Another Framing Option plus a New Reference Shot

While working on some stuff over in the service department at my employer, I noticed they had mounted some equipment to an aluminum frame different from the ones I had looked at before. In fact they had made a nice wheeled cart with extensions, etc. A bit of searching on the web under "aluminum framing extrusion" resulted in Frame World, a vendor with exactly what I was looking for. Basically it's a 4 sided aluminum slotted bar/track with various attachment options including right angle screw tight joiners. See the picturs below for some examples.









I think this may work well and would allow for wood risers supporting the sub roadbed to easily be attached using the same corner type brackets, although for the wood you would need longer screws, washers and nuts. I briefly glanced at the prices in the catalog and didn't get sticker shock so I'll add this to my list of options. A full set of plans and a parts list will need to be drawn up to get an estimated total price. I like it a bit better than the press fit aluminum tubing (from last time) as this is actually designed to be screwed together. Also, with the channels basically everywhere, it would be easy to attach "stuff" to the framing without needing to accurately measure and install threaded inserts. Simply loosen the screw and slide it around until it is in the right position.


And, as promised in the last post, here is the latest reference shot. Went past this building in Carol Stream, IL the other day in an industrial park. The siding is abandoned as it doesn't connect to the main line anymore but still appears to be in use from this angle.



Given the way the line drops down from the main, dead ends at the building and has, I believe, a couple of loading doors, I can see this very building and general structure on the PDPL warehouse building located on the lower left hand corner of the layout's overhead plan.

Construction Considerations

Well it’s been awhile since I posted but I haven’t been ignoring my planning. Last summer was taken up by some major home remodeling so I put the layout on hold. This past winter I’ve been exploring options for building it. Wood, foam, and aluminum have been my three primary choices.

With wood I looked at simply cutting and screwing the appropriate pieces together with a “plywood plain” for the top although that would make the road under the bridges difficult at best and require some notching of the wood. Next consideration was a wood frame with risers to elevate the track and scenery where necessary and leave it at frame level for the road. I also stumbled across an interesting fastening device (table leg bracket) that would allow for legs to be easily added and removed as necessary if I wanted to setup the modules on something other than the ground. One version attaches to the sides and leg, the other to the sides top and leg. I would expect this one would easily hold a module together without the legs.



Wing Nut Bracket



Top Fastening Bracket

I've seen a write on the web from an individual that made an entire module from foam. Not just the scenery, but everything. Frame, supports, etc. I like the idea of this for weight purposes but not sure about fastening things like Tortise motors to it. Given the potential to damage it (and I am a bit clumsy sometimes) I'm going to take a pass on this method.

Aluminum is another option that has some promise. I've seen a few references to using it on the web and did a bit of research on my own. Basically you get square tubes and connectors and put it together like a press-fit erector set. Add threaded inserts, use slotted tracks to hold a plywood base, etc. If you think this might be interested in this option, take a look at Esto Connectors as one possible source. I'm thinking of making a few tubes through the middle with threaded inserts and then attaching risers to these to hold a sub roadbed. I'll draw up an image when I get a chance which should make this more clear.







I've also got a few more reference shots... but we'll save those for the next post. I expect to select a construction method and get the modules constructed this spring.

Reference Shots

While it may look as if I have been idle, I haven't. I got some prototype shots and also dug through my old stuff and found a few more. It also may seem as if I have slowed down... again, I have't. My first few posts were actually a summary of about 3-4 months of actual work. Now the postings have caught up to the process so the updates might not be as frequent.

But on to the good stuff....

For the warehouse in the lower left, I am considering something similar to this structure.



Perhaps a little less modern. Mybe a brick structure with a bit of an outdoor loading dock. In general I want the feel of the building and landscape to look like this:



The trackwork, switches and general structure also should have that older gritty urban appearance as seen in this shot:



Moving to the mainline (or at least the implied mainline), I'm considering a couple of different styles of signals. I think the first of these two images will be the more likely result but the second one would look impressive. Then again with only 2 mainline tracks something of this size would probably be out of place too.





Moving to the bridges that allow the branchline and the interchange track to cross the road I found a few likely candidates. I like the silver rusty the most but obviously there is room two different bridges if I want.











The engine house, assuming I keep it this way would be a simple metal shed. On the other hand I found a parking lot for some switchers in the middle of the city the other day. Again, the urban dirty look complete with barbed wire and graffiti on the engines.





Next is the top left corner where the flat car/gondola/tank/???? car industry will be located. With tank cars I have the option for some neat piping. I did find one good shot to illustrate this.



Finally we move to the hopper facility. Last summer I found a good example of a small facility.





However just a few months ago I found what I think to be an even better candidate.








Hopefully with these shots you will have an idea of where I'd like to go with the look of this layout. Given the weather it'll probably be a few more months before I can start construction of the benchwork itself so in the mean time it'll be more reference shots and some additional planning on things like track work (flex? hand laid? etc.) and such.

It's in Color Now

Well, it took awhile to translate the line drawing into a color layout plan but I finally finished it. The style is taken from MR and seeing how long it took to make this I have a definitely appreciation for the amount of time their graphic artists must have to put in on the big layouts!



It really doesn't show anything new from the black and white version but still I think it gives a better impression of where I am going with it. BTW, if you click the image you'll get a larger version that should be clearer to see.

Next up will be to find some industries that represent the industries on my plan. Hopefully I can either take or find some good prototype photos.

Final designs

A number of drawings and even some forum critiques have helped to come up with what I believe to be the final design. However, I want to share the steps that it took me to get there.

To begin with I decided that 18" in depth and 6' in length as 2 sections, each 3', that would connect in the middle would be a good starting point and fit with my original limitations. I wanted some semblence of a main line, even if it was more implied than actual, some industries to switch and probably some type of interchange track.



This is Design 0. Actually there were many attempts before this but I'm going to share each candidate that for one reason or another I thought was "the one" and leave out all the failed attempts. Looking at this I envisioned a mailline (2nd track up), a spur to park cars, engines, etc. on at the bottom and a couple of industries at the top with a run around and an implied off track connection. In the final analysis there was probably not enough room on the right side spur for the run around to even fit an engine let alone a car and engine. Also, only the industry on the left would be able to have much in the way of a structure. The industry on the right would have to be just false flats.

So back to the drawing board....



Now for Design one I simplified the track and implied tha main line coming in about half way up. At the top are a couple of industries and another industry bottom left with a 2 track yard or interchange bottom right. it has more room for industries but there is no run around making it impossible to spot or pick up at the upper left hand industry.

So back to the drawing board...



Design 2 is where I started to think a bit differently. In this case the double main line is just for show with an implied curved interchange track just to the left of it. Room for 2 sizeable industries but again no run around and the spur is too small for an engine and a car.

So back to the drawing board... which, btw, I'm using the free software from Atlas to work up these designs. I haven't decided if I'm using Atlas track yet but for concepts and just trying things out it's pretty easy to work with. You can get it here.



Design 3 was another attempt to think outside the normal style. In this case I turned one of the sections 90 degrees to make a simple L design. Again, double main line (non operational), curve interchange track but like the rest the spurs are too short and there isn't really more than an industry or two to switch at best with the yet again problem of no run arounds.

So back to the drawing board...



Design 5 (I don't remember what I did with design 4... probably got frustrated with it and never saved it). Main line across the bottom with 3-4 industries. Spurs are large enough but I forgot the run around again so I can't actually switch all the industries.

So back to the drawing board...



Final 1. This design was, I thought the final design. The curved track is the interchange to the implied main line and I've got 3 and maybe even 4 industries. I was quite happy with this and posted to a discussion group for critique. Took about 5 minutes for them to rip it apart pointing out that again the top left corner would be inaccessible for spotting cars. Otherwise the design as is wasn't too bad. In case you hadn't noticed I changed to 6" squares on this drawing.

There is one other major problem with this layout and all of the previous ones. Remember earlier I said that it would be in two 3' pieces? Look at the dividing point for each of the previous designs. There are tracks going all over the place. It would be impossible to join these without pretty much ripping the track loose the first time I tried.

So back to the drawing board...



Final 2 is where I abandoned the original thinking of 2 - 3' sections and decided to experiment with 3 - 3' sections for an overall size of 18" x 9'. Suddenly things that were very difficult like run around and short stub tracks became much easier to do. I was even able to incorporate 3 industries and the mainline and interchange track too. I was quite happy but after mulling this one over for a few days I decided to try and tweak it a bit.

So, after my final design attempt...



I think we have a winner. Again 18" x 9' as 3 sections. Three industries and an engine shed or 4 industries and the engine just gets left outside when not in use. Double main line and an Interchange track. Stubs are big enough to actually operate and the division sections are between the silos/building and just to the right of the center industry. In both cases all tracks are 90 degrees to the joint so connecting and disconnect should be, relatively, easy.

The plan is the top left corner will be a building front with an outdoor loading crane if I do a flat car based industry or some type of chemical or ashphalt transfer point if I base it on tank cars. The top middle building is intended as an engine shed and servicing point. Basically just a cheap tin shed and a fuel tank, maybe some "spare parts" lying around. Think cheap and dirty. Finally the top right industry will be for hopper cars. Perhaps grain silos or plastic pellet silos. The lower left corner will be a warehouse with side loading and right next to it (or part of the same building) another side loading or perhaps inside loading facility. Box cars would probably be the only cars here. There will be a road that goes under the interchange and branch line tracks and essentially parallels the main line. Finally there may be a small, probably abandoned now, building by the crossing.

While studying this drawing I have mentally switched just about every possible combination from interchange to industry and back and have not found a problem. Everything seems to fit and operations seem a distinct probability with this design.

Next step is to formalize this drawing a bit for use in the next planning steps.