Shelving up. About two hrs more painting and I will be ready to start laying cork. I know about where 90 percent of my track will run I just need to know if I have room for a second line on one part. I will run a loop around the room. My question is where do I start and do I lay it in one direction or can I start in the middle and go both ways? That is once I figure out the side track.
When you know where the track is going, it matters little where you start. I tend to lay the critical parts first, like key turnouts, etc. then fill in the plain track. But if you are like me, you will sooner or later be taking up parts of the track and altering it Good luck, and keep us informed of progress.
I usually do my roadbed first, get it smooth and blended in, then draw the track centerlines on to scale using a straight edge bar, and trammel for curves. Then when I find I forgot a switch, I have to remove some cork, lay the switch's cork first and try to aim the switch in the right direction. After I turn it around and re-mount the switch machine, laying cork to the mountains is easy. It is when the final section of cork fails to meet the required centerline, that I realize I laid the cork upside down. A good sharp putty knife is essential when the cat reminds me that it has sat down on the glue intended for this last strip of cork. (The cat's tail makes a hump in the main line, which requires a bridge be constructed as an overpass.) When repeated tries at various speeds fail to prevent long scratches in my newly painted cars, it becomes necessary to saw out the troublesome section of roadbed, and escort the cat outside. The overpass looks good, so a sinkhole was modeled to fill the resulting hole, and all is well. Rails can be laid more easily (remember to glue the ties down on the cork, with both rails up), and make sure the rails point along the cork in the correct direction. You can always go back and insert rail joiners later when the train derails. One other possible cause of derailments is when I fail to remove all the shingle nails used to align the track strips. It seems to bend the nail when hit at speed, ruining the nail for any future use, so be cautious. Nails are expensive. The next morning can sometimes present a minor problem when some glue is left on the rails with a few cars sitting on it. They make a nice shelf display though. The beauty of my method is watching the cat try to get the slab of wood and cork off his tail.
That definitely sounds like something I would do. I have "Tim the tool man Taylor" syndrome. My wife is not thrilled I'm getting into a hobby that involves electrical current.
Kick everyone out of the house, close your door to the train room and put out the DoNot Disturb sign. ::grin:: OR Engineer At Work !! It doesn't matter where u start. Only where u finish
America's Funniest Videos are pretty lame after reading about your track laying adventure Watash, better get the Missus a camcorder, you could get an Emmy for that perfomance!!!! Histerical 2slim
