Side Project: Display for HO Fleet

While some have been sold on ebay or at swap meets since the switch to G scale, I still have quite a few HO scale models hidden away here and there left over from what was going to be my dream layout but never got past the armchair phase due to a lack of space. (Scroll to the bottom of this page for details.) Having recently seen Toy Story 2 again for the first time in many years, I was struck by how much the toys hated being put away in boxes, away from the light of day. I began to feel sad for all my poor rail cars stuffed away in drawers and boxes and decided to build a simple display cabinet so we could all enjoy each others company.

Here's the basic frame, which was made from 1"x4" pine and attached directly to a 36" by 68" piece of 1/8" masonite hardboard, which would fit perfect in the spot above my bedroom dresser. I got the folks at Home Depot to cut the masonite on their large panel saw, which ensured the cuts would be square and perfect.























All the painting was done before assembly. The masonite was painted concurrently with the blue sky for Cornelia Yard, while the frame and shelf pieces were painted with primer and then some leftover brown paint.

The shelves are 2" wide casing material (baseboard trim) that are turned so that the side that is usually mounted flat against the wall is instead facing upward. This side that is usually the back has a couple of grooves running down the length that are slightly too wide to be an exact fit for HO wheelsets, but is close enough to trap the wheels and prevent any danger of the cars rolling off.

Using a trick I learned from my friend Landus, I cut three blocks to ensure the correct spacing between each shelf - 3.25 inches to squeeze eight shelves into a 34.5 inch space. (The flat edge of each shelf also used up a little less than 0.75 inches.) Each shelf was nailed in place from each end using finishing nail. I pre-drilled each hole to make sure that the nails would go exactly where I wanted them without any possibility of splitting the wood.





































Once the ends were secure, I put a couple of #4 screws into each shelf from the back to stabilize them and tie them to the back panel. I made parallel pencil lines across the back to make sure I hit the shelves correctly. Pre-drilling all the holes once again ensured the screws went where I wanted them.






















Here's the display with all shelves installed.






















Next I added two vertical rails of 1"x4" to actually support the display on the wall. Instead of spacing them evenly, I used a stud finder to locate the studs in the wall where this display will be mounted, then positioned the rails accordingly.






















Here's the display in position for mounting. Note the weight is all supported by a motley collection of ammo boxes, blocks of wood and shims at the bottom to get it to the correct height and level without my having to support the weight of the thing.























All done! Almost all of my HO cars on display, as well as a small set of "O" scale tinplate trains made by ETS that we picked up some years ago during a trip to Prague. They, too, have been in a box for 10 years and seem very happy to be out in the light of day in their new position on top of the display.



















I know I am delighted to have them all out! Over and over I find myself staring happily at all these rail cars for long periods of time since the project was complete - hypnotized, almost.

Blue Skies for Cornelia Yard

This was a relatively quick and easy project, inversely proportional to how long it has taken to get it done.

"Before", with masking and drop cloth in place:




















The blue and white paints were both from the "random quarts of paint" shelf in the crawlspace. The blue was a little too deep and needed lightening with the white, then a little white was swirled back through to make wisps of clouds. I think I may have overdone this on the short wall. I may go back and "blue that over" a bit more next time I've got the can open.




















What was the nice was the complete lack of a need for a crisp line or any care at all on four sides since I knew those borders would be covered by the trim. I just had to stay within 3.5 inches of the pencil line that I had made with a level.

Its amazing how the trim board really defines the two spaces - the lower as part of the rail scene, the upper as a part of the porch. The height of the trim board is such that we have the option of installing above it a row of 28 inch tall cabinets over Cornelia Yard. This would be a huge increase in new storage space harvested for the residence - a place for sleeping bags, tents and cooler chests. Having a "ceiling" of cabinets would give this scene a diorama-like quality, which could be very cool if done well.





















We got visits from some railroad inspectors.






















The finished result! Its a huge improvement and a giant step forward in terms of defining this scene.

A Tangent and a Curve

Today I got the roadbed mounted for the tangent track that will allow the oak tree circle to serve as a return loop - a teardrop shape that allows trains to be turned and sent back the way they came. Here's a ground level view looking north across the switch. The straight leg heads north - the return leg. The curve to the right heads around the tree.

On the south side of the tree I trimmed and attached the supporting plank for the first section of the #1 Cornelia arrival track, then mounted the plastic conduit that magically reveals exactly where the bridge over to the house needs to be.





















Perhaps more importantly for smooth operation, the conduit automatically bends itself into these curves with perfect spiral easements - transitional curves between straight tracks and fixed-radius curves. These were proposed as the early as 1828 for track laying but did not become standard until locomotives began to move at speeds high enough for these spiral easements to matter.

On the tight curves in the Cornelia Yard area of the TFRR these easements will allow the trains to move more smoothly with less binding and less chance for derailments. This is especially important in the flattened "S" shaped curve at the bottom of this photo, between the two switches.




























The switch sitting by itself in the middle of the photo designates where the #2 Cornelia arrival track will peel off. Arrival #2 will serve as the "run-around track" for Cornelia yard - a parallel track that allows a locomotive to move to either end of a string of cars as needed. The #2 track will run parallel to #1, a second curve over the walkway toward the house.