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 Posted - October 02 2021 : 8:25:36 PM
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Henley, in OO, may be getting an L. The 4x8 from Armadilloville is being pressed into service.
The general idea is to extend the outer line onto a continuous loop that will reconnect it back to
the outer main line. A double slip switch might be used to alternate the direction back onto the
loop to either clockwise or counterclockwise. The 4 foot reach, proximal to the original 4x8 will
be carved out, allowing a two foot reach to all parts of the L, Not being a great fan of DCC,
the extra footage will be wired as a separate circuit to permit two train operation on the new
extension. A third point-to-point branch is being considered to intersect with the new main line
extension. I am considering putting in a narrow gauge shuttle, working of Bachmann's Trolley
Automatic Reversing Set.
Not being CAD literate, I eyeball things, then throw down track and tweak to fit.
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Posted - December 04 2021 : 7:43:16 PM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BPmMjtho5s
Different Day, Same Monster. Phun with Jouef.
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Posted - December 04 2021 : 8:44:59 PM
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Great Jeff.
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Posted - December 07 2021 : 12:19:16 AM
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This is one idea I am thinking about. What appeals to me is the relative complexity within a simplistic
format. The main drawback is being 8' x 6'. That makes for an average reach of 3', which is pushing
the limits. Putting in an access hatch is not something I want to even consider, crawling around on
cement is for the younger generation. I've done my share.
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Posted - December 07 2021 : 9:05:49 PM
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Cool trackplan, Chops. But accessing the center of the layout for scenery or updates will be challenging....like you mentioned - unless you use a stepladder of some sort.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Posted - December 08 2021 : 1:05:36 PM
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Yeah, I think you're right: step ladder.
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Posted - December 08 2021 : 10:08:18 PM
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Soviet Memories II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R5ZXEf3Gwc
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Posted - December 09 2021 : 09:05:38 AM
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quote:Soviet Memories II
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â December 08 2021Â :Â 10:08:18 PM
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I got a kick out of the big, blank, gray buildings so stereotypical of the workers' paradise and the Orwellian references like the Ministry of Truth.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - December 09 2021 : 9:17:56 PM
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This video was awesome! The pictures and descriptions were too good. 
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Posted - December 10 2021 : 06:28:53 AM
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I kicked the hornet's nest with that one, got that vid booted out of two other Forums
right quick. Surprised anyone was paying attention.  Going to some more
Orwellian vids, but will have to dial it back.
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Posted - December 11 2021 : 05:24:01 AM
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So, a couple of years ago, Ben posts this British Rails advertisement. I laughed unto tears, as did a great many Britons, I suspect. The ad was so popular, that they actually kept the diesel unit in the police livery used by the advertisement, for some years, running freight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN7naLLeB0A
Then, somewhere I heard that there was a version of this:
Which turned out to be by Lima, now part of Hornby, as a limited run. After several years finally tracked one down
and this is my rendition of the brilliant advertisement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BPmMjtho5s
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 Posted - December 11 2021 : 1:22:44 PM
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yeah I WANT ONE!
so jelly-oh-so now
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Posted - December 11 2021 : 11:49:04 PM
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"Yeah I WANT ONE!
so jelly-oh-so now "
Originally posted by microbusss on December 11 2021.
Which one Ben? The train model or the lady model at the end of the commercial.
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Posted - December 12 2021 : 11:09:36 AM
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quote:"Yeah I WANT ONE!
so jelly-oh-so now "
Originally posted by microbusss on December 11 2021.
Which one Ben? The train model or the lady model at the end of the commercial.
Originally posted by wks - December 11 2021 : 11:49:04 PM
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the Police loco!! *Grabby Paws!*
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Posted - December 12 2021 : 11:15:36 PM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19XN19fm0rU
Ball Bearing Production is Up! The former USSR was constantly throwing around these kind of
statements, and if you read a paper or watched the news, it was almost all this sort of stuff day in and
day out.
This video is not political. I am merely stitching together some imagery from patches of memories of 1964.
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 08:41:32 AM
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Back in the old Soviet days, I read an article about model railroaders in Russia. One thing mentioned was that it was illegal to photograph railroads, so everything had to be modeled from memory. So comrade, how did you get these pictures?!
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 09:54:19 AM
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| Wow, that I did not know, but sure sounds like the good old USSR.
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 8:17:00 PM
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Visit CCCP by Rail!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SChlkXBhY0
I am having too much phun with this.
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 9:11:29 PM
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Great train action, Chops.
How did Nessie end up in the USSR?
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 9:55:24 PM
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If you would truly understand the Russians you must first read their great literature. This is a bit of a long read but one of my favorite short stories. It could be a lampoon of so many aspects of life in most any place and time.
http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/3367/
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - December 13 2021 : 11:23:43 PM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SChlkXBhY0
[b]Visit the CCCP by Rail![b]
Thanks, Shag, I'll give it a go. I will say this about the Russians: they are one tough breed.
Their collective sacrifice in WWII cannot be understated.
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Posted - January 01 2022 : 08:31:44 AM
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Fly in the Ointment
Every model railway has its glitches, no matter how carefully tuned...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZXS2CHkLfw
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 Posted - January 01 2022 : 10:21:03 AM
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Nice to see the sunlight shine on your layout Jeff.
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Posted - January 17 2022 : 05:40:56 AM
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Economy Today: An imaginary Soviet film trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5w4d-Hlc9M
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Posted - March 20 2022 : 2:50:13 PM
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Henley's Big Expansion
The old Henley, or Ye Olde Henley, if ye prefer, is the 4x8 covered with the blue tarp in the center.
Having discovered how useful Bachmann EZ track is, I went from a modest expansion of maybe
two feet by eight feet to adding on two 4x8's. The two boot legs will feature double track that will
fold over on themselves to reconnect to Henley proper. Additionally, a point-to-point branch line
using the excellent Bachmann automatic reversing track is planned. If I can relay the wiring in
such a way, the branch will cross the mains at different points, requiring additional attention from the
operators.
Edited by - Chops124 on March 20 2022 5:36:38 PM
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Posted - March 20 2022 : 10:45:43 PM
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Looks like an interesting plan there, Chops. Good luck!
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Posted - March 21 2022 : 4:18:49 PM
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Will you be adding those beautiful stone viaducts and tunnels so common in England?
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Posted - March 21 2022 : 7:48:10 PM
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You read my mind, Jward. I am always amazed when I see British modellers
do that. I need to either get low and have the rail line get on top, or gain
elevation and climb up to it. I just can't see a way in.
Any suggestions?
Edited by - Chops124 on March 22 2022 12:20:10 AM
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Posted - March 22 2022 : 7:00:44 PM
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Do what I do. Add a grade to the layout. It's much easier to cut out and elevate the plywood above the benchwork than it is to modify the benchwork so you can drop a section of plywood to keep the track level. I would keep the grade under 2% given the small steam locomotives you are using. You'll be using EZ track right? That equates to a rise of about 3/16" per track section.
What you do is cut the strip of plywood where you want to elevate the track, parallel to the track on both sides. Then you use wood blocks fastened to the table joists to push up the plywood and track from beneath the layout. Use C clamps to hold the blocks in place temporarily while you adjust the grade so your locomotives can pull their trains up the grade, then when you are satisfied permanently fasten the blocks to the joists with wood screws.
It sounds harder to do than it actually is. The technique is described in detail in such books as "The HO Railroad That Grows," or any of the Atlas layout plan books.
Once you gain enough elevation you can use the stone viaduct kits from Faller. Or you can do as a good friend of mine does and cast one out of plaster. He uses a plywood base and a form made out of legos which are watertight. The arches are made from sections of old cardboard tubes cut to fit in the forms. Plaster is poured into the forms and once it sets you have an arch viaduct. The only tedious part to his method is hand carving all the stonework.
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Posted - March 22 2022 : 7:16:46 PM
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Yes, that reminds me: no grades. I have a couple of single driver
steamers that won't go up any grade at all.
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Posted - March 22 2022 : 9:54:49 PM
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With no grade allowed, the only way left to cross one track above another is to just have a layout on two separate levels.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - March 22 2022 : 11:02:32 PM
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| You could have a level line and one that climbs. Smaller engines like the singles would use the low grade route, while heavier engines would use the high line. The two lines would join outside the main station.
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Posted - March 27 2022 : 12:08:19 AM
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That is an interesting thought, JWard. This evening I struggled to get the baseboards up on the tables
and up on the concrete blocks to align all the heights as near to exact as I could.
The thing with a high line is that I have planned a complex junction consisting of 4 level diamonds
on the right, and four on the left. That, and I run a number of passenger trains, which is a lot more
done in the UK than in the US, and this may cause challenges for which I care not to trouble shoot.
But I need to take your idea and dwell on it, as sometimes the answer reveals itself, and viaducts
are of great fascination.
I tried downloading AnyRail to my work lap top, and it went in easily enough, unlike this desk top that
I am now working on. The vexing problem is that I cannot, not, not, not find my way into the index page
that allows one to set up the initial parameters. Probably something stupidly obvious, but for love or
money I cannot see it. Will need to take some photos of what I am seeing and get some advice, that way.
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Posted - March 27 2022 : 10:48:14 PM
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I am not sure what index page you're looking for. I never used one when I set mine up. I opened the anyrail program, clicked on "new" which opens a new layout plan. You then use settings to specify metric or English measurement, height and width of layout plan, and any other parameters you want. When you're done there, select "track libraries" to find the brand of track you want to use. They're sorted by scale.
This brings up an idea I had. If a few of us are using the same program to design layouts, we could have a forum where we could post and exchange layout files. You could literally take somebody else's layout plan, add your own ideas, and tweak it to fit your needs. I'd then hope you'd share the revised plan with the rest of the group. It could be a huge source of inspiration like the track plan database on the Model Railroader website. Except that in ours, all plans could be downloaded and edited by the users.
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Posted - March 29 2022 : 1:03:42 PM
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Another load of funny and interesting videos. Thanks for sharing.
I don't take myself seriously, so I apologize if you do.
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Posted - March 29 2022 : 4:02:10 PM
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Thanks, OB! I can't wait to see what you are running. If you have any questions about posting images, please give me a shout. Main thing is to not have more than 1000 pixels horizontally and no special characters in the file name, like #$@% etc.
JWard, it is probably some simple fact staring me in the face that is crippling my efforts to move forward on this
project. I put a shout out to another Forum, and got a response back within hours. That is great for me, because
I regard computers as a necessary evil, certainly they allow me publish my goofy little videos, but as entertainment value I really hate them. So, this guy stepped up and just pounded it out in no time. This is going to be the mainoutline.
I'm not too keen on putting in a fiddle yard, as I really only have one Peckett that is geared low enough to do the job, which might be enough. Also, British couplers, NEM and buffer and hooks are a bit awkward. I will be looking at installing a four track passenger terminus, glass canopy type affair, like Victoria Station.
Also in the works is a meandering branch line that will be point-to-point and cut across the landscape to eventually feed into the Grand Concourse. Maybe the occasional spur, here or there, to absorb idle goods wagons. Then again, that does beg a fiddle yard.
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Posted - March 30 2022 : 09:34:08 AM
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Great track plan with a lot of very dangerous spots.
It will be funny to see the trains running on your layout.
I don't take myself seriously, so I apologize if you do.
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Posted - April 24 2022 : 3:08:58 PM
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The Bachmann EZ track came in, all $800 of it. I pulled up every bit of the equally expensive
Hornby OO track and sold it for pennies to a guy in the Shetland Islands after I discovered that
the EZ stuff works stupendously better for all vintages of my British OO.
Doesn't look like $800, I wonder if they got my order right? Well, we shall see. Couldn't get it
all from one place, had to shop eBay and different suppliers to assemble all the required track.
Am thinking that one section of the make over I will leave a little generic, so I can swap structures
in and out from New Armadilloville and from the Soviet Bleeper layout.
All my Soviet stuff was shot before the Ukraine war crime. One thing is for sure: the Russkies, in light of
the Mass Murderer Putin, have not changed their tune a bit since the age of Stalin. He would make Stalin
proud. Hitler, too. And every other Tin Pot dictator that ever soiled the planet. (Sorry about that,
just can't put a lid on it).
Edited by - Chops124 on April 24 2022 3:11:25 PM
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Posted - April 24 2022 : 3:12:40 PM
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At least Henley will get some new track. Looked great before but change is inevitable.
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Posted - May 04 2022 : 05:01:57 AM
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Thank you for your vote of support for the old Henley, WKS. It could be a nightmare trying to week out
little defects in track work that led to big operational problems. You run a lot of EZ track, and your trains
run pretty good!!
The central design element will likely remain unchanged, but now have a lot more real estate to add and
subtract things to, particularly when it comes to filming new videos.
Things are coming along nicely. Sold all my Hornby track to some guy in the Shetland Islands and gave
away all my old Atlas track to Joel, whom TheSiding might remember from the days when I was making
model train donations to young members at the model train club. Joel is 16 now, double the height I last
knew him and still passionate about trains and model trains.
A couple of design elements:
1. No turnouts, yet. Eventually, maybe. Bachmann turnouts have a sketch reputation for starters, though I think this can be traced to a floating guiderail from improperly fastened rivets. I'll throw myself off that bridge when I come to it.
2. Convential wisdom is the more complex a design, and the more turnouts, the more interesting it is to run. From the club's layout I gradually learned that too many turnouts leads to too many derailments and too many electrical issues and can be so confusing that people just end up safely running in giant circles, which is a little tedious, sooner or later.
Thus, there are two junctions composed of a total of eight sixty degree crossings. This means two operational main lines will need to clear the junctions with the operators paying attention to a. priority of his train, b. speed of his train, c. and where he needs to be to avoid a delay, or worse, a collision. This is going to keep it interesting.
3. I don't care for carpentry. Some people do and are quite good at it. For me, I never liked it, and my results were OK, but not show stoppers, other times I got sagging and warping that made reliability very hard. So, with this, I got a couple of 3' x 6' folding tables and tossed 3/4" plywood slabs on top. That's it. Doneski.
The EZ roadbed absorbs all but the worst of variances in surface.
This layout will feature trains of differing vintages, but mainly, what I now know is that they will all run smoothly and strong without annoying derailments (OK so I stink at laying track) and peculiar stalling (my track is clean, but little warps cause big gaps in conductivity). It is the reliability factor that allows me to move forward with this Big Enchilada.
4. I don't enjoy wiring, either. Two leads for the entire set up. For now. That's it. Doneski.
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Posted - May 04 2022 : 06:09:27 AM
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| I'll follow your work with a great interest. You can be sure about that !
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Posted - May 04 2022 : 7:09:54 PM
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Put in the Golden Spike today. After all was said and done, I only ended up short two nine inch straights and
two fitters, all of which I was able to get from spares.
The area on the right will make for a useful passenger station and perhaps a goods yard, all of which will be in very accessible. No more reaching or scampering to throw turnouts. The low speed shunting spurs should be fine for the Bachmann #4's.
Also yet to come is a single branch line, point to point, that will bisect all the mains from one end to another,
using the Bachmann Auto Reversing track. That stuff works really, really well. A small RDC will perambulate back and forth, just enough to screw up through traffic on the mains. This will require at least another four crossings if I do it like that, or maybe just separate it from the mains, anyways. Got plenty there to keep me and another engineer very busy.
The wiring for this is gong to be the epitome of simple. Two short feeder wires to two terminal tracks, period.
Not going to do any grades, either. For one thing, I've got a couple of single wheelers that can barely drag three coaches on the flats, let along any gradient. Second, grades use up a lot of real estate. Three, if not done perfectly, grades cause a lot of derailments.
At the very, very most I might put in a viaduct along the back wall to run the branch line, but no rush on that.
To secure the roadbed to the baseboard? Nothing. Experience with Jimmy's layout demonstrated that not only is this unnecessary, it can create all kinds of surprising problems, such as nail heads working themselves up and fouling couplers. No thanks. The track has a certain heft to it, so nailing stuff down is not called for.
Edited by - Chops124 on May 04 2022 7:14:16 PM
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Posted - May 04 2022 : 8:27:23 PM
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Looks incredible, Chops! I can't wait to see what scenery goes on the other parts of the "new" Henley.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/rpmodelrailroads
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Posted - May 05 2022 : 02:35:06 AM
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| Well done ! I'll follow this thread with a great interest.
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Posted - May 05 2022 : 04:09:31 AM
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Initial Firing
I often wondered how, in the days when steam locomotion was in its infancy, how did a prototype boiler get tested? In my mind's eye I would imagine some designers saying among themselves," 'ello, 'e looks stupid enough. Oy! You there! Chops! Go put one some coke on yon firebox whilst we stand o'er 'ere!"
Come to find out that the Rocket, for one, was tested using hydrostatic pressure. I had not guessed that these early designers, like Stephenson, had pumps strong enough, nor gauges accurate enough, to pump cold water under pressure into a boiler and measure it in psi. They did. So, they would pump up a new boiler, never tried or tested before, with cold water and watch for where it leaked, patched it up or reinforced it.
So accurate was their ability to measure things, that Stephenson, Jr. wrote to his father, in the days leading up to the Rainhill Trials, that the back boiler was bulging at an alarming 3/8th of an inch, and what might they do to prevent it from doing so, and possibly exploding? Stephenson, Sr., a man barely able to write his own name, dictated back to add stay bolts the length of the boiler, and so it was fixed. This in an age when life traveled at the speed of horse and sail.
So, having added a total of one feeder wire per main, period, I lit it up and held my breath. Nothing. I had forgotten to switch the power pack on.
Switching it on, nothing. Gave the locomotive a small nudge, and off she went, a bit herky-jerky, in the manner of dirty track. But around she went the entire circuit and neither stalled or derailed at all, gliding over the diamonds like and ice skater.
Then repeated the performance for the second main line, no issues save dirty track, but it never stalled and never derailed.
First surprise came in that the outer line, which is laid to a 22 inch radius, would be become the inner line, before re-emerging as the outer line gain, which initially made me wonder if I had somehow contrived to mislay the track. No, it just does that. Having tested my long passenger coaches on Jimmy's 18 inch radii, I have no fear that it will run perfectly well.
The next run was using a double headed track cleaner car, one to lay down Wahl's Hair Clipper Oil, and the trailing car to wipe off the excess. Again, no problem, and these cars love to derail and foul because of the cleaning pads.
Well, enough for one night. Take a siesta and have at it again in the morning.
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Posted - May 06 2022 : 06:04:42 AM
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| Could you post a video of the first train that ran on your layout ? It would surely be greatly appreciated.
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Posted - May 06 2022 : 10:43:28 AM
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| Yes, want to get it right first. The main issue I am having is adjusting the baseboard heights between the connecting slabs, a matter of millimeters, which has proven more mettlesome than I would have guessed. Progress is being made, however, and when you move one thing, another changes, so I have to get back in and reset some track.
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Posted - May 06 2022 : 11:39:37 AM
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| Business as usual !
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Posted - May 07 2022 : 7:23:28 PM
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quote:Yes, want to get it right first. The main issue I am having is adjusting the baseboard heights between the connecting slabs, a matter of millimeters, which has proven more mettlesome than I would have guessed. Progress is being made, however, and when you move one thing, another changes, so I have to get back in and reset some track.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â May 06 2022Â :Â 10:43:28 AM
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Have you considered the use of splice plates under the track to ensure things line up correctly? You'd take a piece of plywood or board about 6" long and screw it to the underside of the plywood where it joins another section. The splice should be 3" under one sheet and 3" under the other. If done correctly, it will even out the height between the two sheets, keep them from shifting position, and provide a solid connection between the two sheets. I use splice plates all the time in my layout construction.
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Posted - May 10 2022 : 03:06:22 AM
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A splice plate might not be a bad idea. Could also use a door hinge. At the moment, the sheer weight of the thing seems pretty reliable. I was able to fix my issue of baseboard leveling by tapping in a small wedge of scrap plywood. Voila, it worked perfectly! One and done. That's my style. I use a broad brush, much of the time, and shoot from the hip almost always. This is contrarian to best practices of model railroading, but it works for me.
Even the track is heavy. I used a few track spikes to even out some critical spots to good effect, but mostly it is unspiked and there doesn't seem to be a need for it.
The video quality is poor; the smart phone I use exclusively for videos kept overheating, and there is a lot of clutter to be cleaned up. Many of the original Henley structures got pushed out of the way, and they will be reassembled much like before, but with the exception that any turnouts are going to be in very easy reach. None of this having to run around the tables to throw a switch; I am done with that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKdlCqY7EvQ
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