09-01-2014, 10:29 AM
Thanks Ralph, I'll have a read through those in a quiet moment here. 
I had a go at mocking up the gradient to the lower level on SCARM today (the great thing about having the administrator password for our corporate network - can install whatever I want on my PC!
) and from the looks of things I have the space available, if I start the gradient on the opposite side of the layout instead of my initial idea for placement, I should be able to get a difference between the lower level staging and upper level staging of 10".
That should give me about 7" of scenic height to work with for the lower level. More than enough, considering it is only going to have trees and bayou on it.
The gradient required is around 2.7%, however SCARM seems to think that this is absolutely fine for the run I have for the gradient track, so I am not too worried. I will be test running everything before any track gets stuck down permanently anyway, so I should be fine.
![[Image: gradient_zps14416384.png]](http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag144/shaslakais/gradient_zps14416384.png)
I've ordered a new power drill with speed settings on it such that it can be used as an electric screwdriver too, and it comes with 120 different bits with it, including screwdriver bits, so once that arrives at the end of the week I should be able to get started on the benchwork.
The idea is to cut some shipping pallets in half down the center and reinforce them with screws and wood to form a solid frame for the layout which will increase it's height from the floor.
I have a couple of cheap computer desks I currently use as the benchwork for the layout in it's present form, these will be sandwiched between the cut down pallets to make a solid frame for about a 6' run. The present layout will be placed on top, with a shelf added 10 inches below the bottom of the baseboard to form the base for the lower level. Below that, the two desks will form a workbench and a temporary rolling stock storage space, respectively.
A sketch of what I plan to do:
![[Image: 20140901_172003_4_bestshot-1_zps9584b1aa.jpg]](http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag144/shaslakais/20140901_172003_4_bestshot-1_zps9584b1aa.jpg)
Once this is done I will continue to add cut down pallets to either end to form the framework for the layout extensions to both levels until the full circuit is complete, upon which point I will start work on the gradient linking the two together.
I had a go at mocking up the gradient to the lower level on SCARM today (the great thing about having the administrator password for our corporate network - can install whatever I want on my PC!
) and from the looks of things I have the space available, if I start the gradient on the opposite side of the layout instead of my initial idea for placement, I should be able to get a difference between the lower level staging and upper level staging of 10".That should give me about 7" of scenic height to work with for the lower level. More than enough, considering it is only going to have trees and bayou on it.
The gradient required is around 2.7%, however SCARM seems to think that this is absolutely fine for the run I have for the gradient track, so I am not too worried. I will be test running everything before any track gets stuck down permanently anyway, so I should be fine.
![[Image: gradient_zps14416384.png]](http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/shaslakais/media/gradient_zps14416384.png.html)
I've ordered a new power drill with speed settings on it such that it can be used as an electric screwdriver too, and it comes with 120 different bits with it, including screwdriver bits, so once that arrives at the end of the week I should be able to get started on the benchwork.
The idea is to cut some shipping pallets in half down the center and reinforce them with screws and wood to form a solid frame for the layout which will increase it's height from the floor.
I have a couple of cheap computer desks I currently use as the benchwork for the layout in it's present form, these will be sandwiched between the cut down pallets to make a solid frame for about a 6' run. The present layout will be placed on top, with a shelf added 10 inches below the bottom of the baseboard to form the base for the lower level. Below that, the two desks will form a workbench and a temporary rolling stock storage space, respectively.
A sketch of what I plan to do:
![[Image: 20140901_172003_4_bestshot-1_zps9584b1aa.jpg]](http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/shaslakais/media/20140901_172003_4_bestshot-1_zps9584b1aa.jpg.html)
Once this is done I will continue to add cut down pallets to either end to form the framework for the layout extensions to both levels until the full circuit is complete, upon which point I will start work on the gradient linking the two together.