MODEL LAYOUT SUBSTRUCTURE

The track plan is very busy, and runs over several levels, with a multitude of underground loops. To be able to reach any part of the track, I have chosen for an open frame system of the layout table. I do not have any experience with this type of construction, so it's all very new to me. The table will consist out of 3 main sections: the hidden yard section, the helix section, and the upper section with the rest of the tracks laid upon. the hidden yard will lay 18 cm below the main level. That should be enough for my hand and arm to reach all tracks, and permits also to go reasonably comfortable under need it all to get at the back of the layout. The main level of the table will be at 90cm above the floor.

The tabel will be about 1 meter large, so to be able to work on the back-side of the layout, I will put the table upon small wheels. That way I can roll the layout away from the back wall and reach the other side. The carrying frame is made out of wood of 68x27mm. The inside frame I chose to use smaller wood of 43x27mm, to keep the overall weight down. The frame will be glued AND screwed together. The legs are made of wood of 44x44mm, and are fixed to the frame with 2 crossed bolds each.

Strips of cork are cut out en glued with wood glue where tracks are going to come. I used cork strips of 2 mm. In the bends the strips are cut over their lenght in halve and glued side by side. Otherwise the strips would rip over. To keep the stips in place while the glue is drying, I used pins. When all is dry, I painted everything in a dark brown colour. The next images show my first experience using cork as a rail bed.
[17/01/2008] ADDED: the use of cork does not seem very effective. The sound absorbing effect is very poor. I will use another isolating material for the rest of the layout. I will publish the modifications with a much better result later...

Side protection

After my first locomotive chose to leave the tracks and splatted appart in small pieces on the stone floor, I decided to place some protection against the sides of the wooden panels. I chose to use "VEKAPLAN KT B100 0,8mm" , that I got cheaply from the local DIY-shop. I cut out stripes of 2.5cm and pre-nained them every 5 cm. Then I nailed them at the sides of the wooden track panels.

stripes have been prepared	protection has been applied	It will not jump over  the side!

Building a track spiral needs a lot of prelimenary calculation. The goal is to climb from the hidden yard, with a few loops the the base level of the layout. the space reserved for the spiral is limited; a rectangle of 897mm by 973mm. It's just a little too small to contain a circle of Fleischmann's standard curves R3 and R4.

After a lot of surfing on the net, I chose to use the trapeze-system to build the spiral. It's an enginious combination of simple trapezes of wood. I will am to gain about 55mm per loop, following the headroom clearance of the NEM201 norm.  The steapness will be kept below 2.5%. The building plan of the spiral starts with a lot of calculations. The dimension are carefully calculated so it fits exacly in the reserved space. I will use the standard R3 and R4 rail pieces of Fleischmann, except for the to and bottom, were I will replace 15 degrees with R1 and R2 tracks. I will use 3mm triplex for the wooden trapeze panels.

The following 8 images are taken during the construction of the spiral. It went with a lot of big and small problems, but finally it was ready. I have learned a lot with it, the next will be more attractive than this creature, but I am very happy with it.
I have done some test with a very long train, climbing the spiral. All went well. the small locomotive of the type 81 could just pull a train of about 24 cars uphill. Wheels skipped, but it made it ultimately without too much trouble.
I have applied the same side protections as described above, to forbid my trains to leave the railbed and fall.

The Parade Track

The further construction more or less straight forward. The track will continue climbing by the parade track and turn to the back of the layout to split into both aproach tracks of the main station. The images below are a silent witness of the work done...

At locations where the headroom is limited, I have constructed catenary protection. Normally I will not use electric locomotives, but one can better be carefull. My children may not be as era dissiplined as I am!

The main station

And then the moment has come to finally start the construction of the main station. I have sawed an MDF panel to the necessary dimensions, and layed it on top of the layout. Then I drawed roughly the several station tracks. Underneath the station site, I will install a small bus track layout. The road reserved for the bus track is marked as highlighed on one of the picture. The building of this bus track is explained in another section.

Protective measures

With some currage I have finished all protection borders. Now my little trains are well save, even with a derailment.