Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:38 pm Post subject: NOVAHILL ........ U.S.A.
Hi All,
Here is my new venture into HO ........ differing only in scale from Morganth as it is to be set in America a simple plan in essence but i intend to alter some of the areas in the middle the water may go but the bridges stop to add a second level aspect, as to a second level for the tracks i am undecided as yet dependant on the buildings i choose to include, the locos having room to turn around allowing switching operations inside the circuit.
As the plan is now it measures 12ft X 4ft ........ but will be 13ft X 40'' when finished.
Built in 4 modules making it easy to transport in the future one section hinged to allow access to the window which should provide good light over it especially in the summer evenings Code 83 peco track with an NCE powercab should provide good control.
The silos could move to the rear of the layout along the back track to add more interest there one of my first thoughts of adaptations
The wood came today and i made a start, off to look at track tomorrow
The plan will turn around like this . _________________
After wrestling with the tape measure for two days to fit in the plan to my room mixed with a combination of keeping it a useable room the width isnt going to work out ......and so out with the Jigsaw and now the boards measure 40'' long X 2ft wide 5 modules will make up a switching layout ....... a short L shape yard with warehouse.
..... the bottom left hand roads will bend around the corner to add interest with a warehouse. _________________
Last edited by upnick on Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:56 pm; edited 2 times in total
Saturday afternoon i got the code 83 flexitrack / points ......and finished the first three boards construction apart from the legs.
While purchasing the track a Walthers Centennial Mills background building proved a good purchase as Walthers include a back wall which is not needed with plenty of spare windows ........ with this in mind i extended the building to double its length with some plasticard for the roof i will cover with fine sand once it is in place.
Basics walls.
Spare wall & windows sprue.
Double length mock up.
Assembled 60 Thou plasticard strip to join both walls.
White Plasticard replacement roof 80 thou to give some structural strength .
Walls complete ........ a little filler to the main wall joint sanding and the addition of a longer loading dock /ladders and fittings will result in the mill giving more value for money from the kit. _________________
Last day today i can really spend time on the layout ......back to work on Tuesday ...lol
I didnt waste time though with my latest Walthers background building Tomaso's Market 6'' H x 4 1/8 W x 2 3/8 D a superb kit as usual from Walthers ...... when adding the window linings i cut two top liners from 30 thou plasticard and another end liner for the left side to add to the kit parts.
80 thou floors were put in for a few reasons a little more strenth .... interior details can be added at a later date and they provide a surface to attach the LED's to for lighting.
I am hoping to source some 1:87 items for the window displays before fitting plasticard backs to them.
Extra plastic strips were added to give the impression of half open windows.
A roundhouse D&H 50' gondola in kit form recieved a resin scrap load originally designed for 52's two 80 thou plasticard spacer inde the gondola provided a false floor for the load to sit on .kadee #5 couplers fitted
Plenty of rust powders and paint will make it a good addition to the stock.
Three of the boards went up on Sunday and i carried on laying track over the last two days to get it up and running and get more idea how things will look planning buildings, a scrap dealer of some kind is in mind.
Back boards will be added once building heights have been established.
Here are a few pics with some stock.
First two boards with track down.
One i weathered this week needing some rust streaking
Bought from ebay weathered
AC4400 Athearn S.P. dummy loco patched for U.P. needs grab irons and rails finishing off.
Novahill is progressing well with the crossing now replaced by back to back points giving better operation within the layout as pointed out to me ...... the latest buildings for it are a three road car repair shop to go at the right hand end, and Parkview Terrace which provides plenty of combinations of height / floors having the levels marked out for the builder to choose.
I glued the structure to a plasticard base for handling and later mounting to the boards, also plasticard three floors were added and will allow different areas to be lit without light seepage, hoping to add interior detail making it a focal point.
Downpipes/ stairs/glazing roof details & overall painting and it will be done.
I bought two kits they will make a good backdrop to the layout with if space allows an access road.
I was hoping to fit in Walthers overhead crane inside the repair shop but its too wide :wall1:
Here is the plan with the buildings in initial positions ....... could change around a little though.
1. Centennial Mills.
2. Parkview terrace (2 Kits)
3. Tomaso's market.
4. Repair shop in this area or to cover the front roads nothing finalised on postion yet.
5. Grassed area raised.
Not sure of the diner & scrap yard for positon yet. _________________
Not much track to lay now ..... this evening i added rails into the base for the car repair shop and tried it on the boards to see how it would look i intend to leave at least one road open so a car can be left on the far side adding interest to finish the scene at the end of the board.
It will have two roads from the top of the layout plan and one from the bottom to feed it leaving space for locos/cars to wait for movement or repair ...nothing is fixed down yet (see picture) any ideas most welcome for items around the shop surrounding area and interior as the windows are large and lots of details can be added inside .... the roads behind it can be seen if you look through the shop ........ i have a heavy duty crane from Walthers coming as part of the plan, and the inspection pits areas can be cut out of the boards and lined with plasticard another thought.
I was wondering Nick, as I've done some shunting over your track with my mouse. Along the bottom of the track plan, if the crossing in square 8 is a double slip or back-to-back points, whether the set of points in square 13 (accross the road) are redundant as you can get to all roads without using them. _________________ Get off the line Bobby!
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/Poliss_album/
I do see your thinking there ..... the set of points in square 13 allow a locos to move from either roads they link and from the top of the four roads in square 16 to the front road and on to the left of the layout.
Forgot to add after 13ft to the left i needs to feed the tracks on to an L shape the curves are looking a bit tight in planning so far for the 6 axle locos an SW2 would be nice for switching in U.P. paint like my N scale one and could cope with the last three feet on the left bent round the boards. _________________
Spent the day with the drill wire and soldering iron finishing off the right hand end of the board all but for the short end tracks from the shop i will sort when the building is fixed down.
Looking from the centre of the boards towards the right end Three roads to shop laid ...... rails joiners holding them in place while the glue sets, once the building is finished dropper wires will supply power into the shop and eliminate the need for joiners.
Looking toward the left end of the boards the plasticard with the 30 on hopefully gives you the idea of the two tracks from the right running into the bottom of the picture here ......... trackbed crossing the board needs track on to link the top/bottom roads and the points before the iron three tracks will go to the ends or start to curve to the left of the picture onto board 5 if the locos can cope with the curve leading to storage ....... the right side of the picture is to have the scrapyard still in the planning.
Close up of the shop with two walls mocked up. _________________
Here is the final plan laid on the board ...... i did try to resize it to fit the screen but i'm not good with anyrail plans and saving them.
The left end 4 lines can possibly curve onto another board at a right angle three foot long depending on how the track lays and the locos cope with the curves, need to lay this part ..... to the right the tracks are a bit longer than drawn there .
I marked up the Y turnout as anyrail hasnt a Y in their track library in code 83.
What point motors will you be using and are you going to have operational signals?
Hi Poliss,
I have planned seep point motors for it ....would be nice to use tortoise ones but with the points so near to each other then the loco would be too quick for them .........
I would love to have signals on operational but not sure what i need and how many and how to wire it all up .... already ordered some telephone poles from of all places Aus would you believe
IR sensors would be good to but they are expensive _________________
The PM1 looks a good option poliss ...... with 41 signals wouldnt know where to start though or do you mean 41 different light patterns they could be used for ? _________________
Not sure exactly how american junction signals work. Whether they use vertical seperation, (top signal for straight ahead and bottom for junction), or route indicators. From what I've seen they would use bi-colour led's. Red and green.
Here's a vid I found. http://vimeo.com/3635363
I'll need to research more. _________________ Get off the line Bobby!
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/Poliss_album/
Progress has been slow lately ....... filling in the insulation gaps and working on the buildings, tonight i made up some clump grass using the faux fur method in a thread here i saw (sorry cant remember which thread it was) many thanks for the idea though ...... the tallest in the pictures is a scale 20ft and can be trimmed and shaped more once the glue as gone off and placed on the layout .
The flash of the camera shows the grass more shiny that it is.
Ballasting and plaster to try and complete the first board basically ............
Overview.
Bit closer shot.
Repair shop foundations.
The stub road is to hold a shunting loco possibly an RS1/2 belonging to the repair shop for moving cars.
Holding roads.
Couldnt resist adding a piece of stock with this weathered hopper.
Also Atlas GP38 in amongst the Grass.
Fair bit needs doing until i am happy with it including of course the repair shop building itself (the overhead crane arrived this week) to add internally i am toying with the idea of providing a brick wall interior using Slaters plastic sheet ......... the glazing from Walthers the stumbling block at present in its thickness as it provides the glazing bars. _________________
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...lol
but the HO will be a mix of all roads ... i model what i like not a particular region /road 
but i'm not good with anyrail plans and saving them.
or do you mean 41 different light patterns they could be used for ?
