May 2019 Construction Journal

Layout construction has been on a bit of a hiatus recently because I've been knee deep in software development. It originally started as the registration system for the Southeast Michigan Ops Weekend, but has since morphed into an entire registration system focused on model railroad operating events. The new site is at www.operatingsessions.com and I've got pages of new ideas for it. I'll run it out of pocket for now, but eventually I'm hoping to be able to sell sponsorships/advertising/etc. to help to pay for the costs.

Week of May 19, 2019

The next big step in layout construction is to build the helix. It will go in a backroom in the basement and then be connected into the rest of the layout. I'm planning to build it as a self-standing unit so that I can work all the way around it instead of having to stay in the center of it the entire time. Here are the details:

• Atlas Code 83 track - concrete color, since it's mainline track
• Cork roadbed
• 30" inner radius, 32.5" outer radius
• Starting height: 36", Ending height: 56" - slight grade to connect with 57" upper deck
• 4.5 turns
• Track will be broken into multiple blocks to allow for detection -- probably one block per deck
• Decks separated by 4" 1x4 blocks

Based on the track radii and the space required for clearances, each quarter piece of plywood will be 7.5" wide:

• 3/4" outer space for spacer block
• 3/4" inner space for spacer block
• 3" for each track and roadbed

To determine how much material I needed, I cut a template curve and then placed it on a spare piece of Homasote. Based on how the curves can be cut from it, I will be able to cut 8 curves from each piece of plywood. Because I had a spare partial piece of plywood, I was able to get three curves from that spare piece. 

For a support structure, I'll be building 4 1x4 boxes with 1/2" plywood tops:

• (2) 66" x 12" boxes
• (2) 42" x 12" boxes

I'll use either 2x2 or 2x3 legs on the four corners of this structure that will be bolted together.

Week of May 26, 2019

The weather has not been overly cooperative lately, but I was able to get out and get lumber at Menards this week. I picked up enough to build the helix, the supporting box structures, and the connecting modules that will go on the walls. In between my daughter's high school graduation and upcoming open house, I'm hoping to start making progress on the next sections of the layout. 

I got my template curve cut first, which is designed for parallel curves at 30" and 32.5" radii, respectively. That gives you 4.5" of space to start. The spacer blocks are 3/4" wide on either side of the track, and I add in some extra space for clearance. After tracing the template onto the 4x8 sheet of 1/2" plywood, I was able to get 7 curves cut from a single piece of plywood. Unfortunately, my jigsaw batteries take a while to recharge, so I get a break in between cuts. On the second piece of plywood, I was a little more careful with my alignments and managed to get 8 curves out of it.

That gives me a total of 18 quarter curves to work with, which should be enough, but I have spare plywood to take care of the rest of the subroadbed that I need.