K & W HO Scale Model Railroad, Construction Update #18 - Several structures added! What's next?

[@OldcampRanch]

Looking good 👍🏻

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you!

[@JosephMusgrove]

Progress! Thanks for sharing!

[@KandWRailroader]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@lindsayatlmrtransport8118]

Great update, you have been working hard. Vote for getting more track wiring done, try to get a complete run, end to end and all levels. Cheers

[@KandWRailroader]

Another vote for wiring! Thank you for your input!

[@MRR_Shadowolf]

Wow, amazing! Love the selection and placement of structures. Looking forward to following your progress!

[@KandWRailroader]

@@MRR_Shadowolf Thank you! Next update is Friday!

[@johnbanicki7232]

Very nice. Like the idea of the spur over your workbench. I want to do that too. Thanks for sharing.

[@KandWRailroader]

Now all I have to do is get it wired up so I can actually use it! It will be super handy though. That entire workbench was a happy accident, and I've really enjoyed having it to use.

[@Christopher-vw5xd]

Looking good buddy...

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@paulmarmion358]

Looking really good England 👍

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@ScottKew-g8r]

You know I had a large SP layout. And the real CROWD pleaser was the stretch about 70 feet of running of just one track mainline. No switches or junctions or anything. There was VERY simple scenery which consisted of orange dirt from the Mt. Shasta Area, some of the small ho scale Preiser pine trees and some rocks. You paint latex brown paint on the benchwork and while the paint is wet you use a fine tea bag sifter and sprinkle on the dirt. Throw in a few clumps of Woodland Scenic clump bush material and BAM...easy quick LOTS of scenery. Very effective. I REALLYL LIKE YOUR LAYOUT BY THE WAY !!!!!

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you, Scott!

[@TimsBitsnPieces]

I am just amazed on the amount of work that you get done each time for the updates... I love what you are doing and I look forward to each and every update to see whats new and any ideas for me for my layout.. I would love to see more work on the wiring of the layout so you can at least run a train or several around the layout to show You the benefits of your hard work. Also a comment I was going to put on some weeks ago, I watched a series on tv here in Melbourne Australia where one guy (Glen Stearns) who is a Billionaire had to go into Pueblo (Southern Cali) with only $200 US and make a business and have a going concern within 90 days, the show was called Undercover Billionaire so that show and your section of Pueblo is of interest to me. Cheers Tim.

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you for your comment, Tim! Another vote for wiring it is! I am almost done wiring the main line on the upper level to the end of the Wichita Yard and intend to run a train along the entire main line for my next ops video, preferably with the camera car for a train level view. That sounds like an interesting show!

[@Longshadowsmodeltrees]

Looking great, keep poking at it and Trains will be running.

[@KandWRailroader]

Will do!

[@GalionSouthernMRR]

Your layout is looking amazing. Can’t wait to see how the finished yards on upper level turn out. Keep the updates coming 👍

[@KandWRailroader]

I can't wait to start adding details and weathering track and finishing the elevator!

[@georgiasunbelt]

For such a large layout, you’re moving along at a nice pace…I’d go for getting the yard track in place and wiring it along with mainline you’ve already established…best of luck with that Walthers refinery 😊

[@KandWRailroader]

Another vote for wiring! It's gonna be a bit for me to collect enough turnouts to finish the yard, but I'll be poking at it here and there. It's my favorite feature on the entire layout so I won't be ignoring it, that's for sure. I'm super excited to get the whole thing wired up though so I can start the switching insanity! 😂 As for the refinery, I ain't skeered! It will help that I plan to break up the tower bases so I can locate the entire kit in separate sections. I remember the last time I built it, it got difficult when adding piping and railings because everything was in the way of each other. I remember tweezers being a necessity. Eventually, I may need two or three more of those kits to really fill out the scene, but that depends on the size of the Faller kit, and whether not I can scratchbuild any part of it, which I would like to do. Surely I could at least scratchbuild a flare and hopefully a coker unit.

[@georgiasunbelt]

@@KandWRailroader well, if you need another Walthers refinery, I have an unopened one (the light blue cornerstone box) I’ll sell you for what I paid for it a few years ago plus shipping…like the southern spelling of “skeered” 😂😂

[@KandWRailroader]

@@georgiasunbelt Thanks for the offer, I'll keep that in mind! I want build what I have before I buy anything else so I have an idea how much space it will take up.

[@shed66215]

Lumber company - while you may not be able to model it all, you need to give the impression that those centerbeams are able to be loaded/unloaded from both sides at the same time or alternately, stops the wagons tilting over, loads shifting and/or potentially tipping over.

[@KandWRailroader]

Very good point! I had forgotten that! I may have "concrete" right up to the fascia to give that impression and I might add a rounded fascia at that end of the aisle which would allow me to build that side of the spur out a little more to enable to add more "concrete" to further expand that consideration. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@KandWRailroader]

Is this also a vote for me to work on the lumber company scene?

[@shed66215]

@@KandWRailroader Yes, too many silos lol

[@timkubik3936]

Wow that is a lot done. Great video of the layout progress. For the corner of Charleston to Wichita Inds Park you might want to fill in with a medium/tall hill with a grove of Aspen/Pine trees as if the railroad had to make a cut thru the hill it to get to Wichita. So the viewer eye loses the train passing thru the cut then re-appears on the other side. Once you put ballast on the Walthers turnouts and yard then add details locomotives, cars the actors for our layouts they will not be noticeable. Yard tie spacing is very different than sidings and mainlines. The rail gangs take used heavy mainline rail to be used on secondary lines then that rail is used to relay yards. Industrial tracks are owned by the Industry up to 3 rail lengths from the frog each rail stick length is 39 ft. Yard ties move and are not tamped and regulated unless it has been tore up or a capital relay of the yard is done. Then there is the tie train old steel bath tube coal gon's, ballast trains, then ribbon rail trains more cars more power. Its looking real good.

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you for your comment. That's exactly what I had in mind for that corner, something to try to disguise the fact that the train is making a 180 degree turn in about 400' scale feet. I decided not to fret about the decision to switch turnout manufacturers mid-build. You're right, once the track is weathered, ballasted and rolling stock is running back and forth, who will notice? At least I should be able to keep from breaking any more turnouts...ME turnouts are just too darn delicate, which is probably why they're the most realistic.

[@joestrainworldvideos3977]

Thanks fot the update. Joe

[@KandWRailroader]

You're welcome!

[@Yaakhaaks]

That’s a way cool layout, and the large elevator is really nice. Well done tour 👍🚂🇺🇸

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you!

[@stbladescorner]

That is some serious track work!!

[@KandWRailroader]

I'm blowing my own mind!

[@bobgalvin8858]

My vote will be the refinery 👍

[@KandWRailroader]

First vote!

[@taurahelms3068]

It will be interesting to see how it all comes together.

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you for watching!

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

good update on train layut thanks lee

[@KandWRailroader]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@elleryparsons2433]

Nicely Good. Work It Slowly think It Over what you Need To Do.if you Need Make a To So list Then Go with That.

[@KandWRailroader]

I do have a to do list, it's about six pages long. Before I conducted these votes, I was working on almost everything at the same time, touching every project, but not really accomplishing much. The vote has helped me to focus and work towards a more specific, achievable-in-the-short-term goal.

[@jamest151]

I've watched a bit here and there as your progress onward. Impressive project and I am really intrigued with what you have learned with a double decked layout as you run trains. My father and I built a larger N scale layout that was triple decked. I am really interested in your impressive yards becoming operational. Love the massive elevator being a view block and operated from both sides!

[@KandWRailroader]

Thank you for your interest!

[@derekalexander4030]

I vote for wiring the track that you have installed so you can use it. I really like that huge yard by the grain elevators. James, from Dundas Junction had a tough time connecting the ME track to the Walthers turnouts and ended up returning the flex track and bought Walthers flex track so you might want to check that out before you buy more. I’m planning on using Walthers turnouts and would be curious to see if you had the same problem. If not, maybe you could buy the track he returned. (From Canada).

[@KandWRailroader]

A vote for wiring! Thank you for the tip about joining ME and Walthers track. I briefly tried using an ME rail joiner on one of the Walthers turnouts to no avail so I will order some Walthers joiners to try that route. When I transitioned from Atlas flex on the helices to the ME flex, I used Walthers joiners which were a bit loose, but soldering the joints will fix that problem. I don't want to give up on the ME flex just yet, but maybe when I run out, I will finish the layout with Walthers flex. Oh, and I think I cleaned out every store in Canada that's online of ME turnouts too!

[@billbarnes8192]

Unfortunately Walthers head houses tend to run small as you have already figured out . if you can scratch build an extension double the size. I agree they do look better.

[@KandWRailroader]

I decided months ago that it's likely that I will end up replacing many of the structures on the layout with scratchbuilt, 3D printed, or kitbashed structures at some point in the future. Since I had to have something in place in order to locate track properly, I decided to buy what was commercially available and assemble and put those in place for the time being. Something that will work at least until I decide to return and redo things someday down the road. Many of my family members have asked when I think I will be done with the layout and my answer has always been, "probably never", because there will always be something to tweak, replace, or redo.

[@KandWRailroader]

Is there an aspect or location of the Kansas & Western Model Railroad that you would like to see me focus my attention on for the next update video? If so, then leave your request in the comments below! Below is a list of locations and aspects of the layout to refresh your memory, listed in order following the main line from the bottom up, starting from the west helix: Royal Gorge Route Canon City Portland Cement Plant Pueblo La Junta Yard Lamar Holly Holcomb Power Plant Garden City Charleston Elevator Wichita Industrial Park Wichita Yard Towanda El Dorado Industrial Park El Dorado Refinery Union Tank Car Company Aspects of the layout that aren’t location specific that I can focus on: Track weathering and ballast Wiring (so I can run trains on newly laid track) Rolling stock weathering Structures Backdrops Scenery (the Royal Gorge Route…the main line between Canon City and the west helix…is the only location that is close to ready for scenery work. I will still have to lay the siding and install some backdrops, before I can start scenery work but that won’t take much time or effort) Layout skirting Fascia/valance I look forward to hearing from you!

[@KandWRailroader]

I forgot to mention...votes will be tabulated Monday and a short video update will be posted Monday afternoon regarding the vote result and my plan to carry it out. Power to the people!...err...viewers!!

[@hotdogpilot6319]

The hardest thing you'll have to do is the Walther's Refinery, it's known to be a real cluster... the Faller version should be much more straight forward. It'll be a good indication of how much patience you have...lol.

[@KandWRailroader]

Fortunately for me, I built the Walthers refinery for my last layout so I do have some experience. The hardest part for me was getting the brass handrails bent right, and then getting them to stick. I will do more research on proper techniques before I attempt that kit a second time.

[@derekalexander4030]

You might want to do a tutorial video on building the Walthers refinery. Indian head, Wilmer, did a video talking about what a pain it was because the directions suck. I looked for a video but couldn’t find one other than N scale and 1 different but similar refinery in HO. A tutorial would be a good reference and a lot of people would watch it to see how to do it and as a result over the years it could be one of your most watched. Just a thought. Hi Andy.

[@randysrockandrollrailroad8207]

Great progress, wouldn't the center beams need to be unloaded from both sides at the lumber yard? Looking forward to following your progress

[@KandWRailroader]

Another viewer correctly pointed that out this afternoon, which is good because I had failed to consider that. At the very least I can carry the concrete pad all the way to the fascia to create the illusion that the pad is wide enough to access that side of the car to unload it. I am also considering doing a curved fascia at that end of the aisle which would give me a little more real estate to build the concrete out to further sell the illusion, and perhaps even stage a fork lift on that side to illustrate it further.