Hung more smaller pieces of drywall and installed some of the plastice channel to support the fiberglass tiles along the wiring channel or race. I believe this is easier than putting up masonite sheets and screws. For now I have left the light cans un-covered to the wiring is done. Leaving the 16 inch space occupied by the lights open, allows you to shift the fiberglass tiles back and forth to get access to the plugs for lighting.
Also installed some of the rope light hooks for the blue rope lights. These are attached on the wood strip that secures the valance. Also intend to start cleaning up all the trash from removing the old light and valance wood frames and roll up the unused rope lights and clips. Then if time is left will continue to remove the old stuff from the ceiling, moving wires, and getting ready for more drywall which I will get Tuesday morning.
My layout is based on the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend Railroad from Randolph Street Station in Chicago to South Bend, Indiana. It is based in the mid 1960s when I first saw the railroad in South Bend. The layout is 30 by 60 foot. Running NCE DCC and signaling via CTC using C/MRI.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Some Layout Building Good Practices
From Mar-Apr 2012 O Scale Trains, The Bayshore Lines: The Espee in Switzerland by Juerg Luetscher, page 5:
"Over a period of 25 years Guenther has built a total of 12 modules. His working principle is to complete one module before going to the next one. Over the years this has given him a lot of fun. Focusing on one specific module, changing the work activities from bench work to track laying, to wiring, and to the completion of many highly detailed scenes avoids the feeling of repetitive work."
Recently I have expressed the same feelings but have not practiced what I preached. Hopefully I will change my habits and try to finish selected sections starting in the East at South Bend.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Progress Report 02/20/12
The CFLs on 16" Centers. Also the 7 inch Valance
Looking from the aisle side of the layout. Please excuse the mess.
I installed the sockets on 16 inch centers as shown. I mounted the 7 inch valance with a 1 x 2 at the top and bottom. I also added a 2-1/2 inch Masonite strip on the bottom to control light overflow into the aisles. I have not painted the ceiling yet but it is white to begin with. The lighting is set back from the front of the layout about six inches at the most. The inside surface of the valance is painted white to reflect more light.
Light is fairly even across the whole scene and to my eyes appears bright enough to represent day light. I think if I increased the center to center on the sockets I might loss some of the evenness of the lights. It means about 30% more sockets and bulbs but it does look very nice. If you feel the Masonite on the outside you can barely tell where the bulbs are so I don't think there is any safety issue with the bulbs being about 1-1/2 inches from the surface of the Masonite. I could space the sockets a 1/2 inch more from the valance and insert a piece of 1/2 inch insulation in there with the foil side facing towards the layout. This would insulate the Masonite and reflect additional light. But may not be worth the trouble.
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