Dougie fresh posted:So IF I am following you, The mountain that the reversing top loop is on is gone? or shorted? Its just elevated?
No, it is still there. I moved it over, gray colored track, so that you could see all of the lower track. Sorry for putting it up that way. I didn't want to confuse you.
I am having a hard time fitting the inside O31 like last year's. Siding will be no problem, the trolley yes.
Still a work in progress...
Ok, a new version with the streets loop at the North Pole and an 031 Loop under the tree. This version needs a small triangle in the front.
Yes this will work. I think I will not have the tree in it this year so the super streets will be there around a village or a siding with stuff or two. The top loop I will put a small x-mas tree there like in the PE movie..
Ok, then here is the track plan. I don't know about streets fitting in the center. The mountain climb scenery will be close to O31 loop.
You see where I had to hang in the inside turn in the front over the inside corner.
This is a tight fit, so work that out with the mock-up. Any more changes, let me know.
After looking at it allllllllllllllllll..I think I will use the expanded loop and may put a siding in there, but make this one this year a story. I'll put the boys home from PE below and the top loop will be the NP with a tree in the center and buildings around it. The train will circle the tree as in the PE movie then back around the mountain and home. I have had sooooooooooooooo much on my layouts in the past I thought maybe less is more this year...Oh.. I have one of Lionel's pylons with Santa on top that circles.. I saw that a guy a few years ago build a tree around it and looked like Santa circling....I'll try and make it.....Thanks for all your help...
Moonman posted:Hi Dougie,
How are you? I am surprised that you would want to make a do over for the holidays after the expansion last year. Well, you have touched on project dear to me.
I started this type of project before, first for a 4' wide table, then to be portable modules to sit on LCCA modules. I learned a few things that can definitely help you. First, though, a couple of photos a of the unfished portable pieces that will work well with how you set-up and break-down and store your holiday layout.
Some lessons:
The train going around a mountain is the desired effect - multiple loops around require too much space and do not provide a great enough bang for the work for more turns.
The base is 4' x 4'. I used 1/4" luan for the base. It is not sturdy enough. Home Depot has 4' x 4' pre-cut project sheets. Use plywood of a thickness that's not too heavy. This was the failure point.
I used a cookie cutter style for the sub-roadbed and blocked it at elevation points with beveled tops on the blocks equal to the grade/slope. This worked well.
The mountain was of two countours. One has a slot to fit together like the old Plasticville pine trees. I glued a piece of dowel to top inside and put a removable screw eye to provide a lift point for placing and removing the mountain. The screw is finger tight and is removed after installation. later supports were installed as stiffeners.
The mountain is to have aluminum window screen stapled to the contours and shaped. Then I am going to squirt Great Stuff on the screen and carve it. This stuff gets hard and makes a nice shell, but it is work to carve it. (more on that later if you want). I got this technique from a Dave Frary book. The screen would have followed the roadbed edge at sat on it, with the very bottom undecorated. The outside of the spiral would have foamed and carved to roadbed height.
The other catch is exiting the mountain in the direction that you want to go. You can see that it required me to put some straights in at the bottom and create a tunnel.
This version was a mix of O36 & 048 FasTrack to get the angles correct for the exit.
It rises to ~ 8".
I also made the reverse loops fit on a 4' x 4' so that the North Pole (elevated section) could also be portable.
So, do want to work something like this on to your L-shaped base from last year? here's what it would have looked like in a 4' x 12'.
I have been looking at this since you posted it...........and Since I want 2 trains on the layout..or at least. I think for my "L" shaped platform I will have a reverse loop for the top and a single train running around the bottom. You'll only see the bottom one when it comes out of the tunnels at each end and as it snakes around the outside "L" . Looking at this picture/drawing you did for me. If I just bend it in the middle I could have a small sub ville there or a siding for accesorys. Any thought on that???? Doug
A possibility is to use flexible track, such as Gargraves, so that you can have a smoothly tightening radius as you go up.
RJR posted:A possibility is to use flexible track, such as Gargraves, so that you can have a smoothly tightening radius as you go up.
There will be no incline to go up, as there will be two levels independent of the other...
Did you look at Bill Henning's trains in a tree thread? You might get some ideas about the spiral from that, he accomplished it all with Fastrack.
Not sure if this video belongs to another forum member. This layout sure gives the "desired effect".
RickO posted:Not sure if this video belongs to another forum member. This layout sure gives the "desired effect".
Nice but my layout size is only 4x8x4...Its a "L" shape for the corner...
Moonman posted:Hi Dougie,
How are you? I am surprised that you would want to make a do over for the holidays after the expansion last year. Well, you have touched on project dear to me.
I started this type of project before, first for a 4' wide table, then to be portable modules to sit on LCCA modules. I learned a few things that can definitely help you. First, though, a couple of photos a of the unfished portable pieces that will work well with how you set-up and break-down and store your holiday layout.
Some lessons:
The train going around a mountain is the desired effect - multiple loops around require too much space and do not provide a great enough bang for the work for more turns.
The base is 4' x 4'. I used 1/4" luan for the base. It is not sturdy enough. Home Depot has 4' x 4' pre-cut project sheets. Use plywood of a thickness that's not too heavy. This was the failure point.
I used a cookie cutter style for the sub-roadbed and blocked it at elevation points with beveled tops on the blocks equal to the grade/slope. This worked well.
The mountain was of two countours. One has a slot to fit together like the old Plasticville pine trees. I glued a piece of dowel to top inside and put a removable screw eye to provide a lift point for placing and removing the mountain. The screw is finger tight and is removed after installation. later supports were installed as stiffeners.
The mountain is to have aluminum window screen stapled to the contours and shaped. Then I am going to squirt Great Stuff on the screen and carve it. This stuff gets hard and makes a nice shell, but it is work to carve it. (more on that later if you want). I got this technique from a Dave Frary book. The screen would have followed the roadbed edge at sat on it, with the very bottom undecorated. The outside of the spiral would have foamed and carved to roadbed height.
The other catch is exiting the mountain in the direction that you want to go. You can see that it required me to put some straights in at the bottom and create a tunnel.
This version was a mix of O36 & 048 FasTrack to get the angles correct for the exit.
It rises to ~ 8".
I also made the reverse loops fit on a 4' x 4' so that the North Pole (elevated section) could also be portable.
So, do want to work something like this on to your L-shaped base from last year? here's what it would have looked like in a 4' x 12'.
Hey I came across this and was wondering if you ever completed it?? If so do you have a picture
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