The layout at a glance
Name: Montgomery & Cole Subdivision
Scale: N (1:160)
Size: 10'-0" x 10'-0"
Prototype: Great Northern, BNSF Ry., and CP Rail
Locale: western Montana, eastern Washington
Era: 1970s - ’80s
Style: walk-in
Mainline run: 78 feet
Minimum radius: 9"
Minimum turnout: no. 6
Maximum grade: 3.5 percent
Benchwork: open grid
Height: 441⁄2"
Roadbed: 1⁄8" cork over 4" extrudedfoam insulation board for main lines
Track: Peco code 80
Backdrop: painted on 1" extruded-foam insulation board
Control: NCE Digital Command Control with radio throttles
Asphalt roadways are formed from Busch’s N scale flexible, self-adhesive ribbon roadway. “The flexibility of slightly stretching the product enables the user to make smooth curves without distorting the roadway width and striping,” Alex reports, “and it is very easy to lay down and weather.”
He used Woodland Scenics Smooth-It plaster and paving tape to make the concrete roads on the layout. (See “Making concrete roads” at left.)
Alex used .040" styrene to model the concrete pad for the small intermodal yard. This was scribed, painted, and weathered with powdered chalks to achieve a well-worn look.
The learning curve
Again, like many of us, Alex found that wiring the layout proved to be the biggest challenge, as he had never done any kind of electrical work before. After viewing many videos, he laid out the track bus for the NCE Digital Command Control (DCC) system, plus a separate DC bus for the 42 Tortoise by Circuitron switch motors on the layout.
Alex dropped track feeders (22AWG solid wire) from the Peco flextrack to the bus about every 3 feet, wisely not relying on rail joiners to carry the current between track sections. All flextrack was soldered at the joints to enhance electrical pickup and minimize voltage drop along the rails.
Instead of attaching the switch motors to the plywood subroadbed, Alex mounted them in the foam base. To do this, he cut holes for them in the foam, and then drilled holes through the subroadbed for the wires to the DC switchmotor bus. He mounted each motor on a
⁄4" plywood base plate and fitted and
1
glued these base plates (after making
sure the switch was wired properly and working) into a cutout in the foam.
He had to ensure that these base plates were flat and flush to the foam board into which they were glued. When he was finished, all of the switch motors worked when powered up the first time. But he has since decided that the benefits of not having to crawl under the layout to install and wire the switch motors could be offset by the need to dig one out of the scenery if a problem develops.
As luck would have it, he had been running the railroad for about a year when a persistent short developed. Since Alex had not initially divided the layout into power districts, it was difficult to locate the short.
“Bob Dennis from the Garden State Division of the NMRA’s Northeastern Region showed me how to put in three separate zones covered by circuit breakers,” Alex recalls, “and gave me a procedure to systematically test the track and turnouts for shorts.”
After much troubleshooting and angst, he finally located the short (a bad turnout) and fixed it. This was a challenge, as by this time the scenery was complete, and he had to tear apart the section that needed to be replaced.
Digital Command Control
Alex chose DCC because he wanted to be able to operate several locomotives simultaneously and independently without complicated block wiring. He selected the NCE system because its Pro Cabs are clearly labeled for various commonly used functions such as horn, bell, and headlight. He also likes NCE’s programmingon-the-main capabilities and the ease of consisting diesels without having to learn about configuration variables (CVs) or keep track of consist numbers.
Due to the small size of N scale locomotives and his admitted lack of electrical expertise, Alex either buys locomotives with decoders already installed or outsources installation. I was impressed
A great first effort
I think you’ll agree that for a first effort, Alex has done a very good job. The layout has served as a classroom for him to develop skills he never had or didn’t realize he had. He’s discovered the value of turning to the local NMRA division for help when his own persistence wasn’t sufficient.
With his enhanced skill sets, he’s ready to tackle his next layout, one that can be built quickly and transported to a new location due to a pending move. Everything from scale to geographical location is on the table, as Alex discovered that solving problems and accepting new challenges adds to his enjoyment of our broad-shouldered hobby.