Superior & Seattle Railroad Build

[bparrish]

John and Dave


Kadee makes a coupler extension box for long high end kick cars. 

I think it is number 459.  It's hard to find on their page. 

I have very tight radius turns in my trolley division, 10 - 11 inches and I need to watch for couplers at their limits for derailment issues.

See ya
Bob

[S&S RR]

John and Dave


Kadee makes a coupler extension box for long high end kick cars. 

I think it is number 459.  It's hard to find on their page. 

I have very tight radius turns in my trolley division, 10 - 11 inches and I need to watch for couplers at their limits for derailment issues.

See ya
Bob

Dave and Bob

I think we have some great ideas for the ultimate test car. I made some modification to mine - I will try to take some pictures - the bottom line is that the Pullman cars in reverse seems to be one of the worst case tests for testing new track and I will be continuing to use it on my track work before I start ballasting.

Today, I spent the day removing the last of the bench work from my old layout in the area which will some day be the town of Sellios. I decided to remove all the patch work and start over with fresh bench work before I start adding all those expensive kits over the next few years. I also made a run to Home Depot for plywood.  I decide to stick with wood after pricing the foam materials. The only advantage with the foam is the weight and with all the plaster I have to hold up what's a few pounds of plywood.  I will post some pictures tomorrow - I got my orders that I was taking the boss to dinner before I got a chance to take some new ones today.

[ACL1504]

  I decide to stick with wood after pricing the foam materials. The only advantage with the foam is the weight and with all the plaster I have to hold up what's a few pounds of plywood.  I will post some pictures tomorrow - I got my orders that I was taking the boss to dinner before I got a chance to take some new ones today.

John,

I've made the decision to stay with plywood as well. I just like the support but I do use the Gatorboard for many of the structures bases.

Now, I've learned as well that the boss needs to be happy! Our trip to the Red Claw (Red Lobster) last night was for that specific purpose. Nuff said!

Tom

[S&S RR]

As promised, here are a few pictures of what I'm doing to complete the track work and lay the foundations for the structures in the town of Sellios. In this first picture you can see what the area looked like two days ago when I started this process.



In the following three pictures you can see what it looks like today.  All of the original bench work was removed (this area was part of my previous layout) - and I'm replacing it with the actual base boards for the structures I plan on adding in this area. In this way I can lay out the whole town and make sure everything fits the way I have it pictured in my mind. The mainline track work will be completed in this area and a diagram of each siding will be added to the base boards, along with the roads, river and any other feature that needs to have space in this area. As I build the structures,  I will remove the base board and take it to my workbench. It becomes the lot or piece of property available for each structure. The structures will be built to fit either by building a kit, kit bashing a kit, or scratch building.





You can also see the wiring from the main control panel which runs from here to the three remote control panels. The area under the layout is also used for storage when I'm not working in area.




The rock work, tunnel portals, and retaining walls on the far right of this picture ( the area that is partially opened up) is also from the old layout and will be covered with scenery (trees and grass). The few trees you see in this picture are "test plants" to get a fell for the size and types of trees I want to add in these areas.  I'm also playing around with the season,  the plan right now is going to be fall with the aspens turning in this area.

[S&S RR]

As I get further along with bench work and base boards for this area it will be easier to see my plan. I will post progress pictures as I go along.

[ACL1504]

As I get further along with bench work and base boards for this area it will be easier to see my plan. I will post progress pictures as I go along.

John,

Wonderful stuff my friend. Isn't it great to be retired so you can do this full time or anytime you want? Well, unless the Boss has you taking her to dinner.

I'll be leaving the State Attorney's Office at the end of December. That will be my final retirement and then I'll be a full time empire builder.

Tom

[ak-milw]

John, you are making steady progress looks good.

[S&S RR]

As I get further along with bench work and base boards for this area it will be easier to see my plan. I will post progress pictures as I go along.

John,

Wonderful stuff my friend. Isn't it great to be retired so you can do this full time or anytime you want? Well, unless the Boss has you taking her to dinner.

I'll be leaving the State Attorney's Office at the end of December. That will be my final retirement and then I'll be a full time empire builder.

Tom

Thanks Tom


Yes- retirement is great. I have managed to stay retired for one year now, except for a few consulting jobs.  I hope to keep this job another 50 years!

[S&S RR]

John, you are making steady progress looks good.

Andy



Thanks for watching. It is nice to see progress.

[GPdemayo]

Hi John. I just caught up on your thread and was amazed at the scope of work you have taken on.

The mountains are awe inspiring and I hope that there won't be a shortage of plaster when I get around to doing that on my layout.


Glad to see that you and Tom have got the passenger car pulling and pushing problem figured out.


Great work and I'll try to keep a closer watch in the future.

[EricQuebec]

Very Impressive. Your rockies landscape are jsut awesome. In some way  It's like John Allen revisited. BRAVO.
Eric Québec city

[Erieman]

Good Morning John.
Great pictures!!! I recall you kidding me about when do I sleep after seeing my layout and house projects. Well the same to you my friend. Your layout is looking absolutely marvelous. The rock work is fabulous. Can't wait to see all the track and structures in place. Retirement does help to speed up the railroad progress, except when the boss wants me to finish the backyard project. I'll be working on both my layout and Russ's layout today, so progress in the yard will have to wait. Have a wonderful day in the basement.

Frank / Erieman

[S&S RR]

Hi John. I just caught up on your thread and was amazed at the scope of work you have taken on.

The mountains are awe inspiring and I hope that there won't be a shortage of plaster when I get around to doing that on my layout.


Glad to see that you and Tom have got the passenger car pulling and pushing problem figured out.


Great work and I'll try to keep a closer watch in the future.

Thanks Greg


It is a very big project - just taking it a day at a time.  I am enjoying it .  If you have trouble getting plaster I know where to get it by the 100 lb bag.  I will try to keep this thread up-to-date.

[S&S RR]

Very Impressive. Your rockies landscape are jsut awesome. In some way  It's like John Allen revisited. BRAVO.
Eric Québec city

Thanks Eric


I have to admit that I'm a big John Allen fan and his work has had a big impact on what I'm doing.


Thanks for following the thread.

[S&S RR]

Good Morning John.
Great pictures!!! I recall you kidding me about when do I sleep after seeing my layout and house projects. Well the same to you my friend. Your layout is looking absolutely marvelous. The rock work is fabulous. Can't wait to see all the track and structures in place. Retirement does help to speed up the railroad progress, except when the boss wants me to finish the backyard project. I'll be working on both my layout and Russ's layout today, so progress in the yard will have to wait. Have a wonderful day in the basement.

Frank / Erieman

Good to hear from you a Frank. Yes, like I said when we were out there we have a lot in common.  I think our wives are going to keep us both busy.  My yard work season is just starting here.  Mother Nature decided to trim the trees here last night so I spent the day cleaning up. 


I am really enjoying the layout - once I get the trains running the progress will be more noticeable. Thanks again for the great ideas and following along with the build.