The Home and
Design of the RGW....
This Page Currently Under
Construction (Literally)
Train Room (Shell) -
Train Room (Interior) -
Layout Design
Layout Construction:
(click on pictures for full view)
Our latest Saturday work party hit two
milestones. The first, was the fact the subroadbed crew finally completed its
connection from staging (level 1) to the Transition level, or Level 2, as we
refer to it. The pictures below, combined with the header picture upper
left, give you a good feel for the new subroad extension. I have been
asked why we are using dimensional lumber for our subroadbed versus the more
commonly used plywood. If you look carefully at this and other updates, we
actually do both. The third picture in the series below has both examples.
The dimensional lumber from the extreme right at Level 2, gives way to a gentle
double curve cut from plywood, then back to another piece of dimensional lumber.
The 1x3 and in some cases wider (up to
1x6) dimensional lumber provides enough surface area for us to lay out gentle
curves, and of course, straight track in those circumstances where we will be in
single track mode. If the section of the railroad calls for double track,
we can use the larger dimensioned pieces. In those areas where we run out
of room, for example we run a curve too close to the edge of the piece, we
simply cut a small section of another board and attach it with glue and screws.
Minimizing plywood saves money and time, as cutting plywood ribbon is time
consuming.
The other milestone we reached was the
reinstallation of our Lenz DCC System.
We asked our friend Dale Kraus, MMR, and owner of Pacific Railway Hobbies, to
join us to upgrade and then install the system. He was kind enough to
agree and after installing new modules in the LH100 controllers (new ver 3.5
chips) and the LZ100 computer (new ver 2.5 chip) he set about reinstalling our
system. By session's end, we had reassumed track power, and all of our din
plugs registered power when attached to the controller. Now all we have to
do is reconnect some feeders and we are off and running, literally! The
second pic shows off our west wall roadbed installation. As discussed in
prior updates, we use Homabed glued and tacked in place with 5/8" brad nails.
We then butter the roadbed with spackle, sand and lay track.
In our next edition of the update, we
will continue work on the subroad installation along the North and then West walls
on Level 2. Track will start showing up along the west wall
in an attempt to catch up to the subroad crew! Til next time....
Other Updates:
2008
2007
2006
2005
