Installing track on the Mt. Lowe layout

Roadbed and risers are made from artist's foam board.

I'd like to be able to tell you I knew exactly what I was doing when I started putting up grades and installing track, but I can't because I didn't. I did have a schematic of what figure the track should follow, where a track should go over or under another as well as guidelines on how steep grades could be and tightest radius track I could get away with. In retrospect construction was all quite experimental. As a result several areas will need to be strengthened, others trimmed and cleaned up. So, I don't have a neat set of instructions you can follow so you can build your own as I did with the base, only some experiences to convey that you could reflect on if you decide to do something similar.

Burnt umber acrylic was used to pre-paint the roadbed before gluing down track

I cut the risers and roadbed from artist's foam board. The pieces are glued in place with Lepage's white glue. I used foam board because it's quick and easy to cut and form. That was important because as I mentioned before this layout is something of an experiment and I didn't want difficult materials slowing progress as I was working things out. Now that I think I understand how these little grade intensive layouts go together I might use foam blocks or gator board instead if I ever build another.

When I started out I thought the track plan would be close to a true trefoil knot with just one over-under crossing removed. It turned out it wasn't possible with the grades, radii, and vehicle height constraints I was working with. In the end the track plan became a figure-eight that has been twisted over on itself. I'm happy with it as it will still accomplish the scenic effects I'm after and make the overall layout a little less of a rabbit warren.

It turned out that the height of the vehicle was as strong a determining factor on track plan geometry as grade and radius, but I didn't fully appreciate that until construction was well underway. If this setup were for HO or N scale vehicles a twistier layout with more climbs could be built because the underpasses wouldn't need to be as tall as my Mt. Lowe trolley requires. I'm thinking S scale is probably the largest scale this footprint will allow. Ok, if your track plan is dead flat, you could likely use a larger scale, but if it has overs and unders, S is probably the limit.

If you look closely you'll see the base and risers are covered with numbers. Those are for mapping out riser heights and placement. There're a few sets of numbers on the base because I revised my grade plan several times during construction. I should probably buy an inclinometer to measure the grades to see if my calculations are accurate. It's more for curiosity's sake because since the trolley runs ok, the grades are likely in the right ballpark.

As for the track, it's Peco N-gauge code 80 Streamline flex track. The left and right switches are Peco Setrack items. The 60 degree crossing is an Atlas N-gauge code 80 piece. The track is glued down with Weld Bond, except on the part that will host the circular bridge. On that section only the track ends entering and leaving the loop are Weld Bonded as the roadbed will be removed one day to make way for the bridge. The loop track in that area is temporarily tacked down with rubber cement.

The three loops each have their own power leads so the layout isn't completely dependent on rail joiners for electrical continuity. The sidings can have their power switched on or off so that future powered trolleys could be parked on the layout in between runs up the mountain.

How I built the Mt. Lowe layout's trefoil base

Trefoil layout base made from styrofoam. Area is 4 sq. ft..

Last fall I wrote about some notes Bill Schopp published on trefoil planform layouts. I've been intrigued with the shape since then, especially for micro-layouts, and I spent many evenings last winter making drawings in my sketchbook of possible layouts. The shape seems to offer a way to build small layouts with good scene separation since each lobe could host its own scene with vertical elements providing a degree of visual separation in accordance with the design philosophy advocated by Olson and Furlow.

The glued up base is a 2-1/4" thick, 3-layer foam sandwich.

I like to use foam sheets for my layout bases because the results are lightweight as well as quite rigid and strong. Foam sheets are also easy to work with. 

I made the base for the Mt. Lowe micro from 3/4" thick sheets of styrofoam measuring 14-1/2" wide by 4' long that came in a 6-pack from a big box home renovation store. I think the price was around $17 CDN. This isn't the only material you could use to build a base. It just happened to be convenient, and I also had some scraps in the workshop, so that was what I used. 

Paper template; 4 sq. ft., maximum micro-layout size.

You may recall that last fall I also drew a full size template of a 4 sq. ft. trefoil shape so I could physically compare it to a square of the same area. I made use of that template to trace the lobes onto the styrofoam sheets. 

Once again, I'd like to make it clear that you don't have to build up the base in pieces as I'm showing here. If you have a large, thick sheet of foam you can cut the entire shape in one piece from it. In fact, that would be the best way to go, but if all you've got are small pieces, you aren't prevented from making a base, you just have to be a bit more cunning.

Lobe template detail showing interior edge lines.

Do you see those lines radiating from the centre of the template marked by the red arrows in the photo above? Those are the interior edges of the three lobes we're going to cut out. I laid the lobe template on a foam sheet and with a Sharpie pen traced around the lobe's perimeter to where it intersected both those interior edge lines. Then I marked the trefoil's centre with a dot - I had previously punched a small hole in the centre with a compass. After I lifted the template from the sheet I used the Sharpie and a ruler to join the centre dot with the ends of the lobe's perimeter. 

All three lobes laid out on the styrofoam sheets.

I repeated the process two more times to produce three lobes. It was then on to cutting them out.

Checking the fit of the interior edges.

I cut the interior edge lines first so I could check the alignment of the pieces before trimming the lobes' perimeters. I used a razor saw and a metal ruler to make the cuts.

After trimming the lobe perimeters to shape.

The lobe perimeters were then cut to shape freehand with the razor saw. Once the cutting was done, the edges were lightly sanded to smooth them a bit.

Gluing the lobes together. A weight holds the pieces down while drying.

The next thing to do was glue the lobes together. Start by spreading a generous amount of white glue over all the internal edges, then press them together. That metal box in the photo is full of nuts and bolts and is a good weight for holding the lobes in place while the glue dries. The box is an item from the workshop stuff I inherited from my father. I think he made it in high school shop class in the '40s. It's still full of the nuts and bolts it has always contained. That stash comes in handy now and then, not to mention its weight :-)

Filling layer for the styrofoam sandwich that will be the base

Here it is a few hours later after the glue has dried. The pieces fit together quite well. 

At this point the base is quite flimsy and needs careful handling, so be gentle moving it around. What we're going to do next is make a styrofoam sandwich with the above layer as the filling.

Applying the first piece of a 'bread' layer to the centre section.

The top and bottom bread layers of the sandwich are pieces of sheet foam glued to the filling layer we just made. At this stage, the bread pieces don't need to be cut to any particular shape. We'll trim them up once they're glued in place. 

Start by taking a long sheet of foam and laying it on the filling layer so that all three of its edge joints are covered. The sheet can extend well beyond the top and bottom of the filling layer - we'll trim it later. Now apply a generous amount of glue to the area on the filling layer where the bread sheet will go. Place the bread on top and hold it in place with some weights and clamps. Yeah, I've got a second collection of inherited nuts and bolts I keep in a plastic bin, and along with the metal box inside, it makes for a nice weight to hold this half sandwich together while the glue dries. 

Applying a bread layer to a lobe.

When the glue has dried, trim the bread piece's edges so they match those of the filling layer. The next steps are just a repetition of that first application of a piece to the bread layer. You keep gluing on pieces until both sides of the filling layer have bread sheets glued to it. There's nothing special to know other than these two points to keep in mind: 1) make sure you apply a large slab over the centre edges that covers them and as much of the filling layer as possible, and 2) make sure the joints of all the other bread pieces applied to the lobes have the joints staggered with respect to the top and bottom layers. Point 2) helps make the base is as strong as possible. If the joints on the upper and lower bread surfaces line up it makes for a weaker final structure.

Almost done adding pieces of bread :-)

The above photo shows the base when the sandwich is almost done. Over on the left side of the photo you can see the perimeter is rough cut at this stage. Once all the pieces of the bread layers had been glued together and cut to match the filling layer, some final shaping  was done with a rasp and sanding block to smooth out the contours.

All the trimming of the bread layers creates a lot of styrofoam odd cuts. I saved most of them for use when building the mountain scenery.

And here it is. The sandwich is done and awaiting perimeter smoothing.

This way of making the base is fairly easy, although it does take a bit of time. So, if you've got a few pieces of sheet foam lying around, this method allows a layout board to be built up from those scraps.

Before I go for coffee I should mention that when I built this base I wasn't sure if the layout would work, that is, I didn't know if could I successfully install the multilevel track plan with its complex - well, complex for me - grades, easements, and curves. Now that track work is behind me, and the layout appears viable, I think I might add some extra foam layers to the bottom so I can cut in some deep valleys to make the track seem even higher. Well, that's for the future, now is for coffee :-)

It's Alive!

Some posts on construction to follow in the days ahead.

The many faceted coincidences between Wimbledon Green, Lester Moore, and E. L. Moore

Recently I’ve been rereading some graphic novels by Seth. I feel an affinity with his style of illustration and his stories, so whenever I need some sort of pick-me-up I crack them open. 

Wimbledon Green: The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the World has had my attention for the last week or so. In the introductory note Seth says he doesn’t think this is one of his best works, but drawing and writing it was a compulsion. It’s a compulsion for me too. When I’m looking for some light escapism I feel compelled to read it. There’s something wild and manic about it, what with its eccentric cast of characters, autogyros, speeding trains, wild Ontario locations, chases, heists, discoveries, shady deals, and on and on. It’s a series of interconnected stories, cameos, comic reviews, monologues, and interviews all linked together to tell the story of Wimbledon Green.

There’s one story in particular I always come back to, Fine and Dandy: A Short Talk by Wimbledon Green. Why? From the first time I read it, it seemed to have strong parallels, at least in my mind, to E. L. Moore’s life and work. I’ve always marvelled at the coincidence. Now, don’t get me wrong as you read further, what appears in the story is all fiction, and all coincidence.

In the talk Green tells the story of cartoonist Lester Moore and a comic book he created called Fine and Dandy that ran for 36 issues between 1946 and 1951. So literally right from square one - most of the comic is a grid of squares! - we have Lester Moore, aka L. Moore, aka LM, which immediately strikes the E. L. Moore gong in my brain. If I was a conspiracy theorist I’d think this was the beginning of a coded message :-) 

Ok, so name similarity aside, what else? Well, Green then tells us LM entered cartooning rather late in life. LM was in his 30s, which isn’t that old, but apparently was for starting as a publishing cartoonist. ELM entered his field late too. He was in his late 50s when he published his first item, a photo in Model Railroader. Green notes prior to cartooning LM held a variety of jobs and he “tramped about in the 30’s”. ELM held a variety of jobs in his early life and was a self-described “vagabond” in the 30’s. Green notes LM may have used some of his hoboing experiences in his comic; ELM appears to have.

Fine and Dandy chronicles the comic adventures of two hobos, Fine and Dandy, as they tramp the backroads and rural areas of Depression era America. There’s a recurring cast of characters. Green mentions just three: Li’l Tiny, a child hobo (reminds me of ELM’s Baby Spumoni); Boxcar Pearl, a woman hobo (reminds me of ELM’s Ma Spumoni); and Gran’pa Stretch, the world’s oldest hobo (reminds me of ELM’s Grandpa Bunn). ELM had his cast of characters too - examples I’ve noted in ()s in the previous sentence - with many recurring. Fine and Dandy often found themselves in jail for ‘liberating’ chickens; ELM hints that he too may have spent sometime in lockup for something similarly trivial. 

And LM and ELM both feature trains in their work.

Green ends his talk by saying, “”Fine + Dandy” fit easily into the elite group of comic characters who live off the page. Moore breathed something of himself into them —so that they had a felling of inner depths. Even now, some 50 years later, I can still feel their presence in the world.” With some minor rewording, the same could be said of ELM and his legacy.

No doubt the similarities I see are simply due to Seth creating an excellent simulation of a genre of cartoon storytelling that was popular in the first half of 20th century America. Fontaine Fox’s Toonerville Trolley is a good example of the type. It was popular because even though fictional, readers could identify with it, and many perhaps even lived some of it. No doubt ELM was soaked in it and admired it, both the times and the genre, so he too was a stylist in the genre even though the medium was different. My rational mind knows why the coincidences between LM and ELM are there, there’s another part of my mind that enjoys the fantasy of revelling in “what if there was a link” whenever it hears the gong :-)

A craftsman kit of E. L. Moore's Bunn's Feed & Seed?

Kit box images sourced from this item on eBay

Galen alerted me to this kit version of E. L. Moore's Bunn's Feed & Seed currently (as of this posting) up for sale on eBay. I haven't heard of the manufacturer or its E. L. Moore Series of kits. I have no idea when this kit was manufactured or if there are other kits in the series. I found the MSRP printed on the box interesting at nearly $100US as Mr. Moore noted the cost of the project in his August 1973 MR article as "about $2". An internet inflation calculator tells me that $2 US in 1973 works out to around $14.50 US in today's money. It would probably be tough to build Bunn's from scratch in accordance with Mr. Moore's instructions for $14.50, but it should be possible for far less than $100.