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The S-Scale Royal Palm & Loxahatchee Central

2005-2006 Refurbishment

Side view of the connector pockets for two modules

These modules have been in use since 2002. The original design used sections of track laid into a depression (pocket) which was carved by hand. Over the years the modules have warped somewhat and the subroadbed has swelled and become bumpy. The joiner sections have suffered damage during storage, set up and tear down of the railroad.

The modified design includes new pockets which were cut with a router. The interior of the pockets is Homasote. That material tends to change dimensions as the humidity changes. Here you can see that a coat of latex paint has been applied to greatly reduce the swelling and shrinking.

Here is an end view of the same pocket.

You can see that the rails are cut flush with the end of the pocket and that the inside of the pocket has vertical walls. A router guide was made to help control the tool and to standardize the size of all pockets.