Central Carolina Southbound v2.0

Misc. Scenery

2011-03-23T09:14:00.001-04:00

Okay, last post and I'll be all caught up. After finishing the High Point expansion (well almost finished), I moved on to some other scenery. There were 2 areas that I had big plans for : Landis and Reidsville. Both were to be a city block full of downtown buildings. However, my will to make said buildings has crumbled. It just seems like I never am in the mood for building buildings.

So, I planted a number of house kits and prefabs I had to turn the cityscapes into neighborhoods. Sorry maybe next time.

Expanding NS High Point Yard

2011-03-16T08:54:00.001-04:00

Immediately after the 03/05 session, i started tearing apart the NS High Point Yard. It was obvious that the yard was just too small to be functional. I had to sacrifice the High Point Depot, but I'd rather make it workable than just a nice static display.

You can see in the first picture the left end of the old ladder has been removed and the start of the depot.

I extended all the yard tracks and had to think about how the 2 trains that would be staged there could access the lead to the M-Line. that disappears to the left rear of the second pic. I extended the old Engine track to what will become Thomas Bus. I don't think they actually get deliveries by train, but what the heck.

I didn't see any use in rejoining the mainline here and have the "too-short" Jamestown siding 3 feet away, so I killed the proverbial two birds by joining the yard track to the Jamestown siding to make a 12' long Industrial siding.

It should hold any train on the layout if needed. I still have room for the actual High Point Depot platform and can maybe add the retaining walls to give it more of the Depot feel.

03/05 Ops Session

2011-03-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

I managed to get a couple of decent pics from the Ops session. They are a bit hard to take because all the black seems to just suck up all the light and cause blurry pics.

New Scenery

2011-02-06T13:07:00.002-05:00

While I was working on the Beltway extension, I added a farmhouse and scenery to the curve between Bowers and Lake.

Nothing New (Almost)

2011-01-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

After the end of the NC Rail Run in September, I closed the doors on the train room and pretty much did nothing except for the November and January Ops sessions. I then got the idea to expand the area over Charlotte Yard. I added onto the benchwork there and expanded the Thomasville Beltway.

There will be 2 sections to the Beltway track, one here and the other on the opposite side of the pit.

Buildings At Speed Rail Industrial

2010-09-02T14:12:00.007-04:00

I know, I know, months between posts is not exactly an up-to-date blog. Have spent a good part of 3 months down with my back. Was diagnosed with 3, yes 3, herniated discs in my lower back (in addition to the one in my neck).

I did manage to get some scenery and buildings done around Speed Rail. One represents Airgas and the other Southeastern Packaging.

Maybelle Scenery

2010-05-12T22:09:00.002-04:00

I've been working on the scenery around the old Maybelle Bulk Transfer plant on South main Street in Lexington. I know they do some work with HFCS which is affiliated with Corn Products in Winston Salem. HFCS stands for High Fructose Corn Syrup, used in colas and other products as sweeteners.

Linwood Hump Yard

2010-05-12T21:55:00.002-04:00

Well, it's only been 4 months since my last post....... So, in that time I have participated in the first NC NScale Rail Run. We had participants from as far away as Utah. We had a good session and I think everyone was pleased with the layout. Two weeks after that was my normal March Ops Session. For that, I managed to install a Team Digital SMD82 which allows you to join several turnouts together into an assigned route. This way, you can push 1 button and 3 to 4 Tortoises will move together.

South Fork Viaduct

2010-01-23T12:12:00.001-05:00

I worked this week on the Winston Salem Southbound's South Fork Viaduct. Although not exactly to scale, and the ground is around it is really mostly grassy, I am pretty happy with it so far.

Added Yard

2010-01-18T12:03:00.002-05:00

Got a good bit accomplished this week. I finished up the small "yard" I added on the HPT&D. It's for storage of the WSS/HPT&D turns. Found out as we had Ops sessions that there wasn't enough room. If you want to find the holes in your layout plan, just have a couple of Ops sessions. That'll do it.

I also pulled out the turnouts on 2 back to back passing sidings making it 1 long one. Stupid idea from the beginning. While I was there, I finished some of the wooded area.

I was cleaning up from the yard addition on the upper level and went ahead and added some scenery on the lower level below it.

NC NScale Rail Run

2010-01-13T16:54:00.004-05:00

I've been asked to participate in the first ever NScale only NC Rail Run. Ok, so what's a Rail Run. It a whole weekend of Ops sessions back to back. In the past, it has included both N and HO. Michael Pennie had the bright idea to attempt using only NScale layouts and is putting the whole thing together.

The layouts for this event are:
Michael Pennie's Penn Central
Scott Teague's NS Pocahontas Division
Kevin Beck's Central Carolina Southbound
Marcus Neubacher's Charleston, Roanoke & Eastern
Dave Koss' Atlantic Coast Line Spartanburg Division

Mike's Penn Central was in Great Model Railroads 2007, and Scott was on the cover of NScale and also NScale Railroading.

It may make for a long post, but I wanted to include the layout descriptions.

Michael Pennie's Penn Central
It's June, 1970, and business is booming. The Penn Central railroad, desperate for a way to bypass the clogged Northeast corridor, has merged it's 97% owned Lehigh Valley into the fold.

Among other things, this has resulted in the newly formed Lehigh and Delaware division of the Penn Central Railroad. It's a mix of Penn Central and Lehigh Valley tracks, running Northwest from Philadelphia, PA to Buffalo, NY.

Integration is just starting, but several high priority PC trains are already running on ex LV tracks.

However, most trains, both PC and LV, are still running as they have in the past. The Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh and Hudson River still have track rights over much of the LV mainline. There is still a fair amount of CNJ traffic.

The layout is an N scale layout, more or less filling an irregularly shaped basement about 1100 square feet in size. It is complete as to track and wiring. Scenery is about 80% done. It is a single level design, with no duck-unders. The layout is point to point, with staging yards at each end.

The longest mainline run is about 10 miles, but only a few trains make the whole run. About 1/3 of the mainline is single track, with the rest double track.

Two new branch lines are in process, one being the Hazleton coal branch and the other being the Easton & Northern branch, which handles general merchandise traffic. Both branches are about 2 miles long.

Scott Teague's NS Pocahontas
The Norfolk Southern Pocahontas division fills a basement space of 17 ½’ by 42 ‘, and has its track and scenery complete.

Based in the mountains of West Virginia, there is also lots of coal traffic. If locals are your interest, the railroad has plenty of these as well. Scott has taken a freelance approach to the area, modeling the scenery and general feel of the area, but adding industries as needed to increase operating interest.

The lower level is modern class 1 railroading, with plenty of coal, auto rack and piggyback traffic. The upper level is an extensive coal branch just over 6 miles long. Many people spend an entire operating sessions on the branch!

On the Pocahontas division, it’s always today. Scott tries to keep the locomotives and rolling stock up to date. As the Norfolk Southern retires or adds equipment, so does Scott.

Digitrax DCC – radio or plug in. Magnetic dispatcher panel. FRS radio. Waybill on car.

For more information on this layout, see the March – April 2006 issue of N scale Railroading or Great Model Railroads 2004.

Kevin Beck's CCSB
The N-Scale Central Carolina Southbound (CCSB) is 3 railroads on 2 layouts in 1 building. The overall size is 18' x 48' with separate Dispatcher and Trainmaster's office. Over 900' of track work has been laid and ballasted with scenery about 50% completed. Controls are Digitrax with Radio, IR and wired jacks. The 200+ turnouts are controlled locally by ground throws with slow-motion machines on hard to reach spots and twin coils in the Spencer Hump Yard. Track control is by verbal warrant with FRS radio and operators must be familiar with changing channels on the fly.

An around the walls point-to-point nolix represents the Norfolk Southern from Danville, VA to Charlotte, NC with staging yards at both ends. Set as the modern era, about 1/3 of the schedule are thru trains of intermodals, auto racks and Roadrailers. Another 1/3 are the mid-layout crew changes at Linwood Yard and inbounds to Linwood. There are a number of special trains: CSX reroutes, a steam excursion, a high and wide, and several heritage trains.

The 5 NS locals are switched with 4-cycle waybills and all pass thru the working hump yard in Linwood. The 27 foot long yard includes a 4 track Receiving Yard, 4 track Forwarding Yard, 8 track Class Yard, and 3 track Cleanout Yard.

The Yard crew must hump inbound/outbound locals, oversee crew changes and prepare outbound locals and returns to staging. Dispatchers are taxed with navigating 3 areas of single track as does the current NS.

A new addition adds the NS M-Line from High Point to Asheboro, and another adds the Thomasville Beltway.

The Winston Salem Southbound (WSS) and the High Point, Thomasville and Denton (HPT&D) are represented on a completely independent double decked island. A 5-turn enclosed helix carries the track to the upper level with CCD camera monitoring the loops. Here, operators enjoy dark territory as they run one of the 2 locals or 2 interchange trains own their own. All WSS/HPT&D cars are controlled by 4-cycle waybills.

Marcus Neubacher's CR&E
The Charleston, Roanoke & Eastern Railway is an operations oriented N Scale model railroad depicting a fictitious railroad line between Charleston, WV, and Danville, VA.

The concept of the CR&E is that of a coal hauling bridge route connecting the midwest and the southeast.

Drawing influences from actual railroads such as the Clinchfield, the Southern Railway, and the Norfolk & Western, the railroad has developed its own operating character. Model railroad influences include W. Allen McClelland’s Virginian & Ohio, Tony Koester’s Allegheny Midland, and Eric Brooman’s Utah Belt, among others.

The railroad is operated by Norfolk Southern as their CR&E Division. Despite efforts by NS to merge the CR&E into its neighboring Pocahontas and Virginia Divisions, the railroad retains just a bit of its former identity by still being operated as a separate division.

The modeled portion of the CR&E represents the railroad between Lewisburg, WV, and Roanoke, VA.

This is the west end of the railroad’s former Ridge Division, now a portion of NS’s Lewisburg-Dundee District of the CR&E Division.

The CR&E is a double-deck N Scale model railroad occupying a 16X16 foot room. The railroad is an around-the-walls linear design with a center L-shaped peninsula that connects the two levels of the railroad.

The CR&E’s route runs from Charleston, WV, to Danville, VA, via Roanoke, VA. The modeled portion represents the railroad between Lewisburg, WV, and Roanoke, VA.

Three staging yards, plus several other staging tracks on branch lines, represent connections to the outside world.

The West Yard at Lewisburg is the staging yard for traffic to and from Charleston and other points west. The Roanoke staging yard represents eastern NS destinations such as Roanoke, Hagerstown, and Linwood. The Salem staging yard is on CSX’s route the runs parallel to a portion of the CR&E and represents CSX destinations south of Salem on friend Bruce Faulkner’s CSX Shenandoah Division.

A classification yard is located at Lewisburg, the west end of the modeled portion of the railroad.The railroad also features several industries for local switching.

The railroad is single track with passing sidings located at Lewisburg (two main tracks), Glace, Paint Bank, New Castle, and Abbott.

This is the second version of the CR&E, with construction of Phase 1 beginning in early 2009. There is plenty of operating to be done, but no scenery yet.

Digitrax DCC. FRS radio with verbal block authority. Car cards. Fast clock.

Dave Koss' ACL Spartanburg
N-scale layout based on a semi - fictitious route between Wilmington, NC and Spartanburg, SC. At Spartanburg, the railroad interchanges with the Clinchfield which runs north into Virginia/Kentucky.

Layout is a classic point to point with one terminal set at Wilmington and the other terminal at Spartanburg. Track runs through a number of small towns with small sidings and lots of switching. A small classification yard is located at Laurinburg.

Stations along the line include (running east to west): Wilmington, Clarkton (Pulpwood), Pembroke (Auto parts), Laurinburg, Hamlet (Scrap metal/feed stock), Rockingham (Propane/lumber), Wadesboro (Grain), Monroe (furniture), Rock Hill (Gravel/stone), Spartanburg East, Spartanburg, Clinchfield Subdivision, Spartanburg, Spartanburg North

Spruce Pine (Lumber), Kingsport (cement), St. Paul’s (coal)

Layout is under construction with essentially all of the track work completed and trains running. The control system is DCC (Digitrax) radio throttles. Track system is Atlas Code 55 sectional track.

Main line run is approximately 125 ft with over 70 turnouts and 16 sidings. The railroad operates to move freight from the Midwest and South (via Spartanburg) to the port at Wilmington, NC and to move merchandise from outside the US to Atlanta, GA and Cincinnati, OH. Industries along the line include grain/tobacco, furniture, forest products, and auto parts. Coal from Kentucky and Virginia arrives at Spartanburg via the Clinchfield to be transported to Wilmington for export.

Jan 2010 Ops Session

2010-01-13T15:01:00.002-05:00

Had our bi-monthly Ops Session with the largest crowd yet, 19. We ran 51 trains with a minimal number of mechanical problems. Cleaning wheels on the locos needs to be done every 6 months.

Right after I got everything restaged, I started on some rework on the WSS/HPT&D island. (See related post).

I think the high for the day was 33. Around Christmas it was obvious that it would be cold and there needed to be heat in the Dispatcher's Office. We had a 20,000 BTU heater that was used in the basement and I thought it would be sufficient. Because the ceiling was open to the 2nd floor, all the heat just went straight up.

I had just one week to get a ceiling in the office. So, after some insulation I pondered what I could put up quickly and by myself. The solution was to use the 3/16" primed masonite like was used on the skyboards in the layout room.

After it was in, there was still some cold coming up thru the floor, so I added a solid OSB floor to insulate it. Some carpet later should make it even more comfortable.

The heater was able to warm the office....at least until the propane ran out. I had bought a spare 40 lb cylinder, but a mistake in filling it had rendered it useless. It was only later that I learned that I could hook it up to the grill for a couple of hours to burn off the nitrogen still in the tank.

Nicole Miller Art Photos

2010-01-11T10:35:00.004-05:00

Nicole has been attending my last few Ops Sessions and spend most of her time taking thousands of pictures... no really, thousands. She goes home and add details like sky and sunshine and birds, etc. These are a couple examples of her artwork. I say artwork because they are more than just pictures.

6th Anniversary

2009-12-26T14:42:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the 6h Anniversary of the Christmas that started it all. My wife bought me my first NScale for Christmas 2003.

To honor that date, here's the fist layout on that Christmas Day.

Roy's Folks Clip

2009-07-20T16:58:00.002-04:00

Forgot to post this, but I did a segment for WGHP TV In High Point several months ago. Thanks to Roy Ackland and Producer David Weatherly.

Clip is here.

More Work On The M-Line

2009-06-03T16:23:00.002-04:00

In the last month, I completed the benchwork for the M-Line (as well as the Thomasville Beltway), added fascias, lights, splines, track, the crossover across the pit and connection into High Point Yard.

Have also started scenery to hide the higher branch behind the NS mainlines as they pass by Thomasville. I think the generic undergrowth helps the scene a good deal.

NS M-Line

2009-05-18T16:13:00.003-04:00

So, after the May session I had the bright idea to fill in the old dispatcher's corner with a branch line. But what to model?

Marcus suggested that I look at the line running thru Asheboro as it included a plastics plant that supposedly had a lot of traffic. Did some Maps Live work and WOW! The plastics plant is called Starpet. On one satellite photo I counted over 125 hoppers setting in the plant and showed their own switcher.

I talked Tammy into riding that way one Sunday and took pictures of several places along the way. There's a Georgia Pacific plant, Chandler Concrete, Dahalia Plastics, CMC Metal recyclers, Metals USA and several more.

These are cumulative from beginning construction on May 02 until May 18.

May 09 Ops Session

2009-05-02T16:05:00.000-04:00

The 3rd formal operating session included around 15 guys. Lunch was BBQ chicken. Maybe that's what they really came for. Oh well, they HAD to stay and run the trains anyway.

This was the first session with 2 dispatchers: Charlotte, manned by Josh Blevins and Danville manned by Tim Heckman. We also used 2 separate radio channels to cut down on traffic.

Dispatcher's Office

2009-04-30T10:06:00.001-04:00

After the March Ops Session, it became obvious to me that I needed a seperate location for the dispatcher and that we may need to have 2 dispatchers in the future.

I cleaned out the front of the barn and started walling off a 8 x 18 section. A friend came by and in just a couple of hours, we had the stud wall done and door hung. I just had to finish the paneling.

These pics show part of the room with all the boards needed to run the session. One for the train schedule and the others for the 2 dispatchers, Charlotte Dispatch and Danville Dispatch.

March 2009 Ops Session

2009-03-07T09:24:00.001-05:00

We had a test run in Oct 08 and a second test in December. As of January 09, The CCSB will have Operations Sessions every two months. This is the second full time session and there were about 14 people attending.

This was the first test of the Linwood Hump. Larry Keller and Jeff Lindstrom were scheduled to be the first yard operators, but Jeff came down with the flu just before the session. Josh Blevins filled in for Jeff. Reports were that the hump worked well.

Time Off For Snow

2009-03-02T09:18:00.001-05:00

Sorry, this is NOT my model but I thought the recent snowfall made for some pretty good scenes. These are from station name Lee just north of Linwood Yard in Linwood.

Lesson Learned #5263

2009-02-26T09:42:00.002-05:00

Not sure I want to openly admit this, but here goes:

I had not run a train since the last Ops session in January. Since then, I added in several Tortoises, some twin coils, ballasted the yard and added in a crossover between the 2 mains.

I had been adding decoders and m/u'ing them in the yard for an hour or so and then thought I'd take a train out of the yard. It sputtered a bit as the track had not been cleaned since Jan, so I went ahead of it and cleaned a bit. Then I heard the click of the PM42 for the Danville section, looked back and the train had stopped.

Must be on a switch. Nope. Must have laid something on the track. Nope. But it's been on for 2 hours and now magically has a short? From cleaning track? Panic sets in and I start clipping wires. Still shorting. The more I think about it being on and then suddenly shorting, the worse the panic and frustration gets. I start cutting the track bus until it's down to 20'. (I was planning on subdividing anyway, just not right now.)

I finally turn the lights out and leave thinking tomorrow will be a better day. Next day, I power back on and guess what? still shorting. I'm looking for anything out of place. Something must be laid across the tracks...... then I spot it.

When I put in the crossover, I had to add a linkage to the ground throw because of the Maybelle track to the back. It was a steel wire not in a sleeve and was against the underside of the tracks. Evidently, between painting the rails and glue from the ballast had isolated it enough to run for 2 hours, but when I moved the ground throw to bring the train thru it became the short.

So, here I am a bit grayer, a bit wiser. I thought this was supposed to be fun ??

North End Of Linwood Yard

2009-02-24T09:17:00.002-05:00

I worked on the northern end of Linwood for a couple of days adding a few scene breaks in the form of small hills. One, to break the siding for Kimberly-Clark, the other to separate the yard tracks from the mainlines.

This section is in the middle of the winter and makes it hard to "hide" things like seams and horizons and such. Compounding that is the fact that the mainlines pass just 2 inches from the skyboard leaving little room for anything.

As a last thought, I dabbed on a dirty brown wash behind the "trees" to try and hide the horizon. Wish I had done a bit more. I wanted to cover with Supertrees, but there just wasn't enough room. I had to rely on the Cinnamon scented decorative broom to do the job. Mmmmm Cinnamon.......

The Corner At 5 Row

2009-02-17T11:39:00.005-05:00

Five Row is a named point on the NS Piedmont Division between the old Spencer Shops and the Tadkin River, located at MP 329.7

Near the signal bridge is a favorite place among railfans, also known as Five Row. The stretch offers a clear view of the rise from the Yadkin bridge up to Salisbury. There are 2 houses across from where everyone parks and it's not unusual to see 2 or 3 cars of railfans there at a time.

The first 4 pictures below are taken from just in front of the 2 houses and looks south towards the signal bridge, to the siding into the PCA plant and last looking north (downgrade) near the river.

The pictures of the model version are from an opposite vantage point.

On the CCSB, I let my apprentice, Chris, work on Five Row. He first created the grassy/wooded area to the left of the houses (last proto pic). After that, he added in the foam platform for the houses and road, grassed in the yards and added the background trees. Later, I added in the foreground trees.

HPT&D Scenery

2009-02-14T09:10:00.001-05:00

Added a small neighborhood to the HPT&D (High Point, Thomasville and Denton) level.Had to take a couple of pictures to see what it looked like up close.

Yadkin River Bridge, Pt. 2

2009-01-06T14:03:00.007-05:00

When I first made up my mind to build this layout, I had the winter to work on things before starting construction in May 2007. I realized some of the first items I would need then tracklaying started would be the bridges and trestles.

I had never scratchbuilt anything before and started with a Plastruct single bridge kit. I planned to use it for 1 of the 3 Flat Swamp bridges needed on the WSS. After it was together, I bought the supplies to make the other 2.

The next job was to attempt the Yadkin River trestle and Old Hwy 29 bridges. I took plenty of pictures and from a known measurement, scaled everything from the computer screen. After a couple of weeks, I had the 685' long bridge done and went to work on one of the Hwy 29 bridges. By the time it was done and mounted, I started work on the building.

The Yadkin section was mounted in the benchwork in September 2007 and track connected, but was never finished. Last week, while off work for the New Year I made up my mind to try and finish the section. The first item was to finish the guard rails on the highway bridge. After that, I added in new shoreline and trees.
I built 2 simple bridges for I-85 and created the rock outcroppings at Old Salisbury Road using some plaster castings I had laying around.

Snow Scene On The Winter Side

2009-01-02T09:02:00.001-05:00

As a train travels through the CCSB, it travels through time as well as space. All 4 seasons are represented. Winter was the hardest to do as you can't hide things behind trees and ground cover.

Just like Disneyworld, it's all about the illusion.

Here's a couple of picture of a section I did with some snow. Being as we haven't had a really good snowfall in years, I kept it real with just a dusting.

Newspaper Interview

2008-12-28T08:53:00.004-05:00

After returning from Hatteras for Thanksgiving, I was asked to do an article for the local newspaper. I arranged an interview with writer Bruce Wehrle and photographer Donnie Roberts. After several anxious days, it finally ran in the Christmas Day edition.

What a Christmas surprise to open the morning edition and see your story, not only front page but continuing for a whole second page as well.

The pictures were very good and showed more of a variety of subjects that I would have every thought about.

The Dispatch article is located here.

The pictures for the article are here.

Scenery Around Linwood Yard

2008-12-08T13:53:00.003-05:00

After we returned from Hatteras at Thanksgiving, I spent some time cleaning up for an appointment for a newspaper article.

I had also been working on scenery north of Kannapolis thru Salisbury, but got stopped when I realized I couldn't picture the Innes Street to Salisbury Depot in my mind. I skipped around Salisbury and also bypassed Spencer since I don't have the Roundhouse ready.

So, that put me across the river at the entrance to the Linwood Yard. The side from north of the Yadkin to Lexington is to be a winter scheme. I added some small ground effects (couldn't do much as this is all on plywood, not splines) and added the winter trees. Here, I used the Super Trees bare but sprayed light brown and the twigs from the Cinnamon decorative broom I had saved.

I had toyed with the notion of trying snow, but was really reluctant as I have heard quite a few horror stories. I masked off the track and ballast and sprayed a heavy coat of 4x Hair Spray on all the trees and ground.

I sprinkled on Woodland Scenics Snow very lightly. Here in Central NC, our snows have been rather sparse the last couple of years. I was immediately impressed with the look and took a couple of pictres and then moved along with more snow.

For now, I am keeping it off the track and right of way hoping to keep it out of the engine motors and mechanisms, With the light ballast, it is not as noticeable as I thought.

Kannapolis

2008-11-19T16:09:00.004-05:00

Moving north from Speed Rail Industrial are the stations Kannapolis and North Kannapolis. Somewhere in there is Glass, but it's not on the NS track plan I have.

The first picture is from around N. Kannapolis, looking south towards Speed Rail. Just another wooded area to provide the scenic break between locations so as to get a feel of distance. That was a lesson I learned on my first "layout". It was more like a test bench for anything and everything.

I tried creeks, mountains, overpasses, underpasses, buildings, dirt roads, asphalt roads.... whatever to see what I could make and what to stay away from on the one that counted.

The second picture is the same area as the first, but taken from the right side and just as I put down the first layer of groundcover. I use dried basil and oregano. Yep, that's right. Smells good too. I get the plastic shaker bottles 2 for a dollar and this pic is about 75 cents worth.

I am getting fairly happy with the fall colors. I have finally learned to tone them down and mix in a lot of green with a little red and less yellow.

I've set a couple of houses in place, but have got to go back and level and set them into the grass. The bottom picture is looking north with the Kannapolis station sign to the right. You can see how much the houses need to be leveled here.

Speedrail Industrial

2008-11-16T16:07:00.012-05:00

Speedrail Industrial is a business park located off Hwy 49 north of Charlotte. I plan to model 4 industries there. To the left is the beginnings of laying the trackwork last week. Below are actual pics of the 4 industries and what I have so far.

Foils, Inc - A metal recycler which is actually just north of the industrial park.

Served by a single siding running thru the property. In my picture below, the view is if you were on the ground in the lower right corner of the aerial photograph.

The next business inside the park is Mallard Creek (Chemicals I think). Just a small pumping station manned by camera surveillance.

My pic below shows the Mallard Creek lot next to the mainlines.

Next in the park is an Gas Company, but I don't have my notes with me,
and the name won't come to me. They always say the mind is first to go. Anyway, the gas company will be located in the rear of this picture.

The track leading off in the foreground is Foils.

Southeastern Packaging is a rather large facility, actually located on 2 different sidings. This must be a warehouse of sorts. the tracks disappear under the building roof so that they can be unloaded out of the weather.

Check the Mallard Creek pic above. The tracks leading to the back are for Southeastern.

Station Signs

2008-11-12T15:58:00.004-05:00

During the first Ops Session, John Barnett suggested that I make station signs in the prototypical Southern Green. I had made a highway sign with an online program called SignMaker located here.

I went back there and figured out how to make a simple name sign without all the highway markings, printed them and mounted on some plastic. There are quite a bit bigger than scale size, but I made them for the benefit of operators.

One of the goals I had building the layout was to minimize the amount of labeling on the fascia so as to keep the operators' focus on the layout. This should help in that regards.

KB

Between High Point and Thomasville

2008-11-09T15:46:00.006-05:00

This is a small area between the High Point Yard and Thomasville. Just opposite of it is Southern Film .

The bank rises a bit more than the prototype and there's actually an illegal garbage dump to the left. I may try to add it in later.

Jamestown Scenery

2008-11-07T15:04:00.005-05:00

I continue to work on the upper NS level. Starting with the Danville staging
yard, thru Reidsville and on to Jamestown. There are a couple of industries served there, one being Univar and the other Homeland Container. There's also a siding probably a team or house track.

I have been putting in what scenery I could leaving room for the buildings which will have to wait until I can kitbash or scratchbuild them.

So that operators can have clear access to the turnouts and sidings for
cars, I've had to make the aisle side scenery pretty sparse. For the most part, it is just grassy areas. The static grass seems to hold up well to resting arms, and objects laid on it. I just have to keep undulating the ground so it doesn't appear to be just flat.

Reidsville Scenery

2008-10-29T10:24:00.011-04:00

Have done a little work so far this week. This is the view coming up out of Danville staging thru Edna Signal by Reidsville.

The back side of the street will be a city block. The entire level will be fall scenery. It helps to be able to ride around now and see the colors. Harder to imagine fall colors in March.

Looking south from Edna, the woods separating Reidsville from Jamestown. That looks like 20 miles, right?

I've went back and updated the train tags with the new symbols and added EOT tags.

Scenery In the Yards

2008-10-20T09:53:00.011-04:00

With all the visitors out of the way, I went back to scenery. I pulled all the trains out of the yards (in part to test a short problem which turned out to be a defective PM42) and ballasted both yards. I also added a few background trees to Charlotte Yard, but couldn't do much as there just wasn't any room.

I was able to do more with Danville Yard and incorporated two pieces I had salvaged from my old layout. They don't fit perfectly into the new scenery, but I wanted a bit of the old with the new.

First Ops Session

2008-10-13T13:48:00.009-04:00

17 months and 14 days after I started cutting trees down, I had my first Operating Session. I expected plenty of problems and the first crew was carefully selected having already experienced their baptism of fire. Now that we've proved it can run, I can open up a session to more users.

The first 10 minutes were a disaster. Engines not running, yard throat shorting out, engines mysteriously unconsisted, etc. etc. etc. After a while things settled down. We did experience an unknown Digitrax problem after the first hour that we haven't yet solved. The PM 42 was giving us shorts on the first district, but there were no trains there. Resetting the command station worked for 10 minutes and the short reappeared.

Larry Keller* goes down in history as running the first train on the CCSB 2.0

(The Asterisk is because Gil Brauch picked the first train order, but had problems out of the yard. Larry bypassed him to become the first. I am sure this will be be debated for years to come.)

Jeff Lindstrom works the WSS/HPT&D. Jeff has learned to never volunteer for anything again.

The first Ops crew: (L to R) Larry "Paint Bank" Keller, Marcus "I Can Dispatch Anything" Neubacher, Robin "Watch This" Eanes, Jeff "Southbound" Lindstrom, Gil "Road Boss" Brauch.

Staging Yards

2008-09-30T13:45:00.005-04:00

As I prepped for the first "Test 'n Tune" Ops session, I found that I was way short on both power and cars. I had stocked up on engines over the last year, but had failed to put back any decoders. Buying decoders by the dozen isn't any fun at all.

Like I've told several people, you find out quickly about scale when you build a layout this large. I would buy paint a dozen cans at a time, white glue by the gallons and track by the 100 pc boxes at a time. Eyes would roll when I'd talk about needing another dozen engines after just having put decoders in 6 or 8.

I guess I've just grown accustomed to the scale of things required. Is that good... or bad ??

Spencer Yard, Linwood NC

2008-09-30T13:31:00.005-04:00

I worked last week on the yard at Linwood. I've had the track roughed in for several months, waiting to make sure I had covered all the interchanges between the Receiving Yard, Forwarding Yard and Class tracks, Engine Shop, etc.

Finally, I just jumped in and started soldering and glueing track. I extended the forwarding yard about a foot. It handles 3 trains each 16 cars long. (That seems to be a decent size). There are 3 tracks going to the Car Shop, another 2 to the Engine Shop and a bypass around the Shop to the servicing facility.

There are 3 tracks in the receiving yard. In addition, there is the lead-in "behind the tower" to access the receiving yard southbound, and the "thoroughfare" which runs from Lee at the north entrance to Duke on the south.

There are 8 tracks on the class yard and a drill long enough to handle them. There is also a "working " hump. Well, maybe not working, but there is a hump there and I was able to push a string up and decouple them one at a time and gravity roll down the class track. The cars roll about 2/3-3/4 down the track, but as they begin to stack closer to the hump, they hit pretty hard. If I could fix it so that I could vary the height of the hump, I could vary the amount of roll.

I Have Been Working... Really !!

2008-09-30T11:32:00.010-04:00

I just haven't thought to post anything. Most of what I've been doing since June wasn't very photogenic and thus I didn't consider post worthy.

It took a couple of weeks to put down the final flooring. After that, I worked to finish all the lower fascia so I could be done with the wood construction and put away some of those tools. I also completed all the Loconet wiring and panels. I alternated a UP5 panel with a standard single jack every 8 feet.

I then turned my focus towards staging trains and working on paperwork, etc. for a preliminary Operations sessions. That has to be the hardest part of the whole layout. Thinking about what trains to send where so the could be returned without major problems was quite a chore. I think I am finally ready for the first session on Oct 12.

Workin' The WSS In The Heat

2008-06-13T09:17:00.006-04:00

With record-breaking temps the last 2 weeks, I haven't been able to do a lot on the layout. By the time the AC units get it cool, it's almost time to quit for the night.

What little I did was to continue on the WSS/HPT&D island. I am trying to get as much scenicked as possible so I can put on the lower valance. The top level is pretty much done as far as wooded areas, and I just have to come back and add in the industry buildings as I get them done.

I am not really looking forward to all the scratchbuilt buildings I have to do, mainly because it's not my strongest suit. I guess I can look at it as a chance to improve.......yeah right.

For today's Show & Tell, I have a couple of areas on the WSS. First, the interchange with the NS in downtown Lexington. My version ended up in a corner as the track passes thru the island wall, thus the curve right.

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South of the interchange the WSS crosses I-85. I still have work to do here including striping the southbound lane. This is another spot where I had to try out the Grassinator.

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Down the road from I-85 is a siding leading into the PPG plant. Cut banks line both side of the tracks here.

The Grassinator!

2008-05-30T11:46:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Ztrains.com, I have built a Grassinator (Plans are Here). What is it? What does it do? Several different manufacturers make static grass flock, small filaments that when a static charge is applied, stand on end to resemble grasses (see a how-to video here). Noch makes a static applicator, but costs around $150. Ztrains has plans for one for under $30. I just followed the instructions there and now have my own Grassinator.

The first time I tried it, there was a problem. I shook the applicator, but little of the flock fell out. I had tried to shortcut and used the wire from an old tea strainer instead of buying a piece of screen wire. I finally gave in and bought the wire and found it to work as it should.

The first areas I tried it on are pictured to the right. This was with a Medium Green flocking. I later went back and overseeded with a darker green, although the Medium is probably better for field grass.

Various From Around The Layout

2008-05-30T10:21:00.011-04:00

Have been working on the upper level HPT&D for the last week. I've found it very important to get as much done on the upper level as possible because of all the mess I make dropping stuff down onto the lower level.

As of today, I have one small area to "forest" and I'll have all the upper WSS/HPT&D generally scenicked. I'll just have to go back and blend in as I complete the industry buildings and sites.

The first picture is the HPT&D south of the Wye in High Point. To the left of the wooded area will be KAO Specialties which I think used to be High Point Chemicals.

Left, is the same wooded area looking to the right (north). There is a line that goes to a plant, but I'm not sure what it is called. Will have to check on that.

This is an aerial of the KAO Specialties plant. The railroad enters the plant from the lower right of the picture. There are 2 spurs where tanks are spotted under piping to be on/off loaded.

These 2 are from north of the KAO plant and just north of the small HPT&D yard. The Wye leads off to the right in the second photo.

The last picture is just a random shot from the opposite upper deck. This is not visible from the floor and represents the HPT&D just south of the Georgia-Pacific formaldehyde plant in Healing Springs.

More Fall Scenery

2008-05-20T10:15:00.005-04:00

Continuing to get the feel for the fall scenery. Tammy keeps telling me to hold down on the reds and let them blend into the green. I've learned that some people have a red/green colorblindness, which makes sense as I can't tell a red LED from a green one. I hate it when I look at electronics and someone asks "Is the light red or green?" IDK.

I'm not finishing the scenery 100%, just trying to cover some of the blank foam in between where the industries will be. It'll be easy enough to come back later and add more trees and details.

I think I hold up on the NS line and go back to the WSS/HPT&D island and work there for awhile. There's a good bit to be done on the upper level. I've learned that it's easier to finish major work on the upper before doing the lower.... less chance of dropping plaster and glue down on finished scenery.

Changes To Trackplan - WSS

2008-05-13T11:20:00.002-04:00

As I was looking over the WSS from Bill Yard to the end of the island, it dawned on me that there was a lot of space for more industries. My problem was that just wasn't prototypical. In a blinding flash of light I realized that whole thing wasn't perfectly prototypical anyway, so I decided to make a few changes.

First, where I had added the house track and planned the old Lexington Depot near 5th Avenue I would change to be the siding for Owens-Illinois in Welcome. There is also room for another industry and haven't totally decided what to do. It could be a fake Carter Lumber (although there is not really a spur there) or it could be Carolane Gas (no longer receives rail shipments).

The entire other side of the WSS is the NS interchange, PPG and Cotton Grove siding. There really is nothing else there unless I just add something in.

Scenery On The NS Line

2008-04-27T21:39:00.005-04:00

I've spent the last 4 months laying track, and can tell you it gets old
after a while. So... I took a break this week and started on some scenery.

I started with the area just out of Charlotte staging on the lower level and just out of the pit on the upper. The area on the upper represents track between Bowers and Lake.

Both upper and lower levels on this side of the building will be done in fall colors. The opposite side of the building will be winter and the center island will be Spring/Summer.

I got really tired of laying track, so I took a break this week and worked on some scenery. For this section, I am trying a fall theme.

Pen Operated Switches

2008-04-10T23:26:00.006-04:00

Several people have asked me about the pen operated turnout controls. I know it was in one of the magazines, but I never looked at what was suggested there and made my own setup. (This was done for Atlas Code 55 turnouts and has not been tried on other types or codes.)

It starts with Bic Click type pens. I found some on sale at Office Depot.

You would think they were everywhere, but I tried half a dozen stores before finally finding them there.

Take the pens and pull them apart enough so that you can clip the end off, and while you're at it, cut the pocket clip off. I use rail nippers, then file the barrel smooth where the clip was. Reassemble the pen. I used the whole pen. There was some thought about replacing the ink cartridge, but I decided to take a chance.

You will also need a European-style terminal strip. I got a 12 position one from Radio Shack for $2 something. You'll have to cut the plastic off the terminals joiners. I used a Dremel cutting wheel to make a cut across the back of each, then cut the plastic away with my rail nippers and pulled the connector sleeves out with some regular pliers.

You will need to figure out where to drill the mounting hole for the pen depending on your benchwork. I used 1 x 4s for the face and had a plywood top in the staging yard where I was mounting mine.

So, I drilled as close to the edge as I could. I found a 1" dia. counterbore bit at Lowes for $8 or $9. It was worth every cent because the first time I tried using a plain wood boring bit and it made a mess of the hole.

After making the counterbore, I used a 3/8" flat wood boring bit to make the hole for the pen.

Glue the pen in the hole. I used something called Goop. Found it at Lowes and Hobby Lobby. Best stuff ever, but it can be a bit messy. Be careful.

I made a bead around the barrel just below the plunger. Stick the pen thru the faceboard from the backside and just barely let the tip extend past the the faceboard. I made mine stick out 1/8" because I am covering the faceplate with a masonite fascia board.

You can also color code the pens and counterbores if there are several close together. I may add colored targets later.

The last parts you'll need are some 1/8" dia plastic tube, and 16 and 18 ga. floral wire (or similar). I found floral wire precut in 18" lengths and tried it because it was soft enough to bend before breaking the turnout throwbar.

I drilled a 3/8" hole under where the hole is in the throwbar thru the deck and then mounted a thin block of wood under the deck to use as a spacer. I then used the Goop to attach the plastic tube to the spacer cutting about an inch or two short of each end.

I connected the 16 ga wire to the end of the pen with one of the terminal connectors, clipping the other end about even with the thru hole. I used the 18 ga. wire (bent at 90 degrees) up thru the deck into the throwbar. I did have to enlarge the throwbar hole with a 1/16" bit. Connect the 2 wires together with another terminal connector leaving some overlap for adjustment.

Give the Goop 24 hours to dry before adjusting the wire.

Splines and Track On The NS Sub

2008-02-24T14:28:00.005-05:00

Another weekend passes with what seems like no progress. After running some errands Saturday morning, I finally got into the layout room around 1:30. Not long after I started I had some visitors that had been to one of the club shows.

After they left, I made a second pour on the Abbott's Creek water. The initial pour was rather brownish and I made this one lighter.

While the matte medium was drying, I took to the table saw cutting 40 or 50 splines which I used to start laying out the NS roadbed.

That was about as far as I got on Saturday. Sunday morning I checked out the now dried Abbott's Creek. Still a little brownish, but as good as I can do for now. I went ahead and mounted the shoreline and poured the finish matte layer. I'll follow later with a gloss layer for a wet look.

Went back to the NS roadbed. I lined and glued about 12 feet of roadbed and realized the best thing for the High Point yard would be plywood and tie that to the spline stringers.

After mounting the plywood, I went back and started soldering and laying track for the dual mains out of Dundee Yard (Danville). I left a #7 turnout for Jamestown and widened the tracks for the future High Point Depot.

The mains have been laid as far as the High Point Yard. I need to double check the sidings needed going into Thomasville and I can go ahead and lay the splines around the back corner heading into the pit opening.

First Run On The WSS/HPT&D

2008-02-16T09:25:00.001-05:00

On Friday, Feb 15 at 21:49:32 GMT, the first complete loop was made on the WSS/HPT&D sub of the Central Carolina Southbound.

The trip started at Bill Yard with an SD80MAC and 6 cars. It traveled south thru Lexington, Southmont up the helix by Flat Swamp, then northeast thru Denton where it picked up another 6 cars, to High Point where the loco turned on the Wye and returned to Bill Yard.

There was 1 hopper that went on the ground not once but twice, and was immediately bad ordered. There were no other problems encountered.

Signed
KB, Owner, Superintendant, Yardmaster, Trainmaster, Engineeer, Conductor, Brakeman, Chief Cook, Bottlewasher

Copper Fencing

2008-02-09T18:38:00.002-05:00

I bought a copper mesh on sale at Hobby Lobby after Christmas. So, I though I'd try it out. I sprayed it with Miracal Metallic Silver and cut a thin strip. It looks as close to scale as anything else I've seen.

(Click the image for a larger, better pic)

2nd Yard Complete

2008-02-04T18:32:00.004-05:00

The second yard has been completed. It will represent Charlotte as one end of the point-to-point.

The other end, Danville, was completed several weeks ago. Both will be ballasted at some point, but I think I'll wait until everything up and running.

First NS Yard Started

2008-01-27T22:46:00.001-05:00

Since I made it thru the first yard on the WSS sub, I thought I would start on the NS staging yards. This one represents what will be Danville's Dundee Yard.

Although it bares no resemblance to the real Dundee Yard, it made for a good stage name. the will be an indentical yard on the other end and will be known as Charlotte.

The yard only took 2 evenings and a Sunday to complete even though I was trying to be careful about keeping the tracks parallel and straight.

I made a spacing stick and screwed it down between each rung, applied the glue, removed the spacer and double checked the spacing with a Kato rerailer. The rerailer has 3 sets of grooves on the side and is just right for spacing tracks.

Various Work on the WSS/HPT&D Sub

2008-01-20T22:30:00.001-05:00

The Winston Salem Southbound's Bill Yard is almost complete. There is 1 section of the hillside to put scenery on and will be ready for some details.

The whole yard has been ballasted and ground throws installed. Jon has come over and made sure all the turnouts were clean and operating well.

The bottom 2 photos show som work done to the HPT&D area just north of Flat Swamp. Technically inaccurate, I merged the WSS and HPT&D minus High Rock Yard.

Sorry, but even with compression, There just wasn't enough room for it all. The 3rd pic shows my favorite scene thus far. Only visible from the right angle, this would be a really good railfan spot.

The last picture is looking back towards Flat Swamp. The unfinished spot in the foreground is where the Georgia Pacific formaldehyde plant at Healing Springs will go. The 2 plant tracks are already in place and I am trying something new for a chain link fence.

Flat Swamp Area Finished

2008-01-05T22:19:00.001-05:00

Have finished the landscaping for the Flat Swamp area. The far end of the bridge leads thru the wall and down the helix. The hole covered welll with just trees.

I put a final coat of matte medium on the water and tapped it with a brush to raise the medium into waves. I am pretty happy with the effect.

Bill Yard and Corn Products

2008-01-01T08:56:00.001-05:00

This is an overhead shot of the Corn Products facility south of Winston Salem and just north of the South Fork Viaduct which is north of Winston Salem Southbound's Bill Yard.

I really didn't have room to fully lay out all the tracks in the plant (and it's yard to the right of the satellite picture). Just another one of those trade-offs I have had to do.

When I first started thinking about a new room, I really wanted to do a WSS railroad complete from Winston to around High Rock Yard. But, one of the things I didn't have in my old layout and really wanted in the new one was a double track mainline. The WSS didn't offer that, so I looked at doing an NS portion and a WSS portion.

As happens in real life, the NS began to take over more and more of the available space until I was left with the center island as the WSS.

Bill Yard

2007-12-31T08:52:00.001-05:00

Have started on WSS's Bill Yard. It is located behind what was Schlitz and later Stroh's Brewery. A rather small yard with only 7 tracks, it leads to the north across the South Fork Viaduct and into Corn Products.

Christmas is Over...Now The REAL Work Starts

2007-12-27T16:55:00.001-05:00

Have started on some landscaping on the upper WSS level. I realized that the upper level needs to be finished before the lower as stuff would be falling and messing up everything below. I enclosed the helix, but is still accessible from underneath and I can stand up inside to clean track, etc.

I suddenly realized that I wouldn't be able to use the ground throws on the upper level and started searching for manual throw options. Robin said he had seen an article where someone used a click ball point pen. That night, I went to the house, found several pens and started experimenting. Yes, they seemed to work. I mounted a few and worked out an adjustment mechanism.

Nov 27 Update

2007-11-27T15:07:00.001-05:00

Have been rather busy with various things, none of which involved modeling. Spent a week at Hatteras during Thanksgiving. I do have track on the helix and roadbed down on the whole lower island section. Got brave enough to try and run a train down the spline. There were no problems, but it sure was scary watching that train teeter on a 1 inch wide roadbed with nothing but floor underneath.

Another Second Level

2007-10-28T11:05:00.001-04:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I added the second level to the NS route. Since then, the CCNS club had a show to do in Hickory, I had a Ops session to attend, and in between have been working on the center island which represents the Winston Salem Southbound.

As I laid the splines and started penciling in areas, it became painfully obvious that I did not have the room to do nearly what I wanted on the WSS sub. To fix it, I did two things: (1) added a second level to the center island (2) cut out some of the smaller LDEs I had planned to give proper space to the ones that were left.

Now, how do I get up and down from the second level? A helix. I had never built one, but there was really no other option. I saw on the Internet, a plan for using 1 x 4 lumber cut at angled to form a 16 sided circular object. My ability to work with a jigsaw was poor at best, so this seemed like a good option.

The helix was assembled with threaded rod, fender washers and nuts above and below to hold each level in place. Adding another level also meant I had to add more lights. Since the benchwork was already in place, I had to mount these one at a time. Quite time consuming, but well worth it to light the lower level. For these, I had to be careful to not go above or below the 1 x 4, so I tried handy boxes with a duplex outlet and a CFL in a plug in adapter. This also meant I now have an electrical outlet every 16". That should come in handy.

Laying Spline

2007-10-10T10:50:00.001-04:00

The last CCSB was plywood plains... nothing but flat landscape for miles. I wanted this one to be different, so I thought I would try splines. Nobody around me had done this that I knew of so there was nobody local to turn to for advice. Guess I have to go this one alone.

I took some of the scrap primed 1/8 masonite that I had and cut it into 1 1/2" strips on the table saw. I set a couple of screws into the risers where I wanted them to go and clamped and glued each strip. The next day, I removed the clamps to find a completely rigid roadbed.

While the splines were drying, I finished the walls in the pit and to the exit side.

Second Level

2007-10-05T10:19:00.001-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been over thousands of trackplans in my mind. It is obvious that what I want to do will require a second level. To do this, I've added benchwork on the right side wall. I need to get down to the first level and have been thinking about a nolix.

A nolix is trackwork that climbs as it goes around the wall. It functions as a helix, but does so over a long distance. I can slope the benchwork of part of the right wall upper section at 2-3% and continue the slope across the pit to arrive at the lower level. Question is, what can I pull at 3%?

My very first version of a layout had an incline. I had tested it with a little 0-6-0 steamer and it would run up and down with a car or two, no problem. One day, I tried 10 cars, and it wouldn't even make it half way. The next day I tore the whole thing apart and said the next layout would have no elevation. It didn't. Now, I'm back with this grade being an important part of this whole building.

Friday, I soldered some track together and hooked up the booster and ran a train up. It would carry around 10 cars up with no problem. Two in a consist could haul 25. Good enough for me.

Benchwork

2007-09-30T09:56:00.001-04:00

Haven't stopped much in the last 2 weeks so things look a good bit different. The ceiling is now painted. I want everything to be black except the skyboard and scenery for a shadowbox appearance.

Have the benchwork on the peninsula and most of the walls. The benchwork is around 48" high and 24" wide except where Linwood's Spencer Yard will be. I left it 30" wide to fit in as many class tracks as I can and still have room for the mains behind it and the forwarding yard to the front.

Rear corner, Yadkin River

Winston Salem Southbound's I-85 crossing

Right side benchwork

Right side from the front.

Ceiling and Lighting

2007-09-14T09:34:00.001-04:00

That's about it for the last few days. Robin helped me put up the sheetrock for the ceiling. That took us 2 nights. Another 2 nights to mud and sand the joints.

I started putting up the light bars around the center peninsula. I wanted to keep the heat and amperage to a minimum. Did some experimenting with a variation of Joe Fugate's sigle bulb idea, but used compact fluorescents instead of incandescent bulbs. I can use a 13W CFL to get 60W of light. I tried them every 24" end seemed to have a good bit of light.

I came up with a framework that would also work as something to attach the upper fascia to. It just takes a while to mount individual octagon boxes, and wire the lights in series.

More Inside Work

2007-09-08T17:57:00.001-04:00

Temps are at above 100 most days. Still hasn't really rained since May. The outside temp is still 96 at 9 pm, but the 2 AC units are getting the inside temp down to the low 70s.

Still working on the backdrops and lower wall paneling.The Entrance thru the pit is mostly done. Still a little bit of trimwork to do.

This is from the right front corner looking towards the back of the room.

From the right rear looking back toward the front.

Working On The Inside

2007-09-02T17:50:00.001-04:00

Have added a side exit door, insulated the walls and ceiling and am putting the background boards in place. I am using the pre-primed masonite boards and leaving the white side out. The primed side will not hold brushed or rolled on paint, but spray paint will adhere just fine.

I want to stay away from brush marks plus the spray will allow me to touchup as needed. Am using Rust-o-leum's Traditions Aqua.

I talked to some HVAC folks and they calculated I should be okay with (2) 8000 BTU window AC units.

Raising The Roof

2007-08-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

Well, we have an enclosed building. With the help of a couple of friends and relatives, the whole tin roof was put on in 2 days. Never mind that both days were almost to the 100 degree mark. How can I ever repay them?

Reconsidering The Plan

2007-08-17T17:43:00.000-04:00

I had to do some traveling yesterday (to pick up the metal for the roof. (Roof construction begins Sat). I started running trains in my mind. Start points, terminating points. It just didn't work well for me... the overall from Greensboro to Salisbury seemed short, that would be okay if everything was local I guess. Thought I needed to cover more area, at least in principle. The overall track size doesn't change, just the names of the places.

I never could find the right place for staging. Kept trying to stick it in the lower left corner, but that made it a short trip to Linwood, then long trip all the way back around. Plus this eliminates the walk thru I was going to have to put to cut thru the center peninsula.

There has to be a solution that covers it all!!

Latest Trackplan

2007-07-30T17:35:00.002-04:00

As I move along on the building, I am trying to finalize the trackplan. I had worked on it some but am not the best at visualizing space. Having the building there has helped to point out things I didn't think of.

July 29th Update

2007-07-29T17:30:00.001-04:00

Have almost finished OSB'ing the outside walls and have stick built the trusses. Just need some help in sheeting the gable end and raising it. I can't do that by myself.

Hot Dry Summer

2007-07-19T17:21:00.001-04:00

The summer is getting pretty hot and I think the last rain we had was in May. Anyway construction continues. At least I have the 2nd floor down and am finally in the shade.

Finally Got Some Days Off

2007-07-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

Not much progress last week. I was out of work from Wed-Fri. Thought it may have been a gallstone or gallbladder problem. Huge back pain with nausea and abdomen pain. Taking Vicodin 2 at a time. Awoke Saturday feeling fine, went outside for a while and worked in the yard. Whatever it was must have uh, er, passed.

Went down to the new train room for a real test. Got 3/4 of the 2nd floor bridges done, and went Sunday to get 24 sheets of subflooring. Sarah and Tammy helped me get 5 sheets up to the 2nd floor and I did one sheet by myself. Don't think I'll do that again. The steps are mostly finished and 1 interior wall will be finished tonight.

July 4th Update

2007-07-04T16:14:00.001-04:00

Haven't stopped long enough to take a picture lately. I told Sarah if she would help me raise the 3 walls, we would take the Sea Doo to the lake this afternoon. Temps have been in the 90s and it's really wearing on me once the sun gets above the trees.

A Few More Projects Nearly Done

2007-04-29T15:58:00.002-04:00

The Hwy 8 bridge at Abbott's Creek.
This is a throwback to the 70s before this bridge was replaced with a concrete one.

Another Building for the Maybelle Plant

The Yadkin River Bridges

The Building Has Been Started !!

2007-04-29T15:53:00.001-04:00

I finally started on the addition to the barn. I thought it would never happen.

I had to start with the digging out for the "pit".

Flat Swamp LDE Complete

2007-04-15T15:47:00.001-04:00

I think it turned out pretty well. The beams are a little thick, but will do. I finally found the right combination of greens and browns and any other color I could find to make just the right shade of "chocolate milk".

Last Of The CCSB 1.0

2007-04-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that I will never start the new building as long as I have the existing room sitting here. So, I have decided to tear out the old room.

Starting tomorrow there will be no more CCSB. I've taken a few pics to remind me of what it last looked like.

Maybelle Office

2007-04-11T15:24:00.000-04:00

I ordered a mobile home kit and scratchbuilt a ramp to look something like the the office at Maybelle. The trailer kit was a bit older version, but there are few NScale trailers to choose from.

WSS Bridge @ I-85 Cont'd

2007-04-01T11:51:00.001-04:00

Added some scenery to the Southbound bridge. It should be ready to just set in place. Looks like I need to start on the building as I'm running out of workspace storing all these LDEs.

WSS Bridge @ I-85

2007-03-27T11:48:00.001-04:00

As long as I'm scratch building, I went ahead and did the Southbound bridge over I-85.

Flat Swamp LDE Cont'd

2007-03-23T11:30:00.001-04:00

Making progress on the Layout Design Element for Flat Swamp. Now, I just need to figure out how to paint water the color of chocolate milk.

Lexington Depot

2007-03-19T11:20:00.002-04:00

I scratchbuilt a building meant to be the Lexington Depot. Still need to add some details, but this will be good for a sit-in when the time comes.

Flat Swamp LDE

2007-03-16T11:04:00.001-04:00

I started mounting the Flat Swamp bridges into a mini-scene that I'll incorporate into the main layout later. This should help me be ready when it comes time to lay track.

Maybelle Transport Tanks

2007-03-14T07:52:00.002-04:00

Well, it used to be known as Maybelle. That's what a lot of older people in town still call it. I think the current moniker is Bulk Transfer. There's usually some tanker trucks from HFCS (Corn Products) around there. I started with 2 large tanks at the edge of the property. Made them with a piece of PVC pipe and some sheet styrene.

Bridges Completed

2007-03-08T17:11:00.001-05:00

Both the Yadkin River and Flat Swamp bridges are nearly complete. Sill need to finish paint and weather and eventually add track, but they are good enough to sit aside and start on something else.

Second Scratchbuilt Started

2007-03-03T17:06:00.001-05:00

With the success of the Flat Swamp bridges, I "jumped" right in to the Yadkin River....bridge, that is. Two sections done, only 6 more to go. I have been taking a good deal of flack from Jim Flynn and Robin Eanes about buying out the entire Plastruct rack. "Maybe you should just take the whole rack home and bring back what you don't use." Ha Ha very funny.

First Scratchbuilt Project

2007-02-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

Have been working on my first scratchbuilt project. I started with the bridges at Flat Swamp on High Rock Lake which is used by the Winston Salem Southbound. I bought one of the Plastruct kits and bought the raw materials to build the other two. The beams are a little large and out of scale, but they will do for now.

Yadkin River Bridge

2007-01-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

Now would be a good time to invest in track stock and maybe Plastruct. I've been converting the stuff I've been taking pictures of to scale..... The Yadkin River bridge is 639 feet long. My calculator says that's about 49 scale inches. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

I have been reminded of the phrase "selective compression". I'm thinking that would make a nice statement. Full scale size.

My latest version of a trackplan is a PDF here. To fit all this, the new building will be around 20 x 40. I'm limited if I follow the profile of the existing barn to around 20' wide, but can take the length as long as I want.

Spencer Yard

2007-01-25T15:40:00.000-05:00

Been thinking about how to get a working hump yard. From what I've heard working NScale humps have been tried with both air retarders and magnetics but with little success. Someone out there has to know something?

Design Ideas

2007-01-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

John is not the only one thinking of new layouts, although I'm not planning on being done by April either!!!

I've settled on a interweave of tracks between Thomasville, Winston, Lexington and Denton. Where else do 3 railroads interchange within 15 miles? On The map, the NS is the dark blue line, the WSS (Winston Salem Southbound) in red, and the HPT&D (High Point Thomasville and Denton) in yellow.

Points of interest are:
1. WSS's Bill Yard located just outside Winston. North of the yard is an interchange with the NS "K" Line (although I'm not planning on covering the K-line).
2. Old concrete overpass.
3. The WSS passes under the NS mainlines, then rises to an interchange with NS track 1.
4. NS's Spencer Yard.
5. The NS crossing at the Yadkin River.
6. NC Transportation Museum. Last minute addition, but allows me to use a turntable and operating steam on an otherwise modern layout.
7. High Rock Yard with the WSS/HPT&D interchange.

South of the High Rock Yard, the WSS continues to Wadesboro. There, I think the train is taken to a CSX facility and readied for a return trip. The WSS local is run south to Cotton Grove, a runaround is made and then headed back north to Winston Salem. I don't know as much about the HPT&D. So, I'm thinking the WSS and HPT&D could be Point to Point tracks, while the NS functions as the loop around the room.

Welcome

2007-01-21T15:30:00.000-05:00

I have decided that I will try and document the process for building my new NScale layout here. It's my first blog, so bear with me while I play catchup to the rest of the web log world.

I'm going to start by recreating some of the original thought process that went on at the club forum forums.ccnscalers.com.

I will initially edit the post dates to the original dates they were posted on the forum until we get caught up to the present.

KB

And away we go....................................