John, I'm currently in the process of putting in my grades and over / under track. I have both Wescott books & 1 by Jeff Wilson - 'Basic model railroad benchwork'. Construction is L-girder w cookie cutter subroadbed (1/2" ply) (6-ply)). Roadbed will be 1/2" homasote. I agree, use cheap plywood for the elevated sections till u firm up the design. If you're not operating on it, supports every 24" should suffice. Here's a couple pics of my grades using risers and cleats. Note: when u get to making your risers w cleats attached, the cleat should extend above the riser by an 1/8". You'll have to account for that when setting your heights. Only the cleat supports the plywood subroadbed. That's why it says to secure the roadbed by drilling thru the cleat up into the plywood. If the cleat and plywood r at the same height, and you secure into both, you're roadbed will be wavy - ie flat spot, rise, flat spot, etc. You get it. There is a reference to this 1/8" gap in one of the books but it is very obscure.
Attachments
Images (4)
