| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MarkF |
Posted - 06/13/2009 : 01:01:11 AM
I have finally decided to start this thread and share with you my experiences building my new PRR Northern Division layout. As some of you may recall, I tore down my old layout about two years ago when I decided it was time to sell my old home and move into a smaller house. (Pictures of the old layout can still be seen on my website) As painful a decision as that was, luck was with me as I found a house with a larger basement! I drove my real estate agent nuts as I was very insistent that the new house have a large, deep, dry basement! This limited my choices to some extent, but the search was well worth it! And oh, by the way, I do love the house that sits atop this basement!
The new basement is 32’ by 24’. A newly built walled off area now conceals the heater/AC unit and hot water heater, and creates a storage room that will also house the staging yard. This still leaves a 32’ by 18’ area dedicated to the layout itself! Best of all, the basement is deep; the finished suspended ceiling will be 6’10” off the floor, a luxury to us taller railroaders!
Although this layout will be larger, it will incorporate the same elements as the old layout; the PRR Northern Division mainline, this time from Selinsgrove Junction to just north of Northumberland Yard, as well as three branch lines; the Wilkes-Barre line, the Shamokin Secondary track and the Selinsgrove Secondary track. It will feature interchanges with the Reading RR in Shamokin, the Lehigh Valley RR in Mount Carmel, Pa., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa., along with the Delaware & Hudson and CNJ, also in Wilkes-Barre. The biggest difference is that in addition to the foot print of the layout being nearly 50% bigger, this layout will also be double decked, so in essence, it will be almost three times the size of the last layout! While I am an operations nut, and the layout is planned for operations, I plan to better utilize that additional space for scenery and structures and avoid crowding the layout with too much track.
The lower level will be dedicated to the mainline run from north on Northumberland Yard to Selinsgrove Jct., as well as the Selinsgrove Secondary track. The second level will be dedicated to the two other branch lines; the Shamokin Secondary and the Wilkes-Barre branch, including Buttonwood Yard. Each branch line will emerge from the helix (located approximately mid-way around the layout) and run in opposing directions. Therefore, no two tracks will share the same scene. And before anyone asks me, no, I do not have a ‘track plan’ other than the one in my head. I’m great at doodling, but when it comes to an actual scale plan, well, it’s in my head! Eventually I will most likely do one, and will definitely sketch areas such as the yard as I go. This is the way I build! Sorry guys, I know I’m breaking some rules here, but it’s worked for me in the past so I’m going with it this time around too!
Visual progress has been slow to this point. I moved into the house in mid-January, but of course I spent a lot of time settling in. Work has been hectic, and on top of that, my son recently got married, but now with all of that out of the way, I hope to make steady progress. Bruce (SteamNut) and Rick (Harsco) have been instrumental in helping with the planning and initial construction. My first priority is to finish the basement by sheet rocking the walls of the basement and installing a suspended ceiling. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Red P |
Posted - 04/12/2013 : 1:04:45 PM
Looks great.
P |
| Twist67 |
Posted - 04/12/2013 : 10:48:30 AM
Hi Mark,
that´s an amazing layout you are working on..I´m also in the progress of finishing all the dusty work to start with some more fun building...Hope to see some progress pictures soon....
Cheers,Chris |
| MarkF |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 3:11:38 PM
Thanks for the complements Rick. Yes, while progress has indeed been slow and unexciting, there has been progress and I do owe an update to this thread. One will be coming shortly.
As Rick pointed out, I've been trying to finish up all the woodworking. The valence and finished and painted. Most of the fascia is in, and still some subroadbed to finish up. I want to get this all done next soi I can give the room a good clean up and then move foward with track laying.
An update will be forthcoming! |
| Harsco |
Posted - 04/09/2013 : 9:46:08 PM
As a recent guest to the Northern Division, I can affirm and attest that all Mark's recent work on mundane stuff like valances, fascia, and ceiling tiles have indeed produced a VERY effective result; your eyes can't help but be drawn to the future scenes that will be unfolding. The time he has spent will pay off handsomely later when some scenery is installed, believe me! |
| plavallee |
Posted - 04/09/2013 : 01:23:32 AM
How goes the layout Mark? |
| drs_rr |
Posted - 11/26/2012 : 9:59:46 PM
It's all in the name of progress, if you can see it or you can't.
Sounds like it is coming together, I'm sure it will look really good once you get that ceiling and valances done the layout should really pop when you see it.
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| elwoodblues |
Posted - 11/26/2012 : 8:54:38 PM
Mark, if that is a "little progress" I hate to see what "huge progress" is. Sorry to hear about the masonite but I have found out the hard way that all wood needs to be climatized before use. Looking forward to the next progress update.
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| MarkF |
Posted - 11/26/2012 : 7:27:36 PM
I just realized how long it's been since my last update. One would think I was in another 'funk', but that is not the case. Actually, I have gotten a lot done since the last update, just not anything that I would consider 'photo-worthy', or even photographical! See, most of it is black!
First, the ceiling is done! I managed to get the last 22 ceiling tiles needed to complete the ceiling. What a nice difference that makes!
I've also been working on finishing up some of the 'construction' projects around the room and try to get the dirty work done, once and for all. The ceiling was priority number 1. Next is the valence. I still need to finish filling in screw holes and the seams and sanding these areas. Then a coat of flat black paint with finish that up.
At the same time, I've been installing more fascia around the layout, and last big pieces of sub-roadbed. Needless to say, as this gets installed, it is painted black! So as you can see, there isn't much to see, which is the goal when it comes to all this stuff!
This is all just about done, leaving just trackwork and wiring ahead of me now, and at the same time, start developing some of my scenes and placing structures! Then there will be lot's of photos.
Of course now as the holidays approach, my progress typically slows down. Since I work in retail, this is our busy season and I'll be working 50-60 hour weeks, and getting things ready around the house for the holidays. So there won't be much to report between now and after the holidays, but never fear - progress is being made! |
| MarkF |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 11:47:21 AM
Thanks Jim and Mike!
Jim, I agree about seeing layouts under construction. Sometimes you can pick up some great ideas. I've already been asked about opening up for the next round of meets. I had wanted to wait until I at least had something running and some track on the upper level, and now I'm just about there. I'm not sure if it will be this year or not, but when it happens, I'll post a notice here for anyone that might be interested. |
| MikeMc |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 10:05:15 AM
Mark,
Been off the forum for a bit, but checking things out after posting the link for the CL&W videos.
Things are looking great! I know how it can be with starts and stops, but hopefully you can keep this momentum rolling. Looking forward to seeing it all in person!
Mike McNamara
Delran, NJ
nekrailroad.com
mainecentral.blogspot.com |
| BandO Boy |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 08:38:46 AM
Great stuff, Mark!... joined the forum about a year ago about the time of your 'funk' I think... love seeing your progress now... the NJD has so many meets... when will you open up for us north Jerseyans to see?... IMO the construction phase is so educational, plus you can get alot of feedback from fresh eyes about final design decisions for sidings, structures, etc. ... C'mon! |
| MarkF |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 12:26:23 AM
Thanks Bill! The lighting and the backdrops have changed everything and really motivated me to keep going.
Thank Lynn! Well, as I said, I still have a few 'major' items to finish up, but the bulk of it is obviously behind me. While I do not have a track plan, I have a real good solid idea of where everything is going. Now it's a matter of figuring out the details. Glen Burn is a perfect example of this. I am using pictures as a guide so that the buildings and scenery will at least capture the flavor of the area. While it won't be an 'exact' model of the facility, I do hope that when people see it first hand, they will recognize it as Glen Burn. As for the other areas of the layout, my approach will be similar. I have a listing of the businesses/industries in each town from the railroad's CT1000 (listing of sidings and industries). I will lay out the spurs in each area loosely until I define various structures and then go from there.
As for the backdrops, I plan on using some of the downloadable paper backdrops available online. Rick (Harsco) did this on his layout with great success. There are so many 'generic' scenes available that will give a good northeastern look to the various areas. I don't have the links to these sites yet as I have to get them from Rick, but that is on my short list so I will share them when I get them.
This is definitely the fun part! |
| LynnB |
Posted - 10/03/2012 : 09:39:02 AM
Mark I'm interested how things go now and what direction you go now that major construction is completed. You have a beautiful canvas there at your ready, any thoughts on a backdrop? |
| nhguy |
Posted - 10/03/2012 : 02:17:33 AM
Masonite 'can' do that. You can also move it with a wood steamer to bend it. I have not had to do this yet and all my radii are not tight enough. Even painted the Masonite will expand then contract a little. I have let mine sit in the basement for months. Then it doesn't move at all.
I agree that 'a little' progress is a major understatement. You have done a lot of work! I like the lighting. It does draw your attention to the layout for sure. That is going to be a dandy to operate on. |
| MarkF |
Posted - 10/03/2012 : 12:21:43 AM
Thanks Eric! We're getting there!
Tony, that's exactly what I used! If you look at my previous post, the inside of the valence has that white coating you are referring to. Great stuff! But, as I said, for some reason it did 'expand'. My suggestion to anyone using this is to bring it into the layout room and let it sit for a couple of days before installing it. I'm not sure if it's temperature, humidity or a combination of both, but in my case, each piece expanded roughly 1/16-1/8". All I had to do was unscrew it, flatten it out, rehang it and sand down the edges that butt together. I did replace the two pieces over Northumberland Yard as they were the worst, but I let them sit in the basement for about a week before I installed them and so far, they haven't changed. |
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