December Construction Report

Work on the bathroom remodel has been moving along nicely as of late. Finally with the milestone of a functional toilet and sink I can turn some of my attention back to the layout for a bit. 

Bathroom remodel going well.

After spending a while gathering my thoughts about where on the layout to start, I decided to just start cleaning. As many of you know layouts are horizontal surfaces which when under construction do a great job of gathering anything in sight. Eventually I thought of a good project to dig into.

A curved section of track between Dillonvale/Pine Valley Yard and Adena had proved to be a bit sharper than I had planned. Coming out of the east end of Adena Yard the mainline standard 30" radius curve had tightened to 24" to accommodate an old route change around the water heater. In testing it wasn't causing any major issues other than just bothering me. To broaden the curve I found I would have to add a 3-4 inch bump out accommodate the new route.

Prepping for new foam side extension, pre-track and roadbed removal.

A small section of foam was cut out to ease the addition of a new wider section of foam. The green line represents the new right of way. To help hold the new foam section in place I inserted a few tooth picks in the foam.

Glued and clamped.

 As seen above the new foam section was glued in with Foamboard adhesive. A couple of clamps helped hold things in place as the glue set up.

Foam extension, roadbed and track in place. 

A section of roadbed from an abandoned idea for a continuous run connection was torn out to make way for the new right of way and a new spur for a small coal truck dump operation that existed just east of Adena Yard. The new mainline roadbed was then glued down following the new 30" radius curve. I used Cascade Rail Supply's homasote roadbed and Micro Engineering code 70 flex track, both glued down with DAP clear adhesive caulk. 

This revamped section will still have the west Long Run Tunnel entrance but instead of the portal being near the duct work it will be pushed back toward the furnace to make room for the truck dump spur. Unfortunately the duct work will over hang the scene but no basement is perfect and certainly not this one. 

After so many months it's nice to make a little progress. Especially on a section of track that had been a visual thorn in my side.