Having finally built the single 45 degree crossing at the eastern yard entrance, I was able to finish my rail yard of the B&O West 26th Street Station. Hand-laying a crossing is messy and even though after about half a dozen of such builds, I now know what works best and what does not work, it’s probably my least favorite kind of project. After all, this is code 40 rail and milling the individual rails is delicate and it’s easy to take away too much material and having to start again. In any case, I made it, the crossing is working mechanically and electrically even after cutting the gaps (the worst part by far). Using laser cut basswood jigs for both the layout as well as the inverted configuration helped quite a bit.
Closing the Wye
The next step was to connect the track work to the single track on my 10th Avenue. For that hand-laid turnout I used the same jig as for the ones further south. The 90 degree curve right after the switch is not an ideal design. It creates an S for a train turning into the freight yard making it vulnerable to derailments. I saw little other alternatives, however, and I didn’t want to abandon the overall design, so I went ahead anyway. Fine tuning the points helped. With a loco going slowly over the switch, a train should make it in both the thrown and closed positions.
With the track work now complete and tested, I was able to fully integrate it into the module. Before gluing down the tracks, I added ties laser cut from 1/32″ basswood and primed with brown spray paint. Next, I had to add the missing pavement which consisted mostly of cobblestone. Finally, I used white and in some cases CA glue to fixate the tracks. I was careful not to glue the moving points near the switches.
Adding Turnout Control
The following step took again more time. Before ballasting the tracks I wanted to add the turnout control units. Read my short blog here on why I switched from manual to electric turnout control. For this module I used SG90 servos with Tam Valley Depot SwitchRight and Digitrax DSXSV9 brackets. All six servos connect to an ESU SwitchPilot Servo V3 accessory decoder which in turn uses the DCC Accessory bus for power and signal. Having installed all servos, I thoroughly tested the track again. This time with I was able to control the turnouts remotely. I also added a Tam Valley Depot Hex Frog Juicer. The device electrifies four frogs but more importantly, it auto reverses polarity on the wye that connects the yard to the two 10th Avenue tracks. Among the frogs connected to the hex juicer are the ones of the crossing and of two critical turnouts.
The tests showed that my Kato NW2 switcher navigates well through all turnouts, the crossing and the tight curves of the wye. Several locos also run fine in the yard but are not able to get out of the yard through either leg of the wye. The small radius of both wye curves are just too tight for most of them. I’m happy though that turnouts of the freight yard work almost flawlessly and don’t result in derailments.
Ballasting Track and Creating Scenery
The successful tests left me with a task that in a way I love but I’m always a bit fearful of – ballasting a yard. I spent quite a bit of time building these turnouts and the crossing and they were now working well. Making a mistake when ballasting could easily undo some of this work. Fortunately, I still had my notes from some earlier turnout ballasting, and that certainly would help me avoiding them.
I could not find details about the type of ballast the B&O Railroad used in their West 26th Street yard. Instead, I simply used New York Central Kaibab Limestone (from Arizona Rock & Minerals). This material has a warm color and looks great when weathered. I also used Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement. The glue contains a wetting agent that simplifies the ballasting. Specifically, I did not have to spray Isopropyl alcohol over the yard. The cobblestone pavement that I already had ink-washed and dry-brushed thanked me! I started by ballasting the straight sections of track that were easy to do. I then carefully approached the parts of the turnouts that could be ballasted. When I was happy with the results, I finished the job by also ballasting the more problematic sections of the turnouts: Throwbars, points, guard-rails and frogs.
The trick here is to work slowly and in small steps, one turnout by one. I also carefully monitor the setting of the glue. Every now and then, I’d throw the turnout to verify that the points did not get stuck and would still move without resistance. At the end of the day, my rail yard was completely ballasted. The following day, I patched the places where ballast was not evenly spread or the layer was too thin. I also added a bit scenery materials to create a less uniform yard: tufts, bushes, and weed from Martin Welberg Scenic Studios. Using various washes (Vallejo) and powders (Pan Pastels) I added weathering simulating mud, oil, grease and other unspecific rail yard dirt.
Finally, I also added a sidewalk made of granite slabs around the freight station building. For this, I used my own photos of real downtown Manhattan granite sidewalks which I turned into black and white bitmaps. I then engraved .035″ thick laser board with those patterns. Applying India ink wash and dry brushing it with a Raw Sienna gave me a sidewalk with pretty realistic looking texture. No problems with warping, of course, as I glued the laser board down on to the pavement prior to any painting and weathering.
For now, my rail yard is complete. I will add fences, signs and the awnings of the freight station building once the layout sections sit on the benchwork and delicate details are less likely to get lost.