First Run

The ceiling hangers missing from the first delivery arrived two weeks later.

The original plan called for ten hangers assuming I would need either a wall bracket or hanger every 4-6 feet. I had already replaced one hanger with a wall bracket and I was coming to the conclusion that this road bed didn't need that much support. So, I ended putting in just two of the ceiling hangers where I knew I had problems. This was in the sunroom.

The track was already laid and I had to unbolt and then rebolt two sections of the roadbed to slip the hangers on. Given the weight of the road bed and the tension under which they are fastened, this isn't a task you take on lightly. But all in all, it took about an hour to install both hangers. You can see them on the right side of this picture.

I was anxious to get a train running, so I wired the layout as simply as I could. I'll be using LGBs Multi-Train System (MTS) on this layout. In the long run, this will save me a lot of wiring since power for the locomotive, the turnouts, and even the lights along the way can be transmitted through the rails. And, using MTS, signals to control the turnouts and the lights can also be distributed through the rails.

Eventually the power supplies and other MTS modules will be hidden under the buildings at the center of the layout. For this first run, I just set them on top of a nearby bookcase. The layout has two reversing sections so that trains can turn and run in both directions, but for this test I "hard wired" the reversing section on the main line to the rest of the main line. So, I could only run a train in one direction. (The LGB modules for the reversing sections are currently in short supply.)

I started with one locomotive on the track--it's one of two that I have converted to MTS operation so far. I followed it around the layout, cleaning track and tightening connections as I went. I checked clearances and looked for sections that sagged too much under the weight of the engine.

Everything was rock solid. The road bed didn't budge, even as the locomotive crossed the ten-foot span over the sunroom. The foam strips worked wonderfully, too. All you could hear was the clickety-clack of the wheels as they rolled over the track joints.

After the successful maiden voyage of the locomotive, I unboxed seven freight cars from the garage and put them on the track. Then I sat back and watched the train wind its way around the layout...

Over the deck plate bridge on the kitchen side...

Around the perimeter of the sunroom...

And back to the village over the dining room.

The next step is to get the reversing loops and turnouts operational.

Click here for roadbed installation pictures.

Click here for before and after shots of the entire layout.

Click here for a look at the track laying technique.