Model Railroading > Grade transition testing, and scraps ...

With the warmer days of summer come the pleasure of cool evenings spent in the shop and layout room. In the first photo, I'm testing the grade startup transition where the Sugar Pine Lumber Company 9-line to the woods camps leaves the mainline. The Homasote is down, and I was a bit concerned about that first change in vertical track alignment, so I spiked down a few temporary pieces of track and ran some feeders to power it up via the Lenz DCC system. The longest-wheelbase locomotive to operate on that branch will be the SPLCo Minarets type 2-10-2T shown with a modest string of eight log flats, including four with loads. In operation, all up-grade bound trains will be empties headed for the woods. The #5 eases through the grade transition smooth as butter, with no unwanted coupler-height-variance problems or unplanned separations, and it makes it over the grade with what will likely be a standard-size string of cars during an operating session. Apparently the easements at the start and end of the grade change worked, or at least helped. Always good to test such situations before finalizing the track.

As for prototype inspiration, notice the grade separation in a short distance in this circa-1923 photo of a SPLCo landing.

In the second shot, some roadbed pieces are being laid out utilizing some plywood scraps in the shop. I'm getting down to that point in layout carpentry where I'm trying to use up scraps rather than buying another sheet of plywood. So far, so good.

Jeff Johnston
www.trainvideosandparts.com

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Looking great!  Good call to test things out, keep the updates coming!

~RGDave
www.onondagacutoff.blogspot.com