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The Hills Line - Filling Gaps Journals/Blogs
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Frequent poster 589 posts jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

gaps-1.jpg 

Spent the last few days finalizing track locations for The Hills Line as well as filling holes in the roadbed and fascia. Despite my best laid plans there was a fair amount of shimming needed for the roadbed to level out the ends of the foam sheets, as well as filling gaps between sheets and the fascia. DAP’s Flex Spackling and Wood Filler products do a great job and should hold up to the normal bumps and nudges that happen to our benchwork.

Since our basement, like many others, is a less than stellar space for a model railroad, The Hills Line has to cross several openings and other obstructions. To fill the gaps, I constructed a series of locking lift outs that connect the individual segments together. Each was constructed using finish-grade pine and stained the same color as the shelves underneath. The first passes in front of the opening to the electrical panel.

gaps-2.jpg 

The second crosses in front of the entrance to the mechanical and laundry room.

gaps-3.jpg 

The last lift out serves as a small extension at the northern end of the line. Inspired by Scott Thornton’s plan for staging extensions on his IAIS Milan Branch, I built a version that adds a small tail track for trains working City Carton.

gaps-4.jpg 

James
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FranG Active Member 38 posts
FranG

Nice work!

Impressive benchwork, especially the way you dealt with the openings/obstructions. What is the front-to-back width and height of your benchwork? 

Even though I am at the detailing stage on my layout, I look forward to seeing your progress as I always pick up techniques/ideas (like the small extension) to use in the future.

Fran Giacoma
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Goose in The Caboose Productions Regular poster 312 posts
Goose in The Caboose Productions

Amazing looking as always,

Amazing looking as always, keep it up!!!

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Goose in The Caboose Productions  -  Railroad and Model train fanatic, superhero fan, and lover of historically accurate and well-executed sword fights.

Long live railroading and big steam!! And above all, stay train-crazy!!!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTkT-p0JdEuaMcMD10a72bg

 
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Dimensions

Benchwork is 16 inches, front to back. Height is 52 inches.

James
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Nevin W. Wilson NevinW Regular poster 332 posts
Nevin W. Wilson NevinW

Lift outs

The lift outs look great.  Since I am going to have to build something similar. those lift outs are of particular interest to me.  Have you ever put more than one track on one of those?  Ever put a turnout on one?  A few more photographs of how they are made and how you attach them to the layout would be very appreciated.  Thanks.  

Modeling the Maryland Midland Railroad circa 2006

Read My Blog

 
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Nuts and Bolts

Nothing significant about the lift out sections. The wood was finished pine board ripped to width to support the tracks and cross cut to fit into the gap. Two end caps and gusset supports provide some bit of stabilization. The sides are 3 inch strips of the same 1/4 underlayment plywood that I used for the fascia. The entire assembly was glued, brad nailed, and stained.

To lock them in place, I went with sets of flush mount hangers on either side. They (so far) do a good job of leveling the boards while keeping clearances tight between the lift out and the benchwork. For the tail track extension I went with a deeper gusset and one more hanger to cantilever it from the edge. Since the extension is only a foot long, and only needs to hold one locomotive, the setup is more than stable. But since it’s holding a locomotive over the abyss, it needed to be stable.

hangers.jpeg 

Electrical plugs haven’t been installed yet, but I’ll probably go with Phono Jacks and Plugs like I had on the IAIS Grimes Line. They were a simple install and worked well for carrying electrical power to the lift outs.

James
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ctxmf74 Super User 15,953 posts
ctxmf74

Removable tail track.

  Thanks for posting that. I've been thinking about how to build one for my TT scale layout and was wondering how it could be attached....DaveB

1990.jpg 
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Nevin W. Wilson NevinW Regular poster 332 posts
Nevin W. Wilson NevinW

flush mount hangers

Thank you for posting that.  I would have never thought about flush mount hangers as a way to connect the sections.  Great idea.  

Modeling the Maryland Midland Railroad circa 2006

Read My Blog

 
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George Sinos gsinos Prolific poster 1,170 posts
George Sinos gsinos

Hanger Brackets are conductors?

James -

I use the hanger brackets for my staging yard.  Check with your ohm-meter to see if your brand is electrically conductive.

If so, you can just connect the feeders to them and eliminate the need for separate jacks and plugs.

gs
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Brilliant!

Excellent idea gs!

James
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loco7mo Regular poster 199 posts
loco7mo

Flush Mount Hangers

Thank you James for this idea. Should be a nice, tight fit. And thanks to gsinos for the conductive idea.

Now, if I only had a layout ... Plans, plans, and more plans.

 
Rich N in J'ville
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Allen H. Regular poster 363 posts
Allen H.

What about just using those

What about just using those flush mount brackets as part of the electrical connections?

Echo the others  Brilliant use to hold the bridge secure!
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