Beverly's and Chris's Slab Door Layout

Mike,

Thanks for the encouragement I hope you get some spare time to work on your project





Woke up this morning with quite a gung ho attitude and am in the process of figuring out how to make mountains behind the castle. It's not as easy as it looks. The curve in the canvas has to be taken into account, though once the CelluClay mixture is added as well as trees, the minor gaps between the foam and canvas should disappear. I've also begun sculpting the area around the castle, which seems like an endless task. As long as I take it slowly, the contours will eventually take shape.

Beverly,

One thing to consider. You may want to finish off your tracks that are hidden before you attach the upper layer. I found that trying to work on my hidden sections was rather challenging. I left plenty of space to fix and retrieve any trains that get stuck and clean the track. However, that was not always enough room to easily manipulate objects (plaster, cork, track) to get them where I wanted. That does not even count trying to ballast the first few inches into the tunnels.

Mike

Mike,

You've brought up an excellent point This morning I did glue some of the foam together so I could work on it more efficiently. However, none of the foam is glued down to the layout base foam which allows me to remove the entire top to work easily on the track as you suggest. Great minds think alike The background canvas is removable to make work on the track easier, too. The background will probably be the last thing to be secured to the layout base.

This morning was clean up time to get ready for Easter visitors on Good Friday. But before the big clean up, I decided today was the day I'd get the inclines ready for the track by glueing 80 lb. artist paper to the top surface of the inclines. I also glued around the bases of the inclines so they stuck really well to the foam beneath. While the photo below isn't our typical standard for housekeeping, here's what our dining and living rooms looked like this morning....



In this photo, though you can't see it all, about 60% of the inclines had been glued with paper. The numbers indicate:

#1. The first layout table that was made did not have the stability we wanted, so it became our work table.
#2. Scraps of leftover insulation foam that I'm not yet ready to toss out. Some pieces will have uses as I contour the scenery.
#3. Our track that has been temporarily moved to allow the paper to be glued on top of the inclines.
#4. The fancy lighting system used to augment natural light. The bulbs in each lamp are compact fluorescent 15 watt daylight.
#5. The book of 80 lb. artist's paper that is being used to paper the inclines.
#6. The 1:1 track plan that is being cut up and used for templates.
#7. The ever-useful trash container lined with a plastic grocery bag. I don't know how many bags have filled while contouring the landscaping.
#8. Part of the sections of inclines that have been papered. The lighting makes gaps between the incline sections look more indented than they really are.
#9. Minus the paper, these are the main pieces of foam that have already been glued for the landscaping base. They are very sturdy and are easy to cut with both a knife and an electric foam cutter.
#10. Pieces of 1:1 track plan that have already been used as templates.
#11. A transparent ruler typically used for cutting fabric in quilt making arts.
#12. The box containing the electric foam cutting tool, purchased for another project, that has been useful for contouring landscaping foam.
the foam pieces that form the mountains that will go behind the castle. I'm still working on shaping them.
#13. The foam pieces that form the mountains that will go behind the castle. I'm still working on shaping them.
#14. And, finally, another indispensible tool - the trusty vacuum cleaner! Tiny foam pieces have a tendency to flake off while cutting and sculpting. The vacuum is used often during this process.


Currently, the track is back on the layout and a lot of the mess has been put away This evening, the track will be permanently powered up, more mess will be put away, and the background will be put back in place. I hope to run our three trains tonight with all our cars I'm so excited! If I figure out how to shoot a movie with my new camera, I'll also do that. Yippee

Bev, You sure know how to fill a room so it feels 'cozy'

Why are you lining the foam with paper? Couldn't you just glue your roadbed material down directly to the foam? Don't forget, that paper will swell with moisture so when adding any glue/water mixture to hold ballast there could be some swelling?

Loren

Hey Beverly,

your trains look great on video...

small detail: a luggage car ain't no caboose... if possible it was placed behind the engine in front of the passenger cars to give at least some protection against the smoke and soot from the engine.

Loren,

Yes, I have quite a flair as an interior designer Almost all is back to normal in our home now, thank goodness. Maybe I'll post an "after" photo at a later date

I am lining the Woodland Scenics risers with paper to cover the gaps. You can see photos, explanations and tests using artist paper on about half way down on page 8 . I'm confident that any swelling of the paper while the track is being ballasted will disappear when the paper dries. Unlike wood, which has various densities due to the grain, this 80 lb. artist paper has the same density throughout and shouldn't warp the track bed after it's dry.



Uwe,

Thank you for the compliment and for pointing out that the baggage car comes before the passenger cars I was wondering about that specific detail, among others such as....

- is the baggage car facing the right direction?
- do first class cars go at the beginning of the train or the end?
- when cars are labeled first class on one end of the car and second class at the other end, which end is closest to the locomotive?

---

Haven't seen our test video yet? Due to technical difficulties with my camera and video conversion software, the first video of our European layout took two days to shoot The trains are running a bit too fast in the video for my liking, but with the inclines, short radii and train lengths, the trains have to run at certain speeds to make the grades - so to speak I did manage to choreograph the trains rather well and slow them somewhat for the video European Layout Test, April 2, 2010 . I hope you all enjoy it

Hello Beverly,

sorry for answering late, but it's the Easter weekend, and today we had our local " Osterfeuer " in our village. Not as big as in the pictures on Wikipedia, and today and not on Sunday, but a big bonfire even so. Mainly it is a moment of gathering in the village community, and with " Stockbrot " for the kids...

Beverly56 wrote:I was wondering about that specific detail, among others such as....

- is the baggage car facing the right direction?
- do first class cars go at the beginning of the train or the end?
- when cars are labeled first class on one end of the car and second class at the other end, which end is closest to the locomotive?[/quote]

I'm not totally sure about all of those details, except the one with the baggage car. As far as I remember on some trains they have two baggage cars one at each end. Especially when the train is running on a line with a terminus station .

I will ask about those details at the ZFE board, and maybe we can find a website with those details.

There are a lot of rules to be found. An example would be with electric engines. Here the aft pantograph is to be used. This because if an accident with the panto occurs which destroys the panto, the parts won't destroy the other panto too. But no rule with an exception. With certain freigths the forward panto is used to safe the freight from damage by dirt or ice falling down from the panto and/or the catenary wire. This freight could be new cars on an open carrier, or tank cars or such.

Uwe,

Thank you for the quick reply on the Easter weekend It's always interesting to read about local customs that come with holidays. I think many of our traditions date from before Christianity and the "Easter Fire" in Northern Europe is one of those great traditions. Children (and adults) in Canada roast marshmellows over fires in summer.

I would very much appreciate any information on passenger car placement that you can find The good folks on ZFE might indeed know these things.

On another note, I've been thinking that I might call our layout Grünberg Zett-Züge, or Green Mountain Z Trains in English, though I would use the German version as its proper name. Please let me know if I have spelled the name correctly

Have a Happy Easter with your family and friends

Hello Beverly,

until now there is only one answer for your question at the ZFE board:

Viktor (kvp) writes in a message (you have to log in at ZFE to read it) that the 1st class cars are placed to make riding the train comfortable for the passengers. That means for example towards the middle of the train to be closer to the station building when the trains stops. And if there is a diner then the 1.class is placed on one side of the diner and the 2nd class on the other side, so that the common folks fro 2nd class don't have to disturb the 1st class passengers. This could look like this:

engine-baggage-1st class-diner-2nd class

or without a diner, but with a mixed 1st and 2nd class car maybe like this:

(2-1) + (1-1) + (1-2)
or
(2-1) + (2-2)

this keeps the 1st class together, and mostly closer to the station building. By placing only a short 2nd class section in front also takes care if the train arrives in a terminus station so that the 1st class passengers don't have to long to walk...

Especially in those older eras it was all about classes I believe.


marshmellows...

well, I have to admit I don't like them very much anyway roasted or not...

...a sausage and a cold beer will do much better...

...besides... yesterday it did, except that one beer isn't doing a good job, better have two or three...

Grünberg Zett-Züge, [...] Please let me know if I have spelled the name correctly

no complaints here...



...on a completely another note for all those who are also members at the ZFE board and are interested in a signal tower check out this thread .

ULie wrote:

Viktor (kvp) writes in a message (you have to log in at ZFE to read it)

Uwe,

Thank you for the link. The explanation of the various car placements, with and without a diner, is invaluable and just what I was looking for This thread has other subjects that are of interest to me, such as pairing cars with locomotives. I need to spend more time at ZFE. There are photos in some threads that are also of interest

---

Our trains have been put away so I can continue contouring the landscape. However, I took time to upgrade the quality of the April 2nd test run and it can be seen at Grünberg Zett-Züge Test .

Hello Beverly,

I've been away for a small tour to Bremerhaven, Germany by train. Even if I only used regional trains for the tour because of the fare, I saw those plans and thought it might shed some light about placing of cars in a train.

It shows one of those plans that are placed on the platforms in Germany. Those plans shows the position of the cars of a Intercity or Intercity Express train at the platform so that passenger can easily find their reserved place in the train. The red vertical line indicates the place on the platform where the plan is placed, and from there you can see where our car will stop. The colors indicates which kind of car it is. Yellow for 1st class, green for 2nd class and red for the diner. Sorry I forgot to look what the blue cars are. Probably sleeping cars.

Ulie,

I a person purchased a DB Rail Pass before visiting the country, it would be valid on all trains. However, I wonder if there is a Regional Rail Pass and could it be used to ride all the regional trains and could you still travel around the country using regional rail trains. I hope this doesn't sound to confusing.

Robert

Hi Uwe,

Ooh, a train trip That sounds like fun!

I was at my daughter's place the yesterday. She lives within walking distance to the north and not very busy end of CN's train yards in west Edmonton. I did not have my camera, but I did see some great hoppers - some with brightly coloured graffiti

Thank you for the detailed drawing. It helps explain your previous post

Hello Robert,
loadmaster wrote:

I wonder if there is a Regional Rail Pass and could it be used to ride all the regional trains and could you still travel around the country using regional rail trains. I hope this doesn't sound to confusing.

no Robert, your question isn't confusing at all...
...but the answer might be a little, because of the structure of the fare system for traveling by rail in Germany...

What we (my wife, my son and me) used for our tour was the "Niedersachsen-Ticket", which is valid fr traveling for one day with five persons as a group or a family. There are also versions for single persons. Those " Länder-Tickets " are available for different areas, but as far as I see it they cover all of Germany. Unfortunately the Wikipedia Link is only in German. For a map with the relevant boundaries this map might be helpful. Those ticketts also include the innercity traffic in buses or subways or such in certain cities. In our case the ticket could also be used in the inner city traffic in Bremen and Hamburg.

There is an european rail pass, that is valid for a certain time (around 1 week) and allows unlimited travel on all trains that don't require reserved seats. I used it last year and while it looks like an airline ticket, it was accepted everywhere. There is a tourist version valid for 2-3 days with the same conditions, but much cheaper. With an international student id, it is possible to get student versions too. Another version is only valid between two cities and back but on any train and any route. And compaines just keep inventing new ticket types...

I can't believe almost a month has transpired since I last did any serious work on the layout. But yesterday was a big day for contouring the foam. So much has yet to be accomplished, but we now have a riverbed as well as better contouring of the background mountains and some contouring for the farm areas on both sides of the river. Because I was still not satisfied with the background mountain contours, I temporarily planted 100 Heki trees to see how the layout might look with the current contours. Certainly, they are looking sparse as 100 trees don't go far. But I'm encouraged by how well the trees look on the layout. Luckily I have 600 more, plus there will be deciduous trees added where needed.

Beverly, Coming along very nicely. I saw the video as well. Action packed 26 seconds. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

While folks were in Medford, I was busily weathering our track. Here's a photo of the first coat. The colour is too light and the coat is inconsistent, so a sceond coat is in my future The locomotive shown with the track is from the Markin Henschel-Wegmann 2005 Insider train set....





I also wanted to let folks know that only one Grünberg Zett-Züge Test, April 2, 2010 remains on YouTube. The first one has been deleted because it was, well, quite inferior.

Looks good, Bev. I suggest Arizona Rock & Minerals ballast. They make a world of difference.