N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[wm3798]

And so it begins...


Not ready for a new thread. For the time being it will be a display bed for the Retro Fleet. So I'll report on progress here, until such time as I'm building a new layout around it.

[wm3798]

That's a lot of tea kettles!

[wm3798]

Thanks to the keen eye of @Bruce Bird I now have a complete Rio Grande set of old Arnold stuff. 


I had the locomotive from the original haul from my cousin, and I've been wondering what to do with it.  Now I have a proper Ski Train around which to build a Christmas Garden!  Maybe even with skiers and skaters!

(or maybe I'll just run it around the loop for awhile)



Don't worry.  A new set of horns is on its way.
Lee

[CRL]

Made some progress on the right of way this week.  Established the final track plan, got the outer loop corked, and roughed in enough wiring to run a couple of trains.



I'm going to sculp out some background cliffs from the foam panels against the walls.
Naturally, now that they have a proper habitat, the Old locomotives have entered a realm of existential crisis.  The valve gear on my Bachmann 060 is binding, and the 040 shifter is making hellish noises.

So, to prepare for foam scenery and engine work, today I built a foam engine as part of the,scenery for my stepdaughter's school musical...



Lee

You’ve got a couple of nasty S curves there on the left side. Good luck with that with those long passenger cars.

[davefoxx]

You’ve got a couple of nasty S curves there on the left side. Good luck with that with those long passenger cars.

Wrong layout.   

[CRL]

Hmmmm.... my “new posts” button must have taken me to the beginning of the thread. Never mind. 🙃

[wm3798]

Well, it is a retro layout. You might as well refer to Retro posts!

[pdx1955]

That's a lot of tea kettles!

Looks like you need more stalls as you're  out of room! 

[wm3798]

Indeed!  Whodathunkit?

[wm3798]

More progress on my little diversion. 


Finished the frame repairs and started fabricating the remaining roof panels.  The building is finally stabilized.

I glued down the inner ring of roofing to give it a sturdier skeleton.  Tomorrow I'll try to get it secured to the module deck, then build a crate for it so I can store it safely until I get another chance to tinker with it.

Better start looking for a basement to put it in!
Lee

[wm3798]

Working on fitting the last few roof panels.  In retrospect, I never would have finished this on the old layout because it was tucked back under that sloped ceiling.

Lee

[wm3798]

Roof is on, and secured with magnets.




Tested the motor on the turntable, it works fine... no indexing.  But when I was in high school, I learned how to land a manually operated elevator... it's just a matter of time till I can butter pancakes with that thing.

Upended the module and everything stayed put!  Time to build the coffin for it so it can go into storage for the foreseeable future...

Lee

[wm3798]

Then using bits of stuff I had laying around, I built a dog house.



No Rigby.  It's for the turntable!





The way the table is wired, I need to keep an eye on which end is up for track polarity.  Having a control stand at one ends helps with that.

Lee

[Point353]

The way the table is wired, I need to keep an eye on which end is up for track polarity.  Having a control stand at one ends helps with that.

Lee

If the center pivot/bearing for the bridge is accessible from the bottom of the turntable, you could install a cam on it.
The cam would then operate a DPDT snap switch (with a roller lever actuator) that reverses the polarity to the bridge track over a specific segment of the arc of its rotation.

[DKS]

Tested the motor on the turntable, it works fine... no indexing.  But when I was in high school, I learned how to land a manually operated elevator... it's just a matter of time till I can butter pancakes with that thing.

Give yourself an edge: use a switch to control the voltage to the drive motor. Two speeds is perfect: fast to get in the ballpark, slow to nail the alignment.

A friend of mine uses a 2-pole 5-position rotary switch. Center position is off. Rotate the switch either way to rotate the table either way. First position is slow, second is fast. Very intuitive.