As promised this week I have some photos of my new Tehachapi Loop modules for our club layout ‘Solent Summit’.  As with all model railways, it’s not finished, but it runs and it’s just about ready for the exhibition coming up this weekend.

The main section is the loop itself, built on two 5′ by 2′ modular boards, which takes the line up by 2 and a half inches.  You can see the basic boards in an earlier post here.

Starting at the top and right-hand end, the line enters the module, and splits into two lines to form a passing place.  The signal is a Showcase Miniatures kit and does work, just not yet.  Also, the track joint to the next board is offset because the modules are not currently joined together and I didn’t spot that when taking the photo!

There are also two single signals for trains departing the loop.

The twin lines then run around the module and the descent starts just after they cross the tunnel.

The real loop is a lot larger and has some country roads and tracks leading into the center, but as this is compressed to make it modular, I’ve compromised with a path leading up to the cross on the hill.

The cross, at the real Tehachapi Loop, is a memorial to the men who died working the landscape to build the railroad.

The lines run around the hill through a rock cutting, which also helps disguise the module joints.

The lines continue to descend as they run around the back of the module.

In the view below you can see the lines drop from one side to the other.  The gradient is a steady 2.25% on the inner line and 2.1% on the outer.

Just before the lines converge into one, there are two more signals for the exiting trains, but as the lines are now in a cutting and on a bend, these signals are mounted on a gantry so they can be seen by the locomotive engineers from a distance.

The gantry is 3D printed; it’s a model by fellow Shapeways designer Ngineer and can be found here.

The signal heads are angled towards the back of the loop.

The shot below shows how the gantry signals are visible from around the bend.

The line then stops descending and enters the tunnel. From here the line remains flat as it leaves the module.

On the real Tehachapi Loop, the signal for the passing line is on the same side of the tunnel as the gantry, and the locomotive engineers can see it through the tunnel.  But as I’ve compressed the loop, and curved the line through the tunnel, I decided to put the signal on the other side. Anybody watching the layout will be able to see it once I have the signals working.

So there we have a version of the Tehachapi Loop on a modular N Scale layout.

I must admit as much as I like the module I’m not as happy with it as I had hoped for two reasons:

Firstly, I feel I’ve rushed it and I think the ballasting, rock work and scenery reflect this.  But the great thing about scenery, it can be built upon to refine and improve the level of detail. So once the next show is over I can take a bit of time to work on this.

Secondly is the hill in the middle.  The slope of the land formation from the top of the hill to the cutting by the gantry signal was supposed to be more gradual, but I realized I had no more room between modules when they were packed together for transport. One sits upside down on top of the other and the land at the center of the loop almost touches.  So the hill is designed to lift off which causes, I think, an unsightly joint.   But I think I can conceal this with some more careful scenery work to disguise the joint.  Again, the great thing about model railway scenery is it’s never final and can always be changed. I look forward to getting some inspiration and maybe some advice on how to solve this problem at the show next weekend.

But with these two points said, it runs well and I think the trains look fantastic on it.  And once the signals are all working I’ll be very happy.

It’s now only four days until these are set up with thirty-five other modules, not including the non-scenic yards, to form the ‘Solent Summit Railroad’ at the Warley National 2019 Exhibition.  If you’re coming this weekend I will see you there and if you can’t make it I will get lots of photos and videos of the layout to share with you, including a full walk-around video as I did at the NMRA (BR) Annual Convention in 2015 below, which was only 21 modules.

As it’s such a big layout and we have to pack up and drive back on Sunday night I don’t think I’ll have a post next Monday, but it will give me more time to write a  more in-depth post for the week after.

Over the last few months I’ve been busy working on customer layouts as well as getting my own layout ready for the Warley National 2019 Exhibition, which is in less than two weeks.  So I haven’t had a lot of time to work on the 3D printed projects, but that will pick up after the show.

You may recall, back in March, the Tehacipi Loop modules were fully working but rather bare.

Well, about a month or so ago it looked like this.  I admit I was starting to panic!

The base construction is a mixture of cardboard and blue foam offcuts packed with newspaper.

The newspaper worked very well in giving an uneven natural shape for the plaster cloth to follow but the downside is it absorbs all the moisture from the cloth, and in a cold workshop, stays wet.

I had to place the only available heater, an oil radiator, under the modules to help the plaster cloth to set.  I also found that using hot water to dip the plaster cloth into also helped it set quicker.  Well, it seemed to and working in the cold, my hands appreciated it!

Once the cloth had hardened sufficiently, which took a day or so, I separated the two modules and pulled out the newspaper, which was still damp.  The cloth then dried completely.

You can also see from the images above I’ve sprayed the track with a grimy color.  As I passed the spray can over the track I followed round with a cloth and wiped the tops of the rails.  The rails will need a really good clean once all the scenery is done but this helps a lot.

The next step was to add some ground color.  This is important as without it the white of the cloth will always find ways to show through. Just over a week ago the loop module looked like this.

I use either a green or brown undercoat which is just a cheap acrylic paint thinned with water.

Once dried the track was ballasted; you can see my pots of ballast ready to go on the corner of the module.  The rock outcrops have also been positioned, and colored, in the same way I did the trestle module, which you can read about here.

Over the last weekend this module, and the incline boards which go with it, have been totally transformed and now have all their scenery finished.  But I don’t have photos yet, you will have to wait until next Monday for that, as they were still drying when I left them.

The Warley National 2019 Exhibition is on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2019 at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.  You can read more about the show here.  We’ll be at stand number B53, almost in the middle of the hall! Along with my loop there’ll be 6 other new modules added to our layout, so plenty of new works to see.

And if you think the exhibition doesn’t look big, remember that our layout at stall B53 is 65′ by 26′.

Next week I’ll bring you some photos of the modules in their finished state. If you’re coming to Warley you’ll be able to see them in action, but I’ll endeavor to get some good video of trains tackling the loop to post here as well.