Layout Update #2

 The month of April was focused on getting my foam boards and prepping to glue down the track.  There was plenty of work to do for this seemingly simple task.

Here we have the layout with two 4'x8' sections of foam.  Why two?  It was just as easy to get 2 home as 1 so I got 2.  Never hurts to have a back-up

While I have the track down I traced the plan directly to the foam board.  This helps for location of the holes for the wires as well as the placement of the ground texture.

The holes for the wiring were make with a hot foam cutter.  I got most of them wrong initially but it was easy enough to make new holes later on.

Next step is to add texture to the foam.  I do this early in the process so that the layout will have a more complete look even while I am still working on it.  I used some leftover tile grout from my new house build for the texture paste.  Mix it like wet peanut butter and spread it on.  While it is still wet use a plastic bag to dab the grout to add additional texture.

My overall scenery plan is desert models after southern Arizona.  For this I start with a base coat of Honey Brown.  I will lighten this up later.  I painted the track location first so I could quickly put the track back down while I finished the rest.

This phase is now complete.  At this point the track is down and the basic texture and color have been applied.  Next will be verifying the operation of the track electrically and then gluing it all down.

Layout Update #1 Lessons Learned

 With the big house move complete I am now able to work on my layout.  As mentioned in one of my earlier posts I talked about using the Bachmann 'Your First Railroad' track pack to build my layout.  I originally planned to buy the track pack on Amazon but, as happens for me, it went out of stock before I pulled the trigger.  This led to me buying a bunch of EZ Track second hand.  I then found a seller on eBay with the track pack for a good price.  The end result is I have WAY more track than I need for this project.

The basic plan is listed below.  This layout was the subject of a Model Railroader video series from the late 90s that you can find on YouTube.  

The base for the layout is a 4'x8' table but I opted for future flexibility and built 2 4'x4' table each with 2 2'x4' plywood tops.  Each leg has feet for leveling.  I have not attached the table together at this point but will be happening soon.

I have had the track down and working for just over a week.  I have resisted the temptation to change the layout.  My goal is to get trains running and work on tuning locomotives and rolling stock.  Layout changes are a distraction at this point.

After several hours, now, of running trains here are a few lessons learned or lessons already know but now have practical application.

Track

When first getting back into the hobby I was torn between the 'old' way of flex track and cork roadbed for my track. I have used this approach in the past and it is still the most realistic and adaptable method of trackage.  I wanted something quick and easy to setup and something that was reconfigurable without demolishing the entire layout.  Roadbed track was the obvious solution.  EZ track does not have a great reputation amongst 'serious' model railroaders but it is extremely popular with entry level and enthusiasts. The turnout in particular seem to give people the most problems.  In my experience so far, the turnouts are much less of an issue than proper tuning of rolling stock and locomotives.

I have been moving ahead with the painting of the track and the roadbed and so far the enhanced track has been running great and looks great.

So far my layout is all the steel track and I have plans to eventually upgrade as much as possible to nickel silver track.  I have not had issues with conductivity and I and I am not using any bus wires or feeders.  With this size of a layout I would not expect to have to run feeders no matter what type of track is used.

Wheels

There is absolutely no reason to run plastic wheels.  I have upgraded most of my rollingstock to metal wheels and anything not upgraded are not allowed on the layout.  Plastic wheels are collectors and transmitters of dirt.  They are more likely to have gauge and running issues.  Don't waste your time trying to make them work, just upgrade.

Having said that, not all metal wheels are created equally.  I have run wheels from Kadee, Kato, Atlas and Walthers.  My experience so far leads me to say NEVER run Kadee wheels.  Every single car that has had derail issues on the my layout  has had Kadee wheels.  Almost all these issue were corrected by changing to a different brand.  So far the best wheels I have run are the Walthers Proto wheels and they are basically flawless.

If you need to change your trucks I recommend either the Kato or Atlas trucks.  I like the Kato the best as they have rotating bearing caps and really look cool.  They are also less expensive than Atlas trucks.  DO NOT use the Kadee self-centering trucks.  Not only do they have crappy wheels, even if you change the wheels you will not be able to keep them on the tracks.

Couplers

Obviously knuckle style couplers are the way to go unless you are a nostalgia train collector.  Back in the day (early 1990s) Kadee #5 was the standard by which all couplers are judged.  I was an early user of McHenry couplers and generally liked them.  Lately I have used a bunch of the Bachmann EZ Mate couplers. The new stand seems to be Kadee #148 whisker couplers, and I just bought a bunch but have not tried them yet. So far I feel that there is just no reason to run anything other than the Kadee couplers.  All of the issues I have had with couplers have been with the plastic style.

Adjustment of the couplers is also a huge area of issues.  Your Kadee Multi-Purpose Gauge #205 or #206 is your best friend.  It is critical, if a bit tedious, to make sure you get the coupler height EXACTLY right.  Don't settle for close or good enough get it right.  It is amazing to me how a miniscule variance in height is magnified on the layout.  Two cars with a variance in different directions will have big problems once you start running them side by side.  Those same two car might run perfectly when coupled to different cars.  Just get it right and save the headache.

Locomotives

I have amassed a collection of about 17 locomotives since returning to the hobby.  Many are my old Athearn blue box models from 25-30 years ago.  I also have Front Range, Proto 2000 and IHC locomotives.  Most of my collection right now is Athearn RTR and Athearn Genesis.  The modern Athearn models are absolutely the best I have ever run in my limited experience.  Every on that I have works perfectly and they look amazing.  They are so good that many of my dreams of upgrading my old Athearn BB models seem to be a huge waste of time and effort (I'll still do it but I will never be happy with them).  I have been running my Athearn Genesis GP40-2, GP 38-2 and my Athearn RTR SW1500 and they are all just perfect.  Sadly, my 6 axle stuff is mostly too big for my 18"R curves on the layout but I have not tried them yet.

My current number two locomotive choice are the old Proto 2000 models but these have their pitfalls.  I have three so far - GP30, GP20 and GP38-2.  Of those three only the GP30 is running right.  These things don't have a good shelf life so if you buy one, even if it is 'new' and never run, will require work to get them going.  They will need to be completely cleaned and new lube applied.  You will likely need to replace the axle gears as well.  I think that the overall quality of the models make this effort completely worthwhile.  They really look great and are a rivals for any of the current top tier models.

Rolling Stock

This is the area of the hobby that I am the most confused about.  I'm not sure why things have move towards phenomenally expensive, super detailed ready to run models and away from simpler and less expensive kits.  Don't get me wrong, the new stuff is amazing!  But it costs so much how can you afford to assemble even a small train of these cars?

The core of my collection are the old Athearn BB, Roundhouse and Accurail kits that are 25-30 years old.  I have some other brands as well including some really amazing WathersPROTO and Intermountain RTR models, But I spend my money on the old kits.  Once I get the core of the collection to the numbers I want then spending more on one ore two really mazing models will make more sense.

No matter what kind of model you have they will all need some work to run properly.  Mainly this will be coupler adjustments and weight.  We have already covered couplers so lets focus on weight.  NMRA standards for HO scale call for a base weight of 1oz plus 1/2oz per inch of car length.  

I have always felt that the relationship between length and weight in these standards is kind of strange and I guess it comes from the assumption that most of the added weight will be added to the center of the model.  I have found that the it is more important to place the weight over the wheels rather than in the center of the car.  If you do this the effect of the weight is placed exactly where you need it - at the wheels. My personal standard is start with a weight of 4-4.5 oz as the target weight for all cars.  Place the weight evenly over each truck and any excess is centered.  This solves just about all tracking issues and can minimize bad wheels (*cough* Kadee). 

One area that the old models have over the new RTR is in the area of adding weight.  The older kits are made to be easily taken apart to adjust the weight as needed.  Most of the new stuff seems to be underweight and it can be difficult, if not impossible, to safely disassemble to add more weight.

Summary

I have been having a blast running trains on my silly little layout.  You should not underestimate the importance of being able to actually use your model collection while you move ahead with your grand layout designs.  The practical experience I have gained from participating in formal operating sessions as well as being able to get hours of continuous running on my home layout has been priceless.  There is no substitute for hands on experience in this hobby.

I have joined a local modular club and most of my future efforts will be directed towards building modules.  These use more traditional track and building methods but I think my little layout will continue to be an important tools for testing and tuning as well as experimenting with techniques and that was always the main purpose.

Bachmann EZ Track Upgrade How-To - Powered Re-railer

 My Bachmann EZ Track upgrade project is progressing and this time we have a very challenging section to work on - the powered re-railer.  This is probably the worst piece in the EZ track collection. It is a horrible design and it doesn't work very well as a re-railer and it is needlessly complicated as a power track.  Having said that it is the piece we have to work with so here we go.

The basic track piece is from a design I used as a kid in the late 70s except mine didn't have the roadbed and the connectors were round rather than the spade style.  They really should have done a proper redesign of this a LONG time ago.

This seems to be the newer style of this section as it has the index pins to hold the track in place.  If these were the only areas where it was glued it would be very easy to get apart but it's not going to be that easy.

Where the re-railer meets the roadbed there is glue almost all the way around.  You will need to take your time getting this apart.

I used a sharp hobby knife and a small flat screwdriver to gently separate the track from the roadbed.  Start in the middle just like the other sections.  You will get a pop when the center index pen comes loose but you will still have to carefully work all the glue spots apart.

You can see how many location they used to glue the track to the base.  Clean off an excess glue and smooth an nicks from the knife.

You can see how the terminals are connected to the rails.  This is a good time to mark the terminals in some way so you know which is which.  A notch on the plastic or something like that will be very handy in the future.  I, of course, didn't think of that until I had reassembled it.  It does seem like the near side rail is always the right terminal.

Taping is the same as the other sections.  I wanted the 'ballast' to flow farther up to the wood sections so I did a little more taping.  If you do it this way the track section will be taped and painted twice but I like how it turned out.

Base painting is done.  I used brush on paint to fill in a little on base around the re-railer.  If you don't do this you will have a nice black line all the way around the re-railer.  I used the same paint to paint the sides of the rails and to dry-bruch over the wood.

Reassembled and weathering washes ha been applied.  I think this looks pretty good.  I think I will try and build some sort of track-side shack or something to hide the plugs.  These do not look right to me as grade crossings as a lot of people do.

I think in the future I will design my own power section from standard track sections.  An idea for a future project but for now this will do nicely.

Bachmann EZ Track Upgrade How-To - Turnouts

The next step in the track upgrade project are the turnouts.  These are a bit more complicated than the straight and curve pieces and deserve careful consideration.  I am working with the standard trainset turnout.  These don't have a number like other turnouts as they are designed to replace either a 9" straight or an 18 degree curve.

This is the turnout I am upgrading.  It is a left-hand remote turnout with steel track and black roadbed. 
 

There is lots of stuff on the bottom.  The wire connected to the switch actuator and next to that is a cover held on by some screws.

 Before we can get to painting we have got to figure out how to get the track off the roadbed.  This is different from the straight pieces in several ways.  The obvious difference is the motor and the linkage that operates the turnout.  Another difference is the turnouts are not glued down but have screws to hold them in place.  We will start by removing the linkage.

Remove the six screws that cover the linkage.  Take moment to study this before removing any parts.  It is a good idea to take a picture at this point to make reassembly easier.

The parts are easy to remove.  Remove the connecting rod first. It just lifts off the gear and slide out of the tab from the track.  Remove the gear next.  Keep all these parts in a safe place. You could remove the actuator is you want to.  I left mine on but it does complicate things a little.   

 

Once you have removed all the gizmos its time to flip it over and remove the track.

See that tiny little screw?  It is very small.  It is a Phillip's head but I used a very small flat head to get it out. The hardest part is finding the right size screwdriver.

Two more towards the center.  See them?  There is a fourth screw at the other end.  No picture but you get the idea.

We are now ready to prep these parts for paint!

Once you have disassembled the track you can prep the parts for painting pretty much the same way as for the straight pieces. You can review the previous post for materials and such.

Here are the painted parts with the painters tape still in place.  The track is a little fiddly to get the tape on all the rails but it is worth the time to get a good coverage.

I taped off the area on the roadbed where the trunout slider rests.  I wanted to make sure this had good movement once reassembled.

I taped off this area above the actuator.  Seems to be some sort of ground or contact that seemed like it shouldn't get painted.

I spent a lot of time taping off this notch but in retrospect I should have just painted it.  It stands out a too much now.

Make sure that when you hand paint the rail sides you leave the contact pints unpainted.  If you don't you will have to go back and clean things off to get a good electrical connection.

Paint the rail sides just like you did for the straight pieces.  Don't get paint on the ends of the rails where the joiners connect.

Turnout is reassembled and needs just a little bit more detail work to be ready.  The next one I do I will tape off the bottom of the roadbed around the switch mechanism and the wires.  I got a surprising amount of over-spray.  It didn't hurt anything but I could have caused some issues.

I was really intimidated thinking about how to do the turnout but they are actually no big deal.  Keep track of the parts and document how it all went together and you should have no issues.  Not sure what I will try next. The power re-railer is probably the most interesting thing left to try.

Bachmann EZ Track Upgrade How-to

 In my previous post I promised to show you how I did the upgrades to my EZ track.  For this project I am working with the steel track in black plastic.  This will work exactly the same with the nickel-silver track in grey.

To start with you need some EZ track.  You could also apply this technique with some of the other track and roadbed products out there but I've not tried any of those.

You will need to remove the track from the plastic roadbed.  I have mostly the older style of EX track which is just glued to the roadbed.  For this you gently pry the track off the roadbed.  I found this to be easier when you start in the middle of the track rather than then ends as there seems to be less glue in the middle.  The newer EZ track has some tabs on the bottom of the track to help hold it in place.  These should come apart in the same way.

For this project you will need some sort of dark brown spray-paint.  I like the Krylon camo dark brown.  This is nice and flat.  Next you need some type of stone effects paint.  For this I used Rustoleum American Accents.  This is a grey speckle paint. You need some painter's tape and maybe some mineral spirits for cleaning rails (I actually did not need this as I taped the rails).  Not pictured is some acrylic burnt umber paint and super glue.

Once you have separated the track and the roadbed you need to tape off the ends of the roadbed.  You want to make sure that the tabs and flat surfaces don't get any of the texture paint on them or the track sections will not go back together.

When you spray the stone effects paint it will go on blotchy and that is OK.  Do light coats and focus mostly on the sides of the roadbed.  I found it took 2 coats with a couple hours drying time between coats to get the best results.  I let the section dry over night before removing the tape.  Once fully dry the paint feels a little flakey so I gave it a coat of dull coat to help seal it.  

While waiting on the roadbe d to dry you can prep the track sections.  You could just paint these sections as is and is a rag and some mineral spirits to clean the tops of the rails before the paint dries.  Where I live paint dries FAST so I opted for taping the rails. Cut your painter's tape in thin strips and apply to the top of the rails. Fold the edges of the tape down and press tightly to the sides of the rails.  This is not too important as you will paint the side by hand later on. Make sure to wrap the tape around the ends of the rails as this is where the electrical contacts are.  

The painted track with the tape removed will look something like this.  I did not apply any dull coat to the track sections but you could before you remove the tape.  If you are using another brand of track you might skip this step if the plastic is already brown.

After everything has dried glue the track section back to the roadbed.  I used regular super glue and just put a drop on the ends of the ties and one in the middle of the ties.  You don't need to glue at each tie but I did most of them (maybe 3/4).  At this point you could call this done and it would look so much better but I did a little bit more.

This was the first project I used my Lance Mindheim India ink washes.  I used the #2 as it is the darkest.  TO be honest, it did not work too well so I used a combination of watered down acrylic black paint and the wash.  I did the acrylic first and then once it was mostly dry I dropped on the wash.  That worked pretty well.

Just do the wash on the top of the roadbed and mostly between the rails.  This just adds a realistic grime to the track.  If you wanted to do a wash on the sides use the color that is closest to your ground color to tie things in.  Don't for get to paint the sides of your rails with the Burnt Umber paint.

This is all there is to it.  I used some sandpaper to clean the tops of the rails and then rolled them by rubbing a metal washer over the rail tops to polish them.  This technique works for straight sections and curved sections in any size.  For the grey roadbed I would black prime the roadbed first and then do the texture paint.  This will keep the look consistent. The nice thing about this technique is that it improves the look of the track without the more permanent ballasting options.  You can still take this apart easily and reconfigure as needed while preserving the look.

Upgrading the Appearance of Bachmann E-Z Track

 When I made the decision to jump back into the model railroad hobby I was very interested in the various track and plastic roadbed products. The most common, and probably the most accessible, is the Bachmann EZ track system.  All of these types of track are pretty cool and seem to be a great place to start for new hobbyists.  As neat as they are they do have some drawbacks.

I have, over the last couple of months, purchased a pretty large collection of EZ track.  Most of it is the steel track with the black plastic roadbed.  Visually this stuff is pretty boring stuff. 

Plain black plastic track and roadbed is pretty boring and lacks much detail.

The roadbed does have a little texture but not much.

Looks a whole lot like a toy train which is really how it is marketed.

Sad

I spend many hours digging through YouTube videos looking for cool ideas on how to upgrade the appearance of the track. To be honest there is not really much useful information and much of what is there is how-to's on ballasting the track. Most of the ballasted EZ track I've seen is not really much of a visual upgrade.  But then I found John's Trains on YouTube.  He has a really nice HO layout but he was gifted a Bachmann starter set that includes EZ track.  We wanted to use the entire set but, like me, did not like to the look of the track.  He documented how he upgraded the track and the results are really great! I adapted his approach and here is the results I got.

This looks a lot better!  It actually looks like ballast.

Painted track and ties look very authentic.  I did some washes down the center of the track but you can't really see this in these pictures.

This looks more like a model and less like a toy but it still has its flexibility and portability.  It is still EZ track.

In my next post I will show you how I did this and the materials required.  I am also working on a post for EZ track turnouts, which are little more challenging to do.  Finally I will do a little diorama showing the final results and how this might look on a layout.  I hope this technique will make EZ track more of a viable basis for a 'serious' model railroad.