Update

Okay, I've managed to finish four out of the six platforms. I hope to finish the last two platforms this week. It's starting to come together. I'm still working out how to implement the arched roof top. Originally I was thinking of making the truss structure out of sheets of plastic. However, I've had a change of heart after working with the platforms. There's no way I would be able to cut out identical arches using the sheets. I would go mad. So now I'm considering using skinny styrene tubing that I can bend into the arched truss structure, but I would need to build a jig first.

Refined version

Well I think I'm getting closer to the final version of the layout. I know there will be additional modules to extend the north and east lines. And although the station is a terminus, there will be another module on the west end to hold the station and the town. The town will take the most time to build. I may decide to break that part into two separate modules. One for the railway station and courtyard and the other longer module for the old town square. For now, I'll focus my attention on the platform area and then begin building the bridge. Hopefully I'll have gained enough experience with styrene to tackle the station building. I've got two ideas for the building. One is similar to the Koln station with glass exterior. However, I haven't seen any clear sheets of styrene plastic. The other is an older style building with steep roof and a clock tower. I'm leaning towards the latter because it gives me the option of running Era IV or V trains without any inconsistencies provided I avoid using the ICE tunnel portals. I could even run Era III locomotives, but I'd have to avoid installing catenaries. But I really like the look of those portals. If I'm ambitious, I might custom build a wide portal to accommodate both north and east set of tracks.

If you squint really hard, you can see the connector tracks between modules. Jurgen described his experience with the club's modular layout. While preparing for the train show, they had some damage to the track as some of the tables shifted. Most modules use a single track connector that extend by a certain distance into each module. This single track links the permanently fixed track by way of rail joiners. The connector is not screwed into the table top. After that experience, he said they were going to go with a three-piece design instead. Two short track pieces at either end of a long straight track to form the connector instead of a singular long track. If the table shifts unexpectedly, only the short little pieces will be damaged. The permanent track will remain undamaged and firmly affixed to the layout. Taking that to heart, my connector will be composed of two 1" pieces at each end of a 4" piece. The N-Trak society specifies a single 8" length of track for connecting modules together. However, that is only applicable if I want to connect my module to someone else's module.

The other words of wisdom Jurgen passed on to me was don't screw in the rails that go through a tunnel. The reason behind this is that if you have to access those tracks, it will be a bugger trying to remove that track because you won't be able to manipulate a screwdriver in the tunnel. So now I'm thinking of using clips for the sections that go onto my bridge. The clip is fixed to the table and the track is simply snapped into the clip. I'm also considering allowing the truss structure of the bridge to be removable.

More changes

Version 26 and growing. Sigh. I seem to be having some difficulty with the switching. Ideally, trains coming from either north or east lines should be able to access any of the platforms at the station. That's what the guys from the club told me. It makes sense. For example, all trains coming out of the station might need to be diverted onto the east bound tracks while the north set of tracks are closed for maintenance. That's what would happen in real life. Unfortunately I have limited space to work and my first attempt at switching allowed only the middle two tracks to be accessible by north and east set of tracks. So I'm considering using a cross over switch just before the bridge. You can see from the above drawings that I decided to put a bend in the layout at the switching yard. This will give the layout some depth, but complicate my bench work plans. On the plus side I'm definitely getting better at using the XTrkCad software. Now I've got to figure out how to draw sweeping curves for the bench. Al built a corner module for the club's layout. The sides of the module is perfectly curved to match the track work. I like this much better than the typical angular look of most benchwork.

Costing

I was playing around with XTrkCad and discovered that it can generate a parts list of the layout. It can also total up the cost if you provide it a price for each part. Here's list of parts for the center section where the switching occurs. Good thing it's taking so long to build the models. I can spread out the purchase over a period of time.

XTrkCad Parts List

--- ---------------------------------------------------------
Qty Description
--- ---------------------------------------------------------
010 Minitrix 14903 Gerade-17,2mm
006 Minitrix 14904 Gerade-10,42mm
005 Minitrix 14905 Gerade-76,3mm
015 Minitrix 14906 Gerade-54,2mm
003 Minitrix 14908 Gerade-27,9mm
009 Minitrix 14909 Gerade-33,6mm
006 Minitrix 14917 Bogen-R3-15
012 Minitrix 14927 Bogen-R4-15
006 Minitrix 14954 Weiche-R4-15-L
008 Minitrix 14955 Weiche-R4-15-R
006 Minitrix 14934 Elektromagnetischer Antrieb-L
008 Minitrix 14935 Elektromagentischer Antrieb-R
006 Minitrix 66741 Weichenlaterne-L
008 Minitrix 66742 Weichenlaterne-R
014 Minitrix 66740 Beleuchtungseinrichtung fur Weichenlaterne--- ---------------------------------------------------------

Exchange

I spent Sunday designing the rail way lines for my station layout. As I stated in a previous blog entry, the layout was inspired by the hauptbahnhof in Köln. The platforms are situated in the left section. The center section will house the switching and the right section will contain a bridge crossing over the river. The center section took me quite a bit of time to work out. I went through many versions before settling on this one. At one point I had five electric double slip switches and twelve turn outs amounting to over $500. That didn't even include the solenoids or all the single track! Cringe. Here I thought the rolling stock was the expensive part of this hobby. Hoo boy was I wrong. Overall I'm pretty happy with the results and managed to optimize the equipment down to only 14 turn outs and zero double slip switches. In looking at Bachmann, Atlas and a few other manufacturers, I decided to go with Minitrix due to the quality. It's more expensive, but worth it in the long run.

Lessons learned

The guys at the CEE club have been providing me with some great advice, but there's nothing like hands on experience to really understand the nuances of a particular project. My first platform is complete, but there are some mistakes that I made along the way.

I mentioned the first mistake in the previous entry by being impatient and not waiting long enough for the plastic pieces to harden at the joint. The instructions recommend 20 minutes, but that is dependent on the amount of solvent you apply, which led to my second mistake. I applied too much solvent in some places and it literally melted some of the plastic. The instructions on the bottle said to apply sparingly, but until you try it yourself, it's difficult to know how much to use. Just be aware that the solvent is quite viscous and it does get into joints through capillary action. I'm definitely wiser now. The third mistake was applying too much pressure to a joint. As I said, the solvent literally melts the plastic so if you clamp too tightly, you will get some deformation in your joints. Fortunately, the mistakes with my first platform are difficult to see in poor lighting and most are confined to the base, which will be obscured by the trains.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the results. The platform looks a little plain so I am considering adding some architectural detail to give it more depth. However, once the arched ceiling is installed, the focal point will change, but that will have to wait. I have five more platforms to finish building.

Gluing and sanding

Now to glue the pieces together. Because the sheets for the platform are only 21" long, I had to glue three pieces together to make it long enough to span the table. Originally I decided to go with 4' long table, but my eight car ICE3 exceeded that length so I decided to go with a 5' table. Gluing the pieces together wasn't that difficult. The adhesive isn't really glue, but a solvent that helps to fuse the styrene pieces together. I laid two pieces flat on the table and made sure their ends butt joined tightly. Using the applicator that came with the solvent, I brushed the liquid over top of the joint and held them together for approximately 20 seconds as the instructions stated. The liquid worked its way into the joint. However, I discovered that it was necessary to let the solvent dry for about 20 minutes otherwise the joint was quite flimsy and would bend. So patience is a virtue when modeling with plastic.
After the pieces were firmly joined together, I cut 3" off the length of long strip plastic so that it was 5' in length and clamped it between a 90 degree aluminum corner bracket and a flat aluminum strip. This held the platform surface sturdy so that I could sand the edges to remove any discontinuity at the joints. Although the solvent dries clear, it is glossier than the styrene so you can see traces of the solvent at certain angles. Since these platforms will be covered by the arched trellis ceiling, I'm not too concerned. However, I will be more careful with the applicator on the next platform.
With sanding completed, I had to glue the side pieces of the platform to the top surface. Having the 90 degree aluminum corner bracket came in handy as you can see in the photograph. This will ensure that I will have consistent sides that are absolutely straight. The added benefit is that the platform heights will be consistent along its entire length as well. I picked up the 3' sections of the aluminum from Canadian Tire for under 15 dollars. While I was there I also picked up some small aluminum spring at the same time. I've learned from previous construction projects that having the right tools makes the job go so much smoother.