Helix construction for the Sayrehurst Secondary
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Episode 14
Join us while we construct the mini-Helix to connect the return loop to Lakehurst in preparation for construction of the mainline on the Sayrehurst Secondary N scale model railroad.
Outstanding Explanation. Your camera work is also very well done.
Thank you Sir and thanks for watching!
Joe, great job, great video, great helix
Thank you sir and thanks for watching!
Excellent bud !!! Si nice Bro n thank u so much 4 thiz' video
Thanks for watching!
Love it! Thanks again for all the detailed construction details. I'm learning more with each and every video. 😊
Awesome, I’m glad you find the channel and are gaining information.
Very helpful. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the blow by blow video Joe. I’m about to build a 16 level helix with double track and exit points to four levels. I’m going to use the method you described here but I want to keep my grade at 2% max. Your video has given me some great ideas and your “what not to do” comments will help avoid some of the issues you had. 6 years down the track, I’d be interested to see how your helix has stood up to the riggers of time and use. Thanks again Joe - cheers, Bruce
Thats Great! Make sure you watch the video on my channel about the big helix. I personally think the big helix came together much better, because of what I loved on this build. If you have any question feel free to contact me. Thanks for watching.
Got my covid vaccine yesterday...was just sitting here thinking about how to make my polar xpress diorama, turned on TH-cam and this video was in my recommendations... coincidence?
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the excellent video. First time I've run across a full helix build presented so concisely. Truly appreciate the learning points you shared about what you'd do different and the first to learning attempts.
Made a helix the same way using threaded rods except there was a 1/2" thick by 3/4" wide by 7" long floaters that had the threaded rods on either end go through and the helix bed went on top of them. They "floated" their not yet attached to rail bed as the helix progressed so adjustments could be made and when it looked good was then glued into place. That way the rods remained straight. This was for a two track helix though and it worked great. Enjoy your video's, keep up the great job and your layout looks fantastic. Your wire job is very good and I've learned something. Thanks!!!
When I made my HO helixes (3), I used gauge blocks set at the correct spacing between the levels, and notched to clear the track, to adjust the height of the next level above it. Made it easier keeping the grade consistent as you go. Also trying to keep the threaded rods vertical while the plywood is at an angle isn't easy, and having the washers and nuts try to grab the plywood at an angle is hard to keep the grade consistent. I used notched 1x2 stock, cut on a table saw, to space the layers evenly, so they mounted perpendicular to the plywood the whole way up. I sized them to just go between a lower level and the next one up, and used quite a few for strength. You end up with a angled look to your supports, but it is really sturdy, and is supported by the first layers base bracing. Using the threaded rod method like you do requires oval holes or larger diameter holes than the rod to compensate for the sloped grade of the plywood intersecting the threaded rod and wedges and oversized washers if you want to keep the threaded rod vertical but still clamp on the angled plywood with the washers and nuts. Other wise you get the bent threaded rod look you ended up with and all the troubles you mentioned that had you build the helix 3 times. Being mindful of your car lengths and their overhang depending on the tight radius you pick for the trackwork is critical as you found out. But since part of this hobby is the great learning we get from it, it is great you tried it yourself and learned a few things along the way. Great video series.
Thank you! I wasn’t to sure of myself when building these, and thought this was the easier method....I was wrong. Definitely should have built them like you said. New layout for sure. I did find that going up each level made it difficult to keep the rods plumb. Thanks for watching.
thank you for sharing the video as great watch how did build of helixes
Thank you for watching.
Joe,
Great video. Always interesting following your solutions. Although I myself use European stuff (being from Sweden) you are a true source of inspiration.
Thank you for the good words! Glad your following along.
Very nice video. I am always looking for these "how to" videos to get me started when I need to tackle a project like that. Great job.
Great job - well done. A very cute assistant engineer too.
Thanks Ken she is really starting to get into it. And I am not pushing her! lol.
Great channel, very informative across all scales.
Great video. I totally understand building the helix yourself. The design and construction is the fun part for me. BTW, the reason your all-thread began to bend is because you used flat washers. You cannot use flat washers on an incline. When you tighten them up they try to flatten the roadbed which is at an angle. Since the roadbed can't move it bends the rod and the bend get worse as you add layers to the helix. The easiest fix is to add a small piece of wood, wedge, under the washer on the lower side of the washer which keeps the washer flat and the rod straight. Again, great job.
tnsoftailrider that's something I never thought of! Thanks!!! I will try to incorporate that in my big helix.
Joe great Video - this series has me bursting with ideas and inspiration - keep up the good work :)
Joe, great video! I totally understand you wanting to build the helix yourself. Nice work!
comming along great man i cant wait to see freehold thats where i grew up. hey mistakes get made and thats how we learn i did my helex 2 times and still have a few probs but it functions think i got the start of it a little wrong well thank god no derailments. benn following for a while and i really like the work and thanks for sharring your layout its awsome bro
Thanks... I hope Freehold will hold up to your expectations. I had originally planned to model the area on Main Street around the train station and Throckmorten St (522). Unfortunately I had to cut out Main St, because of space:(
BTW the lumber yard.....what was it called before it was builders general? Iwas at the fire, but I can't remember, and of course I can't find it on the Internet.
Hi Joe, really enjoying seeing your layout develop. Probably way too late for you now, but I saw somewhere a suggestion that used a drill with a rubber sleeve over the bit to speed up getting the nuts on the rods. You just have to hold it against the side of the nut. Cheers, Nick
That's great Nick I will definitely will try that on the big helix. Thanks!
Wow... talk about a labor of love LOL. Good tips, love helix, think they're neat. Not sure if the design I'm coming up with will allow for one. Still trying to 'scheme' a reason to include one. Great job
echo arty thanks glad you enjoyed
Great job and nice video. I did see a couple of nuts that needed to be ran up tight. 12:04 lower center-12:07 far right bottom first level up and far left 2nd level up- 12:38 far right 1st level. Not trying to be picky, just helpful with over 200 nuts it is easy to miss a few. I also see that you probably had some distractions with the "little engineer". Start them young. Looking good and enjoyed the video.
Yes thank you I noticed them when I was editing (lol). Thank you for the encouragement.
you are correct cut and stack all your wood and drill as a group. Use rubber O-rings between your flat washers and the wood - It will compress to the angle. Make the ends of your roadbed the wide area and put your threaded rod through both your roadbed and slice plate- place the hole for the rod on one side of the joint. Add a single threaded rod on the out side in the middle of your roadbed piece - 2 times the number of rods on outside as the number of rods on the inside.
Ed Davis thanks for watching
Hi Joe
it looks good to me
Great work great video
And very cute little helper glad she has some interest in the hobby not all girls do or boys
Here's a idea to run the nuts down faster a small drum sander that fits in drill and big rubber band or even better a vacuum belt place belt over nut and drum sander or I gues anything round might work that you can get a belt or belt type looking item on also a socket would would on the nut and with a vacuum belt pull and hold tight cause of slipping
Just a few ideas
Rodney
thank you for sharing.
NP glad you enjoyed!
Wow, fantastic job! Lots of careful work. Guess this is the way it has to go. Until somebody come up with something to replace a Helix. :)
3/4" plywood is the way to go. Depending on your humidity anything less than that will bow. I found that out the hard way.
Not if you seal it properly. 3/4" is way overkill for N scale BTW. And if you think 3/4" plywood can't warp...
Thanks!
I've been planning a helix and I want to make it look as real as possible. I just wanted to share a few ideas. My design will use threaded rods as well. The rods will support bridge girders and the plywood bridge will rest on these. I plan to recess the nuts and washers and cover the threaded rod. I also plan to coat the girders with very fine sand to simulate concrete. I thought about using pylons on the bottom
tier and possibly between tiers if I use offset girders and offset the bridge on each turn.
Brian Rayner neat concept, I would like to see how it comes out.
Enjoyed watching your video on making this. I like your idea of having straight edges on the inside of the helix - I hate cutting curves too. However, wouldn't it have been simpler to predrill every section to guarantee rod alignment? I guess if you used flat steel braces instead of drilling through the wood a lot of the rod distortion would have been mitigated. Just a thought, since I'll be designing one of these things in the near future.
Yes I agree! I learned so much making these helixs and have gotten so many great suggestions. Now I will know for the next layout!
You cut a curved in the outside, why not the inside?
because I needed more room for the threaded rods on the inside. I found when the inside was curved the rods were to close and the long cars were getting caught. Also, I still want enough room to reach up inside for maintenance and derailments.
I am wondering whether you speed up when train goes up helix or just maintain normal speed thank you for sharing btw!
I may add some throttle for the climb if it is a heavy train, to avoid stalling. But what I have learned over the last couple of years, SPEED KILLS IN THE HELIX. If you get to impatient and try to run a heavy (long) train at a higher speed to traverse the helix quickly, you WILL string line the train and you will be cleaning up for the next 30mins, and/or damage freight cars. Running up the helix you learn to appreciate train handling and what the real railroaders for through. Great question, thanks for watching!
if you use spacers between the decks you only have a nut on the bottom and the last row and it can be adjusted simple
l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpUeQmLKGJ-k%26t%3D94s&h=ATP7R72yNnMFwfMFqYDUKcLemsibyu6phfyd4ytDaHE4OTvPOS1daRuFaOXRZ5xW9fv4CwLeHuMbcAWqYygy6pfaHSeI1nnDptmrpRDo-h75CEiX&s=1
Have you had any problems moving trains from lower to upper ....loosing traction?
Loosing traction no. I can usually pull 20 cars with 3, 4 axel locomotives. Some 6 axel locomotives have issues going up. Specifically the newer larger model one like the 70 and 80 MAC’s.
After all these years, how did the helix work out?
It’s working out great! I wish I had made it an oval like the big helix. Then I could have gotten bigger trains up easier! Thanks for watching
That was awesome!!!! Why can u cut each level into a solid circle then cut it so each level hooks up only once instead of 4 times each level? Then u would have 4 or 5 connecting points in whole helix? But great job!! I'd rather build it too than buy it!! Smart move!!! Thanks for the great video!!
I tried cutting a circle and fitting it over the rods but wasn’t successful with get it to line up properly. I found that this method allowed me the make adjustments as I built it. Thanks for watching.
Helical track can look so ugly, you've done great job but unless it's cut by a cnc machine to get the tolerances and angles right, it just looks so makeshift, this is the third type I've seen, just don't feel I can fit it or maintenance it to a layout.
I see the point of it to get the fiddle yard away from the scenery and allow the illusion of one way track instead of a loop. Really don't want to go through the scenery more than once.
Thanks for watching. Yes I agree no matter how much you try it does still come out a little imperfect. Fortunately my helixes are hidden behind the fascia, and eventually curtains.
I know this will add cost to your project but how about taking tubing and cutting them all the same length and put them in between the levels, still using washers and nuts. I would think it would make it easier plus tightening them at that point would make it easier I would think.
Easy for me to say because I've never done this but why not just cut four rings from the plywood with a sabresaw then cut the rings into sections just like track?
Hi Joe, I don't think the threaded rod is a good method for the helix, a better method is to use wood blocks glued and pin nailed to the plywood road base as supports, it is much easier and you would not have had the issue of the helix leaning.
Hello
I want to build an N Scale layout and I have two major questions
1 - is there a kit or a plan for building a Helcoil for N Scale
2 - what is the rise and run for up hill slopes
Thanks
James
Wow sorry I missed this comment. There are no plans per-say. However the are a lot of articles written on a helix. The grade on this helix is 1.8% with a 13” radius curve. Thanks for watching!
I'm just planning my N-scale and considering using a helix, what is your vertical rise and do you have a pattern for the quarter turn sections to maximise how many y0u got from a single sheet of plywood?
Also did you stagger the rail ends (inner/outer), I saw another video that recommended doing that.
+Edward Sargent My vertical rise was 13 inches. As for the sections I used a piece of cardboard to make a template for the first level. Then I just used those sections to cut the ones above it. I numbered the first level 1-4 and used those to lay out the pattern on the plywood, to maximize the material. I did not stagger the ends of the rails, I simply left the last 6 inches or so straight, cut them and then soldered the track together. Then I manipulated the flex track into position. Then I checked the track gauge using a NMRA gauge, and filed the soldered connections, when nessary. This way work out pretty good, I have not had any trouble so far, except the front truck on my KATO SD70-MAC wants to lift up out of the curve. None of my other locomotives have any problems, even my SD80-MACs. So I believe the wheels might be out of gauge. Hope this helps.
I had absolutely no idea that companies made helix kits. What manufactures make them? I've been stressing on how I was going make them with little instructions.
Flash Ashland make a pretty good kit. Looks well made, but they are out of stock.
www.ashlintrains.com/helix-elevation-kit-n-scale-2015-free-u-s-shipping/
There is a few other manufactures out there I'm sure.
+Central Jersey Conrail in N Scale wow okay yea I just found a place called easy helix they look good but still a bit skeptical about it all. I'll have to do a bit more research. Thanks though !
Can you tell me who that cool jazzy music is by ? And album and song?
Davey Crockett the music during the construction scene is from CantonBeckersound.com It is a royalty free music, there is no album. Go check them out great stuff. The opening and closing music is from my Corel editing software, which I use as part of my license. Thanks for watching.
just watched i was just wondering how tall is it because im planing 2 myself and it does not seem right to me
Is this ho scale
No its N scale. thanks for watching!
How many hours did it take you ?
Dave Oliverio I didn't record hours sorry. It took about 3 weeks working about three days a week, if that helps
Thanks. Great video. However, not my cup of tea. I don't think that I'd ever have the patients to construct a helix like that. Surprised you have any hair left! Lol. :-)
Joe noticing your shirts in the vid are you a Fiery as well mate?
I was a volunteer. I reach my exempt in 2006.
pity you don't have a maccano set..you coulld of sat the steel on the nuts then used the wood
might of been ncer to use something that could cut a circle
you already have more subscribers than me and you haven't even run very many trains!
Great job!
But how do you do it?
Just trying to show everyone my way of model railroading. Glad you are following along and thanks for your support.
Brick Blockus
28"x 3.14 = 87.92, not 82.92
Rene Dirks thanks for watching
I want this type modal
18" radius
Thanks for watching!
@@centraljerseyconrailinnsca5676 looks good ..that was actually supposed to be a question