Phase Two Modules In Place

 

Many of the initial next steps for the new module mentioned in my last post are now in place. I leveled, shimmed, and bolted this module to the Nooksack module. I drove a couple of screws through the L-girder ledger into the grid frame and bolted the one leg into place as well. In this photo, one can see a length of track that I fit onto the end of the module before soldering the track joiners. As the phase two modules make up a second power district, I left a gap between the rails at the module joint and attached this end of the DCC bus to a second circuit breaker.

Again, I mentioned a number of steps to take while the Ferndale Junction module was up on the sawhorse workbench in my last post. In this photo you can see those steps completed: bus wires flagged with correct colors, piano hinge installed, frog juicer attached, and all existing DCC and frog feeders connected. 

While not as firmly in place, the Ferndale Junction module is level and bolted to the adjacent new module. I have started working out the location for the turnouts for the run-around track, so I can install the roadbed. I want to focus on the roadbed and track for the run-around as well as track between these two newly installed modules in order to finalize the wiring enough to run some trial trains. I will need to make sure the two  turnouts on the new module are set up properly as well as the ones on the run-around. 

My intention is to add a bit of an extension to the benchwork here at the connection between the modules. The mainline will be curving away here to the left, and for phase two, I hope to attach my three-track unsceniced staging mini module here. This will require some additional template making and track planning. At the far end, I still need to finalize the drop down segment of the yard. It is hinged to ease future access to the well plumbing and tank.

Here at the far end with the drop down section, I will need to design a removable extension of the backdrop incorporating a curved or coved approach. That should be an "interesting" project! I also need to figure out how to hang the light fixture for this end. This area of the ceiling is a little different, so I don't have convenient furring strips from which to hang the fixture. 

I hope to continue with the level of enthusiasm and focus I have had recently in order to actually get the railroad back on track, the theme for 2026. I don't think a train has run in a year!

Phase Two Modules update

Once I installed the backdrop, some real progress on the modules is possible, and dare I say it, underway. My wife helped me, and we moved the new module into place on the L-girder ledger and up against the Nooksack section. We got it leveled and clamped it and its leg into place. 

Initial Next Steps For New Module

• Shim at ledger corner with Nooksack module
• Bolts at south end
• Holes drilled for DCC bus to attach to circuit breaker
• Double check level and bolt leg
• A couple of screws to attach to L-girder
• Complete mainline track to Nooksack module (gap at joint--new power district)
• Adjust tortoise music wire at turnouts for proper operation
• Double check electrical plan and connect DCC bus

Start Work on Ferndale Junction Module

With the new module up in place, we moved the Ferndale Junction modules to the temporary sawhorse workbench and clamped it up on its side. I hadn't noticed this before, but by turning the module around (the back is now the front) the wire color code is incorrect. My standard is for black to be out towards the aisle and red to be in towards the back of the benchwork. In this section that is reversed. 

I don't want to redo the wiring, but I do need to avoid future confusion with the wire colors. I will mark the wires with the correct colored tape. On inspection, I have several other steps that I can complete more easily while the modules are here on the workbench. 

• Use red and black electrical tape to mark the existing bus and feeder wires
• Install the frog juicer and connect green feeder wires
• Add a piano hinge to the joint between the two modules
• Add a Euro terminal strip to connect existing feeders to DCC bus at removed programming track switches

The plan for Ferndale Junction includes a fair amount of new trackwork. I will finalize that once it is in place. As I am not sure yet whether that will be a permanent or temporary placement, I might as well do what I can now!

Backdrop Underway for Phase Two

First coat of faded sky

While I found the backdrop for this new section to be a bit of a gumption trap, once I started, progress has been moving right along. With this part of the backdrop up and painting started, I can go ahead and install the new module. 

To be honest, the real gumption trap was getting the 1/8" hardboard. A 4 X 8 sheet doesn't fit in our car, so I have to get the big box store to cut it the long way. I finally went to the local Lowes, but they were out of 1/8" hardboard. So, about a week ago, my wife and I went to a Home Depot in a neighboring town and got a piece cut at my standard backdrop height of 30" (I then plan to use the 18" offcut as valance). This photo shows the piece clamped in place against the stud wall. 

The phase two modules expand past the stud wall as does this backdrop section, so I tried to come up with a way of supporting the loose flapping half of the hardboard. Ultimately the bottom will be attached to the Ferndale module, but I wanted to prevent the sheet from getting too wavy. In this photo, one can see the 2 X 2 glued along the edge and the support boards glued along the top and bottom of the half of this backdrop that, at least for now, will be just be loosely hanging, projecting out from the half attached to the stud wall. 

Before mounting the backdrop in place I applied two coats of primer to the back of the backdrop. Hardboard, an engineered panel made with compressed wood fibers, is very susceptible to humidity changes. I really should use one of the shellac based primers rather than a latex one as acrylic latex paint does not provide as much of a barrier to water vapor. I have acrylic primer on hand, and I much prefer water cleanup, so that is what I used. It has got to be better than nothing, right?

I attached the new panel to the stud wall with small panel nails. With the backdrop finally in place, I went ahead and mounted a four foot LED 4000K light over this section. I also applied fiberglass tape and two coats of mud at the seam between the new and existing backboard panels. This photo shows the seam after a final sanding, ready for the painting stage. I used what has become my standard technique of rolling the blue and brushing white primer along the bottom with the first coat results seen in the initial photo above. 

Flatcar Sidequest

 

I think one more layer of weathering might be needed

After presenting at the Susquehanna Division's hands-on session on weathering last month, I felt the urge to experiment. (Yes, a total diversion from either infrastructure or Phase Two advancement.) I found a likely candidate in this InterMountain flatcar in my current roster's stash of rolling stock that needed to be checked for standards including weathering. This post  discusses both the roster and my standards. 

The flatcar came with metal wheels and when I checked with an NMRA standards gauge, they were fine. When I checked the car on my test track and coupler height gauge, the trip pin was very low and the couplers were off as well. I found the InterMountain gear boxes frustrating to work with. To make a long story short, I ended up drilling and tapping to be able to add screw mounting to the cover before installing Kaydee #58 couplers. The car's weight was below the RP 20.1 recommended weight. Even after gluing lead shot and Liquid Gravity to the underbody the car still measured underweight.  It was closer though. 

While dealing with operational standards, I went back and reread an article from the January 2025 NMRA Magazine. Charles Goodrich, MMR wrote about making the plastic deck on a flatcar look like a wooden deck. I decided to follow his techniques. After applying Dark Gray Vallejo Wash to the sides and ends of my flatcar, I tried distressing the wooden deck. I used a triangular file to deepen some of the gaps between the boards, a fine razor saw to scratch in some wood wear, and fine sandpaper to smooth any plastic snags and add variety to the paint coverage. 

The key to his technique to make "plastic flatcar decks look like wood" appears to be using Tamiya Panel Line. As the Panel Line paints were part of the weathering products I shared at the meeting, I found this to be the perfect experiment. Panel Line is typically used to emphasize shadows in molded lines, louvres, grating, and other details by allowing the paint to flow through capillary action by touching the brush to the area. Instead, I followed Mr. Goodrich's suggested approach of painting the entire wood deck, first with brown and then black. 

I took this photo after the Panel Line Accent Colors had dried overnight. It looked pretty good, but I was trying to match the look of a prototype photo. So, I tried some additional techniques as well to get to the point seen in the opening photo: 

• Scuffing the deck with steel wool
• Application of Pan Pastels, Neutral Gray Extra Dark, Neutral Gray Tint, and Raw Umber to the deck
• Brushing on Grimy Black acrylic paint, both a couple of individual boards and dry brushing the stake pockets
• Application of Bragdon Powders to the trucks, a light gray overall and a rust color to the springs

Much like scenery techniques, once a base layer of weathering is down, adding additional layers can add to the appearance of realism. I see a couple of things that I would like to take care of in that initial photo. Yeah, one more layer!

Ingleton and New Module Updates

Ingleton shelf ready for "action"

While it has been awhile since my last post, some work here in the basement has gone on. In addition to helping my wife with gardening and rewilding, I have been getting some things done. I cut, painted, and installed a "baseboard" for the stud wall behind Ingleton, and I installed a hardboard valance above the shelf. While the long term plan for this area is to be the final TOMA section, a harbor scene, for now I want to try out the design concept for a valance here to both hide the LED light fixture and suggest a a more finished presentation of the scene. My feeling is that I'm ready to either bring out some rolling stock for trial operations or renew scenery work here on this independent shelf layout. 

Although I am not that far along with the new module, some progress has been made there as well. I moved through the first phase of trackwork and wiring starting with the two turnouts. They are both in place and soldered to a short spacer between them with frog feeders and feeders in the spacer dropped. In addition to drilling holes for the feeders, I cut slots in the roadbed and plywood below the throw bars so that the spring wires from the switch machines can later be installed.

Once the turnouts were in place, I added a full length of flex track to the main with feeders dropped and temporarily fastened everything in place with a couple of track spikes. Then I turned the module up on its side and installed the DCC bus. I went ahead and attached the power feeders with suitcase connectors. The next step while the frame is still up on its side will be to wire and install the Tortoise switch motors. I found that I do have the two necessary switch motors, but they may not have long enough spring wires. 

My thinking now is that I want to get a lot of the work done under the module, before mounting it in place. Before mounting it, I should extend the backdrop behind it. Once it is in place, it will be time to prep and paint another section of the basement floor. To keep up with our plans outside, I need to put in a fair amount of time teaming with my wife on those projects, but I can still make progress with the railroads. 

TOMA Phase Two: Infrastructure

 

Floor paint, second coat

In trying to avoid making the same mistake over and over, I transitioned to some "infrastructure" work since the last couple of posts. Painting the basement floor has been another in a long line of gumption traps for me. Despite having made some additional progress on the trackwork on the new module, I took it down from the temporary workbench and forced myself to tackle painting the floor. 

Starting with the area under the future location of "Phase Two" and along the Ingleton shelf seemed like a logical location. With the area emptied of stuff, I swept, shop vacced, and washed this segment of the floor. According to online pundits, painted concrete floors don't like hot water or acidic cleaners, so rather than my wife's initial suggestion of vinegar and hot water, I used warm water and a few drops of dishwashing soap. Again, according to the pundits, I used a damp sponge mop instead of really soaking the floor with a wet mop. I don't know if success was from following the experts, but all the paint appears to be maintaining adhesion.

Painting the floor in front of the Ingleton shelf doesn't quite complete the so-called infrastructure work there. (I think I picked up the use of the term infrastructure for work supporting the model railroad from Mike Hauk.) The little stud wall here is sheathed with homasote, and past water damage had warped the bottom. Before painting the floor, I cut out the worst of the deformed bottom on the one side. I cut a piece of clapboard salvaged from the "bar" and will use it as a baseboard. I also need to figure out the valance to hide the LED light and better frame the scene in this mini-layout. 

Behind Ingleton's stud wall, a set of built in shelves will support the railroad with storage. The framing supporting these shelves also has some water damage on one side. I plan to sister in some support, and I cut two 2X4s to do just that. The floor in the same area has a spot that is always wet. It can be seen in this photo. I plan to experiment with a hydraulic concrete patch here. That will need to be patched and allowed to dry before I can continue painting the floor here behind the stud wall. 

I definitely want to continue with the work around the Ingleton shelf before moving back to the track and electrical work on the new module. After painting the floor, with just a couple of steps on the location for the new module, its new home will be ready, and I can transition from a focus on infrastructure back to model rainlorading.

New Module -- Roadbed and Track, Part 1

The roadbed jigsaw pieces fit together

 In my last post, I mentioned next steps as working on the new module as well as completing some infrastructure work. I have, for the most part, focused on the new module in the last couple of weeks. However, before moving the module back to the sawhorses, I gathered up some of the tools and materials from the train room expansion projects and moved them out to the garage. In doing so, I was able to liberate the red work cart for actually working on the railroad. 

The puzzle is underway

I ended up piecing the roadbed together from a variety of materials. I had some cork on hand, but not enough to complete the whole module. I ordered some Walthers closed cell foam roadbed when I first ordered supplies for this project. Also, I found that I had one piece of cork turnout pad. Remembering my experience reclaiming modules, I used Elmer's white glue instead of Weldbond in case I would need to make changes. Again, I used a combination of nailing, clamping, and weighting to affix the roadbed materials. 

Putty in the gaps

With the assortment of types of roadbed and methods of attaching it, I had a bit of a learning curve. As I moved forward, I continued to double check with the track markings and the track itself. Facing turnouts and the full width foam were both new to me, so finding the one turnout pad in my bin of track parts helped. Clicking to enlarge the photos, one can see the pice of cork that I cut to fill a void. I traced the odd shape on a piece of paper and used it as a template. While it took a few days to fit the jigsaw pieces of roadbed together, it all came together. In this photo, I had just finished filling gaps in the roadbed and the screw divots with putty. 

The trackwork starts with the turnouts

With the roadbed in place and the cork painted an initial gray color, it was time to move on to starting the track and wiring. I started with the Peco turnouts. I have discussed prepping Peco turnouts before such as here or here. At this point I have isolated the frog and have a feeder soldered that will later run to the Tortoise switch machines. As I am using the switch machines on these two turnouts, I also removed the tiny spring in the turnouts. Back in my modular railroading days in Seattle, we discovered the possibility of creating shorts with the spring in place when using switch motors to change polarity. 

Now it is time to move on with fitting the track together and dropping feeders. As I solder the feeders under the rail as I lay the track, these two steps are taken together, rather than the typical lay track and then add feeders. I may take a brief break in working on this new module, as I will be prepping for a group clinic on weathering without an airbrush at my NMRA division's next in-person meeting.