Benchwork at SVL

Some of our benchwork is a combination of a small number of modules from our earlier layout and a small amount of traditional wooden benchwork. Here you can see one of our members working on the lower level near where the mainline begins the climb toward the helix:

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Steel Strut Benchwork

The vast majority of SVL, however, is built using a combination of steel strut and plywood box construction. Our club has developed a technique which combines prefabricated C-channel structural components with traditional wood construction.

Click here to learn more about steel strut benchwork.

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Building the Helix

Here's a detailed explanation of helix construction continuing from David Griffy’s LDSIG presentation, the next four pages show the construction of our Helix. We used a combination of metal C-channel strut, threaded rod, and laminated plywood sections to connect the upper and lower levels of the railroad.

Click here to see how (and how not) to build a helix.

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A Movable Staging Yard: The MegaDrawer

Eric Eggel is one of our more productive members when it comes to getting things done at SVL. Using the C-Channel components, and a healthy dose of creativity, Eric built a movable staging yard which allowed the club to drasticallly expand our staging yard capacity.

Click here to read about the MegaDrawer

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