Liftout Section Guide

Today, I will talk about the liftout guide I built for my layout. 

There are many options for building alignment guides for liftouts.  A quick Google search can provide tons of different options and methods, and Google Images links to several great sites that provide a step-by-step breakdown on many methods.  Some use pin and tubing systems, others rely on hinges, and some have custom alignment brackets that even transfer power to the rails on the lift out!  No matter which option meets your need best, all use the same principles and can be suited to your tastes and budget

Now, I have no need at this point for something with power routing or 0.0001" tolerances or even anything with style.  My liftout guide is essentially temporary (like the liftout sitself) until I either build another section to cross to, or we move.  Either way, I went with something about as simple as it gets and it only took a few minutes to design and build!

It is simply a cobbled together assembly of scrap wood pieces.  I started out with a short section of 1x4 that was leftover from building the layout frames.  I drilled two holes a few inches apart and about little bit above the bottom of the board.  Then, using a scroll saw I cut two lines at about a 45 degree angle from the top to the holes and then one across from hole to hole.  The small trapezoid that this formed was screwed to the underside of the liftout plywood section, with the the long end against the plywood.  The larger piece was secured to the end of the layout.  The locations for both were fit up a couple of times to make sure that the tracks would align properly on top.  Once the liftout and layout were mated properly, I added a piece of laminate board to the front of the larger piece.  This keeps the liftout from sliding forward off of the layout in the case of an accidental bumping (this happens far more often than you think!).  Below are some pictures.

So there you have it!  A quick, robust lifout guide!


And now for the random pic of the day:

Yes I put in two!  It is because I am super excited to see some old-school power still being used.  BNSF 1607 is an SD40-2 that is being used in the Pearland Yard lately for heavy duty switching power.  It has twice as many horses under the hood as the Gensets it is working with so I am sure it has been coming in handy moving all of the long intermodals back and forth!

Trains are running again!

I have the trains going again! 

Actually, they have been going for some time now.  To be honest, I have spent all of this time running circles and switching out the yard and completely neglected updating the blog.  It has been an absolute blast!

I have had the yard and main line operational for a while now, but due to how I arranged the trackwork they could never really interchange.  So to fix this (and satisfy the need to just have trains running un-attended) I set up the leftovers of the original layout and added some new pieces.  The new pieces are built-to-fit sections that satisfied the constraints of the area.  They were also built with leftovers and look like it so don't get your hopes up for super fancy handi-work.  The first was on the back side of the room.  I used some 1x4s to build a curved section and topped it with some 24" radius Atlas Code 82 sectional track.  Then I secured it to the layout frame and set it on an existing wall support.  Some trial and error proved it needed some extra support so I added some legs and voila!

It is in the far corner and hard to see but it is there.

 

After that I put in the long straight-away seen above, and then the corner and last straight-away seen below:

 

Next up was the most difficult part: a lift out section.  I don't mind crawling under the layout any but if I am going to be in and out without much train action then I wanted to be able to quickly removed and replace anything across the entry way.  The below contraption is what I came up with.  It has the ame section track connecting to the layout, some flextrack to follow and transitions to a spare piece of Code 100 track that connects to the EZ Track.

 

To remove it, I pull back the joiners on the layout side and pop off the EZ Track and set it out of the way.  There is also a guide piece of wood under the layout end to make sure the bridge always settles into the right spot to align with the main.  I will get a picture of that up here next time.

So there you have it!  Trains are up and running along and I haven't had any problems with this setup.  One day it may all be replaced with more actual layout but for now I have what I need :)

Now for the random picture of the post:

 

This is a slug engine, with the various info here.  Note the removed fuel tank and blanked windows.  It seems to be paired with SD40N in front as there are a lot of pictures of the two together,  I caught these on a random freight heading south on the BNSF line along Mykawa Rd in Houston on 10/15/14.

 

Main Line is Done!

Well I finally finished off the main line a few days ago!  I am happy to be done with it as this allows me to get back to the rest of the train room.  In addition I also laid the passing siding and the fifth yard track.

Below are some pictures of the progress.

Here you can see the fifth yard track on the left of the shot as SRR GP39-2 #1989 idles with a short local on the main.

Here is a better view of the yard side.  To the conductor's side of SRR 1989 is where the lead to the plastic pellet plant will be. 

 

The new yard track on the left is blocked off electrically from the rest of the layout.  I plan on having this become a programming track in the future once I learn the electronics behind using three way switches.  That way it can also be a regular track if needed. 

 

Here is the other leg of the layout.  This is where the loco facility and local SRR field office will be located.  Coming from the left of the shot, the first turnout is to the siding then the second is the lead into the yard.  Back on the main are two #6s that will lead to as of yet undecided industries.

Lastly is a shot back towards the room entry of the yard.  The run-a-round track that is pictured can hold four 50' cars or three 60' cars as long as they are spotted correctly.

 

From here I am going to begin setting up temporary supports around the walls again so that I can get trains going in a loop.  I haven't decided whether or not to build more actual layout or not.  Too many variables in life right now.  Fortunately there are plenty of other things to do to this current part of the plan.  Starting with the supports and (unfortunately) cleaning up the train room.  It is a downright mess!

 

Finally, the random picture of the day: some fancy loads on bulkhead flats waiting to go South out of the BNSF Pearland yard.



Feeder Wire Idea

As I am laying the tracks around the layout, I am adding in feeder wires.  These are the narrow gauge wires that run from the rails to the bus lines under the layout.  I have been able to use a lot of leftover pieces of wire but I am burning through it pretty quickly.  I was dreading having to spend the high prices that Radioshack demands, when I had a chance visit to my parents house.  While I was there, I happened across large, rubber-encased line in a junk pile.  I looked at the end of it and saw just a ton of little wires!  I asked my dad what it was and he told me it was a piece of phone cable that had been left behind by the phone company when making hurricane repairs.  I asked if I could have half of the length and he obliged, so I set to work dismantling and removing the wires. 

These are the wires from one little bundle!

 

These are all of the bundles from the cable!



There are tons of tiny wires that work perfectly as feeders!  I am going to sort the wires by color but for now I am using only red and black ones.  There are plenty of other colors available for when I run out of those.  So if you can get your hands on a short section of phone cable like this, I highly recommend you take advantage!

On the layout, trackage has been laid around the curve!  Now I am perfecting my turnouts to have those installed this week.

*EDIT* Random picture of the day: a LONG line of rail train for the work going on at the BNSF intermodal facility.  After a fantastic derail the entry to the facility has been undergoing a re-design and the work has been on going.

Until next time!

Main Line has Begun Work

Work crews finally began construction of the main line! 

After months of planning, changing, analyzing, and more planning, the main line work has begun.  I have gotten the first straight away and about half of the big curve laid down, both roadbed and track. 

The above picture show the main on the right and the yard on the left, with only the straight part of the main line. 

The turnouts are Atlas #6, one for the passing siding (left hand) and one to go to future industries.  All mainline and industrial track will be code 83, mostly all Atlas product.  I used code 100 in the yard for reliability purposes.  Depending on this layouts success, I will most likely use code 83 for all future setups.

Here you can see the beginning of the curve.

Now you may be wondering "why is he making such a big deal about this curve?  It is just a curve."  You are mostly correct.  However, this is my FIRST flextrack curve.  The only curves I have laid before this were sectional.  So this is actually a big deal to me, and kind of scary since it has to align with a specific radius to make the plan work.  So go me for taking a new step!

So how did I go about making this curve?  Well, being an engineer by profession, I used my smarts (que laughter).  I built a radius tool and cobbled some supports together.  The tool is made using two nails, a screw, a pencil, and some leftover, small trim wood.  I nailed the pieces of trim together to be longer than the radius I needed (>42").  Then I drilled out a hole in one end and taped in a pencil.  On the other end I put the screw through the board at exactly 42" from the pencil tip.  Then I laid the board seen below on a shelf unit to act as a pivot point support.  Then I simply pushed the screw down in the board and ran the pencil between the straight lines guiding the main.  It worked like a charm.

Pencil end - being used

Pivot point support

Pivot point screw

Securing nails - watch out that they don't catch you.  They are pointy.

The pencil end.  What a quality taping job...

Now I need to finish the curve off.  I am following the recommended practices of connecting a soldering track as you go around the curve to keep a smooth connection point.  I will post again once that gets done.

And to finish things off, I want to start a new thing of ending posts with some proto shots I take on whims.  To start it off, below is PTRA 9609 crossing E Loop 610.  I got the shot while my wife was driving 70MPH so I am glad it came out as well as it did.  The unit is an MK1500D rebuild, and was hauling empty flats and gons from a pipe yard on 6/29/2014.

 

Until next time!

Tunnel Motor is Back Together

I finally have the T-2 back in running order!  The loco is much quieter now that it has the modern Genesis motor in it.  I haven't been able to test it against the other Genesis as that one is disassembled for detailing and painting now.  Really I am just glad to be done with the wiring.

However (as usually happens with me and the hobby) I created a new problem to solve!

Before I started, you could not see through to the other side between the air tanks and the fuel nozzle...  That area was all frame that I had milled out to fit the backwards motor.  Fortunately, it is only noticable from eye level as you can see below.

The camera was raised only a little and now the gap is invisible!  So I may or may not fix it.  We shall see.  Next for this loco is a little decal to show this engine is under ownership of the SRR now and some touchup paint.  Nothing too fancy.

I am also in the midst of planning to lay down the main line this weekend on the layout!  Finally!  I had everything in place and then I found I am out of rail joiners...  So after a quick trip to the hobby shop I can get started.  One the main is laid I will move on to designing the remaining layout portions so the roundy round can get started again.  I miss just having the trains run in a circle...

Re-Powering a Favorite

Howdy again!  This time I come bearing improvements that worked right the first time!

I bought an Athearn SD45T-2 a while back and I made posts on it and its progress here and here.  I finally got the replacement dogbone drive shafts that I mentioned last time.  If you recall, the model came with 1.609" shafts, and after putting in the new motor one of the drive shafts was short.  From what I could tell the best fix would be the 1.76" shafts.  Voila!  They are just right!  Below shows the shaft in the flywheel and gear tower.  It really is a perfect fit.

 

I gave the motor a few spins with the drivetrain fully assembled and I felt no resistance or binding.  So next up is to put the whole shebang back together and run it on the rails.  Hopefully she will run with the other Genesis locos well enough to consist them together.  Since I am finally going to join a club, I can really use the heavy haulers.

For a visual, here are the two different drive shafts side-by-side.

Check back soon as I will be updating with the performance of this over-hauled locomotive.