Success with the Ladder Railbed
Previously I've talked about some of the challenges I faced once I settled on using a raised ladder railbed. I had to try several different approaches until I came up with a method that consistently gave me the desired curvature. This again came for a hint I got from Ron at O Scale Trains By Ron . Instead of trying to form the railbed and then attach the track to it, I would use the track to help form the shape. For someone trained as a theoretician, this was far from my wheelhouse. But as someone who wanted to run trains in the yard, it was a godsend. Finally, I was making progress with the railbed. It still took some time for me to get the technique down and there were times when it still didn't quite work out but I was definitely approaching success (asymptotically for those with a math bend). The idea is straightforward. Start with attaching a spacer to one of the girders several inches in from the end. The spacer should be aligned with one of the ties on the track, p...