Engineering challenge - upper yard - Part 2

This will be a little tough to follow as I messed up the picture sequence but here goes-
In the fourth picture, you will see that I put up the back member of the framing for the next section of benchwork. Then I suspended several long boards from it to carry the load of the front member of the box framing. The front member has a 1X4 straight piece and two curved pieces of flexible plywood. So, I have to place the straight 1X4 in place so I can set the flexible pieces and tie in the cross pieces.

The fifth picture shows the front 1X4 resting on the temporary support as I align it so the curved portion flows smoothly. I am trying to maintain a 36 inch wide aisle and I have a curved outer portion hanging on the wall here.

The first and second pictures show the board after I have dadoed it to accept the curved plywood at the joint. I also have placed a board at the front of the benchwork section to show me the 36 inch limit point of the curving section of benchwork.


The third picture shows that I have placed the first curved section in place and put in the cross members to stabilize everything.
This was the easier section as it had straight pieces of 1x4 on each end.

Completing the upper yard subroadbed - Part 1

Well, some months ago we left off building the upper yard until we could finish the lower storage yard. It is now done and I have to get back to framing and sheathing the upper yard area. This is going to be a bit of an engineering challenge as I am directly over the lower 8 track yard.

In the first shot, I raised the side member of the extension with dadoed ends to accept the flexible plywood that will form the curves.

In the second shot, I have started making the first curved corner that will have the yard doubling back on itself.

The last shot shows the corner in place and the cross members up, complete with the risers that support it off of the framing of the lower storage yard.

The challenge still faces us as we have to form a corner with no structure to support the various members.

On to Milton - Part 2

Well, I ran out of wood so I had to stop with the cross members. In the second shot you can see that the front of the Milton area is shaped like an hour glass with a reverse curve to the fascia. I have formed the bendable plywood to connect the previous section to the new section. Then the bench work face bows left and then back right. The guys were over last night and we roughed out this section. They were conecerned about the rigidity of the box with all the stress I was putting on it. In order to make this work, we put a temporary cap on the right framing member so the box could not bend, only the fascia piece. Thank you , Ed Rappe.

If you look carefully at the first photo you can see the cap section on top of the new bechwork section at the far left side of it. The plywood piece is resting against this sixteen foot piece of pine. This forms an L with the side section and makes it rigid. Once I get the plywood on, I can take this off as the plywood will act as the gusset section.

As ususal, all the clamps are on the flexible plywood in the front fascia to hold it in place until the glue dries. You can see this in the second and third shots. Once dry, I can go in and add the cross members to complete the framing. Also I have to make a bunch of legs so I can set the whole area up level and strong.

In all three shots you can see where the benchwork ends. At that point it turns left and begins the return journey to the yard.

More to come!

By the way, I have been asked to put a track plan on the blog. I do not know how to do that yet but will work on it.

On to Milton - the beginning

Well, in the first picture you can see what we are facing as we begin building to Milton. The curved section from the hidden area is looking at a wall with a file cabinet and a book case. That has to go as the town of Milton will be along the wall with the light switches.

In the second shot, Rich Luzinski and I moved the file cabinet and the bookcase to the left rear of the room temporarily. I just love moving this stuff again and again!

Then Paul Cierzo and I moved the stuff along the wall that the sub-roadbed is aimed at. It is over on the left.

With all that stuff out of the way, we built the benchwork for Milton and beyond. I have carried on to the end of the wall where the main line will curve back to climb up the west end of the yard.

In the third shot you can see that an aisle has been created that goes up the center of the layout past Herndon on the left and the future Milton on the right. I am now walking a lot more to get from place to place as I can no longer cut across.

In the fourth shot, I am standing at the end of the benchwork past Milton. The main line will be curving to my right once it is cut from plywood. We do not have too much more bench work to build - hurrah!!

I do have to go out to the store to buy more pine as I have finally run out of wood - up to now, all this wood has come from my new house or the pallet worth that I bought from Pat Mitchell some 21 years ago.

I also need more plywood and homasote so a few trips are in my future.

Finishing the hidden yard - Part 2

After I had laid the yard tracks we had to address the actual throat turnouts. I used Atlas Number 7 turnouts as the Key J1 will go through these.

I do not use these turnouts in visible sections as they are really oversized and not like the prototype. They are a fast way for the hidden area though. I will have to go back and ensure they stay insulated and add feeders so I do not have to worry about them in the future.
It took a few attempts to get a smooth flow from the 8 tracks into the two main line tracks but I think we achieved that. You can see the affect in the third picture. I have run an I1 (2-10-0) back and forth with no problem. I then added some passenger cars and again, no problem, so I think I am set.

Lastly I secured the curved sub-roadbed that we had cut about a year ago when we cut the yard sub-roadbed out . In the third picture I am adjusting its alignment and by the fourth picture, it is screwed together.

Now we have to get ready to build more bench work to carry us into Milton, PA.

Finishing the hidden yard - Part 1

Well, after a hiatus that had me going to Australia and New Zealand for a month, I am back and trying to press forward on the layout. So, first I have to finish the hidden yard tracks so I can cover them with the Northumberland Yard.

Thus, I have extended the tracks to the end of the throat. The eight tracks really suck up the flexible sections of Atlas track but I will be left with a lot of surplus track. I purchased this material abut 20 years ago so I have to clean the rail heads to remove the oxide residue.

You can see that I solder the sections together when they are straight and then bend them to the appropriate curve. I also stagger the joints to avoid derailments.

Whatever is left over will go onto Ebay to sell it.

Continuing to build the yard

Well, after Justin left, I went down into the basement and finished the framing of the corner of the yard structure where it turns to the north. It actually will make a complete U turn over the hidden yard. I wanted to frame and cover the lower yard to the extent I could without finishing the lower yard throat. That will be the next step.

You can see in the second picture that I added supports from the lower section to hold up the upper one. It is proving to be an extremely rigid structure. I also added all the drilled holes in the cross members for the wiring as I will not be able to access this very well from below.

The guys came over and we completed the last of the framing as seen in the third picture. We also cut the plywood to the extent we could. So, now you can see that about two thirds of the yard base is in. In the last picture you can see it extends all the way back to that beige wall and the bridge next to it. You can also see that the lower yard is now hidden from vew unless you crouch down. I have managed to blend the upper yard smoothly over the junction with the framing of the lower yard.

When the yard is completed it will be about 80 feet long - a lot of walking for the switching crews!