tinytrainsinmybrains

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

Starting the terrain build up off the flat deck. 

 Once again the piles of salvaged foam core come in handy.   To hold up low height I used stacks of scraps, like stacking shims.  Higher terrain I use pilings, often with a scrap at 90 deg, glued to the deck, to help reduce wobble and keep thing from shifting as the hot glue cools.  Tall pilings made with 1/2 foam core.  It stay a little straighter and hold a greater load.  

This is when that pile of Styrofoam of various thickness, also savaged from work and road side near construction sites, start coming into play.  Mostly for the mountain facing, but also steeper terrain change like between the rear tracks. The mountain has decks of foam core in it.  This leaves access to the tracks from behind, reduce the amount of foam used, and support the mountain while covering the track from drip though of foam finish materials.  This is a white glue step, hot glue melt styrofoam, but it seems to take two day for the glue to cure between the foam.  So it goes a little slow.  Gaff tape in place where seam need to be sealed and sewing pins help hold things together until curing, then are remove.

I do a late post on tools I used.  

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

Continuing the foam-core track bed construction on the other end of the main board.  Hot glue is working great, but some times need to be pin until it cools, because foam-core insulates slowing the cooling to minutes at times. This is where the Mountain, tunnels, water fall and river go.  Mostly I used 3′ flex track for the long “straight aways”, allowing for micro adjustment in angles and fewer connection issues.

Things to Note:

- The green horizontal foam cord is scored on one side about ever 2 inches so it can curve and support the curved upper track.

- Steep down hill curves needs slight inward banking.  This keep train from derailing as they pick up speed from gravity.

-  I ended up reducing the upper track in the rear height by an inch, because trains had problems under load. LESSON LEARNED: Check your inclines under full load.

- Don’t have to worry about side to side wobble of track on tall piers. Terrain build out will address this later.

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

These are from two weeks ago.  Progress: the track bed of the train yard and the start of the outer loop on the main board.  It’s glued down, base coated, and the track is tacked in to place.  

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

Progress up date.

Finished the main table and the train yard deck.  I have lots of old foam core, salvage signage from trash at the Theatre where I work.  Using it to cover the deck, for track beds and elevations. 

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

Ever though I didn’t finish the cleaning, and with a compressor failure, I started building table with wood from the Re-Store.  A nice 1/2″ waxed OSB for the deck, cheap (like $5 a sheet) but weird size 49 3/8″ by 87 1/2″

Used it to sort train car and buildings.  

[tinytrainsinmybrains]

It begins again. The sort of years worth of  HO train stuff.  

I had a train set as a kid through my youth in my parents rec room, then had on in one of my apartment in my early twenties built on a old door over a snake cage. Back then in the 80′s my train buddies were two friends from highschool, Metal Head and a Dead Head.  

Over the years I was given more stuff.  What didn’t sell from a foreclosed hobby store, a stuff from a friends grand father who pasted away, and etc.

Then it hit me, hey I have an old building attic that doesn’t even have that much junk in it......hmmmmmmm.