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Building a layout on a rotisserie

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  • Member since
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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
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Posted by hon30critter on Saturday, July 24, 2021 12:02 AM

You will have to excuse me if I don't post for a while. We are headed out on vacation next Wednesday so I will only have my cell phone until August 6.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 19, 2021 2:11 AM

SeeYou190
Dave, do you mean you are building the yard on a single piece of cork?

Hi Kevin,

Yes, that's the plan. I want to have the yard ballast covering most of the ties so using a flat sheet will save a lot of ballast. I could have put the service yard straight onto the foam but I didn't want to have to deal with the grade changes. One of the leads into the yard from the mainline is quite short.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Sunday, July 18, 2021 9:49 AM

hon30critter
I got the pattern made for the sheet cork that will be used in the service yard.

Dave, do you mean you are building the yard on a single piece of cork?

I have done that on a couple of N scale layouts, and it worked fine.

Neither of my HO layouts had a proper yard... never enough room!

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by hon30critter on Saturday, July 17, 2021 11:49 PM

I got the pattern made for the sheet cork that will be used in the service yard.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 9:16 PM

Overmod
But I thought one of the premises of the 'rotisserie' was to allow the "chassis" of the layout to be rotated to any position that wouldn't stress your back or knees. Can't it be locked in some 'easel-like' position that would let you work on it while in an unloading frame or similar gear?  Does all the work have to be done fully downhand?

Hi Overmod,

The layout can be tilted to any angle I want. The problem is that I am laying track very close to the edge of the layout. If I tilt the layout that area drops down towards the floor which would make it difficult to reach even from a seated position. It also makes it difficult to sight along the track to maintain a straight line. What I need to do is get my rolling workbench chair out to the layout so I can sit while I install the cork and track. The layout is 36" above the floor so I can reach the top comfortably when sitting while it is still level.

The primary purpose of the tilt function was to make the underside of the layout  accessable so doing all the wiring will be easy. At least that's the theory.Smile, Wink & Grin

Thanks for asking.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by rrebell on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 11:56 AM

SeeYou190

 

 
hon30critter
That's great Kevin! I look forward to seeing your layout come into reality.

 

Me too!

This last part of the remodel is a real pain I was not expecting.

In previous stages, I just boxed up everything and moved it into a part of the house that was not being finished yet. Now that most of the house is finished, I have no room for the stuff that was piled in this last section.

I need to rent a storage space and get a lot of stuff out of the house so I can finish this, and that was not an expense I wanted.

Hopefully I will have my wife's closet done in a few weeks and I can move the stuff back into there.. hopefully.

-Kevin

 

Feel the pain, but daughter movedx out and that room now gets everything unwanted in house, of course I will eventually have to deal with that room.

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 8:29 AM

hon30critter
That's great Kevin! I look forward to seeing your layout come into reality.

Me too!

This last part of the remodel is a real pain I was not expecting.

In previous stages, I just boxed up everything and moved it into a part of the house that was not being finished yet. Now that most of the house is finished, I have no room for the stuff that was piled in this last section.

I need to rent a storage space and get a lot of stuff out of the house so I can finish this, and that was not an expense I wanted.

Hopefully I will have my wife's closet done in a few weeks and I can move the stuff back into there.. hopefully.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 7:22 AM

But I thought one of the premises of the 'rotisserie' was to allow the "chassis" of the layout to be rotated to any position that wouldn't stress your back or knees.

Can't it be locked in some 'easel-like' position that would let you work on it while in an unloading frame or similar gear?  Does all the work have to be done fully downhand?

  • Member since
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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 6:11 AM

NorthBrit
Glad it is coming together Dave.      Onwards and upwards as they say.

Thanks Dave!

I need to spend more time on the layout but my knees and my back are so painfull that I have to dope myself up before I can even attempt to work on the layout.

I have discovered a pain medication formula that works somewhat better than the hydromorphone. The hydromorphone severly dulls my mind and throws my balance off. I have neuropathy in my lower legs so having my already limited ability to balance thrown further off course is very annoying. I am now taking two Tylenol Extra Strength pills plus two Naproxen 220 mg pills and it seems to be working much better than the opiates.

Cheers!!

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by NorthBrit on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 4:52 AM

Glad it is coming together Dave.      Onwards and upwards as they say.

 

David

To the world you are someone.    To someone you are the world

I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought

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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 3:09 AM

I finally got the courage up to test fit a few turnouts on the cork turnout pads that are glued in place and I am happy to report that they fit just fine. I was worried that because the pads were slightly smaller the turnouts wouldn't line up but they did.

I can officially say that I have put some track on the layout! It's not glued down yet because I have to drill holes for the Tortoises, the frog feeds and the Rapido uncouplers. I also have to remove a bit of cork to allow space for the jumper wires that I put on the bottom of the turnouts to connect the point rails to the closure rails.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
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Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, July 8, 2021 11:36 AM

riogrande5761
Here is what I do.  I test fit where the turnouts will go, get them positioned and then draw a dotted line along the center-line of each route to the end of the turnout in both directions.  Then I lay the split cork so one side follows the straight route and one side follows the diverging route.  Then I back fill the other half from the other direction and trim/cut as needed so it all fits together.  That way using a turnout pad is unnecessary and you get a perfect fit every time.

Hi riogrande5761,

I understand your method of laying cork for turnouts, and I would have used it except for the fact that my back is such a problem. I was able to install 16 turnout pads in about 30 minutes. It would have taken a lot longer to just use the cork strips.

Having said that, I now have to fill in the gaps between the turnout pads. In some places the strips will have to be trimmed to fit, so that will add a bit more time to the process.

Thanks for your input.

Dave 

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, July 8, 2021 11:28 AM

SeeYou190
I started the final phase of the house remodel yesterday, so the layout room is right around the corner now.

That's great Kevin! I look forward to seeing your layout come into reality.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
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  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, July 8, 2021 8:02 AM

hon30critter
The pads I am using are pretty close to the Peco medium turnouts.

That is great that you found a product that fits and makes the process easier for you.

I experimented with bevelling 1/2" homasote and not using cork on my layout segment project. This worked well for me, so I think I will build the layout like that.

I started the final pahse of the house remodel yesterday, so the layout room is right around the corner now.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, July 8, 2021 6:10 AM

Here is what I do.  I test fit where the turnouts will go, get them positioned and then draw a dotted line along the center-line of each route to the end of the turnout in both directions.  Then I lay the split cork so one side follows the straight route and one side follows the diverging route.  Then I back fill the other half from the other direction and trim/cut as needed so it all fits together.  That way using a turnout pad is unnecessary and you get a perfect fit every time.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 6:19 PM

The pads I am using are pretty close to the Peco medium turnouts. The diverging route on the pads is slightly sharper than on the turnouts. I won't have to trim more than 1/8" off the side of the pad.

Itty Bitty Lines have a couple of different sizes of turnout pads.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 10:12 AM

hon30critter
I use pre-cut turnout pads made by Itty Bitty Lines.

In N scale I used the pre-made turnout pads for everything. Messing with split cork roadbed through turnouts was not fun in the smaller scale.

In HO scale, there is such a variety of turnout sizes available that the pre-made pads I tried never seemed to fit right.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:03 PM

SeeYou190
Dave, do you use the pre-made cork turnout blocks, or do you piece together your own using cork strips?

Hi Kevin,

I use pre-cut turnout pads made by Itty Bitty Lines. I opted for the pre-cut pads simply to reduce the amount of time that I have to stand to do the work. I could have tried doing them from a seated position but I don't think I would be able to see the alignment well enough. There will still be a lot of cutting and fitting when it comes to installing the cork between the turnout pads.

Before laying any more cork I need to test fit some turnouts. Most of them will be fine but there are a couple of places where the turnouts are connected directly to each other so I need to verify that the turnouts will fit the cork. On paper, there aren't any problems. We shall have to see if that translates to reality.

Thanks for showing me how you did your turnouts.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
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  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 10:19 PM

hon30critter
I managed to get 16 turnout pads down before my legs and my back had had enough.

Dave, do you use the pre-made cork turnout blocks, or do you piece together your own using cork strips?

I use cork strips to make my turnout mouting pads. You can kind-of see how I do it beneath the turnout in this picture.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 10:07 PM

I finally got brave and glued down some cork. After cogitating for a week trying to figure out how to get the cork placed perfectly, I said "the heck with it" and just followed the glued down track plan. Any minor discrepencies can be fixed later. I managed to get 16 turnout pads down before my legs and my back had had enough.

Small progress, but progress none the less.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, July 1, 2021 3:48 PM

For anything 24 inches and smaller I use sectional track. That is an easy way to avoid kinks and problems.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by 7j43k on Thursday, July 1, 2021 2:08 PM

rrebell

Thats why they make ribbon rail track templates, a metal guide that helps ensure things are lined up and done get kinked.

 

 

Those can be quite handy, and I recommend them.  But.  They only work for straight track and constant radius curves.  Which is, of course, a lot of most people's railroad.

 

Ed

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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, July 1, 2021 11:35 AM

hon30critter

 

 
7j43k
I suggest relying on the glued down plans.  You did get them right, didn't yout?

 

Hi 7j43k,

My biggest concern is to avoid kinks and sharp curves. That's why I want to use a template (turnout + 18" of track).

The glued down sheets are probably not aligned perfectly. They were intended as a guide more than an accurate template. I should have been more careful. If I was doing it again I would put reference marks on the corners of each sheet so I would be better able to position them exactly.

Dave

 

Thats why they make ribbon rail track templates, a metal guide that helps ensure things are lined up and done get kinked.

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Posted by 7j43k on Thursday, July 1, 2021 9:14 AM

When I put down cork, I use little teeny nails.  When done, I can sight down the "track" and see if corrective action is needed.  If so, I pull the nails and realign.

Also, when the track goes down, it doesn't HAVE to follow the cork--another chance to do sighting-down and correction.

If your track doesn't follow the cork, ballast placement can correct it.  If it's really bad, an X-acto knife can help, too.

 

Ed

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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 11:54 PM

7j43k
I suggest relying on the glued down plans.  You did get them right, didn't yout?

Hi 7j43k,

My biggest concern is to avoid kinks and sharp curves. That's why I want to use a template (turnout + 18" of track).

The glued down sheets are probably not aligned perfectly. They were intended as a guide more than an accurate template. I should have been more careful. If I was doing it again I would put reference marks on the corners of each sheet so I would be better able to position them exactly.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 11:46 PM

rrebell
Can the pads, they do nothing for you.

Hi rrebell,

I wouldn't say that they do nothing for me. They sure put a dent in my pocket book!Smile, Wink & GrinLaughLaugh

I'm going to give them a try. I'm hoping that they will reduce the amount of time that it will take to install the cork, that is once I stop procrastinating!Laugh

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    May 2004
  • 7,500 posts
Posted by 7j43k on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 10:47 PM

Dave,

I suggest relying on the glued down plans.  You did get them right, didn't yout?

That insulting remark aside, depend on your plans for laying out the cork.  When in doubt, the plans win.

Later, you will put track on the cork.  THEN we revisit "things".  The ABSOLUTE good news is that you don't have to follow the cork.  Or even the plans.  By then, you will have track itself to judge.  And manipulate.

 

You're doing great,

 

Ed

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Posted by rrebell on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 9:24 PM

Can the pads, they do nothing for you.

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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 8:33 PM

Sorry for the week long silence.

I'm still trying to figure out how to lay the cork. Actually, to be honest, I'm a bit worried that I will get the turnouts wrong. I am using pre-cut turnout pads made by Itty Bitty Lines. My problem is that the Peco medium turnouts don't match the cork pads. The turnouts are longer than the pads on the points end, and the diverging track angle doesn't quite match. The pad shortage on the points end is a no brainer. In order to get the diverging route lined up I think I'm going to make up a jig using a turnout and 18" of flex track so I can see exactly where the cork is supposed to go.

I do have the 1:1 printed plan glued onto the layout to use as a guide, but I don't want to rely on that exclusively to get things in the right place the first time.

I just have to get brave and start doing it!Hmm

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
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  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 1:58 AM

richhotrain
So far, I cannot see anything that you are doing wrong on your layout.

Thanks Rich! I hope you're right.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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