Third Rail Bridge Track

Now that the bridge is completed, I need to run tracks over it.  This layout will move during its lifetime. It does, after all, hang on cubicle walls. With this in mind, I decided not to mount the track directly onto the bridge, but on a thin plywood deck that is placed on the bridge.

This bridge is a custom radius and so standard sectional track will not work. Flex track will work, but Marklin 3-rail flex track is very expensive at about $17 per meter. One of my goals for this layout (and life really) is to use materials I already have or purchase cheaper alternatives. I decided I would make my own 3-rail track.

Landwasser Viaduct

After finishing the full loop around my cubicle, the only real full loop was up and over my bookshelf. The lower track simply ended on either side of the bookshelf. This was just not good enough!

 How would I connect the two tracks across an almost 4 foot gap? I love problems like these. I can day dream for hours (spread over the whole day of course) about what this trestle, bridge, viaduct, causeway, or big mountain-side curve will look like.  I went through many revisions on paper and even more in my head. One of my favorites was a long, shallow trestle as seen below.

Lift-up Shelf

 I couldn't in good conscience not attempt to design a way to give unobstructed access to my cubicle. I decided to make the part of the layout that crosses over the entrance swing up and over on itself.  This is no ordinary lift up bridge. It is a complete part of the layout that lifts up, including two levels of track and scenery. To give enough clearance for the track and scenery, I offset the hinges with blocks of wood.


When up, the layout is supported by 1x2s hidden under the scenery.

Cubicle Access? Trains? ... Trains!

And so it continues... my railroad won't stop growing.  I keep thinking of ways to make this a continuous running track.

Should I make a reversing loops at each end of the layout? It could be something like this:

My cubicle neighbors won't mind, right? As a wise man once said, "don't be ridiculous, you LOVE trains!" Well, I guess that may be over the line.

I could simply finish the last wall of my cube.  But how would it cross the entry?  A helix is ridiculous in this instance, but I can't just block the entrance to my cube.  Or can I...? I will go with the assumption that I can for now.

For this last wall, I will reproduce more faithfully the rail underpass located in the prototype as shown below.

This was fun to design as I had many ideas for the landscape: streams, waterfalls, canyons, rolling hills, etc.  Honestly, my vision of landscaping changed many times while building the track-work. Eventually, I decided that a simple hill leading to a canyon would do the trick. Probably way too compressed, but I like it!

Thanks for reading, Peter Lieber