Track work for Adena - Part 5

The wye track at Adena was the busy junction of the Adena RR branchline and the Toledo mainline. The Adena wye is also what I would consider part of a "signature" scene for my layout along with the west end of Adena Yard. So the challenge as usual, is to get the look as close to the prototype that I can in the space I have to work with.

NKP 941, a 2-6-6-2 mallet, on the start of the wye and the Adena RR branch. JJ Young JR photo

Highlighted in red on the valuation map below shows the track I'll be working on next.  Click on the valuation map to see a larger version.

Tracks added in this blog post 4-9-19, Valuation Map from RailsandTrails.com

Aside from laying track I'll also have a lot of bridges to build. The wye itself contains two bridges, one through girder on the main and a large 12 span curved wood trestle bridge at the start of the Adena RR branch. Between the wye and the Adena Tunnel on the main line there were two through girder bridges. Due to space constraints I'll only model the more interesting bridge closest to the tunnel with the Short Creek and a road running under it. Finally just past the wye on the Adena RR branch there are two bridges to build, one wood trestle and deck plate girder combo over the Short Creek and a through plate girder over W. Main St.

Here's photos of the bridges that will be built on the west end of Adena.

Toledo Mainline BR 192.13 over the Short Creek and Blairmont Rd. not too far away to the left is the Adena Tunnel. 4-9-2014 Chris Ellis photo

Toledo Mainline BR 192.67 over the Short Creek inside the Adena wye. 4-9-2014 Chris Ellis photo

Adena Branch BR 0.20 over the Short Creek inside the Adena wye, JJ Young photo flickr.com.

Adena Branch BR 0.40 over the Short Creek. 4-9-2014 Chris Ellis photo

Adena Branch BR 0.60 over W. Main St. Google Maps

Building those will keep me busy, but first I'll need to begin laying the road bed and some of the track to know where these bridges will go exactly.

Here's where the wye at Adena stands before trackwork. A while back I started the through girder bridge 192.67 and it's masonry footings which can be seen in the below picture. You can pretty much only make out two sides of the wye, but all the lines are laid out.

Adena wye looking east toward the yard before the real track work begins.

Adena wye looking west.

The cork road bed is now in place leading up to Bridge 192.67. A layer of the rubber sheet material I like to use and HO scale cork roadbed brings it level with the stone bridge abutments.

Toledo Mainline BR 192.67

The cork/rubber roadbed combo also brings it level with the milled homosote roadbed I planned on using. A difference in foam panel material caused a height problem but the two kinds of roadbed solved that issue. A little lightweight spackle also smooths out a low spot on the main and the seam on the west wye leg as seen below.

Spackle fill out a low spot on the main and a seam transition on the wye.

Mainline part of the wye

For the rest of the roadbed I use Cascade Rail Supply's milled homasote branch profile roadbed. All the roadbed whether it be cork, rubber or homasote is glued down with the DAP clear adhesive caulk.

The homasote roadbed goes in for the west end of the wye

Homasote roadbed cut for the west end turnout.

The west end of the Adena wye is anchored with a #8 curved 32"/25" radius turnout. I built this one freehand with a paper template before I received my Fast Tracks fixture. In order to fit the yard and wye along one wall I had to curve the west end of the wye. I was able to keep the 30" mainline radius on the outside but had to drop down to 24" for the inside of the wye. This brought the turnout pretty close to the backdrop which should make scenery there interesting.
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The turnout ready to be spiked down after the headstock ties get glued in.

After the west end of the wye was "laid in stone" I began laying the other two legs of the wye which mark the beginning of the Adena RR branchline. The track being held up by a small container on the right will be where the long curved trestle bridge (BR 0.20) is located.

The beginnings of the Adena Branch

Next up more track laying and construction of the benchwork for the other two Adena Branch bridges.

- Quick links

Track work for Adena - Part 1
Track work for Adena - Part 2
Track work for Adena - Part 3
Track work for Adena - Part 4
Track work for Adena - Part 5