East Staging: Fix the Mistake or Live With It?

Mainline and two spur tracks

Following my own advice to double check everything by running trains in my last post, I realized a serious oversight in building the new east staging section while doing so. Designed as a mainline with two spur tracks, I left out the need for a runaround! One option is to live with it, considering that this first phase plan for Nooksack is limited to operating as a switching layout. If I can get my head wrapped around thinking of this as a stand alone, single town railroad instead of sticking to the operations plan for the fully developed 4th Subdivision, the two spurs without a runaround could serve adequately. 

On the other hand, in the big scheme of the operations for the 4th Subdivision, most of the freight switching here will be done by turns. Without a runaround at this end, that will be hard to duplicate. Also, looking at a set of "track charts" for a portion of the Cascade Division that I found online, the Great Northern rarely had just spur tracks without a return to the mainline creating a siding. A  siding that can function as a passing track with a single associated spur would be more typical and hence prototypical. 

East end with mainline and two spurs

While I had thought that the track laying and electrical work was essentially complete, I feel the need to at least explore my options for transitioning the closer spur into a siding. If I also include a tail track long enough for a locomotive as the continuation of the mainline, the siding will function as a runaround. Exploring my options includes looking at what I have on hand, revisiting the construction of the end of this section, and coming up with possible plans for an extension. Including the possibility of coving the backdrop at the end of the section adds an additional "feature" of adding an extension. 

Working through the plans for this possible extension, discussion of my thinking for operations for this first phase as well as my operations plans for the full 4th Subdivision, or basement/train room updates are all possibilities for new posts. I seem to have slipped to just two posts a month from my goal of three for this year. 

Right now though, I need to help my wife troubleshoot how to feed birds without feeding the bear. 

Nooksack: East Staging Part 2

 

Cutting, fitting, and laying the track

Although it has been a while since I last posted, work on the new staging module's track work and wiring has progressed over the last few weeks. Because of trying some new or unfamiliar techniques and excellent weather pulling me outside, the work has gone slowly. This module functions as staging, but it will be sceniced and have the same level of standards as the rest of the railroad. I fit the track and turnouts carefully using the same materials: code 83 rail, Peco Electrofrog turnouts with frogs isolated and powered feeders soldered under the rails, around four inches of straight rail into and out of turnouts, and most metal rail joiners soldered. My earlier post from the Ingleton practice plank series describes my process for preparing the turnouts and fitting track with the goal of smooth running.

 The "clear" DAP 230 goes on
white,but dries clear

In this module, I experimented with some new techniques with the benchwork which led to my attempting new techniques with the track. I went into the build contemplating laying the track directly on the foam board, but when my local brick-and-mortar hobby store was backordered until June with HO cork strips, that cemented the plan. With the hollow-core door and foam benchwork, I learned to guide the feeder wires through with a plastic straw. When actually installing the track on the foam board I experimented with glueing the track down with DAP Dynaflex 230 clear sealant. I marked where the moving parts of the turnouts would be located to ensure that they would not be glued down. My approach for my initial attempts started with finding some small wood blocks to prop up the track. I then squeezed a small bead of the sealant under the track before spreading it thinly with a one and a half inch putty knife. At that point I eased the track into place, double checking the positioning before pressing the track down into place. The positives for this technique include that it grabs and holds, the clear dries clear, and it cleans up with soap and water. For me the only negative was that holding the track up while squeezing the caulk gun and then spreading the bead into a thin film was awkward at best. I find caulk to be messy to work with. I'm sure it becomes easier with practice.  

Track wiring complete!

With my wife's help, I unclamped the staging module and we turned it upside down on a bed of bubble wrap on a rolling cart. Using my typical wiring standards (as seen in this post from January)planned for the rest of the railroad, the work went relatively smoothly. Things really do become easier with practice! One relatively minor new step included pulling the straws after sanding the somewhat splintered bottom surface of the door. My choice of employing the Peco spring in the switch rails and manually operating the turnouts here in the staging module rather than switch motors means that I also chose to use the Tam Valley "Dual Frog Juicer." The frog juicer comes set up for DCC use for two turnouts, so all that I had to do was attach the tinned jumpers and DCC jumpers to the bus wires to the appropriate screws. 

We returned the module to the Nooksack module, clamped it back in place, and ran a steam switcher and some rolling stock through it successfully. After the first successful tests I bolted the modules together and removed those clamps. After another trial run, I will be confident enough with the trackwork and wiring to move on to some next steps.

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. 

 

Staging Plan for Nooksack TOMA

Initial track plans for Nooksack temporary staging

 In my last post while setting a goal of the end of January for the Nooksack sections to be in place, I put several other aspects off to the near future. That was somewhat of an oversimplification. The staging planned for Nooksack, the first TOMA section of the 4th Subdivision, is definitely tied into  the wiring I am finalizing on the underside of Nooksack while up on the sawhorses. This post describes what I have come up with for the initial plan for staging. 

On the west end I will employ an existing fold-down staging module that we moved from Meadville. Seen in the photo to the left, it is admittedly small at 6 1/2" X 47." The three track section utilizes Peco Insulfrog turnouts and is powered by a phono plug. While not an ideal solution, it is by definition "temporary" staging. I have it. It is ready to install. While it will be the first to replace moving forward as it is too small, not really providing an adequate train length, it will allow me to get Nooksack up and running as well as moving forward with structures and scenery in the TOMA "methodology." As the 4th Subdivision plan grows, I may later use it in its fold-down mode at the far eastern end of the line providing a staged link  to a logging railroad.

On the other hand, on the east end of Nooksack I am planning a larger and potentially sceniced staging section. While it will also be temporary, I envision it as being viable for a longer period of time and reusable later as the the railroad grows. My initial plan (seen at the beginning of the post) is based on a narrow hollow-core closet door we removed in our recent bathroom renovations. That door is 11 3/4" X 80" which will allow me to make sure that at least one track meets my "logical lineal" standards. (The increased passing track length at Nooksack allows for a longer train length which in turn needs to be matched with yard tracks and spaces between active switching.) 

Straightening the curve at the east end

I don't have the benchwork plans finalized for the door yet, but I am sure enough of the concept that I can make some tweaks to the Nooksack module end now, before installing it, so Nooksack will be ready. The photo shows my alteration of the track at the east end of the Nooksack modules. 

Now that I have a plan for the staging,  I can complete the new feeder drops at the ends of the Nooksack modules. Then, along with some backdrop and lighting prep and installation, I will be ready for Nooksack to slide into place.