Planning the Lost Observatory Loop

After many iterations of Kato Unitram track fiddling, the LOL III

Planning seems like a rather highfalutin word for developing my thoughts for a little layout inspired by Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm trolley line. Calling it a layout doesn't seem right either. It's more of a little diorama with a trolley loop. And come to think of it, I'm misusing the word diorama. Classify it as you will, I'm naming it the Lost Observatory Loop.

I was going to write some lengthy post on all the ideas and iterations that went into planning this layout, but as I thought about it I realized there were only a couple of points which I think might be generally applicable, so I'll focus on those.

For developing ideas I find it useful to use a sketchbook. I particularly like the 5.5" x 8.5" spiral bound format. I find larger sizes a bit intimidating - all that blank space on a page demands to be filled even if the idea I want to play with is just a small one. I like using a soft 4B or 6B pencil because I feel they allow for a wide range of marks, although I'll use anything on hand if necessary. I rarely use an eraser; I just draw over any mistakes. Also, to help overcome 'getting started' anxiety, I'll open the book at some random blank page and start to work. I don't like the feel of rigidly starting at page one and marching through the book page-by-page to the end - there's something grim about that, and the book doesn't have so many pages that I won't be able to find my work again when I return to it. Also, the quasi-random organization helps me think.

6 of the 20 or so pages devoted to working out ideas for the LOL III

For me planning is trying to find a composition that somehow balances the features I want the layout to incorporate. In this case the main features are: things I like about the CEF, especially around the trolley line; a loop for the trolley (or trollies) to run on; lots of scope for trying modelling techniques I haven't tried before (like making stone walls for buildings and deciduous trees); uses mainly materials I have on hand; shouldn't take more than a year to build; be relatively small, light, and transportable; and most importantly: be fun to build! So far I've been working on a design for a little over a year.

The Tyco trolley is a little too wide.

One aspect I kept going back and forth on was track: standard or narrow gauge? I had settled on HO-scale. I finally decided on HO-9 making use of Kato's N-gauge Unitram track.

When I first saw Unitram track several years ago I was entranced. I bought up a lot thinking I would build an N-scale homage to Toronto's streetcars called Tor-N-to. Time has gone on, and I realize Tor-N-to is never going to happen, although I still love that Unitram track, especially the switches.

Last year's test of the HO-9 Hong Kong tram running along Unitram track in an HO scale street scene convinced me some sort of HO-9 streetcar layout was itching to be built - I just wasn't sure what it would be. 

Although, here's the problem with using Unitram track this way: 2 HO-scale trams can't pass each other because the tracks are too close together. I figured if I incorporated an internal passing track this problem would be minimized. Well, ok, I could make thinner trollies, but that isn't going to happen - I'll need to go to a 1/24 scale hot rod customizing school first to practice my body modification skills :-)

So, in the end there was lots of back-and-forth between trying various Unitram configurations and sketchbook ideas until I settled on a track plan. Frankly, for all the time I spent thinking about this layout, the plan is a dead simple one I've played with many times before, so I don't know what all the planning fuss was about. Anyway, I can now see the basics of the thing, and have settled some questions, so I guess that's what planning is about.

Track through the Central Experimental Farm

Left: 1926 gov't map of trolley line into the CEF | Right: 1929 map of same line (snipped from Ottawa's Streetcars)

I've been looking for information on the trolley line that ran into Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm. As far as track plans go, all I've seen up until now has been that snippet shown above on the right (it's snipped from page 142 of Bill McKeown's excellent book, Ottawa's Streetcars).You can see it's quite schematic. I'm interested in finding out what was to be found near the track since that would be useful if I I'm going to build some sort of CEF inspired layout.

Browsing through Building Canada's Farm again I happened to see a snippet on page 144 from a 1926 map of the CEF with a tantalizing view of a sliver of trolley track on the far left of the image. I contacted the authors, explained my interest, and was kindly provided a pdf of the entire old government map from which they got their snippet. I snipped out the entire trolley line, and you can see it's a fascinating loop (you'll need to enlarge the image to get a good view). It winds through crop rotation plots, orchards, chicken coops, and a vegetable garden with tobacco plots, a vineyard, and the Dominion Observatory nearby. The remote turnaround loop encircles an auditorium and is the site of a trolley stop.

The entire trolley line is too big for an uncompressed rendition, but I'm thinking about some sort of compressed layout inspired by some features on the 1926 map. The scale would be HO, and the Tyco-based transfer trolley would run the line, but beyond that, I'm still planning.

Powering the Loonar Module with a Rokuhan RC-02

After building the stand for the Loonar Module I realized I was going to need some sort of power source and train controller that didn't have a cord plugged into a wall socket that viewers might trip over. Galen recommended I look into a Rokuhan throttle. I did. Their specs suggested it would work just fine, so I bought one.

The one I got was model RC-02. It uses 8 AAA batteries for power, and its output is 10 V DC and 800 mA. It appears to be marketed for Z-scale trains; however, what's important is not the scale it's targeted for, but its output voltage and current. For the little Minitrains diesel that runs on this layout, and the equally small N-scale locos, pulling only 2 or 3 lightweight cars, the RC-02's output specs are just fine. Also, since the Minitrains Gmeinder is only rated for 12 V DC max this new controller provides a little extra peace-of-mind that my full size controller, that can put 18 V DC across the rails, doesn't.

The controller came with a power feeder cable - that skinny wire shown in the photo. The black end plugs into the control box, and other end with the grey adaptor appears to be a proprietary connector to Rokuhan's brand of track. I removed it and soldered on a suitable plug - in the photo it's the black plug to the right of the control box - for connecting to the Loonar Module. 

The grey adaptor is only held together by a single screw, and once removed, you can pry out the two power leads. I unsoldered the connectors from each lead, and then re-soldered the leads to my plug.

Bingo! That's all that needed to be done. It runs the Minitrains diesel quite well, although the knob needs to be rotated a little beyond halfway before the loco starts to move. Still, there's plenty of fine grained control left in the knob's remaining range.

Ok, there is one problem: the power cord is too short. I'm going to make a much longer one so it's easy to walk around the layout while running a train. Stay tuned !

Zinnias work too ...

... at attracting Monarch butterflies.  

E. L. Moore's Husky time travelling VW pickup

Converting the Husky VW pickup diecast to look something like the one E. L. Moore used in a few of his photographs was a fairly easy job.

I must admit though that I didn't use any techniques commonly seen in YouTube videos dealing with diecast restorations. I decided not to completely disassemble the toy, strip away the paint with chemicals, respray it, and then put it back together with screws. I don't think Mr. Moore would have done anything like that. I took the easiest path, and I speculate he would have too.

Picking up a Jones Chem Co. | Outside the Carolina Foundry | Picking up at Bunn's Feed & Seed

Before I got started I had to pull together my reference material. I used images of the vehicle found in three of his construction articles: Jones Chemical Co., Carolina Foundry, and Bunn's Feed & Seed.

The first job was to carefully use a flat bladed screwdriver to pry the extensible scaffolding out of the truck's bed. It was in there quite solidly and took considerable force to free. I can only assume that was to make sure a child with kitbashing on their mind couldn't do an impromptu deconstruction :-)

And there's what you're left with: a big square hole in the bed. I eventually covered this over by gluing on a 1/16" piece of balsa wood as that appears to be what E. L. Moore did according to the reference photos.
 

One reason I didn't deconstruct this thing was that it appears to be held together with 4 rivets instead of the usual 2: there're 2 to attach the chassis to the body, and another 2 to hold a wheel springing plate in place. Yeap, the wheels are sprung on this baby so it doesn't bounce around at high speed on rough roads :-)

The chassis also indicates why I refer to this vehicle as a pickup and not a flatbed, which is what it appears to be: 'Volkswagen Pick Up' is stamped into the chassis.

All the painting I did was pure speculation. Even my assumption that Mr. Moore painted his and didn't use it box-stock is speculation. Just thought I'd note this.

I assumed that if he painted the body he'd choose some shade of Moore Green. All the colours I used on this project were brush applied Tamiya acrylics, and for the body I used XF-5, Flat Green. The bumpers were painted XF-16, Flat Aluminum, the chassis used XF-1, Flat Black, and the headlights were XF-2, Flat White. The wooden flat bed was painted with X-19, Smoke.

The part I haven't shown is where I installed the time machine. That'll just have to be my little secret, but I'll share photos of its anachronistic adventures :-) 

The time travelling VW pickup

Left: Picking up at Jones Chemical Co. circa 1974 | Right: Picking up at Jones Chemical Co. circa 2022

Save the Monarch butterfly

Sourced from OKthePK, Sept '22 OVAR Interchange, and the Windsor Star

While searching online for information about the Space Hopper and Son of Space Hopper I stumbled across this image of a boxcar emblazoned with a giant  Monarch butterfly. The Kanas City Southern website told me about the important cause behind this great looking boxcar:

In 2022, Kansas City Southern (KCS), Canadian Pacific (CP), GATX, Monterrey Metropolitan Rotary Club (Rotary) and NASCO are hosting the Save the Monarch Butterfly 60,000 Tree Challenge North American Boxcar Tour to raise $100,000 USD. The funds raised will be used to plant 60,000 oyamel trees at El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico to help reestablish the monarch population.

In support of the 60,000 Tree Challenge, a crowd-funding QR code is featured on the side of the boxcar. Starting this fall, the boxcar will stop at events in Windsor, Ont.; Chicago; Kansas City, Mo.; Laredo, Texas; Nuevo Laredo, Tamps.; Monterrey, Nuevo Leon; San Luis Potosi, S.L.P.; Morelia, Michoacán; and end at the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. In coordination with Rotary, these events will generate awareness and raise funds to help save the butterfly. This innovative environmental project is an example of the commitment of the sponsoring organizations to sustainability.

Windsor is around a 750km drive from Ottawa, so I didn't see the start of the boxcar's journey, but we were visited by some Monarchs in the backyard this summer.

Debra planted some echinacea for them and the bees. Monarch butterflies and bees are having a hard time, so anything you can do to help them out is good.

Tyco trolley to Ottawa transfer trolley: Shell surgery

My usual practice is to put off major modifications until I'm completely satisfied with my plan. This time I didn't delay as long as usual, pulled out the razor saw, and reduced the body to a 6 window job before I had time to chicken out.

You can see the section I removed to the right and above the parts of the shell I'm going to glue back together.

My cuts were just outside the lines as my plan was to file and sand the rough cut pieces into their final shapes.

At this time I also ground out a molding sprue that was inside the shell's roof, just below the old mounting point for the trolley pole. The sprue was visible through the clerestory windows and looked unsightly, so it had to go. The resulting hole was then filled with Perfect Plastic Putty both inside and out.

Here are the two pieces after sanding and before gluing together. You can see I sanded a bit too much off the bottom of the larger piece, but that can be corrected with putty.

Also, the end of the trolley where the joint will be is a little thicker that the other end, so the body is slightly asymmetrical. This was done for strength, and to leave the end window frames intact - for perfect symmetry I would have had to do some cutting and filing on the window frames that I don't think would have turned out too good. 

Here it is glued together, before putty and final smoothing.

The book Ottawa's Streetcars tells me the prototype was 28' long, and my little model measures 27', so not too bad. 

Now it's on to some 'precision' filling, filing, and getting the joint to disappear.

And doing some research into figuring out what colour this thing was!

Tyco trolley to Ottawa transfer trolley: Paint stripping

I've been comparing photos of the trolley used on Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm with an old Tyco trolley shell I bought at a swap meet a few years ago. To me it looks like that with a few relatively simple modifications I can transform the shell into a trolley that looks fairly close to the one used on the farm.

The biggest modification will be cutting it down from an 8 window body to a 6.

Also, I'm not sure if I'll equip it with a standard gauge 4 wheel truck, or go with an N gauge one so it'll be an HO9 vehicle like the Hong Kong tram. Much to my surprise the Tyco body is only slightly wider than the double-decker tram, so it could work in HO9. I'll have to give this some thought.

First though I stripped the paint from the shell by soaking it in Super Clean for a couple of hours. It was then washed and lightly scrubbed with some lukewarm water. 

The molding is quite decent once the crudely applied factory paint job has been removed. There's a bit of clean up with sanding sticks to do, but overall it's not bad.

See that X below the two windows on the right? That's the section that'll be cut out to turn this into a 6 window job.

Stay tuned!

Use small to seem large

Use small to seem large: Use small buildings and structures to make a layout's space seem large.

Usage: Use small to seem large was the guiding design principle on Brian's basement sized N-scale layout of the Canadian prairies.

Source: The 'Use small to seem large' design concept, first developed and articulated by John Allen on his Gorre & Daphetid RR, was reported by Earl Cochrane in the October 1955 Railroad Model Craftsman article, Sunset on the old G & D:

I was quite surprised to learn from John that he used small buildings and structures on his pike. He said that his structures were not underscaled, as I at first thought, but rather small in prototype size. By using small structures in this way, it made the layout look larger and gave a better perspective. Large buildings on a small pike look out of place.

Update to 2nd ed., 1999: For a contrasting design philosophy tailored more to urban and suburban settings refer to Art Curren's article, The BTR RR., in the September 1980 issue of Model Railroader. Mr. Curren discusses how to eliminate feelings of brief travel times and short distances on a small layout (in this article the layout measures 5' x 9') by using features like having tightly packed industrial areas separated by treed residential areas butted up against them, lots of non-railroad buildings, tall buildings that block views, a variety of levels, steep grades, and streets that twist and turn in many directions. The net effect being that the layout seems larger than its relatively diminutive footprint would suggest.

Update to 3rd ed., 2019: Selective Compression [alternate] is a variation on the 'Use small to seem large' concept in that the buildings and structures are neither compressed nor underscaled, and are used to manipulate the viewer's perception of the size of the layout's space.

from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 1st ed.,1959.

A new stake car for the Lands & Forests RR

Left: Unconverted | Right: Converted

I took the stake wagon that had a pair of broken stakes on one end and 'converted' it to a freelanced car for the Loonar Module. I say 'converted' because all I did was add some sign boards, paint the body yellow, the wooden floor a dirty brown, and the chassis a grimy black, and then add some decals - not much of a conversion.

A few days after finishing I was reading through Brick Price's narrow gauge modelling book again, and stumbled across a very similar 'conversion' on page 95. Concerning the gondola in figure 8-24 at the top of the page, Mr. Price had this to say:

It is made in England and is considered N scale, but the body size is perfect and the trucks are even credible for arch bars. It took fifteen minutes to convert the coupler, weather it, and remove the buffers on the end.

Everything old is new again I guess.

In Search of Ancient Space Hoppers

It's not over here.

Ancient space hopper theorists believe that what we today think of as mere railway hopper cars are in fact chariots of ancient railway space gods. The key to the mystery of the whereabouts of those ancient space hopperists can be found written on freight cars, especially hoppers, in railway yards around the planet. The Havelock yard is an especially potent site, but this investigator has been unable to replicate last year's sighting either of Space Hopper or Son of Space Hopper.

Nor is it here.

One wonders though what sort of railway vehicle is being transported towards Havelock early on a Sunday morning down a remote highway under a shrink wrap cloak? Oversize load indeed.

Who knows what lurks underneath the shrink wrap?

Pumpkinvine

Pumpkinvine: A relatively small, multi-level track plan that loops and twists and turns from plains to summits and back again.

Usage: Sally's 0-4-0 wasn't powerful enough to haul the four boxcars through Bob's Pumpkinvine layout.

Source: Bill Schopp, in his guise as The Layout Doctor, introduced the term in the May 1953 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman in an article called, naturally enough, Pumpkinvine Layouts:

When it comes to getting a lot of multi-level mountain railroading in a small space in HO gauge, I've yet to find a layout idea that works out better than what I call the Pumpkinvine, exemplified by the three designs here.

In essence, a classic Pumpkinvine track plan is based on a figure-8 with extended looping that climbs up and has at least three levels. The climbs are usually up through mountainous terrain. Mr. Schopp shows that a viable layout can be built in as little space as 4' x 10'. 

Even though multi-level mountain spectacles are easily created with the Pumpkinvine approach, there are drawbacks:

The one big disadvantage is that there is usually very little space for any sort of town, so you have to imagine that they are in that mystic geographic area just off your platform. It is quite difficult, too, to work in many industrial sidings yet have all switches accessible from the front.

The Pumpkinvine is not to be confused with either the omnivagant or spaghetti layout.

from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 1st ed.,1959.

Anti-layout

Anti-layout: A layout whose purpose is to display as many locomotives and cars as possible.

Usage: William's anti-layout held his entire 200 hopper collection.

Source: Bill Schopp first introduced the term in an article, Track Plans for Modelers who hate Layouts, in the October 1958 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman:

...we've departed from the usual and come up with some layouts and percepts with the "anti-layout" car and loco builder in mind. ...

These layouts have had one basic thought: to keep your equipment on the track and off the shelves and out of boxes.

An anti-layout is characterized by having the maximum amount of yard space (possibly including a roundhouse or two) either surrounded by or surrounding a simple loop of track in the smallest possible space that can be accommodated by the modeller's living quarters. 

A good anti-layout design is one that can display every piece of rolling stock in an owner's collection.

Anti-layouts are usually built by modellers whose main interest is building rolling stock.

Mr. Schopp notes these layouts are not necessarily dead-ends:

Most of these ideas can be scenicked and developed into complete railroads in themselves, or into parts of larger railroads.

The anti-layout should not be confused with either the omnivagant or spaghetti layout.

from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 1st ed., 1959.

Going for a spin on the Way Out Layout

I haven't been ignoring the Way Out Layout. I have been tinkering with it now and then, but I did lose the plot for awhile. There was something that didn't quite sit well with me, but after staring and thinking for a long time I realized there were two problems: there were too many buildings on the beach side of the layout which destroyed the open field look I wanted, and the arrangement of buildings was too scattered in the urban area that fronts the side road that divides the city and beach. Now that I've resolved those problems, the layout arrangement is looking better to my eye so I can get on with modelling and detailing.

So, to kick things off I decided to try running the two AHM trolleys I bought at a swap meet back in the spring. They were $5 each, but the seller didn't know if they ran. I found they ran haltingly at best. I opened up the Public Service trolley, scrubbed its wheels and pickups clean, and oiled the gears. After a bit of run in it ran quite smoothly, and I shot this video once it could do reliable laps. Although, I should note that sometimes it would stall on the wye switch frogs because of its large flanges. You can see in the video how it bumps through those switches.

I see more tinkering on the horizon.

The Immortal Beaver

Last night we were once again talking about floatplanes, and it got me thinking about the de Havilland Beaver. My subsequent wanderings turned up this history of that legendary plane. If you were wondering, there is a railway angle: take a look at that picture I snipped from the video of a boxed up Beaver ready to ship to a customer on a flatcar - that would make for an interesting and unique little project.

Oh, where oh where can my Space Hopper be?

That's not it.

Last Thursday was the first time this year I could get out of the car and have a look, albeit a very quick look, up and down the Havelock yard. I was looking for the Space Hopper, but didn't see it amongst all the parked hoppers. Maybe it has returned to its home planet :-)

That's not it either.

Yclept [alternate; archaic]

Yclept: A railroad by the name of.

Usage: His beautiful woodland layout, yclept Havelock & Hastings RR, was displayed at the fall model railroad show.

Source: New discoveries being considered for the dictionary have to be reviewed for spelling or typographic mistakes; however, such errors are not always the cause of “new” finds. For example, omnivagant was suggested by a prominent editor to be simply a typographic error, but that proved not to be the case. 

Yclept, as used in this sentence found in the September 1961 article called, Toronto, Lake Shore & St. Lawrence in Railroad Model Craftsman by The Layout Doctor, Bill Schopp,

In a ten by twelve foot room, one side open, on a solid plywood tabletop already in place, a model HO railroad with room for running plenty of trains over alternate routes, plus terminal operation: such was the prescription which lead to my designing the Toronto, Lake Shore, & St. Lawrence R.R. (which was almost yclept Toronto, North Shore, & Atlantic).

is the correct spelling and usage of the now archaic term.

from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 2nd ed., 1999.

Comparing VW pickups and vans

Left: Husky's VW pickup (1/66 scale) | Right: An HO (1/87) scale VW pickup

Through the magic of eBay I found and bought a Husky brand VW pickup. After comparing the Husky to a variety of E. L. Moore photos where his VW pickup appears, I'm fairly certain the Husky is the one he used. It looks like he pried out the extensible scaffolding in the bed and covered over the hole with some wood, likely balsa :-) 

The internet tells me the toy is 1/66 scale, which is close to S scale's 1/64, so it's going to appear a little large compared to other HO scale items. 

The Husky in comparison to other HO scale VWs

Although the toy is in good shape I'm going to convert it to E. L. Moore's version. This may seem like sacrilege to collectors, but I don't plan to destroy any of the components, so it could be changed back in the future. Longtime readers might recall my attempt at converting an HO VW van to the E. L. Moore pickup, and may also recall that it was lost just a few months later. I'll do my darnedest to prevent that from happening to this one :-)