Large Scale Central

The Pembroke & Cheltenham High Desert Railroad: Planning

General Discussion
#14

As for bending track, I would highly recommend a dual railbender. You simply use an ironing type motion and your track is suddenly curved. Its doesn’t get any easier then that. I use code 332 stainless, and its a bear to bend, but with the dual railbender its a snap. With aluminum rails it would be even easier to use. And using a proper railbender, you don’t get kinks and out of gauge bends in the track.

I did what Greg suggests. I made a rather large fill at the bottom of my set up, to keep my grades at around 2.5% And grade is grade, so the comment about “scale maximum grade” went past me.

#15

Maybe he meant “prototype grade”… that would be close to the maximum grade class 1 railroads normally use.

Greg

#16

Mitch,

Here is a link to a guy here in Southern California with a railroad very similar to what you want. ALL Southern Pacific freight and he uses diesels, no steam. I’ve seen the layout many times and its beautiful. This link should get you to his site. Includes photos and text on how he designed the layout, did his grades and actually built the railroad. He uses the ladder system and shows how he made the ladder system.

Link: http://www.morningglowrr.com/

Good luck with your build and welcome to the forum.

#17

Mitch Barrie said:

Ray, I need to learn more about how you get your trains up that shallow hill.

My track plan is a DOGBONE loop, folded into an overlapping Z. Here’s a link to the track plan:

http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/Trackplan2.jpg

Edit: Fixed the error originally inserted by autocorrect.

#18

Thanks, Ray.

Yeah, I’m gonna need loops. I worked this out at lunchtime:

That goes from 0 feet at lower left to nearly seven feet at far right, all at 2.5% grade, so that gets me up the hill. Most of the interesting part of the layout will be on the hill.

Not the final layout, but at least now I know how I’m going to get there.

#19

How much clearance are you allowing? Don’t forget roadbed and track …

One thing to consider is we are social group and running on other’s layouts is part of the deal, allowing for the larger scales is a consideration.

When the late Chuck N. brought his mallet here, I had to break out my chain saw to make some hasty clearance!(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

Welcome to our ‘tribe’!

While you are here there will be a general question you are sure to encounter;

Is it done yet?

Welcome aboard.

#20

Greg Elmassian said:

No Steve, corrosion and oxidation are not exactly the same.

In aluminum, the process of anodizing is done by oxidation.

So anodized aluminum is corroded?

Different terms… yes oxidized steel might be considered corrosion, but corrosion is normally associated with chemicals helping the process or electrical currents.

If you have corrosive chemicals on your rails, you got problems. If you have air on your rails, then you are probably on planet earth.

In this case, I was trying to point out beneficial oxidation, helping traction, and bare aluminum oxidizes in the atmosphere. Corrosion is not wanted nor encouraged.

Greg

Here is more than I want to know about the corrosion of aluminum. It occurs in the presence of oxygen, or water, which has (gasp) oxygen as part of its molecule. I, too, was pointing out the benefit of the tooth. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)(https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)

#21

THAT is the DEFINITION of oxidation, not corrosion.

My reference sources are dictionaries and scientific texts, besides my scientific training. You can call it corrosion till the cows come home.

(By the way is all the anodized aluminum in your house corroded? (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)By your definition it is.)

Anyway, lets give it a rest, I cannot get you to cop to the distinction between corrosion and oxidation, and you will never convince me or Websters or Encyclopedia Britannica of your making them the same.

Greg

p.s. I have to call TOC and tell him all his aluminum rail is corroded and I can’t come and run trains this year until it’s fixed.

#22

@Mitch. FYI, The thermal expansion of aluminum rail is huge compared to the Stainless, you will have to engineer for the expansion and contraction with your wide temperature swings.

I too live in the high desert of NM @ 5400 ft. with wide temp swings for day/night in the summer.

#23

Some photos from this morning of the space I have to work with:

From the northwest corner of the backyard, looking across the lawn and up the hill:

I plan to put a return loop right there in the foreground, removing a chunk of that lawn that is difficult to mow anyway.

The hill:

From the top of the hill looking down (west):

#24

Funny, the hill does not look 7 feet higher, but we know it is. How do you have a septic field higher than the house? Is there a pump? Our family has a septic system and it’s all gravity and carefully laid out to use gravity.

Greg

#25

The septic field is 20 feet underground, according to the original owner.

#26

Welcome Mitch !

#27

Ahh, ok that makes sense, but wow what a lot of work to put it 20 feet down, is the hill something he would have to have put back? Wonder why he had to put 20 feet of dirt back…

Thanks for answering, just did not make sense at first.

Greg

#28

If the septic tank is 20 feet underground, couldnt you just move some of the dirt from the high area to the lower area to “kill” a lot of the height diifference issues? Looks like you have pretty easy access for a small tractor to come in and move the dirt around without collapsing any of the septic field. Peeling off a couple of feet and moving it to the low side would give you a better chance of making the most of your area.

#29

Took the words out of my mouth! That’s why I asked if you had to put back the hill… clearly a bunch of soil had to be removed to make a septic system “field”, they could not have trenched 20 feet down…

Greg

#30

The desert will present you with a number of challenges.

I am on the other end of your desert. We are on the California end!

Make sure your buildings are well tied down!

Welcome aboard!

#31

i wish i wouldn’t get two copies of my notes part of the time!

#32

I’m having second thoughts about 1:32 scale; it’s so hard to find rolling stock in that scale. 1/29 seems a lot more common. And it’s only 10% different from 1:32, so with 1/29 a standard gauge track is only six scale inches narrower than it ought to be. I guess that isn’t much of a difference.

I’m anal enough I want everything to be one scale.

Another question about switches: I will have at least two loops where the switch has to be one way for the train to enter the loop, and then has to be switched the other way as the train loops around and comes back over the switch. I’d like that to be done automatically. I read about magnetically activated switches; are you guys using those?

#33

I use a simple spring switch to either; hold and allow pass through or a flop over setting that changes the direction of travel. The only caveat is light leading trucks need extra weight to move the points vs the points moving the truck!

DCC guys have an automatic throw, but I’m not the one to talk about it.

Look to USA trains as they are still active and ebay for used Aristo.

Caution: USA has some 1:24 scale cars in their American series and billboard reefers.

So Did Aristo with their Classic line.

Good Luck,