Large Scale Central

Vic's Build, looks like we're going to need a bigger pizza

Okay I’m in, better late than never. I will be expanding the Barrel of Fun planter pizza layout from it’s current 3’ pizza to a full R1 circle of track. This will involve adding outrigger extension arms and a new deck for the track. The old 3’ circle will be tiled over eventually but won’t be a part of the challenge. The reason why I am expanding it it two fold. One:Trains, I have a few bashes that absolutely will not run over any turnout. It’s because they were bashed from commercial plastic models and the flanges just refuse to work with my turnouts, they also don’t run on the current 3’ circle, so I need something to run them on. The other reason, Plants, the stuff in the planter is growing and spreading and soon will block passage on the 3’ circle. I don’t want to trim them excessively and I’m simply too lazy to transplant them. So that’s it. Already measured, made sure I have the lumber, had to buy some stain. So 1st up will be measuring and cutting. Short daylight hours means mostly weekend work but we’ll see. Obligatory not quite a napkin drawing:

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Wow there is building something for the right of way and then there is building an entirely new right of way. Glad you are in Vic.

Thanks Devon, this was supposed to be something I was going to work on over my Christmas/New Years break, got just about everything ready then it rained for the entire week. So that delay actually favored me by having something for the challenge.

I take it tossing in a few straight sections of track is out of the question…

I suppose there IS precedent for that…

Always great to see your posts, Vic.

Hi Tim, yep circle only.
Started today, got the arm extensions cut, and started staining before the light went.

As Cliff proves, once again there is a prototype for everything. . .even oval pizza.

Last night’s work only now I can see it :crazy_face:. I’m quite pleased with the stain I finally used. Given the weathering of the original barrel layout I needed to “pre-age” the new wood. I originally tried a stain call Colonial Grey, but it made the wood look like concrete. So I dug into my cabinet and found a can of old stain that I remembered made wood look weathered. The color is called Jacobean, and it does a band up job making new wood look old and decrepit. Also you can see how the track looks. It will have 1x6 spanning under the track. The weather here is dry enough the wood should be stable for a long time.

That stain really does look good. I would have suggested a technique I just learned about using steel wool rusted in vinegar, but no need that came out nice.

I like your BBQ

Thanks Devon. In other news I’m an idiot. Proof geometry isn’t my best subject, I cut and laid out the board based on my estimates of how and where to place the track support boards and then I put the track on and oops! the outside rail hangs over the edge too much so I have to use the spare 8 foot 1x6, I’m going to have to buy at least one more 6 foot 1x6 to make up adding another set of boards the push out the track support boards. On the plus side the overlaying 1x6s will make for an extremely stable and level base. So a couple of unplanned expenses, 1) $5 for the stain that turned out to be useless, and another $5 for the extra 1x6.

Looks like an Amtrak build to me?

Rooster, yeah fun isn’t it. Its all metal, found it at a Home Goods store. I’ve been using it mostly as a chimenea firepit.

I’m just crazy…I ALWAYS thought that the quote had to deal with a boat! Hehe…what do I know? :innocent:

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Yeah Vic, that Barbie Winnebago fire pit looks really cool!

Great to see your new pizza in the works… Do you have a photo album somewhere of all the ones you’ve made?

Hi Cliff, yeah. Here, or at least until we lost the albums and the freight shed. I reconstructed some of my old threads since the changeover, but not all of them.

Update, working on the additional level of 1x6s for the wider track platform. Looks like most track upgrades will be done by the end of this weekend, so I’m going to keep going and begin adding tile to the old track circle. I dry laid out some old 1x1 tiles I salvaged out of the basement that had been down since Roosevelt was president, whether Franklin or Teddy I can’t say. House is old enough for either. But they look good and I have a bucket full of them. Pics this weekend.

Great work on the Pizza, but I’m with Rooster. That Grill is way cool!!!

Weekend progress, tile caulking is slow and tedious but I’m using tile caulk instead of sand grout because of it’s outside exposure, grout would eventually crack and deteriorate. No work today due to unexpected rain. To bad I really need the distraction. This morning I had to take our semi-feral cat to the vet to cross the rainbow bridge due to an ongoing illness. So I could really use something to do.

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