Sub Roadbed and Grades. . .

Lot's of photos for this posting! We have added the sub-roadbed and grades. Because we used the Woodland Scenics Subterrain products, what would have taken a week or two to complete, took two evenings (or 4 hours total)! It almost feels like construction is going too fast. "I spent all this money for 4 hours worth of work." On the other hand, this makes building a layout for appealing for Jasmine and Megan. If the work was long and progress was slow, they would lose interest. I can also see running trains in the very near future which is an exciting prospect.

I had to make a run to Reeds Hobby Shop in La Mesa to pick up 8 feet of 4 inch foam risers. I realized that I did not account for these sections so I was off to La Mesa.

Because there are so many photos for this post, I will include captions for each photo. . .

Peace,

Sean, sean@twinimaging.com

















Pictured here are the ends of two 1inch riser sections. To enhance flexibility, I glued each two of the 2 foot sections together. I wanted to maintain the "Z" pattern for maximum flexibility. The "Z" pattern is broken so I did not glue the ends together with this configuration. The next photo shows the continuation of the "Z" configuration. . .

















As you can see, the "Z" configuration is maintained for maximum flexibility. . .















I used Woodland Scenics low temp glue-sticks to glue the riser sections together. . .


















Here is an example of a low temp glue-stick bead on the end of a 1 inch riser. After applying the low temp glue, hold the sections together for 15 seconds for a secure bond. . .

















Pictured above are a number of 1 inch risers glued together to form 4 foot sections for greater flexibility. . .

















We used Liquid Nails to glue the foam risers to the plywood base. We chose Liquid Nails because it was inexpensive ($2.27 per tube at Lowe's) and recommended by many modelers as a great choice for gluing foam to wood. . .




























Pictured above is a layer of Liquid Nails smoothed out over the mainline path. I used a piece of card stock to spread the bead of Liquid Nails to flat pattern. . .





























As you can see, the path is about 1/2 as wide as the foam riser. Using smoothed Liquid Nails bead about half the width of the foam riser is more than enough to adhere the foam riser.




























To ensure that foam riser sections are straight, I used a 4 foot level as an edge guide. I used the penciled in mainline as a guide to lay the foam risers around curves. The flexibility of the 4 foot risers sections made laying much more simpler around curves. Additionally, the Liquid nails dried relatively slowly compared to the glue stick which allowed adjustments to the foam riser alignment. . .





























Pictured above is a section of the layout with the 1 inch foam risers secured to the plywood. . .

















Pictured above is the mainline completed with 1 in foam risers. . .




























The next evening, Jasmine and I secured the 3% foam risers to the 1 inch risers using low temp glue-sticks. I tried using the liquid nails but the low temp glue stick material seemed to work better. You have to glue and place the riser quickly because the low temp glue-stick material hardends within 15 to 20 seconds. . .

















Here is another section of 3% riser that Jasmine is gluing. . .

















This photos helps to illustrate the difference between 1 inch and 4 inch foam risers. . .

















The raised sections required 4 inch risers. . .

















I tried an experiment. I wanted to heat the foam cutting blade, using my wife's hot air craft gun, to make cutting through foam much simpler. However, the hot air gun did not make the blade hot enough. I think I'll run into the kitchen quickly to heat the blade on the stove. . .

















I used the foam knife to cut out the crossing section. The lower tracks will be hidden in a tunnel. . .

















I used my tallest car to determine the car roof clearance.

















Rather than use a piece of foam to "bridge the gap", I'm having my friend Doug mill down a pice of wood to 1/2 inch to make a more sturdy overpass. A 1/2 foam piece could have work but probably would have sagged over time. . .



















I need to add a 1/2 inch section at the top of the 4 inch riser to match the height of the end of the 3% riser foam section. I should have bought 1/2 inch risers when I was at the Reeds Hobbies today but I just cut sections from one of the 1/2 inch foam sheets. It should also be noted that the transition from 3% grade to level was not abrupt. I placed a piece of track over this section and ran a car over the transition and there was no problem or noticeable change in angle. . .

















I did notice that there were height mis-matches between sections of the 3% riser. This is no bid deal; putty or other thick material can be used to fill and even out the gap. . .

















This is what we have completed so far. We'll be using foam risers to raise the center section of the loop area on the right. This area will have a couple of spur tracks for businesses. We'll be working on that tomorrow. . .