The Beginning of the Great Small Train Adventure

Model railroading has been a long-time interest. Years ago my three sons and I attempted to create a 4x8 set up based on the Kalmbach publication "HO Railroad That Grows". It was great fun, but although we had moderate success with putting down track and running trains, we never got beyond the basics with the scenery.

After years away from the hobby, I have finally decided it is time to put my railroading plan into action. Space limitations dictate a small layout and a switch from HO to N scale. After almost a decade in storage the powerpack and modest collection of rolling stock were dug out and inspected. A quick trip to "Ken's Trains", the local N scale specialty store, added some track to the project ..and the adventure began!

The Power Pack

Nestled in the container with the N rolling stock was an MRC Railpower 1370. I knew nothing about it, but it must have been recommended to me several years ago at the time of purchase. It appeared to have connectors for both DC (to power the train) and AC (to power lights to be added later). Unfortunately, there were no instructions included, but the wiring wasn't too difficult to figure out.

A photo on a rr web site showed the blue wire connected on the right, so I started with that. Since I didn't yet have a feeder track (used to connect to Kato track) I used an adapter wire to make the connection. It took a few tries to figure out how to remove the unijoiner (clips that hold track together) but it wasn't difficult to do.

With the old-time locomotive on the tracks, the Railpower 1370 worked perfectly on the first try.

So far, so good.

Which track to use?

A bit of browsing "the net" and reading model rr publications gave me the track options available. Keeping in mind that I am a beginner, only time and experience will determine if the choices were good ones. Deciding that ease of use and reliability took precedence over flexibility and a more natural appearance (and in the interest of "starting somewhere") I thought that Kato Unitrack seemed like the best way to go. This track snaps together and the roadbed is built-in making it quick and easy to assemble.

The appearance of the Kato track should easily be made to look "more natural" with the addition of paint and ballast as part of the scenery.

The basic oval was very easy to put together and the "elderly" old-time engine and cars circled the track with no difficulty. Just what I needed. Early success!

Choosing a Layout

26" X 38"

This proved to be more difficult than I had expected. There are many publications and web sites offering info on track plans and I browsed through several of them. The current plan is to use a layout designed by the track manufacturer. Kato offers many suggestions on their web site, and lists the track parts needed.

I chose this plan because it comes close to fitting my size limitations, yet offers switching and a couple of tunnels. There is a prefabricated layout offered for this, but I decided against it. I wanted a harbor-side setting and I thought this would be easier to achieve starting from scratch; -at least I hope it tuns out that way!

The original plans are available on the Kato web site at: http://www.katousa.com/track-plans/colorado-western.html

The Layout Base

Since the layout must be portable, the search was on for a lightweight material to be used as a base. Research indicated that extruded styrofoam would be practical. The local Home Depot and area lumber yards carried only the pink foam board made with polyisocyanurate. It was suggested that although this is fine for insulation, it is not practical for model railroading. A member of modelrailroadforums.com described it as a "product that doesn't cut well" and "hard to drill through without making a mess (and stinking up the place as well). Many common scenery paints and adhesives interact badly..").

One lumber yard had 2x4x8 extruded foam board. However, it was expensive because it has a foil-faced sheathing, an extra I didn't want. A call to nearby National Lumber revealed they had one sheet of 1x4x8 Dow Blue (Styrofoam) extruded foam board. Though somewhat shopworn, and not the preferred "square edged" sheet, it was suitable for my purpose and they were willing to cut two 28" x 40" panels for me. I used "Liquid Nails for Projects and Foam Board" to stick the two panels together, creating the 2" x 28" x 40" base I wanted.

Here's a link to the above-mentioned forum:

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12748

The Space Beneath

To create an area beneath the base to allow for running wires to switches and future lighting, I cut scraps of the foam board to make a 2" wide grid on the bottom surface. This was another learning experience. I tried several cutting tools including a carpet knife and a hacksaw blade. A sharp kitchen knife gave the smoothest cut but still not as smooth as I would have liked.

Eventually the base will be sided with some sort of trim so that none of the styrofoam of the base and grid will be visible. (If I ever attempt another layout or other project using foam board, I would probably invest in a modest hot wire styrofoam cutter to get smoother cuts.)

I used T pins to hold the grid in place until the adhesive had time to dry.

The Preliminary Layout

After adding the item number for each track section to the layout diagram and sorting the track by item number, I began to put it together much like a puzzle. After many attempts, several from the beginning, I had to acknowledge that it wasn't going to work. Each time I ended up with sections that didn't meet as pictured; -and the total length of the layout was much longer than the 38" limit. It became clear that either the layout image was incorrect; -or I was misinterpreting something.

The next day I tried one more time to assemble the layout as pictured in the diagram, but with the same result. I removed some sections of track, and added others that were not listed. The result was the layout above, which looked roughly similar to the original diagram and measured the desired 38" in length. The unused track sections in the center of the layout are those left over. I may never understand the reason for the differences.