"Youngstown"-Chessie Systems.
HO scale. 3.5mm / foot
1970s-1980s era
DCC controlled
Chessie podcast 1 (2m 20 sec)
Chessie podcast 2 (1m 15sec)
Youngstown information and diary
Our proposal for replacing Chessie systems was approved by the Club membership at its April 2011 AGM. All thanks to the Team members who so ably presented the case and responded so well to the various questions raised.
Key standards for Youngstown.
Trackplan (Excel format).
Trackplan (Word97 format)
Youngstown diary update 1. 18th June 2011
We used the the Open Day to make progress on baseboard construction. The previous evening, we assembled the first board from the pre-cut components. Assembly of the first board took about 90 minutes. Subsequent boards saw the assembly time reduced to about 60 minutes with practice. This is probably the realistic minimum per board.
We also had materials to hand for a number of sets of folding legs. Once the first three baseboards were complete, we set about the legs. Each set, again from pre-cut components, took 15-25 minutes to assemble. They proved to be light, self supporting, easy to carry and strong.
There was a significant time saving from having the pre-cut components to hand. Cordless power tools speeded the process. A mitre saw was used to ensure that the softwood reinforcement was accurately cut.
We now have the first three boards and four sets of legs made for our new layout. Thanks go to the team for working so hard.
The Engineer-in-charge of the boards volunteered to sit on one of the boards to test the strength of the boards and legs. They proved to be both stable and very strong. His reputation stays intact, as indeed so does he.
Some members of the public took a lot of interest in what we were doing and commented that they had learnt useful tips to help them construct their own baseboards.
Progress update August 2011
Prior to the recent dismantling of the Viaduct project, the Club Committee had given approval for components to be salvaged for re-use on Youngstown. The following items were retrieved-
- about 60-80 feet of code 100 plain track
- about 35 points of various types
- about 10-15 point motors
- some accessory switches
- any items that cannot be reused will either be offered to other layouts or sold on to augment Club funds.