Thanks & a question

Thanks for all your postings - I just found your blog, so I haven't read through the more recent stuff, so sorry if you've answered this already.

What thickness of helix spline roadbed did you end up using? I saw a reference or two to 1/2", but I think one of the early graphics used 7/8". Anyway, something more than 1/2". Did you feel after building it that what you used was adequately stiff in the vertical dimension and would you use the same thickness doing it again?

Spline Helix

Thanks for your comments & questions.  When the two helixes (helices) were built, the strips of masonite/hardboard were cut to closely match the 3/4" plywood that I used for the rest of the layout. There are about 25 pieces laminated together to form the double track helix sections and they are absolutely stiff in both vertical & horizontal dimensions. As I recall, I show some of the build process in my early blogs here on MRH as well as on my YouTube channel.

John

Thanks!

Thanks. I read the first dozen blog posts a couple times each, but couldn't find where you said what the spline size was. I read the initial naysayers who said it would be too thick and you'd end up with either too little headroom for the cars or too much rise per loop. I was thinking you'd pretty much proven them wrong.

From what I've read most non-spline designs use either 3/4" or 1/2" sub road bed, so you're not giving up a lot by using spline. 

Do you think you could have done without the cork with a bit of extra sanding to smooth the top of the subroadbed?

Top of the Spline Helix

The top of the spline was smoothed using mainly a SurForm tool (if I remember the name correctly).  The tool had a cheese grater style scraper (replaceable) and I went thru a bunch of them. If I was a gluer of track, then the cork would not have been needed or used.  But I like to nail down the track so I used the cork & HO scale track spikes (saved from the mid 1980s when I was into hand laying HO track & just before I switched to N scale).  The track spikes were just long enough to grab into the cork & hold down the track.  Also, I might add that the plywood that I used on my layout was cabinet grade 3/4 inch (in reality 23/32 inch).  I have used 3/8 inch C/D plywood on my previous layout but I did not like how it performed, i.e., curling & really not holding its shape especially on curves.  That was why I went to the more expensive thicker plywood.

A couple of videos where I show how I cut the spline & joined the sections are called "Cutting the Masonite into Strips" and "Cutting & Biscuiting the Helix".

John

Nice!

John,

I really like the look of those new 3D printed buildings! They really fill out the city scene in a very realistic way. Nice job!

Thanks

Paul, I appreciate your comments very much.  I had been looking at commercial backdrops & individual printed buildings (photos mounted on foam board) to fill the area but all of that stuff would have cost a lot more than me just designing & printing the buildings at home.  The 3D printed background buildings ran less than a dollar each to print (between 2 to 4 meters of PLA for each N-Scale building @ 11.5 cents per meter). Yes I still have to paint them but they will give me a little bit of depth to the scene that I had wanted.  

John

backdrop structures look good

John,

Your 3-D printed structures are very interesting! I like the different heights, and one on the left end has depth.

Please think about sharing some closer views.

Mark 

Close-up Pictures of Background Buildings

Mark,

Per your request, here are pictures of each building with approximate dimensions.  You will note that some buildings printed better than others, which is kind of a fact of life with FDM style printers.  They are not museum quality but they are good enough as N-scale background buildings.  They are primed with a grey paint for now & some still need some cleaning around windows with small files as well as final painting.  

John