Before I move on with other projects done or in progress, I should give you a little history of what started it all. And no, I’m not talking about what got me going in model railroading, but rather what led to the slew of unfinished projects getting done.

A couple of things came into play that acted as a catalyst for the change that led to the projects. First was that the kids had tons of Lego sets as they grew up. Those sets ended up in pieces in a couple of large totes. One of my projects over the years has been to sort the pieces out by color and type. And with the help of various Lego based websites I have been reassembling the sets. I was looking for a place to display them.

Second was that the layout that I am working on now is not the layout that I would build if starting today. After the previous layout failed so miserably, I was determined to build a successful multi deck layout. Kind of a “failure is not an option thing”. Thanks dad. Also, ops sessions are becoming not a thing as it has become harder to get people together for whatever reason. If starting today I would probably go the Pelle Soeburg route. Staging yard, a town to switch and a couple of signature scenes for photography / railfanning.

The Change…

To solve the problem of wanting wall space for shelves and a little less railroad, I decided to do away with some of it. Looking at what was there I decide to do away with New Brighton yard and the area of Duluth that was above it. I would then slide the staging yard into the New Brighton space and move the wharf scene of Duluth into the Duluth “Docks” space on the upper level.

That meant that New Brighton and the Duluth Docks area were completely disassembled. The sections being moved were moved as 8′ sections.

Once all the old bench work was out of the way I prepped the end wall. I used a sheet of 1/8″ hardboard to act as a backdrop for the end of the staging yard / Duluth wharf scene. The rest of the framing on the wall was removed.

And The Reason Why…

With the space ready it was time to move the base cabinets. Some of the stuff, mainly engines and cars, had to be removed to get to the mounting screws. That and lighten them up some. I’m sure you can see where this is headed, the last cabinet was the “project” cabinet. Things not scene in a long time.

Most of these are somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 years old. I have hauled all of them out many times, thought that today is the day. And then put them back. First, back to the project at hand.

Like I said the base cabinets were moved first.

Once in the framing went back in.

Then the plywood sections with the yard was reinstalled.

Then added the upper deck.

In addition I also added the upper valance over the upper deck with lights. Below are views of the finished scene and with the room lights on and the layout lights off.

With That Done…

With the layout sections moved (I still don’t have everything completely hooked up) I finished putting things back into there respected cabinets. But as I was reloading the project cabinet, I started to look at the different kits thinking someday I have to finish this or that. I mean everyone always talks about all the kits they have collected. Kind of a rite of passage. And at some point I decided today was the day. I’m not getting any younger.

And that is where we are at. Projects to follow.

Till then, stay safe…

Got the helix started and we are movin’ on up to the second deck.

As I had left it last, I had all the curved roadbed pieces cut for the helix. As I was getting ready to assemble the first loop I realized that even if I got it put together I had no way to mount it. So back out to the garage to cut the vertical supports.

Originally I was going to have six sets of vertical supports. They would mate up with the with the joint in the roadbed pieces. I had a rather intricate plan for the vertical supports that would have been a lot more involved and labor intensive. Also I would have had to figure out how to a measure .667 inch rise between supports. I did the math and the fraction of an inch isn’t any better. So, I decided to have eight sets of supports, which meant that it would be a half an inch rise per support. A lot easier to figure out.

I than had to refigure the placement of the supports. Which presented the next hitch. One of the supports landed right in the middle of the reverse loop under the helix. Again, out to the garage to cut a piece to lift the support over the track.

The supports.

And then I was off and running. First I measured and cut off half of a curved section for my overlap. With that done it was a matter of gluing and screwing the pieces together till I had a complete circle.

Before I moved the finished ring to the layout I started the next loop so that the overlap would match up.

Ah yes, moving the loop to the layout. I had assembled the loop at the end of the peninsula. The plan was to slip it into place on the Brandon side. Wouldn’t go. So around the layout and up and over the New Brighton street scene. Got it partially into place and then back around the layout and into the helix center where I wrestled it into place.

The next task was to join it to the other sub roadbed. My plan was not to use any cork roadbed to increase clearance. This meant an offset joint. While trying to figure out how to cut a piece 5mm thick for the offset, it occurred to me to just use a piece of cork sheet.

Next I measured and mounted half of the loop, with the other half pulled high (you can see it in the picture above). This was so I could mount the first section of track where it was under the overlapping piece of the loop. I am using code 100 track in the helix. The reason is simple, I have a bunch of it sitting around from what I figure is about 25 years ago. Plus if I need more it’s cheaper than code 83. This meant a had to use transition pieces. They are from Walthers (walthers.com).   

After that, permanently mounted the rest of the loop.

Next up was to add the track, wired in feeder wires and then the first train.

Now it’s back to the next loop. Keep you updated…

I have finally taken the first steps towards starting the helix. It is long overdue. This past weekend I had a large block of time.  And since it was still warm enough in the garage without heating it I picked up the plywood and started cutting.

As I had mentioned before (it’s been awhile, May 2015) I have a aluminum pattern that I had made for the curves. Using the pattern I trace out the curve section on the plywood (I can get 16 curved sections on a 4 x 8 piece of plywood). I then rough cut out the pieces. Then again using the metal pattern screwed to the rough cut pieces I run them threw the router using a pattern bit. I had detailed this along with pictures in the May 2015 post if you want a better idea of how it works.

I need 12 curved sections per loop. Six would complete one loop if I were using 3/4″ plywood. However than you would have to join the pieces together without creating a clearance problem. My solution was to use 3/8″ plywood and laminate the pieces together offsetting the joints to crate a 3/4″ thick ring that would have nothing below to cause clearance issues.

The stack ready to go.

As noted there are also four pieces (bottom of stack) that I cut with straight sections leading into and out of the helix.

My plan is to assemble them away from the layout one loop at a time. I will glue, clamp and screw them together.  Then I will add that loop to the layout, lay and wire the track. I will then run a test train through it before going on to the next loop. After the first loop works I will repeat the process.

The thought of trying to mark the locations for screws and the center line of the track kind of boggled my mind. A little thought and my next great idea. Back out to the garage and in no time I made a couple of marking gauges.

They ride along the edge of the roadbed and have holes in them for a pencil to mark screw and track locations. One is for the inside of the curve and the other for the outside.

Tried one out and this is what it looks like.

I should have the first loop completed and installed this week. Will keep you updated. I will also have an update on the grain complex for you on Wednesday.

Till then, Happy Modelling…