CR SW1500 #9528

Well finally got around to getting a decoder into our new SW1500 switcher that has been custom weathered by Chris Thompson.

Chris's work is outstanding and very realistic, it is even better in real life.  The switcher was put through its paces tonight switching out part of the L&T Branch...

Jas...

More Backdrops & Proper Wiring...

Hi all,

Well progress of late has been almost non-existent, although of the last week we have had some major fixes completed and more progress mainly in the L&T Branch area.

Firstly there has been a major electrical upgrade to the JL&T layout, since the start of the build the entire power requirements for the shed & JL&T layout have been running of a 10 Amp extension lead run through our backyard.

Although not ideal or safe it had finally served long enough, with the installation of a new solar power system on our house we decided to upgrade the power in the backyard and hook up the shed, and the pump for our water tanks.  The shed being at the rear of our property required a complete upgrade to 4mm cable from the house switchboard to the shed.

I have also had all the fluorescent lights hooked up onto one single circuit, and 6 double power points added to serve the layout.

Electrical wiring for the lighting circuit in and neat...

The lights are connected to a surface mount plug via an extension lead, so if they need to be replaced or moved this can be done easily.

The shed also has its own switchboard that is protected by an RCD and circuit breakers independent and in addition to the house switchboard.  An external weatherproof switch at the rear of the house isolates the entire layout/shed this allows the shed to be completely electrically isolated when not in use.

Layout switchboard...

The second part involved continuing the backdrop for the staging area in the L&T Branch area.  Now that the electrically works has finally been completed I can now start to seal up all of the external walls and also insulate them.  Again I have used the plaster/drywall method for the backdrop, because there were more curves to be installed I again used the 6mm flexible sheet.

External wall frame with insulation installed, ready for the backdrop...

More insulation installed in the first wall section ready for the remaining backdrop...

The backdrop required a curve to be placed in the corner were the switchboard is located, this will also allow air to move around the area, and also access.  The switchboard is located above the backdrop so if need be can be completely removed without damaging or needing to remove the backdrop itself.

Backdrop installed and screwed off, waiting to be stopped up...

More posts to follow as we progress with the backdrop.

Jas...

Last of the L&T entrances to be hidden...

Well over the last few days I've had the chance to work on hiding the entrance to the L&T branch which is the last one to be worked on before I start on the scenery for this area.

The idea is to hide both the vertical & horizontal edges of the drywall/plaster backdrop.  On the entrance from the JL&T that leads to the JL&T Module I have employed the method of using Walthers Modular Kits to hide the vertical edge of the backdrop, and use a pipe gantry between the two building to hide the horizontal edge.

I didn't want to use the same method on the entrance to the L&T so had to come up with another method, the front runner at the moment is using the Walthers Modular Kits again but in a different configuration...

The Walthers Modular Kits have been re-arranged into a different configuration so that there not the same as the other structures, one of the brilliant things about them.  I've also played with the angles with the structure on the right, this was to allow clearance for locomotives and rolling stock to clear the structure.

The method that I'm going to employ to hide the horizontal edge of the backdrop is going to be a BLMA Double Billboard.

This will be placed in the ROW just to the right of the loading door on the structure on the left, it will be angled so that rear board is inline with the backdrop and facing billboard is pointing to the roadway on the JL&T...

Here is a crude Photoshop rendering...

The area between the left structure and fascia will be a vehicle storage and loading/unloading area.

And here is a shot of what the area looks to date from the finished JL&T Module looking across to the L&T...

Cheers,

Jas...

Plastic Pellet unloading shed...

Hi,

Well yesterday I managed to get the last of the major structures (although minor in itself) completed on the first section of the L&T Branch.

The structure is an unloading shed for plastic pellets used in the forming of parts for the Appliance Manufacturing Plant, there are still some minor pieces to be added like a series of storage silos for the various primary colours of pellets, piping for conveying the pellets from the unloading shed to the silos, compressor unit, and various detail parts.

This build was fairly straight forward in that the main structure being a Pikestuff Kit (Modern Small Enginehouse) are not that difficult to build apart from the odd bit of trimming required to get sections to match.  The difficult part was getting the structure to join the curved backdrop.

This section of the layout has a 45 degree curve and required about a 1/2 of the structure to form to this curve.  Firstly the structures walls and opening were made, as it only requires two sides to be completed, I then positioned this against the area that I wanted it to be and marked out it's position on the backdrop and subroadbed for reference..

Then I cut out a piece of paper that formed the 90 degree angle of the front and side wall of the structure and formed the curve along the backdrop, this the forms the reference for the cutting of the roof later on.

One issue that I was faced with was securing the backdrop side roof to something that would stop it from dropping or sagging after time.  Being on a curved backdrop required a little lateral thinking, so I added a piece of double sided tape to the backdrop in between the front wall and side wall.  To this I added a piece of square styrene tube that I formed to the backdrop curve, this then formed the support that was needed for the roof to sit on.

The tape will also be used for adhering a photo insert of the internals of the pellet unloading area later on.  Once the support was in place it was a matter of constructing the roof sections and trimming them down to fit each section and the curve of the backdrop.

Once each section was glued and allowed to dry, I placed the paper template over the roof section and marked out the curve and scored the line with an Exacto knife and removed the waste.  Some trimming was required as I allowed a little in case the the template was out as the Pikestuff roof's have a very small pitch to take into consideration.

Finally I added the rooftop ridge vents and powered extraction fan, as mentioned before a few more minor additions to be added along with detail parts & lighting and the structure will be ready for painting and weathering.

This has been yet another enjoyable build and easily done in a full day from start to this stage, I'll post some more photos as we progress.

Cheers,

Jas...

Styrene all finished, to be painted & weathered...

Well today I finished laying the remaining sheets of styrene for the unloading area and driveways for the Metal Stamping Plant.

All that is left is to add the detail parts and install a concrete storm pit near the curved turnout.

Once I have finished the Plastic Pellet unloading shed I will begin adding the remaining ground scenery from the start of the L&T Branch to the start of the curved turnout.

Jas...

Almost Finished...

Well just about finished this section of styrene/concrete area.  I have one more piece to go in and it's ready for detailing.

The details will include placing styrene into the building loading doors to match the outside area, stormwater grates, manhole covers, supports for the overhead crane, bollards and what ever else I can think of.

Here a few photos from what I completed tonight...

Is turning out to be quite an enjoyable build...

Jas.

More Styrene laid...

Well progression on the styrene/concrete unloading area of the Metal Fabrication Plant continued yesterday and things are moving along quite nicely.

I'm at a point now that I can lay a 100mm x 100mm section (4"x4") on both sides of the siding and the section in between the rails.  The method I have adopted is quite reliable even with differing radius on different rails.  I use a piece of paper cut to the width of the section to be laid, and then place the paper over the next section.

Then using pressure I run my fingers of both section of the rail to leave a indentation in the paper and the paper to be cut out.  I then cut out each section with a pair of scissors and lay it over a sheet of styrene.  I then either mark the section with a pencil or glue the paper section to the styrene and then scribe it with an Exacto knife till I can snap the waste section off.

Once the section is cut out I then place it into the section and trim and alter it to suit, it is taking me about 30 min to complete both sides on the centre rail section.

And here is the progress at the end of yesterday...

Jas...

Work continues...

Well yesterday work continued on laying the concrete unloading area for the Warehouse and the Metal Stamping Plant, within the Appliance Manufacturing Plant.

This process is the same for the section in between the track as what I used in the crossover, the remaining section had 3mm cork roadbed added first then the 1.0mm sheet styrene laid over the top to again just finish under the top of the rail.

More to come as the progress continues...

Jas.

Building a Grade Crossing using Styrene Sheet...

Well over the last two days I decided to tackle a concrete grade crossing that forms part of the scenery on the L&T.  This grade crossing is formed in a crossover formed by two #6 PECO turnouts.  I have used styrene with great success with the JL&T module and decided to use again for this grade crossing.

The difficult part that was concerning me was trying to form the styrene strips so that they would fit in between the rails, form naturally around the guard rails and would look prototypical.  Also I wanted to make this as painless as possible and not be tweaking them for hours to get them to fit, the plan was to make templates once and then use them over again when needed.

This is were a little planning and thinking before doing has paid off in spades.  When I was looking at how to achieve the templates my initial idea was to stencil the tracks onto some tracing paper, then transfer this onto the styrene to form the template.  Then it occurred to me and I had one of those great moments, PECO have on their website some very accurate stencils that can be used when laying track work or designing track arrangements.

My idea was to cut out the sections of the template and then glue these onto the styrene and use these as master templates.  I had to mark the PECO template with enough clearance in between the inner rail and the styrene/concrete form so that the truck wheels ran through without grabbing.  The styrene crossing was formed using two thicknesses of sheet.

The first series of strips is 0.75mm these are cut to a width of 12mm and are placed in between the inner rails, and in between the tie plate details.  Then another sheet of 1.0mm thickness is added on top, this then places the crossing just under the top of the rail.  This allows the track to be cleaned with a track cleaning block and not take any of the paint or weathering off the crossing itself.

The 0.75mm packing strip installed & the 1.0mm Top Strip ready to be installed...

Once the packing strip was installed I test fitted the top strip to ensure that there was clearance for the wheel flanges passing between the strips and the inner rail edge.  Once this was all good I then glued down the top strip to the packing strip, care has to be taken that you get perfect alignment before the two pieces of styrene touch.  Once the two pieces contact each other with the CA there is no time to re-align things if needed.

First piece installed and ready to be tested with a piece of rolling stock...

Checking the flange clearance through the grade crossing...

The next series of pieces to be installed were the diverging route, straight section of unloading siding and the small section in between the two turnouts.  These sections went really well and I suspect that this was because the templates were a better fit than first one, they only required minimal trimming and the clearances were much better.

Straight siding installed, packing strips installed in between turnouts ready for the top piece...

All rail top pieces installed and cork road bed installed and ready for styrene road surface...

All installed and ready for painting and weathering...

Showing the finished level of the grade crossing finishing just below the top of the rail...

Overall this has been a great and fulfilling project to complete, not only because I found a workable solution and fairly easy method of cutting and installing the section.  But because it also marks the start of more scenery for the L&T albeit the current crop of structure.

The next stage will involve finishing off the remaining loading dock area and the metal fabrication siding to the right of the grade crossover.  When this is finished it will be time to paint and weather the crossing and rails, I will do another blog post for this.

Hope you all enjoyed this and get something out of it, and as always look forward to your comments and questions.

Cheers,

Jas...

Another structure nearly completed for the L&T...

Couple of quick photos of the progress made tonight, will do a more detailed run down later (it's early hours in the morning)...

The overall background building...

Building roofs and how they are transitioned against the backdrop...

New curved turnout installed, and another building ready to be rail served...

More to follow shortly as I detail the build.

Jas...

Next Structure for the L&T begins Construction...

Well I had another good couple of hours the other day to make a start on the third structure for the L&T.  This structure needs to be completed so that I can begin and complete all of the scenery in the corner that is at the start of the L&T and tot he right of the JL&T module.

To be able to progress with the scenery I need to complete this section.  This structure also forms part of the "hiding" of the entrance hole through the backdrop from the JL&T centre peninsula to the JL&T module.  The structure itself will form part of the Appliance Manufacturing Plant.

I have decided to add a single car siding to this structure as well, after getting the bulk of the structure in place the area supports it quite well.  And I did want to have a siding here too, there will only be single 50' boxcar unloading into this siding.

The entrance from the west side of the centre peninsula onto the L&T branch, the switch will be operated via a Tortoise...

The building will have a truck loading dock to the left...

Shot showing the entrance from the centre peninsula into the JL&T module...

Cheers,

Jas...

Cladding Finished, Details to go...

Hi All,

Well today I had a little time to finish the cladding for the metal fabrication plant.  The last remaining cladding has been installed along with the roof sheets, capping and side corner capping.

Roof sheeting & ridge capping installed...

Ridge line and roof sheet profile...

​Overall shot of the plant with cladding & roof complete...

​Cheers,

Jas...

Metal Fabrication & Stamping Plant

Hi all,

Well today as part of broadcasting the JL&T via webcam streaming I decided to make a start on building the Metal Fabrication Plant for the Appliance Manufacturing Company.

This building is just a background relief building, that serves the small siding that will unload gondola's containing raw sheet metal in coils.  Due to the tight space I decided to build this out of Evergreen Styrene, however I needed some way of making the structure rigid enough and not prone to breaking easily if removed.

So the idea came to use a piece of plywood for the internal part of the structure and skin it with styrene, this allows the structure to be removed at anytime, and it would also be quite sturdy.

The base is a piece of 19mm (3/4") plywood...

The next step was to cut out an opening that would allow the travelling crane to traverse back into the structure from the outside unloading siding.  I also had to cut it out so that any of the plywood cannot be seen when looking through the opening.

Showing the entrance & opening for the traveling crane...

Once this was cut it was time to measure and install the metal siding, the siding in Evergreen "Metal Siding" and is glued onto the plywood with latex caulk, the same I use to install the roadbed for the track work.

The sheets of Metal Siding cut to fit the opening for the traveling crane...

The siding covers each side of the plywood so that you cannot see the plywood through the opening.  Depending on the effectiveness of the whole scene and depth, I may actually cut into the backdrop and frame to increase the depth of the internal scene.

Taken from an angle to show how the styrene covers the internal plywood base...

Front and right side siding installed, roof and left side siding to go...

Shot showing the corner flashing detail, and the plywood base before the roof is installed...

The building to date...

More to follow of the next week...

Jas...