Helix Part 4

The photo below shows the helix base pulled away from the layout to provide all round access to build the helix and lay the track

 The two pieces that make up the helix road bed being laminated together, the track on the right leads from the top down to the lower deck and had to have enough clearance for tall rolling stock. The left side track is from the lower level up to the top deck.

 Once the first loop was finished I decided to start installing the supports for the rest of the decks, you can see the flat car with the tank on it to test the clearances because it is the widest piece of rolling stock I have.

                                   

 To save a bit of time and difficulty I paint the sections first before gluing them together, the construction usually goes in this order.
Paint some sections, then lay track on the last completed section on the helix then glue the next section.

 Like a nong I was hooking up a controller up to the track to test the alignment and joints with a loco, I saw a bloke on youtube testing his track with a 9V battery to run the loco, goes to show you learn something every day.

The time and effort to get the base right was worth it because all I have to do is place some spacer blocks to get the correct height for the next level.

                                   

Helix Part 3 and First Track

G'day all, I have been busy painting the bench work for the helix and working out track placement for the lower level. I have also taken my time to get the start of the helix just right to make it a lot easier to construct once the first level is complete.

The photo above shows the base board for the inside track on the helix to exit and access the lower level as you can see I have also cut the slots for the helix support.

I have just finished painting the road bed for the helix and in the process of working out the heights for the incline in the shots above and below. You can see the start of the incline at the gap near the blue screw driver.

To make sure the helix has a rock solid base and makes it easy to build the next layers I cut a 1800mm length of timber on an angle to match the grade of the helix. I then marked the level of rise on the timber and placed them at the corresponding locations under the helix then checked the slope with another piece of timber from the same cut.

The first track on the Boyne River Subdivision is the inside loop leading to the lower level I had to do this first because the the helix will spiral over it preventing easy access. The out of sight track will be Atlas code 80.

Here is a tip for you, If you are cutting track with a Dremel tool get the larger cutting wheels as this will allow you to make clean straight cuts unlike the smaller wheels that you have to angle because of the Dremel body.