It is time to get started with the Superior & Seattle RR build thread.
So how do you start over with a build thread when you had 5 years of history somewhere else?
I'm currently laying track and wiring the layout after completely starting over 5 years ago. The starting over consisted of tearing out all of the previous layout except the bench work. I decided that my new layout would be a mountain layout and so it is. It is a freelance Railroad that goes from Superior (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) to Seattle through the prettiest mountains the builder could find along the way. I just opened the 33rd 100 lb. bag of plaster. Those of you that saw my original build thread have seen pictures of this process. I will post the pictures of this process here as I complete each section of the new layout.
So as I was laying on my back wiring the layout today, I was thinking of how to get this new build thread started. Since this is a build thread why not start with what I've been looking at the past six weeks - the foundation of the layout - the bench work. This picture is one of the tunnels underneath the mountains of the layout. I'm taking the picture from about the middle of the tunnel so it is about 30 feet to the far wall. It kinda looks and feels like a mine shaft. A few of the features I want to point out are; the false floor 4 inches above the cement basement floor and the floor drains, the conduit that carries the 110 volt power to the control panels, the double 2x4 posts every six feet (also, if necessary, I could cut the layout up in six foot sections to move it), and the wall outlets every 8 feet so I can plug in power tools. The layout is not attached to the walls. All of the buss wires you see are number 12 wire. The layout is wired for block control so it is very easy to locate any wiring problems by throwing switches at the control panels. Right now all the wires are loose, so I can get at them to connect the jumpers. I will bundle them after everything has been tested.
Why the false floor - the area underneath the layout is our storage area. If a pipe breaks in the house everything is off the floor. I learned the hard way that this was necessary when a supply pipe in the bathroom decided to break. Sidebar - if the builders used plastic supplies in your house replace them - they get brittle and break.
In my next post I will describe the water management system that I put in before I put 3300 pounds of plaster mountains underneath an upstairs laundry room, bathroom, and kitchen.
So how do you start over with a build thread when you had 5 years of history somewhere else?
I'm currently laying track and wiring the layout after completely starting over 5 years ago. The starting over consisted of tearing out all of the previous layout except the bench work. I decided that my new layout would be a mountain layout and so it is. It is a freelance Railroad that goes from Superior (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) to Seattle through the prettiest mountains the builder could find along the way. I just opened the 33rd 100 lb. bag of plaster. Those of you that saw my original build thread have seen pictures of this process. I will post the pictures of this process here as I complete each section of the new layout.
So as I was laying on my back wiring the layout today, I was thinking of how to get this new build thread started. Since this is a build thread why not start with what I've been looking at the past six weeks - the foundation of the layout - the bench work. This picture is one of the tunnels underneath the mountains of the layout. I'm taking the picture from about the middle of the tunnel so it is about 30 feet to the far wall. It kinda looks and feels like a mine shaft. A few of the features I want to point out are; the false floor 4 inches above the cement basement floor and the floor drains, the conduit that carries the 110 volt power to the control panels, the double 2x4 posts every six feet (also, if necessary, I could cut the layout up in six foot sections to move it), and the wall outlets every 8 feet so I can plug in power tools. The layout is not attached to the walls. All of the buss wires you see are number 12 wire. The layout is wired for block control so it is very easy to locate any wiring problems by throwing switches at the control panels. Right now all the wires are loose, so I can get at them to connect the jumpers. I will bundle them after everything has been tested.
Why the false floor - the area underneath the layout is our storage area. If a pipe breaks in the house everything is off the floor. I learned the hard way that this was necessary when a supply pipe in the bathroom decided to break. Sidebar - if the builders used plastic supplies in your house replace them - they get brittle and break.
In my next post I will describe the water management system that I put in before I put 3300 pounds of plaster mountains underneath an upstairs laundry room, bathroom, and kitchen.
