Up the Hill (Benchwork and Subroadbed)

This holiday season marks the fifth year of construction for the Cascade Subdivision railroad, and a project started many years ago has eluded my attention since: completing the track work to Klamath Falls. I originally constructed the spline roadbed in year two, however neglected completing the project for whatever reason. As Oakridge and the rest of the lower deck await scenery, it is time to bring the rest of the line up to speed.

The rebuilt benchwork at the railroad entrance to support the duck-under and lift-out sections. This in-your-face scene promises to be a great welcome to mountain railroading. 

The first mini project in this larger construction effort was rebuilding some of the benchwork at the top of the helix and the duck-under. I am really excited about this scene as it is the first one sees when entering the railroad, but had just installed "temporary" benchwork that I knew I had to modify when I was serious about construction. This rebuild can be seen in the above photo where I moved the led most joist on the middle level to the left ~5-6" to meet up with the 2x2" leg that supports the lower level liftout and the duck-under. The cross brace ties this new construction into the rest of the benchwork. 

Above: First two layers of spline roadbed clamped in place at the entrance to the railroad.

Next, I went straight into spline construction. As I have documented before, I laminate my splines before installing permanent risers so began by fitting the first two layers of spline before adding subsequently throughout the day, building up to 7 layers. Spline roadbed construction might be one of my favorite parts of building this railroad!

Above: Risers installed at Tunnel 4 just on the other side of the peninsula from Summit

As the glue for the spline dried I turned my attention to completing the installation of the spline roadbed up the rest of the hill. The spline itself was already built, but I had not got to installing the risers or securing the roadbed. I use 1x3 for the risers themselves, and work my way down the hill measuring and installing 4-5 risers at a time. 

Roadbed over Noisy Creek with two covered hoppers in place over the future trestle.

The spline is then attached to the risers with screws. This process solidifies the benchwork significantly. After everything is attached, the top of the spline is prepped for track by running a plane and sanding block over the top to smooth out any imperfections. Wiring and track is soon to follow!

Spline at the entrance to the railroad. This was the last stretch of roadbed to be installed on the railroad completing the major structural elements of the benchwork. 

Spline roadbed leaving Fields heading towards Tunnels 12, 10, and 9. Tunnels 9 and 10 bookend Noisy Creek Trestle. Fields is the last bit of respite (1.25% grade) before the steep push to Summit.