Large Scale Central

Dry Creek Wye on the DC&M

General Discussion
#1

Hi, all I haven’t posted anything for a while; been working on the railroad now that the snow is gone. I thought you might enjoy seeing how fluidly the prefabricated plywood benchwork adapts to any track layout. The Wifely One snapped this picture while I was putting in the closure leg of Dry Creek Wye this morning:

You can see some of the serpentine benchwork in the background. It’s all prefabricated in the shop and then screwed together on site. Here’s how the modules fit together to make a wye:

Cheers, Steve

#2

Steve,

You sneaky devil, you never said anything about putting in a wye :slight_smile:
The bench work is looking great but where are the trains, send in the trains :slight_smile:

Great progress this year,
how much working time do you have left before the snow flies, 3 weeks?

Looking good my friend

Rick

#3

Cool. I remember your post a while ago about how you were building the benchwork modules. By chance can you find that one and post a link to it here ?

#4

Rick - a wye has always been in the plan. But it wasn’t part of the main loop originally, mainly because I wasn’t planning on having a loop originally, just point-to-point. My roundy-roundy-running friends twisted my arm until I buckled. One of these days I’ll post a revised track plan.

Jon - module design and construction method has evolved considerably since I posted that. Much faster to build, stronger, and lighter now. I’ll try to document the updated design as soon as I can.

Thanks for the good words, guys.

S

#5

No problem Steve. Raised bench work might be in my future. I already have track running across the top of a retaining wall that is at bench height next to a big (by TAC’s standards) back yard where track could roam freely :slight_smile:

It will be interesting to see how your materials fare after a few Montana winters.

#6

Your modules look good. So does your hat.

As for roundy-roundy, I don’t get the attraction, but an awful lot of folks seem to like it… I have a little roundy roundy for them…

One thing I do get is raising your track to a comfortable working height. Good going, Mr Seitel, it really does look good, and good luck as you continue on this project!

#7
John Le Forestier said:
As for roundy-roundy, I don't get the attraction, but an awful lot of folks seem to like it.... I have a little roundy roundy for them.....
I'm with you there John. I started building a loop to eliminate the need to turn on a wye at the end of my RR because everyone told me I should have it (even the die hard operations guys). That was three or 4 years ago, still haven't finished it and don't miss it :)
#8

Steve;

It’s looking very good.

John;

Just as an aside about the roundy roundy layouts. Many years ago I did an exercise to calculate how much space I would have needed to replicate the very short tourist line I had served in HO scale. Total liniar track was about 7.5 miles - most of the time we only ran on about 5.5 miles of that track. I discovered that I probably would have required an old dairy barn to house the layout in full-length HO!

That’s why I just use the roundy roundy and a healthy dose of imagination to cover the distance between terminals.

Have fun,
David Meashey

#9

Hiya Dave - Well, I have a dirty little secret. I started this Garden Railroad thing with four roundy-roundy loops in the backyard. Three stacked in this big space here, and the fourth over on the other side of the path. (Didn’t know any better, I guess…;-))

One small loop still exists; the grandkids use it whenever they visit. Besides this, when, God willing, all my track is finally laid on the latest incarnation of the Littleton and Smallville, the two termini will actually be only a pathway’s width apart.

At that point - here’s the dirty little secret - across the path I will be able to install a lift bridge, already built, believe it or not. The retaining walls for each end of the bridge will be in place, so if any lost stray roundy-roundy should visit, feel confused and dismayed and disoriented, we can drop the bridge into place and let the poor fellow go for it to his heart’s content… Let’s not tell Jon Radder though.

I find I’m at my happiest when I’m making or breaking up a train, or switching a way freight at an industrial spur, so really, making that last connection is not important to me… I operate the L&S as a point to point switching RR., and it would be very difficult for me to go back to roundy-roundies again. I also enjoy bringing a passenger consist into the terminal and preparing it for the return trip.

One can operate point to point on an oval layout, as I’m sure we all realize, and use the oval to add up the mileage, or not…

When I go to shows or open houses, I confess I do find watching all that non-stop tail chasing a tremendous bore, and I suspect it has driven more than one wife to drag her harassed spouse away from shows before he’s seen everything he hoped for. Dare I say “premature evacuation”?

My own taste would be to watch, or participate in, pikes where switching ops are the main course. On the other hand, a show should have something for everyone, and the tail-chaser pikes do a great job of allowing their owners to entertain the troops by getting trains up and running without supervision. At a show, that is without question a great benefit. There’s little doubt in my mind that switching operations are for a very poor spectator sport indeed.

Along with a switching puzzle or two at shows, I always set up a roundy-roundy myself for the little kids to operate. They get to give rides to a bunch of little toy folk and critters I have waiting at the station… It just occured to me that the difference may really be about whether you’re actually operating trains or merely watching them… and I reckon we like to do both, don’t we…

#10

Hey Steve,

The layout is looking great, but like Rick said where’s the track. BTW do you have a tram service that drives your visitors around the yard. I’ll have to try and hook up with you when we come to visit Mom in Butte later this summer if you’re accepting visitors. Keep up the great work and of course the pictures also.

Chuck

#11

You don’t need track with benchwork like that Steve. It’s a work of art all by itself. Tell that Rick fella that if he wants track he’ll hafta bring his own! :wink: :smiley:

He was right though about being sneaky regarding the wye. Sure looks good though.

Are you going to eventually add a few wide spots along the route for depots and industries?

#12

Thanks, guys…glad you like it. It’s a fun project. Chuck - I just emptied my piggy bank and bought all the track I need for the main loop. But it’s still in boxes in the barn, bright, shiny and new, waiting on me to get the deck in place on the benchwork before I can lay it. Only about a hundred and fifty more feet of bench to build before I can do that…sigh. Come on and visit anytime - I’ll put you to work :slight_smile: One problem with “loop” layouts is access to the interior for mowing, etc. I “solved” that problem by splicing in a steel truss bridge from Eaglewings.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/DCM/DryCreek/MowerClearance.JPG)

S

#13

Richard, thanks.

Yeah, three wide spots for sidings, yard, maybe some foreshortened industrial buildings. The benches are 32 inches wide at Nullarbor, Dry Creek, and (eventually) at Lanphear.

Maybe I can get Rick to bring some of his trains, too. Those are real works of art.

S

#14

Thank for posting.

#15

Hi, All… I finally figured out how to install the fairings that allow two lines to merge smoothly. Here’s a look at the fairing at the north end of Dry Creek Wye:

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/DCM/DryCreek/NorthEndFairing.JPG)

Imagine, if you will, the line projected another hundred feet or so into the distance; that’s where Dry Creek Terminal is to be. Cheers

#16

Hey Steve, you mean that sand box in the distance, thats Dry Creek Terminal? Won’t you have to raise it up alittle? LOL

I’ll let you know when we head to Butte, be glad to help. Besides it will be easy everything is at just the right height for someone with a bum knee. Looking good!!!

Chuck

#17

Hello again, I threatened earlier to update the route map, so I figured I better follow through:

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/DCM/DCMrouteplan.png)

Sorry if it’s hard to read. The DC&M is a big (but not fancy) railroad and it’s hard to get it all in 800 pixels. Here’s a PDF version with more easily seen detail: http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/DCM/DCMroutemap.pdf Some notes on the railroad: Originally the DC&M was to be configured as purely a point-to-point railroad, with terminals at Dry Creek and at Lanphear (which had a different name then) plus passing sidings midway, at Nullarbor. After I got strong-armed by my round-and-round, gotta-have-a-loop friends, I folded the second terminal into the center of the loop and made a continuous run connection via the tail track of the Dry Creek Wye. All of the benchwork for the loop and the wye is now in place, but track is only laid from La Mange as far as the small lift-out bridge at the west end of Nullarbor. That part of the railroad was built in place. All the rest of the benchwork is put together from prefabricated modules. The extensions to Dry Creek and Lanphear are NOT built yet; I’ll get at least Dry Creek done yet this season (I hope). I “plan” to put a drawbridge where indicated, to provide walk around access and incidentally force point-to-point operation only when feeling ornery. The drawbridge is on my list of “someday” projects. At the moment, you have to duck under. Cheers,

#18

Very impressive.
Although my pike is compact, one day I’d like to do a larger, spread out RR.
Ralph

#19

Good to see the map, Steve. Thanks. Good luck to you with the ongoing work.

#20

Steve it’s always nice to see a track plan. Helps some of us to follow along with your pics and ideas.