Fitting the Layout

I almost titled this post as Moving Along – part 3, but we are beyond the moving phase. The Wheeling Freight Terminal layout sections got onto their legs this week! Well, not all of them are on their legs as a problem was discovered. The layout is slightly longer than the space. I will admit, I did not measure the room before we committed to the house rental but I also did not know the actual long dimension of the layout. Yup, I did a job on this one. Click on any image here to view a larger size.

I had thought the length was 16-feet but I was wrong. It is four inches longer and that doesn’t quite fit the space.

This photo illustrates the 48-inch length of the last section would fall in the door jamb for the closet. The layout isn’t narrow enough for this last part to fit into the closet opening, either. We cannot cut the wall and remove part of the door jamb, so we must get creative!

One of the layout sections is not built to the same 2×4 foot standard as five other sections. It’s a little narrower and four inches longer. Four inches will be removed from this end of the section. The steel ruler is marking the four inches that will be hacked from this layout part.

The tracks are tangent across this interface and remain tangent beyond the four inch section that will be removed. This should minimize any track kinks after the alterations are complete.

Here’s a closer look at the track area. The 10-inch mark on the ruler is the current interface between the two layout sections. The layout will be cut back to the 6-inch mark on the ruler and the track will be removed back to the 4-inch mark. A pair of 3-inch bridge tracks will be used to connect the rails. These will not be glued into place but float to minimize any problems with this interface.

A couple more tasks will be tackled after this work is complete. Then the bus wires will be connected and the DCC system will be reinstalled. The Wheeling Freight Terminal inches forward to operating in a new home.


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6 thoughts on “Fitting the Layout”

  1. Eric I am glad to see things went well with the move. Sorry that you did not move closer to east texas as I would have loved to meet you and see your layout. As it is I suspect you are about as far away now as before. I will continue to follow your layout and your work on models from your new location. I appreciate your sharing of your adventures via the web.

    Your internet friend Rob

    1. Thanks for your comments, Rob. We are 1450 miles from El Paso now and the halfway point would be pretty close to your area. Hopefully our paths will cross somewhere down the line! – Eric

  2. Glad that there is a relatively easy remedy to your problem. I recall many trackplans designed for moving that included straight sections to allow for resizing when needed.

    Look forward to the finished product.

    Bill

  3. Eric,
    I’m glad to see the layout is rising again! It’s fortunate that you have the 4″ that can be taken out without affecting much. The next crews will have about a boxcar shorter run there. It will be interesting to hear if that affects the operations of the layout once it’s all back up and operating.

    Congratulations on a very successful layout design! Not many layouts can move as easily as yours.

    Jeremy

  4. Thanks Eric. Always enjoy reading your blog. Looks like you’ve got re-engineering your layout to fit the new space well in hand.

    Keep ’em rollin’, and welcome back to humidity!

  5. Eric…

    Seems like a lot of work for 4 inches!!! I’d have been tempted to take sledge hammer to the door jamb…

    Dave

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