Cutting out the second tier

[Walkingthedog]

When mine became an S bend the rails became detached from the sleepers.

[andruec]

It's not that I can't reach it's just that it's awkward for a tricky operation like joining track or ballasting. If it was a problem I'd just stop running trains until it cooled down..except it's unlikely I'd be running trains anyway. I'm not going to be indoors when the temperature reaches the mid 20s. I either go outside or I wheel a portable A/C unit in (I have two).

But I expect to stop working on my layout by late spring and not to pick it up again until October. And I don't believe that omitting two expansion joints for nickel/silver track is going to cause serious or permanent damage.

I'm more concerned about the affect of humidity on the baseboard because I run two dehumidifiers during the winter and usually pack them away in summer. It might be prudent to move one into the layout room and leave it running because during summer RH will go from around 45% to 70%.

But I do appreciate the warning and I'll let you know if it causes a problem

[Walkingthedog]

As long as you know. Trouble is if it expands while you’re playing golf the track may become unusable so you’ll have to replace it. Might as well do it now then you won’t have to do it later. Anyway glad you are progressing.

Roll on the warm weather you were mentioning.

[andruec]

Well despite what I posted I've ended up gluing the track to the incline. In hindsight gluing the sandpaper over the top of the incline might not have been a good idea. It ended up somewhat rucked up due to moisture. Nothing particularly bad but it meant that the track wouldn't lie flat on its own. I also suspect that the effective incline is not an even 2%. It might not even really be 2%.

Whatever the reason I had to try and fix the track down. My biggest concern was that I'd end up gluing the track to the sand and when I took the weights off the track would just lift the sand. Rather to my surprise that didn't happen. I can only assume that the PVA was absorbed through the sand and into the paper and has formed a good bond.

Still a bit rucked up but better than it was:



So here is my layout in what I'd call 'track complete'. Meaning it's all laid. I have just realised that the sidings mean I need to add a load more drop wires but I'll tackle that next weekend.



I put the two tunnel mouths in to see what they look like and to get them out of the way.

I've also added a couple of short sidings at the top. This is to allow a degree of shunting as well as the 'loopy, loopy'. The idea is that I park two more locos here so that one loco can pull a train out of the sidings and hold it on the incline while the other loco pushes a different train out of one siding then back into another. It's unrealistic but if anyone says they prefer layouts that allow some shunting..well I've got that covered

To be honest I consider this to be an experimental layout. I intend to finish it but a lot of it is a learning experience. Hopefully it survives the summer but if not then it's just another lesson learnt

[Walkingthedog]

Looks very interesting. Look forward to seeing more.

[brian1951]

This thread would be better suited to members layouts rather than baseboard section.