ODave's Saginaw Valley & Western

[odave]

Hey all

I took a bit of an online hiatus but I have been making some progress on the layout over the last few months. It's moving slowly but it is moving forward.

1. Worked on my backlog of "shake the box" kits (note - the track is not "down" yet).



2. Put together a small Inglenook puzzle from scraps off the main layout. I did this mainly for track laying and wiring/soldering practice - I'll be using it as a testbed for scenery too.



3. Put down the cork roadbed on the main layout in Lakefield. Main line is regular HO scale Midwest cork roadbed, sidings and spurs are N scale. The grain elevator and machine/tool tracks will be laid directly on the foam. The cork is attached to the foam with cheap adhesive caulk. I used white, but I should have probably went with clear to keep the track plan centerlines more visible. But the coat was thin enough that I could still see enough of them to stay on target. When I move on to track laying, I'll use clear caulk.



4. Since I'm using different roadbed heights, I need to have a short grade to and from each level. I read that wooden shims can be used for this. You can get them for less than $5 per pack at your favorite big box store. I just put the shim at the transition spot, and marked lines where the shim is even with the roadbed on either side, and made the cuts.



I did the math and the grade works out to be 2.3%. Maybe a little steep but well within range for my model. Here's a look after the shim has been cut & caulked down.





I discovered that not all shims in the pack were the same width. Make sure to find ones that are wide enough to span the track.



After all the roadbed had set up, I used a sureform tool to even out any irregularities to make the cork edges less sharp and to make sure the shim transitions were smooth. Then I took a half round file and carved some shallow drainage ditches out along either side of the tracks where they would make sense. Look for some tall grass in these when scenery time comes.



5. Also did some rough carving around the river area, making the embankment and the slope down to the river. Still need to do some sanding here to take care of the irregularities.



6. Prep for track laying. Drilled holes for switch machines and put cork peices in for turnout headblocks.



Next up, putting down track (at last!)