Laying track in the helix and benchwork for the lower layer
While I've neglected to update the blog, I have been busy on the railroad. Now that the helix grades have been smoothed out, I've begun laying track. Visible areas of the layout use code 55 rail all hand laid except for a couple of pieces of flex track in the Loyall yard area. That will be replaced with hand laid track in the near future. In the helix I opted for Atlas code 80 flex track.
Here I'm making a 1x2 L-girder. The pieces are glued together and also screwed with # 6 1-1/2" wood screws. I use a #6 counter sinking bit with a 3/8" drill bit to avoid splitting the wood.
Because of restricted access to parts of the helix where I need to lay track, I will install the track 2 sections at a time. I built a jig out of 1/2" plywood with the 21.5" radius curve laid out so I can lay out the 2 pieces of flex track, solder the rail joiners and also solder on track feeders.
The track is held in place by 3/4" track nails on either side of the rail.
This has turned out to work well to solder 2 pieces of flex track together and to solder on the track feeds and then install the track on the helix. I have 2-1/2 loops of the 8 loop helix completed and 17 car trains are negotiating it well. So I'll continue on laying the track. Meantime I've also started working on the lower level bench work.
My bench work is 1x4" joists supported off of the 2x4" legs at the back that support the top level. I also added a 2x2" leg inset 10" from the front of the joist. Under the joists I hang 2 1x2 L-girders which are then used to support other joists, track risers, scenery supports, etc..
In this picture the helix is just out of sight on the right. You can see the 2 2x4 vertical supports for the top layer along the right side with the double 1x4" joists protruding out to the aisle. Also visible is the first 1x2 L-girder hanging under the joists. In the center of the pic you can see the L-girders across the window where the track will curve and then come back along the left wall.
In this closeup view you can better see the doble joists hanging off the 2x4 and the L-girder hanging below. The vertical 2x2" board is the support for the back drop. You can see the top of the 2x2" leg in the lower middle of the picture. Also visible is the vertical 2x2" pilaster screwed into the wall studs with 3" # 10 hex head screws with 3/4" washers. The joists are then screwed into the 2x2. If you look closely you can see I've added a short section of 2x2 between the risers to provide more room for screws. These joists are only 19-1/2" long but I want them to be strong.
The perpendicular L-girders are joined with the aid of a short section of L-girder.
I used this same technique to provide added support to the L-girder on the left side of the window where there is only a single joist.
I now have the last L-girder installed so the next step will be to lay out where track risers will be needed. I will support the track on a spline comprised of 6 1/4" x 1" Masonite strips glued together. I've never built spline sub-roadbed before, but I've watched a number of videos and read many articles and I'm convinced that is the way to go in this section of single track through mountain scenery (see the Feb 1, 2023 entry for the track plan through this area).
Now, back to work. Happy model railroading.