Monday, August 8, 2016

August 2016 Update

It's been over seven months since my last post here. I haven't completely given up on model railroading, its just become a lower priority the last few months. I've been busy with summer household projects and we have another newborn at home to take care of. I've still been thinking about the layout occasionally though and have even reworked the track plan several times in SCARM and done some minor construction. 

Another problem was that because of all the work around the house, my layout room was completely trashed up until recently. Now that I've got it cleaned up a bit, I'm more open to spending some time down there planning and working on the layout. I'd still like to get a track plan nailed down this year and at least be able to start running some trains on it. I just need to find a way to keep myself motivated. Cleaning the room was definitely a good start. 

The reason for redoing the track plan is primarily because I made the table a little too wide. I thought the reach would be comfortable for getting to the middle of the table, but after messing around on there for a while it's just too much. To alleviate that, I've decided to block off a rectangular section at the center of the table. This reduces my available space a bit, but will make for an easier modeling experience. Plus I don't have to dismantle the entire table this way.

I also decided to go back to having a wye, rather than a turntable. This wouldn't fit the way I wanted to at first, so I decided I must add a small 1' x 2' section to one corner of the layout. 

Here is the current iteration of the revised track plan with the center blocked off.

Revised track plan with the center blocked off.
To block off the center of the table, I built a simple structure using some hardboard and 1x4's. Once I have the exact location figured out, the plan is to sink it into the foam down to the same level as the plywood.

A look at the basic structure for the new center of the layout.
As far as the goals I laid out back in January, I don't need to change any of them. I just need to actually work toward them a bit more. I've still got a good chunk of the year to work with, so hopefully I can be writing a post four months from now showing that I've completed at least a few of them. Only time will tell I guess.

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