Building a Model Railroad

Today was the day I began work on my first Model Railroad. I have an entire room all to myself, as long as I leave a pathway to one of the doors and leave room for Centipede, an arcade game which can't find any other home in the house.
After drawing up several paper versions of the plans and a version using Adobe Photoshop, I finally bought some track planning software called "Anyrail".
The result, after 4 renditions 5 renditions 6 renditions, was this:
http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/layout-2.jpg
The lighter the shade of grey, the higher up the section is. With the exception, of course, of the doors, conveniently labeled "Door".
(Yes, I borrowed the name "Bohan" from Grand Theft Auto.)
Last night I went down to the Home Depot and bought some wood. Today was the first full day of construction, and I managed to get 1/4 of the benchwork completed.



What the layout looked like around 4 PM. Also, what the room itself looks like.


What it looked like when I stopped construction at 7:30 PM. I basically took 3 1x2s, then bolted them on top of a 1x4. Since each beam was only 5 feet, and I need 16 feet, I cut one of the beams in half and spliced them together to get 2 15-foot sections. I'll have to add on another foot later, but I'm happy with this for now.
I now have to make legs before laying down several wood beams that match the width of the different sections of the layout. After that I have to buy some plywood and lay that down on top. From there, I can purchase some track and begin construction on the actual railroad.

While the only engine I currently have is a Union Pacific switcher (a gift from my Grandfather, an avid "trainfan" and Model Railroader since the 1950's), I'm planning to model the Santa Fe railroad as it was beginning its merger into the BNSF railroad company (2001-2003 era). As such, a mix of Santa Fe and BNSF locomotives will be found on the layout.
As for the projected cost, the track alone should cost around $1753, a pretty penny. As such, I'll only buy more track when I need it.
Pictures will be added as the layout expands.

Stats:
Scale: HO (1:87, I believe)
Railroad: Santa Fe/BNSF
Benchwork Height: 42"
Layout Length: 16'
Layout Width: 6'-9'
Maximum Grade: 2.5%
Minimum Curve Radius: 24"
Maximum Height above benchwork: 9"
Total Track Length: 369.41 ft

E: 3/20/09:
Placed an order today.
Bought 3 Santa Fe Hopper Cars and a BNSF Caboose (Yes, I KNOW they don't exist IRL, so sue me. How else will I know if any of my cars came uncoupled?). Both are going to go into the Coal Mine, which is probably one of the first areas to get constructed.

E: 3/27/09:
Still no traincars.



Legs go up, I thought I grabbed a shot of the beams I used to secure it (and the brace I used to tie the bottom legs together), but I didn't. I'll have to get one when I can.

Using 2 doors to plan my layout, changing them out with some plywood later. I stuck a model of the Walt Disney World steam engine on the old, non-functional track for fun.

4/1/09:
Yesterday I mapped out the plywood I got for cutting and began to show off my new cars:





Chances are, you probably didn't get any of that.
Any number like 3" or 4" means how high that section of wood will be above the board.
Any area with a percent, like 2.5%, means that that area is going to be a slope to the different levels.
Any higher number, like 30" or 32" or 28" is going to be the radius of my curves.
And, finally, any lines which are crossed through are areas which I screwed up my measurements on or just didn't look right in general, and they tell me NOT TO CUT THERE. I put a lot so that way it might penetrate my thick skull. :P



Among the cooler things I found was a railroad crossing where the gates automatically lifted to allow a train through. It's going to need to be repainted though.



Today, I finally cut my plywood and began putting my hills together. Also, I used 2 wires I found and a couple clothespins as a ghetto way of getting power to my currently 1-track yard-long layout.

(Don't focus on the Pepsi bottle, focus on the fact that the TRACK is higher!)

(About the graffiti: The house I'm moving in to was previously rented out by a tenant who was... Not happy about leaving. She hadn't paid her rent in 2 years, had everything in a different name, and was generally exploiting the system in every way possible so she could live large without spending a lot. We currently are pursuing a lawsuit against her for damages to the house, and the fact that bills for things which are in one of her alias names are constantly showing up to the door are ensuring that she might face some legal fines as well.)





5/7/09:
Long time, no new pics.




Also:
Centipede Arcade game I HAVE to have in there (going to need to cut that wood):

Random Santa Fe Passenger cars I found in a box in my shed:



10/21/09:






12/6/09:


Some recent news:

• I was at what essentially amounts to a model train swap meet in the Ontario Convention Center (in Ontario, CA, the convention center is just a few blocks from my house, actually), from which I acquired 2 new engines: a Santa Fe Dash 8 (the red engine in the video above) and a Santa Fe GP-50 to complement my OTHER Santa Fe SD-40. The GP-50/SD-40 team will eventually be used for light freight duty and switching coal cars at the coal yard; the Dash 8 will be used for heavy jobs like pulling coal or container trains. And yes, I WILL repaint some of the train cars and make them TF2 colors with "Red" and "Blu" on them, just because I'm cool like that. Look at the TF2 train prefabs in Hammer to see what I'm talking about.
• Since my last update, I have been working on the technical side of things. This means working out the bugs and working with electricity. Lots of working with electricity. Electricity is fun for your body and for your soul. Electricity loves you.

And I didn't forget pictures.
NEW TRAINZZZZZ:




(GAAAAAH INSTRUCTIONS)

AND TINY PARTS TO WORK WITH :gonk:





Train car loaded with nails for trackwork on-the-go = :iamafag:

And let's take a look under the hood:


Every little bit of track is now wired up and ready to go. The train now has very little issues getting to any place on the entire layout; although the switch to the coal yard needs to be replaced (it causes a shitload of derailments).

2/22/10:
I'm ripping out all the older tracks and replacing them with some better tracks better suited for the (somewhat) new technology behind the trains:


My trains are now in the digital age. I'm using a VERY old DCC (Digital Command Control) controller now, meaning that I can run more than one train at once, play sounds from each engine, remotely uncouple cars, and hook my trainboard directly into a computer. The top picture is the controller itself (a relic from the early 2000s, the newer ones are VERY expensive and can do MUCH more), the bottom picture is the specialized programming track.
I also got a new engine for Christmas:




And, finally, a look at the new layout. I haven't ripped out ALL of the old tracks yet; I need about 35 more switches to completely replace all my switching yards. The only old tracks which will stay are the ones which are supported by pylons, as the new tracks aren't designed for those pylons and thus I would have to buy some more.




The black things in the tracks are little uncouplers which can uncouple cars for me. I have 3 on the tracks, but I also have 3 more to place.

6/13/10:
Mann Co., working on contract for Builders League United, LLC, and Reliable Excavation and Demolition, LLC, announces rail service to Well.

Okay, so maybe the buildings aren't there yet (no scenery has been placed, and I need to get off my ass and scratch-build it), but it will be Well eventually. I plan to make little RED and BLU figures and place them around the tracks. My ultimate goal is to place a speaker inside the building hooked up to a computer which is playing a loop of an Arena_Well match.
As I was pressed for space, this Well is a conglomerate of Arena_Well and CP_Well, meaning that it has about as many tracks as Arena_Well (CP_Well has 9 tracks and 2 waterways, Arena_Well has 7 tracks and 0 waterways.
As I was out of space for switches, this Well has 5 tracks and 2 waterways), the waterways of CP_Well, and a cut-down spawn building from Arena_Well, to save space for the nearby main lines and yard.


Moving on.
New engine (and some new cars) are in service. The red Santa Fe Dash 8 I was showing off had a bit of a motor malfunction, causing it to become a brick. I took the motor out entirely (you can see it on the flatcar in the Well pic), turning the Dash 8 into a dummy to be pushed around by other units. All of my plastic supports have been demolished; they were flimsy and just unsafe in general. The bottom level is complete (except for the yard and diesel shop) and needs a double pull, double throw switch to become operational and prevent a short.
New engine:

New engine pushing dummy Dash 8:

(Mostly) complete bottom level (north end):

(Mostly) complete bottom level (south end):



Mann Co., working on contract for Builders League United, LLC, and Reliable Excavation and Demolition, LLC, is currently working on completing rail service to Badlands and Freight. Freight is estimated to be completed this summer, Valve Time. Badlands is estimated to be completed before Christmas, Valve Time.

E: For those curious as to the loads of those cars:
Car 1: Track cleaner (rides below the boxcar, makes track nice and clean)
Car 2: Screws
Car 3: Nails
Car 4: Coal
Car 5: Former load of coal (I got gypped.)
Car 6: Bent screws
Car 7: Industrial-strength magnet (for picking up spilled loads of preceding cars)
Car 8: Caboose

I had an HO set up on a 4'x12' table when i was younger. I spent hours on it. Good luck.

This is relevant to my interests (the terrain more than the trains though).

I had an HO scale set when I was a kid. There was nowhere for me to keep it constructed, so I'd set it all up differently every time. How are you going to sculpt the terrain? With styrofoam and acetone?

Have you got any plans on how you'd go about deconstructing it when you move out?

Also, I'm interested in how you'd use acetone to shape styrofoam?
Most methods I read involve high density foam, hot wire cutters and sand paper.

Oh man, I always wanted to do this as a kid. I had trains out the ears, but the only one that ran under its own power was an HO Hornby, a little red one... the rest were mixed scales. I had a lot of mismatched N track and some HO track, but never enough to build a serious setup with, just little loops and things and run my toys about on flat cars. The bitter irony is that for nearly a year, we lived in a ridiculously huge mansion and I had 11 bedrooms to myself :(

e/ it melts it, if I recall correctly

Well,n00b, acetone breaks down styrofoam. iirc you can splash it, drizzle it, or use it in a spray bottle to get different effects.

Ah, figures I probably wouldn't have heard of it then (I'm more interested in wargame terrain, so realism (especially natural features) is more of a luxury then a necessity).

You took my fucking dream as a kid :smith:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by n00b1n8R

Ah, figures I probably wouldn't have heard of it then (I'm more interested in wargame terrain, so realism (especially natural features) is more of a luxury then a necessity).

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Why not have both?

All-out war in a rail marshalling yard. Awesome.