The Atlantic and Southern Build, Part 1

[deemery]

Lots better 

Tom

Me, too...


dave

[S&S RR]

Lots better 

Tom

Me, too...


dave

Sure is nice to have all these friends helping you to evaluate your progress.

[ACL1504]

John,

Thanks for checking in and I guess the saying is true, "A man can't have to many friends"!

Tom

[ACL1504]

Today was a very productive day working on the railroad. I spent much of the afternoon working on the crossover between the two book shelves. The area that needs to be spanned is 38" in length.





I wanted to use a 2X4 for the cross over section but it proved to be to heavy to fit so I opted for a 1X4.

I tried several methods of attaching the crossover to the two sections and this is the best method I came up with. I want to have the crossover track fit into a section so it will be in the correct position and level each time it's installed.

I started by using a short piece of 1X1 cut from a small piece of spruce. I find spruce is dense and doesn't split when screwed. However, to be on the safe side I drilled and counter sunk a screw in the small piece.



Basically I made a small bridge on each side section for the crossover to fit into.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

Fast forward a little here and the bridge crossover is in place.



It's usualy a great idea to check your work and make sure you are on the straight and level. Or, is that the straight and narrow. Well, the bridge is straight and narrow as well as level.



Being level is a good thing.

Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

When I attached the track I did something different this time around. Since the crossover is actually a fancy liftout, I cut the track at a 45 degree angle best I could eye balling it. This is the track that will be attached to the bridge/liftout.



The two ends of the other pieces of track were cut at the opposite 45 degree angle.



Here is how the two pieces of track fit to each other. This is close up photo so the gap appears much larger than it actually is.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I used a 10" track gauge to align the two sections of track so they would be properly aligned when secured to the layout.



As I mentioned the liftout span is 38", so a 36" piece of ME code 83 track just didn't fit the bill.    Murphy's Law all over again.



The short track piece was soldered to the bridge piece. The two ends were cut as described earlier and secured in place. Remember the level? Level is a good thing.



In my next addition I'll explain how I wired it so I don't have any connecting wires or wire harness hanging down that I need to fool with.

Tom

[GPdemayo]

All right.....trains running around and around and around is getting closer. 

[gnatshop]

Keep on the straight and level, or you may join us fully retired folks sooner than you expect!! 

[ACL1504]

All right.....trains running around and around and around is getting closer. 

Greg,

Yes, around and around. Kinda like my head has been over the past several months.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Keep on the straight and level, or you may join us fully retired folks sooner than you expect!! 

Gman,

I plan on being fully retired @ the first of the year. I've already advised the State Attorney that my last work day will be the first week of January 2015. Time to work on this project more than a few hours a week.

Tom

[GPdemayo]

All right.....trains running around and around and around is getting closer. 

Greg,

Yes, around and around. Kinda like my head has been over the past several months.

Tom

I know the feeling.....

[Twist67]

Hi there,
That´s looking great...never seen this 45 degree cut but it´s an very good idea...
Keep on with the progress,

Cheers,Chris

[gnatshop]

Gman,
I plan on being fully retired @ the first of the year. I've already advised the State Attorney that my last work day will be the first week of January 2015. Time to work on this project more than a few hours a week.  Tom  

I'll be watchin' the news - the crimeenals are gonna declare 2015 as 'Free Rein in Floridy'!! 

[ACL1504]

Hi there,
That´s looking great...never seen this 45 degree cut but it´s an very good idea...
Keep on with the progress,

Cheers,Chris

Chris,

Thanks for stopping by, much appreciated. The 45 degree angle came to me when I was cutting the track. So far it is working perfectly. I've made the 90 degree cut in the past and always seemed to have a little bump when the train crosses the gap, but not on the 45 angle.

Tom