Exploring Expansion

The Road Show project is well under way, but I took some time tonight to flesh out some ideas that I had been thinking about for several months. I was motivated by the fact that the Road Show is currently occupying the same area that these expansion ideas would. Thus the Road Show demonstrates the feasibility of a layout expansion in this foot print.

I drew up two plans, one focusing on Alexandria and a second that expands the Aquia Landing area. I did not draw up the third plan I mentioned in the previous post as it would involve ripping out the current Falmouth section. That section is operating well, even with the tight turn back curve. So there is no burning need to replace it.

Extend Burnside Wharf

Alexandria

Of these two plans, I seem to favor the extended Burnside Wharf. I like the simplicity and  uncrowded look. I also like how it allows me to make the wharf at Aquia Landing bigger and closer to the actual wharf in appearance.

As much as I like Alexandria, that plan just seems too crowded to me. Although it  is more complicated than the Expanded Burnside Wharf plan, it would still only add one operating position to the layout. It might be possible to have two crews work Alexandria, but I think they would get in each others' way. 

I will be thinking about this as work on the Road Show and other projects progresses. No decision is needed just yet.

It is lit and fits!

Even temporarily clamped up the LED Light strips do a good job illuminating the layout.

I did some furniture rearranging in the basement and made room for the ACWRR Road Show to fit along the back wall. This includes all five sections. Having all the sections set up will make the track laying and valance fitting easier.

This also confirms in my mind that if I want to expand my USMRR Aquia Line layout, the perimeter wall around the basement can be used with relatively little intrusion into the TV viewing area. My long term plan is to build custom bookshelves along these walls. The book shelves would house the AV equipment as well as have storage space for media, books and some glass encased areas for displaying models. The shelves would have a flat space about 48 inches off the floor that would used for future layout projects. Whether it will be an expansion of the current layout or a completely new project I haven't decided.  Three possible expansions of this layout include extending the Burnside wharf to this area, adding a completely separate scene depicting Alexandria and connected by car float, or expanding the layout under the starirs and relocating Falmouth to this space. Or building a completely unrelated layout. Two themes that are possibilities are a steam era steel mill or a layout depicting the Alexandria waterfront and shipyard in WWI.

Virginia Shipbuilding Co in WWI

The whole layout fits along the back
wall of the basement.

But back to the road show, I took delivery of the LED strips yesterday. I tried some low current power supplies I had on hand and they did not do a good job of lighting the LEDs. So I hooked up the higher rated power supply that I ordered along with the LEDs. That required me to fabricate a 110V power cord. I had one on hand so it was a simple matter to hook it up by adding some spade connectors. With this power supply providing 12V and sufficient current, the LEDs are brightly lit. By using two strips of LEDs the layout should be well lit. The LEDs weigh next to nothing. They come with ballast resistors installed, so hooking them up is a snap.

Thinner and slightly lower valance panels

I also tried using a thinner valance panel and lowered it so that the top was flush with the valance frames. I think this look better and will make adding a top panel easier if we decide to do that. The thinner lower valance creates an opening 14 inches from water surface to valance bottom. It will make the sections a little less bulky.  I think it creates a more finished product, as the valance won't protrude like a false front in this configuration.

A section too far?

Bill Mosteller, proprietor of Great Decals, stopped by to see the layout tonight. After a quick tour and running a train around the layout, he offered to help move the Road Show to the basement. With his and AW's help we got all the sections and tools moved to the basement. The garage is  cleared up so the car can fit back in there.

Three sections is all I can set up at one time in my basement. Anybody want a layout section?

A couple observations on moving the layout. The sections are fairly light, but they are bulky, especially the bigger ones.

The valance supports are just too tempting to use as handles.  I need to  beef them up so that they can  act as handles if necessary. The legs will need some type of locking mechanism for both the down and up positions.  There may be an existing table leg hardware solution we can modify. Bill mentioned that he was impressed with the folding legs but agreed that a locking device was needed.

Act II, The Benchwork Strikes Back

Another long day in the garage working on the benchwork.  It is almost ready to move to the basement for the finer detail work. I have to clear up the garage so the car can go back in there.

I tried to come up with a way to cantilever the valance so that the front view would not be obstructed. But I was not happy with any of the cantilever schemes I came up with. So I decided to add posts to the corners of each section. My wife and neighbor took at look at it and gave it a thumbs up. They did not find the posts too distracting. Once they are painted and the layout lighted from inside the valance, I think they will disappear.

I was pleasantly surprised to note how strong the valance with the posts turned out. They should hold up fine in shows. But I wouldn't pick up the layout just from the valance.

Under the layout, I added Tee nuts and bolts so that the sections can screw together without clamps. Two more necessary tasks remaining under the layout are to add some diagonal braces to the legs so they don't wobble and to add adjusting Tee nuts to the leg bottoms. These come in handy if the floor  at the exhibition location is uneven (it usually is).

Half inch lumber serves as valance posts at the corner of each section.

A closer view of the posts with a box car and paper structure mock-up for perspective. The valance panels are
not secured yet, they are just clamped on.

The narrow sections  (18 inches wide) still have plenty of room for scenery. A good backdrop will be important.

I added the sky board panels to the back. They are 16 inches tall. The opening from the valance to the water level is also 16 inches. The track will be 2.125 inches above water level.

The Show Begins....

After one day's work - twenty feet of ACWRRRS benchwork with folding legs.

Morning run to Lowes and Home Depot

B-Day has arrived!   Brian Brendel and Gerry Fitzgerald showed up with bags of power tools while I brought home a truck load of lumber and hardware to begin building the ACWRR Road Show (ACWRRRS). In about 8 hours we had completed the benchwork and legs for the first 5 sections.

We referred to the scale model mock-up several times and actually modified the design by examining and discussing the model mock-up. It proved very useful.

We used 1x4 clear pine frame members with 1x2 stiffeners and 2x2 legs with gate hinges.  The top surface of each section is a flat surface made with 1/4 inch plywood (actually premium underlay panels ). All the legs fold into the 4-foot sections. Each section weighs about 5 pounds and are quite sturdy. We used Kreg Pocket Jigs to attach the butt joined pieces creating a neat finished  appearance. The legs will get leveling Tee Nuts on their bottoms.

We are still testing  the sky board and valance geometry.  We had 12 inch sky board sections ready to go, but now we think we need a taller sky board. Fortunately, all the sky board sections were cut from a single piece of 1/8th inch tempered hardboard and cost only $8.50, so that won't hurt too much if we can't use them.  In fact,  the whole project has cost about $230 US so far.

A few more hours of finishing details and the benchwork will be done. The best part is that since we are using battery power, there is practically no wiring necessary. The power supply for the LED lights will also supply power to the trickle charge on the rails. Given that we hate wiring, that is great news.

Brian and Bernie work on the first section deciding the final construction details

Finishing up the first set of folding legs.

The first two sections set up to test height and stabilty. Most sections only have one set of legs, except the
big end section, which has two.

Gerry attaching the second set of legs to the biggest (widest) section

Bernie and Gerry posing by four of the 5 sections.  It is too long to set up all 5 sections in the garage.