Stares Tunnel Operational

I finished the work inside  Stares Tunnel. See the test run of a short train in  the video below.  I use Atlas O scale flex track to speed things along.  A 30 inch radius curve is about the limit of sharpness of what you can except from O scale flex track.  It was tricky to get the joints on the curves without kinks.

I lined the roadbed with strips of hardboard to act as guard rails. This will help prevent rolling stock from plummeting to the abyss in the event of a derailment. 

I also finished the sub roadbed from Clairborne Creek to Stares tunnel.  I was concerned about how to tie  the new roadbed into the splines I used in this area before, but there was no problem. I was able to cut away the spline roadbed and bring the new plywood roadbed adjacent  to it without issue. 

I was able to use most of the existing bench work with just a small extension at the width of the curve.

I was happy to see that the terrain piece for Battery Shaefer will fit in the corner with just some minor adjustments. I am trying to reuse as many of the details from the old layout as possible. 

Finally, I used a thin strip of hardboard to visualize the alignment of the track between Stares Tunnel and Falmouth. This is the place where I am thinking about the big bridge. But I am leaning more and more to just a track running through the country.  I think I will build some kind of cabinet or shelf unit under this section as I will need more book shelves at the rate I am going with book acquisitions. 

One other thing that a friend brought up but that I really hadn't considered. It might be possible to install a temporary track from Falmouth to Burnside's Wharf for a continuous run.  I've never missed having a continuous run before, so I wonder if it is worth doing. The only trick to doing it would be to make sure the tracks are at the same elevations. That means the track exiting Stares Tunnel must climb 3 inches. 

Mock up of the new track alignment. 

Demolition Man - A Catharsis

Nothing like demolition!

After months (years?) of thinking about it,  I started construction on the Aquia Line expansion.  Gosh, did it feel good to be back building a layout!

My original intent was to start building the benchwork in the crew lounge and only cut in the new work when it was ready. That plan would have kept the railroad operational during the rebuild. However,  that changed when I discovered two broken turnouts in the Falmouth area. Those would have required some tricky rebuilding work. That plus the fact that we are in self isolation mode convinced me to change my plan. I decided to pull up the existing track and scenery from the south end of the Clairborne Creek bridge through Falmouth and lay the new track from there.  The new bench work will go quickly.

Mad scribblings - High school math in action

The work began with several hours of geometry as I worked out what I considered the optimum cut plan for the plywood. My intent is to squeeze all the roadbed wedges for the curves and framing pieces from one 3/4 x4 x 8 plywood.  I have two other 1/4 x 4 x 8 plywood sheets for the large flat areas.  But, I want to prefabricate the road bed and track for the parts that go under the stairs and in the closet using 3/4 inch plywood wedges.

The wedges will allow me to build the curved roadbed sections all with straight cuts, thereby minimizing waste.  After a few rounds of calculations and test fits, I concluded that wedges cut from 4 inch wide strips with the short side at 11.12 inches and an angle of 11.25 degrees on each side would be sufficient to support the track.
The wedges will be glued to each other with two Festool dominoes (floating tenon joints)  to allow precise alignment and strength.  I plan to use flex track for the sections in the closet.   The diagram at the left shows where the wedges will be placed.

I used my track saw to rip 3 sections of 4-inch wide 3/4 inch plywood. Then using my chop saw set at 11.25 degrees, and a stop set to the length, I proceeded to make 22 wedges.

With the wedges cut, I started clearing off the Falmouth area.  More of that demo tomorrow as I have to pull the engine terminal and Battery Schaefer.   Still, a good feeling for a stressful time.

Playing Catch Up

This week has been catch up week for me. Both my mom and I recovered from colds, though hers was much more serious than mine. So it was time for me to get my do-list whittled down.

The laser cut parts arrayed on my work bench

The first task was to laser cut the parts for a large, intricate HO scale building for a client. It almost looks like a cathedral in appearance. The client did the artwork, as he is an architect.  Still it took me a few hours to prepare the drawings for my laser. Then another 8 actual hours to engrave and cut the parts. He will do the assembly and painting. We have more buildings to do for this client, so we are looking at other ways to depict the bricks other than engraving them one by one.

The mailbox project from start to finish

Next, I had to so some household chores. The first was to build a new mailbox that would match the new front door and have capacity to hold small packages. This was an opportunity for me learn some new skills and give my woodworking tools some exercise. The new door has leaded glass detailing. So the mailbox should have a matching glass insert. I never built a leaded glass piece before, so I went to Youtube and got the basics.  My experience in soldering brass kits came in handy, and I was able to make an acceptable diamond shaped leaded glass insert for the mailbox using pre-cut beveled glass sections and lead came. With an acceptable glass insert in hand,  I built a box with an opening to house the leaded glass piece.

With that done, I moved on to fixing the chair rail molding in the dining room. This was a residual task from the flood repairs. The contractor claimed it was a custom molding profile. So I took a sample to the local mill shop and low and behold, this molding was not custom, but available in stock. With $60 of molding in hand, it was a relatively simple matter to install the molding using my Kapex miter saw.

Rob's 1/72nd scale diorama

Then my brother visited for a few days. He wanted some instruction on painting and weathering an armored model. It was a M48 tank that he assembled at home. Over the next two days we painted, weathered,  and then built a small diorama to display it. This project was a lot of fun and my brother said he learned a lot. We used dry brushing, washes, chalk, and texture mud. The texture mud was helpful un hiding some of the flaws in the tracks.

On Saturday, I hosted a WW2 war game at my house. It was a scenario set in Holland during the Market Garden campaign. I enjoy hosting games. It reminds me a lot of setting up an op session. The game went well, though the Germans were able to cut the highway and were able to withstand the Allied attempt to clear it, though they took heavy casualties.

Hopefully, next week I can continue to catch up on the remaining do-list items.

British armor wrecks litter the battle field