The Atlantic and Southern Build, Part 1

[Powersteamguy1790]

Sometimes repairs are necessary Tom, to get things running perfectly.

Stay cool and run steam.......

[ACL1504]

OUCH, that hurts, but you made the right decision. Cut, remove and replace. I think we all have had to do this at least once. I have had a temperature event that created a three way switch rising off the cork roadbed. It looked like a mountain versus your extra curve. Also not pretty.


As usual, you are doing a wonderful job on your beautiful layout. Keep up the great work, my friend.


Frank / Erieman

Framk,

Thanks for stopping by. Cut, remove and replace was definitely the thing to do. I figured out what went wrong and I'll explain it in future posts.

Thank you as well for the very kind words of support.

Tom
Tom

[ACL1504]

Looked straight to me...but I model backwoods Maine narrow gauge, so it's all perspective


Haven't caught up in a while, but the layout looks great here. Usually I don't like re-runs, but...


John

John,

It looked straight to me also. But after several months it got more and more out of line.


I wasn't happy about the rerun either but felt it was necessary to maintain the flow of the build.

I appreciate you checking in.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Hi Tom


The S&S RR has diagnosed our track problem and plans on trying to fix it with the same technique.  Wet it down and try to save it.  Since a few inches of the repair are on top of the trestle I may need to add some new trestle decking. I also ordered a couple more sections of bridge track so I had it on hand just in case we need plan B.

John,

I also tried to save this one but just knew it needed to be replaced. I think straightening your "S" curve was the correct decision also.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Sometimes repairs are necessary Tom, to get things running perfectly.

Stay cool and run steam.......

Bob,

This repair was necessary and long overdue.

Tom

[ACL1504]

I got the plywood sanded smooth and then realized what went wrong.






In looking at my initial center line, I realized it wasn't straight. I'm not sure how I did it but obviously I wasn't paying attention when gluing the cork to to both sides of the line.

The metal ruler is straight and the black line isn't.




More in a few.

[ACL1504]

As long as the repair was being made, I decided to change the radius from 36" to 38". In the photo below, you can see the original 36" black radius line. The new cork roadbed is at 38" radius.






More in a few.

[ACL1504]

I gave myself some transition space on the curve and then used the metal ruler to make sure the line was straight.





I use the colored push pins to hold the cork as the glue dries.

I then cut a piece of cork to fill in the gap making sure the cork was flush against the ruler.




More in a few.

[ACL1504]

I forgot to mention how I glue the cork to the plywood. It is probably mundane for most but it may be beneficial to some.

I lay a bead of carpenter's glue on the plywood and use my finger to smooth it out or some what flat.





I do this for two reasons. One, it gives you more of a gluing surface for the cork. Secondly, and most important is that if you don't smooth the glue, you run the risk of not getting a flat or flush fit of the cork to the plywood. I've know some modelers who use a small wall paper roller to smooth the cork as it is glued.

NOTE:  If you do use a roller, make sure the cork stays in place. The rolling pin action on the cork, on wet glue will move the cork. In other words, the cork will slide on the wet glue.

What you don't want is some bead of glue drying under the cork and making the cork unlevel.

More in a few.

[ACL1504]

I mentioned using push pins to hold the cork. When gluing the opposite cork piece, I only use the push pins directly across from the other ones.

I do this so I don't push or realign the cork on the one side. I push the cork tight against the other piece at the opposite push pin location and tack it in place with another push pin.





Once all the cork is in place and secure with a gazillion push pins, I let it dry over night.



I'll finish this section tomorrow afternoon/night.

[ak-milw]

Good save Tom.

[tct855]

An AS railroad teaser~

Hi all,
       
A 3 man Atlantic & Southern Railroad engine crew was running the rails on the famous AS main line and ran out of hours and had to stop in the local town inn of East Tahope. (near Baker's curve)

They walked up to the night desk clerk (Khaki Pants) and asked if they had a room available for the night.

The night desk clerk (KPI) replied, yes we do!

The Conductor (ACL 1504) aka (KPII) asked how much?

The clerk (KPI) replied, $30.00

The conductor (ACL 1504) aka (KPII) said to the crew (Baker & DeMayo) that's good, we'll share the cost. $10.00 each. "Damn frugal railroaders". ha.

The clerk (KPI) gave the conductor (ACL 1504) aka (KPII) the key to the room and showed them the elevator.

As the elevator started up, the night manager (the Judge) came up to the clerk and asked how much did you charge the guests?

He replied, $30.00.

The manager (the Judge) said, we have a special today. The rate is $26.00, go give them the $4.00 return.

As the clerk (KPI) was going up in the elevator it occurred to him, how could he return $4.00 evenly to 3 rough, tough looking & stinky railroaders?

When the elevator doors open the clerk (KPI) decided to keep one $1.00 to himself (thief) and tell the 3 rough, tough looking & stinky crewmen about the special room rate today.

The clerk (KPI) said that the room was not $30.00, but was $27.00 and here was the $3.00 returned.

The conductor (ACL 1504) aka (KPII) said to the (R, TL & S) crewman, great! Here's a dollar back each! We ended up only paying $9.00 each.

So my question is: If the guys ended up paying $27.00 for the room and the clerk kept a $1.00 himself. That's $28.00.  What happened to the remaining $2.00 from the original $30.00?

The AS railroad is such a complicated job?  T...                                                                                                                                                             

[ACL1504]

KPII,

You are playing with numbers and words.

If the price was $26.00 for 3, then they paid roughly $8.67 each for the room. Actually, two of them only paid $8.66. The dishonest desk clerk kept $4.00. Thanks to the honest Judge, he returned $3.00, $1.00 to each A&S employee making the room payment $9.67 for one and $9.66 for two. The clerk's $1.00 (tip, actually .99 cents) brings the total to $30.00.

There is no missing money.

KPII AKA: ACL1504

[jerryrbeach]

I'm not really worried about the not really missing money.  I'm more concerned about why Thom felt it necessary to state that the clerk wore khaki pants.  I'm glad the clerk wore pants...but why did we need to know that? 

[jerryrbeach]

Tom,
Your track now has a really nice flow to it.  I'm guessing this will become a favorite spot for railfans.