{"id":668,"date":"2013-11-24T18:16:26","date_gmt":"2013-11-24T18:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/?p=668"},"modified":"2017-06-18T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T16:30:30","slug":"a-helix-in-foam-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/a-helix-in-foam-core\/","title":{"rendered":"A Helix in Foam Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a previous post we looked at the Brewery Tramway<\/a>\u00a0which included a prototype helix. The thought of creating a helix and multilevel layout continued to intrigue me for some time. I had never done one before, not even on my large layout attempts. I decided to try and build the helix and if all went well possibly the entire tramway layout.<\/p>\n

\"Brewery_upper\"<\/a> \"Brewery_lower\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I decided as a construction material I would try foam board. This material is very light but can warp easily if the construction methods do not prevent it.<\/p>\n

I created a base from sheets of foam board cut to 17.5″ x 29.5″. The base is approximately 3 inches high with a single sheet of foam board on top. Underneath I added several cross members to stiffen the top. I used hot glue on all mating surfaces and joints. Working with hot glue requires a lot of test fitting prior to actually assembly. You must work fast as the glue thickens as it cools. I then added the a sheet for the back and a sheet to one side. This forms the right end of the completed layout. On this base I drew the full size dimensions of the helix and added a side wall to enclose the helix area. NOTE: When using hot glue, it is a good idea to go back over all joints with a bead of hot glue. This proides extra holding power and fills any gaps.<\/p>\n

\"Layout<\/a>
Layout Base for Helix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I designed the helix with 8 vertical struts. Each struct is also made of foam core. I assembled the struts by gluing 2 pieces of foam core in a “T” along the vertical of each strut. Since the helix will have 3.5 turns and each turn will rise approximately 2.5″ the total height of the helix will be 8.75″. I made all struts this height.<\/p>\n

\"Using<\/a>
Using Doughnut Form to Place Vertical Struts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To create the roadbed for the helix, I cut out four foam circles (one for each loop in the helix) then cut the middles to make doughnuts out of them.\u00a0To assist with the placement of the struts, I used one of the doughnuts and planned the placement of each strut. Paired struts were required where no supporting wall was available.<\/p>\n

\"Track<\/a>
Track and Roadbed Placed in Struts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then I cut a slit in each so I could attach it to the next part of the helix.\u00a0Once that was done, I started laying the track on each doughnut before splicing them together. I used construction adhesive to glue the flex track down. The track would overhang the end of the doughnut where the joint would be. I would add the next doughnut section and hot glue a short piece of foam board underneath to secure the joint. With the joint in place I would continue to lay the track to the next joint. The flex track with construction adhesive served as a kind of top plate as well. In this way, I was able to build the loops of the helix and lay the track at the same time. It was nice to not have to work around the supports for the helix as I laid the track.<\/p>\n

\"Closeup<\/a>
Closeup of Structs With Track in Place<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the track was done the whole thing looked like a giant slinky. I then laid the assembly into the jig (the white columns that surround the helix) and added spacers under the first course of the helix. This is where things were critical. The lift had to be even at each of the 8 points of the vertical columns. I made shims from foam core and lifted the first course. Once the first course was perfect, I glued them all in place. All the later courses were spaced out with a jig so they went very quickly. I used basswood cross beams at each column. I made sure to glue the helix down in each of these locations securely with CA.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_2161\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There was some tendency to want to twist but it was very minimal with the process I used and gluing everything to the basswood cross beams corrected it. I can pick up the layout by the helix. It is quite sturdy.<\/p>\n

Also a major factor is the track which is Peco OO9 flex track. The stuff is very high quality, bends very easily and is robust. I like it much better than anything else I have tried (even in HO and N).<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View of Layout in Progress with Helix and Track Plan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have tested the helix with an N-scale Bachmann Plymouth pulling three N-scale cars. The little diesels did fine on the 5% grade. This will be acceptable to mimic the typical short trains that the prototype brewery ran. I have been so pleased with the building of the helix, that I have built the left half of the layout base and have started on the upper level shelf.<\/p>\n

More to come…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a previous post we looked at the Brewery Tramway\u00a0which included a prototype helix. The thought of creating a helix and multilevel layout continued to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-on-small-layouts","tag-featured","wpcat-2-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/brewery_lower.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4e6yk-aM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":404,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/brewery-tramway\/","url_meta":{"origin":668,"position":0},"title":"Brewery Tramway","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"March 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the article Small Layout\u00a0Inspirations\u00a0we took a short look at the Guinness Brewery Tramway. That article mentioned that the brewery had a spiral tunnel (helix) connecting the lower and upper portions of the complex. This became the inspiration for the Brewery Tramway layout presented here. 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My response is often \"which one?\" At any given time I have at least four layouts in process (six right now). These layouts are always at various stages of completion and represent several scales, gauges\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Modular Layouts"","block_context":{"text":"Modular Layouts","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/modules\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DollyVardenDock_1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DollyVardenDock_1000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DollyVardenDock_1000.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DollyVardenDock_1000.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":271,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/working-with-foam-core\/","url_meta":{"origin":668,"position":2},"title":"Working with Foam Core","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"December 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There has been a lot of\u00a0conversation\u00a0in the forums about using Gator Foam, Foam Board, Insulation Foam and the pros and cons of each\u00a0for layouts. I decided to break out my old Bakersville Layout and see how it was holding up. I started Bakersville two years ago as an On30 test\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Small Layout How To Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Small Layout How To Articles","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/articles-on-small-layouts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bakersfield underside showing frame and cross members","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/img_1812-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4242,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/huron-bay-terminus-railway-slate-mining-in-michigan\/","url_meta":{"origin":668,"position":3},"title":"Huron Bay Terminus Railway – Slate Mining in Michigan","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"February 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There is some question if the \"Huron Bay Terminus Railway\" actually existed as an entity. For sure there was a 36\" tramway which served the slate mining efforts around Arvon in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The tramway had a dock which jutted out into Huron Bay and there was a slate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prototype Railroads"","block_context":{"text":"Prototype Railroads","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/prototype-railroads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dock_and_Loco.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":731,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/christmas-display-layouts\/","url_meta":{"origin":668,"position":4},"title":"Christmas Display Layouts","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"December 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This month we will take a look at a series of Christmas layouts by Brian G Kammerer. All photos in this article are by Dana Laird.\u00a0We looked at some examples of Brian\u2019s work in a prior article \"Layout Composition and Design Concepts\". Brian has been creating small display layouts for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Layout Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Layout Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/layout-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/finished_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/finished_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/finished_1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/finished_1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":425,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/working-with-foam-core-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":668,"position":5},"title":"Working with Foam Core – Part II","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"March 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In my prior post,\u00a0Working with Foam Core, we looked at the On30\u00a0Bakersville layout I had started two years ago. Since pulling off the shelf again I have begun working towards completion (albeit very slowly and in between other projects).\u00a0In this update I add the sides and the backboard to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Small Layout How To Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Small Layout How To Articles","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/articles-on-small-layouts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Layout with a couple mock-ups in place","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/img_1849-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1822,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions\/1822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}