DFW Portable Layouts -- Mainline and Traction

[R.K. Maroon]

Great looking modular layout Jim. Now time for scenery. Enjoy.

I meant to respond to this earlier. I wish it was indeed time for scenery. In fact, I am hoping some of my club colleagues will take some interest in this. For me, however, I have pledged to myself not to get distracted by starting any other aspect of the project until the track work is actually complete. It is true that most of the track is in place, but there is a turnout left to install plus all the stub tracks in the switching area. There are at least 50 more Gapmasters to install, as the plan calls for replacing all the home-made circuit-board plates (seen on left in photo below) on the legacy modules.


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wqww7p0veeypc0hp808ut/Gapmaster-and-Circuit-Board-Tie.jpg?rlkey=ocag4do7djuh8p3r7gitj8rxi

Replacing those then requires rewiring the module, as new track feeds are required when a Gapmaster is installed (We used the home-made circuit-board plate as the rail feed). We also have two control panels to design and fabricate. And switch throws to install. I wish this was a matter of weeks to get all this done but it's many months and perhaps more than a year. I could devote all my modeling time to the effort but won't -- My models are calling me.

Jim

[up148]

Whoa! Yeah you've got a lot of work ahead of you. Those "gap masters" are a really great idea.

Where the modules bolt together is/was always a magnet for damage. Like most module groups, we screwed wooden protective covers on the ends, but rails still got damaged and relying on rail joiners to hold them plumb only worked sometimes.

[Erik C Lindgren]

Beautiful

[DaveJfr0]

I like the idea of the PCB board being used to help stabilize the alignment of the track at the ends. I am seeing some issue on my home layout at a joint that swings open to let people walk into the layout. I've been trying to get away with using the Atlas ties. I did not attempt to glue them into place as I don't personally think the plastic spikes are enough to deter lateral play.

I may look to use the same idea, but I'll try to blend it in by reshaping the PCB to the shape of the existing ties. I'd have some overhang on the outside edges to screw into the plywood. Then either sand the top or dress it up with a very thin layer of sculptamold to try to add in wood grain. Then paint to match the other ties.

[E7]

Dave, If you have a collection of the late "O Scale News 48/ft", there was an issue with the "Smokey Mountain Lines" on the cover. That layout had a hinged section that allowed access that might have some helpful information. Just shooting from the hip as it's been a while since I read it.

Rich

[R.K. Maroon]

For many months, I have been posting updates on the DFW O-scale club's project to upgrade our mainline portable layout. There were three goals: 1) replace the last four of the legacy modules so that all modules are built to the same standards, 2) bring the second mainline to full operational status, and 3) widen the layout so to make room for the mega-roundhouse that was recently acquired. The motivating deadline was an open house layout tour on August 28th, part of the NMRA National. We made the deadline and had three trains in continuous operation during the tour (plus action on our traction layout). I didn't get a lot of photos, as we had a steady stream of visitors for most of the day, but here are a few shots of the layout that day:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zizq45a7fz792uinxgsl0/NMRA-National-Layout-Tour-05.jpg?rlkey=fbck37f3a0l9cqdhgblw6obzz&dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pkav2u974e7t5n452twij/NMRA-National-Layout-Tour-08.JPG?rlkey=qn6gtwss8inagr8lwccrobpqx&dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rddf0mceevzlo24wchibu/NMRA-National-Layout-Tour-07.jpg?rlkey=ophd6ymbwd488g3ybqb56jlbj&dl=0

On the Saturday before the open house we painted all the new and modified modules and spread a little ground foam. It's just a start on scenery but it sure made a lot of difference in the way the layout looked. Here is a video of trip around the layout. We have a long way to go on scenery and operations, but we're very happy to have gotten to this point.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1zac60fl6lcinip29ce1b/Open-House-NMRA-National-Layout-Tour.mp4?rlkey=1avcfccyihkwhwlio5n7og15m&dl=0

[E7]

Jim, Layout looks great and that roundhouse is a killer! I'm jelly!

Rich

[bob turner]

Truly impressive - you are an over-achiever. Is that in your new train room, or at the meet?

How many of those coaches came from Allan? I cannot remember how many there were in the original collection.

[R.K. Maroon]

Thanks for the kind words, Rich and Bob. Please note that my fellow club members contributed greatly to getting this layout built and running. If we are indeed overachievers, which I don't think any of us would claim to be, we overachieve collectively.

Is that in your new train room, or at the meet?

The layout is shown in my shop, which was built two years ago. I sized this room to house the two layouts shown as well as my machine tools, a few storage shelves, and a couple of work benches. I had to widen the room five feet from my original plan to accommodate the roundhouse, which became available after I had my plans drawn but before the request-for-quote went out to the contractors. It worked out well, as the extra five feet made everything better.

How many of those coaches came from Allan? I cannot remember how many there were in the original collection.

The SP heavyweight consist, when at full strength, has six Pomona Valley cars (RPO, lounge, diner, two sleepers, and observation), two Lobaugh chair cars, and one Joe Fischer baggage. The PVs came from Allan Wehrle, who got them from Bob. One Lobaugh came from a friend and another from eBay. The Fischer is a gift from my brother, who found it for sale on eBay, listed by a buyer who didn't know what it was. The train as running in the video is missing the RPO, one sleeper, and one chair car. All three of these cars would occasionally derail -- not often but often enough to be sidelined on a day when they trains needed to run all day without a hitch (which they did). The new track needs some alignment work -- I will get that done and try the cars again before doing any inquiry on the cars themselves.

That roundhouse is a killer!

I will discuss the roundhouse in a separate post, but, yes, it's a monster.
Jim