After considering Andy’s (BigJake) advice I decided to move the two double crossovers to the back of the layout. This is the left side The missing track section will be explained after showing the crossover on the right side of the layout After moving the double crossovers I ran trains to enjoy my work. The train on the inner loop ran laps just fine but the train on the outer loop stopped dead when it reached the double crossover on the left in the first photo. In case you’re wondering the missing track section was there. The right side on the outer track had no power. The Kato double crossover is 4 electrical sections. The 2 tracks are insulated and each track is insulated left from right. This was late last night. I went to bed but had a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about this problem. We had an appointment this morning so I wasn’t able to work on this until late this afternoon. I first thought that there was a problem with the power routing points. My multi-meter showed that the missing track section had power but the whole right side of the crossover was electrically dead for that track. I had bought some used track at a train show in December and one section had no Unijoiner on one side. I was sure I checked that each section had Unijoiners before assembling the track but maybe I’d missed one. I removed the missing section and this is what I found. There is a Unijoiner without the rail joiner part. I replaced it with a new Unijoiner, connected the track, and trains run smooth as silk. Glad this was an easy fix.
I gave your suggestion a lot of thought and decided to give it a try. I like it and have more room for scenery items and maybe another industry spur. I have a number 6 right hand switch that I might use here. I have to add a triangle of foam so the track isn’t floating. Thanks for the suggestion, George.
To be honest here, I like the "horseshoe curve" better. It breaks up the sterile old 'follow the benchwork edges, with everything stuffed inside' concept.
I also liked the horseshoe curve and may put it back after running trains for a while. One of the great benefits of Unitrack is that it’s easy to make changes, run trains for a while, and then change the track again until you’re satisfied. Track is still a work in progress.
There's also room for variants between the full horse-shoe, and more-or less parallel curves. You could put in only a slight "bulge" in the inner track, to gain some radius on the inner track as well. And, with a grade change, (my favorite,) the curves can be offset, and fly over each other (inner to outer and vise-versa in the corner) with broader radii on both lines, forming a bent, over/under figure-eight. You could use a tunnel or a trestle (optionally using Unitrack Viaduct tracks); both are visually interesting, and depart from the edges of the layout, while also providing space for industry, town, etc. in the corner, behind the flyover. You could also do the same, but with an at-grade 90-degree crossing adjacent to the inside corner of the benchwork, forming a flat, bent figure-eight. I second the notion regarding not always following the layout edge (or vise-versa.) Railroads run through the countryside, not around it (except usually for mountains, lakes, etc.)
I went to a train show and my sort of local train store in Melbourne, FL today. I bought the Walther’s kit to see if I can still assemble kits. I have shaky hands so kits are a challenge. If I’m successful with this kit there are some others I’d like to build.
Yeah, they are great! My LHS still had some of them in pre-lighted vintage (now they are lighted from the factory,) and he had them marked down, so I bought 'em! I have my eye on more. There are also some online vendors selling out their Model Power assembled structures. They're not NEARLY as nice as WS, but they are not as expensive, and they are generally more railroad-related. I bought some of those to use, and perhaps detail while I re-learn to paint. I also enjoyed using an airbrush briefly in HS art class, so I also want to get back to that. I have an air compressor that is reasonably quiet (yet it doubles for inflating and light air tool use.) If it ends up being too noisy for the train room (a spare bedroom), then I'll get an aluminum air tank that I can fill with the compressor in the shop, and use in the train room. At least I won't have to run the air tank up and down stairs between filling and emptying the tank (getting rid of stairs is why we recently moved to a new house.)
Those unlit WS buildings can easily be lighted if so desired. The vendor I bought the 5 structures from had more and I’m sorry I didn’t get more. His prices were excellent, much less than buying new.
They make portable/rechargable airbrushes- I bought one to use while I was in Japan. Very quiet, get about three hours of battery life. No need for an air tank. And depending on the brand many of these handheld compressor thingys can be interchangeable with the airbrush of your choice. Photo examples from Google in case you haven’t seen it before-didn’t want to post a brand name Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
When the battery runs down, can it be recharged in a few minutes or less, like an air tank can? I suppose multiple units could be purchased to provide continuous use while depleted units recharge. These battery-powered/rechargeable units are the bomb for extreme portability, especially when travelling, OR if you don't already have an air compressor/tank, and just want to test the airbrushing waters, so to speak, without a more expensive outlay. Some users may want the option to vary and regulate the air pressure for different paints, airbrushes, and applications. I suppose a separate regulator could be incorporated in your setup. I also wonder how much pulsing is there in the air pressure from these little air pumps. Changes in air pressure could alter atomization (droplet size) of the paint. Finally, compared to a standard compressed air tank (backed up with a compressor or not), how fast and even is the startup pressure on these when you first push the trigger on the airbrush, or can/does the battery operated pump run continuously?
A bunch of stuff is still packed up, but if memory serves, it was no more than an hour to recharge. Since I was using it to paint and/or weather rolling stock, even if I was doing batches, it wasn’t the limiting factor. I bought one of the cheaper ones, and I never experienced pulsing of air. If the battery was too low, it would just shut off. For my purposes at the time-learning how to airbrush, while living on-base overseas in Japan in what was basically a townhouse with neighbors on either end, it was great. I may eventually invest in a more permanent set up now that I am back in the U.S. and a homeowner, but this portable thing will still be my go-to for a number of tasks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've got a rechargeable airbrush and like it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CX8BM9M I've used to for weathering. I can't imagine having a weathering job so big that it won't do it on a single charge.
Thanks for the link. That unit has a 1.5h recharge time, for a 1h runtime. That's plenty for painting an N scale loco/railcar, but layout scenery/backdrop,e etc. might stretch that a bit. It also cannot use USB supplies with more than 5V @ 2A. I don't know if that means it cannot use anymore current than that, or if it would be physically damaged with a higher current supply. It would be nice to know if the connection between airbrush and pump is the same as any better-known, air-hose/airbrush connectors. I can see applications where being able to connect one of these rechargeable pumps to an airbrush of your choice (normally run on a larger tank/compressor) would come in very handy. I'm also concerned about whether there is a moisture filter in the unit. But maybe its not a big deal at the relatively low pressures involved in airbrushing. But some airbrush users need larger compressors/tanks at higher pressure for run-time between cycling on/off (or even hooking up a portable tank to a compressor), while regulating the working pressure down to something more suitable for an airbrush. Higher pressure air storage could need a moisture filter. A cubic foot of air at 100 psi is a lot more air than a cubic foot at 40 psi. Even with some shortcomings, this appears to be a comparatively inexpensive way to get into airbrushing, and trying it out before you commit $$ to a more capable/versatile/$ setup. And the relatively low price means not much is wasted if you end up using a different airbrush with a more capable system in the future.
That and if you use it for scenery work you don't have an air hose draped across the layout tearing up the foreground scenery. Just a thought that popped into my head.
A little prior proper planning prevents that. I mean who does the front of the layout before the back?
I was a painter's helper in a chemical plant for a summer between semesters in college. My journeyman used large spray guns, with long, heavy hoses for both air and paint. The hoses were taped together every foot or so, but that big bulky hose pair still had to be kept off freshly painted areas, or from snagging on valve handles, etc., by me, the helper. Sometimes the journeyman was up in overhead pipe racks, while I was wrangling hoses below on the floor. We usually worked in reverse order, backing out of an area as we painted it, but sometimes that's not practical (as with being able to paint the rear of a layout before the front) especially when painting freshly installed piping for a unit upgrade. We usually draped the hose pair over our shoulder and down our back. We had to avoid looping or tying the hoses, etc. to ourselves, because of the potential need for a rapid, safe exit in an emergency. And sometimes, being the helper, one of my jobs was to keep the hoses corralled while my journeyman painted. And of course, there was always masking to put up and take down before and after painting, and cleaning up our equipment at the end of each job/day. This was in Houston, where chemical plants are open structures, not typically enclosed in buildings, due to the mild winters. The only air-conditioned part of a chemical unit was the control room, and I was rarely allowed in those. Yeah, I would sweat out a ton of water (and salt), wearing disposable paper coveralls over my work clothes most of the day in the muggy Houston summer. But it paid very well!
