Eager to get things done, I started the detail design and construction of some of the track work. I figured out that the Northwest section of the freight yard would be the easiest to start with. It had a few simple straight and curved turnouts but it also had the first challenge, a triple diamond where the extension of track 17 that runs along the bulkhead crosses the two curved tracks to the transfer bridge and an additional track connects with the inner track to the bridge.
This is the material I built the tracks with:
- Micro Engineering Code 55 Rail (unweathered) and N scale Code 55 Flex-Track;
- Fast Track (CopperHead) PC Board Ties for turnouts and crossovers;
- Fast Track unfinished wooden cross ties.
For the first few straight and curved turnouts I was able to apply Fast Track templates and point filing tools (#4.5 and 6). I learned very quickly, however, that on this layout it is simply not possible to build one turnout after the other in a modular way. Due to the condensed design of the track work, I always had to take into account what comes next and adjust the construction in detail accordingly. Also, since there are very few places where there are longer straight or curved sections for rail joiners, I had to build the entire section in one piece. This meant, for instance, that I’d have a to file and solder a frog in place using a Dremel tool with a small rotary disk, instead of filing the individual frog rails on a point filing tool and soldering them into a frog using a fixture.
Templates for Non-Standard Turnouts
Another lesson I learned doing my first set of turnouts was that I’d have to draw my own template on my computer with turnout angles tighter than a #4. For now to keep things simple I have been using PowerPoint. That way I’d still get a good idea of the geometry of the turnout and the placement of the PCB ties. It would also save me from having to redo a piece again if I made bad design decisions. In fact, I paid dearly for my initial sloppiness not to bother with a detailed construction plan. The connections to track 16 and 17 on my first section turned out to be several millimeters off the overall layout plan. To correct, I had to re-build the two turnouts (second and third of three photos).
With all the imperfections of my first section of the CNJ Bronx Terminal layout, I’m happy with the result. The boxcars make it over the triple diamond crossing. I’ll fine tune the tracks later so that locos and cars traverse smoothly and at higher speed. Furthermore, the entire section is DCC operational. My nightmare of endless searches for short circuits did not materialize and my test locomotive makes it over the most critical section without stuttering.