Train Layout Progress This Summer #1

Part of the time this summer was spent rebuilding the train layout.   Here is a partial picture of where it was in the previous house.  It is hard to see, but there is an 8 foot section that is to the left to make an L-shaped layout.

Here is how it ended up in the current location.

Originally I had intended to have the same basic L-shaped layout.  Using the drawings for the house and initial measurements I made, showed it would fit, but the margin was less than a few inches.  Once the layout was in place, I was a few inches short.  The quick answer is I will build a connector across the far side of the room.   A bigger layout, this had to be a better thing.

Preparing the layout for transport, required stacking the straight double deck (right side of above picture) on top of the straight single deck shown on the left side (once the legs were removed from the double deck).   The corner section was detached, more on that later.  While stacking the two straight sections, I dropped the double deck section.  There was some cosmetic damage, but it didnt look too bad.  Regardless there was no time for an depth examination or repair, so we picked the piece back up and attach it to the straight single deck section.

The next three pictures show the corner section being loaded into the moving van and fixed in place.

 Here is the single deck mounted on the double deck being loaded into the storage locker.

Once I moved the layout to the new location, I started the process of rebuilding.  The double deck had a few broken supports that needed replacing.  This was a slow process as the screws holding these in place had to be cut, using oscillating saw.

This entailed having to construct a new vacuum attachment in order to cleanup the metal shavings that fell on the track as well as the dust collected on storage.  I built this out of 1/2 inch PVC, that was 24" long.  The red electrical tape on the right was needed to create a better seal with the existing vacuum hoses. I also taped a brush on the cleaning end to loosen up dust.  The next version will have three brushes on the three exposed sides.

More on connecting the corner section with the double deck section in the next installment.