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Post by atsda on Dec 13, 2023 17:40:10 GMT
11 switches packed - 2 more to go. Alfred
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Post by atsda on Dec 13, 2023 20:51:08 GMT
Curtis, I am glad you are enjoying your sizeable layout. Thanks for the encouragement. I do have an opportunity to do it right this time. For example, since I am using original post war Lionel tubular track, I am going to remove pins, wire brush the tube interiors, and check resistance and continuity; and give a good cleaning. Alfred
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Post by atsda on Dec 15, 2023 0:59:25 GMT
The saga continues…
All of the O22 switches are now packed with their controllers. So are the UCS track and controllers. Track is strewn all over the layout surface; and the elevated track section stands erect in defiance of my efforts – that’s a job for the weekend. What is making progress slow, awkward,, and painful at times is my right arm does not yet work as it should – and the strength still has not returned (so even pulling wire through openings is a challenge; doing some tasks with one hand) – physical therapy continues. It will be a miracle if my equipment survives the move and re-construction. Alfred
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Post by atsda on Jan 10, 2024 2:26:44 GMT
The dismantling of the layout continues…. All of the tracks have been removed and boxed. Almost everything else is boxed and has been moved to the ‘new’ house. I have removed all of the benchwork extensions that I had installed over the past few years. A significant occurrence was the severing of the South layout section that connected the East and West sides. It was the portion that extended over the top of the attic stairs – the part that I had to crawl under to get to the control panel. I was pretty drastic – I used a tree saw to make the job quick. All of the lumber is going to the scrap heap – except for a few pieces of wood that I will use for a doll house I am making for my granddaughter. Alfred
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Post by healey36 on Jan 10, 2024 16:24:28 GMT
How much room do you have/will you have in the new place, Alfred? More or less space? A number of guys I know moved to a smaller place in retirement/over-55 communities. In the process, they tore down massive basement pikes and built new layouts on 8x10 or 5x9 table(s) in a spare bedroom. They tell me it works for them, but it seems a heluva transition.
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Post by atsda on Feb 29, 2024 4:06:47 GMT
healey36, I must have missed your post. It was going to be that I would get the 'family room' on the first floor. It is a 10' x 18' room - this would have given me about the same square footage that I had in the attic - a little wider and a bit shorter. I realized that it would be selfish to take such a large room that my wife would like for having the grandchildren - and it had features that she would like for herself. So... I took a 8 ' x 17' room on the second floor. Even though the area is about the same, with door and closet placement, it will be tricky to squeeze out the full area. I will try for a 7' x 15' footprint - it may not be rectangular. After I finish using the room as a temporary shop, I will lay out track on the floor to see what I can do. My main objective is to have two concentric loops with long straightaway and 72" radius curves - I will then build in the O31 tracks with elevated reversing loop and other features I had in the old layout. Alfred Thank you for your encouraging words.
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Post by atsda on Feb 29, 2024 4:07:39 GMT
We have been in our new home for about six weeks; however, we are not quite finished clearing out the old home – salvaging, donating, and discarding. The remnant benchwork of my layout in the attic is still in place; although it is in shambles – it will become scrap wood at the end of the process. In the meantime, boxes from underneath are being sorted. Interestingly, all of the wood I used to make my daughter’s doll house is from the layout (of course, painted, etc.) I have been thinking about the new layout and benchwork. I have some ideas. After I finish another project (I am using the train room as a temporary shop), I will clear out the floor and lay out some track to give me an idea of what wood surface would be needed. (This will give me a convenient excuse to run trains – I have not done so for months – and it is wearing on me. ) The project is to refurbish a 4’ x 4’ framed platform and use it as a play table / layout for my granddaughter. My wife will paint it forest green and I will add some (woodland scene) wallpaper borders to make it interesting. It will have space for Brio tracks that she can arrange, and I will have HO track around the perimeter , and O27 track oval will cover one-half the surface. Alfred
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Post by healey36 on Feb 29, 2024 14:23:16 GMT
healey36, I must have missed your post. It was going to be that I would get the 'family room' on the first floor. It is a 10' x 18' room - this would have given me about the same square footage that I had in the attic - a little wider and a bit shorter. I realized that it would be selfish to take such a large room that my wife would like for having the grandchildren - and it had features that she would like for herself. So... I took a 8 ' x 17' room on the second floor. Even though the area is about the same, with door and closet placement, it will be tricky to squeeze out the full area. I will try for a 7' x 15' footprint - it may not be rectangular. After I finish using the room as a temporary shop, I will lay out track on the floor to see what I can do. My main objective is to have two concentric loops with long straightaway and 72" radius curves - I will then build in the O31 tracks with elevated reversing loop and other features I had in the old layout. Alfred Thank you for your encouraging words. Sounds like a plan, Alfred. I tend to be a stream-of-consciousness planner in most things, so laying it out piece-by-piece is likely a good idea. It would seem a 17-foot room would allow for some nice long runs (although eight-foot may keep the footprint rather narrow). Still, more room than I had/have in the basement. Keep us up to date on progress.
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