Thumb tacky no more
I've only had a little time here-and-there to do layout stuff, so I 'tackled' a job that has been nagging to be done for a long time: Remove the thumbtacks that were holding the Neville Park loop down and replace them with proper track nails. Up there is the finished loop and down there is the starting point.
I used thumbtacks because the loop was so tight - 7" radius - they let me make fine adjustments during track installation. The track is also held in place with transfer tape. I ran a PCC through once all the nails were in place and found I had accidentally changed the rail alignment on the entrance track and that caused derailments. I removed a couple of nails and the track sprung back. No more derailments and smooth running was restored.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteYour simplified track plan and large spaces for scenery have inspired me recently to revisit my current layout plan. I redrew it and have been living with it for a couple weeks and I like it better than the last. Though the previous plan ticked all the boxes operationally, it was far too complex for the true scope of what I have to work with here (time, space, etc.). Thanks for sharing your progress.
Galen
Thanks for your kind words Galen. I'm starting to think of the Alta Vista TC as a big diorama rather than a layout. As I thought more about its trackplan I realized that all I wanted was 3 things from a streetcar layout: a long straight run (because I remember those), an end-of-the-line circular loop, and a square-loop down some streets with houses on them. I also need some ocean/lake front, but that's still to come - I only recently decided on how to incorporate it.
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