Allegheny Eastern: Clean Slate

[kelticsylk]

Well now. I had underestimated the number of 1/2" dowels I needed, but only because I changed the required length of each pin to 10". This gave me some wiggle room and allowed me to set the pins through the table to the helix sits on. Went out shopping with my wife and picked up 3 more while we were out.

After a nice nap I started work on finishing the helix. I cut all the remaining pins and the rest of the spacers. Using t Thing 2 and Thing 3 this went pretty quick and I was ready to drop on the other two levels.

Level 3 being fitted on the pins...

It's a bit of work to get the levels down over the pins. I have to go to each one and make sure the pin lines up with the hole. The holes are just large enough to provide a force fit (a gentle force for the most part). Once all the pins are through the level I can push down on the level to "seat" it. Since I haven't glued the pins to the table top I sometimes have to push the pin back up...

Finally I put level 4 in place...

All the seams lined and it looks like they not need any additional connection or support. A bit of glue will be used to hold them together...

Voila! The Allegheny Eastern version of the west slope...

List of Materials
Two (2) sheets of 1/4" x 4' x 8' plywood underlayment (cut free at Lowes into four (4) 4' x 4' panels at about $11-$12 each     $24.00
Three (3) ten (10) foot lengths of 1/2" I.D. PVC plumbing pipe less than $2 each                                                                          $  5.00
Twelve (12) 1/2" x 36" hardwood dowels $1 each                                                                                                                         $12.00
The total cost for materials ran about $41. I rounded up to the nearest dollar so it was actually a bit less than that.

The most expensive part of the helix will be the track. There is 49' of four track mainline running in the spiral, roughly about 80 pieces of 30" flex track. At today's prices that's close to $400. That's about what I paid for my 16' boat before I refitted her. I may to sell the boat to keep going on this project 

I'm thinking some folks will shudder about the fact that I'm using 1/4" plywood. I've been using the stuff on all the previous incarnations (call them experiments in layout building) built in developing the final plan. Some of the panels are a few years old and have been subjected to all the temperature and humidity changes that can occur in a garage in Tennessee. I have had no warps even in places where the 2x4 supports were spaced on 16" and 24" centers. Since the helix is supported about every 8" I don't expect any problems.

I don't believe that an N scale layout requires the expense of thicker materials. The weight being carried is minimal and with the proper support (like cheap 2x4 spaced on 12" centers) seems to work fine. Plywood in any thickness is pretty stable stuff.

I have not fastened the helix together yet. I plan to disassemble it down to level one to make track laying easier. The helix will be reassembled level by level as the track gets glued down. Even when reassembled only the bottoms of the pins will be fastened to the table top. The entire helix will be allowed to expand and contract with the change of temperature and humidity. We'll have to wait and see how it holds up.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

Jackpot!

My wife and I were celebrating our 38th anniversary in Chattanooga this weekend. We visited the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" which is actually the old Southern terminal converted to a hotel. We also stopped at a few train related places (my wife's idea) including a ride on the Tennesse Valley Railroad. One place we stopped was a hobby shop. We left there with enough code 80 flex track (about 30-35 pieces to finish the helix...

It was old Rapido track, but it was in good shape and pre-weathered. Since it's being used in the helix I was more interested in its "bullet proofness" than appearance. The best part was the price...$1 a piece!

Our luck didn't end there. We came across a local model railroad club's open house almost by accident. They had things for sale to support their HO scale layout which is a permanent exhibit at the big hotel...



I picked up a Micro-Trains hopper for $4. That was followed by 30 pieces of Atlas code 55 at $1 each...

They had Atlas code 55 turnouts for sale at $4 each, but we were low on cash. I was only able to buy one #10. I'll use it as a pattern to build the other #10's I need at ALTO and ANTIS.

My wife picked up 14 "N-Scale" (or close enough) buildings for $3. We plan to use them at Gallitzin on top of Tunnel Hill...

The new track means things will go a lot faster on the layout. I'm currently laying down the track plan and have about 60% of the "tiles" glued in place...


As soon as the roadbed is cut out I can start laying track.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

Ideas for the future...

Now that we have most (if not all) of the track. I've been giving thouught to using some Micro Engineering code 40 flex track for the Logan Valley traction line and the Glen White / Altoona Northern trackage in Blair Furnace. It also occurred to me to use this in the yards at Juniata. I'll have to wait and see exactly how far we can go with the current inventory of Code 55.

I'm using a first gen DCC system (bought secondhand), the Atlas Commander and accessories. I chose it because it was the only system made at that time that can control up to 99 devices. It has some "peculiarities" and certain precautions must be taken to prevent the thing from vaporizing itself (learned this the hard way). I'm also using a combination of 1st and current generation decoders, most of them 1 or 3 function. No sound at present BUT...After reading a thread here I found out I can "retrofit" my locos with separate sound decoders. Fortunately for the Pennsy ran their diesels in multiples classified as one unit. This means I can take a A-B-A E-7's and leave the B unit a dummy and use the dummy to hold the sound decoder and speakers. Same with any other lash-up. The only engines I can't do this with will be the switchers and hood units. I'm not looking forward to taking my Shay or SW apart no matter what decoder I use. I would like to use DCC to control turnouts, but that might require a lot more than 99 addresses.

While the sound may be further on in the future (think decades), other things like passenger car, caboose and structure lighting are not. On the helix we hope to use blue rope lights to simulate moonlight. There is also some thought of a sort of "backdrop" in the helix. We want the trains to look like they are going somewhere while they are traveling the spiral. We think this might be something the grandkids will enjoy.

The layout itself will be lit by a series of fluorescent lights (bulbs, not tubes) hung from the ceiling. Currently the only lighting we have are three fluorescent bulbs and it works fine. A lot of light for very little juice. The plan is too use a kind of indirect lighting so the layout looks like the real world on an overcast day with very few shadows. There is even some thought of painting the backdrops to resemble overcast skies.

Signaling and train detection is one other thing I would like to accomplish at some point. If I thought I could afford to implement it I think some way of automating the mainline trains should be developed. This would allow me to operate the layout by myself. I could handle the local freight, switching or helper assignments while the rest of the layout operated on a realistic schedule.

Because there is only two towns on the layout, no attempt will be made to operate with "scale time". Instead the mainline trains will operate on a realistic schedule, arriving and or departing Altoona at appropiate times. Trains can be held in the helix until their scheduled appearance. This may also apply to the Juniata yard, which is serving dual roles as a staging/classification yard. Won't know for certain until everything is up and operating and we know how things will actually run.

Just some thoughts on the possibilities.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

I succeeded in pasting down most of the 190 odd tiles printed out from XTrkCAD. Looking back on it, I probably should have gone with long banner style printouts instead of 8 1/2 x 11. I'm not sure, however that I could get banners printed on cardstock. The cardstock is more resistant to the moisture in paste so it's a bit easier to keep flat. I did find one thing to watch out for while laying the tiles. At first I just laid them out from one side of the plywood to the other. I placed the tiles adjacent to one another and pasted them in place. This doesn't really work. As you get further along you realize that nothing is lining up. This photo of the Juniata area may show the problem...

You can see that parts of the word Juniata and some of the "borders" between frames are off by a 1/2" or so. That's quite a gap in N scale, almost 7 scale feet. Rather than continue like this and having that "gap" get wider as I progressed, I found that the best method was to follow the mainline around the layout making sure each tile was lined up correctly with the one before it I didn't worry about how it lined up with the tiles in other areas of the layout. It worked just fine...

So now that the tiles are all glued to the plywood, it's time to create the roadbed. The conventional wisdom says the foam (or homasote) goes on top because...
A) Sound deadening
B) It (particularly homasote) holds spikes.
C) It's been done that way for years.

As for A the sound deadening qualities of homasote are quite good, probably because it is a paper product. Foam may lack some of the sound deadening qualities, but it's availability and cost make it a workable alternative. While extruded foam is available just about everywhere, however, homasote is not.

Very few N scale model railroads have track held down by spikes so B is kinda moot. Most of us use manufactured track instead of laying our own (the word "tedious" comes to mind) The track we use is usually glued in place.

C is pretty typical of many endeavors. We stick with "best practice" as much as we can. The real railroads did and it took forever for them to adapt to changing conditions, eventually resulting in the disappearance of many roads that were once household names.

Anyway, I opted to lay the plywood on top of the foam. Old school layouts built "back in the day" usually laid the ballast strip directly on the plywood. This was the method used for decades long before homasote was even thought of. Laying the ballast strip and track directly on the plywood was a proven method. The reason I laid the foam underneath came from my own background and experience. I once worked for a company that built commercial kitchens. When we built counter tops the sound deadening was always underneath. It seemed to me the if I was going to use foam as a sound deadening material it might be more effective on the bottom. Extruded foam is also great for reinforcing and supporting the 1/4" plywood underlayment. The foam provides stiffness while the plywood provides strength. I laminated the foam and the plywood (somewhat like the body of a Delorean) into a very light and inexpensive 3/4" "composite" roadbed...

There are some things I had to take into account and set up prior to the lamination. One thing I definitely had to do was stagger the joints of the two materials. I figured that putting the joints in the same vertical plane would cause problems with keeping the sections in line. I wanted to make the roadbed one continuous unit running across the layout. Staggering the joints allowed me to do this...

I also made sure that I staggered joints between various pieces of foam. Not only did the enable the use of odd pieces left over from previous layout attempts, it created a kind of interlocking joint...

Instead of running out and buying a billion clamps I took a tip from wood working and used coarse thread drywall screws. Some of the screws hold the composite to the frame, clamping the foam between the plywood and the benchwork. Others are simply screwed into the plywood/foam composite. The coarse threads hold the foam up against the plywood tight enough for a good bond while the glue cures...

In some areas I only used screws around the perimeter and weighed the plywood down against the foam. One advantage of building a layout in the garage is instant access to any number of things with enough weight to do the job...

In other areas I used screws every 6" or so (I ran out of tires)...

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While all the glue sets up and dries elsewhere on the layout I have to work out the actual connections to the helix. I found I was able to move the entire helix from one place to another when needed. I could also turn it to get a better alignment at the approaches. This the view of the lower approach to the helix as seen from the Spruce Creek area. You can see that the mainlines will need to split to maneuver around one of the posts. The eastbound mains will run to the right, while the westbound mains will run to the left...

Once I have the upper and lower helix connections worked out it's time to started laying track through the helix.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

After an eternity of gluing down track plan tiles (and then redoing some of them) I was finally able to start cutting the roadbed. I started at Gallitzin at the upper approach to the helix.

The new jigsaw made short work of the job. It only took a few hours to cut the 43 feet. I was able to mock up the grade and called it quits for the day. This is most of the climb to Gallitzin, 120 scale feet uphill and 1.3 scale miles "west" of Altoona...

The mockup is supported by piles of 1/2" extruded foam. Once I get the grade at a steady 1.8% I'll start adding the permanent supports.

Gallitzin doesn't look like much yet, but it does have that helper loop ..

You'll notice the helix is not present. The helix has proved to be pretty versatile. It can be moved as a unit. It can also be completely disassembled. Right now it has been taken apart so the track can be laid. The spiral will be reassembled level by level as the tracks are completed. This can be done at any location large enough to hold the helix (kitchen table?). When ready the entire helix will be installed at it's proper location.

Blair Furnace is also mocked up. I'm not sure what the grades are yet, but they sure ain't 1.8%...

Should give that Shay a real workout!

The laminated plywood/foam roadbed seems to work fine. There are some places where the joints failed, but that's easily fixed. You can see some the clamps where sections had to be reglued. It is incredibly light and flexible. Even though the mock supports are a few feet apart, I plan to use support every 12". Should make the roadbed pretty stable.

About 1.5 scale miles (49 feet) of the mainline is at 0" (about 53" above the finished floor), including Juniata yard, shown here without a pile of tools and debris...

The yard is about a half scale mile long (15 feet or so). and will have 10 tracks. Which reminds me of something...

One of the operating schemes I have thought of is to use Juniata as a visible staging yard. I wanted a classification yard, but that didn't seem workable. Then it hit me...Usually the staging yard is worked by the old 0-5-0 switcher (a human hand). Why not let the N scale switchers do the work of staging trains? The engines would haul themselves to East Altoona for servicing and repair while other locomotives (and cabeese on freight trains) would be assigned to a newly staged train. The yard crew has a real job to do getting the next train ready for staging. It's not classification as the prototype does it, but it is necessary to the operation of the layout.

One other thing. My wife and I were talking and we decided we want to set the layout in the autumn, sometime in the late 1940's. I've taking some pictures of what we are thinking of...

This is a rather fuzzy still from a video I took with "Ranger Cam" (my Droid mounted in my pickup) I've been doing this to get details for the layout. Aside from the colors of the trees we have been noticing the changes in the fields and underbrush and fence lines and even the vines on the telephone poles. The other thing we're looking for is details of overcast skies. I think I explained earlier that I want a uniform shadowless lighting for the garage. Overcast days are the ultimate in indirect lighting. You get consistent illumination everywhere. We are going to paint the backdrop and the garage walls to represent an overcast sky. The photo may not show it, but there are subtle details and shades to a gray sky and I'd like to capture that as best I can.

That's about it for now.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[MichaelWinicki]

I think autumn is a terrific choice Frank!

But I also think it's the most difficult to pull off in the model world.

A well done autumn themed layout is a magnificent sight.

The challenge is that many autumn-themed pikes make it more of a caricature of autumn, than true autumn.

The colors they use are much too bright and intense– they come off more as circus colors than they do true autumn colors.

[Bsklarski]

Yes, as long as you mute the colors and spray your foliage with a finish coat of greys and browns, you will be fine.

[kelticsylk]

Model Railroader used to say "For enjoyment with everlasting challenge" on it's cover. Sometimes you get no joy, and the challenge gets you thinking about goin' fishin'...

Today I checked the grades that I had mocked up using stacks of 1/2" thick scrap foam. That was an experience. I learned a number of things...

A - Don't blindly trust your layout planning software. The info XTrkCAD gave me about the grade was somewhat incorrect. If I start from Gallitzin at 9" and run downhill to Slope the grade is better than 2%.

B - Use an "inclometer" when creating a grade. You need something to check the slope with. I tried a couple of things. One was an app for my 'Droid phone called "Bubble". It looks like a level and it can give you a reading on the angle of a slope. For measuring grades it can be set to display percentages. You can use any side of the phone including laying screen up...

The trouble is that I'm not sure what it's displaying. The numbers are in percents, but don't seem to be what I expected. I haven't found a manual for the thing yet. Until I do learn how to use it I went old school and made my own "inclinometer...

It's just a four foot aluminum level. I propped one end of it up one inch (1 up in 50 is 2%) and then marked where the bubble ended up. I then marked it with a 2 to avoid confusion later on (it has to be used in the correct direction or it doesn't read right). As long as the bubble is below the 2, I'm happy with the grade (how's that for exact).

Armed with my trusty tool I started checking the grade downhill from Gallitzin. According to the "inclinometer" it was way off. I corrected by adding more pieces of 1/2" thick foam to each stack. I went down downhill like this until I reached Slope. Here I realized that the grade had to start further east. I got out the jig saw and cut the roadbed further east. I added more foam pieces underneath. etc. If you thought adjusting a helix was a lot of work, try laying out a grade. The helix was a cakewalk by comparison.

The short story is this...After several trips up and down the hill I found out that  I could not reach 9" at Gallitzin without increasing the steepness of the grade or making the grade longer to maintain 1,8%. If I keep the grade around 1.8% the lower end is not at Slope but further east, So far east that it ends up in the middle of Juniata yard. Something had to give. I ended up dropping Gallitzin to 7" and running a 1.8% grade down to Alto, just short of the Altoona depot...

So now I have a 1.8% grade about 56 feet long (1.7 scale miles). XTrkcad tells me it's a 1% grade, but I think I'll stick with the 1.8% the level shows. Gallitzin is now 7" in the air (93 scale feet) which leads to another problem...

Remember the helix? The helix is four turns high (9") and is supposed to be a 1.2% grade for over 40 feet. Each turn is 2" higher that the one before. Fortunately I get a break here. Gallitzin is now 2" lower. This means I don't have to redesign the helix, just shorten it. Another break...Because I the helix can still be disassembled for laying track I can just take it apart (which I had already done). I reassembled it to check my assumption and it turned out I was correct. After removing the 4th turn the helix is 7" high.

With the grade worked out all I have to do now is create uprights of specific lengths for specific locations. Rather than cut them to the exact height required, however, I think I'll use standardized sizes and find a way to adjust each one to the correct height.

While I'm mulling that over I diassembled the helix again and began to lay the code 80 track. I laid four sections in four tracks. I wanted to check clearances again and make sure of my dimensions. The clearances seemed tighter than my earlier trial so I checked my dimensions. It appears that the "post holes" on the outside are 1/8" too far in. The centers should be 1/2". Instead they are 5/8". I'll be drilling new holes...

That's it for today...There's always tomorrow 

Regards,
Frank Musick

P.S.
Guys, I will keep the advice about autumn in mind. I agree with you that most of the colors are muted, except for the occasional bright orange tree. In a model setting the colors should be muted anyway. If we make the colors too real, they won't look right.

[kelticsylk]

In my continuous quest to make things more difficult than they need be...

Started laying track today. Since the helix is a key part of the layout I thought it best to do that first. Before I started that however I went over some things in the construction of the helix itself. When the helix was rotated for a better alignment with the approaches it became real obvious that the "post" holes were on varying centers. They did not line up correctly with the the holes in the "tabletop" that supports the structure. If they were where they should be I would be able to line up the holes no matter how far I rotate the assembly...

I also found that one of the "turns" had been cut wrong and was wider than the other three. Since this is the one I used to set the original post centers on, "gang drilling" through it screwed up the other three pieces of the helix. Since I'm shortening the helix by one turn I took out the oversize one. I went over the dimensions again and set new centers for the post holes. I divided the circumference of the 22" curve centerline by 16 and got a result of 8 5/8". I marked these dimensions on the plywood and drew lines through these marks and the center of the turn. I also marked 1/2" from either side at each location to get the centers of the posts. Then I stacked the plywood pieces and lined them up vertically and screwed them together so they wouldn't shift. I drilled pilot holes where I had marked the centers. Instead of the 1/2" bore bit I used the first time I switched to a 1/2" spade bit. The spade has long straight side that tends to drill a straighter more accurate hole. It also has a "tang" in the center of the cutting surface that lines the bit up with the pilot hole. The result was 32 accurate post holes that fit the 1/2" dowel posts perfectly...

Once the holes were drilled I layed out the location for the four tracks to fit between the posts. I had used printed layout plan tiles, but they proved to be highly inaccurate for locating track. The tolerances inside the helix are a lot more demanding that the rest of the layout. It either fits or it doesn't. There is no fudge factor (yet).

I had checked the clearances between the track and the posts earlier, using an 80 foot passenger car (Allegheny Eastern business car "Blue Heron"). At the time it looked OK, but with more accurate post locations I found the clearance was too tight and might cause problems. I also discovered something that was not obvious to me before. I had only checked the overhang on the outside track where the car corners tend to catch on objects too close to the track. I hadn't realized this is also an issue on the inside track. On the inside track the middle of the car can rub up against any object set too close. In normal operation there shouldn't be any passenger consist on either outer track. The passenger mains are the two inner tracks. Still, I wasn't comfortable with the "tight squeeze" and decided to make sure the tracks were spaced far enough from the posts to avoid future issues. This required making really sure that four tracks were centered EXACTLY between the posts...

EXACTLY can be hard to do sometimes so I gave myself room to fudge a bit. To make just a bit more room I decided to modify the spacers. I cut off one side tangent to the I.D. This added another 1/8" or so to either side of the tracks while keeping the posts right were they were. Since most of the spacer is still there, it can't slip away from the post...

Cutting each spacer like this accurately with a saw would take forever. I'm gonna create some sort of jig and use a power sander to remove the material easier and more precisely.

So for now track laying is stalled until I get those spacers modified.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

You would think I'd have something better to do than play with trains all day and then write about it. I do, but being retired there is quite a lot of time in my day for lots of things. It's just that my hobby takes up the majority of my time until the trains are running again. Christmas is coming and the grandkids will be very disappointed if I don't get them going.

Anyway, I didn't like the way the helix came out and I wasn't willing to spend the time on modifying those spacers. So I ripped up the track and started again. I decided the move the posts outward an 1/8". It was less work than cutting spacers and it was the "right" way to do things. I was afraid this wouldn't leave much "meat" at the outer edge so I tried it out. I made a new set of holes with centers offset 1" from the previous ones and 3/8" from either edge. Worked fine...

With the posts moved out, I started trial and error fitting of the four main lines. I figured out where the track should go and started laying it down permanently. I laid the outermost tracks so that the end of the ties was 1 1/8" from the edge...

I then laid the inner tracks using my trusty (and worn) track spacer. The spacer sets the track centers on 1 1/4" centerlines...

The four track minline is now centered between the posts. You can see that the track plan tiles are nowhere near correct...

The centerline of both outer tracks is now about 1 1/2" from the edge providing plenty of clearance for "Blue Heron" to make the outer curve...

as well as the inner curve...

As I mentioned before, I don't expect passenger trains to be running on the outer tracks which are primarily for freight traffic. You can never tell, however, whether some towerman will be asleep at the wheel and send a train up the wrong main.

Now track laying can begin in earnest.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

Started laying track. I use a somewhat unconventional method when permanently putting down flex track. I have read (and tried it myself) that you remove the first few ties from either end and fasten the track in position. Then you go back and replace all those ties you cut off.

For a while now I have been leaving the ties in place and just trimming the spike heads of the first two ties at each end. I make sure the razor and/or Xacto blade is run under the rails. I do this to make room for the track joiners...

I then place dabs of glue about every four inches and spread them out with a small brush. I place the track on the glue and clamp the ends in place with weights (box of screws or anything else I can find). I wait a few minutes for the glue to cure a bit and start to lay the next track...

In this case I'm working on the helix so I'm putting down all four tracks as I go. In other ares I might completely run one of the outside tracks and do the others in sequence.

The glue I'm using will probably amuse a lot of people. It's a craft glue that sets fast and stays flexible, even after it dries. Aleen's Tacky Glue is available in craft stores, Hobby Lobby, and probably Walmart. It's about half the cost of the same glue from Woodland Scenics or whoever makes it for model railroad hobbyists.

I won't tell you what I use wallpaper paste for (yet) but in comes in a bucket for about $15 at Lowes.

I do not solder my rail joints because...
A - non-soldered joints allow expansion and contraction (like most structure joints).
B - I may want to reuse this track sometime. It's valuable stuff and should be recyclable. This may be obvious but it's comes apart a lot easier if it's not soldered.

By the way, I use track joiners to keep the rails aligned, but I also use them for electrical connections. Every rail joiner has a wire soldered to it, so each section of track has four feeder wires it shares with the adjacent tracks (overkill for sure but reliable). The feeders then run down to a 14 GA. buss wire under the roadbed. The feeder and buss wires are held in place with dabs of glue.  Having said that I just realized what I forgot to do on the track I laid today.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

More tracked laid, but this time I remembered the wiring. I did have to go back and add connections to the first couple of joints. Mucho work, do not attempt this at home.

As always I took some photos of the process so I can illustrate and let you all join in the fun. The first thing I do is take a strip of rail joiners and "gang solder" feeder wires. I do a set of black and a set of red...

I then bend the joiners to break the strip. I found that if you just bend in one direction the breaks come out clean and flat. By one direction I mean up 90 degrees and back down to flat.

The feeder wire I use is from Model Power. I can't tell you exactly what gage because the spool lists several. It appears to be 22 GA multi strand copper. It's joined double red/black but I split the two into separate wires...

The solder I use is for electronics and I is only .032" in diameter. It's available at Radio Shack...

I use a small dual wattage soldering iron, I think the switch lets you choose 15 or 30 watts.

I drill a small hole (just big enough for the feeder wire) directly off the end of the rail at the joint through the roadbed...

Then I take a pre-wired  joiner, push the wires through the holes and insert the rail into the joiner...

Looking "east" all the reds are installed on the left rail, everywhere on the layout.

It takes a bit of time to do things this way, but not as much as coming back later to do electrical connections (especially in a helix). The feeder wires are soldered to 14 GA buss wires running under the roadbed. The layout will be DCC so I split into two power "zones". There are two sets of buss wires. Each has their own power supply. All the eastbound tracks are one zone, all westbound are the second.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

Been reassembling the helix as I lay track and wiring...

Only problems so far are ones I caused for myself. Had to relay some track at the first seam because I didn't think ahead. You can't lay track across the seam until after you put it together. Fortunately the next level of the helix can be "peeled back" (raised) a tad to make room to work...

I changed the way I'm doing the seams. The supports are no longer placed at the seams, but about 4" either side. There are two short sections of plywood, maybe 1"x 1/4", under each outside edge to reinforce the seam itself.

The helix, with its base, is being built in East Altoona. It's the largest flat spot available for the work. It will be relocated to Gallitzin. The vertical posts will serve as supports for the "west" end of Gallitzin, which lies directly above that half of the helix.

Slow progress, but it is moving forward.

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

Progress on the helix is slow but steady. The track on the second level is almost finished. While working on it I discovered a few things.

Seems as though at least two of the post holes didn't line up. They are mich more than a 1/2" from the edge of the roadbed...

I also discovered the smallest change that helps in making the job goes easier and faster. I started turning the feed wires 90 degrees before I soldered them to the rail joiners...

Should have been obvious!

Here's a close look at that code 80 track I got in Chatanooga. I assume it's Rapido but there are no markngs...

It's chemically darkened (even the joiners) with dark brown ties. Anybody recognize it?

Regards,
Frank Musick

[kelticsylk]

The track is slowly ascending the helix. As I go I'm running into strange obstacles and reflecting on how this might be done better "next time".

Ran out of feeder wire. I was using 22 GA stranded wire that was very flexible and colored red and black. Only had one small spool of the stuff and Hobby Lobby doesn't carry it anymore (they stopped stocking a lot of train accessories). The retail hobby shops in my area are both 30 plus miles away (and wouldn't have it anyhow). Our museum hobby shop is only open certain hours, none of which are when you really need something NOW. I went to Lowes looking for the smallest wire they had...20 GA bell wire...Stiff, not stranded and comes in red and white. I felt that as long as the "hot" circuit was red, white color would be OK. The wire also has a larger diameter. This required small changes in the construction and wiring design. Easily solved but aggravating.

Reflecting on the general design of the helix and having to "adjust" some hole locations that should have matched I made some notes for future reference. Keep in mind that I'm assuming a helix that fits on a 4' x 4' sheet of plywood, but the general idea can be used for any size helix.

All the sheets for all the levels should be clamped or screwed together in a stack before anything else is done (got this part right). Find the center of the uppermost sheet and work from that center. All of the hole centers should be laid out on the plywood FIRST!  The holes should be located on common center lines for each set of the 32 post holes struck every 22.5 degrees. Using the angular measurement will allow you to create any size helix with 32 posts. After all the hole locations are laid out they should be double checked. Double check hole spacing, track centerline(s), track clearance from spacers and overall roadbed width. When you are sure the locations are good the holes should be drilled using a spade bit that matches the diameter of the posts you are using. Drill through all levels (including any base that might be used) at the same time (got this one right too).

After the holes are drilled the joints should be cut. Staggering them would be nice, but to simplify cutting and construction make them all in the same vertical plane by cutting all levels together while everything is still clamped together. Use the thinnest blade you can get (I use my thin pull saws). Make sure the cut is square with the center so that all joints at all levels will mate up.

I feel the cutting the actual curved helix roadbed out last will save a lot of aggravation due to misaligned holes. While there are any number of ways to do this a router is the easiest. Buy or make some sort of circle cutting jig. Using a 1/4" straight bit cut the outer curve first. Set the cutting radius for the router using the same helix center used for drilling the holes. Double check the center location and dimensions before cutting. Go slow with the router and let it do the work. Once the outer curve is cut, reset the router position for the inner curve. Make sure of the center again (I messed up on this on one sheet, fortunately, that "level" wasn't used in the helix.) and cut slowly.

You can probably use a jigsaw if you don't have access to a router, but you will probably have to layout the curves to be cut manually using some sort of beam compass or home made gadget.

Don't what you'll do with the big circles that are left over. Maybe some railroad crossing signs, railroad logos or builders plate replicas for the train room walls.

Oh, yeah...Buy all the feeder wire ahead of time. Make sure it's the flexible stranded kind in the right colors. 20 GA is definitely better than 22 GA or smaller. It will take a lot more abuse.

Make sure you have all your track joints properly aligned and in the proper places before you go on to the next level. Believe me it is REALLY not much fun.

So far the overall concept appears to work. The hardest part was getting all the holes lined up so that the levels would fit down easily on the posts. A bit of time spent in the measuring and layout stage will mean less time ( and expletives ) during construction.

Hopefully the helix will be completed before the weekend. I want to get started on the rest of the layout.

Regards,
Frank Musick