New DC test track

Since late 2019 I have had no DC test track.  This layout, using DCC circuit breakers is DCC only except for running a DC loco on address 00.  This has not been an issue as most of my needs for testing DC equipment is prior to a show and there just hasn't been any since the pandemic started.  I have thought of making a DC test track that would slide out like a drawer from under some part of the layout or hinge up or down.  Then recently I had a need for a DC test track when a friend asked me to repair one of his DC locomotives.  So I looked around my shop and using a scrap of peg board, some stiffing rails and a few C clamps threw together the setup seen below.

After finishing the loco repair I realized that I had been overthinking the design and had a good solution right in front of me.  The peg board got cut down to 24" X 30".  Then the railing material was cut to size to frame the edges of the peg board.  A groove was cut lengthwise on the inside edge for the peg board to slip into and the pieces were glued together.   This made for a sturdy enough board that could be placed on a box, or as in the photo below on a pair of modules in storage.

The Kato power pack I am using for this test track will be stored seperately so it is not attached to the board.  A frame of strips glued to the board will keep it from sliding around.  One hole was enlarged on the board to be big enough for the adapter plug to feed through and the track connector comes through another hole.

That wire to the track is secured to the bottom board by feeding it through a tube that is held to the board with adhesive.

When not in use, the test track fits along part of the short wall that the supports the helix.

Near disaster in the canyon

Awhile back I had been switching the trains over the from the 1989-1996 to the 1975-1982 era, running each new train around the layout as I did.  The U30C / U25B consist was westbound on the SP line when the U30C derailed on the curve in the most recently completed area of the layout coming to rest near the steel viaduct and almost fell off the edge of the world.

After a bit of testing I was able to determine that the inside rail in that curve had a spot where it dipped rather abruptly.  I used a set of trucks on an empty frame that would freely roll to see exactly where the derailment was starting and then confirmed the dip with a small bubble level.  This was all checked when I laid the track and it was on then.   I suspect that while finishing some of the scenery toward the rear of this area I must have placed some of my weight on the track near the front edge.  The rail was not bent, just pushed down in relation to the rear rail.  The U30C is one of the locomotives that I had installed low profile wheels on and the shallower flange slipped out over the dipped section of the rail more easily than a deep flange would have.

The problem was solved by soaking the area with water to soften the glue and ballast, then raising the outside rail and placing a shim of .010 styrene strip under the ties. 

The ballast was touched up and the area again re-soaked with a 50/50 white glue / water solution.   A re-check of the entire area with my small bubble level showed everything was now within tolerance.