Jim 68cuda
Well-Known Member
Well maybe not. But all the track (and surrounding scenery) will need to be ripped up and new track laid as you can see in the photos. The track by the station is where its the worst.
I built the layout in mid-90's and completed about a third of the scenery then. It was and is my first build of a train layout. At the time I couldn't really use power tools as there was always someone somewhere in the house sleeping, so my benchwork is entirely styrofoam insulation resting on shelving units at one end and hanging on wall brackets at the other end. The trains ran flawlessly on this layout for probably about 12 years, then I started having derailments. Then over the last few years, the track has come unglued from the base and buckled and bowed in places tearing up surrounding scenery as well in places. My biggest mistake was my method of laying the trackwork on the styrofoam. I first put down double sided carpet tape. That held the track in place and allowed running the trains during construction. I then glued ballast down over the tape which also glued the plastic ties in place. That worked great up until a few years ago when the carpet tape started separating from the styrofoam and the track started bowing and separating from the foam, tape and ballast. The layout is in an attic room and it appears that years of summer heat and winter cold in the attic has caused the carpet tape to fail. I will have to rip up all the track and surrounding scenery so I can remove the tape, they I will neet to relay track and blend in new scenery. I was thinking it would just be easier to remove all the track and replace it with a bike trail like so many 1:1 cities and towns have done.
Luckily I never finished the scenery at one end of the layout so it will be easy at that end. At that end of the layout it took almost 10 years before I decided on a plan for the scenery. But, once I decided on a plan for the remaining scenery, I never got past just roughing it in.
There are places on this layout that can't be reached without tearing up acres of scenery, and even then it won't be easy.
I built the layout in mid-90's and completed about a third of the scenery then. It was and is my first build of a train layout. At the time I couldn't really use power tools as there was always someone somewhere in the house sleeping, so my benchwork is entirely styrofoam insulation resting on shelving units at one end and hanging on wall brackets at the other end. The trains ran flawlessly on this layout for probably about 12 years, then I started having derailments. Then over the last few years, the track has come unglued from the base and buckled and bowed in places tearing up surrounding scenery as well in places. My biggest mistake was my method of laying the trackwork on the styrofoam. I first put down double sided carpet tape. That held the track in place and allowed running the trains during construction. I then glued ballast down over the tape which also glued the plastic ties in place. That worked great up until a few years ago when the carpet tape started separating from the styrofoam and the track started bowing and separating from the foam, tape and ballast. The layout is in an attic room and it appears that years of summer heat and winter cold in the attic has caused the carpet tape to fail. I will have to rip up all the track and surrounding scenery so I can remove the tape, they I will neet to relay track and blend in new scenery. I was thinking it would just be easier to remove all the track and replace it with a bike trail like so many 1:1 cities and towns have done.
Luckily I never finished the scenery at one end of the layout so it will be easy at that end. At that end of the layout it took almost 10 years before I decided on a plan for the scenery. But, once I decided on a plan for the remaining scenery, I never got past just roughing it in.
There are places on this layout that can't be reached without tearing up acres of scenery, and even then it won't be easy.
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