Turntable There’s heightened activity in the West Val- ley Engine Terminal. A T-1 takes a spin on the turntable as a J-1 awaits its turn to pull into the roundhouse for service. A fully functioning engine terminal was a design element Mike wanted to include in his layout, and he built most of the buildings for the engine terminal before moving into his current home.
enary is installed, I further justi- fied the switch from steam to elec- tric or diesel locomotives for all eastbound trains based on tunnel and other limitations to the east. In addition to a 130-foot turnta- ble with 20 storage leads and two roundhouses, I incorporated a diesel house; diesel fueling, sand, cinder, inspection tracks; power house; freight house; and large coaling and water towers. The last two design elements incorporated into the lower deck were a large, gritty industrial area with plenty of switching and an in- terchange with Baltimore & Ohio. The industrial area serves more than a dozen industries with nearly 40 car spots.
The branch line supports two large coal mines along with lum- ber and oil-related industries and a freight house on the upper deck. There is also a small engine facili- ty for servicing the branch switch- er and some of the coal turns. The branch line begins its 2 percent
climb after leaving the industri- al area on the lower deck. I use a 32-inch radius helix with four circuits to reach the upper deck. After consulting several books on the topic and building some mock-ups, I decided the lower deck would be 40 inches high and the upper deck 60 inches.
Construction
I began with a blank slate in an unfinished basement. After fin- ishing the family/crew lounge in half the basement, framing and electrical work began on the train room in April 2010. The electrical wiring included plenty of outlets around the room and ceiling. This allowed for two overhead lighting circuits and a third switched wall outlet circuit to provide power for most of the electronics powering the layout. For most corners, 1/8- inch tempered hardboard was used to produce smooth, coved corners. I cut a deep groove into the drywall at the nearest stud,
bent the hardboard gently until each end slipped into the groove, and fastened it with screws, tape, drywall compound, and then sanded for a seamless transition. After selecting a sky blue color, fellow model railroader Scott Wil- liamson showed me his technique using gray and white spray paint and scalloped-edged poster board to make great-looking clouds without having an art degree. By July, the drywall was paint- ed, and construction began on the benchwork. Good quality, sanded, ¾-inch plywood was cut into three-inch “boards.” A plate joiner, biscuits, glue, and nail gun made quick work of very sturdy, open frame benchwork. After completing the lower level under the helix, construction of the helix began in September. I used over- lapped, glued and screwed, 3/8- inch plywood trapezoids to build the helix. I attached flextrack to N- scale cork using adhesive sealant. After finishing each circuit, I cov-
46 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
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