In planning the track for the diorama I needed to find out what the height differentials were between the types I am looking at using. In order for the scenic section to look somewhat realistic I decided on using some Peco Code 55 FS Concrete Sleepered track and then was contemplating a mixture of 2mm Association track in two formats, the Easitrac moulded plastic sleepering for the straight sections of the yard and then just plain old PCB and coiled code 40 rail soldered construction as used in the test track. I was asked by a friend why didn’t I just use the Peco? My reply was that I had all of the stuff there to build after years of stock piling and it’s so much cheaper. Have you seen the price of curved Streamline switches? But the payoff to using one type is you don’t hat to do any elevation on the road bed.
Now how did I go about measuring the gap? With no depth gauge or other suitable instrument I opted for a rather rough and ready feeler gauge alternative using some styrene sheet with combinations of .10/.20/.30 thousand mm to increment the height until I got a match but rubbing finger over the joint. Yes I know its not scientific or an accurate measurement but for my purposes it is good enough. So with this method in place I ascertained that the PCB to Peco needs a .40thou lift and the PCB to Easitrack is just .10thou of a millimetre. This then raises the question of whether the Easitrack is worth it and I am going to ditch it in favour of just straight interval soldered track like the test track though I may actually measure out the gaps and not freestyle it like I did previously.
Lastly the question is what to do with underlay on the scenic section. I have two types of it one with a rubber backing and a standard old fashioned cork I need to get measurements for these to see how much adjustment the different tracks will need to accommodate in order to provide quiet running and a smooth transition between the two track types.
Until next time
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