The Fuzzy World 3um

I thought about that also...but that's a bit small for my tastes. I'd rather model in HO as well...but lack of space isn't working for me right now.


I got the rest of the track laid down this morning (yay for a day off) and will start soldering joints next.

N Scale All Track Laid by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Overhead view of layout including all the tools used so far. I guess that's my attempt to document what I'm building.

N Scale Overhead by Wide Cab, on Flickr

You're making me want to get into N scale now.... Smaller trains means less expensive and longer trains!

Keep it up, man. Love to see more!

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Don't tell me to like the SD60Es. As long as they wear those hideous cabs/faces, any would-be positives about them mean absolutely nothing to me. And by trying to get me to like them in any way, you are only making me angrier and worsening the problem.

Looks good Dan. The layout looks like it will be quite a bit of fun once things are done.

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Tim
KC9FSH
Visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kc9fsh/

Thanks Max. Just because the trains are smaller in scale doesn't correlate in price. Many of the items I've seen at shows/etc are on par with or slightly higher in cost than HO. I'm not saying deals aren't out there though...

Thanks Tim. My aim was to get a little of switching, yard stuff, and mainline running. This may not be "operation session" worthy...but it'll keep my MR skills going and let my son and I enjoy something together...maybe the wife too if I'm lucky.


About an hour of soldering this afternoon and all the joints are soldered, save for two I left for expansion joints. Tomorrow I will be filing the joints down and running feeder wires for power. This will all be wired as one block as my aim is to run DCC on it.

Small example of soldering rail joints:


N Scale Solder Joints by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Tomorrow if I have time, I finish the feeder wire install. Then more testing!

Now that the air temperature of my garage has fallen below thermonuclear heat... ( ) ...I have finally finished the rough fitting of the feeders for all the lines. Tomorrow I should be able to solder the feeder wires to the bus wires. Then finish cleaning the track...then testing for power gaps. If all that goes well...time to start "prettying" up the rails by airbrushing them with colors to make them look more real, testing for gaps, then ballasting them.

Lots of little stuff done today...but it'll be worth it. I have about 75% of the feeder wires soldered to the rails, just have to finish the "yard" area and that's done. Then I can connect the feeder wires to the bus wires...then to power...then...

Photographic Updates

I drilled holes through the layout to install the wires cut a little longer than needed, just outside the rails.

Wires Fed Through by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Next I trimmed the ends of the wires and tinned both the trimmed ends and the outside of the rails with solder. This would make the attachment easier.

Wires Trimmed by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Once the rails and wires were joined, I filed the rails smooth on top.

Wires Soldered to Rails by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Now it's time to work on the bus wires.

Making sure to protect the tracks by placing towels between the rails and the sawhorses I was using, I routed the bus wires under the layout and nailed them in place. I made sure to leave a little "wiggle room" around the feeders.

Bus Wires Routed Near Feeders by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Then, using the exacto knife, I trimmed the shielding around both bus and feeder, tinned both, and then held them in place with my "handy helper" and joined them. Last step is to wrap with electrical tape.

Bus Wires Soldered to Feeders by Wide Cab, on Flickr

At this point, I'm almost ready to test run trains. This has been a bit of extra work now...but should minimize issues down the road.

Once again, thanks for the play by play on this one, Dan. I've got a few other things I want to tackle this year, but seeing your layout come together is making me want to do something similar next year more and more!

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

Thanks Chris. I feel like I could be a bit further ahead but I'm working in a garage w/o A/C so if it's too hot I choose not to work on the layout. I just have a little more wiring to go (getting the "yard" track feeders & bus wires done then attaching the bus wires to a power block) which some might see as "too much" for "just a door" layout. However, I have learned ( ) that it's better to do extra work now - before scenery, paint & ballast - to prevent issues down the road.

One other benefit to this method (feeder & bus) is that I have the option of being able to isolate sections of track at a later date, should I choose to. I also have the long term intention to be on DCC...which is why I'm not using things like Atlas selectors, etc.

Ok...photographic proof.

Here's the "powerblock" where power gets distributed. Depending on the location & size of the wire, I used both of the strippers.

N Scale Powerblock by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Here's a view of all the wiring done underneath. After using a "lightbulb" test, everything works. Much easier to wire the bottom of the layout when you can flip it to the top!

N Scale All Wired Up by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Here's the first test run. Aside from dirty wheels and a couple of dirty spots on the track, everything seems to work. The easy part's over now...

N Scale Test Run by Wide Cab, on Flickr

Woo hoo! Congrats on getting her running, Dan. Looking forward to it becoming "real" now!

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

Thanks. Ballasting & painting the rails will be the most tedious part for sure. Plus after each section done I'll have to test and make sure the track/switches work fine and then repeat...

*Peeking in to check on the progress of this cool project*

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

Haven't done too much since the last update. Time and hot weather conspire against me. Look for an update "soonish"...