40" Door Layout....Am I crazy?

[jimhaleyscomet]

Hello all,

I have been lurking in the forums for about a month and am finally ready to post a question. I am building a door layout with the intention of making it portable for hospital and nursing home visits. A hollow core door seems the best choice to reduce weight. I am considering Lionel Fastrack on an outside loop with an interior loop and sidings or crossover made of MTH realtrak. The two tracks lay nicely together as long as they are independent. I am not using Lionel O27 because do not like the switches when operating at low speed/ low voltages.

My delima is that the Lionel Fastrack takes about a 40" width. I am considering taking a 36" door and adding 1x2 strips on the edges to get to the 40" width I need.

Am I crazy? Is there a better way to get a light layout board for under $35?

Your suggestions will be appreciated!

Jim

[thor CNJ]

The problem with using 1 x 2s is that lumber is always undercut. It is actually shy of 2 inches, so you might come up short. Try a 1x2 and 1x3 and you mighy get closer to 40'

A problem of the Lionel Fastrack system is that there is no curve tighter than their 36" (which is actually more like 39" by the old measurements). This makes it useless for smaller types of layouts. If you need a roadbed-ready track for an areas with less than 36" width, the MTH RealTrax is a good choice.

[brianel027]

Sorry to sound like a broken record here, but as said above, FasTrack is utterly useless as far as any layout goes that is going to be smaller than 4'x8.' Aside from the immediate gratification of the floor layout, FasTrack (IMHO) was a huge waste of tooling and development money that could have been much much better spent. And if anything, FasTrack NEEDS to be made in ithgter radius curves, yet all the talk is to make it even wider curves.

And anytime you starting adding more wood/weight to the door, it starts getting heavier and less portable. The track and transformer will add enough weight.

As far as the door layout, 027 track is the way to go. I have built several door layouts over the years and 027 track offers the most potential in the tight space (using rubber or foam ties beneath track to quiet noise). Try checking out K-Line's new 027 turnouts... they still have the same footprint size as the Lionel but with much lower housing and supposedly improved operation. Even K-Line's Snap Track or regular 031 track offers more layout potential on a door than the otherwise useless FasTrack.

On a layout as small as a door I've found it is very easy to use manual switches with either simple nylon fishline to operate them, or a simple reaching stick.

[spankybird]

HI Jim

Welcome to the CTT forum

Here are a couple of older threads on building layouts on doors

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21810

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21174

I have to agree with Brian. My whole layout is built of O27 track and switches. As Brian mentioned, I love the K-Line low profile 0-27 switches. They use fix power, have lighted controls and on the switch, and NO NOISE when a train stops on them. Oh yha, did I mention, they don’t have any NOISE when a train stops on them.



best of luck

tom

[lionelsoni]

A 1x2 is actually 3/4 x 1 1/2. A 1x3 is actually 3/4 x 2 1/2. Interior residential doors are 1 3/8 inch thick, exterior and commercial doors are 1 3/4 inch thick. So, extending a door a little probably is best done by ripping what you need from a 2x4 (1 1/2 x 3 1/2). However, as has been pointed out, you need more extension than is practical with Fastrak.

How about Marx O34? With a couple of inches of tangent at the ends of the loop, you could get enough room for an O27 inside loop on a 36-inch door.

[jimhaleyscomet]

Thanks all for the advice. I am trying to keep costs low and have leftover fastrack from some sets. I will check out the K-line 027 fixed power and if that works go with 027. Otherwise, am still thinking about going with two 24 inch doors or one 36 inch door with an extension. I will let you know how I go.

So why did I sell all the 027 track on Ebay! Urghhh.

Jim H

[jimhaleyscomet]

Jim here with an update. I am going to take your advice and go with 027 on the inner loop. Then I will put K-line snap strack on the outer loop. Two things I need to know.

1. Please confirm that K-line 027 and Lionel 027 switches and track are interchangeable (I still have some leftover Lionel but want to use K-line switches).

2. Does anyone have a mailorder source for K-line 027 switches? I do not think they are carried locally in Houston.

Jim H

[thor CNJ]

If you need doorway track plans for O, O27, Atlas O or MTH realtrax, stop by my website (listed in my signature). I have plans for them all.

[laz 57]

JIM,
Here is an ideer for you go to the local lumber yard and get yourself two 4x8 sheets of LEWAN. It comes in 1/4 inch thick sheets and is basically the same stuff that the doors are made of. Also you can buy 2x2s or if you have access to a table saw you can rip them and use for the framing material. This way you could cut those sheets to whatever lenght you want and that LEWAN is easily cut by scoring it with a utility knife.
But of course if you have a saw it is much easier. Sandwich the Lewan onto the 2x2s and there you have it, put a suitcase handle on it and it is mobile.
Hope this helps.
Laz 57

[laz 57]

JIM,
This could be all done for under $35.00. Lewan cost about $10.00/ sheet.
Laz57

[jimhaleyscomet]

Thanks Laz for the idea. I purchased my door (36") before I got your reply. However I will keep it in mind for the next one!

I put a "dog bone" on the board today and ran wiring for two blocks (one direct from transformer, the other one goes thought a light switch). After working with DCS and TMCC for about a year it is nice to return to block wiring and operation. It sure is fun to wire the blocks and run two trains (Lionel CW-80 transformer) on one track. When one starts to catch up to the other I just kill the power to the block with tihe fast engine for a few seconds. It keeps me alert and should be fun for others also.

I ordered K-line switches today from wholesaletrains.com. (My local hobby shops had no K-line switches). Never ordered from them before so I hope they are o.k. I will update you all with pictures when I finish in a few weeks.

Jim H

[spankybird]

Happy New Year Jim,

Sorry for not responding yesterday on your switch question.

The K-Line switches are interchangeable with Lionel and K-line 027 tube track. In fact the K-line switch is the same footprint as the Lionel. You will love them.

tom

[3railguy]

Jim, tip. To quiet 027 track, use 1/8" x 1/4" adhesive weather strip under the ties. Do not tighten the track screws. Leave the heads a hair above the ties. I see no reason why you can't do this under K-Line snap track either but I hate to assume things.

[jimhaleyscomet]

Thanks for the tip John. I installed cork under the 027 today. If I understand correctly then the cork is parrallel to the track and I install the weatherstrip parrallel to the ties.

Good idea. Thanks again.

Jim H

[3railguy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimhaleyscomet

Thanks for the tip John. I installed cork under the 027 today. If I understand correctly then the cork is parrallel to the track and I install the weatherstrip parrallel to the ties.

Good idea. Thanks again.

Jim H

That is correct Jim. cut the weather strip the length of the ties. You may not need it with cork but it will help deaden sound even more. Even with cork, the screws should be long enough to penetrate the plywood since cork won't hold the screws. The heads should still be a hair above the ties. Otherwise they will transmit the noise into the plywood.

[lionelsoni]

Luan is also called "Phillippine mahagony", although it apparently contains no actual mahagony.

[palallin]

FWIW, if you are willing to run track close to the edge, Marx 034 works well on a 36" door, too. It also allows for greater flexiblity in what you can run, and the switches have relatively low housings.