New Motive Power on the OASIS

 

I recently purchased a Broadway Limited Paragon 4 switcher for use on the OASIS District layout as well as my other model railway layouts.  I am really excited about this loco, and I'm impressed with its performance.  The capacitor-equipped loco works great on the layout and helps to navigate those glitchy track sections that creep up from time to time.  I tested out the loco without cleaning the track and it worked amazingly well, although a couple of stalls occurred where the dirt buildup was a bit to large for the capacitor to carry the locomotive through the dirty section.  A quick polish of the rails with a Brightboy did the trick and the loco runs beautifully on the entire layout, including the new shelf extension.  This is definitely a game-changer for operating the layout.  I will be acquiring more capacitor-equipped locos in the future.  

I look forward to working on the new extension coming up in September with a new backdrop and fascia board panels on the "to-do" list first.  

Until next time,

Tom

WFS Connected

I have completed construction of the new lift-out section and have connected the WFS with the OASIS District layout. Everything tested out perfectly.

I have decided to leave the tail track in place on the left side of the WFS instead of building a longer section. The extra 8 inches available doesn't help much, so no need to change things here.

The new staging area does not require scenery, but I will probably paint this a dark gray or black. It will also be hidden behind a low-level fascia board as well. Here's a video of the first test run of the connecting section.

I'm setting up a new tool to assist with operating the layout. More on that in the near future! 

Tom 

Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout : WFS Layout Update

I am expanding the layout by combining the OASIS District with my Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout.  Here is a link with all of the details.  Below the link is the new track plan featuring the new set up for the combined layouts.

Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout : WFS Layout Update

Owensville Terminal Micro Layout

I started building a micro layout based on my Owensville Terminal Railroad theme last year. I finished it this past week.

The layout is H0 scale and measures roughly 16" x 30", not counting the hidden staging track and sector plate. There are no turnouts on this layout, and the hidden sector plate is used to move cars between the three tracks.

Sector plate prior to being painted 

The baseboard was made with foamcore, and the backdrop panels are hardboard painted with oil paints to create the autumn landscape. Staging and the sector plate are only long enough to accommodate a single loco and car, so switching cars must be done in a particular sequence. First, an arriving car is left on the main track. The loco then proceeds to the feed mill track to pull the car sitting there. Next, this departing car is off-spotted at the middle track, then the loco goes back and recouples to the arriving car so it can be dropped off at the feed mill. Now the loco picks up the departing car from the middle track, heads for the sector plate that is rotated back to the main track. The car and local can now head back down the main track and proceed to exit the layout at the staging track on the left-side of the layout.

 

Here are some photos of the completed layout... 

I had a lot of fun building this micro layout. This is the first time I attempted to create an autumn scene, and I am really pleased with how it all turned out in the end. 

Tom