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LAJ
Sept 21, 2011 1:15:11 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Sept 21, 2011 1:15:11 GMT -5
Hey Guys, I finished the track planning stage of my home layout. It's of the tracks that lie in the 6 or 7 blocks west of LAJ Yard A. I'm sure when I actually start the build of this, there'll be some tweeks I have to make, but for the most part it's built to scale, so it shouldn't be that bad. Most curves are a 15" radius, and this is in a 10x13' room. The grey boxes are buildings, the yellow boxes are 50' cars. I had to make a few concessions, but for the most part, this is what the area actually looks like.
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LAJ
Sept 25, 2011 20:26:08 GMT -5
Post by stump on Sept 25, 2011 20:26:08 GMT -5
Looks like a fun layout to operate
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deez
Chairman
Midland Belt Railway
Posts: 949
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LAJ
Oct 14, 2011 22:49:18 GMT -5
Post by deez on Oct 14, 2011 22:49:18 GMT -5
Vernon Ca. Is a complete maze of tracks criss-crossing everywhere. The tracks along the LA river are just fascinating! I love the area. The LAJ is one of my inspirations for my freelance Midland Belt Rwy. Good choice for a layout
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LAJ
Oct 17, 2011 13:38:39 GMT -5
Post by 1stcajon on Oct 17, 2011 13:38:39 GMT -5
Here's my LAJ leads map. There's 3 of us in SoCal doing the J also. Plus back in July we went fanning w/ a guy from Germany! While the J has a couple of #3 switches all yours look very sharp. Probably a function of the CAD program you used. Looks like the A yard on right side. Across the top it looks like the Vernon Main/Higgins Leads. The UP has a track in there & think they used to switch there also. Now they just use it to get to Cargill's food oils place to the NW. Then you have the Fruitland/Vernon Teams & Pep Boys Lead on left. On my plan the J side is on right & Santa Fe on left.
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LAJ
Oct 17, 2011 13:45:25 GMT -5
Post by 1stcajon on Oct 17, 2011 13:45:25 GMT -5
Here's my rough draft of my LAJ layout. It's loosely based on the way the various leads are laid out on the J. Mine is based on the '6os-'80s eras. And of course like you my space is limited to a 10'x11' room. This plan is far from final. Keep learning new things about the J . Keep us posted.
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LAJ
Oct 20, 2011 12:50:53 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Oct 20, 2011 12:50:53 GMT -5
Thanks guys, my layout is in a holding pattern... til Dan is working full-time that is... lol
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deez
Chairman
Midland Belt Railway
Posts: 949
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LAJ
Oct 21, 2011 16:04:09 GMT -5
Post by deez on Oct 21, 2011 16:04:09 GMT -5
Dont forget the GP30's & GP35's that roamed there also
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LAJ
Oct 28, 2011 4:39:06 GMT -5
Post by slowfreight on Oct 28, 2011 4:39:06 GMT -5
50' should stay on the rails just fine for 15" if you're using stuff like Athearn BB and MDC cars...not sure about newer stuff.
Myself, I'm a big proponent of bigger curves and longer switches at the expense of more track. It's already hard enough to make the buildings look big before squeezing more track in.
I'd say mock it up on a coffee table with some buildings made out of old cereal boxes just to make sure it looks good.
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LAJ
Oct 28, 2011 8:15:31 GMT -5
Post by 1stcajon on Oct 28, 2011 8:15:31 GMT -5
The J has some curves as small as 85 degrees (10" R HO). Made one to experiment & my Atlas S-4 & Athearn CF7 w/ 40' boxcar made it around easily many times w/ no derailments. So if the prototypes do it model RRs should do it also. Now need to add wheel squeal to my sound system. BTW the narrow gauge Uintah Ry had 65 degrees on 7.5% grade AND ran 2-6-6-2s there!
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LAJ
Oct 29, 2011 17:00:54 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Oct 29, 2011 17:00:54 GMT -5
hhhmmmm... tight, well, I'm just feeling like it's time to manage my time better and start modeling again. With the snow/slush outside I'm getting that winter feel early, so it's time to stock up on plastic cement! -I want to scratchbuild the buildings on this layout, that I can start now. I'm currently doing a rather large auto plant for the club. As soon as that's finished...
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LAJ
Nov 23, 2011 14:28:02 GMT -5
Post by jmlaboda on Nov 23, 2011 14:28:02 GMT -5
Yah, something to consider is that a lot of the industrial sidings were built when 40-footers were standard... the ALCO switchers could take really sharp radius curves which made them ideal for the LAJ, even though newer cars likely wouldn't like them nearly as much. (Wonder how many of the tight radii spurs are still seeing use anyways?)
If you model the LAJ please remember the many beautiful Ramapo switch stands that the road used. Something of great beauty when lit up at night...
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LAJ
Nov 27, 2011 13:32:31 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Nov 27, 2011 13:32:31 GMT -5
Hey Jerry, I looked up this Ramapo switch stand (so I'd know what I was looking for) and then looked carefully through a few videos of the area. There are a couple dozen videos of this area on YouTube and has been a great help in getting a feel for the area. Anyway, I don't see any of these switch stands, are they from an older era? I'm modeling from present day with enough leeway to go back to say 2003 to allow for some alternate locos and maybe cars that might have been at the edge of their service life. Unlike Andy, I won't be doing S2s or S4s... -not for this project anyway! deez, yes I will include them, but in this era the GP30s & 35s are GP39(e, m or v, and now there are also GP39-2s as per a YouTube video as well)
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LAJ
Nov 27, 2011 17:04:10 GMT -5
Post by jmlaboda on Nov 27, 2011 17:04:10 GMT -5
They are from early steam onward into more modern times, though few likely remain on the LAJ. Originally the lamp on top was lighted by kerosene while later on they were converted to electric lighting. Here is a model showing what one would look like lit up The targets were usually painted to match the lens, though not necessarily the same color, i.e.: white being used for green)... www.customsignals.com/images/Products/Other/50.jpgMy time along the LAJ was from my youth, circa 1957 to 1971 with a short stint in 1978 as well. Here are a couple of links to photo of these switch stands while they were still in use (at least a couple are still around)... rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2330478www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=281636www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=281636Ramapos and wig-wag grade crossing signals were common for many years on the LAJ... few railroads were ever more beautiful at night than the LAJ at the Atlantic Blvd. crossing adjacent to the B Yard. The Ramapos lit up at night were really a thing of beauty and still would be, if they were properly maintained. Although I am not likely going to model an industrial area that would benefit from such I may yet use them on the junction I am looking at modeling. Enough traffic between the two lines would be interchanged to justify their use, especially so a benefit at night (if it were a real railroad).
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LAJ
Feb 27, 2012 21:22:18 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Feb 27, 2012 21:22:18 GMT -5
Hey All,
After reviewing my plan with slowfreight, I realize my trackplan will leave me with buildings that will be tool shed size when they're supposed to be large. So, I'm still going to do LAJ, but either not such a realistic track plan or a much smaller section. Probably a combo of both. In one way, this is a bit of a relief, that was a lot of buildings to do! lol
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LAJ
Feb 28, 2012 12:05:13 GMT -5
Post by jmlaboda on Feb 28, 2012 12:05:13 GMT -5
Do, please, keep us updated on your progress... as mentioned already, the LAJ was one of my first loves as far as railroads go (took more interest in the LAJ in Maywood than the ESPEE through the Antelope Valley and Tehachapi Loop)... I knew the LAJ well in my youth, riding the roads that paralleled the line south of the L.A. River but also enjoyed railfanning the west end of the Santa Fe yard as well... though the cops didn't like the idea that I was there (ironically I was on public roads... these days I am equipped to answer any questions such would have if I encounter an ignorant cop on any of my railfanning adventures).
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LAJ
Jul 28, 2012 12:00:38 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Jul 28, 2012 12:00:38 GMT -5
So, I came up with a new trackplan that took into account the important things that my friend slowfrieght pointed out to me. One that I had no idea was that you need a carlength between left and right curves in an S curve situation because that can make an area prone to derailments. So, here is a better plan that actually allows me to pick some other industries I wanted now that I'm not trying to replicate part of the actual trackplan. ie. something that takes tank cars, something that gets plastic pellet hoppers and presurraide hoppers. I have no idea what those 2 small industries do yet, but they look good! Each industry actually is there on the map, I've just stitched them all together where the scenery is believable. For instance there really is a street after the Federal Cold Storage and sort of a street before the chemical installation that gets tank cars, so I can blend the model to look like they belong like that, but they're not really next to each other. I may also try to make the yard that is in the middle of the room both modular and longer.
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LAJ
Jan 3, 2013 0:15:43 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Jan 3, 2013 0:15:43 GMT -5
I'm actually working on doing this! I have a new track plan though. (of course...) I really liked the one above, but I didn't like the yard in the middle of the layout. The whole room is now sky blue. Slowfreight helped me hang track lighting. We'll need to hang another 4 foot section on each end, but that's done for now. Here's the new trackplan:
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LAJ
Jan 5, 2013 16:49:46 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Jan 5, 2013 16:49:46 GMT -5
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LAJ
Jan 21, 2013 21:58:32 GMT -5
Post by diesel on Jan 21, 2013 21:58:32 GMT -5
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LAJ
Jan 22, 2013 1:43:36 GMT -5
Post by lajmdlr on Jan 22, 2013 1:43:36 GMT -5
Hi Diesel Here's an image of the Santa Fe Vernon Team & LAJ Fruitland Team. This was made from one by Chris Walker of West Coast Railroad Forums. Changed it to make it back in the Santa Fe days as I'm modeling the J before BNSF. Note the Santa F tracks don't quite match your plan. On my plan going to include their Malabar Yard as a 6 track staging yard. Having over 700 cars 4 of the tracks will be able to be removable staging trays. Attachments:
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