Helix remodel

You know people say, that if you do not make mistakes you are not learning or trying. Well I learned alot.

   My helix has given me constant fits!! So I decided to rip up all the track. I am even removing the cork too. I had used a acrylic based adhesive caulk for laying my track,, worked really well, to the point of making it a royal pain in the rear to remove.

   The reason for track removal, is because when I had laid the track I put the adjustable ( sliding) rail on the outside. Which makes the gauge too wide. Yay me for being stoopid. Well now I am going to fix it! only been a couple of years dealing with the PITA. 

     When I started the deconstruction of the helix I thought I would be able to save the track.  I guess I was naive in thinking that. Nope, no way, ain't going to do it,,,etc. So,, I decided to remove everything, say goodbye mr track and mr cork, Bye Bye. Which is not too bad,, the helix takes about 27 pieces of track. Minus the 3 on top,, and about 5 pieces I saved,, not too bad. I need to get the other helix built also. 

     I used a couple different tools for the removal process. Putty knife,,nope. Xacto chisel blade,,,no way. 16" floating knife, used in taping and bedding sheetrock, that no workie either. Finally I decided to use a 1 1/2" chisel. Nice and sharp is the key here. An easy touch, and BLAMMO the track and cork come off easy. Which leaves me with less work to do with a sander to make it all smooth.

   

Here you can see the tie imprint in the caulk,,note to self,, don't use that much next time.!!!

 When I was cutting out the roadbed for the helix, I made sure I had centerlines for the cork. As you can see they are still there which will make the track re-laying easy peasy

      After I get all the roadbed up, I plan on sanding the plywood roadbed smooth to get rid of any remaining glue and or cork. When I get the new track laid, I will post some more pictures and also a video of the first train using the new helix.

Anyways,, that is all for now. 

 See Ya,  Greg