The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Sweet! You'll have this layout ready to tear down and switch scales again in no time. 

Haha!  O scale, coming up!

[davefoxx]

Cork is down and the sector plate is finished, including the locking and pivot pins.  Now, I just have to go buy a few pieces of Code 100 flextrack.  Yes, Code 100.  I thought about it, and, since the three-way wye is Code 100, it will be easier to install rail joiners that can slide back to allow me to disconnect the staging yard from the layout when I need to move the layout.  Looks like I better remember to slice that cork where the layout and staging yard meet before I lay the track :





DFF

[davefoxx]

Another angle to demonstrate the how the staging yard squeezes in between the layout, the corner, and the entry door:



DFF

[DKS]

Another angle to demonstrate the how the staging yard squeezes in between the layout, the corner, and the entry door:



DFF

Wow, using the space between un-rocked studs is pretty bold!

[Steveruger45]

Dave
That sector plate looks real good
I like the pin pivot method rather than a screw too
I’m planning something very similar and also with MDF as it’s much more dimensionally stable and flat compared to a lot of the plywood out there
If damp or humidity is something to consider, as the latter is in my case, I’m going to put a sanding sealer coat on the MDF before track fixing/ setting
Just an idea.

[davefoxx]

Wow, using the space between un-rocked studs is pretty bold!

I don't foresee anything going down there, because HO models are much longer than 3-1/2", plus the only way anything gets back there is to go out on the sector plate, the far end of which is within an 1/8" of the drywall on the other side.  I still have the option of installing Masonite sides on the sector plate, if I feel it needs it when I begin running trains.  The front of the length of the staging yard will get a piece of Masonite fascia that extends slightly above the subroadbed to provide a small bit of fencing, in case a piece of rolling stock gets knocked over on the front track.

Oh, if I were still in N scale, I'd install all sorts of protection in this arrangement!

DFF

[davefoxx]

Dave
That sector plate looks real good
I like the pin pivot method rather than a screw too
I’m planning something very similar and also with MDF as it’s much more dimensionally stable and flat compared to a lot of the plywood out there
If damp or humidity is something to consider, as the latter is in my case, I’m going to put a sanding sealer coat on the MDF before track fixing/ setting
Just an idea.

Thanks!  I run a dehumidifier in the spring through summer into the fall, and it does a good job of keeping the humidity down in my basement during those seasons.  From late fall to early spring, I'm running an oil-fired furnace that dries out the basement.  I don't need the dehumidifier in the winter.  I'll probably regret it later, but I don't want to apply a sealer or any finish where the sector plate slides on the other piece of MDF, for fear that the surfaces might become "sticky."  And, as we all know, if you don't seal all six sides of MDF, you wasted your time.  So, I'm going to be lazy and not seal it. 

DFF

[DKS]

And, as we all know, if you don't seal all six sides of MDF, you wasted your time.  So, I'm going to be lazy and not seal it.

OK then, cost of dehumidifier vs. cost of sealing all sides of MDF...

Place your bets!

[davefoxx]

OK then, cost of dehumidifier vs. cost of sealing all sides of MDF...

Place your bets!

Thankfully, my basement is dry.  There's not even a sump pump in the crock in the corner of the basement.  It's only filled with gravel, which is the situation that we inherited when we bought the house in 2012.  We live at the top of a hill.  And, after more than seven years and nasty storms like Sandy, the basement has stayed dry.  Wish me luck!

DFF

[Steveruger45]

Yes absolutely must seal all sides/surfaces if going down that route.  Complete waste of time otherwise.
I plan to sand the sliding surfaces after sealing anyway, which is what I do before applying a varnish for example.
In this case I’m not going to apply a varnish but I’m thinking I might apply some wax.  I’ll see how it goes when I get around to this project.

[DKS]

I built two motor-driven sector plates for someone back in the '80s. Made them out of surplus 1/4-inch Plexiglas. They still function perfectly today (and his basement drains are sometimes full of water, so it's not the driest environment). Doubt I'd ever use anything else should the need arise again.

That said, it doesn't sound like you'll be facing any dire issues.

 

[davefoxx]

Track is down.





The first train has made it into staging.  Yes, it's pointed in the wrong direction, but there's no power on the yard side of the three-way turnout, so to get that far, it required the Keep-Alives onboard the Geep.    Next up is to start dropping feeders.



DFF

[Chris333]

Doubt there will be a problem, but I've seen slider plates like that were they used Melamine instead of bare MDF. My staging yard is a large Melamine board that slides back-n-forth on top of a smaller HCD with a single approach track. But unlike yours I've never used mine 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fTzmLSvjVS7FUPmc6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TcZarQgzsPoS2NEN8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/J1Hg4gJKTiMEXzio9

That was April 2014 and I never even installed all the tracks.  double 

[davefoxx]

Well, Chris, that’s a sweet set-up you’ve got there, finished or not.  MDF works fine for my small sector plate that holds a single locomotive.  Melamine probably is a good idea for your much larger sector plate.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I need to get inspired to do some wiring.  In the meantime, I had this brainstorm.  With the Aberdeen & Briar Patch Ry. getting its staging, I want to add staging for the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR.  In the picture below, the A&R is the siding above the bulkhead flat at left.  It goes nowhere, which limits interchange ops to merely shoving cars in there and no use for my A&R Geep.



The idea: extend that siding around behind the copper water main and bend it 180 degrees to run down the wall under the waste pipe to a two-track staging yard with a provision for the power to run around the train for the return trip.  This would add a little capacity to the layout, another destination for ops, and something for the A&R to do.

If and when I do this, I’m slowly turning the island-style layout into around the walls. 

DFF