Category: Z Scale Basics
Waterfront Project | Turnout Build 2
In the previous turnout article, we showed the very basics of attaching our turnout stock rails to the ties. In this article, we’ll take a look at our turnout in its near complete form and we’ll also point out a few mistakes we made so you can avoid making them too. This is less of […]
Waterfront Project | Turnout Build 1
This weekend I began working on the turnouts for the Waterfront Project using the #8 Fast Tracks turnout fixture and Code 55 unweathered rail, a good match for Micro-Trains Line flex track. I had always referred to these Fast Tracks tools incorrectly as jigs. A quick definition of jigs vs. fixtures: a jig is a […]
Waterfront Project | Fast Tracks Turnouts
This week should be fun, as I’ll be building the turnouts for the Waterfront Project layout. I’ll be using what I feel is the best combination of Z scale track and turnouts, Micro-Trains flex track and Fast Tracks turnouts. Yes, the Fast Tracks turnouts do require a bit more work than an out-of-the-package turnout, but […]
Waterfront Project | Benchwork
We received our benchwork for the Waterfront Project this past week from Ondrew Hartigan at modelrailroadbenchwork.com and could not be happier with their work. I’d like to talk about benchwork, bases and Z scale stability for just a minute. Not stability as in the State Of The Scale, nothing that dramatic. Instead, I mean basic […]
Waterfront Project | Second Track Plan
Here we have v.2 of the Waterfront Project track plan. It’s actually very similar to the initial version (both are shown below) except for section 4 where I tie the old main line track in with the industrial track section and by extension, the new main line. I’m really on the fence about this small, […]
Waterfront Project | First Track Plan
Now we get to the scary part of the Waterfront Project, for me that’s that track planning. I’ve come up with, and discarded, several ideas already but I think the track plan on this page has some legs. I consider this to be version 1 (v.1) and there will be changes, but I believe it […]
Bridges In Florida
Who hasn’t gone web surfing and ended up in a strange place on YouTube? Lots and lots of odd stuff out there that for some reason has been captured for posterity. Occasionally though something genuinely useful comes along and while the amateur plot lines may be rough, the content is interesting. I’m not sure how […]
Waterfront Project | Build 1
It’s been a couple of months since the last Waterfront Project update so I thought it best to get a clean start as the actual layout construction begins. Since we have the buildings built, the best place to start was to get a general feel for where these kits would sit on the base. Though […]
Waterfront Project | Building Wrap Up
In our last article, we finished the final two buildings in this series, the MTL Surf Shop and the MTL Taffy Company. We still need to build several of the pier sets in the series but I have the feeling I’ll need to do a bit of cutting and chopping of these piers in order […]
Waterfront Project | Part 14
In this installment of the Waterfront Project we hit a milestone; we complete the last two buildings in the series! We’ll build the MTL Surf Shop (MTL Part 799 90 949) and the Taffy Company (MTL Part 799 90 945). Both of these kits, as well as the previous Bait Shop kit, were designed to […]
