Track Plan Tweaking

After opening one side of the wall that divides the laundry room and the train room I located several plumbing pipes that would make it very difficult to build the helix as shown in the original drawings... back to the drawing board.

In order to move the helix fully into the train room I had to reduce its size to 24". Then I had to rearrange the layout of the lower deck area around river road.


Lower deck

Upper deck

Hardware and Framing

Today I spent some time finding a way to support this multiple deck railroad without having to see the unsightly support structure.  After several hours I think I have hit on something.

I started be cutting a short section of double shelf standard to 4.25" with a single screw hole near the top.  I placed an 18.5" bracket onto this short standard and gave it the old pull test!  It turned out that it was extremely strong.

Next I tinkered with some drawings and came up with the idea below.

This gives the upper deck a clean underside I plan on running the wiring under the removable front valance or close to the front near the CFL lights.  I built a test section with 2 brackets 32" apart and it is very sturdy.

This is what the underside of the upper deck will look like, very clean.  The backdrop will be painted on
the existing drywall.

More Track Plan Detail

I added a little more detail to the Georgetown Yard area of the plan.  I will have to reverse two of the industry tracks from the original, Lone Star Cement and the Brewery.   I will use the stone arch bridge that carried the canal over the tracks as a scenery break before the lift out section in front of the window.

Georgetown Branch - 2010

Good news for my Georgetown Branch fans.  I have decided to continue modeling the branch line by constructing a double deck model railroad.

The model will be approx. 100 feet in length and feature most of the major area's along the branch line.  This will be a true point to point layout with no provision for continuous running. The Georgetown waterfront will now be modeled in its proper prospective, not mirrored as in the previous layout.

At this point I have a basic plan started in CAD. The room is 23' x 12 feet.


Lower level will include: Georgetown, Dalecarlia water treatment plant, Dalecarlia tunnel, and River Road.

Upper level will include: Bethesda, E.C. Keys Siding, Georgetown Junction, and Staging.