Years ago back in the late '70s I worked for an ex Railroad Bridge maintence man he may have been 80 years old and still 6' tall at that time, his hands were twice as big as mine. He told me how they would raise a bridge. Start at one end and drive oak (maybe chestnut?) wedges in between something (sorry I do not remember what) and work to the other side. When that is done, back across to the other side and start over, pound the wedge and move to the next wedge over and over till the bridge was raised to grade.
My train room is the "bonus room" over the two car, attached garage; with the house being 40 years old, I assumed the floor would not be completely flat.
As my layout is an around-the-walls design, my first task was to install a "chair rail" around the entire room, attached to wall studs, to serve as the rear benchwork member. I used a 4' carpenders level, but laser devices on tripods can be rented for this purpose.
As I had the room carpeted prior to layout construction, when installing the 2" x 2" benchwork legs, I placed a caster cup under the leg, lightly clamped the leg in place, and then placed scuba weights (60+ lbs.) on top of the leg. After re-clamping the leg over two days to compress the carpet, I'd screw the leg to the benchwork.
As far as I can tell, tain't nuth'in moved since.
Jim
FRRYKidI built the legs with funiture levelers that required a 3/8" hole to mount the T-nut just so I had enough play to level the layout.
When I had an unfinished concrete floor I used T-nuts and carriage bolts. Now that I have a vinyl floor, Larry Puckett did a video where there are padded legs that come with a t-nut. I found mine on Amazon. I don't see the need for a lock nut
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
FRRYKid I built the legs with funiture levelers that required a 3/8" hole to mount the T-nut just so I had enough play to level the layout. they still come in handy.
I built the legs with funiture levelers that required a 3/8" hole to mount the T-nut just so I had enough play to level the layout.
they still come in handy.
The above is somewhat I did. Set for life. I also installed a ''lock nut" on the carriage bolt that i used for the adjusting leg bolt.
Now we understand why even a slight change in grade on the prototype, where the physics is the very same, requires a substantial change in horsepower if one wants to maintain track speed. The railroads did everything they could to ensure yard tracks were very close to level so that long cuts of cars could easily be shunted by small yard switchers. Leveling one's layout can pay big dividends such as getting rid of those annoying changes of speed as the locomotive begins to haul the 'tonnage' (but mostly itself...it's own weight) back up out of the dip.
I've always tried to keep my layout level, but I made special efforts to build the carfloat that way. I wanted to be able to pull the 5 or 6 freight cars off the float, plus the three idler flats. The goal was to do this withe an 0-6-0 tank engine. I did it.
Of course, a real carfloat would probably unload only half tht string of cars at a time, for balance reasons. I also made sure to use only metal wheelsets, and I replaced the supplied plastic rauils on the float with metal.
I have only a few short grades on my layout, and keeping things level does make a big difference.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
When I first built my current layout in my old apartment bedroom, I knew there were issues with slope. (The bookshelf that was there originally was almost 3/4" away from the wall at the top with the bottom against the wall.) I built the legs with funiture levelers that required a 3/8" hole to mount the T-nut just so I had enough play to level the layout.
Even when I moved the layout to the garage of my house, I still used the levelers to make sure the layout was level. It's not to the extent of the old apartment but they still come in handy.
Sounds like you were battling some pretty stiff grades. I ought to go and see if anything can be done with a couple places where uncoupled cars wander down the track a bit.
Darth Santa Fedon't wait like me and get used to problems. Get that stuff level now and enjoy the better operation!
On my basement layout with slope to floor drains, I used a level and adjusted the leg legnths as I built the benchwork. Much easier that way.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I've lived in my house for almost 6 years now, and have had the layout in the same location for most of that time. I knew my floor wasn't quite level (made that way for drainage), and I got so used to a slight slow-down in one direction that I just about forgot about it. Yesterday though, I decided to get out the level and finally get to work.
My layout has an L-shape (only 1 section usable so far though), and in the end, I raised the front of the left side about 3/4 of an inch, the corner another inch or so, and then the right side (end of the L) as much as an inch and a half! I had no idea it was so off!
Once that was done, I got to running some trains on the track. No more slow-downs and no more cars gliding on their own! It's almost strange now to have everything running so consistently. So to those of you building your layouts, don't wait like me and get used to problems. Get that stuff level now and enjoy the better operation!
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