Still working on the layout plan

Transferring the layout with paper went ok. I pinned the paper down to foam through the centerline of the track at key points. I then tore up the paper around the pins leaving the pins in the foam. I connected the points specified by the pins with a Sharpie, and that's how I got the layout on the foam.
I had some trouble with finding the center of the curves based on where I had pinned the paper. I think it will be easier next time to get the center from XTrkCad and then just plot that point directly on the layout.
Unfortunately in the time it took me to get the layout drawn out, it changed! I realized that my parallel tracks were slightly too far apart for the geometry of adjacent Atlas #4 turnsouts so XTrkCad had added minute pieces of flex track, less then 1/4 in., in between them. This would be too much of a pain to cut and place, so I corrected the spacing so that it matches the geometry of the turnouts closer and does not require spacers.
I also curved the yard slightly to eliminate some of the space that the top of the layout. This allowed me to broaden the curves to 10 in.

Dremel

So I go to give my Dremel a workout tonight when I trimmed the head off of a nail. I was mounting it as part of my ongoing effort to come up with a track cleaning car. It was pretty intense with the Dremel motor going at a furious whine and sparks shooting off of the cutter where it ground into the nail.

Papered

I started to print out the track plan and transfer it to the layout until my printer ran out of ink. The picture shows what I have gotten so far.

The yard feels gigantic compared to my other layout. They are similar in width but using the main as the lead track let me add a lot more length to the tracks. Having the track at an angle to the board helps as well, but I will hold off on the final verdict until the rest of the plan is printed out. Then I will be able to see how the loop, which is more compressed on this layout, fits.

Glued

So I got the 1 in. thick foam insulation secured to the wooden frame. Here is a picture of what it looked like before. Not much different now that it is done, but with a bit of caulk around the edges to fill in the gaps.

I also have been learning how to use Xtrkcad over the past few weeks. It is much more flexible then Atlas's Right Track software when it comes to shaping flex track. It is a little bit more cumbersome for me to work with sectional track in Xtrkcad now, but I am getting the hang of it. I also modified the layout slightly using Xtrkcad.

The modified version has the same elements: the yard, 4 industries, and an interchange. I just tilted the oval the other way to make room for the engine house and storage tracks at the front of the yard.

Platform!

This weekend I ripped apart the frame for the 1.5 x 5 ft. platform I had built earlier and after a few tries, had used the wood to reincarnate it as a 2.5 x 4 ft platform. When you add on the 0.75 in. for the fascia, it is just about the size of my existing layout! But the fun is in doing the work so just modifying my existing layout would have been too easy. This time I am using 1 in. thick insulating foam as my base. It doesn't make it much lighter though since the majority of the weight came from the border and cross members and not the plywood. I will try to remember to post some pictures of it before I do too much work.

Along with the new platform comes a new track plan. Similar to the previous one I had been considering, except this one is tilted slightly. I still need to add in the industrial buildings, etc. but I like it so far.

I actually found a page with a number of small ( 2 x 4 ft. ) track plans. I found it really useful since most of the layouts I had seen online advertised as "small" had been micro layouts that fit in a briefcase or shelf. These were a little too small. From that you go to the 4 x 8 ft. table layouts and then the room sized layouts, neither of which fit my needs. I really liked the two engine yard layout that he came up with since it includes the ability to build trains, as well as switch industries, two things that I wanted to accomplish in my layout.

eBay Deal

Today I got 4 cars in the mail that I bought on eBay last week. They are all ACF 2 bay centerflow hoppers. Two with Conrail markings and two with Norfolk Southern markings. Knuckle couplers with different road numbers. And only $24 for the bunch. I was quite pleased with this deal.

Cleaning Car Photos

I finally got around to taking pictures of the track cleaning car I made. The original design had a roller in the middle. My machining skills were not up to the challenge and produced a lopsided roller that did very little rolling.

I change the design to be a a scrubber instead of a roller. I constructed a pad with angled edges that rides along the track. It has a 1/2 oz. weight inside of it to keep the cleaning pad (a paper towel strip) pressed against the track. I also threw on a rough coat of grey and black paint so the white styrene wasn't such a standout on the layout.

It works pretty surprisingly well. I ran it around the layout a few times and was amazed at how dirty the cleaning pad got. The one in the picture is a new pad so it doesn't have much gunk on it. My switcher engine seems to operate much better when moving at low speeds after the track cleaning car.