Playa Desnuda 2.0…the adventure begins.

[johnb]

As you may have seen in my previous post, Play Desnuda it coming to an end. As of now, all of the buildings, locos, freight cars and details have been put away, and only track exists…for now.



Above is the first true work in progress track plan of Playa Desnuda 2.0. The Washington Street Yard and interchange is not really going to see any changes, however, behind it will be a hidden staging area that uses a switchback to get the new cars into the yard. The largest industry will still be Play Desnuda Shell, but I decided to move it back to the rear of the layout, and limit the number of spots to four. Smaus Wholesale and Petty Crate and Barrel will be moved up to the front at the crossing, with two and one spots, respectfully. Gallifrey Industries will be located towards the back corner with one or two spots, while D’Amato Lumber, a team track and an undecided industry will be located on the 12″x24″ extension, using a classic Ingelnook switching puzzle.

Again, this is currently a rough draft and very subject to change, and I am highly interested in peer criticism.

[johnb]

I had an idea, why not angle the mainline towards the front of the layout and put a bunch of DPM in the back corner? This would allow a 4″ radius loop for the Pacific Electric cars to run on. Perhaps I can find a system to allow the car to run every 5 minutes or so…this area is represented by the red and black areas…I also added in a couple of lines to represent the backdrops to hide the staging.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

May I say "don't use DPM"?

At least, not how you'd usually do it.

Think outside the box.

[johnb]

May I say "don't use DPM"?

At least, not how you'd usually do it.

Think outside the box.

cheap background fodder until I replace it with laser cut brick buildings?

[JoeD]

not sure why you would tack to brick structures?   Not all that common in the LA basin with all the shaking going on.  How bout wood structures or Stucco .  You must know someone with a laser 

[johnb]

not sure why you would tack to brick structures?   Not all that common in the LA basin with all the shaking going on.  How bout wood structures or Stucco .  You must know someone with a laser 

are you volunteering to design kits?

[JMaurer1]

I grew up in the LA area and brick isn't that unusual of a building material. One thing that I have done is taken the DPM (and other brick buildings) and covered the brick with plaster making a stucco building (which is how it was usually done back in the day). Back in the early days, fire was considered a bigger threat than earthquakes which is why brick was always a popular choice for buildings.

[johnb]

ok peeps, the modeling bug is biting me again...I am going to be operating Rick Watson's layout again tonight and I am starting to want my own layout again.

I currently have 10 new pieces of Atlas Code 80 flex, more crossings than I know what to do with, and most of the switches from the old layout have been salvaged. I am contemplating either buying more Atlas Customline switches or buying all new and going with Peco.

I am sticking with Code 80...what would you use, and why?

[Steveruger45]

Peco turnouts for their Reliability.
Atlas flex for its tie spacing.

[peteski]

Peco turnouts for their Reliability.
Atlas flex for its tie spacing.

Atlas CODE80 (flex and sectional) have the regular toy train tie spacing. 
I agree that Peco switches are pretty robust, and their over-the-center spring is handy for manual throwing.
Peco also has the best looking single- and double-slip switches, but I believe they only come in C55 (the double-foot rail is compatible with C80).

[MVW]

Atlas CODE80 (flex and sectional) have the regular toy train tie spacing. 
I agree that Peco switches are pretty robust, and their over-the-center spring is handy for manual throwing.
Peco also has the best looking single- and double-slip switches, but I believe they only come in C55 (the double-foot rail is compatible with C80).

Atlas code 80 and Peco medium-radius turnouts here. Code 55 was experiencing a drought when I started construction, and even though it's absolutely better-looking than C80, I doubt I'll switch. I have several dozen Peco turnouts in operation and they've been trouble-free.

Jim

[nkalanaga]

If you can find it, I'd suggest Peco code 55.  It can handle anything made in N scale, and is virtually indestructible.   It also looks a little better  than code 80.

Of course, if you like code 80, not just want it so you can run older equipment, I'd say Peco code 80.

[Lemosteam]

I offer an inexpensive, hidden magnetic solution for the Atlas custom line switches that is really robust and does not need turnout control other than the tip of your finger, which on your shelf layout is easily accessible (except for the one hidden switch).

 

[bbunge]

I had an idea, why not angle the mainline towards the front of the layout and put a bunch of DPM in the back corner? This would allow a 4″ radius loop for the Pacific Electric cars to run on. Perhaps I can find a system to allow the car to run every 5 minutes or so…this area is represented by the red and black areas…I also added in a couple of lines to represent the backdrops to hide the staging.

If you want to explore automated control of the PE cars, you might consider going the next mile and not using a loop, but timed back and forth moves on a short line, perhaps with tight street curves.  You can do this out of the box (mostly) with CircuitTron, or more homebrew using sensors, relays, an Arduino and some code.  The latter approach provides a lot of room to grow over time to include integrated traffic lights, stops, signals, etc..

Bob

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you want to explore automated control of the PE cars, you might consider going the next mile and not using a loop, but timed back and forth moves on a short line, perhaps with tight street curves.  You can do this out of the box (mostly) with CircuitTron, or more homebrew using sensors, relays, an Arduino and some code.  The latter approach provides a lot of room to grow over time to include integrated traffic lights, stops, signals, etc..

Bob

I think Iowa Scaled Engineering offers something to do that too.