Post by gremlinbl2guy on Sept 26, 2015 10:08:49 GMT -5
I salvaged this executive desk keyboard drawer some time ago, and had put the felt pads in it for the Z track to sit on. However, I have been wanting to make some improvements, like a roadbed,and a dust cover, so that is being done now.
I took the drawer to work this past week,and had a piece of scrap plexiglas I'd saved from the dumpster behind my office door. I used the company shear to cut it to 26 x 14 roughly, and then on Friday, I hit Lowe's and got a strip of joiner for shower wall-boards, and cut and fit that, using double-sided foam tape to mount it. Now the drawer has a dust cover ( and will keep tiny child fingers off the train, too! ).
Friday I went to Micheal's craft store and bought some gray foam, and thin black cardboard stock sheet, and prepared to do the roadbed upgrade. I had to take the entire oval of track apart, and crimp all the track joiners, as they were mostly opened up in many places, so needed to tighten the connections up. After that, I got my sheet of grey foam and cardboard stock, and glued them together. I then glued the track down on top of that, and put some containers on top to hold the track down flush. I used my Eldon train HO winter module to hold it. I need to finish laying the track on that on as well. Not sure if I"m going to do roadbed or not,I should. Maybe more grey foam and cardboard. Or white, since it's a winter module.
Anyway, this morning on Saturday, I removed the containers, and took the solid piece outside to my deck table, and using a razor knife blade, I cut along the track ties to remove all the excess. I then had to cut a smaller piece off the foam/cardboard piece, and prepare to glue it to the end of oval I couldn't cover with the entire sheet. That is now being glued down, and hopefully by tomorrow, I can finish the trimming, and have an entire oval of Z track with roadbed and ready to run.
I've had a number of projects languishing, trying to get myself motivated to finish some of them, and making progress now. I'm also trying to finish a brake job on a 1979 AMC Pacer wagon in my driveway, and that's being interrupted by other things. Car had sat for 13 years on broken leaf springs, got one replaced 4 years ago, finally getting the car back to roadworthy status this fall , I hope! Oh well, I'll get done what I can, when I can.
The Z portable layout is nearing completion finally, so that will be fun to play with when I'm done with it. The bigger one I have in my office at work needs a total track tear-out and redo, as the guy who originally built it didn't do a good job leveling the roadbed, it dips quite a bit in the front. I want to make it perfectly level, instead of a 5% grade or more in the front, and the cork roadbed is elevated on glue drops, looks pretty ugly. That will be a long term project, for sure. And it's built on 2x8's, so it is HEAVY, not easy to lug around. Will get this keyboard shelf railroad going first, and enjoy my Marklin Z train finally. Then I'll get to the larger module Z layout this winter sometime. Here's a few pics of my keyboard railroad.
Jerry
I took the drawer to work this past week,and had a piece of scrap plexiglas I'd saved from the dumpster behind my office door. I used the company shear to cut it to 26 x 14 roughly, and then on Friday, I hit Lowe's and got a strip of joiner for shower wall-boards, and cut and fit that, using double-sided foam tape to mount it. Now the drawer has a dust cover ( and will keep tiny child fingers off the train, too! ).
Friday I went to Micheal's craft store and bought some gray foam, and thin black cardboard stock sheet, and prepared to do the roadbed upgrade. I had to take the entire oval of track apart, and crimp all the track joiners, as they were mostly opened up in many places, so needed to tighten the connections up. After that, I got my sheet of grey foam and cardboard stock, and glued them together. I then glued the track down on top of that, and put some containers on top to hold the track down flush. I used my Eldon train HO winter module to hold it. I need to finish laying the track on that on as well. Not sure if I"m going to do roadbed or not,I should. Maybe more grey foam and cardboard. Or white, since it's a winter module.
Anyway, this morning on Saturday, I removed the containers, and took the solid piece outside to my deck table, and using a razor knife blade, I cut along the track ties to remove all the excess. I then had to cut a smaller piece off the foam/cardboard piece, and prepare to glue it to the end of oval I couldn't cover with the entire sheet. That is now being glued down, and hopefully by tomorrow, I can finish the trimming, and have an entire oval of Z track with roadbed and ready to run.
I've had a number of projects languishing, trying to get myself motivated to finish some of them, and making progress now. I'm also trying to finish a brake job on a 1979 AMC Pacer wagon in my driveway, and that's being interrupted by other things. Car had sat for 13 years on broken leaf springs, got one replaced 4 years ago, finally getting the car back to roadworthy status this fall , I hope! Oh well, I'll get done what I can, when I can.
The Z portable layout is nearing completion finally, so that will be fun to play with when I'm done with it. The bigger one I have in my office at work needs a total track tear-out and redo, as the guy who originally built it didn't do a good job leveling the roadbed, it dips quite a bit in the front. I want to make it perfectly level, instead of a 5% grade or more in the front, and the cork roadbed is elevated on glue drops, looks pretty ugly. That will be a long term project, for sure. And it's built on 2x8's, so it is HEAVY, not easy to lug around. Will get this keyboard shelf railroad going first, and enjoy my Marklin Z train finally. Then I'll get to the larger module Z layout this winter sometime. Here's a few pics of my keyboard railroad.
Jerry