Just an update to show to our train group guy around here on fixing a old problem. Problems was kind of hard to set up for open houses and train runs with little people and veh’s. After installing the Trolley line the street got smaller and not much room to get in there with out stepping on everything. The Area is about 12’ long and street was about 16 inch wide in front of the Town.

We used backer board for the street for quite a few years, but then it started to break up in time after walking on it.

Now…we built a back board for the back side of the town to rest on that is raised up with PVC pipe. The front of the town will set on the back part of the cement pad. This will make the street much wider and able to make it much easer for the Horse and wagons to make turn around in the town.

This is what the town looked like when we uncovered it and pulled it out and put it up on sawhorses a few weeks.

This is what it use to look like at open houses.

Old pad after cleaning it up for cement.

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/noelw/wilsonville_file/SN856448.jpg

New pad done.

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/noelw/wilsonville_file/SN856543.jpg

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/noelw/wilsonville_file/SN856544.jpg

Note: if wondering why we stopped at the tel. pole laying down on back side of the pad. Its set and laying on the ground and is very long and heavy… So, we cemented up to it and it’s not going anywhere. It should last a few more years or so. lol

Town is just about done with new paint, repairs to buildings and new wiring. After we install a second track in the Eng. house ( Second track will be same link as the first track, about 10 long.) and move the sound cards and Batt. up out of the way, it will be ready to be installed and plugged back in next week…

Still playing around with uploading photos… later for now.

"ok this is not going to work on photo off of hard dr… back later to upload photo in to our frt. shed to work to right size of photo. Darn win I-E 10 & Firefox stuff"

looks to be a workable solution, Noel…

Findly finished up the Town and now ready to put in it’s place on the R.R.

Here are more update photo and still a few more details to be added after it in place.

Hotel

Our Town Store

Added another track to the Eng. house trains storage agea. Rewired up the sound cards for the Saloon and auto Eng. house doors.

Front of Eng. house with one track then inside has sw. to two tracks. Now can get 5 normal cars on left track and 8 on right side plus one Eng.

Doors show open using the motor dr. Hard to see, but there is a small 3 MM Red LED on the left top side of the building right next to the small plug off of the over head PGE wires to show when the doors are shut.

More to come after it’s installed.

Lookin’ good NW! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Set town in place and looks good and lots of room now.

Now have another problem after setting the town in place.

I was thinking by off setting the Town by 17 inch’s to the left and back a foot or so, It would not be to far off or bad to align the track to the Turntabe. Well as you can see… I was wrong. lol.

Now have to re-do tracks to the Eng. house and maybe then back feed to turntable form the Eng. house. That way we can turn Engs. around and able to store a few other Eng.'s on tracks off of turntable. Look like this is about the only way it can go for now.

Solve one problem and create a few more… lol.

Going to pull out these old two track Switches and install a 10 ft. RH Switch off of the G. Bridge ( This is a 10 ft.main line curve there already.) to go around behind the trees to the Eng. House and then like we said, back feed to the turntable from there. We’re trying to keep all curves at a min. of 8 ft. on any branch line and mainlines Min. 10 ft. curves.

I guess a Garden R.R. never gets done… Always some one show or comes up with a better way or guess a new idea. lol.

Yea, its that way in other parts of life too. Fix one thing and that causes another thing to need fixed. But then the 1:1 railroad guys are like that too.

David Maynard said:

Yea, its that way in other parts of life too. Fix one thing and that causes another thing to need fixed. But then the 1:1 railroad guys are like that too.

You got that right David… You should see the mess I got in to now… Had to find a Aristo R H Switch and figure on some day change out another area at Pine Tree Jct. one of these day… Well to day is the day.
Well had to raise a trestle up due to it sank about 1/2 inch and re=route some track to remove a RH Switch I really didn’t need in that spot.

Also, had to move two track signals and get the Trail L bender out again to get around some small trees.

Noel, I understand. I had to raise my trestle over an inch.

Hey Noel if you just use that track under the tank on legs, and extend it on to the engine house It looks like it should line right up with very little curve. You could move the tank over to where the old track was.

I really like the idea of hiding cars in buildings they shouldn’t be in. I’ll have to remember that. Town sure does sparkle after your going over.

Here are the area I found a Aristo RH track switch and replaced it with a LH switch…

This now looks better anyway, but had to move the Sig. down to other side of the Trestle. Course I had to raise the Trestle up some to get rid of shims that over in time… it sank.

This will be ballast when I get the Eng. house tracks in and do those at the same time.

Randy Lehrian Jr. said:

Hey Noel if you just use that track under the tank on legs, and extend it on to the engine house It looks like it should line right up with very little curve. You could move the tank over to where the old track was.

I really like the idea of hiding cars in buildings they shouldn’t be in. I’ll have to remember that. Town sure does sparkle after your going over.

…

Good idea Randy… that what I came up with, like you, the same idea when trying to fig. it out last night.

Have to remember that I have to run a train with a few cars on it to the Eng. house/Wilsonville town to store them for a ready to run. So had to get a track back off the main line and them back feed the track to the Turntable from the Eng. house. The fuel Tank is just setting on a track that was off the turntable and may use that for a lead to tie in to the Eng. house with another RH Switch.

I knew there was a way. I’ll only keep two other track off the Turntable. Mainly for Eng’s. to set out on after been turned.

Sill have a problem again… Still need another Aristo RH 10 ft. curve Switch to do it right. … If I go using a LH it will look like a hole bunch of curve going all over the place. lol. I did find some code 250’s brass RH’s that I may use if I find a way to joint them up with code 332 stuff. Not sure how that going to look. My have to go to another Town ( Bakers Acres) to change out one there due to it not a eye catcher area for open houses.

Here is what we came up with.

Pulled out the two Track SW’s off of main line.

Re-route a lead track from the Girder Bridge to the Eng’s house.

.

Here is the new area we are going for now with a back feed to the Turntable idea.

At the Eng. house. We tried to feel around on how a RH SW would work and way to sharp to make it to the Turntable.

Only route that seem to work is one LH SW. I don’t have. It’s a Aristo or LGB that around a 10 ft curve to the Turntable would look good.

Also, we don’t want to cut anymore tree out so ha ve to go around this one. These are hard to keep small and lot of pruning to get them about right size.

For now, looks like we’ll be looking local to see if we can find a manual LH SW. to work with a 10 ft curve on a trade or ?

Take a lesson from the 1:1 guys. Drive pilings down to bedrock to support your trestles, that way they won’t sink. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

Steve I tried that with my first trestle. I drove CPVC pipe down until I could drive them no further and the cut them to length and installed all the other trestle bits. That trestle lasted for years, until we had a very wet spring. The ground under the trestle was actually under water a few times that spring. After the rains stopped and the sun came out, I had what looked more like a kiddie roller coaster then a railroad trestle.

Steve Featherkile said:

Take a lesson from the 1:1 guys. Drive pilings down to bedrock to support your trestles, that way they won’t sink. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

…

Good idea to 1 : 1 R.R.'s. If we did that here we would have to drive down 25 ft or more to hit bed rock for a 1 foot high trestles. LoL

Our problem was tree roots moved the ground, guess it didn’t like the trestle and it sank a little. Trees roots even went and split a rook out back. Guess trees are stronger than rocks, and Garden trestles…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)

Last two days off and on with some help from Joel Harrison that found a LGB LH large track switch. We now have it in for the back feed to the Turntable.

Moved some building and Maint. stuff around, did some more overhead wiring and finished up with the ballasting.

Here are the photo of the finished area. Works out a lot better now and easer to get around in.

A lot of work

but…

"Problems Solved for this area. "

Not to sure how many Railroads run there track this way like we did. Kind of backwards …Oh well … Guess maybe because it’s the Santa fe & Butthead Cove R.R. Rio Linda style…

with CEO Pap, Goofy lol.

I think most railroads run a track to a turntable and then to the a Eng. house.

Beautiful work, Noel! And nice mature landscaping. Looks like lots of shade which I am sure is appreciated.

Thanks Joe B.

We tried out the lighting last night and really look real in the whole layout except on Frt. station and water tower at Pine Tree Jct. Have to find that wiring under ground going to that from somewhere. lol.

Noel Wilson said:

Thanks Joe B.

We tried out the lighting last night and really look real in the whole layout except on Frt. station and water tower at Pine Tree Jct. Have to find that wiring under ground going to that from somewhere. lol.

On Pine Tree Jct.

Ok found it… Tree Roots made a division Dam and stopped the Electrons flow. We had to run some new wires underground. Now all is working again.