The Home and
Design of the RGW....
This Page Currently Under
Construction (Literally)
Train Room (Shell) -
Train Room (Interior) -
Layout Design
Layout Construction:
(click on pictures for full view)
March 2007:
With the backdrop set for now, we set
our sights on construction of the northwest and north wall sections of the
layout. As we mentioned in the February update, we determined locations of our hanging brackets for the NW and N wall table
sections. Our goal is not to have a single table leg along both of these
stretches of the layout. The reason for this is a combination of the depth
of the table, only a maximum of 1 foot, and the width of the aisle along this
section. This combination will put operators and patrons in close
proximity to the table edge at all times, as such, the risk of tripping on outer
edge table legs is too great.
The first concern was how to mount the
wall sections without external legs. We considered moving the legs back
from the table edge, but that didn't really address the issue, given the shallow
depth of the table. Brackets seemed the only real solution, but then what kind.
Angle brackets were considered, but given that three separate levels of track
ran through this area, angle brackets would present a visual obstruction that
was not acceptable. After sitting with pencil and paper, a concept of our
bracket was born. Steel plate, 3" in width, 11" long, 3/8" thick and bent
in the shape of an "L". Four holes with 7/16" diameter for mounting and
one 1" diameter hole to run conduit through. Fortunately, one of my
customers is a metal fabricator and he agreed to make 20 of them for the
project.
The first picture below is our first
bracket. You can see the metal is bent at a right angle, giving us a wall
mount surface. We used two 3-1/4" lag screws with washers to affix each
bracket to the wall, checking to make sure each was level and in those areas
where more than one bracket was stacked, that each was plumb as well. The
second and third pics below were more for "hamming it up" purposes, but you get
the idea of how we handled the task.
These next three pics provide a bit of reference to what we
will ultimately see. In the first shot, we laid 1x3 dimensional lumber on
the tops of the brackets to simulate the table tops. We were looking to
make sure the "flow" looked right. In this pic, you can start to see how we will
rise from the lower staging yard to the main table. The third level is our
highest point on the railroad, approximately 57" off the floor. Table
sections will be built in boxes that span the length between each bracket.
Holes will be drilled in each box that correspond with the mounting holes on the
extended leg of the bracket. We will tie all the boxes and brackets
together with screws and bolts. In the second pic, we set up temporary
risers at the brackets and used our dimensional lumber to simulate subroadbed
ribbon so that we could check our grades. The final shot is that of our
grade tool, which can be purchased through local hobby shops. It affixes
to the end of a 24" or 48" level and has grade percentages marked on the face
plate. It makes setting grades quick, easy and very reliable.
Other Updates:
2008
2007
2006
2005
