Rebuilding a Better Pine Valley Yard: Part 2

Work on the new Pine Valley Yard continues with trackwork on the curved removable section. I super elevate mainline curves using .040 styrene and .020 pieces on 6-8 inch long transition sections on both ends of the curve. I use DAP adhesive caulk for gluing the styrene shims to the track before installation.

Before gluing the track down with the same DAP adhesive caulk, I sanded the roadbed level with my small handheld sander. Then I painted the homasote roadbed with black acrylics and everywhere else with brownish "discount oops mix" latex paint from Home Depot. The roadbed then got one more sanding for good measure.

Seen in the below photos is a Shinohara #7 curved switch for the Dillonvale Freight House track. I replaced the throwbar with a copper circuit board tie and prewired the frog. This switch will be controlled with a Blue Point Manual Turnout Controller. 

Styrene pieces for super elevation

Sanded, painted then sanded again.

Copper circuit board ties were used at each end of the removable section to prevent the track from zippering off the plastic ties by accident when the section is open. Once the track was glued down I soldered the rails to the ties then cut the gaps with my Dremel cutoff wheel. 

Track work completed on the removable section.

The Dillonvale end of the removable section had a long diagonal cut that worried me but worked out ok except for one small piece of copper tie I had to glue back down. I'll revisit this removable section later and add a styrene sheet backdrop and a short facia.

Angled gap.

When I start a multi track area, I've always preferred to plan with pen and paper then move to full size mockups with tracing paper or brown wrapping paper and pieces of track. Here's that practice put to work designing the turnout arrangements around the yard office area.

Yard Office track work mockups

Once I'm happy with the track layout, I transfer it to the tracing paper then cut out enough of the tracing paper to use also use it as a template for the roadbed.

Like elsewhere in other yard or multi track areas on my layout, I use a 1/8" black rubber sheet material to help dampen the wheel noise that pink foam boards tends to amplify. I know nothing beats the quiet of plywood and homasote/cork but insulating foamboard is so much easier to handle and cut, especially by yourself.

I transfer the tracing paper template to the rubber sheet by outlining it with a white colored pencil and simply cut the sheeting with large sewing type scissors.

Below shows the rubber roadbed glued down with DAP adhesive silicone caulk and the beginnings of the yard turnouts just west of Main St.

West end of Pine Valley Yard in Dillonvale.

So far I couldn't be happier the way this is turning out. The track plan nearly matches the prototype yard layout as it existed in the mid 1950's and I'm making good progress.