Turkey Hollow Railroad - under construction - 12/3/21 update

Sorry, I hit post too soon.

You can see that I have the seams still open on the background. It was necessary to re-hang the sections a few times as they acclimated and stretched over the last couple of months. The section on the short wall still needs a little work.

The front track is mostly re-used Atlas O. All of the curves are GG flex track.

I will need to build a cross over section here for the first level. The second level will also cross here but in the other direction. I'm thinking this is a good place for a drop down for access to the corner where staging tracks will be.

I have changed some of the design by moving more switches out from hidden areas. I also added the capability to run a train in a circle so I can wire up the drops  that are in place now and run my train while I work on the rest.

One of the concepts I picked up in CJ Riley's book Realistic Layouts was to include a reason for a scenic structure to exist. I can easily apply this to my two bridges since I'm not using them for access of any kind and they don't really span anything. So I created the route to Turkey Falls with a 064 switch ( it will be fix straight through) and track not being used. Trains go out but they don't come back.

I updated the AnyRail design to reflect the changes I've made. In addition to re-locating more of the switches, I've increased the transition a bit to reach the upper level which is now going to be another inch higher at 10". The max. grades are still acceptable at 2.6% on the inner path and 2.4% on the outer path. I've added an 072 switch on the right side that will access some staging tracks.

In the end I decide to use some maple hardwood for finishing the homasote edges where the table passes the bench at the four places where track crosses the lift table. This is wood from my scrap bin and has probably been acclimating for over a decade so I'm not worried about any movement. Plus I glued the maple strips to the plywood. Here's one example.

Dan, your work looks great!  The curves you did with Flextrack look perfect from here.  I like your roadbed.  I am thinking I will forgo the cork I have used for over 50 years and used foam on my next, probably last layout.

Thank you, Mark.

The Flexxbed not only helps quiet things down but it is also easy to work with. The track screws hold everything down. I started this build with the road bed and Atlas O track from a test layout I built a few years ago. There are several places where road bed and/or track are made from previously cut pieces so I was not sure how far I would get. It's time to order.

This was my first experience with GG flex and I'm completely sold. Atlas is great track but it is not very forgiving when you try to re-use, once those nubs holding the track start breaking it is almost worthless. I suppose you could glue the rails back down. This is mostly an issue with previously cut flex track and not the sectional pieces. Anyway, I decided the Atlas flex track was mostly in good enough shape to re-use but not for selling.

I used these forms for making the larger curves with GG by clamping the track ties tightly to them. Using this method across the joints actually bends the track pins in the joints a bit and makes for a smooth joint. The forms are for 088 and 080 curves but I sort of pushed them out a little more as I laid the track. They are closer to 089 and 081.

Dan, That is a really good method of curving the GarGraves flex track.  Yes, I can see where the plastic tabs on the Atlas track could break off and cause big trouble.