Interesting!
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
looks good from here but i would wait until the system had been in service for a while before blessing it.
as for screwing the pipes down from the top, try drilling all the way through the pipe first and then enlarge the top hole just enough to get the screw head and screw driver blade through it. then the screw will only be going through the bottom of the pipe. the occasional small hole in the top should not be a problem,
how tight a curve can you make with this? have you tried bending the pipe by heating it and forcing it down to 36" radius?
i still can't figure out the issue with temperature extremes. my basement might get down to 60 degrees when the outside temperature is zero and about 75 degrees when the outside is 95. that is not much of a change over the year
Interesting concept. I would have called it sub-roadbed . I'm a little skeptical that not having a total flat support under the cork isn't going to cause problems in the long run. Maybe just a sheet of cardboard? Using sheet styrene would probably void many of the cool benefits you outlined.
This could not be used with the AMI roadbed. It would "flow" into the groves between the tubes. Have you tried it with something like the woodland scenics foam roadbed?
Have you done any tests to determine the minimum radius possible?
You can get grey water pipe of that dimension and use it in your home. It cannot be PVC for toxicity reasons, but the grey pipe can bend quite well. probably down to 24" or so.
As for mounting it on the stringers or joists, or atop risers, I would use metal water pipe strapping draped over the three pipes with its two ends wood-screwed to the item on which they are resting. Any roadbed above them would need a transverse channel scored into it at the point where it covers the strapping, but that can be done with a coarse file in seconds.
I would be very interested in seeing how this turns out, EL. I can see tons of advantages. For one, you would not have the problem of having to plane all the plies because the tubing would be uniform on a uniform support.
-Crandell
Phoebe Vet Interesting!
Yes, interesting, but not entirely new. There was an article in the May 1988 issue of MR by M. J. Randall called "Plastic Pipe Roadbed". He used 1/2 inch ID CPVC pipe. For single track he used two parallel sections of pipe. In addition, he had pieces of 2 inch long 1/4 X 1-1/8 inch wood lathe glued to the top of the pipe (spanning the two pipes) spaced about 1 inch apart to provide support for the roadbed. The roadbed used was Homabed.
Those of you who saw the video report on our March Kalmbach Layout Progress may have noticed that Kent Johnson uses plastic pipe roadbed similar to that in the 1988 MR article on his three-rail O gauge Canadian Pacific layout.
So long,
Andy
Andy Sperandeo MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
electroloveI already have a hole on the top of the pipe and screw it down only at the bottom. But it can still loose a little of it's shape if screwed down too hard. That's why I'm seeking for a alternative way to fasten it to the riser. Regarding the radius. It can be bent to a 36" radius without heating anything. Just bend it and screw it down.
To eliminate any distortion of the pipe when screwing it down, use a #8 countersink. Do go easy as not to remove too much material from the upper sides within the pipe.
Quite a facinating experiment though.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
The PVC is, of course, subroadbed; the cork is roadbed.
grizlump9i still can't figure out the issue with temperature extremes. my basement might get down to 60 degrees when the outside temperature is zero and about 75 degrees when the outside is 95. that is not much of a change over the year
A basement is a very stable environment, since it's basically underground and usually has a house on top that provides some form of climate control (heat during winter if not also air conditioning during summer). Not all layouts are built in basements though. Layouts in upper floor rooms, attics, garages or specially built sheds in the backyard could be subject to much wilder temperature and humidity swings.
Our club layout is in a quonset hut that is insulated, but definately not climate controlled. There is a wood-pellet stove and a few electric space heaters that we use to warm things up in the winter (but only when we're there about once a week. It can take over an hour to heat it up enough to work in) and in the summer there is no air conditioning beyond opening the front door. And this layout is in southern Ontario, where the weather outside can range from averages as low as -10F (before wind chill) in the winter to 95 on a warm summer day with 95% humidity. It's a pretty inhospitible environment as far as temperature and humidity extremes go.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
selector You can get grey water pipe of that dimension and use it in your home. It cannot be PVC for toxicity reasons, but the grey pipe can bend quite well. probably down to 24" or so.
Just where a dust mask and cut the PVC outdoors. Poly Vynal Cloride isn't toxic, it's the fumes it produces when burned that can kill ya. If it's done outdoors (in driveway or open garage), the mask I mentioned, and long as you don't stick your face right by any smoking areas of the pipe you should be ok. Once the PVC is cooled it no longer produces the fumes and is ok again. You really can't bash PVC pipe or be afraid of it, chances are your house is piped with it. It is a composite material therefore can not rust, and also there fore does not have to be bothered to have a finish on it like sealant paint. Kind of like vynal flooring. Glue it down, clean it once in a while. No need to worry about factoring in expansion slots, or making it a floating floor to deal with that. No worrying about resealing it every few years or paying someone to come in with a giant disc sander and refinish it after some years from loosing it's luster. Now don't get me wrong, I would gladly choose a real wood floor in a deep, rich cherry finish or natural mapple finish over the stupid composite-plastic vynal any day, but then again I would also take the $2000 corinthian leather reclining chair over the Laz-Y-Boy. Well, of course assuming my model RR is finished, which for many people it never is
How do you propose to attach scenic materials to this subroadbed??
The next step will be to build all of the benchwork out of PVC pipe. You can glue the whole thing together.
Enjoy
Paul
For a smooth surface you could put caulking in the void between the pipes and with a small straight edge screed it off flat and attach the cork at the same time. This would also add a fair bit of structural integrity as well by "glueing" the pipes together
Cut the pvc pipe with a hand rachet pvc pipe cutter. You can get one of these where they sell underground lawn irrigation sprinkler supplies.
EL
One of the replies asked about attaching scenary - why not use an extra pipe each side? This would provide for a full ballast profile / drainage.
You also asked about fixing the pipe to risers - why not use your latex caulk!
Rob
SperandeoThose of you who saw the video report on our March Kalmbach Layout Progress may have noticed that Kent Johnson uses plastic pipe roadbed similar to that in the 1988 MR article on his three-rail O gauge Canadian Pacific layout.So long,Andy
Any idea of how long its been in use and if there are any operational or structural issues?
Also it seems like it could conceivably be an interesting way to run wiring too.
MILW-RODR...but then again I would also take the $2000 corinthian leather reclining chair over the Laz-Y-Boy.
LOL! you're showing your age dude!
"Corinthian Leather" was a marketing tool invented by Chrysler in the 1970's in all those old commercials starring Ricardo Montalban. "Corinthian" actually meant nothing and all the Chrysler leather was made in New Jeresy.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_leather