Ceiling double track


Olie

Olie

Active Member
Hey all. New guy here and wanted to share my latest adventure. I caught the MRR bug and man it's bad. I wanted something a bit different so I opted to do a wall mounted "ceiling track" that covers my living room. This is HO scale. Here's my starting point with Scarm
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I ran into a few hurdles along the way and in hind sight, I would have done the build out of solid wood planks. Cost and lack of knowledge became my nemesis. I did, however, get it started. Here's after the first corner piece with some track down. The whole set up is Atlas Super-Flex Track code 100.
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At times the work would go quickly but then I'd hit a snag. I did manage to get the first track installed and made a complete loop. Installing the second track was a bit easier. I elevated it with 1" foam board so the train would be easier to see from the floor.
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I made all of the corner radius 22" so I can run larger sets. As you can see, the wiring was done from underneath. I ran 14 gauge main bus and 22 gauge feeders every new section of track. I orginally did this thinking it would be hidden by the crown moulding. This past weekend I realized that once the crown is up, if I run into electrical issues, I'd have to remove the crown to repair. So, Saturday I rewired the entire layout and hid the wires between the tracks on top of the shelf.
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After the rewire, it looks much cleaner. Now we are testing LED light strips to see if we can get the type of lighting to not only make the room look nicer but accent the trains.
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So far, it's been a lot of fun and I really enjoy the trains running above us. A few things to mention. The lower track is mounted to cork board which is then glued with white glue to the MDF shelf. It transmits the track noise a bit more than I'd like. The upper track is cork board on 1" foam board then the shelf. All glued down with Dynaflex 230 silicone caulk. It is much more quiet. Luckily, the fireplace brickwork give me a "step" to be able to reach the tracks for loading and unloading trains. Having a little taller step stool or ladder would make it easier. Track cleaning is a bit of a chore. I posted in another thread about the CMX cleaning car and the DAPOL car. I will invest in those in the future but for now I'm running a DIY cleaner. All in all, it has been a lot of fun and we enjoy the trains.

Our current stable is:
BLI PRR K4s (Man I love this locomotive)
Bachmann Spectrum K4 DC version. (Display mode only until I get a DC power supply)
Bachmann Spectrum PRR coach cars X 3, Combine car, dining car and observation car. Found the set at a train shop for a good price.
Lionel Polar Express Locomotive with tender (haven't had it a month and it's shipping out for repair) and 4 Polar Express cars.
Bachmann Echo Valley Express set. 2-6-0 locomotive is my wife's favorite. "It's so cute" she says.
I run all of it with a Digitrax DCs51

Well, there it is. My first build. Any suggestion or comments are welcomed. You can't hurt my feelings.
 
wombat457 said:
Nice set up with some very nice equipment to go with it. Must have been a pain in the rear having to work that high though?
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The height did make it tough at times. I used a laser level to put a line on the wall and then mounted the L brackets into the studs. Placing the boards up on the brackets wasn't too bad. I was able to do almost all of it myself with the occasional teenage son to help out. A 6 foot step ladder was all I used. Luckily, the boards were fairly light so that helped as well.
 
Well you have done a great job sir and is one of, if not the only, around the ceiling layouts in these forums - so you may have made history as well :)
 
That back lighting is great. I like it.
As far as track noise, how fast are your trains running? Slower trains will be more interesting and not as distracting for whatever else you are doing in the room.
 
That back lighting is great. I like it.
As far as track noise, how fast are your trains running? Slower trains will be more interesting and not as distracting for whatever else you are doing in the room.
You might consider using Dust Monkeys on your train. Just one will be sufficient to keep your track clean and will hardly be noticeable.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
That back lighting is great. I like it.
As far as track noise, how fast are your trains running? Slower trains will be more interesting and not as distracting for whatever else you are doing in the room.
You might consider using Dust Monkeys on your train. Just one will be sufficient to keep your track clean and will hardly be noticeable.
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We run the trains fairly slowly, not more than 50%. I was just surprised at the difference between the two tracks. I'm sure it's not bad at all. Once I heard the difference between the two that's when it became apparent. I will have to look at these "Dust Monkeys". Never heard of them before.....I like the name anyway.
 
I will have to say that this is quite different. Like it. Jsut sit back and enjoy watching the trains run. Nice photos.
 
Love the lighting, looks like our northern lights!
The dust monkeys are a great idea ken!
Olie are you considering a siding later on? Would be easier than swapping out trains on a ladder?
 
Rico said:
Love the lighting, looks like our northern lights!
The dust monkeys are a great idea ken!
Olie are you considering a siding later on? Would be easier than swapping out trains on a ladder?
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You're gonna have to educate me on what a siding is?
 
A siding is a section of track that normally runs of the main line for trains, rolling stock to sit in. A siding might have a loading loading dock along side of it with a warehouse for example.
 
Yup, that and a place where one train can pass another.
You could have two trains up there and run one at a time without taking the other one off.
 
Rico said:
Yup, that and a place where one train can pass another.
You could have two trains up there and run one at a time without taking the other one off.
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I think I'm understanding what you're saying. There are two tracks on the layout now that run parallel to each other. The only place I have any room to run an additional line that is not attached to the main is at the corners. The rear track is elevated by 1" so that restricts to only the rear track being able to have a siding. The front track is right up against the edge of the shelf and is bordered by the small gap between tracks that hold the wiring. I guess I would have to build an elevated "platform" in one of the corners to hold the siding. Interesting idea. As I type this I'm imagining how to do it. I could put an engine shed. Light it up. Man, you guys are killing me!!!

I do want to thank you all for being so supportive and sharing your ideas with me. Now to go look for an engine shed and start looking at the track changes I'd have to make. I just came off a 24 hour shift and I know I need sleep but I can't keep away......

Update: One of my corners is a suspended section due to the hallway. If I put a shed in that had windows and lighting, I could hang it off the shelving giving me the needed depth for track, switches, etc. here's a pic with what I'm thinking....thoughts?

Corner:
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View of how much room to work with
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Two cereal boxes about the size of a two stall engine house
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Installed the good LEDs. I can now control the entire room with color, brightness and saturation. The LEDs are only 4mm a part so they don't cast shadows like the first set I had up there.

Tried to simulate the setting sun
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