NKP-ish

[Jesse6669]

Here's a shot that shows how I'm transfering the layout design to it's physical form.

I print out the track diagram full size (I'm using Anyrail, but SCARM can do this just as well), tape it down, use a pounce wheel to emboss centerlines, then (I often go over the centerline with a Sharpie to make it more obvious), then lay roadbed.

One thing I've (re-)learned the hard way - paper stretches as it goes through a laser printer, and not consistently, so dimensions aren't exact and vary a little from page to page.  Some printers and some papers are more dimensionally stable than others - my current printer and paper aren't great in this regard.

In any event, even with perfect printouts, minor adjustments are necessary to get everything lined up.

Here's something I learned the hard way also and it might be the reason your prints are off a bit:   When you set your graphic to print at 100% (meaning the actual size as designed) it can be off a tad depending on the printer used.  Brother laser printers do this, for example.  At least mine does. 

If you go into your graphics software and design a 10 cm ruler (or 5 inches) and print it at 100% from the PDF or vector file (SVG, etc)-- you can check it against a real ruler and figure out the % of distortion and compensate for it in the design.  It's not going to be much, but it can make a difference as you found.

Jesse

[nickelplate759]

Nice. What paper size are you printing to?

8.5 x 11 "    'cause I have a wimpy printer that cant do much bigger sheets.

[nickelplate759]

Here's something I learned the hard way also and it might be the reason your prints are off a bit:   When you set your graphic to print at 100% (meaning the actual size as designed) it can be off a tad depending on the printer used.  Brother laser printers do this, for example.  At least mine does. 

If you go into your graphics software and design a 10 cm ruler (or 5 inches) and print it at 100% from the PDF or vector file (SVG, etc)-- you can check it against a real ruler and figure out the % of distortion and compensate for it in the design.  It's not going to be much, but it can make a difference as you found.

Jesse

Good point.  However, the problem I'm having is not that everything is too big or too small, it's that things like registration marks don't quite line up from one page to the next.

[nickelplate759]

Now that I'm laying roadbed, I'm considering what to do with secondary track..
I'm using 1/8" cork roadbed on mainlines, etc.

I'm leaning towards putting siding right down on the ground (no roadbed), to give a little visual distinction.  Bonus is that cars won't roll up onto the main.

I'm not at all sure what to do with yard and service tracks. 
One thought is to put the classification yard tracks on the ground (and buried in questionable ballast) but keep busy service tracks up at the same level as through tracks.  Or I can fake it but just putting a big sheet of 1/8 cork down under the yard.

Any suggestions or references?

[CBQ Fan]

I use one strip of Midwest HO cork for my mainline tracks and NScale cork for sidings and yards. 

[Lemosteam]

Now that I'm laying roadbed, I'm considering what to do with secondary track..
I'm using 1/8" cork roadbed on mainlines, etc.

I'm leaning towards putting siding right down on the ground (no roadbed), to give a little visual distinction.  Bonus is that cars won't roll up onto the main.

I'm not at all sure what to do with yard and service tracks. 
One thought is to put the classification yard tracks on the ground (and buried in questionable ballast) but keep busy service tracks up at the same level as through tracks.  Or I can fake it but just putting a big sheet of 1/8 cork down under the yard.

Any suggestions or references?

Use 3/4” 3m double stick tape. It’s about 3/32” thick so the transition from main to spur won’t be that bad. Use a utility knife to slice the roll in half, width wise. Then unfurl the uncut edge along your centerline, and then butt the other uncut edge and follow the first. Use some cork to transition from the switch mainline height down to the tape. Lay down your track and peel the backing from the two halves as you go, pressing the ties to the tape. After the track is secure, drag an exacto along the ends of the ties, slicing the excess tape and peel it away for ballast down to your landform. This is the DKS method I used on my layout, the ballast glue will secure everything in the end.

[nickelplate759]

Use 3/4” 3m double stick tape. It’s about 3/32” thick so the transition from main to spur won’t be that bad. Use a utility knife to slice the roll in half, width wise. Then unfurl the uncut edge along your centerline, and then butt the other uncut edge and follow the first. Use some cork to transition from the switch mainline height down to the tape. Lay down your track and peel the backing from the two halves as you go, pressing the ties to the tape. After the track is secure, drag an exacto along the ends of the ties, slicing the excess tape and peel it away for ballast down to your landform. This is the DKS method I used on my layout, the ballast glue will secure everything in the end.

There seem to be several different versions of "3M double-stick foam tape.  Which did you use?

[Lemosteam]

There seem to be several different versions of "3M double-stick foam tape.  Which did you use?

Sorry, I was referring to Scotch foam tape:

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/home-and-decor/office-supplies/tape/9434234

[nickelplate759]

Been a productive day.  Roadbed has reached Ft. Wayne proper.    The push-pins show today's work.



The area where the flat cork is showing (on the right) is where the Ft Wayne station will be.

[robert3985]

I use one strip of Midwest HO cork for my mainline tracks and NScale cork for sidings and yards.

I do this too.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[nickelplate759]

Use 3/4” 3m double stick tape. It’s about 3/32” thick so the transition from main to spur won’t be that bad. Use a utility knife to slice the roll in half, width wise. Then unfurl the uncut edge along your centerline, and then butt the other uncut edge and follow the first. Use some cork to transition from the switch mainline height down to the tape. Lay down your track and peel the backing from the two halves as you go, pressing the ties to the tape. After the track is secure, drag an exacto along the ends of the ties, slicing the excess tape and peel it away for ballast down to your landform. This is the DKS method I used on my layout, the ballast glue will secure everything in the end.

@Lemosteam  - How do you effect the transition from cork thickness to the tape?  Do you sand the cork, shim the tape, or do you just let the ballast do its thing under the track or ?

[Lemosteam]

In my case I sanded the cork down, but I had another looog transition from a grade, across water and back down to level and for that I used dreams rock hard putty.

[nickelplate759]

OK, I got some of the tape, and did the shimming with the old trick of stacking up (and gluing down) progressively shorter lengths of light cardstock, then running the tape on top of the cardstock.  Works! (pictures later).

[nickelplate759]

Infrastructure distraction this week!

One of my ceiling light panels (in the layout room) has gone wonky.



These panels have two different colors of LED in them, and mix them according to the color-temperature setting.  It seems that some of the lower-temp lights are intermittently cutting out at left end of the panel (the problem comes and goes).

Fortunately, it's still under warrantee.  Unfortunately, it's on a 10' ceiling, which is not my favorite place to do electrical work.

[nickelplate759]

My NCE manual has a good suggestion in it - have a way to disable the layout when using programming mode.
I plan to use one of my turntable storage tracks as a programming track, and have a SPDT switch to disable DCC on the rest of the layout.

My question is an esthetic/process one.  What indication should I use for layout enabled?
My first thought was a simple toggle switch.   Then I thought of a latching pushbutton w/LED - if it's Green, the layout is enabled (and Programming mode should not be used).  Or I could put an LED in the circuit with the toggle.

Not fool proof, much less idiot proof, but given that programming mode is enabled through the DCC controller, I can't think of a way to make it fool proof, just a way to let this fool know what's about to happen.

Anyone have any thoughts to share?