[Ozzie21]

I have a little difficulty with my layouts as they are seperated by size and distance. I have one up here in Queensland at the unit where I live and another 850klms away in NSW where I have my home. I work up here but I really live down there. So to keep me happy and as therapy for my little problem I had that enforced my absense I'm building two layouts. My shed down south is 10.5M x 5.5m, it's lined, sealed, insulated and airconditioned. The layout I'm building will predominately be for my US locos and is based on the Clinchfield RR which was in West Virginia. The 'Clinch" was a coal hauler that had conections with the C&O, PRR, NYC and N&W. The section I'm building is based on the C&O connection at Elkhorn city. I will from time to time run my UK models on this layout, which is an operation based layout, which should confuse those modelling mates of mine that have never operated anything with a 3 link coupling.

My small layout is just for fun and will have anything on it.

The big layout.

and the little one

I have since these pics were taken swopped the little layout around to make it easier to get the bike out.

With the big layout it's going to be slow going as I only get back for a few days every couple of months.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

I was bored to day so after getting home from work I decided to finish a couple of things. One job was finish painting the track so I've nearly completed that, had to stop and watch the Indy race from the Gold coast.

Light earth and redbrown acryillic paint.

The white plastic sheet will eventually form the backdrop and will be hung with velcro picture hangers for easy removal.

The other is on my work bench.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Kimbo, It varies on one side it's 150mm and on the other it's 50mm.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (Kimbo @ 27 Oct 2008, 06:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Quick question: How much space do you give yourself between the wall and the edge of your baseboard?

 

[Ozzie21]

Neil, it' s Hobby Colour light earth for the sleepers and Tamiya german red brown for the rails. Both theese paints are acryllic water based. I just spray everything with the light earth first and then the rails with the red brown. I don't worry to much about the over spray as it darkens the light earth up and gives the sleepers a more bleached effect.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 27 Oct 2008, 06:16) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What are you using to paint your track Charles.

It is better than most colours I've seen. I wouldn't mind getting some of that.

 

[Ozzie21]

Paul, I had a K100 for a short time. Someone decided they needed it more than me. I hope to get a Ducati 1000S next year.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (madon37s @ 26 Oct 2008, 21:18) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Ozzie
Wow what a great space to have for a railway every model railwayman's dream. Its looking good and nice to see a good old British LMS loco on your layout!. (I mainly run LMS and LNER).

Please do keep us posted on your progress. (nice bike by the way i have a BMW K100 RS).

Kind regards
Paul

 

[Ozzie21]

This isn't a very good picture as it's a scan of the orginal track plan, well part one as there were three sheets. As I'm not very good at drawing plans I had a mate do a modfied version on some cad program he had. Unfortunatly it's not transferable with out the original disc. I did have the orginal plans scanned by a draughting company but when I put the files on the computer they were huge about 20megs each. So this is the best I can do. At the left end of the plan you'll see a door and along the bottom edge. Well imagine the plan without those doors and strech that part of the out to the back wall and to each side wall so it's about 8ft deep and 16ft wide. Then at the right end of the plan about the middle place a door. You'll see a small area near the bottom well imagine it's not there and you walk in the dooraround to the left and follow the wall till you get to the other end where you turn right and walk into the rest of the layout. Now along the top edge there is a station with yard space and an mpd but it's about 56" off the floor, I'm 6'2", under that station area there is hidden trackage, showen by the dotted lines, in the form of storage tracks, a runaround track and pass through track that connects to the big bit at the left which is a sort of dumbell shaped spiral that decends from about 54" off the floor down to about 43" off the floor. That connects to another pass through track which comes out to the far right and the proceeds to follow the rest of the plan climbing most of the way except in the center section where there is a large steel trestle bridge which is on the curve in the middle of thet peninsula. This plan was orginally done for a friend of mine who never built it and I thought I might just give it a go.
The walkways I've set at 30" so most of my beer guzzilng mates should fit. Due to the time I get spend on this layout I reckon on 4yrs before I get to run a train. By that time I hope to extend the shed by an additional 20ft in length and 5ft in width. So I'll just strech it to fit.

Regards
Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Paul, At the moment I'm thinking it'll be around June next year. I have to start amassing track and I'm looking at around 20 to 25 boxes of Peco code 83 but with christmas coming up that will have to go on the back burner for the moment.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (madon37s @ 1 Nov 2008, 18:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>WOW Charles that layout plan looks awesome! it looks like there will be some great long track runs for your trains. Thats gonna take some serious amount of track.
What sort of time scale are you looking at for the track to be put down ?.

Regards
Paul

 

[Ozzie21]

It can be done. Take me about a week though as I don't have the disc here at the moment.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (Kimbo @ 1 Nov 2008, 20:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Would it be possible to get a full-size picture of your layout plan? I'd really love to take a closer look at your details!

 

[Ozzie21]

A lay out update long overdue. Due to my enforced absence for long periods little get's done on my home layout, the big one. Even when I do get back I have so little time in which to get anything done. So where am I at, well time as well as money comes in here and buying timber, track and other sundries soon starts eating away at the budget. I bought some plywood and timber the other day and go $20 back out of a $1000, 10sheets of 12mm ply and 150linear meteres of 70x20. The price of track has me stumped, $1400 for 10boxes of code 83 and they could only get me 3 boxes so the rest is on back order. I was also going to use Peco code 83 turnouts but I changed my mind after building the Fast Track turnouts and installing them on another layout, http://www.handlaidtrack.com/index-2.php They aren't everyone's cup of tea but after building them and seeing how well they work especially on DCC I decided to go this way .

Anyway some pictures of where I am now at.

Looking in the door. The benchwork in the fore ground will have two bridges on it. A high steel trestle nearest the front to carry the track from the high level and low stone bridge in the back ground to carry the track into the low level staging.

This is roughly the height of the upper deck which is about 64inches off the floor.

This how I will support the roadbed around the central peninsula. From this point the track will descend around the peninsula which is about 75ft of track not including passing loops. The support is double sided and will have a backscene on both sides so the operator can't see the other side as he follows his train around.

This is where the lower deck staging will be and will have run through track to reverse loop to allow for continuous running. The L girders above are for the upper deck which be the scenic part and will have a 130ft turntable to turn my big locos.

This area will be the mountain run. Locos will descend through a series of mountain passes, basically a 3 stack figure 8 spiral. Where the figure 8 crosses over I'll install a different style of bridge. There will also be the reverse loops and the turn back loop for the continuous run and if possible some more staging tracks. The bench work here is 16ft wide by 8 ft deep.

Well that about covers it for the moment. I'm waiting on some 1/8th MDF to be delivered so I can get the back scene boards up before I do any more to the top deck.

Ozzie21

 

[Ozzie21]

I have a progressed a bit further with the layout. So far i have finished off making the supports for the track bed. This is in the form a mushroom design where the both sides of a laypout section share a common supporting structure see this site for a better understanding of mushroom design
http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/c....php?content.26. Hopefully this week I'll get some trackbed down as at the end of next week construction will cease as my leave is over and I have to back to work.

Looking in from the door a small forest has grown.

As can be seen high level on the left of the picture, low level on the right. Backscene and supports run up the middle.

I can fit 40" and 37" radius curves around the loop this will allow me to have to passing loops on the center peninsula.

Hand made No8 turnout. To get a passing loop for a 30 car train I need at least 6.5M of track which takes up the whole of the outside run of track. I may have to lower my ambitions.

Well time to cut up some plywood or will I build a bridge or play golf. Ahh the hard decisions of life.
Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Neil, it's always good up here. I just don't play on the day it rains

Charles emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 29 Mar 2009, 17:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Looking good Charles. Golf might be nice for a break. Depends on the weather though.

regards

Neil

 

[Ozzie21]

Neil,Yes it used to rain every time we went to Troon to play but Prestwick was always okay.
Hmm first train running should be sometime in the not so distant future

Charles Emerson
'Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 30 Mar 2009, 08:43) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Charles,
I always associate golf with rain. I suppose it's because of where I grew up.

When do you estimate your first train running on this layout?

cheers

Neil

 

[Ozzie21]

Well at last I got some track down. It has rained most of the week so I decided it was time to cut some plywood. Most of the major bench work is done and I had the bulk of the peninsular supports in so I thought lets cut some ply wood. Well as time was running out, only had six days of leave left, it was a rush job but it all fitted for the most part. Then I laid some track and ran a couple of locos. It's only eight yards but it was heaven.

The test loco is a brass C&O T1 class 2-10-4. All the drivers are flanged and I shimmed up the wheels to take most of the slop out so the loco hates anything under 38" radius curves.

yeh success. Curve radius is 46"

First train ready for the off. Its only 6 cars but they are iffy runners that derail when you turn your back.

Yeh more success.

The next test loco.

The extent of the plywood. Hopefully when i get back in two months I'll get a bit more done.

Well that's it for two months. I'll spend my time away manufacturing turn outs and trying to get my 61xx to run without stalling.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Thanks guys. I just wish I could bring it with me and keep working on it

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Well it's been some time since I added to this thread. Progress is slow due to time constraints and work which means I only get to work on it for a couple of days every two months. Since the last picture I've laid rails from the top trestle down the hill to the point where the tracks enter the storage loops. There are only four loops of 35car capacity as this is all the space I can spare. I was going to try and add more under the trestle passing loop but I decided against it as it would have meant placing a turnout on a bridge and trying to hide a switch machine at the same time. The next challenge is to make a few more turnouts and complete the return loop out of the storage loops. I'm trying to find an economical way of doing this as trains will have the ability to move in two directions from the storage loops, through the return loop or climb the "Blue Ridge" grade and trains descending the grade will have the same choice.

This three way turnout leads to an ethanol plant. It took me a few attempts to get it right although the odd car still wobbles a bit when taking the right hand road. I was going to use the Cobalt switch machine on this turnout but the Cobalt wouldn't throw either point so I had to resort back to the Tortoise.

These turnouts lead to the storage loops, the top ones to the loops and the bottom one for the return loop and run through.

This is as far as I have gotten as I still have to build a position the turnouts for the exit to the storage loops, turnout for the return loop, and one for the ascent to the "Blue Ridge" grade.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Ozzie21]

Expat, yes the bench work was originally built to support a double deck layout. As the shed it's in is just a colourbond garage, without the doors or windows, the interior walls are incapable of supporting the bench work so the whole layout is free standing. The main supports are 6x2's and the bulk of the L girders are 4x1's capped with 3x1's. The original road bed was made from 1inch marine ply which was fairly cheap at the time but has shot up in price to something horrendous so I use 15mm ply now. The interior dimensions are 10.2M x 6M. I would have like it a bit longer and a bit wider which would have given me more aisle width but you take what you can get. I have to cut some more 3mm MDF for the backscene tomorrow so I can start on a bit of scenery on a part of the layout that is complete track wise. This will get me off the boring wiring work that still needs doing.

Charles Emerson
New South Wales
Australia

QUOTE (Expat @ 25 Sep 2010, 20:49) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That's a pretty awesome amount of space you have there Charles but you seem to have managed to fill it with some sturdy looking benchwork. I'm looking forward to seeing some video clips once you get the track laying finished.

Considering the amount of time you have available I think you have made remarkable progress. Well done !!!

 

[Ozzie21]

6991, you work for Bluescope steel ! I worked for BHP in Newcastle from 1979 till closure in 1999 . I t's a small world and it's just a colourbond garage

Charles Emerson
New South Wales
Australia

QUOTE (6991 @ 26 Sep 2010, 08:18) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Charles, please!

Just a colourbond steel garage?!!

For those in Northern Lands, COLORBOND®steel is a prepainted steel product from BlueScope Steel, the Australian steel company, which although just sneaks into the top 60 steel companies worldwide in terms of size, is much admired by the industry for it's expertise in metal coating (ZINCALUME®steel and the durability of it's pre-painted products. So much so that one of the biggest companies, Nippon Steel, have recently entered into a technical exchange agreement with BlueScope Steel Research to learn about the way BlueScope Steel does things.

The durability of the pre-painted products is very important, because these materials, produced by the coil coating process, are not just employed on sheds, factories and supermarkets (as in the N Hemisphere) but are much valued for domestic roofing where they provide aesthetic appeal and of necessity (extreme heat and UV) are the the most durable product of it's kind in the world. Find out more at COLORBOND®steel. The paints are remarkable as the flat steel sheet is pre-painted at speeds up to 180m/min, then recoiled and shipped to building products manufacturers where it is cut to length, then formed into the various profiles available, before installation on a roof where it has to last up to 25 years without flaking/peeling, yet retaining visible attributes (in terms of colour) outlined in the product data sheets. A proudly Australian product, developed by Australian scientists (even though I'm a Pommie), for the Australian marketplace.

The current generation product incorporates infrared reflecting pigments (THERMATECH&#153; technology) to reduce the outside temperature of the paints so that the inside temperature is reduced enough to make a difference to heating/cooling costs for the interior (as well as preserving the aesthetics for longer).

Just a COLORBOND®steel garage ?

6991
(aka Technology Leader - Polymer Science,
BlueScope Steel Research, Port Kembla, NSW)

PS Love your garage Charles, especially what's in it, let's see more of those German locos

 

[Ozzie21]

6991, I was in the Bloom mill first off, then with the layoffs in 82, I went to the blast furnaces. Was there for 6yrs then went to the power dept for the rest of my tenure. After the works closed I did various non useful jobs then I got some contact work at a power station in Queensland and 9yrs later I'm still there. I commute, if you can call it that, 850klms every 8 weeks from where I work to my home in Cessnock. I spend 5 days here then go back. It's fun driving that far as I come down at night and go back during the day. It usually takes about 8 hours although I'm a bit quicker at night as there are no cops about. This is why progress is a bit slow on the layout.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (6991 @ 28 Sep 2010, 06:32) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hi Charles,
I'm presuming you are doing something on the Bowen Basin coal mines now, and your layout is at your house somwhere on the coast, where you get to every couple of weeks??
There are still a lot of ex-Newcastle people around who have transferred to Port Kembla over the years. People you may remember are John Mathieson, Harold Rogers, Paul Zulli (these three are the brains of the ironmaking reearch group), Cheryl Aldrich, Mark Davies and more.
We did it tough during the GFC - although not as tough as when the american CEO (Paul Anderson) took over BHP in late 1998 - but we are turning things around now. I think that during the GFC the revenue generated from domestic sales of COLORBOND®steel and ZINCALUME®steel are what kept the company afloat. Moreover the Australian Government's novel approach with the economic stimulus also was very good, and may even have saved the future of manufacturing industry in Australia - nobody will ever give them the credit they deserve for this.
6991

 

[Ozzie21]

Thanks Marcus it's slow but I'll get there. I'm working on backscene boards at the moment and it's getting to be a pain cutting the MDF out side as it's just hit 32degrees C here at midday. I'll get this lat bit cut and stuck up and then it's back to painting.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

QUOTE (MarcusF @ 28 Sep 2010, 09:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hey Charles, can you put the words "Making grown men cry since 19??" in your sig please? Cheers

That's one amazing layout. Its going to be very interesting watching this one develop.

 

[Ozzie21]

Russ, I'm out at Millmerran, about an hour past Toowoomba. I head back there tomorrow. I'll be in Brisbane on the 9th of October at Austral Modelcraft if you want to say hello.

Charles Emerson
NSW
Australia

QUOTE (RussR @ 28 Sep 2010, 14:59) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Is everyone from the Hunter Valley? aha i'm from singleton and used to work in the mining industry in Newcastle.. moved to brisbane 10 years ago and got into IT sales.

i'm jealous of your layout space! which power station are you at?