| Welcome to the Ford City Northern Railway's Layout Construction Page |
| The construction information of the layout was moved to make room for more photos of the never-completed layout. In the beginining............ |
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| Layout Details: The layout consists of an area of 15 feet by 11 feet. Supporting the layout along the basement walls are nominal 2x2s (1 1/2" x 1 1/2") 48" in length. Spacing is 32" on center and fastened with Tapcon screws. The girders are constructed from 1x3s (3/4" x 2 1/2") capped with 1x2s to form the inverted "L". Additional 1x2s serve as support braces for the girders. Placed diagonally from the end of the girder at no less than a 45 degree angle.to the bottom of the vertical suppports. 1/2" plywood cut into triangular pieces serve as a gusset to strengthen the girders. |
| Benchwork The main framework is made up of 1x3s cut to various lengths of 72", 76" and 96" inches. These form the side framemembers. The internal framemembers are additional 1x3s cut to 12" or 24" inches in length. 1/4" plywood covers this framework. The modular design allows for easy disassembly for saving the layout, incase of moving in the future. "Construction Grade" drywall screws are used to assemble the framework and the sections to each other. Glue was used to attach the plywood to the framework |
| Roadbed and Trackwork The proposed track plan was marked out on the plywood before gluing the cork roadbed to it. Pieces of sectional track was used to featherout any radius problems, before gluing. Elmer's Yellow interior glue was used to attach the cork. PECO and Atlas track was used in select areas. The Atlas flex was "Mainline" material while the PECO was saved for sidings and yards. The use of Atlas flex on cork compared to Peco on plywood. accomplished the look for siding and yards setting in the weeds. (The idea of modeling a break-even shortline) PECO switches were used for reliability and good operation. |
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| Site updated May 7th, 2003 To return to the FCN homepage click here. FCNRWY |