# My Basement Layout Project Part ll



## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

I wanted to update everyone on the progress of my layout but I had to start a new thread because my previous thread is in the archives. If you want to see previous postings on this project, go here:

http://archive.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42077

I'm not quite finished placing the ballast but I'm getting towards the end. I decided to start on the new big part of the layout, the moutain/tunnel portion. I'm going to make one end of the layout a mountain with the trains going through the middle. I've started building the tunnel portal portion by painting some plywood black on one side and attaching it to benchwork and then attaching the tunnel portal to the plywood pieces. When you look in the tunnel portal, you'll see the black sides of the tunnel. Below are some pictures:
































It looks crude right now but it's just the beginning. I will update you all with more pictures as things progress.


J.R.


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## Steamnutt (Apr 12, 2008)

JR, 
nice job so far, just something to keep in mind (and you may already have this planned), trains usually derail where you can't get to them! I'd make sure that somewhere in that tunnel you have a removable section that if you have a derailment, you can still get to them.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

It looks crude right now but it's just the beginning. 




Compared to mine, it's fantastic!


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Steamnutt,


Yes I have thought of that. I'm going to put up 1/4" plywood along the edges that will be the sides of the mountain and on the back side, in the middle, I'm going to place a hatch door to that I can reach in and grab any trains that have de-railed. I would be nervous not having direct access inside the mountain!

Thanks.

J.R.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

I wanted to share the latest addition to my layout. About 10 months ago, I wanted to buy USAT's UP Southern Pacific Heritage SD-70 but it wasn't out yet so I bought a standard Union Pacific SD-70MAC but with sound from Charles Ro. The engine has been great and I love the sound!
My birthday was about a week ago and I got some Charles Ro gift certificates so a couple of days ago, I went to the store and bought the UP 1996 Southern Pacific heritage unit but I didn't get sound on this one. I figure I'll get sound put in later. When I put it on the tracks, one of the head lights was not working so I returned it and they gave me another unit. I took some pictures and wanted to post them. The two SD-70's look great together!


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## Terl (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah those heirtage paint shcemes are pretty neat. Thanks for the pictures. 

Terl


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

They do indeed look good together. 

Thanks. 

Mike


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep sure do like the Heritage locos. Thanks for the pics. How bit will your inddor layout be? Looks good from what I've seen so far. Later RJD


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2008)

AAAAAAAA nothing like 2 nice running and looking USA macs on your RR looks great.....








Nick


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

aceinspp,

My layout is 36' long and 14' wide at one end and 11' wide at the other. The reason why one end is narrower at one end is because I have some french double doors that I didn't want to block. The extra 3' that I have at the other end is going to be part of a town. I want to get PIKO's union station for my train station.

J.R.


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## Dave Ottney (Jan 2, 2008)

Whoa, there's some serious diesel stuff there in one of pics. You've got quite a fleet.. As another indoor railroader its always nice to see what others are doing in their dungeons, errrr I mean subterranean spaces. 
Dave


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## Tom Thornton (Nov 18, 2008)

What are you using for ballest indoors? I have used chichen grit but not real happy with the way it looks. Tom Thornton


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Tom,

I use chicken starter grit. I actually have to go out and get more because I'm not quite finished with the ballasting. I kind of agree with you on the look. It's a little too white for me but the size works. To give it some color, I sprinkle some of Woodland Scenics black coarse ballast. Below is a picture that I took a while ago. The outside track now has ballast.










You can kind of see some of the black specs in the photo. That's the Woodland Scenics stuff. Hope that answers your question.

J.R.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

What kind of Chicken grit are you using? Oyster shells or granite? I get a pink granite stuff in "medium size" that looks very much like what the U.P. is using on the old C&NW line across Iowa. Looks really good. Oyster shells are a white "chip" shape, but the granite is a chunk rock shape.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Semper,

I use crushed granite. What you describe sounds pretty good but now I'm too far along with ballasting that I can't switch.

I went to a train show in my area today and I saw this great sign that when I saw it, I knew exactly where it would go. When you open the door to my basement, you walk down a couple of stairs and turn to the left to go down the remaining stairs to the basement. So I put up this sign so that when you open the door, you see it.











I think it's a cool addition to my trains!

J.R.


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## Tom Thornton (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks J R I like the idea of the other color added the the chicken grit. Is the ballest held with gravity or have you used any glue to keep it from going anywhere? My ballast is held with gravity but I'm thinking of puting some diluted white glue on it. Tom Thornton


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

Loks good. I wish I had room for an indoor layout. Especially with these long winter nights.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice SD70. Your indoor layout must have some big curves for those babies. I take it you live near Charles Ro?


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*JR747*

*..GIFT cards to Charlie's....that's better than COAL......;^).....*
*
Yea Todd, I can hear your brain cells firing all the way over here.....*

*Time for a ROAD TRIP down those stairs....what U say Jr.?*

*the_Other_Ray*


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Tom, 

I first spray the ballast with "wet water." I then add matte medium to the ballast. I like matte medium better than white glue because it dries clear. It takes about 24 hours for it to completely harden. I like to glue the ballast down because that chicken grit can go everywhere! 

Todd, 

Yes, I live about a half hour from Charles Ro. I feel pretty lucky! I'm using Aristo 9' and 10' curves on my main line. I'm fortunate enough to have enough room to run that size curves indoors. If you want more information on my layout, go the first posting in this thread and I give the link the first thread that's in the archives. 

J.R.


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## Tom Thornton (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks J R I think I'll give that a try as the ballast seems to get up and move too much.

Tom Thornton


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I take it your not planning to do any scenery? I ask just because I always do ballast last, after all the scenery is in place.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

C&NW use to use what they called pink lady years ago. They also would get screens from this rock and use it for industry tracks. This stuff would really work godd for G scale ballast. I think it came from somewhere in Wisconsin. Later RJD


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## Tom Thornton (Nov 18, 2008)

R J I think the pink lady ballast comes from Rock Springs,WI. It might work good for you and look right for the trains you run. Tom Thornton


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Tom for the info. BTW I use to get the screenings and then re screen again and use for HO ballast. Pink not that bad. Best part about it was free. The ballast I use now I also use to get free when I was still working. Later RJD


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

vsmith,

Yes, I am planning on adding scenery, hence the mountain that I'm working on.


Since we've been talking about ballast, I took a picture of the ballast that I use and wanted to post it:











J.R.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Cool, I used "El Gato Los Mas Cheepo" brand kitty litter on my portable layout, I stained it reddish to match my terrain


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Another progress update on my mountain project. I bought 1/4" thick plywood at Home Depot. I came up with a design on paper, traced lines on the plywood and cut. I then attached the plywood to the table. In the corners, I used "L" brackets to keep the corners together. Here are the pictures of what it looks like:









From one side










Opposite side










Those two white lines in the middle of the picture are plastic seals that are used for windows that I stapled to the plywood. They cover the cracks that from the hatch door that I mentioned earlier. I wanted to do that so that light wouldn't shine through when someone is looking in the tunnel portal.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

I finally have another photo update. Since my last posting, in the middle of the mountain, I put up vertical wood supports to secure the chicken wire that I laid across. I then put up the last plywood wall. Where the tunnel portals are, I used cardboard strips to create the clifferent walls on either side of the tunnel portals. I think the pictures below describe it best:










You can see in the above picture the cardboard strips on either side of the turnnel portal.











This is an overall view of the mountain.











This is the view from above looking down showing the inside of the mountain with the chicken wire.











This is the other tunnel portal showing the cardboard strips.











The same tunnel portal from another angle.











Another top down view, but from the opposite side.


The next step is to build the rest of the mountain up by wadding up newspapers and placing them on the chicken wire. Then I will lay plaster cloth on top of the newspapers.

I will keep you all updated on my progress.


J.R.


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

J.R., 

just a thought, but if you are going to "plant" any trees on top of that mountain, you might want to use expanded foam insulation to build it up instead of newspapers. Our large scale trees need a fairly substantial base to to support them, particularly if you use a pin, nail, or dowel on the bottom of the trunk. 

The layout is looking good. 

Mike


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Mike,

I am planning on planting trees on my mountain. I was planning on using the plaster cloth using two layers and then adding a layer of Sculpta-mold over that for re-inforcement. Will that be strong enough? What is expanded foam insulation? How do you apply it? Do you have any pictures of what it looks like after you apply it?

Thanks for your input. This is my first time making a mountain and I'm learning as I'm going.

J.R.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

AH, the proverbial traditional landscaping techniques. Still the most reliable straight forward method







. Nicely done.


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

J.R., 

Your planned approach may work fine if the trees are no too large or too top heavy - arbitrarily say smaller than 12" high. Anything higher than that may need to be "planted" with a nail or dowel in the base of the tree as much as 3" for a really tall tree. The foam is the insulation stuff that Home Depot or Lowes sells. it is typically pink or blue and about 2" thick. It is easy to cut to shape, but can be a little messy and can be covered by plaster cloth or directly with Sculpta-mold. Google "model railroad foam scenery". There are a number of articles and You Tube videos with lots of details. 

Hope that helps. Let us know how you progress. Thanks again for the pictures. 

Mike


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

I just wanted to show some pictures of my latest addition. About 10 years ago, I bought a USAT Union Pacific F3 A and B unit set and they were my first USAT locomotives. It's interesting because when I bought them, I didn't even have a layout to run them on, my trains were all stored away but
I love the old F's so I had to have them.
Fast forward to today and after much waiting, I bought a second set of UP F3 A and B's to finally complete my ABBA set. After placing them together, I noticed some design changes that USAT underwent in the last 10 years. I show comparisons in the pictures below. 










This what they look like together.











This is the headlights for the F3 that I bought 10 years ago. There is a black ring around the headlight lenses.











This is the headlights for the F3 that I bought a couple of days ago. The lens has a clear or white ring around it.











I took this shot to show how USAT changed the yellow paint over the years (it might be a little hard to see in the pic). The unit on the left is the F3 that I bought 10 years ago and is brighter then the unit on the right which I just bought. It looks like they changed the color and made it darker.


J.R.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice looking lash up. Later RJD


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Wow, I can't believe USA Trains has been selling locos for ten years already


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## eddie (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking great!


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## Chucks_Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

That's interesting about the design changes with the F3's








Some manufacturers doen't make any changes because if they did then they'd admit to being wrong









Layout is coming along nice









Will you be adding any lights in the tunnel


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Looks great, Kadees are good, The BIG Bridgewerks Power pack in the back round SWEET







Nice layout by the way.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Layout is looking great. 

What diameter curves are you using? 

Randy


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Chuck,

I wasn't planning on adding any lights inside of the tunnel. I haven't heard of that. Do some people add lights inside their tunnels?



Nick,

I love my Bridgewerks transformer! It was expensive but well worth it!!


Randy,

I'm using Aristo 9' and 10' curves. Thanks for the compliments. I don't get to spend a lot of time on the layout. I wish I could spend more time on it but when you have a 2 year old....


J.R.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

A new addition to my layout. When I bought my F3's a couple of months ago, I told myself that I wasn't going to buy any more engines for a while. Well, I get this ad from Charles Ro that they were having a sale on certain items and what do you know, they have Union Pacific Alco PA/PB listed on sale and those are on my wish list (which is loooonnnngggg







). The price was too good to pass up so I went there this past Saturday and got them. They're beautiful engines and they run nice. I took Greg's advise and put the Kadee 831's on. I just wanted to post some pictures of them.



These images are not loading from Photobucket for some reason. I've never had a problem before.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

My wife and I got a new cool camera and so I decided to take some pictures of my layout. I thought this picture was pretty cool. I call it Past and Present:

[url="


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Nice..........


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

I made an exciting addition to my layout. I've been planning on adding lighting to my layout and I know that I've wanted yard lights for my yard. A while back I found Locomotive Joe's website. He makes lights for O and G scale trains, http://locomotivejoe.ecrater.com/ 
I finally bit the bullet and I contacted him via e-mail. I asked him if he made yard lights. He said that he did but the current design was expensive to make and he came up with a new design that he hadn't made yet. I told him that I was interested in seeing the design when he made the first light. He sent me the pictures and the price of the light. I ordered 5 of them in gray and some 90 degree lights that I wanted to add to my freight depot and some bulbs to add to future buildings. After a couple of weeks, he sent them to me. A while back I asked on this forum how to do lighting. I have never done lighting for a layout. A couple of members were helpful and helped me how to do the wiring. I asked him how to wire up his lights and he was extremely helpful and walked me through it. If anyone is thinking of getting lights for their layout, I would highly recommend going to Locomotive Joe. The craftmanship is excellent and the lights work wonderfully. He is the nicest guy! He helped guide me through the setup process. 
Below I have attached the pictures so everyone can see what they look like.

[url="


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm curious, what did you use for ballast, is it glued down or loose?


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Vsmith,

I used starter grit and matte medium to glue it down. I explain it more depth in this thread. 

J.R.


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Another update....

This winter, I've been able to spend a lot more time working on my layout. One of the big things I've been working on is the mountain. If you look earlier in this post, about a year ago, I posted some progress on my mountain. I was going to build up my mountain using newspaper wads and covering it with plaster cloth. Mike O gave me some enlightening on using foam instead of newspaper. So I had to take a couple of steps back, took out the chicken wire, cut down some of plywood sides, added some plywood for the foam to sit on and the last couple of weeks I started cutting the foam and stacking it to form the general shape of the mountain. I took all the foam down and I will start glueing each layer down but before I do that, I took some pictures to show the progress. When I glue all the layers down, I will post more pictures.

[url="


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## stanman (Jan 4, 2008)

You're making good progress. That's going to be a great [/i]layout!


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Some progress pictures:

[url="


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

J.R, 

Looking good. What kind of adhesive did you use on the foam? 

Mike


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## jr747 (Feb 7, 2008)

Mike,

I used an adhesive called Loctite PL Premium. I have never heard of it but it ended up working quite well. I got it at Home Depot. I ended up running out so I got liquid nails at my local hardware store. I would definately use the Loctite again.

J.R.


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

JR, 

Thanks. I know some of that stuff attacks the foam, and some won't cure because of the lack of air. 

Mike


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## CJGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Any updates?


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