In order to provide an easy way to turn the staged trains around, I'm putting in a pair of turnouts in order to create a runaround track. The locomotives can back their trains up, run the power around, and then back the train into staging. This assumes that all power is double-headed, the rest of the power may need to run through a reverse loop I'm planning over in the helix.
November 12, 2017
After cutting part of my 3/4" birch plywood into 6" strips, I started working on the benchwork through the utility room. I'm using Tapcons to attach the shelving brackets to the concrete walls, but my first attempt to secure them without using the special Tapcon bits did not go well. I did get a structure designed to fit between the stud wall that provides the left side of the lift out section. In attempting to attach it to the stud wall, it shifted slightly higher and the cork no longer lined up with the Homasote.
In addition, the wood screws I tried to secure the support blocks with stripped out. I'm going to use a different type of screw and redo my work. It was fun to see the trains coming through the wall, though.
The next steps are to trim down the 3/4" plywood between the studs. I'll be assembling the pieces on the bench before attempting to put them up the next time. I'm also going to be adding 1/4" Masonite guards that will also serve as bridge alignment for the pieces going in front of the circuit breaker box.
November 13, 2017
I pulled out the first incarnation of the shelf and the pieces that went between the studs. I was also able to get it lined up so that track coming off the Homasote goes right onto the cork without a major bump in it.
It's a much cleaner appearance now. The new screws with the square head drove much better into the existing wood without stripping out the heads. I also picked up the Tapcon tool set and got the bracket secured into the concrete better. I need to cut the Masonite guard rails for either side of the roadbed before I go any further, though.
November 14-15, 2017
Between yesterday and today, I finished up the upper level benchwork in the utility room. I started by adding the 2.5" Masonite guard rails on either side of the connection to the west wall. The ends of the first piece also act as alignment for the removable section.
The removable section ended up being longer than I had planned, due to the fact that where I chose to drill must have had rebar or some other metal in the concrete. I had to make the removable section 36" instead of 30", which also had an effect on the rest of the roadbed.
I cut the curve, which had an inside radius of 27" and an outside radius of 33". The track radius will be about 28.75" and 31.25", which is a bit smaller than what I had planned but still plenty wide for the large cars I'm running. I also had to add an extra support at the midpoint of the curve to add stability to the long piece.
The final piece was a straight shot to the wall, supported with a "bridge" between the studs.
Now that I'm through the utility room phase, the next phase is to build modules down the east wall. I started with U5 and was able to go a bit faster than the first time around. I have two battery powered drills, so I put a drill bit in one and the screw head in the other. The corner jigs work like a champ to get everything lined up squarely:
I also used some large clamps to put the plywood and Homasote on at the same time, which also cut down some effort without any detrimental effect.
I need to finish this module with terminal strips on either end, holes for wires, bus wire installation, and finally the cross pieces to sit on the shelves.
Before putting up the shelving, I cut a small hole to line up with the utility room roadbed. A few measurements later and I had my starting point for the shelves on this side of the room. I'll cut a larger portal when I have the tunnel portals in hand.
The shelves went up much more smoothly this time. I'm now using a 3" drywall screw with a square head on it instead of a Phillips head. This kept the drill from ripping the screw head out and the shelves are lined up almost perfectly, thanks to a laser level.
November 18, 2017
Big construction day today. I got all but one of my upper staging yard throat turnouts installed with their Tortoise drives. They're not powered yet, but will be once I get the appropriate equipment. I laid track around the utility room benchwork, which was made more difficulty by the pipes and the equipment in the floors. However, the cars ran smoothly through the curves, which was one of my big worries.
Putting the track on the removable section was a mixed bag. I'm going to need to find a more reliable way of lining up the rails in this section, as my first attempt caused some derailments on my test runs.
Regardless, I got the track through the utility room connected to my bus wires. I ran the bus wires around the room so that the staging yard can run, regardless of whether the removable section is in place. As I mentioned before, I want to set up an automatic kill system if the section isn't in place, but that will probably come later.
November 19, 2017
I finished the first module by adding the bus wires to the bottom, as well as installing the backdrop. After finishing the utility room track, I opened up the "tunnel" portal to fit the Woodland Scenics dual track portals I purchased. There is a new hole through the end of the module into the utility room to connect up to the bus wires running over to the staging yards, as well.
