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I was planing a large, long mountain. The track would only visable in a couple places, on an 8 ft run. I wont be able to leave the back open, as I wont be able to get to it ( up against a wall and cant move layout table ).
Am I inviting trouble?
Not a great idea !
Just print up plenty of invitations, you know it will happen . A derail in the unaccessible parts of your mountain. I guarantee it ! Joe
Just print up plenty of invitations, you know it will happen . A derail in the unaccessible parts of your mountain. I guarantee it ! Joe
Derailment, I figured I'd be able to somehow push/pull the pieces out.
Track cleaning ( I'm told ) can be done using the engine.
Do I need to make the mountain top removable? Any "How-to's " that make it look nice if I did?
I had the same access issues when I built my mountain. I ended up just cutting sections out big enough to get my hand in there to get access to the track for cleaning and derailments.
You can easily hide the gaps with trees and ground cover.
On my last layout I had a long tunnel. I made it out of foam & it was a lift off. It was light weight & I hid the bottom where it sat on the table w/foliage. No one ever knew.
I had spiders & lizards cause derailments because my building isn't sealed up all the way.
Lost a pair of trucks & a few couplers in that tunnel. If I hadn't been able to remove it, the whole train would still be in there. Then I would have had to make a detour & build a whole new tunnel. LOL
I've not done it myself, but I'd go with a foam lift-off top.
How about access panels at each side of the layout, then reach in to remove the derailed train with one of those grabber gizmos (at least the one's beyond arm's reach).
Losing details
Yes, but what about the details, ladders, grab irons, steps and such that alot of todays rolling stock have on them ? ? ? ? Whoops !
OK, attach a large magnet to a big stick and pull them out (through side access panels).
I made the access thru the bottom. You don't need a solid table except right where there is track. Cut out sections of the tabletop to get access.
hm... I'm thinking about a removable mountain top to get to my tunnel.
Want kind of bench work do you have? Open grid or table top?
Want kind of bench work do you have? Open grid or table top?
If your talking to me, nothing as of yet. I'm still getting my ducks in a row. I seen a video on a large layout on youtube. He used a grid type so he could duck under a large mountain and clear a track if needed. I'll most likely go that route.
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