Superior & Seattle Railroad Build

[ACL1504]

John,

Now those are mountains! Looks great!

Tom

[S&S RR]

John,

Now those are mountains! Looks great!

Tom

Tom

Thanks - they will look better with some trees and talus - but one step at a time. First we need to get the trains running!

[S&S RR]

Today was another track laying day - everything was inside the mountains but tomorrow I should be through with the inside bench work and track. My back will be very happy!

[gnatshop]

John,  Now those are mountains! Looks great!
Tom    

Tom
Thanks - they will look better with some trees and talus - but one step at a time. First we need to get the trains running!

John, don't torture Li'l Tommy with thoughts of trains runnin' !
He's still fixin' the walls that he tore up with his demolition.
He's a lot better at buidin' scenery than he is at tearin' it out - think scratched and scarred out walls - a sheet rocker's nightmare!!

Hope he can show his badge and get a discount on them big cans of joint compound!   

[S&S RR]

David

I know just how Tom feels - it has been over 5 years since trains have been running on my layout. I have run test engines on the lower level so far but we are making progress every day. 

[S&S RR]

Today I completed the installation of the double track through the hanging rock tunnel.  I also installed the bridge over the rock ravine.

The other big accomplishment for today was the snow melted away from the door of the gazebo and we started the grill!

[S&S RR]

I finally got the bench work cleaned off in the area of the future town of Sellios.  I will be putting the track work in this area in the next few weeks so I needed to finalize the design for the track - at least the main lines and switches for the sidings.  In these views will also be the town of Van Gelder which will be on the far left on the opposite side of the river. You need to use your imagination to see the river in the mountain valley.  All of the plywood that you can see in these pictures will be removed  to make way for the track work, structures and scenery.  The terrain can go up and down from the mainline track work as desired.  The plywood is from my last layout - I did remove it like Tom - I just built on top of it.


I made a very detailed dimensioned sketch of this are this evening and plan to draw this area up in 3D CAD so I can play around with structure design and placement as this area takes shape. I have a few structures placed in my mind already and will share that as the final plan develops.  The area available for the town is 10 feet long by 5 feet deep.

[S&S RR]

I also have a question for the forum - I have always used plywood for the base for all of my structure builds.  For this area I'm considering switching to foam but my first look into purchasing foam bases was at my LHS this week.  I could by hardwood plywood for what they wanted for a piece of the foam sold by Woodland Scenics. I would welcome a discussion here of foam bases; where you buy your material, what you buy, and the advantages over plywood bases.

[ak-milw]

I am using 1 1/2 inch foam insulation board. I get it in 4 by 8 sheets and they cost about $13. I put this on a open grid frame work made of 1 by 4's on 1 foot centers. I can sit on it when it is together and not break through. I have used this method for years and would never go back to plywood. The foamboard is also very stable and I never had it swell or shrink. Check out the last post on my Milwaukee Road thread, I have a picture of a  new section  on there. I get the foambard at my local lumber yard..

[S&S RR]

I am using 1 1/2 inch foam insulation board. I get it in 4 by 8 sheets and they cost about $13. I put this on a open grid frame work made of 1 by 4's on 1 foot centers. I can sit on it when it is together and not break through. I have used this method for years and would never go back to plywood. The foamboard is also very stable and I never had it swell or shrink. Check out the last post on my Milwaukee Road thread, I have a picture of a  new section  on there. I get the foambard at my local lumber yard..

Andy

Thanks for the input - I'm going to be looking in to my options.

[Zephyrus52246]

I've used the Gatorfoam, plywood, and the foam insulation board (2") for diorama bases.  They all have advantages/disadvantages.  The foam can be carved below the level of the structure, I'm not keen on trying to carve the Gatorfoam as it would lose it's strength.  The plywood is strongest, but heavy.  For future scenery areas, I'm using the insulation foam. 


Jeff

[S&S RR]

Jeff

Good to hear from you, and thanks for the input.  I'm seeing blue, pink, and white insulation board and need to figure out what is different about them other than color.  In this area of the layout I want to have areas where the terrain is lower than the current plywood base so the foam would make that much easier to accomplish.

[ACL1504]

John,

First, your mountians are fantastic as I've alreay stated. Now I have to say the coloring and naturalness, if that's a word, are impressive to say the least!

As far as planting structures I've used everything from 1/2", 3/4" plywood and gator foam. When I used the plywood as a base that was all we had back in the days. However, with the Gatorfoam material being added to our list of hobby supplies, it is the best way to go! It's strong and will support a good deal of weight, within reason of course.

I'm with Dr. Jeff in that I wouldn't attempt to cut it. I cut mine the size of the diorama to be used on the layout and use the terrain around the structure to be positive or negative scenery.

My .02 cents worth!

Tom

[S&S RR]

Tom


Thanks for your input and kind words - I need to do some experimenting.  I'm real comfortable with using plywood but I want to try something new if I find it's easier.  I want to change the terrain in this area so it doesn't look like mountains on top of a table.

[ak-milw]

John, the different colors are from different Manufactures. I use the pink from Corning.