My solution to a tricky problem

[morairamike]

As many of you know, I am building a new layout. I have shown some of the scenery but have now completed a trickey join of scenery across two boards.

I have a raised section on my layout, which contains a church, semi detached houses and a station. Under this scenery is a curved tunnel which contains 4 sets of points, so that trains can be parked out of sight. However if a derailment occurs or the points/track needs attention, access is required.  So how did I solve this.

This is the Barton Rise corner. (yes there is still work to do: install street lights, more walls, trees etc. and pavements.)/media/tinymce_upload/6f699ea9d68cbe2619c523beaf9ba894.jpgTrain enters tunnel:/media/tinymce_upload/5c9c0bb1f869ddcdc5389d92be9d3cbe.jpg

But only loco appears at other end:/media/tinymce_upload/2a3fa026ad8aabb3b50ce340cb24b6f7.jpg

So, how to retrieve trapped coach?

First remove right hand upper scene:/media/tinymce_upload/039fd5d9be3444ced7554f41db9dd9e6.jpg

Coach not here.

The left hand end consistes of,  tunnel entrance top scene, church and house scene, retaining wall and road ramp:/media/tinymce_upload/411a4da717bab834b4e6c7fc36c19709.jpg

Remove the road ramp:

/media/tinymce_upload/7ddca0b28074a6fc80f1607a433d9c94.jpg

Remove the left hand tunnel top scene to reveal reataining wall spring release cord:/media/tinymce_upload/1a7b758eda96630e57e3aed417d2cd77.jpg

To reveal the retaining wall spring release cord:

/media/tinymce_upload/01587b029078c4536730a366236696fc.jpg

Pull cord  which releases the retaining wall:/media/tinymce_upload/0d71a8d6079ba05cc24e189883b31c29.jpg

Which reveals the trapped coach:/media/tinymce_upload/7b0d7c72de98fdb167b3b414e3b70d27.jpg

Now the tunnel top scene can be lifted clear:/media/tinymce_upload/0414922eee21f612c5ae7e6b0ed40f85.jpg

and the coach reunited with the loco:/media/tinymce_upload/118d9f1ba76bd38f3de8dc03f5195574.jpg

All that remains is to check the track and put the scenery back: With the retaining wall against the tunnel wall there is a gap which the spring closes. Note that this would normally be done with the church scene fitted first but that is off to give clarity. The spring ensures that the retaining wall stays hard up against the scene it butts onto. Gap apparent:

/media/tinymce_upload/c2d619c35d6486aea25806a05abe949f.jpg

Attach the spring:/media/tinymce_upload/2e0e253213a6fa37658cd43d472fb7d8.jpg

Gap closed:/media/tinymce_upload/8d98b77af4f804fe0a2a181ddc468b05.jpg

The pair of semis can also be removed too, to give quick but limited access:/media/tinymce_upload/f889251b4d30b9cd0c5f31e2f8fad66b.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/5ba1bd7b4448bab0d64121d2362a4f2d.jpg

Then put the top scene back on and resume normal service./media/tinymce_upload/fd97f1fca7b63c41c27ff9fe6cec74a1.jpg

A note to others, until this layout I had only ever built limited building and never ballasted track or built scenes. So although it may daunting, give it a go it's very rewarding.

[Puffed Out]

Very impressive, but way beyond my own talents I'm afraid.  Plus having fingers like sausages, and weaing glasses and being old, is a challenge. My layout will be more of a stockyard/marshaling yard type thing, at least I hope so.

.

[Bulleidboy]

A good idea. If you have hidden track, especially if includes points, you need access to it, even if it's just for cleaning the track. I have a tunnel in the corner of my layout, where two tracks from the scenic part of the layout enter, but emerge at the other end as a single track, leading to the fiddle yard. I built the hill/tunnel out of 50mm thick insulation foam and glued the tunnel portals to each end - there are also a number of Woodland Scenics sections of rockface fixed to the foam. By getting hold of the two tunnel portals I can lift the whole section from the layout. It's one of those things you need to think about at the planning stage - it can save a lot problems later! BB

 

https://flic.kr/p/2ieqrUx

[morairamike]

Thanks Puffedout and  bulledboyfotbyiur comments.

Just to clarify a couple of points (pun not intended). I was 75 last Tuesday, I have podgy fingers, wear glasses and have aches and pains. Just seen able to get lost in this 1/76 scale world. As they say keep taking the tablets. 

[morairamike]

Like the pictures Bulliedboy some very atmospheric scenes on the station and the lighting excellent. Thanks for sharing.

[Derek 19B]

Sorry about the blank icons did not come up and no key pad.

anyway I have five roads under my High street 4 through one long siding with four removable sections (soon to be 5) so its easy to look for the derailment. Also the first section of retaining wall is open so I can see into the tunnel and lastly reed switches in the roads so I can see progress through. All locos and guards vans/ brake vans have magnets fitted.

derek 19b

again sorry about the blank.

[Chrissaf]

Derek,

If you hadn't documented the error in your post, then I could have just removed the errored blank reply and no one would have been none the wiser.

.

In future, just leave the errored post behind without comment, once a ComMod spots it, it will be dealt with. Alternatively, if you post a request like say for example 'please remove my post timed at xx:yy. Then post that in a separate reply of its own rather than making the comment within one of your correctly published posts. Then once the requested action has been performed the requesting post can also be removed, just leaving all the correctly formatted posts behind.

[96RAF]

OOPs - I just removed the blank post before seeing Chris’s advice. That will teach me to read it all before acting. Anyhow it highlights exactly what Chris said about the post content appearing odd.

 

@Mike

What I like (apart from the ingenuity of the assembly and locking of the parts) is the way you have disguised the joints so it is virtually impossible to see where the various removable elements connect together until you show us it coming apart. The attention to detail is superb, especially the rock faces that you showed us how to do in an earlier post.

 

I also like the large copper clad rail end supports across the joints. My attempts to do the same using  narrow bits of vero stripboard has failed miserably, so I shall have to go for wider solid copper clad to rectify it.

[morairamike]

Hi Rob I tried various methods but the copper clad board seems to be the best. This picture is the join between my fixed board tunnel exit and the access flap. The rails are on a curve too. I removed sleepers from under the track in the position where the track crossed the join. I cut copper clad board to size. I scored a line down the centre do the two halves were isolated from each other. Then I soldered the rails to the copper.

Once it was secure I drilled pilot holes for track pins through the copper clad board. The track section was then laid over the two boards and fixed down. Once happy with the layout I cut through the rails and board using a thin bladed handsaw. 

In some areas I use screws into threaded dowels and springs under the copper board, that I did originally on my girder bridge across the void, so the bridge can be removed easily./media/tinymce_upload/ba6959f13d5d231936c01504a5579adc.jpg

[96RAF]

I used thin strips of vero soldered to the rails and as I pressed track pins in to secure them the vero cracked. The strips were too narrow and were full of the usual holes, so it needs to be solid copper clad replacements. The good thing is I only need 16 strips for a double track each crossing at two levels. Just got to source some material and get it delivered.

[morairamike]

This picture shows them without the paint. It also shows the top layer support. This is dowel rod. There is a socket drilled into the base board. The dowel is mounted onto the removable top scene, off centred, this one and one at the other end by the tunnel entrance. The rest of the supports are fixed to the base board and the top rests on them. Once the top scene is in place the dowels are rotated to close the gap on the fixed scenery behind. The joins have hedges on them to further hide the joins./media/tinymce_upload/cdbccc40309b676cf7bcb08f714349fe.jpg

[96RAF]

Found some 100mm x 150mm single sided copper clad in packs of 10 for little money, next day delivery so sorted. I will use wide pads per your photos and hide under ballast.

[Chrissaf]

Remember to deploy the tip about fixing the boards and soldering the rails to them first, BEFORE cutting the rails with a fine Razor Saw. That way you will ensure perfect alignment.

[96RAF]

The rails are already cut Chris and previously soldered to vero strip-board, which has proven i adequate, so its a case of  removing those,installing the new pads being carefully to align the rails horizontally and vertically using some grooved block clamps I have for the task.