04-16-2010, 11:43 PM
Howdy, folks! Glad to be posting on this topic again...that means progress, people!
Here are the latest photos:
[albumimg]2414[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2415[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2416[/albumimg]
This is the framework for side 'A', the rural scene. Took me a couple hours, I guess, working mostly by myself. It won't be resting here for long, though, as I will be taking it back down to the garage to use it to mark out the dimensions for the plywood top. That's right, butt joint construction with a tabletop.
NO L-girders with risers here. This, I believe, is cheaper by far and the more useful choice for this layout. L-girder has it's place, granted, but in this case basic box frame and ply construction will suffice and be far simpler. At the risk of being labled a luddite, I even cut the lumber with a hand saw
hock: but I did use a power drill for assembly.
I may cut a little stream bed into the ply and framing at some point, and perhaps add a brace when I do, but for now it'll be a solid top. Most of the scenery will be at or above grade so there's no need for any serious dips or depressions. The 'bridge' section across the room will include some actual below-grade scenery.
It's not level at present, either, as you can see by the third picture where the framing does not rest on the short brace. I will be adding shims between the rear member and shelf brackets, at some point. I may lay track before then...we'll see. Part of the benefit of this construction is being able to take it off the shelf and lay it on the floor to work on it.
Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, just like today, so I may not get to begin work on side 'B'. Also, I have not purchased lumber for the connecting bridges between each side, although I may use leftover ply for one of them. We'll see. One of my LHSs is having a 'retirement' sale so I picked up a bundle of micro-engineering flex track and two Atlas code 83 custom line turnouts (a L and R each, both #4's).
I'll be posting again soon, hopefully, with a revised track plan. Instead of a complete double track main, I may be making it single track across the 'bridge' section spanning the room. I've always liked the idea of one train waiting in the hole for the other. A simple operational concept, but very prototypical, and can really add more interest to a layout....trains taking turns rather than both making laps.
Galen
Here are the latest photos:
[albumimg]2414[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2415[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2416[/albumimg]
This is the framework for side 'A', the rural scene. Took me a couple hours, I guess, working mostly by myself. It won't be resting here for long, though, as I will be taking it back down to the garage to use it to mark out the dimensions for the plywood top. That's right, butt joint construction with a tabletop.
NO L-girders with risers here. This, I believe, is cheaper by far and the more useful choice for this layout. L-girder has it's place, granted, but in this case basic box frame and ply construction will suffice and be far simpler. At the risk of being labled a luddite, I even cut the lumber with a hand saw
hock: but I did use a power drill for assembly.I may cut a little stream bed into the ply and framing at some point, and perhaps add a brace when I do, but for now it'll be a solid top. Most of the scenery will be at or above grade so there's no need for any serious dips or depressions. The 'bridge' section across the room will include some actual below-grade scenery.
It's not level at present, either, as you can see by the third picture where the framing does not rest on the short brace. I will be adding shims between the rear member and shelf brackets, at some point. I may lay track before then...we'll see. Part of the benefit of this construction is being able to take it off the shelf and lay it on the floor to work on it.
Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, just like today, so I may not get to begin work on side 'B'. Also, I have not purchased lumber for the connecting bridges between each side, although I may use leftover ply for one of them. We'll see. One of my LHSs is having a 'retirement' sale so I picked up a bundle of micro-engineering flex track and two Atlas code 83 custom line turnouts (a L and R each, both #4's).
I'll be posting again soon, hopefully, with a revised track plan. Instead of a complete double track main, I may be making it single track across the 'bridge' section spanning the room. I've always liked the idea of one train waiting in the hole for the other. A simple operational concept, but very prototypical, and can really add more interest to a layout....trains taking turns rather than both making laps.
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!