LVT&R Progress report: Father's Day 2011

In order to maximize my layout space, I've decided to work with hidden tracks. By putting downtown Allentown on a separate level, I can run trolleys through town, over the 8th Street Bridge and continue south. I can hide 3 staging tracks for CNJ, LNE, and Reading trains underneath Allentown, while having the double main line for the LVT&R on the main level, pass under the 8th Street Bridge and reappear on the other side of Alfundo Park. There are a few challenges with this plan:

• Hidden tracks can be a maintenance headache
• If I'm going to loop the trolley, I'll have to do as narrow a radius as possible.
• Keeping the curves smooth as I do the end loop around Alfundo Park

Meanwhile, I've forged ahead with laying roadbed and track. I'm using thinned white glue to adhere both the roadbed and the track. It's strong enough to hold until the ballast is put into place yet easy to remove and realign. (I was going to do this the old fashioned way with nails/spikes, but I've become a big fan of adhesive!)

I've added an industrial spur for the Coplay/Cementon area which will double as my programming track. Rather than spend $25 on a circuit board to control the programming track, I'm using a simple toggle switch. By routing power from the Power Cab Panel to the programming track first, the programming track is always on. The DPDT toggle allows me to cut power to the rest of the layout.

However, yesterday, I failed my saving throw versus Klutz three times.

1. Although I checked the fit of the turnout to the programming track multiple times, when I soldered the lead track, the angle was wrong. I had to cut the track off and add a segment of flex track to avoid wasting the turnout.
2. While waiting for some roadbed and track to dry, I was working on coupler conversions. While removing an old housing, my knife slipped and I cut the truck instead, resulting in a trip to the hobby shop for replacement trucks.
3. After installing my programming toggle on my simple panel, I discovered I had it placed in reverse (as far as the labels on the panel were concerned). (On a slide switch, the connected poles are the ones on the same side as the slide. On a toggle switch I bought, the connected poles are on the opposite side of the direction of the toggle.) So I removed the switch, turned it around and reattached it to the panel--only to tighten so hard that I broke the switch.

So tonight, I spent a bit of time fixing yesterday's klutz failures. Most of the track now laid is attached to the bus and I've tested the controls again. Tomorrow, I'll clear up some of the work area and fit the return curves into place. Hopefully next month I'll be able to either extend to the north or start adding Allentown.

Phase 1 photos are up...

https://picasaweb.google.com/ld.barthel/LVTRPlanningAndProgress

LVT&R: First trip between Allentown & Lehigh Water Gap

Yesterday afternoon, Lehigh Valley EMD F7A #572 made the first trips between Allentown and the Lehigh Water Gap on a test track.

It turned out to take far longer than I expected to get to this point. All my previous layouts had been basic DC wiring, but for this version of the LVT&R, Christine got me an NCE Power Cab. (I had been thinking about DCC this time around, but I was going to postpone the transition for financial reasons. I think she caught me drooling over the InterMountain DCC F7A at the train show. Well, OK, I *did* point it out to her.  But I really started drooling when the the woman put it on the the test track and I heard the built-in sound.) I had done some research on DCC systems and had already read some positive reviews of the NCE Power Cab. But the fact that I could get an expandable entry-level DCC system for only $100 more than a good DC power pack put to rest any thoughts of wiring a new layout for DC first.

Anyway, I had read lots of advice on DCC wiring on the net, including the page at Gateway NMRA. Based on those recommendations, I had purchased 12 AWG wire for the DCC bus. As it turns out, that was too large for the connection to the NCE Power Cab. Plus, somehow I had picked up one spool of stranded and one spool of solid 22 AWG for the feeders. So back out to the stores I went again. At Home Depot I was able to get 16 AWG wire as well as 20 AWG bell wire. I flirted with the idea of using splice taps, but at over $0.70 each, that was going to be too expensive. Instead, I picked up a box of wire nuts to minimize soldering under the layout.

Because I couldn't find clear markings for which bus wire connection was to be red, I decided to do a quick test first. I made a pair of jumpers with a spade connector (which I soldered & crimped) and soldered a pair of feeder wires to a section of flex track. I made the connection to the NCE panel and the terminal block, plugged in the AC adapter and nothing. Sigh. After a bit of checking the continuity with a VOM, I discovered that I had made the black wire wasn't firmly connected at the NCE panel. So I stripped a little bit more off the ends and made sure I had a firm connection at the NCE panel. Not only did my EMD F7A come to life, but I was able to run it the entire length of my test track: over 10 feet of flex and sectional track with only 1 pair of feeders.

By the time Chris came home, I had relocated the feeder wires to beneath the layout, mounted the terminal blocks, reconnected the main bus jumpers and added the first bus section to connect to the feeders via wire nuts. She came downstairs just as #572 was making its first trips between Allentown and the Lehigh Water Gap.

I need to eliminate some bumps where the plywood sections butt against each other before I can begin laying the final sets of track in this section of the layout. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for us to finish relocating some of Chris's things that she doesn't want covered in sawdust.

In the meantime, I can start working on rolling stock. There are a few boxcars to assemble and some Kadee couplers to install. We'll probably make some paper buildings to get a better feel for scenicking. (Allentown is the biggest city in the area I modeling with the LVT&R--it would be a shame for it to not have any buildings because I located the track poorly...

Groundbreaking on the LVT&R!

Yesterday and today I spent some time on the initial "benchwork" for the LVT&R.

Since half of the railroad area is along walls, I'm opting to do shelf benchwork for that portion. Using Rubbermaid's twin track shelving brackets will give me more than enough support, plus it will make adding additional levels or lighting a breeze.

The tracks are now installed for the Allentown-Lehigh Water Gap section of the pike. It turns out that opting for extra support was a good idea: either the studs supporting the drywall in the basement aren't plumb or they don't extend all the way. About 5 of the upper or lower screws are using plastic wall anchors instead of screwing directly into the studs.

Also, in one case, the stud runs too close to the electrical outlet--the outlet cover was directly beneath the track. Since Rubbermaid doesn't make a 60" section of track, I cut one of the 72" sections to fit. (I could have used a 48" section, but that would have interfered with additional shelving (or a fiddle yard below.

I've been taking picture of the work in progress so I have documentation for the NMRA Achievement Program. I'm going to check measurements against my plans and cut the plywood shelving next. Once that's done, I'll get the pictures uploaded to Picasa.

In the future, I may replace this with cookie cutter roadbed to more realistically model the grades of the Lehigh Valley, but for now, simple flat top benchwork will get things moving--namely trains!

The next phase of the benchwork will be to mount twin track on the walls of the Lehigh Water Gap - Mauch Chunk segment of the pike. This will include a lift-out section across the Water Gap (which is literal in this case, since it's the location of the water main for our house.

Time to go back to work!