CRITICAL Layout design tip #2:
In your future design, pursuant to your track arrangement, do your best to MINIMIZE the places of track-work where one track will pass over or under another section of track. The less "covered" track, the easier it is to install, revise and maintain.
Instead of a standard helix, consider a tier helix where the various levels are NOT directly over or under the other. Even though there isn't an actual helix in this video, these STACKED reversing loops at both "ends" of the Glacier Line present a very similar helix appearance. You can see for yourself how accessible all of these tracks are because they are not piled one directly on top of another.
In ANY scale, using tiers may be better in a helix vs. a standard helix. Something to consider in your UNIQUE situation.
Also, this video demonstrates a possibility to maximize your space, even in a basement, by placing your reversing loops, which CONSUME a large amount of space, into one area!
This is also a more effective use of space and makes the layout more interesting by being on multiple levels, ground rises and falls, as it does in life.
Hopefully, something you see here will help you in a future plan. I have written about these subjects in my latest book, former articles and Internet writing. However, seeing it on camera, even as crude as a production as this is, will give you an actual view of what I'm talking about. Good luck with your future plan.
