A complete single lap of the helix requires 12 slats connected with 'gusset' plates. The slats and plates are cut from 1/2" plywood and pre-assembled into 3-banger (1/4 of a circle) and 4-banger (1/3 of a circle) sub-assemblies. The gussets of the sub-assemblies are glued to the plates. After the glued joints set up, the sub-assemblies will be brought to the layout room and installed on the helix base, and the end plates of each sub-assembly will be connected to the next adjacent sub-assembly with 6-32 by 1-1/4" flat head machine screws.
Sketches showing details and dimensions and whatnot for this construction are in the other thread.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
First lap of of helix ramp. So far, so good.
Close-up of ramp section bolted to gusset plate of previous section.
Making progress.
It does look good Robert!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
The rest of the helix ramp. Piece of cake.
A specific design criteria is that I be able to duck under and stand up inside the helix. With a 28" centerline radius (56" diameter), this criteria is easily met.
Robert,
.
I have been following this threrad, and I am enjoying it very much. The neatness that you have when doing carpentry work will never be duplicated by myself, but it is an inspiration.
Please keep the updates coming along.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Usual practice is to lay the track on lap 1 before building the subroadbed for lap 2.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
carl425 Usual practice is to lay the track on lap 1 before building the subroadbed for lap 2.
Hey Carl-
Yeah, usually that's true. This helix was specifically designed to use Kato Unitrack 28.25" radius pieces because a) that stuff is rock solid reliable, and b) I have a ton of it in a bunch of old shoe boxes. I figure I should get some eco-environmental points for using recycled materials.
After everything is in place, the plan is to put a globule of rubber cement here and there under the built-in track bed to keep things from moving around on the plywood ramp. Rubber cement, not contact cement; you know, that rubbery stuff that never seems to harden that credit card companies use to send out their pre-approved cards. AARP also uses it to attach membership cards to their (all-to-frequent) unsolicited invitation letters. MRR used to use it to attach mailing address labels. It peels off easily and doesn't leave a residue.
I have limited experience with helixes. I built one, in N scale, for my friends Norfolk Southern layout.
We used N scale Kato Unitrack with A+ results. We set it in place, then glued 5/16" wooden cubes, 4 per section, to act as guides to hold everything in place. Nothing special about that size, for some reason he had hundreds of them on hand. This way everything was easily removable for maintenance that was never needed.
We used Kato's terminal joiners every three sections. There were zero operational issues with the helix.
The helix in its final position. The grade and the alignment match the 'cookie-cutter' vertical curve cut from the plywood sheet of the benchwork to the right. Can't see from this photo, but there is a grade line penciled in on the wall under the window sill.
Upper level decking in the vicinity of the helix. You will have noticed a big square hole. That is to accommodate the duckunder/popup/liftout section(s). It is 33" by 66". The trackplan for that area shows mostly scenery: the rolling hills and green pastures of Yasgur's Farm and the stark grit and grime of Brunswick Steel. I have a large piece of 2" foam which weighs almost nothing, and the whole shebang can be fabricated as a single piece that lifts out like a giant deli tray. Or maybe two large deli trays. Either way, the thing will be how to disguise the joints. I have several ideas; the usual tricks: fences, hedgerows, trees, large boulders, drainage ditches, low mounds, buildings, retaining walls, and the like. There are only a few vantage points for spectators, and the idea is to determine how best to block views from those points. Most people won't notice at all, and I think it's best to not call attention to anything in particular.
The tape on the floor was put there eariler to give me an idea of layout extents and reach-in distances. It still serves a useful purpose to let me know when I can un-duck when exiting the lower regions.
Next up: Wind River Canyon Peninsula.
Framing for the Wind River Canyon peninsula. As things stand right now, the footprint for the entire layout is pretty much in place. A lot more work to do to flesh it out, but I can get a rough idea of how much space and mass the layout will take up. That break in the middle of the far side of the first photo is supposed to be there. A fairly deep river valley inlet will be constructed there that will be crossed by a high-level long-span bridge.
Added plywood decking to the upper and lower levels of the Wind River Canyon peninsula. Technically, this area of the layout does not have a lower level. The lower level decking shown is the bottom of the canyon where the river will be constructed. Sheer rock walls will be built up using the normal techniques: rigid foam insulation carved following contour lines and stacked pancake-style, interwoven cardboard lattice strips, chicken wire hardware mesh, lightweight plaster, molded rock faces, etc. The nominal height of the benchwork in this area is 52 inches: top of rail elevation 52", river 18" below rail (elevation 34"), and canyon rim 18" above rail (elevation 70"). That gap in the plywood deck is there to accommodate a crack/fissure/crevice in the canyon wall that will be spanned by a girder deck bridge of some sort. Just left of it, the double mainline will cross the river via the high-level Chief Washakie Bridge.
The room is getting pretty dang full, and it is getting harder and harder to find someplace to stand to take photos. So, I'm including a few from different viewpoints to convey the info as best I can. Sorry for cluttering up the broadband.
The entire Wind River Canyon peninsula is a single layout design element (LDE). The design and construction of this LDE, including a lengthy discussion of background and prototype research for the project, is fairly well described in Layout Design Journal No 60 (1st Quarter 2017), published by the Layout Design Special Interest Group (LDSIG). Here's a link to their website LDSIG and to their Facebook page LDSIG
Low-angle views of the lower deck hidden staging yard. Won't really be hidden. Just kinda down-over-there-and-out-of-the-way . . .
A high-level long-span bridge will cross the gap of the upper level.
Robert .... I'm very impressed with the construction.... You will be laying a lot of track ..
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Heartland Division CB&Q Robert .... I'm very impressed with the construction.... You will be laying a lot of track ..
Hey Garry-
Yes, there is quite a bit of track to be laid, but I think the real challenge will be the buildings and structures. There are some pretty decent kits available, and some are pretty complex, but many are simple DPM-type four-walls-and-a-roof deals. But most of the stuff on my layout will need to be scratch-built, and most of them have been completely designed in my head. It's just a matter of getting to the getting.
Continuing work on the Wind River Canyon peninsula. Added framing and plywood track base. As trains enter and exit the horseshoe bend, they disappear into tunnels. This serves two purposes, a) it helps disguise the roundy-roundy effect, and b) it follows the prototype, which has two tunnels in the area of interest (plus three automobile tunnels). Trains emerge on the far corner on a low-level trestle and smoothly transition into the next scene on the other side of the skyboard view block.
It might look like the tracks are elevated through this section, but remember this is a canyon and the scenery goes 18" below track level and 18" above.
The Evel Knevel dead-end ramps will be spanned by the Chief Washakie Bridge, a double-track underdeck Pratt truss bridge. Those little shelves about two-thirds the way up will support concrete bridge abutments anchored to and embedded in the solid rock canyon walls.
I haven't posted much lately. Not because I'm not working on the layout, but because the work I'm doing isn't really very photogenic. Mostly behind-the-scenes stuff. Or more to the point, under-the-scenes stuff. As of right now, 98% of the benchwork is in; that includes both underdeck framing and plywood surfacing. With most of the ground plane in place, that means I can start laying track. So I have. Well . . . technically . . . I'm not laying track I'm laying cork, but that is pretty much the same thing and is every bit as satisfying. And, every little bit of work I do and every little piece I add to the layout helps me 'measure' things to make sure that stuff turns out as planned; particularly reach-in clearances and view point vistas.
Rod Stewart doesn’t believe in cardboard mockups. I do. I like them, but who am I to gainsay a Knight of the British Empire? They (mockups, not knights) help visualize things and are quick and easy to cut out and assemble. I can check for mass and volume and placement, and check for viewpoints and viewblocks and shadows. Reach-in, reach-over, and reach-around are always considerations. Proportions and scale and whatnot.
Here are a couple of photos of my latest mockup together with a photo of the prototype: the old Burlington Railroad Station in Casper, Wyoming.
I’d call this about a 50% model. Built from matboard, not cardboard. Using colored matboard means no painting required. The size and shape are about right. The color and texture are fairly close. There’s some minimal detailing (cutout windows and doors, overhang canopy, minor trim, and a hint of a parapet around the roof).
By way of contrast, a 10% model might be nothing more than a small cigar box or a block of wood quickly spray painted to represent a building; or a soup can or a tuna fish can to represent ground storage tanks; or a paper towel roll to represent a tall chimney or smokestack.
A 100% model would be the Full Monty: a completely constructed kit-built, kit-bashed, or scratch-built structure; the full array of fiddly bits and details; carefully painted and weathered. I’ve never actually built a 100% model, but that doesn’t really matter for purposes of this discussion. If I reach 70% or 80% . . . I’m dancing in the streets.
Just piddling with a few things while I'm waiting for delevery of electronic stuff from MBKlein.
While I'm piddling with mockups, here are two photos of my version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater :
I'm an engineer, but like George Costanza I've always wanted to pretend to be an architect. There'll be a little forested area just east of town, complete with babbling brook and waterfall and whatnot. A spot specifically designed to place this little gem. Not much of a gem just yet (barely a 20% model), but I plan to make a pretty good effort at the scratch build when the time comes.
Robert!
Modelling 'Fallingwater' sounds like a great idea. I am a huge fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. I think Fallingwater is my favourite. Your mock up is a great start. Even though it is very simple, it says "Frank Lloyd Wright" immediately.
The mock up of the BN Casper station is great too. I am assuming that there will be additional height added to the walls when the second storey 'false roof' is installed (I'm not sure if that is the right term).
Great work, even though both projects are still in their infancy.
I don't do mock ups personally. I usually have a pretty good picture in my mind of what I want, and so far I have only rejected one structure which turned out to be way too big for HO. However, I don't really know where I am going until I get there, whereas you have the advantage of a very clear view before you invest a lot in materials and time.
I used cardboard mock-ups for my structures. None of the packaged kits would work, so I "kit-bashed" parts, Walther's, DPM, and others.
Mike.
My You Tube
hon30critter The mock up of the BN Casper station is great too. I am assuming that there will be additional height added to the walls when the second storey 'false roof' is installed (I'm not sure if that is the right term).
Hey Dave-
Yes, the coping and the trim along the roof line needs to be fleshed out a bit. And the windows don't seem to line up right. But those are just the sort of things these mock ups help me with.
Along the architecture front . . . I have plans for a church, a department store, and a county court house, not to mention a library, two theatres, a fire station, a gas station, and a prompt service restaurant. Fellow model railroaders roll their eyes at me a lot whenever I get excited about offline structures. Oh well.
These mock ups will serve as placeholders for a while. The first structures that need to be built are the two high-level bridges. Otherwise, the track will come to a sudden stop.
mbinsewi I used cardboard mock-ups for my structures. None of the packaged kits would work, so I "kit-bashed" parts, Walther's, DPM, and others. Mike.
Hey Mike-
That is exactly the approach I'm taking. Entire industries and blocks of buildings where mock ups serve as placeholders until they can be built. They can stay in place for a few weeks or a few months or even a few years.
When I walk into the train room, I can see pretty much the ultimate build out. But when visitors walk in, I'm not sure exactly what they see. A plywood maze or something. I spend a lot of time waving my arms around and explaining that a chemical plant will be here and a deep-water port will be there and another thing will be over there and another thing will be behind it and the hills and valleys and trees and whatnot will be all over the place . . .
I noticed your pink foam substrate in the top photo. That is the same way I create landforms. Two-inch rigid insulation carved along contour lines and stacked pancake style. I've tried chicken wire and plaster-soaked paper towels and woven carboard lattice strips, but the rigid foam seems to be easiest and produces the best results.
The original plan was to construct this layout more or less like previous layouts: with hand-thrown turnouts and #12 buss wires running underneath the deck and following the trackage above. The plan was to get things up and running simply and add signals and whatnot later.
Work is proceeding even though I haven't posted much lately.
It has been exactly six months since I started actual construction on my layout. On the whole, I am pretty satisfied with the progress I've made and where I am right now. It is a fairly large layout (fairly large, not outrageously large), and I expected quite a lot of work. I figured about a year or so to get things mostly completed. Mostly completed, not completely completed. As almost everyone on this forum knows, things are never completely completed. I hope to be a few steps beyond the Plywood Pacific stage at the one year mark, and I think I am still pretty much on schedule.
As things stand right now: the heavy carpentry and construction of the benchwork is done, most of the track is laid, most of the underwiring is complete, and I can run trains. There was another thread that asked "Which comes first . . . the track or the wiring?" and the answer is they both come at the same time. They have to be worked simultaneously, or at least a firm plan has to be in place so that they end up in sync. One of the reasons I am a little behind schedule (or I would be behind schedule if I had an actual schedule) is that I changed vision about a month ago when I decided to fully incorporate block detection and signaling up front in the construction, and I greatly expanded the scope of both. I kinda loosely planned to initially have no signals and add a few at a later date. But I decided to add those few now, and once I started, I continued to add a few more here and a few more there until I had more than a few; quite a few in fact. Now, the entire built up industrial/commercial/municipal areas of the layout have been blocked out and signalized. That required additional work. I started with a plan to have an old-fashioned layout with hand-thrown turnouts and a simple buss running parallel underneath. Adding block detection (and signaling and remote controlled Tortoises and whatnot) required many busses and tons of wiring underneath to connect everything to the BDL168 and the SE8Cs. Make no mistake, I'm not complaining about the additional work. I am glad for it because I think in the end it will turn out to be well worth the effort. But in the meanwhile, it does mean additional work . . .
And to make sure things are clear, the work described here only covers about two-thirds of the upper level. Things abruptly end at the Evel Knievel drop off of the river inlet channel of the deep-water port. That chasm will be spanned by a high-level bridge which will need to be scratch-built. I'm not daunted by the scratch-build . . . I've done several such long-span bridges. In fact I look forward to that task, but it means layout work will have to be set aside for a little while.
Here's a sketch showing the areas that have been tracked, blocked, wired, and signaled (the shaded area represents work done so far):
EDIT: When I started this thread I was using PhotoBucket, but I then started a layout construction blog on one of those free personal blog sites. I will make an effort to update and re-reference those first few photos. Of course, there's no guarantee Blogger won't go the same way as PB with little or no warning.
Robert ... Good to see your work in progress. Nice track plan. .... I like what you have done so far building the Casper station.
Now that the track is (mostly) laid and the wiring is (mostly) installed (see previous post), it is time to turn my attention to scratch-building the bridge that links the two-thirds of the layout that is tracked and wired to the one-third that isn't.
Here're two photos of a bridge that I built two years ago for another layout. It was built with a plywood modular frame so that it could be transported 250 miles to the club layout and simply dropped into place and secured to the L-girders.
The upcoming bridge will be very similar, but the proportions and lengths will be changed slightly. The previous was 52 inches overall (695 scale feet) with a 28-inch main span and two 12-inch side spans; the new will be 60 inches overall (800 scale feet) with a 32-inch main span and two 14-inch side spans.
Part B to the bridge construction will be scratch-building a waterline model of a Coast Guard Cutter to pass underneath similar to the one shown in this photo of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon.
ATTENTION! Stand by for an important announcement . . . Golden Spike Ceremony tomorrow at noon. Champagne, strawberries, ice cream, and high fives all around.
This is a red letter day for the SNSR. I have finished track laying on the upper level. Well . . . not completely finished. Not entirely. But I have finished in the sense that most model railroaders understand the word finished to mean: mostly finished, kinda finished, almost finished, more finished than not. Like that. Nothing is ever completely finished in this hobby. Almost nothing, almost ever.
Nevertheless, I'm celebrating. Then back to work. Scenery, landforms, plaster, paint, grass, weeds, rocks, water, vegetation, buildings, wire, wire, and wire.
ROBERT PETRICKATTENTION! Stand by for an important announcement . . . Golden Spike Ceremony tomorrow at noon.
Congratulations Robert!
Nice bridge!
I like your signalling system too.