Herdin' Cats II: Cat Wrangler

There are some things that come into your head and you don't know where they came from. Something just clicks. That happened to me today when I went out to pick up where I left off on the four track spline...

Wikes Curve and the Cat Herd.

Up until this point the spline assembling process was a jumble of strips, ends, weights, clamps and drywall screws. The screws were everywhere. I used them for holding stray strips in place and other things. The spline ended up looking like a desperate attempt to plug a hole in a wooden boat. I was beginning to continue this process when BANG! The solution just appeared. I don't even think I realized it until after it happened. I had replaced a bolt bucket that was holding the spline in place at Wikes Curve with a 3" drywall screw. Rather than run it horizontally through the foam I drove it vertically into the benchwork. Then I placed another one at the next cross piece in the benchwork. Again this was to maintain the curve radius as I built...

Cat Wrangling

I placed another screw on the opposite side of the spline strips to keep it from flapping away...

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That's when the secret that every cat wrangler must know was revealed to me. By placing the second screw on the opposite side of the spline I had effectively trapped the spline between them. I then added more strips...

Foam Strips Being Wrangled Into a Spline 

...and trapped those between another two screws. The cats...I mean, strips had no place to go but where I wanted them. From then on in the job was a piece of cake. I just kept driving screws in on either side of the spline to direct the strips and hold them together...

Like Cattle in a Chute

It was like watching cattle funneled into a chute. About the only drywall screws I needed from there on out were the two at either side of the spline. I was building four track spline as fast as I could drive the screw in. Just put the new splines in place and rein them in....

BO Tower Looking Towards Wikes

In a few minutes I was past BO tower and had laid out Brickyard Curve. The screws held the spline firm, but not so tight that I couldn't make adjustments. If I needed to make large adjustments, I could just remove the screws and drive them in at the new location. I did use a few 1" screws, but only in places where the joints fell between the big screws...

Brickyard Curve

The pace of the layout was now tenfold what it was just yesterday. I raced through Keystone toward Llyswen Yards...

Keystone and JK Tower

In no time at all I had reached the location where the passenger mains and freight mains split. The freight tracks go straight into the yards while the passenger tracks curve left past Keystone Depot and the REA freight house...

"the passenger tracks curve left past Keystone Depot"

The final run was made parallel to Llyswen Yards...

...and into East Keystone. When I reached there I realigned the tracks at DI tower. I wanted to move them farther away from Kittanning Curve and create a nice right hand sweeper...

It only took a few hours to lay out thirty odd feet of track...

GD tower Looking Towards Tunnel Hill

As I went along I realized that the "guide" screws would also serve as clamps for the glue up and assembly, thus making that part of the process much easier. All I need do is glue up the strips and then squeeze them in between the guides. This will make the assembly process quite a bit faster than it has been. The roadbed could be ready for track in a few more days (Can I get an Alleluia?).

Which brings us to several related developments.

I had been buying Woodland Scenics foam ballast strip. It was costing me about $10 for 24 feet on the average. I've recycled that stuff more than you will ever know. It's looking kind of ratty now, and I need to buy more. The wife and I were talking about this when she brought up sheet cork. I know sheet cork exists and has for decades, but it always seemed to be a lot of work to cut your own ballast strip. Especially since there are so many choices of the pre-molded stuff. That however was before ThingX had come along and taught me otherwise. The cost is phenomenal. $15 will buy you a 2' x 4' roll of 5/32" thick cork. That's enough for 96' (cut into 1" strips) of roadbed. Since the estimated length of the code 55 main line is 280 feet (4 tracks x 70'), I would only need three rolls. To make things even better, I can buy the stuff at 40% off. I can also get thinner cork (3/32") in a larger roll for the same discounted price. That's a 36" x 96" roll or 192 feet of ballast strip. Two rolls should be enough for the mainline. Sorry Woodland, don't think I'll be needin' your scenics anymore. At least not the ballast strip.

I also came up with a idea for roadbed supports. The wooden ones I was thinking of using are simple enough, but machining the adjustment slot on at least 70 supports is a bit of work, especially if you don't own a drill press or a router table. I could make another router table (I disassembled my wood working bench to build the layout), but I would have no room for it in the garage. So this design...

Wood Roadbed Support

Has been replaced by this design...

They are really simple to make and require only a handsaw, a drill with a 1/2" Brad point wood drill bit, a screwdriver and some PVC glue. A 1/2" hole saw would be handy too. I made one up with one or two ideas in my head and came up with a third...

PVC Roadbed Support Socket

At first I thought of conduit clamps to hold the 1" diameter PVC pipe. Too many parts. Then I thought of the split pipe mount that you see at the bottom with the three screws. Too much work, too many screws and no stability at the split. The third idea is what you see at the top. I drilled a 1/2" diameter hole, big enough for the head of a lathe screw to pass through. The brad point on the drill puts a pilot hole for the screw on the opposite side. I then inserted the screw with a screwdriver and tightened it up. This fastened the 1" PVC pipe, or "socket" solidly to the 2x4 bench work.

I took a 5" length of 1/2" diameter PVC pipe or "upright" and slipped it into the socket. Because of the lathe screws the pipe fit snugly in the socket with no play. Rather than have the roadbed balance on the top of the upright I wanted a crosspiece for the roadbed to rest on. There were a few ways to do this. I chose to cut a semicircular chunk out of the upright at the top. This serves as a saddle so that an appropriate length of 1/2" PVC pipe can laid across there and glued in place with PVC clue. When I "mass produce" them I'll use the hole saw before I assemble the parts. It's less awkward...

Smokejack Roadbed Support

Since the goofy thing ends up looking like one I christened it "Smokejack". The support has infinite adjustability between 0" to 8". Once they're adjusted I will drill a pilot hole and drive another lathe screw through both pipes, locking them in position. They are so easy to make you could put one together in less time then it took to write about it. All I need now is 70 or so more.

That's about it for this time around.

Regard,

Frank Musick

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Allegheny Eastern Railroad