Well I've found a little extra time for myself this weekend and into next week so I decided to begin a quick project I've been kicking around for a while. I have quite a few recently acquired locomotives but I have no layout, nor the space for one at the moment. What I do have is 14 feet of bar-top space in the basement. I think that would be perfect for a portable test track.
I decided some time ago that I would like it to be simple but have three 140" tracks in 3R O, 2R O, and HO. I have plenty of Bachman HO, Lionel Fastrack, and Atlas O 3R track (I've pulled the center rail on some 3R since I have plenty of it and the outside rails are isolated, rather than buy new Atlas 2R.)
Phase 1: Construction
Picked up a 1x12x12 quality pine board, and some 1x2x12 select pine boards. Put a couple coats of left over black paint on while I shopped for some other materials. I thought I would save a few bucks on the quality board. I knew better. This was a mistake as I discovered upon closer inspection after painting that while the board was clean and not warped it was cut like a banana! I didn't feel like getting the table saw out to rip it square so I just went back and spent the money I should have in the first place for a Select 1x12x12 and started over. I decided not to paint the underside this time. (Also, now I have an extra-12-foot-painted-banana-shaped-board taking up space in my garage.)
Next since I wanted to keep it light enough to move around easily I didn't want to add weight with foam or homasote etc. But I did want some type of sound deadening since the track would be screwed directly into the board. I settled on some I found on sale from Hobby Lobby, a mix between a short furry fleece and felt material. Found a 40% coupon online too!
I hand-planed and sanded the edges of on top of the larger board for better surface and edge for the material. Cut the material with enough to wrap down around and rolled up ready for gluing. Using contact cement I just brushed along, un-rolled, pulled tight, and smoothed out the material. Repeating as I went. Once done and dried a little, I cut just enough on the underside to tuck into the support boards.
Next I cut the remaining 1x2x12 into 8 1/4" cross-members for the underside. Clamping them together beforehand I drilled between each pair to get channels for the underside wiring. I plan to "loop" the track on the underside. Power supply will also run underside. Attached underside framing with wood screws securing the glued folded over material. Finished nailed through the sides since I didn't feel like digging out the dowel jig.
Smoothed out any wrinkles before the glue set and then a little extra drying time.......
Brought it inside and attached rubber foot skids to the underside frame. Checked for track spacing options as I begin to think about the wiring. (Often, I engineer as I go, knowing generally what I'll do and then figure it out as the project progresses.)
That's it for today. Up next for Phase 2: Track, Wiring, and Power.
I'll post as I make progress...
