So begins my newest diversion into the world of Proto 48. For those unfamilar, Proto 48 is a modeling subset, of the already small O Scale 2 rail modeling population. Eons ago, when people began modeling in O Scale 2 rail, manufacturers decided it would be simpler to just make O scale mechanisms, and rail, an easy to remember 1 1/4". In 1/48th scale, this of course, is 5', not the prototypical 4' 8 1/2". So you wonder, what does this 3 1/2" difference look like in O-1/48th Scale - 0.073 inches. Not a whole lot visually, but honestly, regular O Scale 2 rail track does look a little wide, if you have been looking at railroad track for years, like me. Besides correcting this rail spacing issue, Proto 48 also addresses flange and wheel profiles, and other prototype fidelity issues, but maybe more on that in future posts.
You have to be a bit of a masocist to delve into Proto 48. There is little out there in way of commercial products, and 99.9% of the O Scale locomotives produced, didn't offer a Proto 48 option. So, just to get some motive power, you are looking at reworking the wheelsets, axles, electrical pickups,...etc. And then you will have to adjust the truck sideframes. Freight and passenger trucks also will need to be reworked with new wheelsets and bolsters to readjust the sideframe spacing. In the truck department, there are commericially available Proto 48 versions of most of the popular designs. They are nicely detailed and made, but also cost in the $50-65 range for a pair. Again, there will be more on the motive power and truck rebuilding in future posts. If I was building a basement sized layout, there is no way I would go Proto 48 - I don't have enough years left, or money to do so. But, since my layout will be a simple 18"x20' shelf, with a minimal number of turnouts, and only large enough to hold a single locomotive and maybe a half dozen-dozen cars, I'm giving it a shot. The layout, though operational, will be built as more of a diorama. I intend the trackwork to be as detailed as the freight cars and factories.
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It starts with a bad sketch and lots of erasing
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Who is this Leroy Jenkins fellow? If you are asking that, odds are, you are older than 35. Leroy Jenkins was an online gamer that gained popularity maybe 15 years or so ago. Leroy was part of a team playing the World of Warcraft online. They had stopped their characters at a door to a game environment that was particularly difficult, and that had defeated them before. They spent a good five to ten minutes formulating a complex strategy to prevail, whenwhile, and unknown to the team, Leroy had went to his kitchen to make chicken fingers, and when he sat back down at his computer, he screamed his name, and just ran through the door. What follows is a comedic nerd meltdown by his unprepared teammates, and fairly quick deaths of most of the team. You can probably find the original video on Youtube. My layout design process from my teens, upto my present age of 55, has been "Leroy Jenkins" - just go in guns blazing and figure it out later. This of course, has let to many renovations and reworks of my HO layout, although overall, it isn't a totally bad thing, since I've been modeling a 1950s integrated steel mill with roots pre-1900. These mills, like Bethlehem home plant, or Johnstown, had tight footprints, and upgrades to the mill would be typically complex and a bit disorganized. This time, I wanted to actually refine a plan, before I started laying track.
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| TREMLEY POINT LAYOUT - Initial CAD plan |
I started with a sketch - pencil on paper. I’m not that creative, and have appropriated sections of the former Glover Road HO layout, featured in the Boomer Dioramas YouTube channel; and the O Scale Cleveland Flats shelf layout. After the sketch was tweaked a few times, and I was in the ballpark, I moved to CAD on the computer. This is a bit complicated, and not something that readers will be able to access readily. The initial drawing was done on a program called V-Carve Pro, by VETRIC. It’s a CAD/CAM program, primarily used by people working with CNC machines or Laser Cutters. After getting all the basic lines in V-Carve, I export the drawing as a 2d vector file and then import it into Corel Draw. It would be easier to just do it all in Corel, but the bottom line is I’m just not proficient enough with it, compared to V-Carve. I also find V-Carve to be more of a linear, geometric, mechanical drawing type arrangement, where as Corel is more about creating art. Corel is useful for this process in adding scenery and structures to the plan, and also, for printing. (I am unable to print well out of V Carve)
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| The full sized layout printout |
Speaking of printing - The layout is drawn in full scale, ie. 1” on the drawing is 1” on the layout. So this drawing is 18” wide by 248” long. Fortunately I have an ink jet printer that takes 24” wide rolls of paper, and I was able to print the entire layout out on one sheet of paper. The layout benchwork perimeter was cut out by scissors and I was able to place the entire plan on the benchwork. This allows me to see how it looks; check clearances; identify problems; whatever. I will use this CAD drawing for cutting the bench top, foam, and road bed. If you are scratchbuilding cars, or structures, or whole layouts in O Scale, or HO for that matter, having one of these printers is helpful. They are cheaper than you are probably thinking - mine was around $600, and the paper is cheap, and ink jet cartridges are reasonable. Yes, it has a built in cutter that trims the sheet. It cuts wherever the printing ends, so in a way, conserves paper.
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| Test fitting on benchwork - adding a printout of a #6 turnout |
Next post - the prototype environment I’m modeling
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