Trent Dowler wrote:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I noticed in the pictures of the Queen Mary meet at
> http://www.geocities.com/cgnr.geo/qm-pic.htm that the legs of the track
> seem very small and somewhat unsupported. Could someone elaborate on the
> track's sturdiness and construction?
I helped build that green track. It is made of 3/4 inch plywood
sections about 8 feet long. The ends are connected using a lap joint
and wood screws. The legs are actually steel sawhorses with adjustable
legs. There is one sawhorse per section. The legs adjust only in 6
inch increments. They are initially set for 36 inch height and then any
additional adjustment for level is done with wooden blocks under each
leg as needed. It sets up in about a hour with three or four people
doing the work. I suppose one person could do it but each section is
pretty heavy and unwieldy to handle. It takes a small trailer to haul
it.
The track is Sunset Valley code 250 aluminum and there are two circuits
not interconnected. The aluminum track gets very slippery as the day
goes on. The curves are around 12 to 15 radius and the over all track
is oval shape. There are no straight sections.
> I've also seen pics of tracks that
> used hinged plywood a-frame supports which looked as though they would
> give better support
You must be talking about the track used in the San Francisco Bay area
at different steamups. It is hauled in a Chevy Suburban sized vehicle
and requires 3 or 4 folks to set it up as well. See
http://www.steamup.com/sitgonline/forum/articles/nss98/setup.jpg for a
view of the track being setup.
Or you can visit
http://www.steamup.com/sitgonline/forum/articles/nss98/nss98.html to see
more.
The track is 1/2 inch plywood with 1x4 side fences with gives the
stability. Each panel is lighter than the green track and assembles
with a plywood tongue between each section. Drywall screws are used for
temporary connection. The track has 15 foot curves and long straights.
Each side has a passing section used to park trains and rolling stock.
Two ends have steamup bays. The track is Llagas Creek code 215 nickel
silver rail. It too gets slippery after use.
> The large (1.5" scale) steamers are far out of reach for a lot of people
> (including myself), but the smaller steamers like the Ruby and the
> latest Roundhouse offerings could show people that they don't have to
> have a lot of cash to get started in our great hobby.
I do hope you can find just the correct setup to showcase the smaller
scale steamers. I'll be the large scale guys don't even know it exists.
You are doing exactly what is needed to keep our hobby growing.
Good Luck
Clark
