Builder's Railroad Project: in the Beginning...

[Builder 2010]

Onward

Got three panel pieces permanently fastened which almost completes the right end. There are two more high-line pieces in that corner and they'll be installed in the next session. This session fixed a big piece (one of the largest). Instead of putting in all the risers then flopping the piece over them like I did when doing the original build in Germany, I attached a splice plate on one end and clamped the panel to it, then with the level sitting on top, shimmed up the other end with a riser and clamped it when it was close to level. I then went to the middle of the panel and clamped a riser there until it was exactly level. Once I got a few risers positioned so it was level and cross-level, I screwed the splice-end tight and went back and started to fasten the risers permanently also. In this way, I worked my way back to the free end and made sure everything was tight.



I started using wooden splice plates since the Simpson Strong-tie sheet metal plates were flexing too much. I also replaced the Simpson plates on the high line since there as a small dip in the grade area at the splice. It's still not perfect and I think that one of the risers is a bit low and needs adjusting. It may not matter operationally.



I will say this, my back and hands are sore! It's a lot of moves that I'm not used to making to get under the layout and position yourself to reach all the screws. And one more thing: I've already put in hundreds of screws. Without power drivers I can't imagine doing a project like this.

On the high line I also fixed another small problem that occurred when I installed the wood splice. There was a small difference in thickness between the two pieces of OSB. This little bump may have replicated itself when the track was laid. To correct, I put a cardboard shim under the thinner piece which brought it up to an exact match with the thicker one. All the other panel-to-panel joints were on the same plane.

Here's a shot showing how long this railroad's becoming. Sorry about the focus. Next time I'll set the camera on the tripod, take multiple exposures and then use the focus stacking software for an infinite depth-of-field.



Here's an underneath shot showing all of those risers! Another nice thing about L-girder; if the girders aren't level, it doesn't matter since each riser cleat is individually leveled. This cancels out any irregularities in the girder system. If it was an egg-grate frame, the frame itself would have to be level and even throughout.



This is a good time to assess where we are are and how much more we have to go. I estimate that we're at the 25% completion point (for the platform only). Best to show a diagram to explain this.



Nine pieces have been installed so far (piece 1 and 2 were split since the rearmost portions on both are on the high line). The upper left end will be the second to last area to be finished since I like having the opening there to get to the chop saw. The last part to be finished will be the swing-out session at the lower right. I want the railroad to be stiff and stable before building that. With the pieces installed today, I'll be able to clear off the end table and make the modifications needed to match the new design. That shouldn't take long. Then I turn my attention to the front side of the layout. There's a lot of work to do there, but there is access from both sides. The table height of 43" makes a great stand-up workbench for doing all sorts of assembly operations. It's very convenient.

[Builder 2010]

Rear OSB complete

Put the last pieces of OSB in place today and started rebuilding the right end. The downslope of the grade starts right at the end of this elevated section.



In this case I fastened the splice plates to the OSB BEFORE I hoisted it up onto the risers. I also added a brace to one of the base level pieces when I found a "soft" corner that needed reinforcement. You see a tube of "caulk on the table. It's Loctite Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive that I'm going to use to glue down the vinyl roadbed to the OSB and the track to the vinyl. While it would be faster to fasten the track down with screws, it makes the railroad noisier. O-gauge trains are noisy. If you put the screws through the vinyl, it completely defeats the roadbed's sound-absorbing properties and the screws carry the sound directly down to the OSB. Acts like the bridge on a guitar. Once this glue sets, you won't easily move anything so you better get stuff located right the first time.

With the back OSB in place, I cleaned of the right end table. I removed the ply sheeting which was used as the B-17 building table. This is going to be re-purposed as an elevated work surface for the workbench (future project). At first I thought I could use the right end table almost as it was with just changing one of the girders. I was wrong. I'm really rebuilding it completely. The only thing that's not changing is the width.

Here's the before picture.



In order to get the dimensions correct I jerry-rigged the outer curved OSB by clamping to to the high line end, building a temporary support leg held with a c-clamp and laying the free end onto the right end framework. The plan's dimensions called for 29" from the end of the curved piece to the right hand leg. This leg is going to ultimately support the piano hinge for the swing-out section. I move the table rearward so it equaled this dimension. I then measured from the outer rear girder to the same leg set which gave me the length of a new girder that I need to make. The right-most girder was also replaced with a longer one. I also pushed out the leg spacing about 2 feet to make it a little more stable and facilitate getting underneath.



I temporarily held everything together with a couple of bolts and lots of clamps and then it was time to quit. Tomorrow, I finish off the right end.

[Builder 2010]

Right End

Worked on trains today too.

Right end is shaping up. Using the RR Track drawing that spells out the track elevations. It gives the elevation at the center of each piece of sectional track. My risers don't necessarily match up 1 for 1 to those track pieces so I had to interpolate the elevations which fell at other locations. Again, like the straight run, I set up a lower riser, an intermediate one and then used the string line to establish the position of all the rest.

Before I did this, I had to finish up the foundation work. I tied the right end girders at two points with right angles using attachment blocks and carriage bolts like I did with the angular girder way down at the other end. I had to extend one of the rear girders so it reached he right end's girder. I also attached a diagonal girder across the angle which gives me a strong point to attach as set of radial joists which support the curves.

Here's a shot that shows the radial joists. When I build this layout before, I didn't do it this way. I just ran joists diagonally across the corners and mounted the risers edge-wise to them. This was not very secure, but it avoided making more girders. This new method allows risers to be mounted conventionally to each.



To be sure about how far out the elevated curve OSB had to hang out over the end structure, I broke out some actual railroad track. This was a major event since it was the first time this track saw the light of day in 3.5 years. I put together the corner curve and the little bit of straight section that runs across the back and—with the curve OSB temporarily clamped into position—aligned the track with the center of the OSB and moved the OSB outwards until the curve looked right. Here's the track.



After positioning the OSB curve I started to fasten the risers to the piece. In a couple of instances, I had mounted the risers too far in, so I removed them, repositioned them and re-fastened them.

With the top piece down tight, I started to attach the inner, base-elevated OSB curve. This piece was easier to position since all I had to do was make sure it was level with the existing parts of the layout. I mounted the end splice blocks onto these pieces before putting them on the layout since it's easier to screw them when face down, instead of underneath the layout facing up. I still have to do that for the mating piece, but that's only one instead of two. In this picture, it's just sitting there. I will be fastened in tomorrow.





I have one correction to make. As I mentioned a while ago, I had changed the way I was drawing the tangent line to draw the ends of the curved pieces. I thought I was doing it better, trying to draw a line from the imaginary center of the arc inscribing the curve, but I was wrong. I will make a small filler piece to fill this gap. I will have to do this a few more times since the curves at the other end also have the same errors. Not a big deal, just a bit of a pain.



As you readers know, I don't just show you the good stuff, I show you all the stuff. The good, the bad, and the really ugly. Speaking of readers. It's been pretty quiet, is anyone besides Gun Grape following all this?

I now know the reason to maybe NOT use OSB for model RR construction. It's an "instant splinter driver". If I just look at it the wrong way, I get a splinter somewhere. Whenever I handle it, I wear serious leather work gloves, but as soon as I take them off to pick up a screw or something. BAM! I get another (&#%_)%T splinter. It's no wonder... the entire board is made of nothing but splinters! It is very strong! It's also very rigid and will ultimately make a great layout once it's all covered with scenery so no one can ever touch it again.

[Builder 2010]

Right End OSB Complete

Today's work consisted of finishing up OSB installation on the right end. The down grade piece consisted of two pieces that I made from leftover scrap. I had originally wanted to put bridges in this location, but reconsidered and had to put in solid planks. Since the down grade angle was already well established, I was able to clamp a straight edge (my 48" level) on both the fixed end and the new unfixed part. I pushed up the end so the run was completely straight and clamped a riser at that point. With the line nice and straight, I removed the plank and put in all the intermediate risers. I also level them cross-wise before putting in the second screw.





Both curves on this end come to a sudden, square end. This is the hinge end of the swing out section. I'm still not done all the engineering on this part, but I'm leaving it for last so I know exactly what's going to be happening at each fixed end.



With this work out of the way, I went back and filled in that ugly gap I wrote about yesterday. When I use either my circular saw or saber saw, I use the layout as a sawhorse and clamp the pieces to be cut to the joists. I'm careful to evaluate the cutting path to ensure that I don't cut through something that would be bad it I cut it in half. I also trimmed up the corner near this point that was clearly mismatched. I still have to grind off the screw points that protrude here and there. It's very difficult to get screws that exactly match all of the different thicknesses of material I'm using.



Lastly, a couple of the screws that hold the cleats to the underside of the OSB were even too cramped to use the flexible extension shown at the bottom of this picture. So I resorted to the right-angle head that I bought when building this layout in Germany. It works! There's a little adjustable thumb rest that helps stabilize the head when using it. I've got to tell you, this DeWalt is the best cordless driver I've ever used. It's very heavy, but I'm getting used to it and building up forearm strength.



The flexible shaft actually makes putting in overhead screws easier since I don't have to support the weight of the driver over my head, but can hold in at chest level and used the flexible shaft in my left hand to drive the screws. This really works well when using star-drive screws which need very little inward pressure to develop lots of torque. With Phillips heads, you've got to press inwards heavily to keep the bit set in the screw.

At the end of today's session I started planning how I'm going to proceed. There are differences in the "as-built" versus the "as-drawn" structure and I'm not sure why. For example, I thought the right end would be 2'- 7" from the right end wall. It turns out to actually be 4'. This isn't bad since more space at that end is a benefit. But, I wonder what's the cause. I also noted that the middle crossing bridge pieces is about 9" too rightward. This doesn't make sense. If I mounted the wall pieces off by some amount, the distance to the wall would be less, not more. This makes me worried so I'm going to proceed cautiously. I think I'm going to start in the middle with the spider piece and work in both directions. That's a critical piece and ensuring that it's in the right place is important. I've got to actually work tomorrow so the next session will be on the weekend or Monday.

[Builder 2010]

Starting the Front

Today, I started building the front side of the layout. First thing I did was take one of the large right front curved pieces...the outer one, clamp some stock on the end so it could hang onto the existing right-end piece, and then test to see where the curve actually intersects the front assembly. As I suspected, the entire front assembly was about 9" inches too far to the left (facing the layout). Since nothing was mounted on this assembly other than the spindly girders, I was able to slide the whole after rightward. I was also a little bit too forward so I moved it back towards the middle of the layout. This move was sufficient to put that bridge piece directly over the girder it was supposed to be over based on my drawings. So the drawings were correct.

I checked on more thing. I swung the curve in an arc that would be the same when the swing out portion is installed. It clears the column by about an inch. I was very pleased. Swinging this out will give nice access to the insides of the layout.



With that out of the way, I checked all the dimensions and decided that the front side joists had to be 65" long. I decided to consume all of the old joists before cutting any more new 1X3s.

Since none were even close to that length, I spliced two together in various ways to give me the correct length. I made some marks on the existing platform as a guide and just got to work.



Pretty soon they were all gone.



I laid them out on the girders and did some final fitting. Then I went and checked the clearances to the other columns. As I foresaw, the clearance is a tight 19", but passable. Any closer and we'd have a problem. There's adequate access to the furnace as planned.



Then the grandsons came over and I put Jack to work. I have that small power screw driver from Black and Decker and it's perfect for a kid. So Jack and I went to work clamping the joists, drilling the holes and driving the #8 X 1.5" SPAX Star-head screws. I clamped and drilled and Jack drove the screws home. He likes that and he got a chance to roll all over the place with the scooter and I didn't have to get up and down. We're on schedule to get trains running by Thanksgiving (or thereabouts).

[Gun Grape]

Just a comment. A few questions with one suggestion.

It is really sickening that with all this work going on the place is so clean.

With that out of the way, why did you decide to use OSB?

I know it cost less, and that has to be considered but in my experience its not a good product at all.

As you are finding out, the thickness consistency isn't there. To much variation between sheets compared to plywood or MDF/MDO.

One of the big reasons that I don't use it, is because I'm allergic to something (formaldehyde) in the glue/resin. Causes a rash and shortness of breath. So I may be a bit biased against it;)

Question #2 Why are you screwing from the bottom up into the OSB instead of from the OSB into the joist? You would get more holding power the other way. And it would be much easier on the back and knees. You also wouldn't need to use the dremel tool to cut screw tips off. Does it have something to do with transmitting sound? I know you mentioned that in an earlier post.

Question #3 I see you have a builders 4' level. With all the mixed elevations have you thought of using a inclinometer?

Now the suggestion.

You will get a stronger joint if you stick another piece on the other side of your joist. Sandwich the joist. A filler piece, from your scraps, in the void would make it even stronger. This way, a few years down the line you will still have a nice flat surface.

[Builder 2010]

1. I just swept the place out. I'm trying to keep ahead of the mess so it doesn't get ahead of me. It makes it easier to move around on the scooter when the floor is cleaner and it makes it easier to find the spiders.

2. I did some research and found that OSB had the same structural performance as plywood, and on my other forum on O'Gauge Railroading folks seemed split on which to use. So the decision was then based on price and OSB was much cheaper. I didn't know about the thickness variation at the time, although I've only encountered one instance so far. If I did it again, I might take a different tack since the splinter problem is a pain in the butt. I don't seem to be allergic to it (so far).

3. Everything is screwed from the bottom so no fasteners are subsequently buried under layers of scenery of buildings. It's an advantage of L-girder that all fasteners are accessible so changes can be made any time. For example: I may want to put an access hatch somewhere. I just have to remove the risers-to-OSB screws and the two screws at the joist ends, and I can move it anywhere I want. Re-fastening is just as easy. Besides, since all loading is static and top down, there is very little pull-out force to worry about. My heaviest engine is 11 pounds. Compared to the loading on a floor it's like a feather to the structure. Periodically the structure may have to hold my weight, but again, I'm not break-dancing on it.

4. I bought an inclinometer, but didn't use it. It's calibrated in degrees and model rr grades (like real ones) are in percent. My train software gives actual inch dimensions for the grade heights at each track in the grade, therefore, I don't need any tools other than a tape measure and a string line. The as-built grade came out within 1/8" from plan which was very gratifying.

Today, I will not be working. My wife is insisting that she (and me) get out of the house. I'd spend my whole life down there and even move my bed down there if it was entirely up to me. I'd turn into a Morlock—the under-Earth creatures described in H.G. Wells "Time Machine"—never to see the light of day. My wife says, "I'm obsessed!" I'm not obsessed, I'm committed. At times she thinks "I should be committed" too.

[Builder 2010]

Latch design

I know there's plenty of engineering talent out there so I'm asking for help. Here are two designs to lock the swing-out portion shut so the track stays in gauge when closed. I've looked at latches in Home Depot and they were much too sloppy for this purpose. Any help and ideas would be appreciated.

[Builder 2010]

Front Panel Started

I finished putting all the joists on the front module. This included making some longer ones to span the widest part of the layout. At first I tried to make since pieces, but an 8-foot piece of 1X3 was not long enough to overhang properly on both ends. So I split the joists and had them overlap in the middle. I'm on the scooter the entire time doing this. I clamp and end, square it up, drill the pilot hole in the L-girder flange, put the screw in, then scoot across to the other end, clamp, drill and screw. The whole thing takes a little over a minute.



I clamped some scrap onto both ends of the bridge piece that carries rail across the middle of the layout to the "spider panel". I threw the spider panel onto the joists and aligning its mating end with the bridge piece. When positioned, I clamped a temporary risers to elevate the spider panel to a height of 43.25" off the floor which is the height of the OSB on the opposite side of the gulf. Finally, I clamped the bridge panel to the spider to stabilize it a bit.



With the position correct, I started clamping real risers to various joists that lie under this panel, each time bringing it up to 43-1/4". Usually a hit or two from my rubber-headed hammer nudges them to the correct height.



Once all the risers were clamped, the panel leveled and the height correct, I put one screw into each riser holding it to the joist and letting me take off the clamps. I removed the bridge piece and the spider panel setting it aside. With the risers now exposed, I use the head of a combination square which has a little level to level each head independently and then put in the second screw that holds everything in that position.

Before I removed the spider I marked the location of some strategic risers underneath so I could replace it in the same spot with having the re-clamp the bridge piece. I put the spider back on aligned on these marks and clamped it in a couple of places. I drove the 2" screws to hold the riser cleat to the OSB. Once all the screws were in it was solid and level. This piece will set the relationship of all the pieces on the front module as the layout construction expands out in both directions.



I'm not going to describe this process any more since it becomes repetitive. I detailed this one since this piece needed to be positioned in relationship to the bridge with set up the relationship between the front and the back modules.

Here's another process schematic shot showing how I'm doing.

[Gun Grape]

1. I just swept the place out. I'm trying to keep ahead of the mess so it doesn't get ahead of me. It makes it easier to move around on the scooter when the floor is cleaner and it makes it easier to find the spiders.

I must be doing something wrong. If I'm working on a project the workshop is never that clean. And there are tools and open boxes of screws laying about.

3. Everything is screwed from the bottom so no fasteners are subsequently buried under layers of scenery of buildings. It's an advantage of L-girder that all fasteners are accessible so changes can be made any time. For example: I may want to put an access hatch somewhere. I just have to remove the risers-to-OSB screws and the two screws at the joist ends, and I can move it anywhere I want. Re-fastening is just as easy. Besides, since all loading is static and top down, there is very little pull-out force to worry about. My heaviest engine is 11 pounds. Compared to the loading on a floor it's like a feather to the structure. Periodically the structure may have to hold my weight, but again, I'm not break-dancing on it.

Knew there had to be good answer. Well thought out design.
Never thought of that. I get stuck in "Structure" mode. I would have glued and screwed it down. Then when I wanted to make a change, It would have been time to break out the Sawzall

4. I bought an inclinometer, but didn't use it. It's calibrated in degrees and model rr grades (like real ones) are in percent. My train software gives actual inch dimensions for the grade heights at each track in the grade, therefore, I don't need any tools other than a tape measure and a string line. The as-built grade came out within 1/8" from plan which was very gratifying.

Nice job. But if you ever want to put the inclinometer to use
Slope Percent to Angle Degrees Conversion Calculator

My wife says, "I'm obsessed!" I'm not obsessed, I'm committed. At times she thinks "I should be committed" too.

I think I'm married to the Korean version of your wife

[Builder 2010]

Front Panels cont.

Yesterday, I threw (literally) all of the OSB onto the joists to get an idea of how it all fits. Some of the panels look very warped. While there is some warp, it's exaggerated by some of the legs sticking up beyond the joists. Once the risers are in place they pull the panels down nicely.



As I noted way back in the beginning, so of my layout changes caused some poor panel fits, but I now had a panel permanently fastened in place which set up the relationship of all the others. While most was predicted by the plans, there was one surprise... the last piece on the right extended about 10" further out than it should be. So much that the right hand curve (the swing-out door curve) overlapped this panel by a bunch. I don't know where this error comes from since all the panels leading to this one were tightly butted up to each other. If I pushed the end panel back, I would push all of them 10" and put them out of alignment. So what to do? I'm going to actually lay down the track to that point and see how close the actual track follows the build plan. Once I see that I'll be able to decide if the track plan needs adjustment or simply hack off some of the OSB. I am reluctant to cut that OSB until I understand the impact of that decision.

On the other hand, some of the more predicted poor fits were easy to identify and fix. Here's an example of one such adjustment.



The reason for these defects was a change I made in laying out the curved pieces. I changed the end cuts from a line that was parallel to the side of the layout to one that was radial to an imaginary center point of the circle of track it was inscribing. Unfortunately, this change wasn't made accurately and I missed changing both sides of the joint. So instead of a clean joint, I have some joints with some triangular spaces between them.

Here's the O-88 circle that involves the cross-over and the one of the reverse loops. I was concerned about making repairs to the joints that could change the diameter and cause a poor fit for the track. So I broke out the O-88 track and stuck them together to see if they fit. They did.



Here was one of those joints that I trimmed to get the fit right.



Next step will to elevate all those pieces and put risers under them. For the smaller panels I can put the risers directly under the panels, but on the bigger panels which are quick heavy, I'll move them out of the way and put the risers in, then flop them back on. I'm still waiting for the roadbed. Once that arrives I'll start laying track.

[Builder 2010]

Right End II

Gun... what are the symptoms of your OSB allergy. I've been funky all week with a shallow cough, low-grade fever periodically that seems like the flu trying to get me. I had a flu shot and pneumonia shot so if it's flu, it's being held in check.

Didn't have much time to work today and got one more sub-roadbed piece tied in, plus positioned another one. It was time to break out the "water-tube level'.

Besides using the carpenter's level, I periodically take a measure with a tape from the floor to the top of the OSB. It's supposed to be 43-1/4". This is just a check since I have no idea how level the floor actually is. When I put this piece in I noticed that the floor-OSB measure was over 43-1/2". I don't want any errors to start stacking up since the layout is so big it could be a couple of inches off at the other end, so it was time to break out the water-tube level. I used this originally in the layout's German iteration. If you've never used one, it's a great way to capture a level reference point and replicate it over a large area.

It works on the principle that water in a curved tube will always seek the same level at each end. You fill the tube with water and make sure there's no entrained air. Hold the two ends together and bring them to the reference level point. Find a way to affix one end of the tube next to this reference point and use a sharpie to mark the water level in the free end of the tube.



Carry the free end to the point you want to measure, making sure there are no kinks so the water can move in the tube.



There's a little stopper you put in the free end so it won't spill when moving. At the working end, align the water level with the Sharpie reference mark and hold it up the piece you want to level. Use a clamp or tape to hold the tube there so you can clamp the riser at this location. The two points are now at the same point regardless of what the floor is doing.



I won't have to use it everywhere, but will use it every so often just to make sure there's no systematic error creeping in.

Here's an interesting before and after showing how all the old layouts have now been subsumed into the new one.

[Gun Grape]

My throat swells up, face get puffy, eyes get red and irritated. Can't catch my breath. Wherever the OSB touches me, I get a red puffy rash. And a headache that almost reaches migraine level

But aside from that, No problems.


Water levels are the best thing in the world when hanging rolling doors. Though they had gone out of style with the DIY crowd though.

On a different note, seeing the clutter on that back table, makes me feel much better. You are human after all

[Builder 2010]

I'm heading back to the basement for another work session. I'll take a picture of the workshop end of the room and then you'll see that your fears of my superiority (human-wise) were unfounded...completely. I'm actually a pretty sloppy worker. I'll put all my tools away at the end of a project, and within a week they're all out all over the place. I need a scrub nurse standing by giving and taking the tools as I need them. I just have a light case of bronchitis that's gradually, very gradually getting better.

[Builder 2010]

Here's the "sloppy shop" pic that proves that I am indeed no better than any other model builder, it's just that for the trains, I've been working harder (than normal) in keeping things neater, partly due to protecting myself from stuff falling on my head, and to make for less confusing pictures.



With that out of the way, I continued building up the inner loop on the left end. As I'm laying in each OSB panel, I'm making any filler pieces to fill any gaps due to my change in cutting strategy. The O-88 inch loop is finished, and I'm getting ready to put in the O-96 loop on the outside.



The pieces fit pretty well and I filled the wedged-shaped openings with some scrap OSB. Here's one that's waiting to be fixed.



On the last piece, I had to alter the riser/cleat arrangement since the joist was running parallel with the OSB piece, so the cleats needed to be reset so they're perpendicular to the riser. No big deal.



One last piece. I've talked about using the Dremel tool with a 2" cutoff wheel to remove the points of screws that protrude above the OSB. Here's the rig. I bought the pole support for the Dremel and then added a wide base to support it. To add further support, I use a clamp to hold it to the layout.



As I noted before, I use goggles, dust mask, and the ear muffs when doing this. I wish I had screws that were just the right height.