Friday, November 8, 2013
A new locomotive!
Many years ago a financial crisis in the Ramcke household forced me to sell my Marklin V200. Last week it was replaced. Below is a picture of this beauty making its way around Carstenbahn One. In a month or so I should receive matching D-zug cars. Woohoo!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
"There she blows!"
“There she blows!-there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!”
― Herman Melville, Moby Dick
― Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Since as long as I can remember, there has been a Marklin 1-scale model that has eluded me. Sure, I have seen it on occasion on eBay, but I have always been outbid, or the price was simply too high for me to be able to pay. But I have always been on the lookout for this elusive boxcar, and like Captain Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick, I have chased it across oceans. I'm happy to report that, finally, after ten years of searching, bidding, hoping and disappointment, the coveted 'Milka' boxcar is mine.
The Milka boxcar was only produced in 1989, and as a limited production model. A good friend of mine in England who regularly attends the 'Wormser Spielzeugauktion' noticed this boxcar, along with two others, in untouched condition in the auction listings in July. Since he was attending the auction already, I asked him to enter a bid on my behalf. Sure enough, I won the lot.
Now, perched on the freight siding in the Hoechst station on Carstenbahn One, I finally have my Milka boxcar.
Is that it? Is my car barn complete? Can I now be satisfied with my collection of some twenty unique boxcars? Oh, if only it were so. For as Herman Melville puts it:
“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”
- Carsten
Friday, July 12, 2013
Ballasting part 2
Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. In that time there has been significant work on the ballasting. In fact, the main line is finished:
Right now the ballasted area looks very pristine and even, which is hardly realistic, but once I scrape away some ballast and make some bare spots and paths, add some brush and weeds, and weather the ballast a little it will look less like someone's zen garden and more like a railway right-of-way.
I had carefully taped over the switch mechanisms to avoid getting any ballast stuck in them. Happily, all the mechanisms work perfectly. Note the gray color of the Styrofoam above. Although I still have a bunch of the black paint left, I felt a color that more closely matched the ballast would hide any gaps in coverage better. It worked very, very well, and was well worth the $12 investment. Also, in the photo above you can see a few sections where there is no ballast. On the upper right edge of the photo there will be a train station, so no ballast was needed there, and between the tracks in the upper left of the photo I will be installing a station platform, so again, no ballast needed (or desired).
In the photo above you can see the relative size of the ballast to a 1:32 scale figure. The scale of the ballast is too big- the rocks are roughly twice the size of what they should be. However, from a reasonable distance, it's not as obvious that the scale is off. Plus, the larger stones fill the gaps between the ties nicely, making them look more 'buried' in the ballast.
Finally, here is a picture of the Marklin semaphore signal with the mechanism sunk into the Styrofoam. The opening will be covered by card stock (I literally will use an index card), which will be painted and flocked / ballasted. When finished, it will be hard to see that it is there. Btw that little hint of red across the track from the signal is a feeder wire for the automatic slow-down module that will be bringing my digital locomotives to a realistic stop. This will be painted gray soon to hide it as well.
I plan ballast the branch line next, and will also hope to start some scenery construction. Stay tuned!
Right now the ballasted area looks very pristine and even, which is hardly realistic, but once I scrape away some ballast and make some bare spots and paths, add some brush and weeds, and weather the ballast a little it will look less like someone's zen garden and more like a railway right-of-way.
I had carefully taped over the switch mechanisms to avoid getting any ballast stuck in them. Happily, all the mechanisms work perfectly. Note the gray color of the Styrofoam above. Although I still have a bunch of the black paint left, I felt a color that more closely matched the ballast would hide any gaps in coverage better. It worked very, very well, and was well worth the $12 investment. Also, in the photo above you can see a few sections where there is no ballast. On the upper right edge of the photo there will be a train station, so no ballast was needed there, and between the tracks in the upper left of the photo I will be installing a station platform, so again, no ballast needed (or desired).
In the photo above you can see the relative size of the ballast to a 1:32 scale figure. The scale of the ballast is too big- the rocks are roughly twice the size of what they should be. However, from a reasonable distance, it's not as obvious that the scale is off. Plus, the larger stones fill the gaps between the ties nicely, making them look more 'buried' in the ballast.
Finally, here is a picture of the Marklin semaphore signal with the mechanism sunk into the Styrofoam. The opening will be covered by card stock (I literally will use an index card), which will be painted and flocked / ballasted. When finished, it will be hard to see that it is there. Btw that little hint of red across the track from the signal is a feeder wire for the automatic slow-down module that will be bringing my digital locomotives to a realistic stop. This will be painted gray soon to hide it as well.
I plan ballast the branch line next, and will also hope to start some scenery construction. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Ballasting Part 1
To me, the most daunting part of the construction of the layout has been the ballasting. This week I decided to face my 'Sword of Damocles' and take a stab at ballasting Carstenbahn One. I initially purchased some paint and painted the styrofoam roadbed. Fear not, friends, it wasn't nearly as orange as the camera makes it out to be!
So the plan was to lay the track, add ballast, and then spray the whole thing with matte medium to hold the whole shebang in place. Well, I decided to try a different method, one I eluded to in an earlier post, and one that served me well in H.O. scale, namely slopping on large amounts of paint, pressing the track into the wet paint, and simply spreading the ballast across everything. Then, after the paint has dried, vacuuming up the excess ballast and only having ballast between the ties and around the track.
The ballast I used is called poultry grit, or chicken grit. A 25lb bag can be found at Tractor Supply Company for $9, and I will probably need 3-4 bags for the entire layout. This is probably the cheapest ballasting material you can find, and look very realistic, too.
I started by making a couple of test cases, both with the brown paint and also a batch of dark gray paint I also had plenty of:
I used the same technique as I have described - press the track into the wet paint, add ballast, wait for the paint to dry, and vacuum away the excess. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but there really is a difference in color based on the base. Of the 3 people who looked at the samples, all three agreed that the dark paint was the better choice. So last night, with the help of my mother (bless her for her enthusiasm on this project!), we tackled the first half of the main line...
This is how the roadbed looks when the Styrofoam has been painted, the track has been laid, and ballast has been spread over everything. In some cases, the track kept pulling up from the paint, and I had to weight the track down to keep it firmly pressed into the paint. In the future I will have very narrow screws at the ready to screw down any track that tried to pull up.
Here is a picture of the outer-to-inner-track crossover under ballast. As you can see, I have taped up the switch at the mechanism to avoid getting ballast trapped in the 'throat' of the switch. I will know soon enough if it worked. FYI the ballast in the lower picture is still a little damp, which is why it is a darker shade.
I plan to vacuum away the excess ballast in a couple of days and will post about the results, including some better pictures.
One last picture: Here is the end of the station area, where I have cut out the Styrofoam to sink the signal mechanisms a little, I believe this will look much better than having the large Marklin solenoids sticking up behind the signals...
Stay tuned for the ballasting finale!!
The ballast I used is called poultry grit, or chicken grit. A 25lb bag can be found at Tractor Supply Company for $9, and I will probably need 3-4 bags for the entire layout. This is probably the cheapest ballasting material you can find, and look very realistic, too.
I started by making a couple of test cases, both with the brown paint and also a batch of dark gray paint I also had plenty of:
I used the same technique as I have described - press the track into the wet paint, add ballast, wait for the paint to dry, and vacuum away the excess. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but there really is a difference in color based on the base. Of the 3 people who looked at the samples, all three agreed that the dark paint was the better choice. So last night, with the help of my mother (bless her for her enthusiasm on this project!), we tackled the first half of the main line...
This is how the roadbed looks when the Styrofoam has been painted, the track has been laid, and ballast has been spread over everything. In some cases, the track kept pulling up from the paint, and I had to weight the track down to keep it firmly pressed into the paint. In the future I will have very narrow screws at the ready to screw down any track that tried to pull up.
Here is a picture of the outer-to-inner-track crossover under ballast. As you can see, I have taped up the switch at the mechanism to avoid getting ballast trapped in the 'throat' of the switch. I will know soon enough if it worked. FYI the ballast in the lower picture is still a little damp, which is why it is a darker shade.
I plan to vacuum away the excess ballast in a couple of days and will post about the results, including some better pictures.
Stay tuned for the ballasting finale!!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Roadbed for the Nebenbahn and some wiring gets done...
Hey all,
There has been more activity on Carstenbahn One thanks to rainy days and an attack of gout, which kept me indoors for much of the past two weeks.
I added some wood underneath the Koenigstein branch line, and have been able to run some trains up the hill. The grade is quite manageable, and even a longer freight train can make it to the top with little difficulty.
I also started some of the wiring of the layout. I learned about a 'bare copper' wiring technique from Tim Eckert of Eckert Engineering fame via a project he did for a client in California. The idea is to run bare copper wires for all your power needs, then tap off those wherever you need juice. Here are some photos of the design:
Sorry this image isn't sharp, but as you can see, there are three copper wires passing through eyelets and making their way around the layout.
In the image above you can see one end of the wires. I used eyelets at the end, wrapped the wires around themselves, and ran some solder onto the twisted wires to hold them together. FYI you don't want to make a loop on your power circuit. Not sure why, but that's what I've been told...
Here's the other end of the wiring system near the control panel. There are adjustable eyelets on this end to allow me to set and maintain decent tension. Note the tabs of yellow, brown and red electrical tape. These tabs, which are placed every few feet, remind me which wires carry which type of power. Yellow is accessory power, red is digital track power, and brown is ground. In the image above you can also see the dabs of solder that hold the wires together where they are twisted.
There has been more activity on Carstenbahn One thanks to rainy days and an attack of gout, which kept me indoors for much of the past two weeks.
I added some wood underneath the Koenigstein branch line, and have been able to run some trains up the hill. The grade is quite manageable, and even a longer freight train can make it to the top with little difficulty.
I also started some of the wiring of the layout. I learned about a 'bare copper' wiring technique from Tim Eckert of Eckert Engineering fame via a project he did for a client in California. The idea is to run bare copper wires for all your power needs, then tap off those wherever you need juice. Here are some photos of the design:
Sorry this image isn't sharp, but as you can see, there are three copper wires passing through eyelets and making their way around the layout.
In the image above you can see one end of the wires. I used eyelets at the end, wrapped the wires around themselves, and ran some solder onto the twisted wires to hold them together. FYI you don't want to make a loop on your power circuit. Not sure why, but that's what I've been told...
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Opinion time!
There is a website for 1-scalers that provides frequent updates on new products, train shows, etc. that I visit about once a week. It's www.spur1info.com, and even if you don't read a lot of German, the site owner takes excellent pictures and provides lots of updates on what's happening in the (mostly European) 1-scale community. A recent post showed the following picture from a recent train show:
The article's author mentioned that he thought the layout shown in the image above was, well, "meh". He's right. The structures shown are all commercially available kits, the trees only remotely resemble the real thing, the curves are too tight to be realistic, the rolling stock (and the crane) aren't weathered, the grass looks like it was spray painted, and the locomotive service facility is comically small and simple.
But I love this photo, and I am trying to understand why.
I think it speaks to the diversity of the hobby of model railroading, and how different model railroaders approach it. Coming from an H.O.background, I found my enjoyment in watching trains proceed through scenery, and I replicated that in miniature as these pictures from my H.O. layout show:
So you can imagine how I feel when I see layouts like this:
Building a layout that ends within inches of the edge of the track roadbed is not the kind of layout I would ever want to build. Now, 1-scale is a different creature, and the hillside that I built in H.O. shown in the first picture of my H.O. layout would be about four feet tall in 1-scale, and wouldn't fit in my SUV, so it's not a surprise that you don't see a lot of those on portable layouts like the Württemberg team's or the Wuppertal club's layout (above). But I would never have any interest in those two layouts simply because the detail of the rolling stock, or the attention to trackside details like weathering the track and the bumpers, and replacing the plastic with real wood like the bumper on the right, have little appeal to me compared to seeing trains, in any scale, making their way through scenery. And that even goes for scenery that may not be the most realistic.
So thank you, Marklin, for what is a decidedly pathetic layout that first introduced me to the possibilities of building something grandiose back in 2001 that caught my eye at the Modellbahnmesse. If it hadn't been for this layout, one that makes even the picture at the top of this post look impressive, I may never have fallen in love with the King's Gauge...
- Carsten
photo courtesy of www.spur1info.com
The article's author mentioned that he thought the layout shown in the image above was, well, "meh". He's right. The structures shown are all commercially available kits, the trees only remotely resemble the real thing, the curves are too tight to be realistic, the rolling stock (and the crane) aren't weathered, the grass looks like it was spray painted, and the locomotive service facility is comically small and simple.
But I love this photo, and I am trying to understand why.
I think it speaks to the diversity of the hobby of model railroading, and how different model railroaders approach it. Coming from an H.O.background, I found my enjoyment in watching trains proceed through scenery, and I replicated that in miniature as these pictures from my H.O. layout show:
So you can imagine how I feel when I see layouts like this:
Building a layout that ends within inches of the edge of the track roadbed is not the kind of layout I would ever want to build. Now, 1-scale is a different creature, and the hillside that I built in H.O. shown in the first picture of my H.O. layout would be about four feet tall in 1-scale, and wouldn't fit in my SUV, so it's not a surprise that you don't see a lot of those on portable layouts like the Württemberg team's or the Wuppertal club's layout (above). But I would never have any interest in those two layouts simply because the detail of the rolling stock, or the attention to trackside details like weathering the track and the bumpers, and replacing the plastic with real wood like the bumper on the right, have little appeal to me compared to seeing trains, in any scale, making their way through scenery. And that even goes for scenery that may not be the most realistic.
So thank you, Marklin, for what is a decidedly pathetic layout that first introduced me to the possibilities of building something grandiose back in 2001 that caught my eye at the Modellbahnmesse. If it hadn't been for this layout, one that makes even the picture at the top of this post look impressive, I may never have fallen in love with the King's Gauge...
- Carsten
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A question of grades...
With the elevated Koenigstein tables in place, it was time to start work on the secondary line running up to them. It didn't take long before I realized that, based on the way I designed the 'nebenbahn', the grade up to Koenigstein would be over 8%. By comparison, the Höllental line in the Black Forest, one of the steepest grades for a 'normal' railway line, is 5.5%.
Yup, more track plan changes.
I decided to re-run the grade up to Koenigstein along the main line around the long edge of the layout.
You can see the track to the right of the main line sitting up on risers (no roadbed yet) winding its way towards the back of the layout. It gets very close to the main line at one point, so this will be an interesting scenicking challenge.
Finally, here's a picture I took of the 'northwest' corner of the layout. There will be a small freight depot at this point (which was the case in Koenigstein before the freight depot was torn down in the 90's), behind which will rise the tall hill with the Koenigstein castle on top.
Here's an image I found on-line looking towards the 'west' from the platform at Koenigstein showing the castle on top of the hill. This is what (hopefully) will be behind the freight depot in the previous picture.
Yup, more track plan changes.
I decided to re-run the grade up to Koenigstein along the main line around the long edge of the layout.
You can see the track to the right of the main line sitting up on risers (no roadbed yet) winding its way towards the back of the layout. It gets very close to the main line at one point, so this will be an interesting scenicking challenge.
As it reaches the level of Koenigstein, it has to cross the main line in order to make the turn. Originally I had planned to have a bridge at this point, but it now looks like the main line will have to be in a tunnel for a greater period of time.
Here you can see the array of supports I built for the branch line as it crosses over the main line. Of course, there will be plywood under the branch line track...
Finally, here's a picture I took of the 'northwest' corner of the layout. There will be a small freight depot at this point (which was the case in Koenigstein before the freight depot was torn down in the 90's), behind which will rise the tall hill with the Koenigstein castle on top.
Here's an image I found on-line looking towards the 'west' from the platform at Koenigstein showing the castle on top of the hill. This is what (hopefully) will be behind the freight depot in the previous picture.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Koenigstein takes shape
Hey everyone,
After a couple of weeks of no activity, I'm happy to report that I have gotten my butt in gear and have finished the elevated section that will house the Koenigstein station area, the terminus of the branch line. It's a sizable station, with a usable platform length of over seven feet. Here is how it looks from the inside of the layout:
Observant readers of this blog will notice that there is no longer a switch for the branch line up to Koenigstein. That's because it has been moved. But that's a story for another entry...
After a couple of weeks of no activity, I'm happy to report that I have gotten my butt in gear and have finished the elevated section that will house the Koenigstein station area, the terminus of the branch line. It's a sizable station, with a usable platform length of over seven feet. Here is how it looks from the inside of the layout:
Observant readers of this blog will notice that there is no longer a switch for the branch line up to Koenigstein. That's because it has been moved. But that's a story for another entry...
Friday, March 22, 2013
Fixing the staging yard
Hey all,
Those of you who have been following the Carstenbahn One adventure know that my only regret in the track plan is the short length of the siding in the staging yard / shadow station. Well, after some fumbling around with track I was able to remedy the situation.
Here you can see how I moved the switch from the end of the curve to the beginning, adding a couple of feet to the overall length of the siding. Because of space constraints I'm not able to do the same thing on the other side, but at least I have increased the useable length of trains parked in the siding from 7 cars to 11 cars.
Finally, here's a quick snapshot of the two steam locomotives ready to head out...
Enjoy your weekend, all!
Those of you who have been following the Carstenbahn One adventure know that my only regret in the track plan is the short length of the siding in the staging yard / shadow station. Well, after some fumbling around with track I was able to remedy the situation.
Finally, here's a quick snapshot of the two steam locomotives ready to head out...
Monday, February 25, 2013
A new way of cleaning / dusting your model trains...
Hey all,
A few weeks ago a member of the Digitrax group on Yahoo posted about using a special product called Cyber Clean to clean his dusty and / or dirty model trains. I think any modeler can relate to the difficulty of trying to clean intricate and detailed models with a cloth or a feather duster. Well, I picked up a jar for about $7 on eBay, and it showed up last week. On Sunday I decided to give it a try...
The locomotive I chose to use is a Marklin BR55. I have been using this loco throughout the construction of Carstenbahn One, so it has experienced its fair share of dust.
The material is a little firmer than I had expected. If you are dealing with a model with a lot of very small added parts or fragile lines, this may not be the best solution, as you do need to give it some pressure to push it into the tightest spots. In any event, I would recommend that you do not force the material into all the cracks and crevices, but hold it gently but firmly against the model, and let the material slowly ooze its way into the details.
So here is the rear section of the boiler after about five minutes' work. Compare this with the 'before' image and you can see the dramatic difference.
I also tackled the tender. The imitation coal on the back would be an excellent test, since it's a BEAR to try and clean with a cloth, and this product seems perfect for it.
Cyber Clean has some of the same issues with getting into corners and creases that one would encounter with a rag, and it does absolutely nothing for any serious dirt or stains. However, to get the dust out of the tight spots on only semi-fragile models, it works well. It did a nice job on my BR55, and I look forward to using it on my dusty Neuffen station building I've had out of the box for close to twelve years.
For the paltry sum of $7 including shipping, it's worth having this handy product around.
A few weeks ago a member of the Digitrax group on Yahoo posted about using a special product called Cyber Clean to clean his dusty and / or dirty model trains. I think any modeler can relate to the difficulty of trying to clean intricate and detailed models with a cloth or a feather duster. Well, I picked up a jar for about $7 on eBay, and it showed up last week. On Sunday I decided to give it a try...
Here is the product in question. It's a 5-oz jar, about the same size as a Play-dough jar.
The material is a 'putty', similar to the stuff kids play with called 'slime'. The idea is to press this material onto the item you are trying to clean, and then pull it off again. Dirt and dust is supposed to stick to the Cyber Clean and your item is supposed to come out shiny as new without a lot of time and labor.
The locomotive I chose to use is a Marklin BR55. I have been using this loco throughout the construction of Carstenbahn One, so it has experienced its fair share of dust.
Yes, a perfect candidate!
I also tackled the tender. The imitation coal on the back would be an excellent test, since it's a BEAR to try and clean with a cloth, and this product seems perfect for it.
Again, here is the 'before' shot. As you can see, short of pulling the body off the chassis and putting it in the dishwasher, it would be very hard to get this clean.
Instead, a quick five minutes with Cyber Clean and the tender looks much, much better.
Cyber Clean has some of the same issues with getting into corners and creases that one would encounter with a rag, and it does absolutely nothing for any serious dirt or stains. However, to get the dust out of the tight spots on only semi-fragile models, it works well. It did a nice job on my BR55, and I look forward to using it on my dusty Neuffen station building I've had out of the box for close to twelve years.
For the paltry sum of $7 including shipping, it's worth having this handy product around.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
... which brings us to today...
Whew, that was some operation, porting all my old posts over! It's amazing to look at the dozen-year journey my love affair with this scale has been. My family and I have been through a lot in the past decade, but like the line from Frankfurt Höchst to Königstein, the ups and downs are part of the charm of the ride!
Well, that brings us to today on the development of Carstenbahn One. This past week I put some polyfoam roadbed under the tracks to get ready to start building scenery. I also took delivery of my KM-1 BR50, which had been sent to Germany for repair nearly six months ago. Here is a quick 1-minute video of some of the trains on the layout:
Well, that brings us to today on the development of Carstenbahn One. This past week I put some polyfoam roadbed under the tracks to get ready to start building scenery. I also took delivery of my KM-1 BR50, which had been sent to Germany for repair nearly six months ago. Here is a quick 1-minute video of some of the trains on the layout:
More work above and below the track
<Written December 2012>
Christmas saw a lot of running of the trains, but not much work on the layout. I played around some more on the digital control of the trains, managing to blow up a few expensive components, and learned how to program routes on the IB Switch. Now, for example, I can hit one button on the IB Control and both switches on the outer-to-inner track crossover throw in sequence, and I can even have signals go from green-green to green-yellow to show the engineer he has to slow down at the same time. I also hooked up one of my semaphore signals and added a Marklin slow-down module to it. Now, when my BR55 comes around the corner into the Hoechst station, it begins to slow down when the signal is red, rolling gently to a stop in front of the signal. The gentle sound of a steam locomotive at idle continues (yes, it has a Loksound XL decoder in it) and smoke continues to churn from the stack. Amazing, at least to me.
To wrap things up for 2012, here's a short video of my BR55 pulling the boxcar train through the S-curve.
The first trains run
<Written November 13, 2012>
The ‘big day’ arrived quite unexpectedly. I had started cutting the roadbed for the raised track areas on Sunday, and the process went much faster than I had anticipated. Monday night I cut the last piece, and by Tuesday I was ready to lay the track back down. Marklin’s rail joiners are not very good, so they also offer track clips that hold everything together. The clips take a while to install, but with the help of a fellow Marklinist, Adrian Wegener, we were able to get the rail joiners installed. At around 7:00 p.m. the first train made its way around the layout…
That’s a train of gondolas being pulled by a pair of BR80’s running tail-to-tail. They are my only analog locos, and I expected the track to be dirty, having been out of use for many years. But thanks to a quick swipe with a track cleaning brick, the trains ran almost flawlessly that first time around. The double-heading insured that if one locomotive found a dead spot on the track, the other one would push it through, and then the front one would pull the rear loco through the same spot. Neither locomotive had been run in a while, and I’m sure many of my readers can relate to the wonderfully comforting smell that came from the locos as the old motors burned off dust for the first few rounds. Ah, the memories of my youth!
I wasted little time in unboxing every freight car I have and making a couple of long trains. I hooked up my Intellibox to a transformer and unplugged the analog trafo. My class 55 steam locomotive was hooked to a boxcar train I put together, while one of my V100’s took up position in front of the string of gondolas:
As I had suspected, the S-curve, initially an uninvited guest in the track plan, has quickly become my favorite part of the layout. Sure, the curves are much too tight to be realistic, but I still enjoy the effect, especially when two trains pass one another.
Risers, benchwork, and tables, oh my!
<Written November 12, 2013>
Okay, so after some additional work, the roadbed for the trains is finished. I installed risers on the benchwork that sits below the track level and cut plywood for the track to sit on. Here is an example of how that looks:
Okay, I guess that, thanks to the blurred train cars and the light on the locomotive, it’s obvious what comes next…
The main line benchwork is finished!
<Written October 2012>
The benchwork is DONE. Here are some photos of the completed benchwork. I have laid out the track in roughly the locations that they will be when the layout is done. The track lying on the lower sections will be on plywood on risers to allow the landscape to be contoured in front of and behind the track. There are now more trains in the staging yard to see how long they can be. The sidings in the staging yard are disappointingly short. So far that’s my biggest disappointment. I’m guessing when trains finally roll I’ll be using the sidings to store extra cars instead of automating a switching-off of two trains per track.
Above is the view from the same angle we’ve seen twice before. The section on the right has been shifted about four inches right to make room for the right-most metal post. Note the lower sections of benchwork on the left side. Again, here the tracks will be on risers to allow me to have depressions in front of the track.
Above is a picture from the opposite corner of the image above it. There is an 18-inch gap between the layout and the wall for access to the backside of the staging yard.
Above are a couple views of the staging yard. The sidings are so short I'm tempted to revise the track plan yet again to try and accomodate longer trains on the sidings.
Here’s a nice view of the S-curve. I can’t wait to see how this looks with a long freight train traversing it!
Finally, here is a view of the Höchst station. In the original track plan, I put the station on the curve. In the revised plan, I pulled the station tracks to the right side and along the edge of the layout. This allows the station tracks to be longer. I liked the look of the station on the curve aesthetically better, but the station tracks were very, very short. This new design will allow me to someday have passenger trains with the longer 4-axle passenger cars stopped at the station. At the top left of the photo above you can see the switch that will go to the branch industry (I’m planning on making that a brewery, but we shall see) with the white boxcar sitting on the end of the line that will eventually snake up to the Königstein station which will sit behind it, above the staging yard which in the picture is occupied by trains.
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