Securing and wiring an upper level

My thoughts are to gather your wiring in the rear of the elevation and place them down inside the plastic pipe. Use a few of them if needed. Then attach to power under the layout. If you have a lot of wiring then you can place a removable view block under the structure towards the back to hide excess wires.

To secure the structure to the foam layout top, use two sided carpet tape under the 2X4’s. It will hold it as solid as you need it.

Thank you Brian for responding. I hadn’t considered the tape and that’s a great idea. In the meantime, I thought of putting a light weight 1.5”  border around the perimeter to provide a finished edge. This will also help to hide the wires to the rear as you suggested.

Thank you,

Jay

No reason you can't use the 2X4 blocks to secure the top level to the bottom. I would insert screws up from the underneath of the bottom level up into the base of the blocks to secure them to the bottom level and then insert screws through the top level into the tops of the blocks to secure the top level. I would use two screws at each end of each block to prevent twisting. You can hide the top screws by countersinking a little into the foam and then sprinkling with scenic grass of your choice.

As Brian said, you can add more pipes around the perimeter and use them to hide your wiring into the top level. You could also route a groove in the back of a block or two to run/hide wires.

Personally, I would paint the blocks and pipes a medium grey color to hide the markings and labeling. Might take two coats of rattle can color.

You can use 1/8" thick "luan" plywood for a finished edge. It's lightweight enough and can be cut into 2" (or whatever you height you want) tall strips to attach all around the perimeter. It should be cut tall enough to extend a little above the surface of the upper level and hide the bottom edge, but not so tall as to hinder any view of the layout. You can use construction adhesive to secure and (even though it's foam) a pre-drilled, thin finish nail every couple feet to anchor in place.

Thank you very much for your suggestions Richie. I was also thinking about painting the pipes and using them as “support “ columns along the platforms. The 1/8” luan is an excellent idea also. Your insights are greatly appreciated.

Jay

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

Thank you very much for your suggestions Richie. I was also thinking about painting the pipes and using them as “support “ columns along the platforms. The 1/8” luan is an excellent idea also. Your insights are greatly appreciated.

Jay

Luan on my layout - it was stained and poly'd, but that is optional.

You've received some good tips already. Here's my two cents worth ...

My L-shaped layout is 15x19-feet with two levels. The upper level is placed at the perimeter along three sides, with three short bump-and-go trolley lines serving the citizens along the rows of DEPT 56 North Pole Village lighted porcelain buildings; some of which are animated. It's a year-round Christmas scene.  JPG images of the platforms are attached for reference, also some pix of various scenes.

The upper level is supported by MTH Elevated Trolley Supports -- just the right height to allow trains on the lower level to pass underneath. The "platform" of the upper level is 1x12-inch lumber, painted white (i.e., Christmassy) with 1-inch lattice as edging.  The track power wiring is simple; just three lighted lockons at the mid-point of each trolley line. Track wiring is dressed down and through the lower level; it's practically invisible from the view of visitors.  The tracks are O27, with power from a PC Power Supply through a custom-made "black box" with three voltage control knobs, one for each trolley line.

Meanwhile, the track power to the lower level is provided by two transformers: a Lionel 135w "brick" and a MTH Z1000. A knife switch selects which transformer is in use. One is wired for Lionel's TMCC, the other for MTH's DCS.

Most first-time visitors don't notice all the details of the upper level -- the animations, the DEPT 56 figures that accompany most buildings, and the uniqueness of the buildings. They'll recognize more details at a second visit. The DEPT 56 wiring to most of the 35 buildings is provided by a low voltage distribution system (made by DEPT 56) with the wires draped over the back side of the upper platform.  However, the power to the animated building is by 110v AC.  In a hand-out, I explain to visitors the significance of each DEPT 56 building - all are dedicated to a family member:  the Bakery for my dad (a baker), the Toy Solder Shop for my step-brother (a military veteran), and the KOLD Radio Station for me (for my career in public radio), etc.

Admittedly the wiring scheme for the DEPT 56 buildings is not elegant, but it's not visible from the view of visitors watching from the front side of the layout. Those who walk around the back side of layout will see the DEPT 56 wiring to the buildings, but they are usually quite forgiving of some exposed wiring.

The "master control switches" for all AC wiring to the transformers are remote control devices at the AC wall outlets with a hand-held controller -- easy ON and easy OFF.

An occasional derailment along the lower level at a site underneath the upper level is inconvenient to re-rail, but do-able. If I had to do it over, I'd add more vertical spacing for the upper level.

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

Here's what I did. Some good, some bad.

1. I ran my elevated loop drops through a 3/8 plywood base (Good)
2. I duct-taped the wires to the bottom of the plywood, (Bad)
3. I ran all the drops down through the table in one location through the mountain that feeds the elevated loop. (Good)

After reading lots of information about duct tape, I have replaced my "Duck" brand tape with "Gorilla" brand tape. Which has superior holding force. (So far so good, but I'm only a month in...) If that fails, I will move on to wire looms and screws.

Thank you Stephen for the insights. This helpful information.

Jay