HO 80s/90s CSX, NS, & Conrail layout resurrection.

[boatman]

HI PaulE lovely work on the tunnell an surroundins an the smoke track goin up where steam trains have been before very realistic an whatcha doin with pulleys ?
chris

 

[minitnkr]

Thanks guys. SimonT GB sdkfz7 w/Bilstein 3ton crane in 1/87, Chris. There is a pulley system to raise/lower the crane boom. Very fiddly in 1/87. PaulE

 

[boatman]

Thanks guys. SimonT GB sdkfz7 w/Bilstein 3ton crane in 1/87, Chris. There is a pulley system to raise/lower the crane boom. Very fiddly in 1/87. PaulE

PaulE well i cant see any crane ? but thinkin back was it a red railroad crane ? an is that the one that has the boom goin up an down ?
chris

 

[minitnkr]

Chris, the crane is on a German halftrack I'm building for the Simon T group build. The railroad cranes on my layout are black (hvy) and yellow (med. and light). PaulE

 

[boatman]

OK Gotcha PaulE I understand now an your tunnel looks great very good scenic effcet an i really enjoy lookin at your railway an i think i wonder where that track will go to full of wonder

chris

 

[minitnkr]

Chris, it is part of the continuous run, so will reappear at the southern end of the layout upper level and circle the coal mine in another tunnel to emerge at the "bad grade", and thus to the lower level. PaulE

 

[boatman]

Chris, it is part of the continuous run, so will reappear at the southern end of the layout upper level and circle the coal mine in another tunnel to emerge at the "bad grade", and thus to the lower level. PaulE

OK PaulE yes i know what you mean but i still look at this layout an wish it was mine as i miss my layout from all those yrs ago but the fasanation for trains an railway 's is still in me an you are doin this great Sir
chris

 

[minitnkr]

More progress. PaulE

 

[ozdell]

Derailments solved. New config. has smooth operation with new 'extreme grade' in & out transitions. PaulE
View attachment 400494
View attachment 400495

HI PaulE, I like the way you have done your grade, not sharp gentle , I do the same on my layout, I think my grade is quarter inch a foot on a 24 foot ramp dropping 6 inches., would love to see a video clip of your trains running , is your layout a continuous run with the second level.

Keep the great work up and love those pics especially your oil refinery. Tony from down under.

 

[minitnkr]

Thanks guys. Tony, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't hooked up the electricals since adding the turnout to the industrial section. I'm looking for an additional controller so I can run two trains independently, the continuous run & switching activity in the yards. This will require some modification to the existing electricals. The continuous run is on both levels. PaulE

 

[minitnkr]

Some progress today. PaulE

 

[Mini Me]

I'm buying stock in Styrofoam.....I could make a fortune on your layout alone! That's coming along very well Paul.......with this kind of progress you might at least get a loop running by Christmas. Rick H.

 

[minitnkr]

Sure does make a mess though. I'm catching hell daily for tracking the little white balls upstairs. They attach tenaciously to everything. PaulE

 

[ozdell]

Thanks guys. Tony, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't hooked up the electricals since adding the turnout to the industrial section. I'm looking for an additional controller so I can run two trains independently, the continuous run & switching activity in the yards. This will require some modification to the existing electricals. The continuous run is on both levels. PaulE

Hi PaulE, year a lot of soldering work ahead, how many blocks do you have, will need a DPDT on each block, I am using a 4throw rotary switch , switching 3 throttles, have a made up an awesome control panel as each position has LED lights and forth is a spare, could of had 4 throttles, three is enough especially if I switch to DCC after Christmas.

I have 20 blocks, two are for reverse loops .

Tony from down under.

 

[minitnkr]

Last plan had 10 blocks. No reverse loops on purpose. PaulE

 

[Mini Me]

Smart move.....reverse loops can be a real PITA. Rick H.

 

[ozdell]

Last plan had 10 blocks. No reverse loops on purpose. PaulE

Hi PaulE, I be using the block its self to turn the train around which will be the length of the train, will let you know I go even my points crossing over to the other track is isolated to the track, so long as the other block will on that position throttle 1 from throttle 1. I may never fill all 20 blocks on the new layout, spare ones be used up in the staging yard . Tony

 

[minitnkr]

Learned lesson on previous layout Rick. Cool Tony. More progress today. Decided not to tunnel continuous run curve. PaulE

 

[ozdell]

Learned lesson on previous layout Rick. Cool Tony. More progress today. Decided not to tunnel continuous run curve. PaulE
View attachment 404985

Hi PaulE,, yeah that is the trouble with us modellers we change plans around a lot trying to get the track to look good , I wont be having a lot of scenery on my layout being an out door layout . More work on my modules today making the making the most of the last cooler day heating up again the weekend and early next week. Tony

 

[JR]

It certainly has the wow factor. Love what your doing, the back drops, and that chemical plant you made really looking good now with the track set up.
The minute you guys start on blocks, reverse loops and the like I'm lost. When I had my Hornby OO it had one controller,so only one train running at one time, now it seems you can have several trains on the same track , all independently running.