That's great news Tim! Hopefully you have a speedy recovery and are able to get back to working on your projects again soon.
Nscalestation, Where did you get these from? My internet searches were not successful. Looks like a very handy little item. Thanks in advance!
Great news Tim, glad all was a success. Take care and rest a bit. My understanding is Kato are introducing Flex Track - Needs more investigation More here - https://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/flexible.html Number 4 turnouts are expensive because they add additional pieces of track to fit the track geometry which gives one lot of options. The number 6 yea PIA, but you need to be selective. I tend to use Double Crossover and Left and Right crossovers in most cases less expensive than two #4 or 4 #6. I've used Kato since 2006, and I won't go back. If I want something changed its simple to do and to glue and ballast if I want is fairly simple and not a big deal. As you say the switches and track are solid and the only thing I need is to replace a few UniJoiners once in a while. Soldering is not a big deal, I use the Non Soldering method which works great and allows me to do connections every 36 to 48" Luv Unitrack, and in the end IMHO more Flexible than Flex Track.
I was mixed up on the name, it's American Tie & Timber Co. Here is the link. http://americantieandtimber.com/
KATO always had that flex track, iirc, it was just not generally sold outside Japan, but you could order it direct from Japan.
The Gapmasters are about .052 thick. I have found them to be a perfect match for Micro Engineering track. If you are using them with a track that has thicker ties you could add styrene strip to the bottom to shim it. Here is a link to a blog post I did a few years ago when I first started using them. http://palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/2017/01/connecting-me-code-55-to-atlas-code-80.html
The base of the 2-inch Foam board is down and attached to shelving. Will finally start putting track down on Sunday!
I forgot to add "FOAM" Pictures - Anyway off to do some Honey Do's hopefully a bit of track placement on Sunday! Got to get those shelves cleaned up and better organized.
Finally got the tempoary staging yard and return loop wired and tested good. I added a cardboard safety fence around the return loop were the track gets close to the edge. Today I was able to install the bridge and the track for the front line in the expansion section. Will let the adhesive dry overnight then it will be time to run some test trains through the whole layout including the newest expansion. Close up of the Gap Master ties that create the gap for the lift bridge interlocking section. The 4 ties were soldered into place before the track was laid then after the track is laid the rails are cut with a razor saw. Have to be careful not to cut the tie structure underneath. This was all wired and test this evening.
Since the layout has been on hold due to pending HVAC replacement, I’ve kept busy working on improvements to various freight cars in staging. I did finish building walls around the layout space and extended the workbench. Lots of kits were finally sorted and stacked on the workbench. Finally, this morning, I added a 7” wide shelf over the workbench as a direct track from where Watt Street Yard will be. Bad ordered cars can be set out at the yard and spotted by the switch job, and repaired cars picked up. I can fit 2 shop tracks and a program track here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
nscalestation, Thanks for the dimension. okane, How did you attach the foam the the shelves? I use plastic shelves also but have an HCD layout base. For now I have a beam clamp holding it on.
@logging loco - Well, your ears must have been burning as that was the discussion this morning. The empire treasurer scrapped the plan to use Lepage's "No More Nails" Adhesive. So I am going is to use one of the following 4-foot wood carpet tack strips with the slanted nails. I'll break the strips into 2 or 3-inch length, I might need to glue them to the underside of the foam if the slanted nails do not hold. I will then use double-sided velco strips to attach carpet strips that are attached to the foam to the shelves. Cost $2.99 CDN for a package of 3 4 foot sections. 2 Packages should be more than enough for my project or Just use the velcro strips to attach foam directly to the shelving. I tried this on a two-foot square this morning and it worked. And I could remove the foam off the shelving which is an added bonus. I'm thinking that having a 1/4 to half inches between the foam and shelving might also be beneficial, I'll go get some carpet strips Monday to try this out. Was thinking about carpet tape too, but from past experience, I have never had luck with carpet tape
There be the start of a layout this morning. However, temporarily postponed pending investigation into answer provided to @logging loco in the previous topic.
