Just Between You, Me, and the Cottonwood Tree: Life Lessons from the Cabin

Had no idea there was a Colorado Model Railroad Museum.

http://cmrm.org/pcindex.html

I wonder if this is where the layout from Union Station ended up at.

 

It's a pretty cool way to kill an afternoon in the winter. It's fairly large, two levels, and there is a dinosaur search on the layout.
I'm not sure about the Union Station layout, it's a possibility, but it looks like this layout was built to fit the building it's in.

 

Ah so just one huge layout then. So I wonder where the union station layout went? I liked that one.

 

White Fence Farm

http://www.westword.com/news/histor...station-has-new-home-white-fence-farm-6938742

Love that water in bottom post, looks totally real.

 

Thanks man. That's not too far from me. I am gonna have to take a drive over there and see it.

 

Fall can't get here fast enough. So I started on the base for the new layout. Actually, I won't have time to mess with this part in the fall as I will be chasing deer and elk and then it might get cold. I've been itching to get the base in place and start drawing out plans anyway. Some of the layout will actually be cut out with a jig saw, so it's nice to get that part done while it's nice out.
Started with 7/16" OSB, and screwed some 2x2's to it to keep it flat and give space underneath to run wire.
Also marked it out in pencil in 1' grids to help with track planning.

 

Some more progress. This is the first design, I may go with it but haven't fully committed to it. There is a fairly long run of tunnel, or hidden track, along the back, that is not appealing to me. Tunnels are cool, but only if you can easily access them.
I am toying with the idea of a curved trestle, to expose the track below.
Turnout locations are not exactly ideal either. If I did a loop track, I would have better options, but it would be boring to watch.




The grade is at 4%, which is a tad steep but not too bad.

 

Ever consider an urban setting with bridges, instead of mountains and lakes

 

I brought up the topic of electrofrog vs insulated frog.
Here is a description of what the terms actually mean.
Electrofrog is also called electrified frog, or live frog. For ease of typing, we'll go with live frog
Insulated frogs are also called dead frogs.

This is a live frog, notice the V section of rail that the pointer is on, this is the actual "frog".


This is a dead frog, smaller scale track, but all the same.
Notice the V section the pointer is on has a bit non-conductive material on it, the rails are actually separated and not in contact with each other.


So who cares, right?
Well, dead, or insulated frogs can be wired direct without using any insulated joiners.
The entire track can be made hot for simple DC use or the more advanced DCC control. They are the easiest to work with and the chance of having a short are almost zero.

However, some engines that have short wheel bases, may not be able to travel over the "gap" without stalling out. Steam engines have the most issue with them.

So live frogs are an option, but they have to have insulated tips on the frogs. They is better conductivity for short wheelbase engines and the over all appearance is more realistic.
Here is the back of a live frog turnout. You can see the tiny wires that connect the frog to the turnout points. The maker of this particular track gives the user the option to cut the wires if desired, in order to stop the power routing feature so that a DC engine can be made to sit "idle" on a siding while other engines continue to run. This requires special track wiring and relays to make it work.


I'm using DCC on this layout, so I want the entire track to be hot. This is where the insulated frog tips need to be used, to avoid having the layout go up in flames.

 

Here is a pic of two turnouts, one routing to the left, the other to the right.
The ink represents polarity.
What happens is the turnout points will "route" power depending on what rail it is touching.
So the small V portion of the frog becomes powered, on both sides, by what ever rail is being used.

If there are no insulated joiners, there is a direct short if there happens to be another engine running on either of the side tracks. Smoke and flames are the result.


Here is what we want to see, even though the V (frog) is hot and switches polarity with the points, the track on the other side of the insulators can be wired so that there is seamless operation and multiple engines can be powered.

 

Nope, I'm ok with a few small structures maybe. But never really cared for city themed layouts. If you go to a train show sometime, most are themed around logging and mining, and those are the type of structures you will see the most. Bridges are always cool though. The curved trestle I'm thinking of will fit that nicely, and serve to expose the rail that's currently hidden. I've always wanted to model one of these, so maybe I'll give it a shot.
However, I'll lose real estate that was slated for a side track.
I could use a little modelers license and have an elevated side track.

 

Those are cool.

 

Mmmmmmm chicken legs!!!

 

Decide to trash the first attempt.
Board was way too thin and I wasn't happy with the design in the center.
So I picked up a 1/4" piece and redesigned the center to be more turnout friendly.
The heavier board also allowed me to greatly reduce the number of vertical supports.

 

Go N scale and make it a super layout, heck go Z scale and model all of Colorado.

 

both of those are getting too small for me to see.

 

Now you have my interest.

 

Go N scale so you can insert the Prius.

 

Let's make this happen.

By whatever means necessary.

Come to think of it, I see it as a solution to the problem of the tree outgrowing the trimmers progress as well.

Edit: could also be applied to the prius. We may be solving a great deal of the world's problems right here in this very thread gentlemen.

Edit 2: can you imagine the enhancement to @Squeaky Penguin 's fog dance with the judicial application of a little smoke and flames?