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Have fun with my newbie layout
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[quote user="CTValleyRR"] <p>Naxos --</p><p>From your pictures, it doesn't look like any track is actually crossing over any other part of your track, so you wouldn't have a vertical clearance issue which would force you into a certain elevation. It's all about asthetics.</p><p>I'm currently in the process of re-doing my entire layout because I had a couple of crossovers that forced me into a 3.5% grade. I eventually got tired of dealing with the random uncouplings and stalled locos that this caused (Murphy's law dictates that the loco you use to test the slope will turn out to be the only one that can actually climb it!). Now I have a gentle 1.5% gradient leading to an elevation of about 2", rather than the 5" I was trying to achieve before.</p><p>While you can buy expensive tools to define your grade, I've had success with cutting a 3' piece of 1x3 lumber to the desired gradient. Then all you have to do is lay this on your slope in the opposite direction of your slope and put a level on the top. When the top is level, you have achieved the desired grade.</p><p>Also, you might want to drop down to your local building supply store and get a piece of 1" foam insulating board (the pink or blue stuff they put in the walls of new houses). Because this stuff isn't made of those tiny beads, it shapes much more easily (with a knife, a rasp, or sand paper) than the styrofoam packing material you appear to be using. A 1" x 2' x 8' piece only costs about $10.</p><p>[/quote]</p><p>Nope no tracks are crossing yet, but if this experiment works out then I did plan on adding at least one elevated crossing to support future expansion.</p><p>I definetly am going to try refine this grading and try to get it as low as possible. I might pick up some foam board this weekend (mabey sooner). At the very least I need to start working on the foam vice the table top.</p><p>As to the stryofoam, it was cheap (free). I cleaned out my basment last weekend and instead of tossing the stuff in the trash figured I would keep it around just for messing around like this. I definetly need a better method of cutting it than my razor blade.</p>
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