Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Backbone Helix design progress

I've been working out how the backbone helix will be put together.  I have the helix frame built with the help of my friends. The frame was built from 1x3 dimensional lumber.  This is the only place on the layout that will be built entirely of lumber because I feel the helix needs to be more sturdy because it is free standing.

Above is the blueprint I drew in Cadrail of the framework for the helix.
Above is the cutting pattern I drew up in Cadrail for the two different radius curves for the backbone helix.

I was able to draw cutting patterns in Cadrail and configured them to get the most cuts out of the 2 sheets of 4x8, 1/2" plywood I purchased. 

Here is an example drawing of how a backbone style of helix works.
The above drawing shows how a backbone helix works.  A train enters the helix on the lower level to the inside loop.  Each time the train loops around it passes from inner loop to outer loop then back to inner etc. till it reaches the upper level.  Each time the train reaches an outer loop it will be exposed so that the crew will see it.  Each outer loop will have scenery. 

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