Category Archives: Trackwork

Installing Plate Girder Bridges

Plate Girder Bridge Finished
The finished curved bridge over Straight Creek–still a long way to go on scenery, but it’s starting to take shape

I’ve got four bridges on the upper deck that need to go in before I can lay track, so here’s my walk-through on how I installed the two plate deck girder bridges. I started with two Micro Engineering deck girder bridges, a 30′ and a 50′. I built them according to instructions but omitted the ties (or concrete) that go on top of the bridge because I planned to build my own out of basswood to go well with the rest of the hand-laid track. I sprayed them flat black with an airbrush.

Plate Girder Bridge Abutments
Building the abutments from sheet styrene. I just used rough shapes and measurements taken from Google Earth

The most challenging part of these builds was the abutments. You have to build the abutment just the right height and size or your track won’t work well. I started by cutting out a section of the subroadbed where I wanted the bridge to go–I just set the bridge on top of the subroadbed, marked it with a pencil, added a scale 6″ or so to both sides to account for the abutment, and cut it with a circular saw. Next, I installed the basic creek bottom with plywood to get a firm foundation. Then I made tracings of the end of my subroadbed where I’d cut the section out and marked the height of each side to the top of the subroadbed on a piece of paper. Next I sketched the basic shapes of the abutments made from looking at images on Google Earth. I also used the ruler tool in Google Earth to get some basic dimensions for the width of the abutments and the length of the “wings.” In this case, each of the bridges has one “normal” abutment that is rectangular and a few feet deep and one “snaky” abutment with wings that extend at different angles rather than going straight back along the tracks. All of the abutments have a central section about 18-20 scale feet wide that goes between the bridge and the ground, and this section has is stepped to provide a base for the bridge feet. I made my central sections 18 scale feet with with an 1.5 scale foot wide step for the bridge feet. The elevation of the step depends on the bridge type, so I just marked the total height of the bridge and foot against the height markings on the paper to get my basic design.

Plate Girder Bridge Abutments
I ran the plastic over rough sandpaper using a block to guide the movement and give it a rough-lined texture

I cut the abutment pieces from .040″ black sheet styrene, and I angled the tops of some of the wings (eyeballed until they looked about right). I added pieces of .020″ styrene to the back side of the abutments to make them look thicker and glued and sanded the pieces to look like a single piece. Before gluing the main pieces together, I took a piece of course sandpaper, held it down with a wooden block, and rubbed the abutment pieces and back and forth using the wood block as a guide to get horizontal lines scratched into the face of the plastic. This gives the “concrete” a rougher look and simulates the grain from using wood forms to build the prototype. When this step was complete, I assembled the abutments using styrene cement and filled in any gaps with model putty which I shaped and sanded when dry. I was able to assemble some of them before the “scratch treatment,” but anywhere I had an interior joint (90 degrees or less), I scratched the pieces first because otherwise it’s nearly impossible to do once assembled.

Plate Girder Bridge Abutment Painting
I painted the abutments with an airbrush and thinned Tamiya “deck tan” color

Next I painted the abutments with an airbrush and thinned Tamiya “Deck Tan” paint. The deck tan is a nice gray-tan color and dries very flat. I made sure to spray at least the tops of the insides of the abutments too because they’ll be sticking out above the scenery. I also used some of the deck tan color to lighten the bridges and fade them a bit. I weathered the bridges and abutments using a combination of flat black and light rust colored washes. The entire bridge inside and out got a couple coats of the light rust wash–I left the wash on and set the bridge upright to get the rust to concentrate on the bottom of the panels. All of the abutments got 2-3 liberal washes of flat black. I targeted the rust washes to the areas behind and under the bridge, wiping the wash down to simulate rusty streaks from numerous rain storms over the years. I kept making the wash thicker and thicker and applied it to a smaller and smaller area to get thick streaks just under the bridge feet. I dry-brushed some black in these feet areas as well to darken the streaks and dry-brushed a few more streaks vertically down the walls. Finally, I used some Tamiya weathering powders to add a few more black streaks and white blotches.

Plate Girder Bridge Weathering
I weathered the bridges with rust-colored washes
Plate Girder Bridge Abutment Weathering
I weathered the abutments with black washes and rust washes, focusing the rust on the area under the bridge feet

Next I made the decks. The 30′ span was easy because it was straight. I simply drew a scale 30′ x 10′ rectangle as my template, cut a few dozen scale 10′ sections of scale 8×10″ basswood using a Northwest Shore Line “Chopper”, laid down two strips of scale 3×6″ basswood along the edges of the template (slightly in from the edges), and laid the ties onto these strips one-at-a-time using small drops of Elmers white glue. I use white glue because it’s easy to work with, does the job, and seems to take stain slightly better than wood glue. The track over the 50′ span is on a 24″ radius curve, so it took a bit more work. For the template, I traced the bridge, then used my 24″ radius template (a plywood cutout) to mark a track centerline on top of the bridge outline, making the line about equal distance from both bridge sides (as measured at the ends of one side and the middle of the other side). Standard bridge ties are about 10′, but with 24″ radius that wouldn’t quite cover the bridge, so I opted for scale 11′ ties and marked an outline on the template 5.5 scale feet from the center line on both sides. To make sure the ties held the right curvature, I laid these ties on top of two strips of scale 3×8″ basswood laid straight so they would fit inside the bridge panels. I pinned these down with tacks on top of the template, then laid the ties one-at-a-time using the curved lines I’d drawn. Once this dried, I flipped it over and laid the 3×6″ edge boards using tacks to curve the boards until they dried.

Plate Girder Bridge Drawing
This is my 1:1 drawing of the two bridge decks made from tracing the space available on the layout
Plate Girder Bridge Ties
The curved deck was easier to make when I built it on top of two straight pieces that would fit inside the bridge sides
Plate Girder Bridge Edges
I built the decks on top of a cardboard box so I could use tacks to hold the curved pieces in place
Plate Girder Bridge Straight Ties
The straight deck was very straightforward – just some ties on two parallel edge boards

I gave the decks a little more detail by adding some nail/bolt marks using a thumbtack. When stained, the tack mark shows up extra dark and gives the illusion of a nail/bolt without having to install hundreds of castings. I put a bolt hole in the edge board over each tie, and I put four offset bolts in each tie over where it would attach to the girder underneath. I use a ruler to make sure each line of bolts is straight. This adds some nice detail to the deck, and it’s quite striking to see a line of straight bolt heads against the curvature of the rail on a curved bridge. I finished the decks by staining them with Minwax “Ebony” stain, dabbing up the excess with a paper towel, and letting them dry.

Plate Girder Bridge Bolt Holes
I made some bolt detail on the edge boards and ties using a thumbtack

Now I had all the pieces to install my bridges! I waited until I’d finished the sanding and staining of the adjacent track ties as this would have ruined the abutments if I tried to do it with them installed. First, I test fit everything to make sure my bridge ties were at the same level as the adjacent ties. If not, I either sanded a bit off the bottom of the abutment (difficult) or added some thin pieces of styrene to the bottom to get them to the right height (easier). Lesson learned: when in doubt, make the abutments slightly short and shim them up–the base will be covered by scenery, and it’s a lot easier to add then remove at this point. With the heights correct, I then test fit the entire bridge structure and moved the pieces around until I was happy that 1) the bridge was in the right spot, and 2) the abutments were centered on the bridge. When happy, I used a pencil to mark the corner positions of the abutments onto the plywood beneath and removed everything.

Plate Girder Bridge Test Fit
Final test fit before gluing everything in place on the small bridge
Plate Girder Bridge Glued Down
Here’s the final bridge with everything glued down and ready for rails

I applied some Pliobond adhesive to the bottom of the abutments and the portions of the abutments that would touch the adjacent subroadbed and set them in their marks on the layout to dry. Next I used some Pliobond on the bridge feet and carefully set the bridge in place on the abutments. Once dry, I used a little Pliobond in lines on the bottom of the bridge tie section and set it in place on top of the bridge. Once happy with the alignment with the adjacent ties, I set a couple blocks of wood on top to help it all dry flat and level.

Plate Girder Bridge Rails
The final bridge showing the bolt detail alongside the rails

The final step was adding the rail. I just ran the long rails over the bridge just like the other ties and spiked the ties adjacent to the bridge. I used Micro Engineering “micro spikes” on the bridge (I use “small spikes” elsewhere). Since the spikes were slightly longer than the ties are deep, I used a No 79 drill bit to predrill the spike hole, especially where the spike would go into the plastic bridge. I spiked about every fifth tie. A look at prototype photos doesn’t reveal any guard rails, so I omitted them on my models as well.

That’s it–bridges installed and now handling trains!

Ballasting Track on the St. Charles Branch

Ballasted St Charles
Here’s the St Charles wye with ballast. Note the area of cinders where a track used to be

While I finished the basic scenery forms on the lower deck a few weeks ago, I decided it would be better to ballast the tracks before adding the upper deck benchwork while I still had good access to them. I’m so glad I did because ballasting gives the scenes a much more “finished” look even though there’s still a ton of scenery work to be done. I’ll be honest, I was dreading ballasting the track–I had little experience with ballast, but from that experience I saw it as a frustrating, tedious, and time-consuming job. I have now changed my tune! While it’s still time-consuming, I was able to learn and mature my techniques quickly to avoid the frustration and tedium, so I’ll pass along my method here.

First, I had to determine what kind of ballast I needed. This wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped. As best I can tell, most of the tracks in my area were at one time ballasted in cinders harvested from steam locomotives. The steam locos went away in the 1950s, and with them the ability to get cheap and ready cinders for ballast. Photos from the ’80s and ’90s clearly indicate most everything got covered in rock ballast–would the cinders still be around in the 1960s and ’70s? After some digging online, I found that cinders in many places lasted for decades after steam, and in the coal fields, it’s tough to tell cinders from spilled coal anyway, so an added incentive for cinders, at least on sidings and secondary tracks. For the main tracks, photos show the Southern’s ballast in this area was a medium gray. I toyed around with trying to find some actual rock to use as ballast, but in the end I decided on good old Woodland Scenics products made from crushed walnut shells because I can find it readily, it doesn’t cost an arm and leg to ship, and it’s pretty easy to work with. I used fine cinders and medium sized gray ballast in the big shaker containers for this project, and I was able to do the entire lower deck (12′ x 16′) with just under two shakers of each color (4 shakers total).

Second, I did a bunch of research on how to apply ballast, and I am so glad I did! In the end, I went mostly with the method Cody Grivno of Model Railroader lays out in the article here. The only other materials I needed were white glue (I bought a gallon), isopropyl alcohol (I used about XX oz), and dish soap. For tools, I used a spoon, a large flat brush, a white glue dispenser (like the ones kids use in school), two small jars with eyedroppers, a work glove, and my fingers. In the glue bottle, I mixed up some “just a bit wet glue” which is about 2 parts white glue, 1 part water, and a drop or two of dish soap–when you squirt it out, it should dissipate from its bead but not run. In one of the jars with an eyedropper, I made a mix of “very wet glue” of about 1 part glue, 6 parts water, and a drop or two of dish soap–it should look about the consistency of milk and absorb into the wet ballast (I’ll explain that in a minute) after a few seconds. You’ll need a LOT of the very wet glue, so you can either make a big batch or mix it on-demand when you run out (what I did… it was a lot of trips). The remaining jar and eyedropper are for the isopropyl alcohol.

Ballasting Step 1
Step 1. Lay down a pile of ballast in the gauge between the rails
Ballasting Step 2
Step 2. use a finger to spread the ballast between the ties, moving excess to the next section

I worked on the track in about 2 foot sections, usually one track at a time. If you’re doing two ballast colors, determine which ballast should be “lower” and work on that one first–for me, the cinders were replaced by ballast rock, so where they overlap, I did the cinders first. With about half-a-spoonful of ballast, I first apply it to the “gauge” (inside the rails) of the track. It takes a few tries to get a feel for how thick to lay it, but it becomes routine pretty quick. You want just enough that when you spread it the ballast fills the space in between the ties and rails with little on top of the ties and nothing on the rails. I found my finger to be an effective spreading tool, and I just rub it back and forth down the tracks, rubbing any excess ballast to open areas. Cody glues his ballast at this point, but I found it easier to lay the edge ballast first. I applied ballast to the edges by first running a bead of glue from the bottle down the side of the subroadbed and on top of the scenery–this helps the “slope” to hold better. Next I used the spoon to apply ballast inward toward the rail from about the edge of the ties until I couldn’t see the edge of the subroadbed any more. I used my finger again, first to poke the ballast under the rail a bit, then to wipe off the tops of the tie edges, and then to pat down the sloped edges until they looked smooth. I used a brush to clear off any unwanted ballast to outside the range of the glue (I vacuum it up later) and to remove any stubborn ballast from areas my finger couldn’t get to.

Ballast Step 3
Step 3. Add ballast to the edges of the track, use a finger to work it into the ties, then use a finger to clean it off the ties and shape the slope

Once I’m happy with the ballast shape, I glue it down. The critical part of this process is to USE THE ALCOHOL AS A WETTING AGENT FIRST! If you just add the glue, the ballast will float (and float away) which makes a frustrating mess. You can avoid this by first saturating the ballast with an eyedropper of isopropyl alcohol–just drop until everything looks wet. I follow the alcohol wetting with the very wet glue, making sure I apply drops to every section of ballast until things were saturated and it took a couple seconds for the glue to soak in. If you drop a big glob of white glue that somehow didn’t get diluted, no worries–just dilute it with some alcohol, and it will likely settle in just fine. I wet and glued each section by starting with the gauge between the rails, then moving to the edges. I found for the edges it’s better to start the alcohol low and work up to keep things in place, and its better to start the glue high and let it work down.

Ballast Step 4
Step 4. Using a dropper, soak the ballast with isopropyl alcohol
Ballast Step 5
Step 5. Saturate the wet areas with wet glue

Turnouts require a bit more care, and I probably didn’t take all the care I should have… it worked out ok, but I spent a couple hours massaging my turnouts to get them working smoothly again. I spread the ballast a little less thickly between the ties to make sure the points wouldn’t catch, and I took care to avoid putting ballast in the area of the throw. No matter how careful I was, there was always some piece determined to get stuck in the throw, so I used the brush (and the occasional X-Acto blade) to fish out any offenders. I used the very wet glue sparingly in these areas, but there was still some glue that stuck to the top of the ties causing the points to stick a bit. I believe Cody’s method is to drop the glue in first, then add the ballast under the points, and I think I’ll try this next time.

Ballast Step 6
Step 6. Clean off any excess ballast–I use a work glove for this
Ballast Step 7
Step 7. Clean any remaining ballast from the web of the rail–I use a combination of a matchstick and fingernails

After letting the glue dry overnight, I clean up any excess ballast. First, I use a work glove and rub it over the top of the ties and edges to knock off any obtrusive pieces. Next, I clean out the area in the web (sides) of the rail using a matchstick rubbed back-and-forth followed by a fingernail. I used a flathead screwdriver to clean out flangeways if necessary. I cleaned up any excess with a vacuum. You’ll inevitably find spots you missed with the glue, but it’s easy to just add more ballast, drop some alcohol, then drop some glue to repair.

Ballast is scenery, so I also wanted it to tell a story. Because track repairs would have been made with gravel instead of cinders in my era, I picked a few spots along the cinder-ballasted yard tracks to fill with gravel (in this case, Woodland Scenics fine gray ballast) to simulate a replaced tie. I like the look! I also picked a few spots in prominent areas to lay some cinders on the scenery to go underneath the ballast rocks to show that some tracks were once cinders but had now been ballasted with rock. I also laid a thin layer of cinders in areas where I know tracks used to be, even though I don’t model them in my era. Finally, I added extra cinders to areas under tipple chutes and where locomotives sit to represent spilled coal and grime. I’m pretty happy with how these “extras” turned out, but they won’t fully tell the story until more scenery is complete.

Simulated Track Repairs
The St Charles yard where the main is clearly visible. The gray areas on top of cinders represent tie repairs after the age of cinders

Ok, the ballasting was the last step before adding the upper deck, but you’ve heard that before… We shall see.

Finished Ballast at Mayflower
Here’s the finished ballast at the Mayflower tipple–the road is made from fine ballast as well

 

 

 

Major Milestone – Lower Level Track Complete

L&N taking a test spin
L&N RS3 100 takes a trip around the wye at St Charles
St Charles yard tracks complete
Completed St Charles yard tracks

Hit a major milestone yesterday: the lower level tracks are complete! I completed the first scene, the end of the line at the Mayflower tipple, several months ago, and the last few months I’ve been working on the long scene at St Charles. St Charles – the branch’s namesake – was home to a wye, a depot, a couple small tipples, and a three-track “yard.” St Charles was also home to a mine run when the tipples were busy, so this is the central scene on the layout. All told, the St Charles scene is about 26 linear feet long and required 14 hand-laid switches (about 1/2 of them curved) and a couple of bridges.

Electrically, I made the entire Mayflower branch an auto-reversing zone for the wye. Can I just say the On-Guard AR solid-state DCC auto-reversers are awesome? The switching of polarity on the wye is absolutely seamless and unnoticeable–I highly recommend them! I also isolated a single rail of both the “house track” and “engine track” in the middle of the wye and will place a switch on the fascia. This will allow me to turn the power off to the two tracks that would hold idling power in case any sound locomotives get annoying. Next step is fascia and switch controls.

Mini Golden Spike?

Mayflower leg of St Charles Wye
Overview of the Mayflower leg of the St Charles wye

Celebrated something of a mini golden spike this week. I completed the mainline track for the Mayflower leg of the wye in St Charles. With this bit of track installed, trains can finally run up from the staging level and to a tipple (Mayflower). It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but its a milestone nonetheless. Next will come the Monarch leg of the wye with its house track and engine track followed by the two yard tracks above the wye. Getting pretty close to having all the track on the main level installed.

I learned a good lesson on hand-laying track. The frog needs to be electrically isolated by cutting the rails on either side of the frog. To keep the frog and rails aligned, I spike both sides of the cut before cutting. When I wired everything up and applied track power the first time in this new section, it immediately shorted out. I could hear a soft click coming from one of the switches. Usually this means one to three things 1) I wired a feeder to the wrong bus, 2) my cut didn’t make it all the way through or 3) the point rails somehow slid back together with the frog. A check of all three of these things was good, but when I dropped the feeders from the point rails, the short cleared–it was still somewhere on this switch. After a few minutes of jiggling random things and staring at the problem, I finally figured out that two of the spikes that were holding separate point rails down near the frog cut were touching even though the rails weren’t. Go figure, metal spikes attached to metal rails conduct electricity… a quick repositioning of one of the offending spikes did the trick.

Ties Laid for St Charles

St Charles ties overview
Overall view of the wye at St Charles including the house track and engine track inside the wye and the bridges over Bailey’s Trace

After a nice and productive summer focusing on building models (thank you St. Louis RPM meet for the motivation), I’ve returned to working on the layout. The next step is a big one, the scene of St. Charles, VA. This is the central scene of the entire layout. This is where trains emerge from staging, the site of the local station and engine tracks, the small yard for the branch, and the wye taking trains either up to Mayflower or Kemmergem, Monarch and Benedict. While I could have modeled these tracks in pieces, I decided to do the entire scene at once to avoid further stalling and to limit the need for multiple coats of stain on the ties (takes forever to clear out the smell!).

I’m using basic cookie cutter construction. I lay down 1/4″ door skin ply and draw out the tracks using templates and a piece of flextrack with thumbtacks to hold it in place. After cutting the upper subroadbed, I then trace the pattern only 1/2″ plywood staggering the seams. For this scene, I cut out all the 1/4″ ply to make sure everything fit, then cut the thicker ply. Construction so far is proceeding according to the plan, though I did make a modification to the track plan–instead of having the two small coal-loader tracks butting into one another, I reversed the siding on the wye to place the switch along the benchwork instead of in the back corner where it would be tough to reach. The prototype siding in this area appears to have been double-ended, so it’s not a big deal either way. As a bonus, the new arrangement allowed me to get a few more cars’ capacity on these sidings.

Building the bridges over Bailey's Trace
Laying bridge ties for the shorter bridge over Bailey’s Trace

The toughest part of this scene is the pair of bridges across Bailey’s Trace at one end of the wye. On the prototype, there was a plate girder bridge just over 50′ in length on the main, and a shorter plate girder bridge (about 25′) which adjoins a curved bridge portion which appears to have been joined with a short wooden trestle on the curved portion (it’s all been redone with ballasted decks now). I used a 50′ Micro Engineering bridge for one section and cut down a 30′ ME bridge by one section on the other. I hand-laid the bridge ties using a template I drew up on a piece of paper. Next will come the concrete supports so I can attach the bridges and lay the rails across.

It’s encouraging to see progress in the layout room again, and I will definitely have my work cut out for me between now and Christmas hand-laying 14 switches!

Rails in Mayflower

Rails in Mayflower looking South
View of the finished load tracks from the top of the tipple–note the track that’s been removed on the left side (thought it would make a cool detail)

I’ve completed laying rails on the Mayflower section of the railroad, and I’m just about ready to run the first mine run–exciting times! Everything is hand-laid, and I’ll share a little about my technique. I lay everything in place instead of using a jig because I find the track flows better. I use code 83 for the main and code 70 for sidings, and I spike everything with small spikes, about every 5th tie except for switches. I like to work outside-in as you’ll see in the pictures of the load yard ladder. This means the first few switches take a while because you’re notching for the points of ALL the switches on that piece of rail, but it speeds up as you go because you’ve already filed pieces up-front. I don’t pay much attention to frog numbers or curves–I just lay them as the ties dictate (and remember, the ties were laid down based on outlines traced around flex track, so that’s where I check radii and things).

You also might notice that I’m not putting in guard rails alongside the frogs for some switches which is prototypical for sidings in some areas of the country. I use them on both sides of every mainline switch, and I use them on the tightest curve side of every curved switch. For the rest, I test cars and put them in as needed. If your frog is straight, you probably wont need them. If your frog is curved at all, you probably will. I like the look of the switches with no guard rails because it emphasizes “siding.” I also use the track to tell part of the story, so you’ll notice that I laid an extra switch’s worth of ties for a 5th track under the tipple that has been removed (try doing THAT with commercial track)–Mayflower had a spot to load on a 5th track, but track diagrams in my era only show 4 tracks. I’ve modeled it as if they just pulled up the rails and laid through the switch instead of pulling up all the ties.

All the feeders (a gazillion) got dropped and attached yesterday, so I just need to set out some cars and recruit my engineer for the first-ever mine run on the layout. Woohoo!

Laying Ties on Mayflower Branch

Mayflower Tipple and Ties
A close-up of the Mayflower Tipple mock-up with ties running underneath

Made some progress this week on the Mayflower Branch section of the layout. All the ties have been laid! This is a tedious but simple process made a lot easier by the outline of track left over from tracing flextrack onto my subroadbed for cutting. I just place the material (1/4″ door skin for me) on top of the layout, place thumbtacks in the holes of a piece of limber Atlas flex track, fasten the track down with the pins using turn radius templates and “eyeballing” the rest, then use a pencil to trace down both sides of the track. For marking switches, I leave a portion of the track fastened and move the loose section to trace the divergent track. After tracing, where the pencil marks diverge is the location for the turnout points and longer block ties. After the subroadbed is secured in place with risers, screws and glue, I’ve got a perfect template for the tracks on the layout for laying ties (more about making and laying ties below).

Ties for the Mayflower Branch
Overview of the Mayflower Branch section of the layout with the ties freshly installed (this one’s for you, Bill)

Now that all the ties are in place and I have the mock-up of the Mayflower Tipple, I can really start to visualize the entire scene. I’m really liking how the track snakes into the scene, and I think the gentle curve into the tipple will really look cool with strings of hoppers hanging out. You’ll also notice the tracks run into the wall–I didn’t have enough room to model the empty yard, just some space for empties above the tipple. This was an easy compromise to make for space because the empty yard at Mayflower was a stub-ended affair, so crews still had to run around and shove cuts of empty hoppers, just as they’ll need to do here. I can’t wait to get the rails down and operate that first mine run! There’s a lot of rail-laying between now and then, but it’s good to see it coming together.

Making Ties
My “workbench” for making ties–I cut strips from 1/16 and 3/32″ basswood to use for siding and mainline ties, respectively.

Making Ties. Rather than buy bags of ties, I cut my own from sheets of basswood, 1/16″ for siding ties and 3/32″ for mainline ties. It’s not that ties on the prototype were different heights, but using different height ties on the layout keeps siding tracks a little lower than the main (very prototypical). I use a “spacer tie” to line up a metal straightedge the proper distance from the edge of the basswood board, then cut it with a couple strokes of a sharp utility blade. Most sheets come in 2′ length, and I’ve found it easier to cut it to 1′ length first so I don’t have to move the straightedge in the middle of a cut. With a bunch of sticks in hand, I then use a Northwest Shore Line “Chopper II” (amazing tool) and a scale rule to cut the ties in .5′ increments from a scale 8.5′ to 16.5′ with a separate, well-marked ziploc baggie for each size and length. Standard ties are 8.5′, and switches require a few of each longer size as you progress up the switch with 16′ ties for block ties at the points.

Ties tell a story
Ties tell a story about the type of track you’re modeling from mainline to well-used siding

Laying Ties. Laying ties is a simple matter of putting down some wood glue on the subroadbed and placing them. I work in sections of about 8-12″ at a time to make sure the glue doesn’t dry before the tie gets there. Ties tell a story about the kind of track you’re modeling, and it’s one of the reasons I love hand-laying track. Mainline track should be in good working order with closely spaced ties perpendicular to the rails and just a little side-to-side variation. Well kept sidings are similar but with perhaps a bit wider spacing between ties. For old, well-used sidings like you’d see at coal tipples, I’m pretty haphazard with my ties, allowing some of them to kink off perpendicular and lots of variation in spacing and alignment from side-to-side. It looks absolutely disgusting before the rails go on, but the effect is more subtle once the ties are stained and the rails are in place. I love disgusting looking track that still runs well, so I can be pretty aggressively messy when laying siding ties!

DCC Zones – Planning for Future Operations

This post is less of an update and more of an effort to chronicle a minor but important part of layout construction: DCC track bus planning. Installing DCC has two major components, the first is wiring up the DCC system with its command station, booster(s), throttle panels, computer connections, wireless throttle receiver, and network cables–I covered the installation of the DCC and logical connections of the DCC system here. The second component of DCC is installing the wiring for the track which includes electrical buses, circuit breakers, and dividing the layout into zones which I’ll cover here. Even if you don’t plan to use circuit breakers, its still a great idea to “future proof” your layout by wiring for zones–you can always tie the zones together at the booster, but you don’t want to be installing new buses and feeders under finished scenery. These zones will also help with electrical troubleshooting if you can’t find a short–you’ll at least be able to isolate it to a smaller section of track.

DCC indicator light on UP5
This UP5 panel’s Loconet light is connected directly to the booster (note the “M” label for “master”)

My layout is small enough to easily be powered by a single 5A DCC booster, in my case, an old Digitrax DCS100 Chief acting as a booster (a DCS51 Zephyr is the command station). At most, I’ll have 3 trains and perhaps 6 locomotives running at any given time. The DSC100 can handle this current easily, but with circuit protection provided by only the booster, if any one locomotive runs against a switch and shorts on the frog, power for the entire layout and all trains shuts off. The solution? Dividing the layout into zones and using solid-state circuit breakers!

I already needed at least three zones on the layout because I have two reversing loops which need to be isolated from the main bus and powered through an auto-reversing circuit breaker. In my case, I use the On-Guard AR reversing breakers from DCC Specialties. Although a tad on the expensive side, the solid-state AR circuits are rock solid and work more reliably than their analog counterparts, especially with the current draw of sound locomotives. Aside from the reversing zones, I decided to divide the remainder of the layout into 3 additional zones, one per level. How many zones you use is a balance of cost and functionality–too many, and the cost quickly gets out of hand along with the wiring (each zone needs its own wiring bus), too few, and operators causing short circuits will quickly ruin the fun of other operators in the same zone.

With my max of three trains in mind, I drew zone lines primarily to ensure each train would be in its own zone most of the time. Consequently, the zones are different sizes based not only the amount of track it powers but the operating locations for the trains. For example, zone 3 is the largest on the layout and powers not only the entire upper deck but the helix between the lower and upper decks as well. That’s a lot of track, but only one train at a time will venture to the upper deck, so it can be large. The main level is two zones with one covering the wye and yard at St. Charles, and the second (a reversing zone) covering the branch to Mayflower–there will often be a train at St Charles while another works the Mayflower Branch. Finally, I made the staging level its own zone (along with a second reversing zone) so that operators moving things in and out of staging won’t impact operators on the visible portion of the layout.

Once I knew where the zones would be, I ran an electrical bus from the vicinity of the booster all along the benchwork where the tracks of that zone would go. I’m all about overkill here, so I use household Romex 14 gauge copper wiring that I pull out of the sheath. I drill holes and run the black and white wires through the benchwork about 4″ apart. One important step is to LABEL THE BENCHWORK with a Sharpie every few pieces of wood, especially if you have multiple buses running side-by-side, so you don’t become confused as to which track you’re hooking up to what zone–if you mess this up, your track could be wired to multiple zones simultaneously and eliminate any benefit of electrically isolating the zones. At the ends of the run, I just wrap the lines around a drywall screw. If I need to run a bus in two directions, I just make a junction and join the three wires together with a wire nut, just like I would do with household wiring.

Pigtails for the DCC bus
Pigtails on the DCC bus, note the zone IDs (2 and 2R) marked on the benchwork

I strip about 1″ of insulation off each wire about every 2-3′ where it will connect to track, and I wrap a 4″ section of the uninsulated ground wire from the Romex around the bare spot about 3 times leaving 1″ or so hanging off both ends. A little solder keeps this pigtail in place. I’ll offset the white- and black-line pigtails by about 4-6″ horizontally in addition to the distance between the wires to minimize the risk of shorts. These pigtails become the connection points for track feeders using wire nuts. Of course, you’ll need to physically separate the tracks between zones by either cutting gaps in the rails or using a plastic insulating joiner. Be sure to overlap your gaps by 3/4″ – 1″ for zones connected to an auto-reverser!

Between the bus for each zone and the booster is a circuit breaker, in my case a PSX-3 (essentially 3 PSX-1s) from DCC Specialties (I covered how to program these with a DCS51 here). Like the auto-reversing breakers, the PSX breakers are solid-state and are well worth the money over analog breakers, especially if you’re running sound locomotives. I have been extremely impressed with these units so far! The PSX design makes it easy to daisy-chain multiple breakers with just one set of wires to the booster. The only split I had to make was after the PSXs when I had to run the last booster connection off the PSX to the two AR circuits. To make the connection to the buses easier, I made a simple “panel” on part of the benchwork where the 14 gauge wires for each bus come through, get wrapped around a drywall screw, and have the ends exposed for connection to the PSX via smaller wires connected with wire nuts.

DCC zone indicator lights on UP5
Zone 1 and 2 indicators using UP5 Loconet lights

A final step for me was figuring out a way to monitor each zone to know what’s active and what’s shorting out. It’s more difficult to detect a short with the PSX than the DCS100 because the booster makes a distinct noise when it’s reacting to a short, but the PSX is silent. For monitoring, I turned to the Digitrax UP5 universal interconnector panel. I have five of these panels at various spots along the fascia of the staging level for connecting throttles, and each has a “track status” light that can be wired to the track bus. I chose one in proximity to each zone to be the “zone indicator”, labeled with a sticker for the zone number to help me remember, and wired it to pigtails of the corresponding track zone. This way, if a short occurs, only one light corresponding to the affected zone will go out to aid troubleshooting. I wired the UP5 adjacent to the command station and booster directly to the booster wires (no circuit breaker in between) and labeled it to be the master monitor–if it’s on and everything else is out, it tells me the problem is somewhere in the circuit breaker wiring.

Finally, I drew pictures (the ones seen here) of the zones on top of a layout diagram to help me remember exactly where the zones go, and I placed this in my layout binder with all the other helpful information on the layout. This wiring took a good bit of time to plan out and install, but now the layout has the robust electrical backbone to make for smooth connections, easier troubleshooting, and ultimately more fun for operators.

 

 

Final Touches for the Staging Level

Final fascia pockets
The final 3 fascia pockets are in place in preparation for benchwork being laid on top of them

I spent a few hours on the layout this past week primarily getting the staging level ready to have benchwork for the main level laid on top of it. There will only be 8″ or so between the decks, so it will be tough to do things like swing a hammer to nail down track once the main level goes in. I pounded the 100s of track nails down well to avoid trouble later, and I finished the final 3 fascia pockets for holding clipboards and other operator paperwork. As you can see, I tried to pick places where nothing is going on behind the pockets so I’m not covering switches or key viewpoints for spotting trains or clearing fouling points and the ends of tracks. Not sure exactly what I’ll keep in the lower pockets, though the one in the back corner is big enough to hold 8.5×11″ papers, so I finished it out with a masonite floor. I will say, I grossly underestimated the amount of sawdust MDF makes!

Extra storage tracks
Using some extra space on the staging level for car storage tracks

While I was at it, I decided to fill up some of the extra space on the staging level with a few car storage tracks. Who doesn’t need more places to store cars, right? I’ve got plenty of staging, but being a coal railroad with little non-coal traffic, I wanted a place to store some of the extra non-coal cars that won’t be used every session, and I wanted to store them where I could easily add them to trains without taking up an actual staging track. I just nailed in 3 tracks directly onto the subroadbed in a spot that’s easily accessible and doesn’t block anything critical behind it like switches or fouling points for the active staging tracks. It’ll hold about 15-18 cars which will help. I’ve already got a coupe extra short staging tracks for the locomotives. These are connected to the railroad via a switch because I didn’t want to be picking up locomotives every time I swapped them out–I’m ok with the extra handling of freight cars.

While I’m giving an update, here’s a picture of the toughest benchwork on the layout so far–it’s the corner by the door that goes around the staging helix. What made it so tough is I wanted to match the curvature and location of the staging-level fascia below, and it happens to be a series of complex curves with NONE of the edge on a 90 or 45-degree line. I also wanted it to be secured well enough to walls, cantilevers and the helix that it wouldn’t need legs down to the staging level. I ended up building it in-place around the helix, and I’m satisfied it will do the trick.

Helix corner benchwork
Some of the toughest benchwork on the layout to match the curvature of the staging fascia and work around the helix

Double Pinwheel Helix

Nearly complete helix
Just one more 1/2 turn to go before reaching the main level

Just [almost] finished the first helix. Man, am I glad not to have to work around a floating wall for the second one! As promised, I’ve written an article on how to design and build a helix that’s strong, reliable, easy to build and an efficient use of space and material–it’s a design I call the “Double Pinwheel Helix.” I’ve built two helices this way now, and I haven’t seen another design that comes anywhere close to being this simple to build using nothing but plywood and a circular saw (no jigsawing for hours), and it’s very forgiving if you don’t cut the pieces exact or your space is a little wonky. 

Rather than post it here, I put the article on Appalachian Railroad Modeling where more people would be able to find it and hopefully be inspired to overcome their fear of building a helix. You can find the article here. Here are a couple of photos so you can see the progress.

Building the Double Pinwheel Helix
The key to the double pinwheel design is lots of clamps to ensure the lamination of pieces is thorough

 

Starting the First Helix

After a couple months of just breaking in the staging level and working out the bugs (and retiring from the Air Force, and going camping, and taking a trip to South Dakota…), I finally starting building again yesterday. I’ve got the first turn of the first helix that connects staging to the wye at St. Charles complete. 1.5 more turns to go.

First turn of the staging helix
First turn of the staging helix complete with track

This is the second time I’ve used this method to build a helix, and I really like it. I call it the “double pinwheel”–each level is essentially two layers of 8 identical trapezoids of plywood, each put together like a pinwheel with the two layers overlapping. It’s very easy (once you do the math to figure out your trapezoid and cut a master), it’s very forgiving, and it’s very strong after the glue dries.

Some particulars on the helix. It’s a 24″ radius helix that gains 4.5″ per turn. That works out to a 3% grade which should work fine for all the trains that will use it. The track you see looping around it (in the black painted area) is the continuous running loop connection. I was able to let a short string of cars run away from the top, and they negotiated the switches without a hitch at warp speed, even the #4 with REALLY short points going into the L&N staging yard you can see in the photo above (phew).

I’ll write a full article on the double pinwheel helix soon as I don’t know of anyone else who uses this method (let me know if you do). In the meantime, here are some progress pics.

  • Double pinwheel helix section
    Here’s a closeup of two pieces of the helix going together–I alternate top, bottom, top, bottom, gluing and clamping as I go
  • Double pinwheel helix construction
    My limiting factor for how much of the helix I can build at once is clamps–it takes me about three sessions to build a level allowing about 90 minutes for glue to dry between sessions

The “Special” Locomotive

Everyone with a layout has that “special” locomotive. No, not your favorite one with the custom paint and weathering or the one with the beautiful sound system. You know, it’s the one that despite every effort you’ve made to make sure there’s nothing obstructing free movement, there’s nothing dragging, and all the wheels are in perfect gauge, still manages to find ways to fail to stay on the rails where 100s of others have succeeded before. . . that kind of special. These locomotives serve a wonderful purpose, but I’ll get to that later.

My special locomotive is Southern GP35 2649. It’s a kitbashed Athearn model with a high nose and Alco-style truck sideframes. There’s nothing remarkable about the drive system, wiring, or anything else–if anything, it might be a tad on the light side.

For the last month, I’ve been running trains on my staging level. It’s been a great exercise in working out the kinks in the trackwork and power, getting re-acquainted with my DCC system and JMRI DecoderPro, and just enjoying watching some trains run. I’ve gotten to the point where I could back a 34-car train of empty hoppers with 3 units shoving all the way around the layout and through all three of the reversing loop tracks–I was pretty proud of my work! Then came the Special. . .

My "special" locomotive
My “special” locomotive, Southern GP35 2649, next to the track joint that it alone didn’t like. Yes, there’s a solder blob there, but now that it’s working for 2649, I don’t dare touch it!

Southern 2649 never got a lot of running time on my last layout as it was one of the last locomotives to make it to running shape before I had to tear things down. I decided to break it in a bit more today by running it in loops around the staging level. First long-hood forward–no problem, negotiated everything like a pro for 30 minutes! Ok, let’s reverse direction–looking good, going through the last switch. . . on the ground. Hmm. put it back on the rails, backed up, through the last switch. . . on the ground again. I repeated this process several times and determined it wasn’t the switch, but it was running over the outside rail right at the transition between hand-laid switch track and flex track. I felt the track joint–smooth as it could be. I checked the gauge–spot on. I re-soldered the joint anyway. . . on the ground. I could propel the engine over the spot by hand with no issues, but as soon as it was under its own power, it would climb right over the rail–infuriating!

I removed the brake cylinder piping on the front truck to make sure it wasn’t catching. . . on the ground. I took off the truck sideframes and smoothed out the backs of the brake cylinders to make sure they weren’t catching. . . on the ground. I finally went back to the soldering iron and re-did the entire track joint, using a screwdriver to lift up the rail a bit and a pair of pliers to push one rail further in to provide a little more curve to the rail before hitting the joint. Let’s see, will 2649 like it? . . . I stood there, looking like an expectant father who’s watched his kid fall 100 times learning to ride a bike and thinking “maybe, just maybe this time will be the one!”

Lo and behold, 2649 made it through! I watched proudly as it circled the layout like a champ, passing yard after yard of flex track, across the last switch before making it back to the starting point, and then “bah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah”. . . the telltale sound of wheels on ties. Sigh. At least this time it was an easy diagnosis, a spike I had put on top of a rail joiner to hold it more securely in place was just a little too high. Yes, every other wheel on the layout had passed this joint 1,000s of times without incident, but alas, 2649 can find any flaw!

And that’s why I’m happy to have the very special 2649 on the roster. With 24″ radius curves, S-curves through switch ladders, and even some #4 curved turnouts, the track work on this layout needs to be flawless to be reliable. And it’s not flawless until 2649 says it’s flawless! As frustrating as its finicky nature may be, 2649 makes me a better modeler, and that’s what makes it truly special.

Switch Control Mechanisms

I’m taking a pause on construction to work all the bugs out of the staging level before building on top of it, so I thought I’d share my method of building manual switch control mechanisms that operate from the fascia. I developed these mechanisms for my last layout, and since they proved to work so reliably, I’m doing the same on my current layout. What I like about these mechanisms is they’re rock-solid, easy to use, and unlike alternatives such as Caboose Industries ground throws, they keep fingers away from the scenicked area of the layout. As an added bonus, using a DPDT slide switch as the “guts” not only gives it a “snap”, but it makes it easy to power frogs and LED indicators if you want them.

The Design

HO Scale Manual Switch Control Mechanism Diagram

The figure shows most of the relevant parts of the mechanism. It’s essentially a DPDT slide switch mounted to a piece of 2×3″ lumber for the mechanism, a piece of .062″ music wire and a 3/4″ round wood ball for the control arm, a piece of .025″ music wire for the throw, and pieces of 3/32″ and 1/16″ brass tubing where the music wire needs to go through wood.

Making the Parts

Switch throw bell crank
The top portion of the throw bell crank made from music wire

I create the throw first by drilling a snug hole for the piece of 1/16″ tubing about 5/8″ from the throw bar of the switch. I normally drill this dead center between the rails on the frog side of the throw, but if you have benchwork interfering below, you can put this anywhere along the throw bar on either side. I’ve found 5/8″ distance works well with the DPDT switches I use–anything shorter and it won’t throw far enough; anything longer, and the wire is not stiff enough for a reliable throw. I cut a piece of 1/16″ brass tubing just long enough to reach the bottom of the subroadbed while remaining just a fuzz above the ties on top and gently tap it in with a hammer. Next I drill a hole large enough for the .025″ music wire in the throw bar adjacent to the hole for the tubing. I cut a piece of .025″ music wire about 4-5″ long and bend one end to fit perfectly into the throw bar (clipping it to avoid dragging under the throw bar) and dropping into the tube. While holding down the top part of the wire, I reach underneath and bend the other end of the wire as tight as I can by hand opposite the direction of the throw and perpendicular to where the control arm will go–it doesn’t matter that the bell crank is in line with the throw; it matters that it’s perpendicular to the direction the control arm will need to move. Finally, I use a pair of needle-nosed pliers to bend the wire toward the ground about 3/16″ from where it exits the bottom of the tube. The bell crank is now complete, and you should be able to easily throw the switch by moving the bottom of the wire back and forth.

Switch mechanism
Switch mechanism ready for mounting sitting next to its control-arm wire

Next I build the mechanism. First I solder feeders onto the DPDT switch–I use red and white for the connections to the track bus and gray or blue in the center for the connection to the frog. Next I cut a piece of 2×3″ lumber about 2 1/2″ long (you can use any size, but smaller will be more delicate, and larger will be tougher to fit around benchwork). Then I a notch about 1″ deep just wide enough for the DPDT switch to fit. At this point I designate a “top” of the mechanism and install the DPDT switch with small wood screws. With the mechanism placed between the throw and the frog, the feeders should be REVERSED from the normal orientation of your track bus. In other words, my track bus is normally oriented red/black-front, white-back, so I install my DPDT switch with the white feeder in front. Finally, I drill two holes through the slide portion of the DPDT switch, one just big enough for the .062″ control wire and the other closer to the tip of the switch for the .025″ throw wire. I’ve found drilling both holes with the smaller bit and then enlarging one prevents the plastic from breaking. I put a little countersink into the top of the holes by spinning an X-Acto knife in them to make it easier to insert the wires. NOTE: my switches are hollow inside which makes it a bit of a pain to insert the wires sometimes–it just takes a litte patience. I finish by drilling and countersinking two holes where I want the screws for mounting it to the layout will go.

The next step is the control arm. First I decide where I want the control knob on the fascia. For me, I use a simple track diagram on the fascia with switches drawn in (more on this in a later post), so I draw the diagram first, then drill the hole that will tightly fit the 3/32″ brass tube perpendicular to the ground and aimed toward the end of the throw crank under the layout. Then I cut the 3/32″ brass tubing to fit just through the fascia and 2×3″ board edging the layout. In some spots, there is no board, so I’ll glue a square piece of 2×3″ lumber behind the fascia to ensure adequate support. There might also be other lumber between the fascia and the switch. If its a fairly short distance (<12″), I’ll drill a 5/8″ hole where the control arm will go through. If it’s a longer distance, I’ll drill a second hole for 3/32″ tubing in line with the first–this isn’t tough to do if you take a piece of straight .062″ wire, push it through the fascia tube and mark where it hits the intervening lumber. The straigher you make these two tubes, the smoother the mechanism will be. Finally, I bend a control arm. Starting at the switch end, I bend the last 1″ 90 degrees toward the ground where it will go through the slide switch, then I make a slight bend downward about 1″ from the 90 degree bend toward the fascia hole, then another bend about 1 1/2″ from where it will go through the 3/32″ tubing. The sharpness of the anlged portion depends on how much room you have between the switch and fascia and how far down on the fascia your control knob will be. The shallower the bends, the more solid and reliable the mechanism will be. I cut it with a Dremel tool and cutoff disk (enjoy the fireworks!) so it will protrude about 1 1/2″ through the fascia and file the burrs off the end.

Mounting the Mechanism

Completed switch mechanism under the layout
Here’s what a completed installation looks like under the layout

This part is straightforward, but it can be tricky and sometimes frustrating to get the switch is exactly the right spot–it requires some experience and skill to get it right, and that experience and skill requires some misfires and mistakes to gain. I first install two 1 1/4″ drywall screws into the mechanism mounting holes with about 3/32″ of the tip sticking through–this gives a way for the mechanism to grab the subroadbed a little while you’re placing it. Then I insert the control arm through the DPDT switch and run the other end through the 3/32″ tube(s) and out the fascia. Next I place the mechanism onto the .025″ bell crank (this part can be tricky and frustrating if the wire and holes don’t line up well). Once everything is inserted, I place the DPDT slide in the middle position and do the same with the throw topside–with both of these in the middle position and the DPDT slide direction in line with the control arm, I press the mechanism into the subroadbed and hold it in place. While holding the mechanism in place under the layout, I’ll try work the mechanism to ensure it throws snugly to both sides. This is a matter of trial-and-error, but once I’m satisfied, I’ll put one of the screws into the subroadbed. Inevitably, it will leave a gap between the mechanism and subroadbed because I wasn’t able to pre-drill the hole. . . no worries. Then I’ll start the second screw, go back to the first and back it out then put it back in to cinch it up, then do the same to the second. If all has gone well, the control arm will easily push the slide switch to both limits, and the throw will push the point rails snugly to each stock rail. If not, back out the screws and try again!

Switch mechanism control knobs
How the completed switch mechanism looks on the fascia

Once I’m satisfied that the mechanism is where it needs to be, and everything is operating smoothly, the last step is to install the control knob. I first push the control arm wire in, then cut it off with the Dremel about 5/8″ from the fascia and file smooth. Then I drill a hole straight into and about 2/3 of the way through the round wood ball. After moistening the wire and ball, I add a drop of Gorilla Glue to the wire and place the wood ball onto the wire. It should be tight enough that you have to twist it on. I like for the control knob to sit about 3/16″ from the fascia when the knob is pushed in. Work the switch a few times while the glue is wet to make sure it feels right where you’ve placed it, then let it dry. Connect the feeder wires to the track bus and the third wire to the frog and the switch mechanism is complete! While it sounds like a lot of steps, if you mass produce the 2/3″ mounts and DPDT switches with pre-drilled holes and wires pre-soldered, you can install 3-5 mechanisms in an hour.

  • HO Scale Manual Switch Control Mechanism Diagram
  • Switch throw bell crank
    The top portion of the throw bell crank made from music wire
  • Brass tube through the fascia
    Hammering the 3/32″ brass tube through the fascia–the tubing should fit snugly. the board and clamp are holding a piece of 2×3″ lumber onto the back side of the fascia to add stability.
  • Holes in the DPDT switch
    Two holes drilled into the DPDT switch lever, one for the control arm and one for the bell crank
  • Switch mechanism
    Switch mechanism ready for mounting sitting next to its control-arm wire
  • Completed switch mechanism under the layout
    Here’s what a completed installation looks like under the layout
  • Switch mechanism control knobs
    How the completed switch mechanism looks on the fascia

Staging Level Plan

It occurs to me that I’ve been sharing all these pictures that show pieces and parts of the staging level, but I’ve never shared a drawing showing the staging plan.

St Charles Branch Staging Level Plan

Staging takes up almost the entire space below the lower level. The notable exception is a large cabinet in one corner that houses tools and supplies and a narrow space next to the cabinet dedicated to the DCC command station, booster, and computer connection. Adjacent to the DCC command station (currently a Digitrax Zephyr Xtra) is a 19″ section of track separate from the layout for programming locomotives. This area also houses two short connected tracks for storing locomotives not in use for a given ops session–I figured this was better than handling them all the time.

The rest of the level contains the two staging yards for the Southern and L&N, respectively. Southern staging, representing Appalachia, VA, consists of three staging tracks on a reversing loop with tracks of 21+ feet. Inman represents the upper end of Appalachia Yard (as it did in real life), and I’m using this moniker to differentiate the “business end” of Appalachia from the reversing loop connection end. A forth track snakes around the reversing loop to form a continuous running connection on the other end of the layout where the helix goes up to St. Charles. I plan to use this to break in new locomotives and to entertain kids–in a pinch it can be used as a fourth Southern staging track.

Staging Level Track Complete
Tracks on the staging level are now complete. The last piece was the 4-track L&N staging yard shown here.

Under St. Charles is a 4-track, stub ended staging yard for the L&N which represents Pennington, VA where the short Pennington Branch left the L&N’s Cumberland Valley main to connect with the Southern at Pocket, VA (technically L&N Jct), not far from St. Charles. L&N tracks are 13 1/2 feet long, plenty long for the single locomotive and short string of cars that usually plied these rails. Four tracks is about three too many, but this will allow some “fiddle staging” for less commonly used cars (e.g., boxcars) and hoppers from other eras.

Hope this helps to visualize things better!

Layout Wiring

Layout wiring on the St. Charles Branch is simple yet very robust using common household wiring supplies. First, I’ve divided the layout into six blocks: four “main” blocks (1. Staging, 2. St. Charles, 3. Mayflower, 4. Upper Deck), and two reversing sections (1R. Staging loop, 2R. St. Charles Wye). Even though I don’t have a power block distribution circuit yet (like a PSX4), I’m wiring the layout for that eventuality and just tying all the blocks together at the command station as an interim.

Feeders and Bus Pigtail Connections
Feeders are connected to the wiring bus via wire nuts connected to pigtails along the bus.

The bus wiring for each block is copper Romex wiring. . . that’s right, Romex, the 14 AWG copper wire you use to wire household sockets and light fixtures. It’s overkill, but it’s easy to find, comes in long lengths, and the current loss for DCC applications is pretty much zero. I strip the outer sheathing, remove the bare ground wire, and use the black and white wires. I run them under the track through holes in the benchwork separated by about 2.5″. Lesson learned: if running the bus for two blocks side-by-side, make sure you label each about every other piece of wood to avoid cross-wiring blocks later.

I drop feeders at least every 5 feet, so on every 2-5 feet of bus wiring, I’ll strip off about 1″ of insulation and make a “pigtail” if you will using a length of 4″ of the bare copper wire (Romex ground wire) wrapped tighly around the bus core about 3 turns and soldered. I leave about 1″ of copper sticking off either end and cap it with a wire nut. I separate the pigtails for the white and black wires by about 4-6″ to avoid accidental contact of exposed wire.

Wiring Feeders
Wiring feeders from the rails to the bus under the layout. The gray plug marks the spot of connection to make it easy to cut wires to the right length.

Finally, the feeders. As mentioned, I try to drop them every 3-5 feet of rail. For bulletproof operation, every single rail on the layout is directly connected to the bus either through its own feeder or a single soldered joint to the rail next to it that’s connected to a feeder (no trusting rail joiners to carry current and signal). I drill the holes first, then drop pieces of 18 guage stranded wire through to connect to the bus. You’ll notice in the picture above the layout the little gray plug. I use this to mark the location of the pigtail under the layout so I can accurately cut the feeders to length, leaving about 1.5-2″ extra length to account for vertical distance through the subroadbed and some wiggle room for orienting the feeder to fit into the pigtail. Because I hand-lay my switches, I need a LOT of extra feeders for the point rails and frogs (connected to switches under the layout).

To make sure I hit all the holes, I leave the sawdust from drilling them in-place until all feeders are in. I also work one color at at time; white for one rail, red for the other. Once all the feeders of one color are in place, I’ll tin them with solder and solder each to the rail. Under the layout, I’ll gather together 2-3 feeders, twist them together, and tie them to the pigtail using a common wire nut (size depending on the number of wires being tied together). A little tug ensures they’re solidly in-place.

I’ve found this method creates rock-solid wiring that’s easy to modify and troubleshoot–just disconnect and reconnect the wire nuts as needed. This method also works perfectly with Digitrax DCC which prides itself on picking a slower data rate that works well with non-high-speed wiring. If using on a different system, I recommend doing some testing first.