Nooksack: Trial Runs and Revisiting Goals

 

Drop-offs in place

While work continues on the east staging track, I have run a train and done some switching in Nooksack a couple of times in the past week. 

Yesterday I adjusted the turnout rod on the west passing track turnout, and it appears to be fixed. Thrown in one direction the rod would catch. I adjusted the fulcrum on the Tortoise switch motor and rebent the wire; of course managing to disconnect the wire from the hole in the throw bar. After returning the wire into place and making some more adjustments, the turnout is now throwing completely in both directions. All the other turnouts are working smoothly. I have identified and corrected a couple of areas where my initial track cleaning was not sufficient. I also found at least one spot where a short piece of track is powered only by unsoldered rail joiners after lengthening the passing siding. The next time I am soldering rail on the east staging I will correct that. I am close to having the track working without issues, so I am also close to the next steps of repainting some sections of the track and potentially creating new issues. 

In doing that switching last week, I think that I answered one question for myself and created a new one. I now plan to just rely on handwritten switchlists indicating set-outs and pick-ups for initial fun-for-one operations. While that may not be the ultimate solution, that will be the initial approach. The new question concerns how and where the operator will work. I found myself setting the throttle, switchlist, and uncoupling pick down on the (now unsceniced) layout surface. That will not be an acceptable approach, but what will be the acceptable approach? Operator with apron and pockets? Some sort of tabletop built into the benchwork? Roll around cart/desk? Tool holders, throttle pockets, and carcard boxes? I do have a space and desk for the agent/dispatcher, but that doesn't solve the problem of work space for the conductor/engineer. 

A related issue connected to the new question of operations work space came up last week when Dick Bradley emailed me with a link to Nick Kalas's blog post concerning fascia color. While the question of fascia color and size (height in this case) is interesting, what really hit me was the question of how clear or cluttered the fascia would appear. I also read several of his other posts concerning backdrops and the fascia/valance/shadowbox approach. This led me to thinking about the old form versus function question. Nick Kalas suggests that it can be seen as "telling a story" versus operations. With my branchline railroad set in the Pacific Northwest I am trying for the best of both, I think. . . (or am I biting off too much?) At any rate, to settle the question of what might (or should) show up on the fascia I need to revisit the goals for this railroad, both the initial Nooksack section and the larger future 4th Subdivision. 

So, while the 4th Subdivision is freelanced, not a real prototype, it is based on a prototype railroad and prototype locations. I definitely am striving for realism, but not a typical model railroady kind of realism. Not a reenact railroad operations realism, but a capture the look and atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. But with some caveats: not the dreary, drizzly, Pacific "Northwet," but rather a sunny September day. I am striving for the look of a three dimensional painting, but not a static diorama. I do want some operations fun and operational options moving forward, but the overall look is the bedrock. Having said that, I guess I have answered my own question: I should be thinking of the fascia as part of the frame of the picture, not the operations toolbelt and workbench.

Nooksack: East Staging Part 1

East staging location coming off trestle scene

As mentioned in several earlier posts, the TOMA Nooksack plan includes staging at both ends to facilitate one-town operations. My plan for this east end is to construct a staging module that will be sceniced and used repeatedly. I have had a plan on paper for awhile based on using a hollow-core door. Over the past few weeks I have started the module (seen under construction in the opening photo).

Mocking up plan on the door

After removing the hardware from the door, I experimented with mocking up the track plan seen in a previous post. It seemed like the staging plan based on this hollow-core door would work. Well into this phase, I was intending to use some older Shinohara turnouts and Code 70 flex track that I had on hand. Following the advice of Dick Bradley about the difficulty of making said switches "DCC friendly" and the concept of using the same brands and sizes, I later decided to stick with Code 83 and Peco turnouts. More or less following the draft plan for the door benchwork from my last post, I started work on turning the door into staging benchwork.

Bolting end lip

After enlisting my wife's help to hold the door up in place, I calculated the height of the legs, cut them to length, and moved on with constructing attachments. On the clamp-to-the-module side I glued, screwed, and angle bracketed a piece of clear 1" X 4" lumber to the end of the door. The door is positioned upside down for this. During construction I will be clamping the staging module into place, but ultimately it will be bolted to the trestle module with 1/4" carriage bolts. 

Leg bracket

On the other end, I created a platform for the 2" X 2" legs to hold up the staging module and a lip for the legs to be bolted to the staging at this end. Here, I found myself deviating quite a bit from my original draft drawing. For one thing, in working with the hollow-core door, I noticed that the wooden frame on the inside was fairly narrow and that the veneer was not particularly thick. To avoid any potential crushing or penetration of the veneer by the ends of the legs, I decided to have the ends of the legs supported by part of the L-shaped "bracket" platform. While the two boards making up the bracket are glued and screwed, the platform itself is screwed (without glue) to the wooden frame of the door in case any future adjustment is necessary.

Mocking up track in place

After finalizing the "brackets" and clamping the door and legs in place, the next step was to position the 1" foam insulation board in place. Using a piece of cork roadbed to form smooth curves, I marked the foam with a transition from the width of the existing module to the width of the narrow door. Working back and forth to double check possible track mockups, I approved the transition and cut the foam board. Then I used Gorilla brand construction adhesive to glue the foam board in place and weighted it down with a few bricks overnight. 

Most recent status of "East Staging"

A little shaping of the terrain at the joint with the trestle module and a couple of sessions with the Peco turnouts and Code 83 flex track led to finalization of a track plan. I am using a gentler than minimum curve radius, at least 4" of straight track in and out of turnouts, and a 3" center line between tracks for smooth travel and ease of handling in staging. The track position is marked and the green foam is painted with a wash of my brown "dirt" latex paint. Next steps will be trackwork and wiring. 
 

Nooksack: Next Steps for One-Town TOMA

Backdrop painting and rolling stock unpacking started

Before tackling the next steps, I should update what I have accomplished since my last post. As seen in the opening photo, I painted the initial backdrops with a sky blue fading to white along with clouds along the horizon. It took two coats to cover the unprimed hardboard and to attempt distant clouds. I am waiting until the scenery planning is further developed to add more atmospheric haze or distant hills or treelines. Also since my previous post (despite taking several attempts) the track connecting to the trestle now meets acceptable standards. My first attempt at soldering an extension of the flex track and sanding the riverbed under the trestle resulted in minor kinks and uneven rail heights. The second try, with a short length of sectional 24" curved track fitted in worked much more successfully. I plan to wait for more trial runs and the east staging to be completed to identify any additional rail joiners that should be soldered. I also plan to wait until after the east staging trackwork is complete to set up the airbrush for track painting. 

Staging plan drafted in my notebook

The east staging track is my current high priority and next step. While it will be sceniced for use now and for down the road, I don't want to invest a lot of money into it. On the other hand, I want to have it match the standards of the rest of the railroad. I learned from following a "good enough" protocol in parts of my last railroad, that I would not be satisfied with that approach in the long term. I decided to follow up with my plan to base the staging on a narrow hollow-core door that we have on hand. I also found that I have a lot of code 70 flex track and numerous older Shinohara turnouts. I will need to learn how to make the older turnouts "DCC friendly" and how to work with foam board and hollow-core doors, and these will likely be my next steps to make Nooksack operable as a one- town TOMA. In my mind, one feature, rather than obstacle, of model railroading is learning new approaches or techniques, particularly if one can break them down into manageable steps. I suspect those steps will be the subject of my next couple of posts.