Building the KY&N: Planning, Prep & Benchwork

GP30 Mar 27, 2020

  1. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to over the extended holiday weekend, but progress is progress.

    SD35 #2800 is completed and operational on the layout, RS3 #6225 is also complete but needs a decoder. SD35 #2803 is ready for reassembly as soon as the front number boards are lettered.
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    I also finished roughing in the basic land forms around the north end of the lower level tunnel through the hallway corner. I have a few ideas for this area that may or may not involve a dirt road and a Mail Pouch barn.
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    Finally, between locomotive work, I did wrap up some old freight car projects. Another woodchip hopper is ready for service and a few other cars that had been on the rip track for a couple of years were finally serviced and released from the car shop.
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  2. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    What do you use as the base for the mountains?
     
  3. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Insulation foam board, either 1 or 2 inch. Works well for planting trees later.


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  4. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Un-sexy Sunday…. Is there a hashtag for that?

    Anyhow, the subroadbed for both main tracks north and south of Grantsville have tunneled through the same hallway corner directly above the tunnel shown on the last update.
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    While waiting for glue to dry on the plywood and risers, I assembled a Bowser 2 bay hopper. GE had a large light bulb factory near Youngstown, Ohio that made their Mazda bulbs. I can use several more of these ILDX hoppers for hauling sand from a quarry at Grantsville to GE factories.
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    That’s it for this weekend, hopefully I can get more track laid down on the upper level in the next 2-3 weeks. It ain’t sexy, but it’s something!


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  5. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Love the units looking great
    And progress is progress
     
  6. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Begin Double Track

    The turnouts for the north end of Spencer have been built over the previous holiday weekend. It consists of a #8 crossover for the north end of the double track between Spencer and Elkview on the upper level. The left hand #6 turnout will connect to the Spencer yard lead and passing track. The #8 to the right will be Main #2 (we would be looking south in this arrangement) and a short branch to a small coal loading operation at Millstone.

    This weekend was mostly general basement finishing work and clean up for the special blitz week July 17-20.[​IMG]


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  7. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I had plans to finish the subroadbed on the ‘high line’ on the upper level between Smithville and West Union and a few other items. However storms Thursday night caused a power outage which was restored Friday. Then we had another storm Saturday that caused a 27 hour power outage through most of Sunday.

    Despite losing two mornings to work on the layout, I was able to install some ceiling panels and glue down the first section of track on the upper level. I also installed three custom Bowser covered hopper kits from Three Notch Rail.
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    The goal for this week is to get one section of flex track installed each evening before bedtime. That should lead to substantial progress going into next weekend.


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  8. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    STEEL IS (or will be) KING!

    After overlaying the plywood base last weekend with the foam sheeting, I laid out and glued the track down for the rolling mill for Kanawha Electra Steel on the peninsula near Charleston. Two ends from the Walthers kit were cut down to two stalls and propped up in place for the visual. Once the backdrop is completed behind, the structure will be assembled and set in place.
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    We also completed the main track subroadbed between Smithville and West Union was installed and the roadbed installation began at Spencer. Some of the yard tracks at Spencer were also sketched out. I’ll have to get more foam sheet glued down before laying track here. This may also be a good time to go ahead and get the backdrop put in before getting too far ahead.
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  9. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Before and after.

    More scenery shapes we put in place the last few weeks. I finally painted the area a base color until I can come back with ground goop and scenery later.
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    I haven’t been in the mood to lay track, so I’ve spent most of the last two weekends running and reclassifying trains between Charleston and the lower staging yard.

    This morning, 100 coal hoppers had their car cards rematched and will eventually be shuffled and returned to staging. When the second level is connected and running, I’ll need a couple hundred more to fully serve the mines along the way.[​IMG]


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  10. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I’ve still been working on the layout over the last month since the last update. Most of it have been installing fascia-mount turnout controls on the lower level and tuning troublesome cars.

    I recently purchased 13 Proto 2000 GP9’s from a fellow NMRA division member who is moving into a retirement community. So I’ve started an assembly line-like process to assemble and detail those as well as several I’ve already had (Around 28 total). They’ve mostly taken over the workbench. Here is an undecorated GP9 with a nose mount bell from CMR Products. [​IMG]

    I’ve also pulled out some older locomotives I already had painted and updated their numbers to the newer series. This GP9 was formerly #553 and completed in 2018, it now wears 6881. It has been packed and unpacked and moved and moved again several times, so the handrails need touched up eventually. But it has a decoder and is now on the layout again.
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    Finally this morning I built a #8 turnout with my jig for the depot siding at Spencer on the upper level and renumbered this Atlas U30C (formerly #432) to 3806.
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    Looking forward, I need one last sheet of plywood for the upper level and I will be able to have most of the main line on the upper level in place quickly. I believe my goal for this winter (The annual TB Winter Layout Party) is going to be the construction of a helix.


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  11. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I grew up not far from that plant--it was right next to I-680, IIRC, you could see it from the interstate. Your loco fleet looks great!!!
     
  12. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Well my short hood arrived for the first of the two units

    Will be posting up first pics of the 1776 directly into a post keeping you in the loop
     
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  13. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I’ve got to get better keeping this thread updated as well as I do the layout Facebook page.

    Down at the Juction

    The last manufactured switch I have left from the old layout was installed at Millstone for the mine branch off to the right. Also built a new #6 for the carbon black plant and laid it in place temporarily…. (Ran out of feeder wire!)

    The Little Kanawha Sub entry track is currently 24” radius, I’ll have to notch the vertical support on the extreme left to broaden out to 30” for the reliability once it is covered up by scenery.
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    I also built a #10 curved switch for the depot siding at Spencer. Ready to connect to the two sections of Main #2 here at Spencer soon. Fortunately the correction I made here a couple weeks ago will bring the yard closer to the front of the layout by about 3 inches.
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    Finally gathered some scrap foam board pieces and resumed cutting and stacking some basic scenery shapes at Rocksdale (NW of Spencer on a road map)

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  14. gmorider

    gmorider TrainBoard Member

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    Looks like things are shaping up very well. Fine track work. If you don't update often, this will seem "thread bare". See what I did there. I'll be here all week. Okay. I'll stop.
     
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  15. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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  16. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Background Check

    The backdrop for a large area of the upper level and two places on the lower level have been painted. The horizontal seams in the vinyl sheet portions of the backdrop will be hidden by scenery shapes and trees as things progress.

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    Hoping to start on the base of the helix next weekend, but my son’s basketball tournament is next Saturday as well, so I’m not expecting much progress until next month.

    [​IMG]


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  17. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    That steel mill will be grand! Careful camera placement can hide the narrow shelf width, and some false front buildings on the backdrop also help camouflage the narrow depth of the scene. Nicely done!
     
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  18. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    My thoughts exactly. The mill loading tracks will be under cover in the building, but a series of flats will connect to the EAF at the far end. The whole scene will be around 12 feet long and generate up to 17 cars of traffic (12 outbound loads / 5 inbound scrap) per session. [​IMG]
    A different angle two months ago. Need two rolling mill kits and two EAF kits to pull this off. The odd cardboard structure to the right is a mock up based on 1 of the Walthers EAF kits.


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  19. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    All tie’d up!

    Cross ties for the switches at Charleston arrived this week and I started inserting ties early Friday morning before going to work. These are already starting to make a difference at this end of the yard!

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    Most of the switches at the south end of Watts Street Yard at Charleston are finished and have their base coat of weathering applied. Several other switches had ties installed either in part or completely but weren’t trimmed and weathered.

    Still lacking ballast and details, but what a difference this makes already!

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  20. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Digging this
     
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