can only stand in small doses. It's kind of funny how my supposedly relaxing hobby has a lot of pain-in-the-ass jobs we dread.

They Paved Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot

 As you can see from the above photo, I went ahead and plasterized the parking lots for Superior Paper and the Bralick Building. Now, I am not a huge fan of paving wide areas like this because it's almost impossible to get everything level.

Rather than use Woodland Scenics' Paving Tape, I decided to use weather stripping of about the same thickness. This turned out to be a big mistake. I don't know if I got a bad batch or if it just sucks, but that stuff simply would not stick to foam base! The solution, or a least a solution, was driving small finish nails through the stuff to hold it in place.

With my enthusiasm already flagging, I started dolling out the patching plaster and smoothing it out. This part wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but wasn't without it's problems. As usual the surfaceis anthing but level and will require a lot of sanding and fine tuning to look right.

While I was at it, I sucked it up and installed the turnout for Pittsburgh Staging. Normally, this wouldn't be that bad but, it's in a really hard to access part of the layout. This also required adding a new feeder for the outside rail. I don't plan on wiring up the staging lead until the actual staging area actually built. I can't have any of my locomotives rolling off the end of the layout and bouncing down the stairs.

Johnstown Industrial Track is finished

I guess the picture really sums it up, doesn't it? I laid the last section of the Johnstown Industrial Track leading to Superior Paper. Nothing unusual to report here, squirt the glue, pin down the roadbed and repeat with the track. The glue of course cooperated by drying. Now I just have to get all this track wired up.

As you can see, I've started taping out where the roads and parking lots will go.With the exception of the ice house, which has a gravel parking lot, all the rest will be asphalt or concrete. The will be one road that starts at Superior Paper and wends its way past all the industries before crossing the main line near the wall. I have a pair of NJ International crossing flashers I plan on hooking up at the main line crossing.

In other news, the Central Railroad Model and Historical Association is holding their annual train show in Easley, SC on February 9 & 10. As to whether or not I'll go, that's still undecided. The past few years, the show has been a bit of a disappointment with only a handful of vendors with N Scale.  Mostly it's just tables and tables of insanely junky old postwar Lionel. What's more, the sellers of said Lionel stuff more often than not, refuse to budge on their prices, usually citing some kind of price guide.

But Easley has always sort of marked the final push for the season before winter turns to spring and life's distractions start popping up. So, maybe I will go, if for no other reason than to get out of the house. I've learned a long time ago that sometimes the best deal at a train show is leaving with your money in your pocket.

Finished Cornerstone's Reefer Icing Platform and Ice House and Started the Johnstown Industrial Track

 

The title kind of says it all doesn't it?  The Cornerstone Ice House and Icing platform is a pretty simle kit and took maybe half and hour to put together. I went with Krylon "Meringue" for the walls, Floquil "Roof Brown" for the doors and wood work and Floquil "Grimy Black" for the roofs.

The ice house itself has no windows, so there was no need for lighting. However, the guys on the platform would probably want to see what they're doing at night, so I installed a pair of LEDs under the platform roof.

Now, in case you're wondering what this structure is used for, here's a little history lesson. Back in the days before mechanical refrigeration, reefers had  bunker at each end of the car that was packed with ice, loaded through hatches on the roof. Periodically, the cars would have to be re-iced. This will give the crew of the Johnstown Local something more to do.

 

Work has also begun on the Johnstown Industrial Track. It forks off the inside loop just after the crossover at the beginning of Johnstown. It serves the aforementioned ice house, Water Street Freight Terminal and will serve Superior Paper. Between this, the yard and the South Fork Branch, The west end of the layout should keep several crews busy for a while.

Advancing on All Fronts

Here we are nearly a month into 2016 and I'm finally making my first post of the new year. I have been busy working on the layout but just haven't had a chance to write it up. So, here's what I've been up to:

 

First and foremost, it's pink slips all around for the track gang. The last bits of track have been laid. This consisted of a pair of sidings in Gallitzin. One siding serves American Model Builders "Heitzman Feed Mill" and Cornerstone's "Stateline Farm Supply." I decided to combine the two into a full feed, seed and implement. Operationally, this will give me the opportunity to handle  a greater variety of freight.  

The second siding curves off to serve Vulcan Manufacturing. This siding presented a challenge being that its so far from the edge of the layout. Normally, I uncouple cars with picks. But that's not going to be an option here. An uncoupling magnet was required. So I opted for an S&L enterprises "Totally hidden uncoupler," (link) which consists of a small steel plate and four rare earth magnets. 

 Now, all I need to do is get these siding wired up. But, since I've been kind of burning myself out on wiring as of late, I think that will have to wait a little longer.

I've also started work on the ridge of mountains that will frame out the Gallitzin area. I'm going with the tried and true method of plaster-soaked paper towels over cardboard strips describes elsewhere on this blog. As you can see, I also used some Great Stuff spray foam to fill in some of the gaps in the foam sheets.

 

The area between the industries and Route 53 posed a bit of a challenge as well. The space between the tracks and the backdrop is only about 2 1/2 inches wide in some areas. I had to cram a road running from Gallitzin to Route 53 into that space. I started by using the Great Stuff foam to build up a small shelf. After the foam cured, I cut it to shape with a razor saw.

My origonal plan was to run the ridge of mountains behind Vulcan all the way to Route 53. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that's not how it is real life. So I ripped out all the cardboard webbing I'd built and used some Elmer's spray adhesive to affix some bulletin board paper with a sky pattern printed on it. Ultimately I plan to paint some distand hills on it to add depth to the scene. 

The the backdrop affixed, I covered all the foam with more plaster-soaked paper towels. I found myself with a small wedge of space where the two roads will intersect that just cried out for a structure of some kind. I decided to kidnap my Lifelike country store and move it here. I may try and pick up some gas pumps for it too.

About time I posted on here

Wow, over a month since I last posted any progress on the layout. Well, I certainly have a ton of reasons for my recent layout building inactivity. First and foremost, my wife and I hosted Thanksgiving so not only was I busy with getting the house ready, but I also wanted to keep the layout and train room neat and clean for visitors. After that, it was finals. In other words, layout was on the back burner.

Now that the semester is over, I've manged to take on a few long-overdue projects. First among them was moving the track lights around to better illuminate parts of Horseshoe Curve and Altoona.

 

I'm still fine-tuning things but the new setup seems more effective. Ultimately, I'd like to replace the CFL bulbs with LEDs, since the latter are dim-able and put the track lights on their own circuit. 

Another item I crossed off my to do list was installation of more Digitrax UP5 panels. I added an additional panel near the entrance to Johnstown yard and the other near the Gallitzin industries.

 

While I was at it, I also added a cup holder near Gallitzin too. After all, a stable place to set one's beer is always a must. Now, I am ultimately planning  to buy a UR90 panel, which will let me go wireless. So why the UP5s? Well, they are there as a backup. If for whatever reason, the wireless isn't working, I still have the panels at all the main switching areas and the layout can still be operated.

And speaking of DCC and operations, I decided it was time to acquire a few more throttles. I opted for the Digitrax UT4. Unlike the "Super Throttle" that came with my system. These feature only basic functions and can't program decoders.  But that's really all you need for operators anyhow. 

 

The last project I tackeled was getting one of the Gallitzin switching areas, glued down, wired up and operational.

 

This project required an handful kludges to get done. Foremost among them was covering up the short section of incline that brings the siding down from the main line. Normally, one would use plaster cloth for this task.However, I hadn't any on hand and didn't want to go out. For mountains, I usueally use paper towels dipped in plaster of Paris, but I was out of plaster mix too. Undaunted, I remembered something from elementary school art class and diluted some Elmer's glue. I dipped the paper towels in this mixture and let it dry over night. That was the ticket, the flex gaps in the riser were covered and I had a firm place to lay my track.

The next problem I ran into was I was out of cork roadbed. Since the one hobby shop in my area is never open when I'm off from work and I didn't ant to buy a whole case for a handful of sidings, I took a throwback to my early N Scale days. On my first two N Scale Layouts, the Table Rock diorama and the PR&Y, I fashioned my own roadbed from foam sheets sold at my local Michael's. I decided to do the same thing here. All told, it's the same amount of work as the cork stuff, and for a siding, it's more than adequate. 

It also turns out, I was out of Peco insulated rail joiners. However, I had a pack of Atlas Code 80 joiners. Good idea in theory, but in practice, not s much. Turns out the Atlas joiners are a tad too narrow for the Peco rail. So I had to spend a good bit of time gashing the joiners wider with an Exacto knife until they fit. 

So despite all the kludge jobs, I was able to reliably back my L1 down each siding without the slightest hiccup. With that result, I'm calling this project as success. I'm kind of excited to have more operating opportunities.

 

Johnstown Track Work Complete

Staging yard entrance.

The opposite end of the yard. There are two run-through and two stub-end tracks. At right is the begining of a short branch line to Summerhill. 

A pair of industrial siding split off the Summerhill Branch.

I got the rest of the track work in Johnstown finished up today. The day's work consisted of getting the four yard tracks and two industrial sidings laid down and installing some Cornerstone bumpers on the dead-end tracks. Admittedly, you don;t see too many track bumpers like these out in the real world as most dead-end tracks simply end. However, after having engine take a nose dive off the layout, I decided all the dead-end tracks needed some kind of capper to keep that from happening again.

2013-14 One-Year Layout Progress Report

Well One year ago yesterday, after months of blather about modeling philosophy, and my grandiose plans, it was time to get out the power tools and start making some noise.  I've managed to accomplish a lot in that year's time. So here's a brief progress report.

Benchwork: 100% Complete, 'nuff said.

Track: 
Main lines 100% complete and operational.

Yards and Staging:
Altoona staging yard 100% complete and operational.
Johnstown staging yard: 0% haven't started yet.
Altoona locomotive facility, about 95% complete. All that remains is to lay track to the back shop,

Industrial Sidings:
0% complete.

Wiring:

About 85% complete. Main lines and Altoona staging wired up and operational.

Scenery:

About 5% complete. I've been concentrating my efforts on Horseshoe Curve and the Altoona area. Only a relatively small area of the layout has scenery of any kind.

Goals for next year:

Scenery: My goal for next year is to finish Horseshoe Curve. This includes installing the lake, lighting, structure, roads, turf and trees. I also intend to finish the Altoona shop complex.

Track: My goal is to get the Johnstown yard installed and operational. Beyond that, I hope to begin installing the industrial sidings and branch line serving several factories and a coal mine near Johnstown.

Wiring: My plan is to wire up a third cab for yard operations at Altoona. I also plan to get the shop tracks and turntable wired up and operational.

Misc:  I plan to sell off the structures I won't be using and purchase a few that I'd like to add.

Addendum:

I have since decided to scrap cab controll and convert the layout to full DCC, rendering my wiring goal moot. See you in about 8 months!

When it rains it pours

I decided to wire up the two new staging yard tracks today and unfortunately it did not go smoothly. Wiring up the track itself went fine. I ran the wire to the control panel and soldered it to the track feeders. The problems started when I went to run a test train around the new track. I noticed the train (really a light engine) would stall on the second turnout in the yard ladder. "Well WTF?" I thought. I took out my multi meter and checked the turnout. I ultimately came to the conclusion the common rail wasn't getting power.

At any rate I decided to solder in some new feeder wires to the short spacer tracks between the turnouts. One soldered on with no problems. The other? Well, see for yourself...

The second feeder wire decided to put up a fight and refuse to solder to the rail. I ultimately ended up causing the ties to melt and the wrecked the whole spacer! So I spent the next hour cutting a new track and then gritting my teeth and cursing under my breath trying to get it in place. 

If that wasn't bad enough, in the process of fighting with the track, I manged to give the table a bit of a bump. This resulted in the N Scale equivalent of 10.0 on the Richter Scale. Several cars of a freight train parked at that end of the layout derailed and the engine, my I1sa 2-10-0 took a tumble to the floor.

The I1 did not emerge unscathed. The tender drawbar was broken. That's easily fixed with CA. The bigger problem is the valve gear crank pin. It sheared off on impact. These old Minitrix engines have been out of production for quite some time, so replacement parts are nearly impossible to come by. Sadly, this engine will be out of service for the foreseeable future. If I can;t find a way to fix it, it may be retired permanently.

After all this consternation I didn't even manage to solve the problem. Engines are still stalling in the same spot. Anyway lesson learned, when the universe is against you, just toss in the towel. It's not worth fighting because you ain;t gonna win.

Worst ballasting experiance ever!

I ballasted the tracking leading up theright sie of Horseshoe Curve about a week ago. In general ballasting track sucks but this paerticular go round was jsut a nightmare. First off, no matter how much I moved it around with a paint brush, I just couldn't get the ballast nice and neat.

Second of all, I don't know what it is about Woodland Scenics ballast, but the stuf just a total pain in the ass to glue! I've tried spraying it with all kinds of wetting agents to make the glue flow all the way into the ballast but none of them help. I've tried water with dish soal added to it and I've tried denatured alcohol. The result is the same, when I go to vacuum up the loose stuff, larg chunks of ballast co up. I swear the stuff is coated with teflon!

More Work at Altoona, More Houses and More Scenery

I spent a good portion of the day working on the railroad and got a few projects crossed off the "to do" list.

First and foremost, I got the tracks laid in the roundhouse. This project was somewhat complicated by the fact the the Atlas turntable has a tighter diameter than the roundhouse. As you can see, the outermost tracks have to curve a good bit to connect to the turntable.

I used some Atlas Code 80 track since I had a bunch of it laying around and it would be largely hidden. For the four outside tracks, I actually used sectional curves.  All told, I think this project turned out nicely.

I also knocked out another Model Power house kit. This time is was their "Haunted House." I had some fun with this one. Other than the fence, which I painted Floquil "grimy black," I left the rest of the kit in stock colors. Once assembled I hit it with coating of dark weather wash, Dulcote and chalks to really give it an abandoned look.

With the house kit done, I turned my attention to the base. Each of the house kits comes with a gray plastic base molded to look like concrete. Model Power also supplies a fairly unconvincing looking grass mat. Rather than use the grass mat, I masked out the areas I wanted to be concrete and kit the rest with some Elmer's spray adhesive. I then sprinkled on a coating of Woodland Scenics fine turf. The I scattered on some yellow turf and coarse turf on the lawn to further cement the look I was after.

I used a WS tree armature sans foliage to simulate a dead tree. I glued the fence on last. I may add a green LED for lighting. It definitely looks like haunted house. But hey, I ain't afraid of no ghost!

With the pop-up hatch in place, Scenery has been advancing westward towards Horseshoe Curve. I placed an Atlas station on the straightaway just before the curve. This will serve as Kitanning Point station. The real Kitanning Point Station was torn down in the 1930s, but I wanted to find a place for this particular structure and like the idea of including Kitanning Point.

When I desinged the track plan, I goofed and set the main line through Gallitzin too close to Horseshoe Curve (the line doubles back on itself). To separate the two scenes, I cut a 1' x 4' piece of Masonite and glues some cloud-pattern bulletin board paper to it to create a view block.

The mountains are in place as far as the right side of the curve. I painted them by diluting raw umber acrylic paint and spraying it on with a spray bottle.

More Work on the Shop Complex

After putting it off for a while, I finally did some meaningfull work on the engine yard. After assembling the roundhouse and coaling tower, I built Cornerstone's "Ash pit and Hoist" kit. And ordered a cheap Atlas turn table.

The problem arose when I discovered the curvature of the turn table is much tighter than the curvature of the round house. This is going to require some complex track work. After some foot dragging I finally stared laying some track and roadbed.

I plan on adding a backshop and sad I g tower to the area as well.

Ballasted the Track at Scotch Run

Today I took on one of my least favorite tasks, ballasting track. It never goes smoothly. When I ballast track, I pour some on the track and then use a paint brush to spread it out. Next, I wet it down with wet water (water with some denatured alcohol added to it). This allows the glue to soak into the ballast. For glue I use two parts water to one part Liquitex fluid matte medium.

The problem is not all of it sticks. I fund that out the hard way after the glue dried and I went to vacuum up what didn't stick and large chunks stared coming up. So I ended up have to touch up several spots.

I opted for Woodland Scenics fine gray ballast. It's a very close match for what is used on the former PRR main line. Now, you may be wondering about the black ballast along either side of the right-of-way. Well, during steam days railroad main lines looked quite different than they do today. On a busy main line such as the Pennsylvania, the passage of hundreds of steam locomotives each day would leave a layer of cinders that grass simply wouldn't grow on.

As you can see, I also started with the blended turf.