Wall Mounted G Scale Train Track

I am looking to run an Aristocraft Brass Train Track at the ceiling of my 15' X 12' room. (1) How much clearance do I need for G scale from the top of the track to the ceiling? (2) What is the best way to get great conductivity when putting the train track together? (3) How many power blocks will I need for 54' of track? (4) In the 90 degree corners, what radius of track & how many pieces will I need for the track to come out straight on both sides & (5) What do you do when the track comes up short, like if your needing a 6" piece of track & you only have a foot piece of track - can these be cut off & work right? Thanks for reading & any help would be greatly appreciated. Mike

 

Here's a photobucket link to my G scale shelf construction and finished photos.

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a392/dgwinup/G%20scale%20shelf/

The shelves are mounted with the top surface of the shelf 12 1/2" form the ceiling. I put it there so the shelf would clear the moldings over the windows. As you can see in my pictures, there's plenty of room between the trains and the ceiling.

I made sure the rail joiners were tight as I assembled the track. Most of the track is powered with one feeder to the rails. The sidings were separately powered (as described below). I have had no trouble with stalling anywhere.

Each corner of the shelf was custom fit. (NOBODY builds SQUARE houses. NOBODY!) I used 24" radius curves for the layout. The ends of the straight sections of shelving were cut approximately at a 22 1/2 degree angle. Two middle sections are mirror images of each other with 22 1/2 degree angles on the ends that meet the straight sections and approximately a 45 degree angle in the middle.

One corner of the room has the doorway in it on an angle. Once more, custom cutting and fitting were necessary. I believe the 45 degree angle was mated to a square cut straight section to start the turn, then 22 1/2 degree cuts for mating the next two sections, then 11 1/4 degree cuts to finish the curve. See the picture of the completed track over the door.

All shelf sections were glued and fastened together with pocket screws from underneath. Simple 3" "L" brackets were screwed into studs in the wall and the shelf sections were laid on TOP of the brackets and screwed in from below.

All sections are standard 1"x6" pine boards except for the long wall. On that wall, I wanted a passing siding so I can run a train in either direction. That shelf was built with a long 1"x12".

Yes, you will have to cut and modify your track to make things fit. I had to cut both straight and curved sections. It's a bit of a chore since the track joiners are different than in the smaller scales. I bought extra joiners, some insulated joiners to isolate the siding tracks and used my Dremel a lot. I didn't take pictures of the rail joiner modification, sorry.

I insulated both tracks in the siding and wired them with a SPDT switch. That allows only one track at a time in the siding to be powered.

You can see in the pictures that some of the track actually overhangs the edges of the shelf. I knew that was going to happen and didn't adjust for it, but since this is mainly for display and to amuse the grandkids, I didn't care. I didn't paint or stain the shelves, either!

The track is held on the shelves with screws and fender washers. The fender washers reach across the ties between the rails so the screw doesn't have to penetrate the ties. I was afraid the rails could be bent out of gauge by drilling holes for the screws directly through the ties.

I planned and measured for this project for some time while I acquired the necessary track and turnouts. Even with the planning, almost everything is a custom fit.

But it was all worth it the first time I fired up a train for my grandsons! If I had wanted something better, I could have taken more time to build it better. For reasons already mentioned, I didn't think it was worth the extra effort.

Hope this helps. Be sure to post pictures of your progress and the completed project! Got any more questions, just ask!

Darrell, quiet...for now