I have mentioned my model railroad before (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles). I'd like to talk about it more here.
Plans for our new home included an outbuilding for “hobbies,” with a washroom, railroad room, and darkroom along one side, but the builders did not follow my plans for the rooms. The washroom was reached through the railroad room. While this initial construction, shown below in Diagram 1, was ok at first, a lot of space is needed for access to the bathroom. The needed aisle space could not be blocked. This became an issue later.
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| Access to bathroom and railroad room require two aisles as well as one of them being the length of the room |
In my earlier post I noted that Ernie Mendicki was more than a car mentor...he was also a master modeler with his own N scale empire. Gary Winiger put the two of us together about modeling when he realized that Ernie and I worked in the same tiny scale.
Ernie's actual layout was more “toy train” than “railroad empire.” He did not built it for operations, and was content to watch steam trains run just to see them in motion. His buildings are in a different world of realism and detail. They are stunning, whether scratch built or from commercial kits. He had skill, vision, patience, and dexterity completely at odds with his large body and hands.
My interest in N scale rekindled Ernie's passion and he quickly got back into building by creating a scaled-down tribute to the small cannery on his street, replaced years ago by condos.
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| Ernie's Cannery Model at Jamestown An imporant online industry Served by a dedicated double tracked spur |
Ernie willed his railroad to me. Though I was glad to accept this recognition, I did not take it seriously. Ernie was seven years older than me but I expected him to be around for many more years...decades even; A month after his 61st birthday he was gone.
It was easy to get the modeling tools, structures, and rolling stock, but the layout created a dilemma. It had miles of track and 40+ track switches. But to use all of this I was going to have to make some changes and expansions. At first I thought I could move his table and blend and connect it to mine, but could not figure out a way to do this that I liked. Then I looked more closely at my railroad room...and realized that the the door into the room and to the washroom wasted a huge amount of space for the access aisles. There was a solution that freed up a lot of it. If I moved two of the doors I could access both of those rooms with a single, short aisle. The washroom would be entered from the shop, and if I moved the door to the railroad room to the end of that room nearest the darkroom I could recover almost all of it.
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| Revised post-2000 floorpan Bathroom access directly from shop Single short aisle for darkroom access Maximized usable space |
Drawing is one thing, building is another. The changes were minor, but the rebuild took time. As did tearing Ernie's layout apart, removing the track and switches, and disposing of the remains of the table. Even as I was working on both tasks as well as dismantling my own layout, I began to plan for the new “empire.” By the time I finished the reconfiguration I had the design pretty well worked out.
I had resolved to not repeat prior mistakes, and eliminated virtually all hidden track. I also increased the chance for success by doing scale drawings...whether or not I used a plan from a book or made my own. The first one was ¼ size. The volume of gear I had suddenly inherited, as well as my pent-up and long standing desires, favored an extensive layout...and suddenly I had space for it. 1:160 allows lots of railroading in 8 by 12 feet. I wanted an “around the wall” setup I could operate from the center, thus being surrounded by my “empire.” But I also realized that, with some compromise possible because of my own modest size, I could also squeeze in a central peninsula with two very narrow side aisles of about 24” width. If I built a multi-level setup I could have quite a bit of railroading indeed.
How do you move trains between the levels if I did that? One way is to hide a helix of track within a corner “mountain.” A helix is nothing more than the shape of a spring with the radius of the track, and with the number of “coils” required to get between the levels using the slope the equipment can handle.
There are problems with this approach. The train spends a lot of time out of sight running around hidden track...not very appealing either visually or if derailments occur within the compressed separation between the coils. The helix also takes up a lot of real estate. You wind up with a very unrealistic topless “mountain” which on my layout would occupy an area of about 16”x16”.
One of my reference books showed use of an elevator to move trains between levels. The length of the elevator track would match the longest train.For the short trains I wanted for reliability and compatibility with the space I had, this amounted to a an area of 2”x36”...a saving of over 70% of the area versus a helix. Of course there would be complexity in terms of figuring out how to engineer a reliable elevator, but I put that aside for the moment and began to draw.
I developed an exciting plan containing eight towns or industrial complexes including three major storage/interchange yards, on three levels. Why stop with two levels when there was space for more? Of course this would mean a compromise to operate. The mid-level would be the main source of action and I wanted this to be close to eye-level for visual realism. With any rational distance between levels this put the lower level above my waist height, which was workable, but the upper level is well above eye-level...how would I operate this? Since I planned this as a branch operation I thought I could out answer that later without risking something unworkable. I eventually decided to use small step stools. I needed to allow space for a large display cabinet from Ernie's railroad room on one wall, so I simplified this level to use only a central peninsula and two walls.
The layout, like a number of my earlier versions, is a tribute to the Sierra Railroad (now called “Railtown 1890”) in Jamestown, California. I wanted a main yard on the lower level (“Riverbank”) which is the interchange between my Sierra Northern and a mainline, westbound, combined ATSF/SP link running through a Central Valley farm town (“Manteca”) to a Bay Area terminal (“SF”). The “Riverbank” yard is shared between the SNRR and the ATSF/SP. Via the elevator the SNRR goes east to a second and wholly-owned yard at “Jamestown.” This yard includes an interchange to the branch line on the third level, representing the real SRR branch to Angels Camp. From “Jamestown” the mainline tracks continue east through “Sonora” to terminate at “Tuolomne.”
Each of the lower two levels includes a bypass track which creates a continuous loop for display purposes...so I can entertain people by letting them watch trains run around without me doing anything. From “SF, ”instead of going east to Manteca, a train can connect on one of the few hidden tracks directly west to Riverbank. In like manner a train from “Jamestown” can connect directly to a bypass track running on a small ridge next to “Tuolomne” and then to “Sonora” and on again to “Jamestown.”
In order to avoid ducking under the layout to get into the operating area I included two bridges...a removable one connecting “Sonora” to “Tuolomne” and on the lower level, a “swing down” version connecting “Manteca” to “Riverbank.” Neither of these has worked very well so I may replace them with permanent versions.
The Angels Branch is accessed via the elevator. Using switchback tracks, after servicing the “New Melones Mine” the trains reaches the Pickering Lumber “Camp 16” and finally terminates at Angels.
The “Jamestown” and “SF” yards are on the peninsulas, while the “Riverbank” yard and the smaller terminal at “Tuolomne” are along one wall.
Modeling uses“selective compression” and other visual tricks to make things seem more larger. For example, a small country railroad station 160 feet long would be one foot in N scale, which is still too large for most home layouts. Shortening the passenger platform, shrinking the waiting room, and eliminating two of the three freight doors allows a reasonable representation of the station in perhaps four inches. By compressing other details, angling items to create “forced perspective,” and other tricks, the eight feet of the “Riverbank” yard is made to look much larger than it really is.My ¼ scale plan used these techniques, drawing upon decades of learning and building.
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| Partial view of "Riverbank" Note building scene on backdrop and reduced depth structures. |
The plan includes large and active scenes with many industries, allowing the extensive and realistic railroad operations that have always interested me. Otherwise what do you do with a layout once it is built? Running trains around with no purpose is not appealing, but the puzzle solving of railroad movements (how do I get car “A” to industry “B” on siding “C”?) are interesting and challenging.
The ¼ scale plan came together quickly. Either I was lucky or had absorbed a lot over the years. But I knew small errors in ¼ scale are not so small in full size, so for the first time I did a full size drawing.
I made templates from masonite for the curves, building in easements based on a technique from a magazine article. The templates had profile notches for the small and medium radius switches I had (modelers call these “turnouts” to distinguish them from electrical switches). These templates would also be used to lay out centerlines of the actual tracks during construction.
I drew the plan on roll paper, which was used for reference during construction...I still have at least parts of both the ¼ and full scale plans, and the actual tracks vary very little from these. The full size drawing confirmed that all clearances and trackage were workable, and included some ideas of various building sizes to be used as well as how electrical sections of track would be isolated and controlled by individual switches (“blocks”), which allows multiple engines to be on the layout at the same time. Today this is all done with computerized signals sent through the rails to decoders in the locomotives, but the gear I have pre-dates this enhancement. I was not about to delve into modifying earlier engines to install the needed tiny components. My result is overly complicated wiring and control panels in each “town,” but I stuck with what was comfortable. Building the layout and laying the tracks would be complicated enough.
I wanted something easy to work with and environmentally stable for the tables. A contractor friend suggested I use steel “2x4 studs. These are rigid but surprisingly easy to cut and connect with self-tapping sheet metal screws. Within a short time I had built all the benchwork I needed.
The peninsula benchwork rests on the floor. Each peninsula is connected to the one below by steel risers, while the bottom one (“SF”) sits on legs. The “round the wall” benchwork is supported on metal shelf brackets. These as well as the side rails of the benches are screwed directly to the wood studs of the walls. The result is a rigid structure which is dimensionally stable and overkill in terms of the strength.
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| Channel steel benchwork Wood risers Homasote roadbed and scenery foundation Unfinished town of "Manteca" |
I used a product called Homasote for the base of the tracks and most scenery. There were a number of factors behind this decision. A multi-level layout can't allow much elevation rise from the lower level(s) before the tracks approach the bottom of the level above. This is a visual interference as well as a possible technical one. I also wanted to minimize the amount of open construction, which requires screen wire and plaster or foam carving to represent hills and land contours. For the most part I wanted the land to be level with the tracks. This makes siting buildings easy, but also brings the tracks into better scale. Instead of mounting the rails to cork or other roadbed material which would then be laid on a sub-roadbed, putting the rail right on the base minimized the height of the rails and greatly simplified building.
Homasote is made from recycled paper compressed under high temperature and bonded with adhesive. With adequate support it does not sag, reduces sound transfer, is easily cut and shaped, and provides a good foundation for track mounting, ballast gluing, painting and other scenery detail. I had used it before and while not suited, unsupported, for heavier train scales, it is an excellent material for N. I simply drew the track layout on the Homasote with a Sharpie and then cut where required, fastening the material at the needed height above the benchwork with wood risers spaced at roughly 8-12 inch intervals. The result was solid foundations for all the towns and yards.
The elevator track has to move vertically from the bottom level all the way to the third level. At each level the elevator track has to “register” accurately in both the horizontal and vertical planes or the train will derail moving either on or off the elevator. Neither problem has an immediately intuitive solution, though the vertical registration is easier to solve.
Full extension drawer glides consist of a rail riding on ball bearing inside a metal “track.” The track is normally fastened to the cabinet and the glides to the bottom of the drawer. I mounted the drawer tracks vertically and fastened a solid board across them as the base for the elevator track. I fastened the drawer tracks to vertical metal studs, being sure they were themselves aligned, using a level. Because of the limitations on available glides in my local hardware store I needed to use two separate foundation boards. One moves a train going from “Riverbank” to “Jamestown” (level 1 to level 2) and the board mounted higher up on the moves a train from “Jamestown” to the “Angels” branch line (level 2 to level 3).
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| Lower elevator track showing approach track from "Riverbank" Temporary lighting Note vertical registration pin below track |
I made a metal pin ito insert in a hole in the metal stud for vertical registration for each level. I needed some adjustability for perfect alignment, so I welded a washer off center to the pin as a cam which can be rotated to slightly move the elevator track up or down as needed.
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| Closeup of vertical registration pin Locator hole in vertical channel behind backdrop |
With N scale there is not much “room for error “A difference of 1/64” between the elevator and the mating track is the difference between smooth movement and derailment. The cam system ensures accurate vertical mating.
Horizontal alignment was a more difficult problem. Drawer glides are not made to be mounted or used vertically. The weight of the drawer is actually part of the way the glide is retained within its track. When mounted vertically the glide can “wiggle” a bit, and in addition some of the ball bearings actually escaped the track, adding to the “wiggle.” I needed to fasten horizontal registration guides on the mating track sides of the Homasote to align correctly in that plane.
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| Horizontal registration plate Elevator on right Approach track on left |
To keep my interest up I laid all track with the exception of “SF” right after installing the benchwork and Homasote. I had planned control panels for each town and envisioned operation by two or more people...ridiculously ambitious with aisles which are so narrow-as little as 21” in some places. I later gave up the idea of multiple throttles and control points, but by then had installed very complex and crowded wiring which is difficult to debug when things go wrong, as they inevitably do. Maybe one day I will get around to figuring out a way to refine and simplify this.
I wanted the layout to look as realistic as possible and to showcase Ernie's models. I also wanted to use all I could from both my old layout and his...track switches are costly and there are something like 100 on the line. Many originally had large and unrealistic electromagnetic switches permanently mounted next to the “turnout.” These are almost as large as the entire turnout! I carefully cut them off and used control switches invisibly mounted under the Homasote. Other turnouts are spring loaded and offer positive manual control just by pushing on them.
I use commercial software to generate realistic traffic movements between industries for each location, I had much enjoyment even before “landscaping” each town with paint, colored foam or sawdust “vegetation,” and a variety of trees. I put in roads, cars, and miniature “citizens”- there are 41 in “Riverbank” alone- and after about ten years the following towns are complete, to the extent that anything on a layout really is-”Riverbank, Jamestown, Sonora, and Tuolomne.” The layout of other towns is done, and the only trackage and control panels still to go is the huge yard at “SF.”
The layout has major turntables and engine facilities at “Riverbank” and “SF” and smaller ones at “Jamestown” and “Tuolomne.” Industries include a logging at “Camp 16” with a processing sawmill and lumber facility at “Tuolomne” and others such as the cannery at “Jamestown” and the farms at “Manteca” as well as the food wholesaler at “SF.” By planning these interactions into the software I created a realistic set of operational moves across the branch and mainlines of the Sierra Northern as well as the interchange with the ATSF/SP.
It is difficult to get a sense of the entire line from verbal descriptions, so here is a basic sketch of the layout. hen the train is raised from the lower level to the middle level (from “Riverbank” to “Jamestown”) access to “Jamestown” is by backing up past the track switch marked “x” on the drawing. This is consistent with the Sierra Railroad's operation in “the real world.”
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| The connector tracks at the left are for continuous loop operation only for demonstrations and are not used for operation |
There is always something to do or build to keep me busy. My only concern as I age is what my back issues and declining eyesight and dexterity will allow with this tiny system. But even if I never touched it again it has added immeasurably to my enjoyment over the years.
My next blog entry will simulate a journey along the line.
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