Elevated HO scale track installation

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Woodside64

...Now I need everyone's assistance; all of you have been involved years longer than I. Have purchased a HO Santa Fe Super Chief, and will install it in elevated fashion around my office at home. I am going to use Atlas code 83 true track. Walther has recommended 24" radius track for this long train, and they do carry it. I will use that and the Atlas 9'' straight true track...Major Question: wall brackets to use, and I was thinking about a 1/2 to 1" outside fence to finish off the layout going around the room, and connected somehow to the brackets. The true track roadbed should be strong enough to carry the weight of the Super Chief, based on number of wall brackets...Whew!! Boy, do I need help! Anyone who has been involved with anything of this nature, please inform me! Much, Much Appreciated.

Michael Steiner, Sparks, NV

Since you're building a minimalist layout, basically any shelf bracket will work. I prefer metal, L-shaped, U-channel shelf brackets. These come as small as 4"x6" and as large as 10"x12", so you shouldn't have a problem finding ones that will fit your needs.

I'd suggest 1/2" or 5/8" plywood screwed to the brackets, with the track glued or nailed to the wood/roadbed. Keep in mind that the corners are going to be much deeper than the basic straightaways, so you'll need longer brackets for those areas.

As for track, I'd stay away from sectional track altogether. Flex track is simple to use, costs less, and will yield 2/3 fewer track joints, meaning 2/3 fewer places for electrical dead spots to form. Adding feeder wires to every piece of flextrack will help too. If you MUST go with sectional track, I'd go with Bachmann's EZ Track. They make curves broader than 24" radius (up to 33.5"), as well as 3 foot long straight sections of track. While Walthers says the train "will negociate 24" curves", it might not do so very well. The broader your curves, the easier the train will negociate the layout.

Track of any sort on it's own will NOT be strong enough to support itself on brackets, unless you intend to mount brackets every 4 inches or so (one per 9" section).

You mentioned a 1/2" - 1" "fence" along the periphery of the layout. Are you talking about decorative wood trim below the baseline of the layout, or a plexiglas fence above the baseline, to keep a train from hitting the ground during a derailment? Either way, adding a 1"x1" wood strip along the outside bottom edge of the plywood base will give you somewhere to screw into for either a decorative fascia or protective plexiglas shield.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Major Question: wall brackets to use, and I was thinking about a 1/2 to 1" outside fence to finish off the layout going around the room, and connected somehow to the brackets. The true track roadbed should be strong enough to carry the weight of the Super Chief, based on number of wall brackets...

The True Trac roadbed, while rigid, has joints every 9 or so inches. These joints will flex some and cannot support a vertical load. You'll need some sort of shelf under the True Trac.

[jacon12]

Michael,
may I ask how high up you're going to go with this shelf, is it to be over doors and windows? If so, I've done something similar and I run O-27 on it. On 2 facing walls I have 9.5 inch shelves and on another wall a 19 inch and on the wall opposite that a 15 inch. I used common metal shelf brackets and I made sure to find the wall studs to screw them into. The shelf and the brackets are painted the same color as the room. As a matter of fact, this room is about 11.5x11.5 feet with a closet so I went through the wall, into the closet and back out again.

[Anonymous]

...Now I need everyone's assistance; all of you have been involved years longer than I. Have purchased a HO Santa Fe Super Chief, and will install it in elevated fashion around my office at home. I am going to use Atlas code 83 true track. Walther has recommended 24" radius track for this long train, and they do carry it. I will use that and the Atlas 9'' straight true track...Major Question: wall brackets to use, and I was thinking about a 1/2 to 1" outside fence to finish off the layout going around the room, and connected somehow to the brackets. The true track roadbed should be strong enough to carry the weight of the Super Chief, based on number of wall brackets...Whew!! Boy, do I need help! Anyone who has been involved with anything of this nature, please inform me! Much, Much Appreciated.

Michael Steiner, Sparks, NV