Benchwork

This looks great and is almost perfection in the making.

I was just wondering about the weight the masonite helix will impose on the layout benchwork.

An extra leg or two may not go astray. 

Cheers

Benchwork

Thanks for the comments. 

The masonite is definitely lighter than I thought it would be.  It probably weighs about the same as one sheet of the hardboard which is definitely lighter than a sheet of plywood.

I used three people (one to hold each end of the helix and one to hold the approach tracks) to move it to the helix table.  If it wasn't so awkward to hold, it would have been easy for one person to move.  I was able to easily  reposition the first section of the helix on its' table by sliding it around a bit to match the indicator marks on my template table's grid to the grid on the helix table before installing the threaded rods to hold it in place. 

I was planning on adding a couple more legs with some additional cross bracing to the table's structure at some point during the constructions process.  Right now I'm keeping the helix table detached from the rest of the layout tables since I am then able to move it around so I can get all of the way around the outside of the table.  Eventually it will be attached to the wall as well as to the next table.

It seems very labor

It seems very labor intensive, but on the flip side I am a great fan of insane craftmanship. It is amazing how we now use laminated materials in almost all forms of construction and design. Structural lumber, Fine furnature, and now model railroads.

Looking forward to the finished product. 

Building Spline Roadbed for the Helix

It is very labor intensive but I really like the result so far and it was a lot of fun to build it. 

This is the first time that I have ever used spline roadbed or built a helix. As I learn how to do this I expect that the time will get shorter.  There are some time constraints when using spline that have to be followed.  For example, the first couple of splines that form the rib that is spring clamped to the nails along the centerline really need to dry for several hours.  However, after those are dry and you add more of them, I have found that in an air conditioned environment (I live in Central Texas) that these set up good enough in a couple of hours to remove the clamps and add a few more and repeat the process.  The first half of the helix being built took about a month because I had to figure out how to do it, how wide it ultimately had to be, plus figuring out how to attach the threaded rods.  The second half of the build was done in a week which is still too long but as it goes out beyond 15-16 splines I had to switch to the bigger furniture clamps which slows the process.  I did not mind investing in the spring clamps at $.99 each but the other type of clamp is at least $5.00 each (for the 5 inch clamp) or more (about $25.00 for the 36 inch clamp). Since I have 16 of them in various sizes already, I'll live with the extra time since I'd rather spend the money on trains.

I probably would have been done with the helix already had I used the standard technique of using plywood in circular or hex cuts.  But to me the problem is the amount of waste.  I still have unusual shapes of plywood in my garage leftover from my previous layout.  The spline leaves a pile of hardboard dust under the table saw.  It takes a good amount of time to rip the splines from a 4 x 8 sheet but the results are definitely worth it.  I will be using 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood for the city areas on this layout and spline outside of the cities when I get to the main level.  The rest of the staging areas will all be on 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood.

The picture below shows a bunch of the clamps of various types that I have used.  The spline roadbed is made up of 24 splines of 1/8 inch hardboard to achieve the 3 inch width.  I felt that this width was required to provide an exta 1/4 inch on either side of the outside of the cork roadbed so I could add some barrier to stop engines and cars from falling off onto the floor.

This suggestion is too late for you, but might help someone else

If you made the outside and inside boards a couple of inches wider than the rest so that the first and last spline were a couple inches above the rest of the roadbed, that would keep engines from falling off the helix.  Since the helix is not a visible part of the layout, having solid hardboard to keep the trains from falling instead of something like plexiglass is not a big deal.

Re: Russ

That's a great idea!  If I use spline for a future helix I'll have to do that.

"C" channel splines?

I've thought about doing the reverse, Russ.  I contemplated using fairly tall outer boards for vertical stiffness, and much thinner inner laminations to allow more headroom for the models.  In theory, it should be possible to make a helix with most of the stiffness of a 1" or more thick roadbed, but to keep the center open so that there would only have to be 1 1/2" change in elevation between levels.

Of course, now it occurs to me that your suggestion would achieve the same thing structurally, and provide simpler construction and better protection as well.

High sides

I think gluing high sides on during construction might cause problems when it comes time to clean/sand the top of the roadbed. Perhaps gluing the high sides on after laying the track would work better.

Cheers

Steve

High sides

At what point might the longish cars contact the "inner barrier"? 

Only if you don't build the radius large enough.

"At what point might the longish cars contact the "inner barrier"? "

If the radius of the helix is properly designed and built, you should never have a problem with long cars contacting the inner barrier.  If your radius allows long cars to contact the inner barrier, it will probably also allow long cars on the outside track to interfere with trains coming the other way on the inside track.

High Sides & Other

The high sides that I was planning on using was a rolled insulation foam barrier that is used in building construction between the concrete foundation and the bottom of the 2 x 4 that forms a wall.  It appears to be strong enough to strong enough to hold train cars/engines back from the edge but also is flexible enough to be pushed out of the way for track cleaning.  I have used cardboard strips in the past hot glued to the side of plywood so if the foam doesn't work, then I'll go back to old reliable.  The opening in the middle of the helix table is 30" x 48" so I should have enough room in the middle to work.  I also plan on having a removable scene in the center of the helix once it makes it to the main level so I'll also be able to stand all of the way up inside the center of the helix.

Here are some pictures of some Kato passenger cars on the curve near the biscuit joint.  There is approximately 1" clearance above the single level car on the inside track and about 3/4" clearance above the high level car.  The track centers are 1 1/2" apart.  There is 7/8" clearance from the side of the cars on both the inside and outside tracks to the threaded rod.  When I get to the high side application, I will take a closer look at what needs to be done to ensure that the cars & engines do not rub it.  I may have to make the high sides have an offset of some kind to bring it out to where the threaded rods are at least on the inside of the helix.  The edge of the spline is two boards out from the edge of the cork roadbed so it is approximately 13/16" from the track center. 

As you can tell, I am figuring this out as I go.  That's why its fun.

Wow

That is an insane amount of work!  Very nicely done!