Hey, I finally got a move on as far as setting something up. I was in Ikea about 3 weeks ago and saw they had these tabletops on sale for 20 bucks. They were 8 feet by 2 feet. they also had some sawhorse type stands that were 10 bucks eack. At first I thought about an 8 by 12 square donut, but then figured that since I had an 11 by 17 foot space, I should try to capitalize. I bought 4 of the tables, but then realised they were actually countertops for a kitchen. Formica countertops. they weighed 92 pounds each! I got 4 of em, and eight of the stands. They now stand in two parallel rows, with the ends connected by an old computer desk and an old door off a wardrobe. I need to get a piece of 1x7 plywood and another one of 2x5. the row closest to the door has a 2 foot gap so I can pass through. I figured a bridge over this gap would give me a duck under area. so far I have 1 O48 fastrack loop while I figure out what I want to do. was thinking of building an EL that ducked down to a subway. pics when I can.

Well, you're ahead of me! All I have so far is one 2x8 sheet of blue foam,
and a bunch of Superstreets roadway with D-21 curves and 4 diamond intersections.
I have about 9 streetcars, with a couple more on their way. Hopefully, I'll have
something up and running by Christmas. But really need some of the Superstreets D-21 switches, which aren't scheduled for release until December.

Lee

It is rather expensive, and as I have no power tools, it can be slow. Also, im not too good on the measuring (Math was NOT my favorite subject) so figuring out how much track I can fit, and still make a reasonable layout, is a bit tricky, going by trial and error, but there seems to be a lot of error, which puts my patience on trial. For example, a platform would have to measure at least 66 inchesto accomodate a 4 car set of R1's, but if I get the R142's I would have to either extend it to 72" or do without one of the cars.at 72" therewould not be enough distance to fit the platform and the double 45/54 curves needed before I hit the gap I left for a duck under. Also, do I want just a subway layout, or do I want something that can also run Amtrak/freight trains as well? average width is about 24", so how to fit scenery and such would be a challenge.

quote:

Originally posted by Pelham Express:
... a reasonable layout, is a bit tricky, going by trial and error, but there seems to be a lot of error, which puts my patience on trial.

Pelham,

Don't let anything discourage you. There are some great people on this forum to give you good advice. Like all things in life "slowly but surely". I was caught in the worse mind-blowing construction traffic on the way back from Washington on Wed. I thought I would never get home. I had some fried chicken in the car to eat when I got home, and the smell of that chicken in the car, gave me motivation to inch forward. 11 p.m., exit 11, I saw signs for the Parkway and my mouth was watering...

I am not suggesting fried chicken in your train layout room, maybe some nice music... How sweet it will be when you see signs of progress on your layout.

Prairie

Good words of encouragement for all beginners, Prairie.

Nothing breeds success like...success. Get something basic up & running, keeping expansion in mind. Borrow some tools from an okaly-dokaly Flanders-like neighbor, and prepare to do a little payback, if you have to. But, get those trains moving by starting small and thinking big. Good luck, and don't be shy about asking for & receiving help along the way. Hey, we all did at some point (and some of us still do).

Im going forward, budget and time dictating what i can do. I got one loop up for noe, and was running a 'test' train to see what things would work. will get pics in a bit.

Pelham Express:

I too am in process of building my Chicago L layout...

Well, not the actual layout yet but prepping the basement room...

So far I've built several walls, hung drywall, taped, mudded and painted. Plus, ran some new electical to power everything. Not much train related fun with that...although I did hang some of my CTA sign collection up.

Now I'm actually building some shelf benchwork that will incorporate storage underneath. So - more building walls, shelves and hanging drywall.

So, keep at it as every bit of progress at least makes it one step closer to actually running a train. I've also played with some actual pieces of track to work on the track layout as no matter how much I plan on paper the actual plan turns out different.

CTA Fan

That part i can understand. the turns always seem to take up more space than anticipated. Right now, Im trying t find a balance between scenery and trains. Some layouts Ive seen have just the hint of scenery, but lots of track. Others are astonishingly detailed, but the trains seem almost an afterthought. (NO OFFENSE INTENDED TO ANYONE!!) I know if I do a subway motif, I will need at least a double track loop, maybe even 3 or 4 loops if I want express service. thats a 12" footprint with Atlas Track, and I have about 25" of platform width to work with. I wanted one side Elevated, and one side a subway with a "peek In" type Station (it would only be a window, so I wouldn't need a full length platform). Now, Do I want the "underground" section against the wall, which would let me place a bridge over the Duck under area, or do I want it towards the aisle, where i could more easily reach derailments, but It would limit the Duck under space. Do I also want track to run other trains? Loops can be boring, but anything else I try would not be suitable for a "Transit' type setup. (R1's running with Amtrak sets woulf look wierd) Then theres building an el, which if I do it the way I want, will work but won't look all that realistic. An El needs buildings near it, but that might get crowded. For now, I will just run my bastardized "Smee" train for now. (1 graffiti 'R76', 1Red R17, 1 stripped R26, and 1 R17 work car)while I scheme this out. BTW where can I get o scale modern cars? Matchbox cars dont really cut it

Took a couple of pictures of the train room.

Started some benchwork, working around some strange angles in the basement:



Finshed one wall of signs, the black "Ravenswood All Stops" is a backlit rollsign. It has about 20 destinations. I can open the sign and change the destination:



My recently aquired fare counter...you pull the cord, a bell rings and the numbers change, full fare is $1.50:



Some signs, I still have a bunch more to hang...





CTA fan

I actually did like the CTA when i visited Chi town. Rode the Red line the most, but didn't see enough, i guess, cause I wanna go back. I won't have any transit signs, but hopefully I can get the right"atmosphere" with what i do have.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CTA Fan:
Took a couple of pictures of the train room.

Started some benchwork, working around some strange angles in the basement:



CTA..this photo looks interesting...keep us posted on further layout progress
thanks

can you shed some light on the "El" piece

Sure...

On the L structure...

It is my three foot long test section. It is made out of basswood. The girders are 1/8" thick by 1" high, and the girder flanges are 1/16" thick by 1/4" wide. The columns are 1/8" sqaures flanked by 1/16" thick by 1/4" wide flanges. The hight of the columns are I think 4". The span between the columns is 12 inches and the overall length is 3 feet. Track spacing is 3.5" - that is way too narrow and will most likely be increased once I build the actual structure. I tried to keep a minimum number of different pieces of wood to keep cost and difficulty down. Buying basswood from the LHS, I think the cost for the 3 foot section was maybe $20?

The structure on the outside (behind the car) is support structure for a station I have yet to build. Since I will be running MTH's CTA cars, I can get away with a 3 foot long station. The CTA cars are only about a foot long and I will only be running 2 car trains.

The structure is suprisingly sturdy. I use it to determine if I have space for a station so I gets tossed around a lot. I also use it to determine the width of my shelves for the layout.

What I will do for the actual structure I will build:

Use thinner pieces (1/32" thick) for the flanges for a more prototypical look. Also, I will use some Archer Fine Transfers decal rivet detail to add some rivet detail.

Some close-ups:

Couple of more things I just thought of...

I'd recommend building a test section before you commit to a huge outlay in $$$ for your structure. That way you can see what works, what doesn't and what you can improve on. You won't be out a lot of money if you decide to change the plans.

Ease of construction: the basswood is relatively easy to work with and this section was built in an evening. I wasn't worred too much about making everything perfect as you can level the structure by adding shims under the column bases to bring everything in line...when I build anything shims are my best friend.

For attaching the track I probably will glue some larger pieces of wood between the girder sections where I can attach the track to using screws. The structure probably will float on the benchwork or be loosely secured with adhesive such as hot glue or silicone adhesive.

CTA,
Thank you for sharing the "El" construction...is the whole structure glued together with just wood glue or did you use any type of fasteners?

So far, glue only.

I move it around, pick it up by one end, store it on its end...basically I've been none too gentle with it and it hasn't fallen apart.

Now, once I attach the tracks that will increase the stength/rigidity as the track sections have some inherent strength with the rails. Also, the type of L structure that I model (the Ravenswood branch in Chicago) has X bracing every 4th span...so that will add some lateral rigidity...keep the structure from flexing.

Again, with my situation of running only a two car train, I beleive the glue will be enough. If I was running some longer trains (I can't, just don't have the room), I think I would consider some additional fasteners.

I am probably going to have one of the smallest O scale subway layouts around...an L shaped 9' x 16' shelf layout with return loops at either end. I hoping for 3 stations...two elevated and one on a fill with a storage track.

CTA Fan

NICE work!!! The only time I've been to Chi-town, I unfortunately did not get to experience any of their Els. Are two-car trains prototypical? Regardless, you got a good thing going, looking forward to seeing the rest. Cool.

The CTA running two cars trains...not really anymore unless its late night (owl) service or maybe a Sunday. But, I really have room only to run two cars at a time so I have to make accomidations.

Also unusual is that my L won't be above a street, like the Chicago Loop, Lake Street or NYC's el's. Mine will be the Ravenswood branch based on the line between Western Ave and Montrose Ave and the L there runs through alleys and right up against apartment buildings. I have a fondness for the Ravenswood as I lived in the area after college. I lived next (and I mean close...look out the rear window to the tracks,floors would shake when a train went by) to the Montrose L stop. Nice to walk 20 feet to a station and be in the loop in 20 minutes! If I only had that commute today...

CTA Fan

I love the El section. I took some pics of what I have to work with. Its not as impressive, and I still dont know how to put pics directly on here but heres the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/p...s/72157622366892577/

Just "right click" your picture and copy the image location. Click the second button from the right on the "post a reply" and paste the url into the box.



That 2' board should accommodate 4 tracks with 4.5" spacing and 5.25" inches from the edge of the table to the center of the outside tracks (if my math is right).

cool. I'd have to figure out how to fit buildings, etc, but I think I can work something out