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Post by ugeesta on May 19, 2016 20:24:00 GMT -5
Last year I was watching YouTube videos and came across the video below. I was so fascinated by the design, I had to emulate it.
One of the first things I needed to do was to figure out how to design the layout. After much internet searching, I ended up buying AnyRail5 to design the layout.
Several hours of figuring and refiguring curves, I couldn't get all the bends and settled on a simple rail yard in the middle. With that settled, the rest of the design was easier.
I knew my skills to cut plexiglas was marginal at best, I called around to find a shop that could. Tap Plastics out of California was the most willing and had the best pricing to laser cut the track bed. I sent them my dimensions and quantities and in 2-3 weeks, I has a box delivered with all my pieces. Tap even included extra pieces of each radius in the shipment. Roughly 10% more than I ordered.
So, I got my table build and started the work.
First was to layout the rail yard.
Once that was working, the elevated sections were next. I went with a 2% slope which ended up to be about a 1.8% on the outer track.
Starting to think that was too steep and that my Marklin trains would not be able to handle the grade, I needed to lower the grade. I was able to lower the grade to about 1.5% on the other side of the layout but it was too late for the first side.
Next up was wiring. The video did not show any of the standard Marklin power connections so soldering wires to the rail was the next. I ran the wires through hollow supports at the elevated sections. I have no idea how the guy in the video wired the track as I don't see any connections in the video.
The finished product.
It turned out the grade is too steep for Marklin long trains so that sucks. However, I found a new addiction for the AZL trains which have no problems with the grades. It was a lot of fun with a couple PITA moments and took over a year from conception to completion.
Now for the obligatory AZL pics 
And Lastly. We have felines that love to play with my train set when I'm not around. They destroyed the Catenary on my previous layout. This s how my set is protected from the little bastages.
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Post by ztrack on May 19, 2016 21:31:34 GMT -5
Oh that is great! I love the over under and use of clear roadbed. Nice!
Rob
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Post by DAZed on May 19, 2016 21:59:36 GMT -5
That's cool!
You could have used the clear speaker wire with clear insulation and that might have made it a little more stealth. But really I still like the effect.
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Post by markm on May 19, 2016 22:41:12 GMT -5
I've always like the dog bone style layouts. It reminds me of some of the demo layouts of the 1960s. Have you thought much about scenery? The design is very industrial by nature. Maybe some aluminum pine trees? A couple of Mylar palms? Some mountains to divide things up? www.flickr.com/photos/sanssoucieartglass/3865275112 |
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Post by davestubbs on May 19, 2016 22:47:05 GMT -5
Very cool, thanks for sharing
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Post by DAZed on May 20, 2016 0:08:34 GMT -5
Those frosted glass mountains would be perfect. |
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Post by rvn2001 on May 20, 2016 16:20:43 GMT -5
That's a beautiful layout!!!!! I don't think I'd do anything about scenery. It looks like you're running 4 trains? I like the inclusion of the yard. Now all we need is a video for comparison. |
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Post by ugeesta on May 21, 2016 12:18:35 GMT -5
Those frosted glass mountains would be perfect. Thanks for the compliments. Before starting, I thought about putting a mirrored or frosted plexiglas base down. Think that would have looked really cool but would have shown my redoes more than the finished birch. no videos yet.... |
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Post by markm on May 21, 2016 13:09:04 GMT -5
Actually, I think your birch base is perfect, it provides an excellent contrast for both the track and rolling stock. I do think you should give some thought to partitioning the layout into scenes: the yard area front of the throttles, perhaps a farming/foothills theme to the operator's left and a mountain theme to the right.
My earlier comments go back to my childhood when the major toy train manufacturers would sponsor infomercials in major TV programs to unveil the year's new model. I remember one with a layout with clear risers like yours and frosted mountains like my example with the lights of the train rising through the mountains eventually bursting out from the panels to show the Super Chief.
Regardless of what you decide it looks like it will be a fun layout.
Mark
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