The Union Pacific Soggy Bottoms Subdivision (HO scale)


Work continues on the RustEze Medicated Bumper Ointment shipping/receiving building.
I have drawn the lines on the upper part of the floor. I have positioned a couple of boxcars on the floor to give an idea of how they will fit in the building.
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The right side of the floor will be notched to fit around the door I beams.
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I am using some Plastruct 1/2" I beams to bring the floor up to the level of the boxcar doors.
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Here I have glued the I-beams in place to support the floor.
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Holy kumquats, Batman! It actually fit correctly on the first try! That never happens. At least to me. But the floor fits correctly. I will glue some styrene around the bottom edges to conceal the gap.
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Here is a pic of a couple of boxcars inside the building.
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And with the doors in place. The doors will be cut and glued in the open position.
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I glued some Plastruct .125 x .250 strips together to make some .125 x .500 strips. these will go under the bottom edge of the floor to seal the gap and provide support for the edge of the floor. I have placed on the floor so you can see how they'll be positioned.
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I have decided to relocate the entrance doors to the back sides of the building. In their current position, people entering the facility would walk right into the area where the forklifts would be entering and exiting the boxcars. Management does not like that idea. After the floor is installed, I'll glue some styrene sheet along the inner walls to give them a finished look and hide the mold marks. Then I'll patch the outer wall and foundation.
I had a thought earlier: Why am I putting so much time and effort into something for which there's not even a prototype? The answer: I don't know. But I'm having fun doing it, and that's really all that matters!
 
Except for some strips of .100 x .312 styrene I want to install on each side of the pits, the interior is ready for paint. 2 reasons for the above strips:
1. The height of the tie spikes is pretty close to .100, so that will aid in installing some styrene strips from the walls of the pits over to the side of the rails to cover the ties.
2. A .312 strip on each side of the pit will center the track perfectly in the middle of the pit. Win/win!
Here is an overhead shot of the interior of the building:
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The doors will be in the left side corners, one in each corner.
A view of the front wall:
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A view of the back wall:
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There will be styrene L-angle installed along all the upper edges of the pits to protect the vulnerable concrete corners, and maybe along the vertical corners of the pits, I haven't decided yet.
I also 'patched' the outside of the building where the doors were originally supposed to be installed. The joints didn't come out perfectly, but hey, isn't that what shrubbery is for?! ;)
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I also shaved off all of the locating strips on the inside of the roof panels, because with the additions I've made they don't fit right anyway. I rubber banded the roof into position, then used Testors thin plastic cement to glue them together. Once they were dry, I ran a bead down the inside seam as well. Came out pretty good, I think! The roof on this building will be removable, but I don't plan to light it.
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A pile of styrene bits & bobs that will go in my scrap load container.
I also put up the 4 LED lights I bought, more to get them out of the way than anything right now. They do a pretty fair job of lighting up that area. That is where the 19 foot stretch of benchwork will be located. The two ceiling fixtures will be replaced with some LED double ring lamp fixtures. On the I-beams, I installed some 1 x 3's with construction adhesive, the cut some squares of 3/8" plywood and glued them to the sides. The plywood is even with the edge of the I-beam. I will install a 1 x 6 cut to fit the I-beam on the outer sides and across the front, like the one on the left where the telephone is.
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I still have some cleaning to do, and I'd like to give the wall a coat of paint. I guess I can say, though, that construction has started on my layout.
 
I got the basement wall I-beams framed in. I need to paint them next.
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I left a space at the bottom of the boards just in case any water gets in. That's not something we generally have an issue with, but just in case...
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I want to give the shipping/receiving building a coat of gray primer. I'm leaning towards a light tan color for the outside, maybe a light yellow for the interior walls. After all, buh-na'-nuhs are the Minions favorite food, you know!
(Watch the first 4 minutes.)
 
Today was primer day. (And y'all thought it was Sunday!)
I gave the I-beams a quick coat of Zinsser primer. It's good stuff, but smells kind of like a wet diaper!
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I also gave the shipping/receiving building a coat of Testors Model Master gray primer. The outside color will be what Testors calls 'sand', and the interior will be cadmium yellow. The Minions work better in brightly colored rooms, and I like the color.
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I'm going to hold off installing any entrance doors until I know how this will be oriented on the layout, and how it will sit relative to the main building. I will also have to put a door in the back wall so the forklifts can transit between the buildings, but that will have to wait as well.
 
I gave the primer on the building a week to cure, then masked the outside of the building and shot the concrete color. The painters tape I used said it was low tack.
On this side it was:
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The front
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and the back
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had some issues, however! :mad:
Not sure what happened. After I had all the styrene glued in place, I thoroughly washed the inside and outside of the building with warm water and a few drops of soap. I scrubbed it well and rinsed it very thoroughly. I let it air dry for several days, and never touched it with bare hands, always had rubber gloves on. I did notice that the primer stuck to the styrene 'patches' everywhere, it only lifted on the factory plastic. The primer is Testors Model Master gray acrylic primer, thinned 6 parts paint to 1 part thinner. What I use for thinner is 91% isopropyl alcohol diluted 50% with distilled water. I've never had this issue before. Homey not amused!
When I spray the interior, I'll cut a piece of thin cardboard, like from a cereal box, and lay that on the floor.
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I'm still plugging away at painting the walls behind my eventual layout. I got 3 sections painted, still have the two large sections to do, and I'm going to paint the meter enclosure.
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I went to Menards and bought 4 10 foot long 1x4's, and 4 10 foot long 1x2's. Cutting 12 inches off each board will give me what I need to make 2 19 foot L-girders.
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Most of the pile of wood you see to the left of the 10 footer's will be reused for the new layout. The original 2x2 legs are too short, though. I want this layout up a bit higher than they will reach. I want to be able to roll around under the layout using that round mechanic's seat. My legs and back will appreciate that!
 
I finished painting the wall and meter cabinet.
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I also bought 4 8' 2x2's. These will be the legs for the long table. The 2x2 on the top left is pretty skanky on the one end, but that will get cut off. The bottom of the L-girder web will be 51" from the floor. The bottom line is 51" from the end, and the top line is where the top of the joist will be. I need to get the table built so I know how long the 1x2 rear bracing has to be. I'm guessing a 10 footer will do it, but I want to be sure. I hope to get started on the table tomorrow.
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Excellent job on the model building! I would ask a question about the basement, however. When you attached the vertical pieces of wood, did you leave space at the top or the bottom to allow expansion of the floor, in case the building settles? This is called "floating". In places where I have heavy weight hanging on the walls, I use 2x4 top and bottom "plates", with a gap at the top (usually about 2" will do. Holes are drilled in the top "plate" large enough to allow 16 penny nails to slip through. The nails are nailed into whatever beams form the ceiling of the basement (use a slightly smaller diameter drill to drill a pilot hole. If the basement floor should heave upward, or the house settle downward, the vertical wood pieces won't buckle. Just a suggestion from a lot of personal experience!

P.S.: At least your boxcars have roofwalks. Do your freight trains have waycars (cabooses) on them. Removal of the prototype roofwalks make the cars look naked, and an EOT device just doesn't do it for me! ;)
 
Thanks, trailrider! There is a bit of room at the top and bottom of the boards. The layout itself will not be fastened to the boards, though.
I do plan to have cabooses (cabeese?) on my trains. I like the look of roofwalks, as well. For me, personally, a train just doesn't look right without a caboose. And since my layout will be set somewhere sort of halfway close to around 1957 (give or take 20 years) a caboose will look right at home!
I just cut the 2x2's for the legs to a length of 58-3/4" (51" to the bottom of the girder web, 3-1/2 for the girder web, 3/4" for the thickness of the 1x2 girder flange, and 3-1/2" for the height of the joist). I stood one of them up next to me and realized that would put the layout a lot higher than I would like. I think I might cut them back to an even 48". Some people like to see the layout from eye level or close to it. I prefer to be able to see what's happening, where the turnouts are, be able to reach in and do things, etc. Nothing against those who prefer their layouts up high, it's just not for me.
This does mean I won't be able to scoot around under that layout as easily, but I plan to spend more time above it than below it anyway!
 
It is an important day in the history of the Union Pacific Soggy Bottoms Division: Construction of the expansion has officially commenced! The first two 1 x 4's have been joined together! These will be the girder web for one of the 19 foot long L-girder's that will span the rear of the layout.
I used a level clamped to the boards to make sure that joint was straight. The short length of 1 x 4 is glued and screwed with 5 1-1/2" drywall screws on each side. The rule of thumb is to make the splice 4 times the width of the web. The web is made of 1 x 4's, which are actually 3-1/2" wide, so a splice plate 14" long would be sufficient. This piece is actually about 15-5/8" long, so I used it as is. I feel confident that won't compromise the strength of the L-girder! :p
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The flange will be offset by 12" so the joints won't be in line. I am using two 1 x 4's, one 9 feet long and one ten feet long, for the web. The flange will be made of two 1 x 2's, again one 9 feet long and one ten feet long, with the joints offset by 12".
I hope to have the layout essentially complete by the time I retire, which will be 9 years and 4 months from today!!
 
I got the first leg assembly built. This will be set in 4 feet from the end of the layout, and will go right in front of the I-beam. One side of the joist is longer than the other to create a 'pocket' for the ladder. The top of the joist is 48" from the floor. I will build a second assembly, then move my lumber pile so I can put the flanges on top of the girder webs. After that, I'll attach the L-girders to the leg assemblies.
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I didn't notice until I had this finished that the top corners of the cross braces extend a bit past the legs. Can't have that as that is where the L-girders have to go. A bit of trimming with the jig saw will fix that in no time!
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I also found time to get the RustEze shipping/receiving building painted. I'm going to have to get in there with a brush and do some touch-up work around the edges. Some of the over-spray from when I painted the concrete is showing through the yellow a little bit. At first I considered putting down some more yellow, but after thing about it, I think I'll leave it like it is. It looks like some dirt, dust, and forklift exhaust has gotten on the walls, exactly what you'd expect to happen in a building like this.
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Next step is to paint some angle stock a flat steel color and apply it to the outer corners and along the edges of the concrete. I want to go back and touch up the concrete block foundation as well. Still a ways to go on this!
 
I put the front and rear bracing on the table.
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The plywood gussets aren't as pretty as some pictures I've seen but they're good enough for me.
I also put a 1 x 4 across the ends of the girders, and put a joist across the ends as well.
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I put a piece of 2 x 4 on one side and mounted the electrical box. This box will house a switched outlet into which the first overhead LED light will be plugged. The lights are daisy-chained together, so when the switch is thrown they will all light come on.
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The outlet is hiding behind the I-beam.
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I still need to buy an electrical cord to go from the outlet to the box. I will get one with a 90 degree plug so as not to get caught on the ladder. A few cable staples will secure the cord out of harms way. There is another outlet on the other end of the table on the side of the meter cabinet. That is the one that will supply power for the layout.
 
I bought a cord this morning and got the switched outlet wired up. These take some special wiring, so be sure to read the instructions that come with the unit. The switch and the outlet are not electrically connected straight out of the box, so read the instructions. It's not difficult, though. If you've ever wired a switch or an outlet you can easily do it.
Off:
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On:
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Now that my 0-6-0 project (http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/bachmann-0-6-0-switcher-4439.30741/) is finished, I decided to get back to working on the RustEze shipping/receiving building. The two tracks will run inside the building, but the look of wooden tie-d track just doesn't seem right, so I'm covering both sides and the center. I have to leave a gap for the car's wheel flanges, so I made the center section about .110" narrower than the distance between the rails, leaving a gap of .055" on each side. The car's flanges have plenty of room now. The downside is that the center section can drop down between the tie plates and get uneven. So I made some spacers from some .040" x .250". These will be glued to the ties centered between the rails, and the center section section will be glued on to of them. This will keep things centered and flush with the top of the rails. The outer sections are already supported on the sides, so they don't require spacers.
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Here's a car inside the building. The center section is not glued in place yet, so it is a bit off-center in this pic:
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The styrene strips will be cut flush with the ends of the platforms inside the building, not left sticking out they are here. Before I install the track, though, I need to touch up paint along the bottom of the interior walls, and along the outside concrete block wall. All joints will be trimmed with angle stock to hide the joints, both inside and out. The center section will be glued to the spacers with plastic cement. I am debating on whether to use plastic cement or white glue to glue the styrene strips to the track. If I ever needed to remove them, white glue would certainly be easier to remove. The tracks will not be glued to the floor of the building. They are a very snug fit between the styrene strips I've already glued to the floor (see post #247, 2nd pic), so they won't go anywhere.
I just remembered: I need to install the Hayes wheel stops before gluing the styrene strips to the track. (If I can find them! :oops:)
One question for those of you familiar with indoor railroad tracks, such as inside a factory like this: Would the center and side sections covering the track be concrete, or would they be steel plate? Concrete would be a major pain to deal with if the tracks ever had to be replaced. I really don't know how this is dealt with. Anyone?
 
Still searching for those wheel stops! I KNOW I have them!
In the meantime, between dealing with life's continual interruptions, I have built the next section of benchwork. This section will have the outer loop on a 2% grade and the inner loop on level terrain. I am also planning, at this point, to put the RustEze plant in this section, as well as Rusty I. Beam's salvage yard.
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The L-girders are secured to the previous section using 2x2 cleats. The cleat is secured to the existing girder web with 3 screws from the back, then the new web is secured to the cleat with 3 screws from the side. The girder flange is 3/4" shorter than the web to allow the web to get all the way up to the existing benchwork.
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I have already cut all the wood and built the girders
for the next section, which will be just like this one but mounted on the other end of the long table. I'm not building it today, though.
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At this stage it's kind of a game of shuffle moving things around to make space in which to work. Eventually some of this wood and foam will be going to the landfill, but not until I know for certain I no longer need it for anything. Reusing as much as possible from the old layout was part of the deal I struck to allow expansion. I really want to see my little 0-6-0 in action!
 
flyboy,

Your construction looks good to me. Life can be very complicating in terms of making progress on a layout, I've found in the last several years. You are not along there. I have lots of stuff that has never run a lap, even on a 4x8, and its very frustrating, as some are really nice engines, etc.

Keep us posted, and good luck with advancing the 'end o' track.'
 
Thanks, Otis! I do plan to construct the 'blob' on the north end this weekend, then start on the section connecting the two blobs. That section will be 12" wide because that's the width of the river scene that was on the previous layout, and I want to incorporate that into this one. At least I hope to.
 



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