So with the yard laid, the peninsula connected, and wiring upgraded, I next turned my attention to the far end of the layout. The photo below shows what was there prior to moving.
Running up the back of the layout, it appears to be a double mainline, however, once exiting from the mountain, it actually ended in an industry siding for the inner track while the outer track continued to the other side of the layout. The idea of having a switching lead through the tunnel seemed very silly to me. Also, with 18" and 22" radius respectively, there was concern with operation. Finally, since I wanted this end of the layout to be the traffic source for the whole layout, I needed a way to incorporate some form of staging.
So, as a common trend with this layout, out came the track.
Removing the track from under the mountain was a challenge. The mainline had been built on Woodland Scenics risers, so those needed to be removed as well. A large access hole was cut on the side which gained the necessary access. While removing the track, I found an old Bachmann gandy dancer hidden away behind the roadbed. Somehow it had been lost, and survived the move within the mountain. A neat find.
To build the new line through the mountain, I utilized a spline roadbed section salvaged from an old layout.
To set the hight of the spline to match the rest of the layout, I built a handful of risers. I used a "L" shape riser to ensure stability and to give me a bit more material to bite into when attaching the risers to the layout.
And finally, the road bed in place. A little clean up and and I'll be ready to lay roadbed and track, but that will be for another post.
No comments:
Post a Comment