Helix Work

 There is a substantial helix that joins two of the 3 levels of my layout.  It is 8 turns down and is built with the classic notched wood support.  Unfortunately I discovered that I didn't get all the supports quite right.  First I measured from the floor but there is apparently a slope (originally was the garage) to the floor and/or differences in height of the carpet + pad that make these measurements unrel1able. So I measured the roadbed height relative to the ceiling (hoping it is reasonably straight). I measured carefully and rechecked the measurements. Then I put the values in a spreadsheet and checked the elevation change over each quadrant of each loop. I found 17 places where I need to make adjustments to the roadbed to have a proper and consistent slope throughout the helix.

A challenge to this work is that there is a second helix above this one and also finished scenery and some trackage above the helix.  So the modifications must not disrupt or compromise the support of the track layer above the helix. I'm disappointed that I did not discover this before now, but no time to dwell on the past, onward to fix it.  

I've found that using a Zona saw and a 1/4" wood chisel are my best tools for enlarging the notches in the wood.  In some places I've used 2 x 2" metal L brackets to support the roadbed.  The work is slow and tedious as the roadbed is in place so it is difficult to get my hands into optimal positions to work.  As of today I have the first 5 loops completed and started on the sixth.    I made a short video about the helix and it's construction.