April 2022 - Progress Update

As we rolled into April, it was time to get working on the new piece of benchwork to accommodate the Taylor turntable. At the end of March, I built the frame for the extension to the benchwork.

Next was to attach the frame to the railroad. That was accomplished along with adding 3 legs for support. It is strong as I have spent some time on top of the benchwork. 

I have received comments that I never show photos of my working on the railroad. We'll here you go. Once of the downsides of installing the extension first was the extra long reach required to install the risers on the existing benchwork. Good thing I have long arms. And, I ended up with a few cuts and scratches at the conclusion of my installation gymnastics. 

As I welded the new section onto existing benchwork, I didn't want to have the risers installed in order to avoid any welding related issues (fire). I always have a spray bottle with water near where I'm working along with a fire extinguisher. I hope to never use either.

To the left are the installed risers on the existing benchwork. Next was to add risers to the new section as show below.

I determined that I needed to back the entire area in plywood for additional strength. In order to do so it required setting the entire sheet onto the area to begin drawing the contours of the benchwork. Once I had it placed properly, two screws were installed to eliminate any movement while getting the cut lines laid out. Critical elements in the picture: turntable template, straight edges. Micro-Mark Rotape compass (great little tool) and the computer. The computer is critical for measurements in the design. 

Once the drawing was complete, it was down to the garage for cutting. I've committed to minimize any cutting of wood and steel in the train room to keep the dust to a minimum.

To the right is the plywood after cutting. I'm not sure what to call this shape. My wife thought it look like a rhinoceros. I though fish originally, but I think she had a better call. The square cut out in the bottom right hand corner is to align with the plywood already installed. 

Next up was to trace out the design to the drywall and start cutting. I may have mentioned in it the past, but the most effective way I've found for cutting curves in drywall is a metal cutting blade in the jigsaw. The fine teeth leave a nice smooth edge. This reduces the mess versus a drywall handsaw. 

You may notice that the plywood is offset from the edge of the drywall. This was done to mate with the drywall installed previously. As a rule, I avoid aligning joints. Thus a plywood joint / seam is covered by a solid piece of drywall with the drywall seem elsewhere.

Once the drywall was cut, the pieces were dry fit to ensure alignment was good. 

As you can see, all fit and lined up well. I knew I would need to remove the risers where the turntable will be installed. It was most efficient to do it this way which allowed me to trim out the risers easily. As noted above, I work to minimize cutting in the train room. In this case, I had to cut onsite. I used a handsaw to make the cuts. All went well and reinforced my preference of power tools!

I then installed the plywood top. ...and a lot of splice plates joining to the existing plywood top. As the risers were installed 1/2" lower to accommodate the plywood, I used a couple pieces of scrap in the back to ensure an even surface for installation of the drywall. 

Time to add some drywall.

I filled in the remaining areas and now have another section of benchwork ready for track. After paint of course. 

Last up for the month was the installation of more risers for Taylor Yard and the Alameda industrial area on each side of the main peninsula.

On the May agenda will be adding more risers, installing drywall sub-roadbed, and the continuation of construction on the smaller peninsula. And most importantly, laying more track! 

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