"Double Helix" at the 48th Great NY State Model Train Fair for the Waste & Ruin TrainHaus

Interesting!  What are the dimensions of your display?  Do you have a plan in AnyRail, SCARM, etc., that you're willing to share?

Sweet,  That may work better for my layout than the planned grades between layers. Definitely let us know the dimensions, grade and spacing used.

Thanks!

Hi Fellows - the dimensions are 57" X 10 Feet.

I gave 8.5 inches for height - but - you should Experiment!

The inside track is 42" and the outside 54" - diameters.

I do not have a track design - all I did was build 2.5 Circles up on each side in what turns out to be an 8.5% Grade which is wayyy too steep!

But 3 engines made it, and the MTH O&W FA was the Champ!

Gargraves made all the curves in October and the straight was from a box from 1989 they made -  it was all good, finally!

I actually used 2 of these Variacs to run the trains - one stepped down from 120 to 30 Volts and the other using that 30 to the tracks but only pulling about 19.8 (when my Voltmeter tested it, it was jumping a bit)!

The great thing was it kept running and running - 35 minutes non-stop at that speed - and I was not there for 20 of them!

I thought someone was watching the switch, but he walked away too!  Another funny story!

Happy Railing, Roading and Rolling!

Seeing the double track,  can you run two trains at the same time ?  Opposite directions ???

Ah, yes we can Boomer0622 -  and that is a funny story...

I bought this 685 from the Vendor behind me in Syracuse - you can figure out his name if you look around "the show" enough - it is on-line - in fine print!  Life is funny that way.

So my track had a defect in it and my 2 Steamers kept shorting out on Sunday as they began the climb on the right Helix... My Lionel NW2 Electronic Switcher  was there for looks, but had "blown up" at a home testing at 32 Degrees (that was a sight to see!) and my MTH O&W FA 502 that had done what you asked about above in tandem at home but was on the fritz (working on that today)  so I said to my Vendor neighbor - "hey can I run this one?" - this pictured 685 Lionel Steamer that was on his table.   He had been complaining that sales were flat on Sunday, this day of rest,  so I bought it from him.

Now he and his buddy (another Vendor) had been "harassing me" in a friendly way on Saturday -  "hey will that be done by tomorrow?".

And the story there is that I had built the "Vortex" on a 3 foot by 6 foot table - with 31" Diameter Curves for the O&W Convention on 9/30/2023.   The only train that went up and down that was my 1948 MW2 Switcher with an Atlas Coal Car from the Red Pump Nursery in 1990 carrying a piece of Coal from the Parksville ROW of the O&W from the 20's (probably - they had too **** much coal in that era!).

So that was when I built the 57" X 10 Foot layout with the new GarGraves track.  The problem was I did not "finish" it until Thursday 11/2/2023.  I tested it and ran those MTH O&W FA's and they ran great!  Then I had to take it apart Friday morning and pack it up in the back my Impreza and drive to Syracuse.  From 12PM to 9PM we could go in and set up.  I got there at 7:45 PM, leaving at 4:15 PM.  And there I was from 8AM until 3:30PM Saturday as the crowds strolled by watching me build the "To the Mountains by 3 Rail"... thus the "hey will that be done by tomorrow?".

So here we are on Sunday about 1:30 PM and the Seller gleefully told me he had just installed a new smoke unit in the 685 - no more pellets, just liquid... and he proceeded to pour it in!  I fixed a piece of electrical tape to the bottom of the cowcatcher and averted the short that was plaguing the O&W Bull-Moose and the Reading Camelback... and added three Sante Fe Passenger Cars for the trip...

The FA was merrily rolling along on the outside - and the 685 started up on the inside- and then started to spin on the 2-3rd level... which started the smoke coming - whooooaaaaa it was Smokin' in the worst way!  A lady who was watching had to put a handkerchief up to her mouth - the guys just laughed...

The Vendor was gleeful, adding more - "it works great!  You did it, kid, you did it!" 

The other Vendor happened by and he said "So you finally got it running!"  And I can bring it to his Train Show next year...

So I took a Parlor car off and up she went - spinning like crazy, but getting to the top - and for several magic minutes the two mixed the old and new O&W on their trip to nowhere!