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LordFattee

Adding a change in elevation to a layout

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Hello folks,

I've got a decent sized layout in my basement that I've been working on for the past year. My initial intent was to keep the whole layout roughly level (ie all track on the surface of the tables). Lately, I've been playing with the idea of having a section of one of my loops rise up as it moves out of town and into the country providing some increased visual interest to the layout. I have the room to keep the incline minimal (one plate per track section) and will only have a moderate rise of 6 bricks at the highest level of track.

My challenge is this: I don't want this to be an elevated track. I want the scenery to rise with the track, like the track is going up a gentle hill. Obviously, building the scenery isn't an issue, because that is what lego is all about, but how do I attach the track to the rising scenery? If the scenery is built on level (parallel with the table) and the track is on a slight incline, how can I keep the transition between landscape and track looking normal? How can I build the track bed so that the track doesn't have gaps underneath it between connection points? (Like the track is floating above the balast.) How have you done it, if you have? 

Can people with such an incline on your layout post pictures of what you've done? Maybe I'm over thinking this, but it has me a bit stumped. 

I think I now understand why most layouts either remain level, or use elevated track.

Thanks in advance for your help. 

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I have the immediate ballast attached to the track pieces, one stud wide beyond the sleepers (so 10 studs wide for a single track), simply placed between the table-parallel scenery which starts with more ballast (1 or 2 studs) - with such a minimal incline, it's hard to notice the difference, and where necessary to avoid gaps, placed another plate under the track ballast.

Granted, the track is "stretched" - slight gaps between track pieces so they align with the scenery every 16 studs -, but these are also hard to notice at only 0.04 mm per track piece.with a 1-plate incline (or 0.16 with 2-plate incline). That doesn't add that much to the usual Lego gap of 2*0.1 mm.

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Since its not that much of an incline, I would just place tiles and support under some ballasted track. 

I know that @Lowa from 4DBrix was working on a 3D printed set of pars that would incline the track but keep the sleepers level to the ground. You might message him about it either here or on his website. 

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Hi,

I know it is not exactly, what you are looking for, but TrixBrix.eu offers sets to elevate your tracks.

And Duncan from Dunksterbricks.com made a nice video about it which you find at his YouTube channel.

 

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Thanks for the responses guys. Good ideas. 

@cimddwc, I was afraid that what you suggested might be the best solution. As I was typing my question, I thought it might all come down to balast. I haven't even started balasting yet and have been hesitant to commit to it. As much as I love the way it looks, I can only see $$ when I think about it. But yeah, balast covers a myriad of sins. 

Also, reading your post, it sounds like you have both the raised track and the rising scenery attached to baseplates. Is that an accurate assumption? Keeping them both attached to the same baseplate is what will stretch the track, as you spoke of. I wasn't sure I was going to have baseplates under the risen track, but it sounds like I may need to do that, too. 

If only I had an infinite supply of the bricks I need...the eternal Lego problem!

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Correctly assumed, yes. The track needs to be aligned to studs anyway when it's horizontal again (on the higher level), makes a 90° turn and has to fit in with more scenery and houses...

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If you don't want to ballast the track you should still be able to make it work. The track sections are sturdy enough, or you could experiment with green plates attached to the track and bounded by plates on the side to hide the gaps. With two layers of plates on the edge of the track and one layer of plates on the ground you should be able to both have a crack free incline (except the unavoidable small extra gap at the the rail joints) and a constant increase in elevation from the ground to the track as you move across the track.

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I may be a little too late with answers
but on this link you can see how I started building
of landscape between tracks

it starts with the raising of the tracks

https://legotreinforum.forum2go.nl/nieuwe-eigen-layout-new-personal-layout-patje-t2888-270.html

then build the landscapes between the tracks

https://legotreinforum.forum2go.nl/nieuwe-eigen-layout-new-personal-layout-patje-t2888-285.html

https://legotreinforum.forum2go.nl/nieuwe-eigen-layout-new-personal-layout-patje-t2888-300.html

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=568260

I hope I could help you

 

 

Edited by patje

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