Vince Valley Layout and Joyful Models!

The new layout is progressing well with its mainline loop completed and the switching lead almost done. As I probably already mentioned, this is an experiment in better track laying, wiring, control and scenery. Some kind of general repetition before Monk is done. And many things are already learned.

I had the misfortune to learn Midwest cork roadbed was no longer produce while half the layout was done. Stuck with this bad news, I discovered cork tiles sold at my local Walmart have the same thickness, so I decided to slice it in 2 inches wide strips and cut them at an angle on the table saw like Midwest cork. Worked wonders and I was able to finish the layout. It means Monk will need to be done in the same way since already a few parts got their cork.

Custom made cork roadbed

Another thing I did was to curve some Peco Unifrog turnouts to fit my contrived geometry. One of my top quality control objectives was that all turnouts would be Unifrog (powered frog) with solid rail points. No hinges, not pieces that go out of alignment and cause all kinds of unwarranted  wobbling and derailing.

Sure, I was a little bit brutal with my experiments! I found out cutting the web on the outside of the desired curve worked best. As such, I would say that curving the turnout beyond the frog is quite easy and safe. I was often able to get a curve similar to a Peco #7 curved turnouts and it really helped with the geometry. However, I also went overboard trying to curve the points area… It can be done, but very gently. If you overdo it, certain locomotives won’t like it and you can get misalignments where the curved point touch the stock rail. Honestly, it’s a 50-50 gamble. I broke two turnouts out of 4 that way. The good news is they can be repaired with new soldered throwbars and by removing the curve. But keep in mind this is messing out the point geometry. I was lucky to get away with it on one mainline turnout, but the yard entrance didn’t work. I wanted to merge the turnout with the easement of the curve, but it didn’t work. Since it’s just a yard, I will use a standard unmodified #6 there and reduce the length of the easement. It’s not a big issue there since large steamers won’t run there.

Foreground curved turnout is busted, but the two others are perfect

With the main loop done, I also had the pleasure to run a few small steamers to test how things went. In my collection, I have a lot of orphan locomotives purchased long ago with specific projects in mind that never came to fruition or simply failed later on or stopped catching my attention. I kept them and some never really ran because they “did fit” my current locale and era. That’s something I want to break with that generic layout. It’s there for fun, to run trains, switch a little bit, enjoy them as they are. No need to find a new paint scheme. Just bring them to their best. Those that work flawlessly, I call them “Joyful Models”. They bring marvelment and joy by their sheer presence on the rail. In this regard, I must admit the curved track along the river has provided, even in its current state, a lot of pleasure. It breaks apart the roundy-roundy 4’ x 8’ nature and gives a purpose to the loop.

A joyful little engine basking in the morning sun

Among the Joyful Models, I’ve been really impressed by a little Spectrum 0-6-0T that sat in its box for 20 years. I had never ran it since purchase. I expected the worst, turned the knob and there, it was crawling flawlessly on the rails. I played with it for many minutes and it was clear it would be a star in the future yard. Small, cute, well-designed, beautifully detailed and performing greatly. I love that one!

The Bachmann low drivers 4-6-0 was also a pleasing surprise. It has old time charm, performs well and is overall nice. I’m not a big fan of its boiler because it’s a later model with details molded on. However, I have ordered a detailed boiler for UP from Bachmann Parts store. I will probably swap them and the boiler will probably find a new life as kitbashing material one day.

Another joyful model is the Tyco/Mantua 4-6-0. I remember buying an old one on Ebay maybe 15 years ago when I was following the progress of a freelanced lumber railway layout called the Highlander on an obscure HTML webpage. It was whimsical, but I liked it a lot and one of the engine was the mighty 4-6-0. It resembled a QRL&PCo locomotive and thus, I got one for a custom project. I modified the cab sides, repainted it black and let it sat in a box because I felt the drive was old and the motor a coffee grinder. Several times, I repainted and weathered it, swapping the tender for a better Bachmann one. But later on, I reunited it with its original one. Two weeks ago, as you may know, I made custom 3D parts for it. Having seen how Michael Ramsey from the Red Oak Railway YouTube channel fame had remotored one to make it run smoothly, I decided to take the frame apart, clean it into an ultrasonic bath of SuperClean and install a Sagami can motor.

Well, I felt the conversion would be complicated, so I just thought about restoring the motor and seeing how it would perform. It was a horrible motor. Jerky and noisy. I cleaned the commutator, cleaned the brushes, removed dust and dirt from every little nook and cranny, then powered it. It was still sounding like a coffee grinder, but the performance was surprisingly good, even at slow speed with little cogging. It was time to lube the rotor bushings, and it did the trick. No longer it sounded bad. The running became even smoother. Then I lubricated the driver wheel brass bushings and all the rods. A little bit of grease was added to the worm. It was truly a miracle. What used to be a poor running model became a solid performer, even with its old Pitman-style open frame motor. That realization coalesced with my recent thought about not upgrading to DCC my locomotives that run well in DC.

I don’t want to break the bank on DCC and sound. In fact, I’m tired of DCC and its finicky nature. It has its place in the hobby, but many old models don’t need it. In fact, it may had issues rather than improvement. And maybe, that’s one aspect of what makes a Joyful Model. It’s reliable and always ready to run without issues. Easy to maintain and fun to play with! So far, I've been testing a lot of locomotives I had in boxes. I class them in three categories: Joyful Models which are ready or almost ready to run reliably, Models that have good drive but needs maintenance and restoration work and the last category, bad models that requires extensive work to be fun to run or may even be lost cases (I'm looking at you Athearn Genesis Mikado!).

4-6-0 Brooks' decals from prototype picture

So after this realization, I decided to go all in with the Rogers 4-6-0 kitbashing. Some people from the Early Rail group.io forums where kind enough to help me recreate the attractive 1884 Brooks Locomotive Works paint scheme and I have done good decals for it. When the parts are all printed, this Mantua beauty will be brought to its original glory!

So there I am, playing again with my trains. What a joy to look at a tiny 0-6-0T crawling over the stone culvert at the yard throat while basking in the sun of the living room! I want to make this layout a conversation piece and game to play with others, not different from what the Harlem Station layout was supposed to be.