What did you do on your layout today? (N scale)

[katoftw]

The inclines just need to be pinned down or use some heavy object each side to stop sideways movements.

[Sheffie]

5 hours ago, Kiha66 said:

That looks great Sheffie!  Still need me to send you the extra crossing track with this plan?

 

Yes I do!. The two crossing pack I got from Amazon has what looks like concrete ties and no ramps, whereas the one that came with the starter pack has regular Kato ballast, a darker roadway bed, and ramps to match. So right now I don’t have enough to make a double crossing with matching ramps. But if you send me one crossing with matching ramps, I will have enough. 

[Pauljag900]

4 hours ago, Sheffie said:

 

Yes I do!. The two crossing pack I got from Amazon has what looks like concrete ties and no ramps, whereas the one that came with the starter pack has regular Kato ballast, a darker roadway bed, and ramps to match. So right now I don’t have enough to make a double crossing with matching ramps. But if you send me one crossing with matching ramps, I will have enough. 

Hi Sheffie

l think what you got in the set is the standard crossing track which is 20-021,if I m guessing correctly here then I think the item you bought is a re realer track 20-026 which also fits in as a crossing track with the crossing gate set,20-027.the reason I know this is because I did the same as you ha ha😂👍

so I ve got the gates and will get the re raider track in due course 👍

Edited February 1, 2019 by Pauljag900

[TRod]

Finally got time to have a play!

A day to myself so it was out with some track and all the new trains.

I have a LOT more track still, but that's all the turnouts (11).

I will have enough for 3 loops an end to end scenic route and hopefully enough yard space to break apart my giant freight train.

 

[TRod]

The layout was just a throw together to have some fun, certainly nothing serious.

[Pauljag900]

Work on the baseboards continues,almost done now.Need to cut a piece of foam for the backboard and paint it all to seal it up,glue the backscenes and foam in place and paint the facias which sit 3/4” higher than the baseboard,just in case as the track is very near the edge, then track laying can commence👍.

[bill937ca]

Where's the room for the beer fridge?

[bill937ca]

Making progress on the steam layout. But there is a pause in the action lately.

[Pauljag900]

6 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Where's the room for the beer fridge?

Ha ha,it s there mate,just inside the door👍👍😀

[Lina_Blue]

Starting my next Console City layout:

 

[Lina_Blue]

Now operational. With catenary poles and trains running.

I think it's a charming little depot.

 

*inspired by Eizan Dentetsu

Edited February 5, 2019 by Waisneed

[chadbag]

Today I made another set of 2  pair of feeders (enough to do one double track connection) and wired it to one power district for one detection block, and used another existing pair of feeders to wire another detection block in a different power district, and hooked the other ends up to the DR5088RC detection modules -- 1 module per power district.  I still have another double loop to wire in plus a single loop and a bunch of branches.   (In the second photo you can see one set of feeder pairs at the end of the split double track, and the other is at the very top of the photo near the left right before the curve).

 

(Ignore the wire jungle -- this is my experimentation test setup -- this summer I will redo the layout with actual planning and better wire placement).

 

[Pauljag900]

Impressive work there chad,I m just in the process of wiring my control board but it wo nt look anything like as technical as yours😂😂

[gavino200]

After almost two years, the NEX is finally lit up!

 

[gavino200]

On 2/7/2019 at 11:53 PM, chadbag said:

Today I made another set of 2  pair of feeders

 

 

What gauge wire is that you're using for those feeders?

[Kiha66]

The NEX looks great lit up, very futuristic for a train thats a decade old!  Did you use the kato lighting kit or something else?

[gavino200]

No, I'm using up the last bunch of TORMs that I have. This is TORM plus two layers of paper to turn down the brightness. I won't be buying these things again. They're not cheap and it takes quite a bit of work to get them to look right. 

 

I found a bunch of Kato light units but without diffusers. Maybe I can find a way to make some diffusers for them. 

 

BTW, you mentioned painting Kato LEDs with some Tamiya paint to make them look incandescent. What color was it? 

[chadbag]

29 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

 

What gauge wire is that you're using for those feeders?

 

The black and red feeders are 20 AWG.  When my supply is exhausted I've bought some 22 AWG.   I like the silicone sheathed stuff fo ad-hoc use so the outer sheathing is probably thicker than normal wire so they look heavier duty.

 

The main "bus" wires from the command station (gray/black and blue) are 14 AWG.  They just run from the command station to the other modules.  The feeders coming off are the 20/22 AWG for track and 22/24 AWG for accessories like switches etc.

[Kiha66]

I've used tamiya clear orange before, seems to work similar to the orange filter that the LED versions come with to help tone it down.  The warm white version (kato 11-214) looks very nice as is as an incandescent effect.  I've been meaning to get some more for my older JNR coaches. 

[gavino200]

3 minutes ago, Kiha66 said:

I've used tamiya clear orange before, seems to work similar to the orange filter that the LED versions come with to help tone it down.  The warm white version (kato 11-214) looks very nice as is as an incandescent effect.  I've been meaning to get some more for my older JNR coaches. 

 

Interesting. I didn't realize Kato made a warm white kit. I may pick up a pack at the yearly train show tomorrow, for my Orient Express and old Emperors Train. I still have to wait a while for components to come in the mail for my "stay alive" experiments. 

[Kiha66]

I haven't really seen much of the warm white version offered in the US, so I only came across it when searching for the best place to buy kato lighting kits.  Seems Amazon.jp usually has the best price for both types, if you buy them in the six light set you'll pay about $5 per car.  Plazajapan on ebay also sometimes has them for a similar price, but its hit and miss if they have them in stock at any one moment.

[chadbag]

I believe 11-213 is the single warm white and 11-214 is the warm white 6 pack (also called "bulb color").  11-211 is the white and 11-212 is the white 6 pack.

 

 

 

 

[chadbag]

katousa.com only lists the white version so I suspect that the warm white ones are imported outside KATO channels.

[Kiha66]

Sounds about right!  At the local hobby shop today the staff were complaining about kato USA not supporting kato Japan products properly.  They got a lot of used kato japan rolling stock that they were having trouble placing.  I was tempted by a 209 series, but its so much cheaper to buy from japan that I didn't bother. 

[gavino200]

I was so tempted to just order a bunch of these things. I even had them in my cart at Hobbysearch. But strength prevailed. I'm going to wait for my components and do this the cheap way! For the money I'll save, maybe I'll finally buy myself one of those Chinese trains!

Edited February 9, 2019 by gavino200