Image above captured on the upper deck of the layout where scenery has progressed to some extent...
Shot with Olympus C-750

Welcome to the SP Oregon Division!

An N Scale RR depicting the good old days along "The Friendly".

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Yard Panel Replacements

In an effort to complete the basic look of the layout,  the temporary foam board yard panels needed to be replaced so the curtain project could finally be completed.  The temp panels were just mounted to the facias with a few spacers, and were actually more durable than had been anticipated.  They definitely fulfilled their purpose in getting the layout up and operating fast.

The original / temp E. Eugene Yard Panel:
Each of the new replacement panels were made up from two sections to allow ease of installation and maintenance.  A hanger bracket, and the main panel section that simply screw together.  I made templates for the overall design and hole patterns.  Don cut and bent up the four steel panels at a 22 deg angle, so that they were more readily visible, yet didn't hang out into the aisle.

E. Eugene, W. Eugene, Portland, and Klamath Falls Panels:
Holes were drilled through the facia so the wires could pass through, as previously they were routed from under the facia, and were forcing the curtains to droop without support under the edge.  With the new panels being so close in design, I was able to do a direct swap of the existing toggles.

Wiring up the new E. Eugene Yard Panel with bracket in place:
The panels were designed to bolt to the face of the facia, but hang over the front to allow the Velcro strip along the bottom to remain uninterrupted  The felt curtains simply hang from the Velcro for ease of access under the layout.  Foam board scraps finish off the sides to provide end caps.  

Overhang to clear curtain access:
Nearing completion:
One down, three to go.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Bright Boys

The blog and layout have been dormant for over a year, partly due to needing a more active movement of cars without so much interaction. It was weiging me down, among other unrelated things / issues...  I've been working on the JMRI Ops Switchlist program, and have it flowing fairly well now, but still need to get it printing out on to my original copies of Espee Commom Standard forms.  But satisfied with where things were for now, it was time to run some trains again!
So I was using the Bright boy to clean track, and noticed the track wasnt getting as clean as it used to. I could run my finger down the rails after cleaning, and still get heavy black marks on my finger. I thought I had pretty much solved that old problem of dragging dirt around the layout, but it was back again. Years ago I figured out the Bright boy needs to be actively cleaned all the time. I have been using an old carpet scrap of indoor / outdoor carpet to rub both sides of the Bright boy back to its original brown color. For years I had just been slapping the carpet on the edge of the bench to keep it clean.  Lately I had thought my Bright boys were still pretty dark after their cleaning, and noticed that 5 year old carpet scrap staying pretty black too.  Well I decided to try running the carpet over to the sink with some warm soapy water, and it cleaned right up. Now the Bright boys are looking like new again and actually cleaning again.
Here's a quick vid on what kind of mileage you can get out of a Bright boy if you take care of it:
Clean that Bright Boy
Been working on some other projects that will post news on soon.