KB02
Well-Known Member
The latest expansion of my layout has been a bit of a pain. It is in the basement and along a wall where, despite our greatest mitigation efforts, we still have a bit of a ground water issue from time to time. And there is a window where, when the spring melt comes, snow and ice like to accumulate... and melt... and seep through the window. Now while I am sure that a healthy amount of silicone would seal up this window, I also like to open it on nice summer days or when I've been working on things that should be worked on in well ventilated areas and I need a little fresh air. SO, with all that in mind, I build the benchwork along this wall to be modular should I need access to this wall or the window. Here is how it looked this morning:
The triangle sections left and right are individually removable:
And here is where you may notice one of the biggest issues. These removable sections have curved track. In case you are considering doing this: DON’T! This has been such a nightmare. Due to the facts of wood expansion and contraction and the 85 or so different reasons you should bring any wood you plan to use to build a layout into that actual space to let it acclimatize first, I, for some reason, decided to ignore all of that and my track work suffered.
So, it is time to tear it apart and rebuild it properly… or at least as properly as I can.
Let’s start with pulling it apart. First the Trestle comes out:
Then the southeast corner:
Then I can pull out the 8’ long straight section:
And strip it down of track:
The plan is relatively simple: To preserve access to the wall under the window, I am going to cut down this 8’ section, secure both ends to the layout as it secured to the walls on either side and make a 4’ drop in section that I am pull out if need be. SO, with a little bit of measuring and cutting, I wound up with this:
That’s better… well… not BETTER better, but it’s getting there.
The triangle sections left and right are individually removable:
And here is where you may notice one of the biggest issues. These removable sections have curved track. In case you are considering doing this: DON’T! This has been such a nightmare. Due to the facts of wood expansion and contraction and the 85 or so different reasons you should bring any wood you plan to use to build a layout into that actual space to let it acclimatize first, I, for some reason, decided to ignore all of that and my track work suffered.
So, it is time to tear it apart and rebuild it properly… or at least as properly as I can.
Let’s start with pulling it apart. First the Trestle comes out:
Then the southeast corner:
Then I can pull out the 8’ long straight section:
And strip it down of track:
The plan is relatively simple: To preserve access to the wall under the window, I am going to cut down this 8’ section, secure both ends to the layout as it secured to the walls on either side and make a 4’ drop in section that I am pull out if need be. SO, with a little bit of measuring and cutting, I wound up with this:
That’s better… well… not BETTER better, but it’s getting there.