Town and country - automated N-scale layout


I am wrestling with the tradeoff between making the layout more rigid at the cost of increasing the weight. This is, after all, supposed to be a portable layout. After some careful measurement, I added a couple more cross beams and I think there is enough support for the foam. I don't want the weight of the layout to be much more than about 25 pounds at most (excluding the legs which are detachable). The heavier it gets, the harder it will be to move around.

I'm wondering if I should add some more length-wise beams to further support the foam. I don't think it will be necessary though.

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Just got the Peco Unifrog turnouts - they look great but one quirk is that the throwbar does not have a hole in the middle but rather on the two sides. Not a big deal except that I have to cut out the hole differently. The Peco flex track is like Micro engineering - its stiff and holds its shape.


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I added two more lengthwise beams for support and stiffness on the two ends. At this point, I'm going to declare the benchwork as complete. :) Considering how bad the lumber was, I think it came out better than I expected. Its fairly light (even with the legs attached) but it will definitely take two people to move. Can't wait to get on with laying track and building the scenery!

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I love the Peco Unifrog turnout but I don't like the code 55 flex - its really stiff! I can bend the track using the Fast Tracks jig but how do you straighten flex track that came bent when shipped?

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Alternatively it appears possible to use Atlas code 80 flex with Peco code 55 turnouts. I just need to elevate the Peco turnout a little which can be done with 0.030" sheet styrene.

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Spent the whole day wrestling with various approaches for mounting a Tortoise under a Peco turnout. It's just not working out properly. I'm now coming to the conclusion that I will need to get Peco PL-10W solenoids for the turnouts. Only problem is that they are a long-discontinued item although they are still available on eBay. Also, I'll have to cut an awkward shape in the foam to accommodate them.

Its beginning to appear that Kato Unitrack may well be my only choice if I want a powered frog....
 
Curious why you are using foam? Is it because of the weight? After using a limited amount of foam on a former layout, I went with waferboard (Oriented Strand Board); which stands up well over a less substantial benchwork. Also, will drill a cleaner hole or cutout.

Dave
 
logandsawman said:
Curious why you are using foam? Is it because of the weight? After using a limited amount of foam on a former layout, I went with waferboard (Oriented Strand Board); which stands up well over a less substantial benchwork. Also, will drill a cleaner hole or cutout.

Dave
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Good point - this is to be a portable layout so I want it to be as lightweight as possible. My plan so far has been to use foam as the base for both track and scenery.

While typing this it just occurred to me that I could use a cookie cutter plywood sub roadbed - that could solve my track attachment problems.

Regarding OSB - how strong is a quarter inch OSB? In other words, how much support would it require?
 
Another idea that just occurred to me is to use Gator Board. Its as strong as plywood but very light weight. Some years ago, I bought a sample at the Amherst model railroad show and I used it on the Woodlawn project to hold the electronics boards. This would drastically simplify the whole construction and it would be light.
 
@logandsawman That was a very useful suggestion - I sometimes I need another person to make me think outside the box a bit :) I ordered some sheets of half inch Gatorboard. After thinking about it, Gatorboard will solve my problem very nicely.

My thinking has also evolved on the topic of flex track as well. I did a side-by-side comparison of Micro engineering code 55 N scale flex track with Peco code 55 concrete tie flex track. See photo below. Micro engineering is on the left and Peco is on the right.

The problem with Peco flex is that it does not hold its shape when bent to a ten inch radius. In contrast, Micro Engineering flex has no problem retaining a 10 inch radius curve perfectly without springing back - because it is much stiffer.

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But the Peco code 55 Unifrog turnouts are the best I have seen so far. So my plan is to use a combination of Atlas code 80 track (sectional and flex) and Peco code 55 turnouts. The only thing I need to do get them to work together is to shim up the Peco turnouts with 0.030 styrene sheet.
 
kleiner said:
@logandsawman That was a very useful suggestion - I sometimes I need another person to make me think outside the box a bit :) I ordered some sheets of half inch Gatorboard. After thinking about it, Gatorboard will solve my problem very nicely.

My thinking has also evolved on the topic of flex track as well. I did a side-by-side comparison of Micro engineering code 55 N scale flex track with Peco code 55 concrete tie flex track. See photo below. Micro engineering is on the left and Peco is on the right.

The problem with Peco flex is that it does not hold its shape when bent to a ten inch radius. In contrast, Micro Engineering flex has no problem retaining a 10 inch radius curve perfectly without springing back - because it is much stiffer.

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But the Peco code 55 Unifrog turnouts are the best I have seen so far. So my plan is to use a combination of Atlas code 80 track (sectional and flex) and Peco code 55 turnouts. The only thing I need to do get them to work together is to shim up the Peco turnouts with 0.030 styrene sheet.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you came up with your solution, though to answer your question, not sure about 1/4" osb.

I used 1/2", which by some accounts stronger than plywood of that size. It is heavy, though.
 
Now the fun part: laying out the centerlines and putting down the cork roadbed. I started by using my laser triangle and straight edges to get some basic locations down. Then I soldered the sectional track together to make it into a rigid curve. It's pretty satisfying when it all lines up. This is the first time I've used sectional track in a long time but its unavoidable due to the sharp curves. Too bad Micro Engineering is in such bad shape, their track would have been ideal for this project.

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