Henrietta Southern Railroad
July 16th, 2001 - Today I added a few section to this website. I added the topography map, polarity diagram, and gradient map. In my opinion, these 3 diagrams (especially the topography) will be invaluable when laying the track. With 3 different main heights on a 26'' by 50'' layout, getting the gradients correct and manageable is very important. I still haven't bought any lumber yet. We just enrolled my daughter in a "private" school, and it is expensive as all hell (but definately worth it). So, my initially building will have to be put on hold for up to a couple of weeks. But, in the meantime, my planning will continue full force.
July 11th, 2001 - I priced lumber today. My calculations show it's only going to cost $29.28 to build my frame. Also, today I made a few changes to the layout. First, I added a second place for the train to change direction on the main line without human intervention (The set of turnouts on the bottom left side of the layout). Second, I added a place where the trains can exit the main layout and go down below the layout. I will use this area to stage trains. I call the lower level (under the layout and in the frame) "level 2". Right now, all I have is the turnout planned that will exit under the layout. In the future, I will plan the exact layout of the level 2 track.
July 10th, 2001 - Ya' know, it's one thing to come up with a layout using WinRail 5.0, which is what I've done here, but it's one thing to physically get the pieces to fit together on a piece of plywood. So, I took the first step in making sure those pieces will fit together right. I went out at bought Atlas's N scale track pieces template kit. It was only $3. All you have to do is copy the template pieces, cut them out, and then start taping them together. After about 3 hours of cutting and taping, I've finished piecing the layout together. And, I'm pleased to announce, it all fits perfectly. Also, I got an email from someone who is knowledgable on R&S railroad, and he told me that they only have three loc's left. Oh well, I'm still modelling all eight that they've had. I also received a roster list of the R&S from another R&S fan. Thanks dawgs.
July 9th, 2001 - I ended up doing nothing but go train watching with my daughter today. Then I just changed this site around a little bit. I was at the hobby store today and the owner explained the different ways of wiring track. I showed him my layout and he explained to me about how I have a spot that will reverse polarity. He showed me a simple connector that he carries that will take care of that, no prob. Well, at least he discovered that before I built the whole thing and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.
July 8th, 2001 - Today I started this page. My progress so far is that I've spent the last couple of weeks planning. I finally decided on the layout seen on this site. I then decided to go with simple framing, as you can see on this site. And due to the small size of the layout and the simplicity of it, coming up with the maps and schematics on this site was only a few hour process (if that).
