From the Desk of Lewis Polk A Demo/Test Layout for Our Headquarters
Dear AristoNauts,
We’ve had a layout for several years and each Spring it has taken a major re-building to level the track, so that we can use it as our demo/test track. At the East Coast Large Scale Hobby Show we saw a system by Mainline Enterprise that promised a “trouble free” and “care free” layout and we were intrigued. The concept is that the roadbed is assembled much like a toy “Brio” set, so we felt we could handle that. The track is then anchored to the ground using 3/4” PVC piping available at any hardware/DIY type stores and the pipes are hammered into the ground to a depth of 18”. This means that the track that is screwed to the pipe will remain level as it’s fixed below the frost line here. The usual 8” trench filled with a gravel of some sort tends to fill with water in the winter and then freeze heaving the track into a new shape. There is no trench here and the PVC pipes don’t move at all. The roadbed sits on the ground or just slightly above and is back filled to look like it’s sitting on the ground, so at most in the Spring all you have to do is back fill some more. The PVC is strong and will not warp in heat or cold and though the white color is a little offsetting at first, the fact is that this is a system that isn’t seen anymore once it’s installed. The exposed portion of the roadbed is sprayed a medium gray color and some light gravel can be added to simulate a true graveled track system. Trestles that are pre-made are available and easy to install and grades are managed with a clever level that can allow you to be consistent with any grade required. We started with a flat piece of land and purchased about 15 yards of topsoil that was shoveled into place after the roadbed was installed. We had also purchased some overpass culverts, a tunnel and tunnel portals and covered the tunnel with some of the purchased top soil. We had used some artificial fiberglass waterfalls before, but this time we dug them into the ground for a more natural look. We decided to use artificial plants as this layout is our day job and we would not have time on weekends to be gardeners here. Actually, we had done this before and silk flowers hold up very well out of doors and we used our own fir trees this time and will add some more silk flowers as we progress. It’s not quite done yet, but trains are a running and the perfect roadbed system means the testing of our trains is valid. We will try to run two different trains all day and sometimes all week to check the durability of our product and we will run new items for a month when we have engineering samples. Mainline Enterprise’s system did what they advertised it would do and the installation was only 3 days with 4 people. We used no skilled labor and of course we used our own stainless steel track, which will last as long as the layout does and without maintenance as well. We want to test our Aristo-Craft trains and run continually without cleaning or maintaining track. We did not want to hire landscapers or installation people and we did want to do this quickly. We can attest that this happened and we will give you an after next winter review this time next year.
All the best, Lewis Follow-Up One Year Later: The only thing that was done in preparation for using the layout after one year was to hose off the track. The layout was then ready for action.
Reprinted by permission from the June 2005 issue of the SEPGRS Newsletter (http://www.sepgrs.com/documents/newsletter_05-06.pdf) | 
