Musings on a 4x8...

Just wonderful...

I had the tabletop sitting outside, in front of the garage, ready for prime. It was sitting under a eight-foot eve.

It has sat under there for the past couple days while we've had rain showers... not a drop on the layout.


Tonight...

Heavy rains and winds out of the north. The front of the garage faces north. Needless to say when I got home after work, there was some moisture on the layout (about 6", or so, of the north facing edge. I dobut it got sufficently wet enough to warp the plywood and/or the frame, but we'll have to see.

I dragged it into the garage, putting the wet side down, so that it could drip/air dry.


Gotta love friggin' Minnesota weather.

Just out of curriosity...

Does anybody know when "Take a Model Train to Work Day" is going to be this November? I've been searching around the 'net and can't find the date.


I ask, because I talked to my supervisor at the grocery store about possibly putting the layout on display on said day. Not only to promote the layout as an auction item and possibly solicit some funds for the Relay for Life (I'm going to have a donation jar on the layout), but I thought I could also promote the hobby as well.

So, if someone can provide the date for me, I can let him know and we can get a space set up for the display.

Just received my second donation today.

A friend of mine had five, spare, 3' sections of Atlas flex-track that he has donated to the project. So, between his donation and the track and turnouts I'm donating, I think I'm set for track for the layout. (I may have to get a few more turnouts, but I SHOULD be set for track.


Now, if I can get some of the rolling stock, structures, landscaping materials... and especially the Tortise switch machines and the DCC equipment donated, that would make things much easier.

I really want to get track laid and wired up in time for November in observance both National Model Railroad Month AND Testicular Cancer Awareness Month. I want to put the layout on display at a few businesses with a donation jar and see if I can raise a few bucks for the Relay For Life/American Cancer Society. And a running train would attract more attention than a static layout.

I've been busy with a few projects lately, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on the layout, but am going to try to do some work on it either this upcomming week or the week after.

Will keep you guys posted as progress continues.

A friend and I took a road trip to LaCrosse, Wisconsin yesterday and I made a run to ABC Hobbies to get some supplies and talk to the owner about Digital Command Control (of which I know very little).

I picked up sections of 22" and 18" curved track that I'm going to use to lay out the curved trackage on the layout. So now, hopefully, I'll be able to get a little track laid this week.


Now, for some DCC stuff...

Bill (the proprietor of ABC Hobbies) reccomended a Digitrax "Zephyr" for this project layout. How many of you guys out there running DCC have used this particular setup? Pros? Cons? Would anyone out there reccomend a different brand or setup? Just currious as to what your thoughts/opinions are.

I use the NCE Power Cab and I usually recommend it over the Zephyr for several reasons (not the least of which is that NCE is right up the road from me if there's ever any issue with it).

However, this time I could see going with the Zephyr because I envision the "throttle" being somehow attached to the layout. For the lucky recipient this might seem more like the "power pack" that they'd be used to seeing (assuming that they had seen a train layout at all, that is).

Digitrax has just announced an upgraded version of the Zephyr, which might put downward pressure on the previous version of the throttle. Translation: you might land a bargain.

Well, I have two more donations...

Preston Lumber LLC (Preston, MN) has graciously donated more lumber to the project... some 2" x 2" and 1" x 4" boards that will become the legs and lower frame, as well as a 1" x 12" that will be a storage shelf.

Also, my father has given the first cash contribution for the purchase of five Atlas code 100 turnouts to complete the trackwork on the layout. (I thought I had quite a few of those things laying around, but apparently only had FOUR!!!) So, I called ABC Hobbies in LaCrosse (WI) to order them and should have them here by Tuesday or Wednesday.


I was hoping to have the DCC setup and Tortise switch machines on hand, so I could get the layout wired up and have a train running on the layout. Unfortunately, I can't afford the DCC equipment, or the switch machines at this time, so when the layout makes its debut on Friday (it will be on display at the grocery store I work at for "Take a Model Train to Work Day"), it will be a static display as a "work in progress." Hopefully it will generate donations for the Relay for Life... and the layout (I'm going to have a donation jar out to raise funds specifically for the layout).

I've also talked to reporters from some of the local newspapers about doing a human interest story on the layout and myself to raise awarness of November being National Prostate and Testicular Cancer Awareness Month and National Model Railroad Month. Interestingly, November 23rd will mark the second anniversary of me discovering the lump on my neck and subsequent diagnosis of Tesicular Cancer (Dec. 5). It was not a good time in my life, to say the least.

Conversely, model railroading has given me some very happy times in my life and has allowed me to meet some great people who share the hobby. Hopefully this project layout will inspire a young person (or not-so-young person) to take up an interest in this great hobby and raise funds for Cancer research in the process.

Anyway...

Progress pics to come later this week when the turnouts arrive, and also pics of the layout on display at the grocery store.

By the way...

I'm still looking for a Walthers SW-1 and an Atlas RS-1/2/3 if anyone has one they'd be willing to part with. (As I've noted before, the SW-1 was the only locomotive that could operate on the Milwaukee Road's Iowa & Southern Minnesota Division branch lines in southeastern Minnesota and the RS unit would be a good representation of the power used by the C&NW on the line to Chatfield.)

So, anyone looking to unload some "surplus power" can contact me via my e-mail or a PM here on the site.

I've been toying with the idea of adding a passenger train to the selection of rolling stock for the layout.

I'm thinking of having three Branchline 78' paired-window coaches as main consist of the train. Who would make an RPO/Baggage Combine, Diner and Observation car to mate with the coaches? Athearn?

The train will be painted PRR "Tuscan Red" with "antique" gold lettering/numbering (maybe call it "THE GOPHER," as it would roughly be the state colors of maroon and gold?). Numbers will reflect important dates in Minnesota History (I have a BA in History, after all ) and cars will be named after important Minnesotans. So far, on the coaches, I have Henry Sibley (first state Governor), [Father] Lousi Hennepin (explored the Minnesota Territory) and [Col.] Josiah Snelling (designed Fort St. Anthony - now known as Fort Snelling - the first settlement/outpost in Minnesota). Also, John S. Pilsbury (one of the co-founders of the Pilsbury Co.) will be emblazended on the side of the diner and Luther Preston (the first Postmaster and namesake of my hometown) will be on the RPO. I haven't decided on who to put on the observation, just yet.

And what of the "Empire Builder" himself, James J. Hill (who lived in Minnesota for a majority of his life)? His name shall be on the locomotive, since he was the POWER behind the growth and development of the "Hill family lines." The only question now, is... what locomotive should it be?

Being an ALCophile, I'm thinking an FA, but I also like the "bulldog nose" of an F unit. Although, I'm also tempted to take a page out of the MoPac's playbook, and run a GP-7/9 on the point, like they did with the Eagles. What do you guys think?


Anyway, I've been busy plugging away on this the layout for the past few days. I have a few pics to upload, but I'm going to wait until this weekend to post them.

Progress is happening, reports to come...

A small write-up and video of my interview with the Austin (MN) TV station...

http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1847 ... ?cat=10226

Decent interview, I thought. (Not the greatest, but decent.)

And Some Pics of the RF&L's progress...


Tools of the trade I used to work out the trackplan for the RF&L. I used the sectional track to plot out the 22" radius curves and used the yard stick to plot out the tracklines for the straight sections. Flexi-track was utilized to "fudge" a few sections of the trackwork.


The subroadbed was glued to the plywood and push-pins utilized to hold the strips in place while the glue dried.


ON DISPLAY!!!


Here the layout sits on display at the store on November 19, 2010. Definately a "work in progress."


And a picture of me with the layout. A little kitschy, but I dressed the part for the media with my bibs and "engineer's cap."

Just to show you how out-of-touch I've been with things (at least with HO stuff, I've been enamored with O and On30 for the past few years)...

I know Athearn had been talking about discontinuing the Blue Box line for a while, but the last I heard, they were going back and forth on whether or not they were going to follow through and kill it off.

So, when I called Bill over at ABC Hobbies, to ask about some inexpesnsive rolling stock (mainly locomotives) he informed me that the ol' reliable Blue Box line was no more. That... bummed me out, actually. I don't know what the Blue Box engines were going for before they ceased production, but I remember buying a SOO LINE GP-35 back in '89 or '90 for about TWENTY-ONE BUCKS!!! It's pretty crude, detail-wise, by today's standards, but it was a HUGE step up from the Bachman and Life-Like locomotives I ran for my first three years of the hobby. And, even though I haven't ran it in a few years (it's been in storage), chances are that all I would have to do is clean the wheels and it would run as good as the day I brought it home from Moon's Hobby Shop in Rochester, MN.

Thought I could score a couple inexpensive GP-40s (or something like that) and/or some rolling stock kits, but, well... Yeah.


I also mentioned a couple types of locomotives that I was otherwise looking for... and he said he had one in stock! Cool! Was even DCC ready! Awesome! He wants a hundred bucks for it...

Darn.

Now, this is a USED locomotive with an aftermarked DCC decoder chip in it. Which I have NO problem with. It's also painted for another railroad, and NOT the Milwaukee Road, which is no biggie, as it can be repainted into black and orange with little difficulty. And considering that a new DC locomotive and an aftermarket DCC decoder would be around the same price, if not a little more expensive, and a factory DCC unit would be twice that... I have no problem with that either. What I do have a problem with, is the fact that my coffers for this project are bare at the moment, and I don't have the cash to put towards the engine... let alone the second unit I'd like to have for the railroad, or freight and passenger cars, structures... etc.

So, hopefully, I can scrape together some funds and acquire said locomotive before someone else snaps it up. (Maybe I can find a few benevolent contributors who will make a donation or to towards the cause...)


But...

That's the latest update on the RF&L. Updates to come as they occour!

Speaking of locomotives...

Anyone have an ALCo. RS-2 or EMD GP-7/9 (or, the parts to cobble one together) that's languishing on their workbench that they'd be willing to part with? Need some CGW (Chicago Great Western)/C&NW (Chicago & North Western) representation on the layout. My "neck of the woods" here in Minnesota was on the Northwestern's "ALCo. Line," which is why I'm looking for an RS unit, but I also remember a GP-7/9 switching the Bay States mill down at Levee Park in Winona (MN), so either would work.

Donation would be prefered, but I'm willing to make a deal.

Not trying to beg, here, but I figured if someone has a spare engine lying around, or parts (shell, frame, etc.) that are taking up space on their workbench, I could put them to good use. And, as they say, it never hurts to ask.

I might have a blue box GP-9 kicking around. It's in BN green iirc, no decals thou. If I can find it and it runs its yours.

Cadet57 wrote:I might have a blue box GP-9 kicking around. It's in BN green iirc, no decals thou. If I can find it and it runs its yours.

That would very much be appreciated!!!

Send me a PM to let me know if you found it and if it runs or not, and I'll give you the address to ship it to!

Another LaCrosse run tonight.

The guys and I made an impromptu run to our favorite eatery, featuring Buffalo Wings and, ah... "atmosphere." I also made a side-trip to ABC Hobbies.

Picked up a few more sections of flexi-track (my supply ran out!!!) and some Floquil/Polly-S paint. As soon as I get the track done, check for trouble areas, solder the track together, wire and insulate (where needed... if needed) I'm going to be ready to weather the track and then ballast. I figured I would get those items now and be ready for when the time comes to do it.

Something that bummed me out, however, is that I looked both online and at the hobby shop... and it appears that Floquil has discontinued it's "driftwood stain." It was a grey-ish colored paint/stain that resembled the color of old, weathered wood. Did they discontinue this color, or was I just not looking in the right place? So, "Plan-B" is to paint the ties in successive washes of Polly-S "Milwaukee Road Grey" and "Steam Engine Black" until I get the desired effect. I'm also going to paint the rails with Floquil "Rust" and "Rail Brown."

Incidentally, for the ballast on the layout, I've decided to go with the C&NW's color pallate, with the mainline done up in "Pink Lady" and the rest of the track done in a dark grey color. I even found a supplier, Dale Kuhn, "next door" (relatively speaking) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and will be placing an order sometime in the near future.

So, that's where I am with the layout thus far.

I have a couple of articles/interviews that will be appearing in the local newspapers, hopefully that will generate a few donations that will allow me to obtain the DCC equipment that I'd like to use for the layout, but we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll continue to update as progress continues.