Hi ogaugeguy:
As most will tell you, the original drawings that Lionel used in making the No. D-27 dealer display layout, nicknamed the Disappearing Layout, have been lost to the ages. In the November 2001 issue of CTT, Roger Carp provided diagrams which were helpful. However, they lacked enough specificity to guide us along without significant difficulty. I can’t provide a list of track inside the mountain until later sometime next week after we have our club meeting.
When we built our version, we had altered the location of the “box” in order to allow us room to make a tiny city scene. We moved the “box” almost 2’ to the right. In hindsight, we should have left the box in the center of the 4’x8’ board, as Lionel designers had built the original. We also added 8” to the width of the board to accommodate a 2nd oval, which transversed the entire perimeter. Once we discovered the problems with using MTH RealTrax inside the box, it was completely trial-by-error to come up with a working track plan using Lionel tubular track. We went through dozens of custom cut risers, even super-elevating some with shims. Super-elevating kept the train from derailing within the box. The exit at the left side of the mountain had to be lowered to decrease the intense grade and to prevent wheel-slip, which was a major issue with. We even scored the track along the exit ramp to create greater wheel adhesion. We went through a number of engines until we ended up settling on the 0-4-0. We also tried using the gondolas that Lionel utilized with the D-27, but found then to be too long, which is why we ended up the Lionel ore cars. The engine behaved better entering from the left and diving down the steep grade of the ramp and then having an easier grade to climb within the box before exiting on the right. We found that the train didn’t have a long enough straight-away after exiting on the right and the engine would pull the cars off the track as the engine entered the curve behind the mountain. Due to space limitation at the fair for our group’s display, we were not able to build an extension to correct the problem.
For anyone undertaking building this layout, they’re in for a lot of work, much of it frustrating. It will cultivate patience, although along the way many words which shouldn’t be uttered in polite company will suddenly flow; just make sure to cover the kids’ ears – i-pads cranked up work. When it’s working, there is nothing like seeing the expression on kids’ faces when the engine doesn’t come straight out of the mountain and the mountain keeps on swallowing the entire train. I do believe that the use of Gargraves flex track is the way to go when building this layout.
