Concept
My goals for this layout included:- HO scale;
- transportable in an SUV;
- light weight;
- quick setup and take down;
- viewing height suitable for all ages;
- capable of continuous running at train shows; and,
- made from relatively cheap components so if I hit a dead end there wouldn’t be much pain upon throwing it out.
Did I achieve my goals? You be the judge...
The layout was a circular contraption approximately 1 meter (39 inches) in diameter and 60 centimeters (24 inches) high with a central mountain around which there was a circle of HO code 83 Micro Engineering track. The track traversed two wood trestles, one of which spanned a small creek and the other a gorge which was home to an aspen grove. There was a pond, a waterfall and a handful of people, animals and assorted railway debris occupying the scenery.
When operating, the train ran at a constant speed and the layout moved at the same speed but in the opposite direction – causing the train to remain in place and always within sight of the viewer. It would do this for hours on end. This is analogous to walking on a treadmill. I thought this approach would be more interesting at shows than a train running around a stationary circular layout. I always ran the layout with steam locomotives because the motion of the connecting rods and valve gear exhibits more activity than a diesel locomotive which looks rather static, even when running. In this application it was particularly important for viewers to be able to see that the locomotive was running.
Here is a picture of the completed layout operating at a train show:
The layout was a circular contraption approximately 1 meter (39 inches) in diameter and 60 centimeters (24 inches) high with a central mountain around which there was a circle of HO code 83 Micro Engineering track. The track traversed two wood trestles, one of which spanned a small creek and the other a gorge which was home to an aspen grove. There was a pond, a waterfall and a handful of people, animals and assorted railway debris occupying the scenery.
When operating, the train ran at a constant speed and the layout moved at the same speed but in the opposite direction – causing the train to remain in place and always within sight of the viewer. It would do this for hours on end. This is analogous to walking on a treadmill. I thought this approach would be more interesting at shows than a train running around a stationary circular layout. I always ran the layout with steam locomotives because the motion of the connecting rods and valve gear exhibits more activity than a diesel locomotive which looks rather static, even when running. In this application it was particularly important for viewers to be able to see that the locomotive was running.
Here is a picture of the completed layout operating at a train show:
Construction
The layout structure was 100% pink Styrofoam insulation panels roughly carved and hot glued together in layers. It was hollow a few centimeters beneath the surface. The faux-rock surface was a mix of cellulose insulation, wallpaper paste and powdered black clothes dye – this creates an inexpensive grey finish which adheres well to the foam and is easy to paint (kind of a home-made Sculptamold). When it inevitably got knocked during transport no white plaster showed through.There was a hollow central core inside the Styrofoam, as follows:
Secured into the top of the central core and hidden beneath a removable panel was the rim from a lawn mower wheel which has a very robust and free-spinning ball bearing assembly. The hollow central core accommodates a 2.54-centimeter (1 inch) diameter wood dowel with a spike sticking out the top mounted vertically into a tripod (Figure 3). The entire layout was suspended from the inner race of the ball bearing assembly which sits on the spike. I found the tripod at Canadian Tire – it was intended to support halogen workshop lights, not a layout. The whole lighting fixture/tripod assembly was about $60 on sale.
Setup was very simple: first the tripod with the vertical wood dowel was set up; the layout was then lifted shoulder-high with the hollow core lowered over the dowel; electrical connections are made with quick-connects; finally, black skirting material was mounted around the base to hide the tripod, wiring, etc.
The locomotives I ran on this layout were all DCC and sound equipped, controlled with a Digitrax Zephyr system. In order to get reliable connectivity from the DCC system to the rails I built a system of stationary wipers mounted on the tripod, just beneath the bottom of the hollow core. The wipers were made from the contacts found in a common household light switch (cheap, sturdy and designed to conduct electricity) which have been affixed to a home-made spring-loaded device to ensure that they make good contact. Hot glued to the bottom of the hollow centre core was a copper-surface circuit board – what one looks like before the copper is etched to create circuits. I cut the circuit board to roughly the dimensions of a DVD disc but with a hole in the middle to accommodate the wood dowel which passed through the disc. Using a Dremel tool to make a circular groove in the copper layer, I created two electrically-independent concentric “tracks” which are soldered to two wires leading to the HO rails. When the layout turns, the copper “tracks” drag across the two electrical contacts thus connecting the DCC controller to the locomotive.
To be continued…