Thursday, August 14, 2014

Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout Part 3

Laying Track

The photos below show how the track was laid.  I am using Atlas code 100 track on this micro.  I used wood glue since it is resistant to water/alcohol after it has dried.  It has a fairly strong bond but is not too hard to pry up if you accidently glue a piece of track that is not supposed to be glued down.  A nice feature of foam core board is you can use push pins to hold everything down while the glue dries.  I was careful not to get any glue under the removable track sections.  After the glue had dried, I glued individual plastic railroad ties under the rail sections where gaps were present.  Everything is staying put, even with extreme humidity changes.   
2827
29  30
31  32
33  34

Up next in Part 4:  Wiring the layout.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout Part 2

Using Foam Core Board For The Layout Sections

I constructed this micro layout from foam core sheets.  The sheet size is 20 inches x 30 inches and I chose black foam core sheets (About 3 sheets total used for all sections).  I used a construction method I received from a PowerPoint presentation by Prof. Klyzlr* on a past episode of Model Rail Radio.  One slide illustrates Chris Ellis’ method of using flat modules connected with foam core clips (Clipboard Modules).   Some really nice illustrations by Jack Trollope, which were included in Prof. Klyzlr’s presentation*, aided me in putting this all together.  I modified the dimensions to fit my needs and used Pacer Industries Formula 560 Canopy Glue to fasten the parts together.  The left section’s dimensions are 7.5 inches wide by 30 inches long with a box depth of 40mm.  The right section is 7.5 inches wide by 24 inches long with a box depth of 40mm as well.  The left staging section (not pictured) is 2 inches wide by 13.5 inches long with a box depth of 40mm.  The right staging section (not pictured) is 3.5 inches wide by 28 inches long with a box depth of 40mm. 
Below are photos of the main modules under construction. 
20  21
side strips for transverse supports are 40mm wide; dwarf transverse support (used to interlock sections to clip) 30mm wide strips  t-pins and canopy glue
30 inch section on left; 24 inch section on right; connecting clip in center  cross brace (transverse) above clip is 30mm;  cross brace (transverse) on right is 40mm (same dimension as box sides)
26 
The clip is really good at holding the two sections together.  So far, I am not experiencing any warping.  That may change with the addition of scenery.

Up Next in Part 3:  Laying Track and Getting Wired.

*Due to copyright, I am not able to post Prof. Klyzlr’s PowerPoint presentation, “Foamcore Modules: A Different Approach to Layout Construction.”

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout Part 1

The Inspiration and Track Plan

The Wetterau Food Services layout is based on a grocery distributor that once existed in the town of Desloge, Missouri.  The structure and tracks still exist, but it is no longer a grocery distributor or receives rail service.  This location is the inspiration for a micro layout I am currently building.  Although the track arrangement is very close to the actual prototype, this layout will not be a faithful model of that prototype.  This location was once served by the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre, Missouri & Illinois, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad.  Today, the line is owned and operated by Union Pacific.

Reference Photos of the Prototype:
01  02
03  04
04a  05
06  07
08

 HO Track Plan:



Up Next in Part 2:  Using Foam Core Board For The Layout Sections