Setting up again

I found the bolts! This was an important step for the HO scale Wheeling Freight Terminal layout. A couple sections use legs that are attached with bolts, washers, and nuts. All the section joints are bolted together. The proper hardware is an important component to set up the layout again.

I had labeled the leg units for the specific layout sections. Matching up these elements made it easier to get the layout back onto its feet. The bolts were also helpful in lining up the sections. Half of the layout sections came together one day with the rest falling into place the next day.

I found the end plate to protect the yard tracks. This is a key piece to keep the freight car fleet from rolling off into oblivion. The end plate is also marked to help crews identify the tracks.

Here’s the Wheeling Freight Terminal plan that appeared in a July 2016 blog post. The layout fits the new space with ample access on the yard sections and for the interior area. This August 2012 blog post features the original layout design details.

More progress to come!


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6 thoughts on “Setting up again”

  1. Thank you for posting. It’s good to see that layout segments that are designed to be move can, in fact, be successfully relocated.
    Also nice to have it posted in a location that doesn’t require me to wade through Facebook or a noice-filled forum.

    1. Thank you, Joe! I forgot to mention that the layout was kind of featured in Layout Design Journal 71, published in the first quarter of 2023. That article focuses on packing up the layout sections for the 2017 cross-much-of-the-country move.

      This blog has been rolling for over a decade without commercial interference. I prefer the format here and am happy that many readers also enjoy it. – Eric H.

    1. Yes, I am inching closer to operating again!

      As for the walls, they may be painted before the next layout project starts. I’m leaning towards a cold grey, which would be good for Pittsburgh in November! – Eric H.

  2. I have always found that with a move, no matter how careful and labeled the packing is, finding things for the layout during the unpacking is frustrating. I find that sometimes only way to find something I packed is to buy another assuming that it is lost forever, only to immediately have it pop into view.

    1. So very true, Nevin! I opened five boxes the other day in search of glue. After the fourth box, I was about to head out and buy some. Then I opened one more box and there it was!!! Part of my basement resembles that last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. – Eric H.

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