The WWSL
My history with sectional construction can be found at Modular-vs-Sectional Design.
The WWSL is composed of sectional benchwork -
movable in case I have to disassemble the layout and get it back up and
running quickly in a new location. The sections are fairly sturdy. This
type of construction does not lend itself to hidden seams in the
backdrop, or fascia or the roadbed. While I make some effort to hide seams, it is not a
major consideration.
The WWSL section is essentially a two inch piece of styrofoam glued to a 1/8th inch of masonite with wood glue. A twenty four inch 2" x 2" piece of lumber is screwed and glued into the masonite panel on 2 foot centers. Two 1"x 3"s are then screwed onto the 2" x 2"along the outer edges of the section. The styrofoam, the masonite, the 2" x 2"s and the 1"x3" gives approximately 4 inches of downward dropping scenery potential.
I'm recycling 16 WWSL 2.0 sections to the new
version. I've found these new sections much easier to built, carry and
install on the layout.
Section size. Here are some thoughts about section size.
- The pieces must be small enough to fit through a door and
around corners. My layout has an entrance/exit directly outside. There is no going around corners. I did install a removable post for ease in moving the sections up the stairs and redesigned the simple bannister for eas removal.
- The pieces must be light enough that you can carry them. The use of extruded styrofoam has made these units easily manageable.
- Although you want manageable size sections, you want them
large enough that you don’t have too many pieces. I've opted for 2 foot x 8 foot sections. I do have a half dozen 4 foot, 5 foot sections as exceptions to the rule (filling in the length of the north and south walls, waterways, peninsula ends, etc).
- Rail joints are a major consideration. There must be a plan for hardening rail joints at section joints, particularly angled tracks and curves.
- Bench work, plywood sub-roadbed, track, and the scenery base must have joints at the section ends.You don’t want to be going in with a saw later!
- Waterways such as rivers and lakes won’t look particularly good if you have a section joint crossing them.Same for roads.
- Wiring that crosses a joint must be cut out unless you plan ahead.
Tools Used. See 11.2.1 for the benchwork tools I used during construction.
Material List
For a standard 2 ' x 8' section you need the following materials
- 1 - 2 foot wide x 8 foot long tempered masonite panel (I get the local home improvement store to rip panels for me - they end up a half blade width short in the width but thats ok
- 1 - 2 inch thick x 2 foot wide x 8 foot long extruded styrofoam panel. (I got the panels at the local
home improvement store and ripped the panels in the parking lot to load in my Honda CRV. A common yardstick, a Sharpie Marker and a drywall knife did the job reasonably well.)
- 5 - 2 inch x 2 inch x 24 inch framing members (I used my table saw to rip standard 2 inch x 4 inch x 8 foot dimentional lumber). I found home improvement store 2x2's too small in dimensions for what I wanted, but it could work for shelf layout sections.
- 2 - 1 inch x 3 inch x 8 foot dimensional lumber.
- Yellow wood glue or industrial panel adhesive. (I used yellow wood glue on the WWSL ver 2.0 sections. Of 16 sections only two delaminated over 25 years .... and that was because I did NOT spread the glue out sufficiently and a sizable section did not get adequate coverage.) DAP Panel and Foam or Liquid Nail are two other alternatives railroad modelers have used successfully. I dont have any real experience with those adhesives.
- 20 - 1 1/4 inch deck screws
- 10 clamps - I've used a number of different types over the years.
- White paint (optional)
- Landscape Colored paint (optional)
- 4 - 9/32 inch brass or aluminum tubing cut to thickness of of 2 inch x 2 inch framing member (I use K&S tubing and cut it to length with a plumbing tube cutter).
- 4 - 1/4 inch x 4 inch bolts
- 4 - 1/4 inch washers
- 4 - 1/4 inch wing nuts. Wing nuts are easier to tighten or loosen when you can't seen under the section during assembly.
- Miscellaneous weights
Preparation Phase
I was fortunate that I made the decision to build the benchwork first, and then had sections that were rather easy to recycle. Having benchwork already built gave me space to paint and store the masonite and extruded styrofoam panels, etc.
- Cut the dimensional lumber to size.
- Cut the masonite panels to size.
- Cut the extruded styrofoam panels to size.
- (Optional) Paint one side of the masonite panel white (to provide additional reflection of the lighting system.
- Assemble the material.
- One 2" x 2" glued and clamped on the end of the masonite panel on the painted side.
- After clamping, screw the masonite panel to the 2" x 2". Glue clamp and screw all the remaining 2" x 2"s glued at 24 inches on center between the end studs.
- Flip the module over and assemble the two 1"x3"s on the studs on each long edge of the section.
- Use acrylic panel adhesive or yellow woodworkers glue to secure the styrofoam panel to the masonite.
- I
used a variety of clamps to secure the perimeter of the styrofoam to
the masonite. Squeeze clamps do a better job of preventing the panel from shifting
during the drying process. Putting weights along the middle of the panel also helps adhesion of the styrofoam to the masonite. I used recycled paint cans with gravel for weights.
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| 7. Corner Attachment Point |
7. If the section is to connect to another panel at a 90 degree angle, cut a 2" x 2" to fit and glue onto the appropriate location.
Electrical.
8. Since you have the section separate from the benchwork, it makes sense to install the Electrical Bus Wires. I am using DCC (see 6.0 Electrical and Train Control for additional details). This requires two Bus Lines to be located and installed on the module, and, if the section has operating signals, scenic or structural lighting, etc., an Accessory Bus Line will be required.
The Primary Bus Line is located and installed 6 inches from the back of the section. The Secondary Bus Line is generally located and installed along the center line of the section. This may vary depending on the track arrangement on the layout. The Accessory Bus Line would be located as required.
Painting the roadway.
9. Once the section was installed on the benchwork, I painted the top surface my layout soil color. I find that painting the foam serves two purposes: first, it gives a degree of completeness to the layout room that unpainted foam doesn't provide, and second, the painted surface makes it easier to layout the track plan (see 4.2.1 Putting down layout lines).
Installing the section on the benchwork
10. The completed panel is placed on the benchwork and secured. I originally planned to use lag screws to secure the sections to the L-girders. Then I thought about the pain in the butt it would be to 1) find and 2) unscrew the section if i needed to remove it. Instead I use 2 inch squeeze clamps at the 4 corners of the section to clamp it to the 1"x3" horizontal L-girder member. I got the clamps at Home Depot for 99 cents each. The clamps make it easy to install and uninstall.
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Joining sections together
11. Sections should be joined together to pevent shifting and the resulting issues of misaligned track and scenery. I used 1/4" threaded bolts to secure modules together. The section ends were aligned and clamped together, then two 9/32" holes were drilled thru the 2" x 2"s. Two 9/32" brass bushing tube are slipped into the holes. I use a small amount of Gorilla Glue to bond the tubes into the end plates. The 1/4" threaded bolts are then inserted and tightened. You can use a nut and washer, or thumbscrew and washer if you wish. I use wing nuts. Finger tight will keep them together. A friend of mine never got past using C-clamps to secure his modules.
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Bushings and bolts |
Clamped and drilled |
Final join |
Alternate section construction
I also have an alternate ver. 3 section for those areas with major waterways. Instead of using the two 1x3 girders on the bottom of the section, I need a solid bottom on the section for the riverbed. The 1x3 girders are replaced by a 2 foot by 8 foot piece of plywood 3/4 inches thick. The plywood makes the section much heavier, but the plywood strength makes the riverbed construction easier and less subject to damage due to twisting during movement.
The two ends of the section are cut out to permit attachment of the section electrical connectors, the section interface bolts and the clamps to hold the section to the benchwork.
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| Alternate section for river scenes |
The remainder of the section is built per WWSL construction standards.See the Satsop River Bridge section, the Polson Canyon section or the North River Bridge section for additional details.
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