Harry Chuck is correct that the layout you saw photos of is Jim Pitts' track. I also used Trex when I tore out my "plywood dragon". Mine was built before Jim's; his is much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I did not put any trim on the edges, so you get to see the end of every 5/4 x 6. Even with 24 foot radius curves, I ended up cutting "pie wedges" to keep the open space between pieces fairly uniform and narrow. Unfortunately that meant running about 850 32" pieces of Trex through my table saw in the long dimension. Hurrah for carbide blades. The last batch of Winchester Grey Trex cost me about $22.50 for each 5/4in x 16 ft piece. It isn't cheap... unless you find a professional deck builder that would let you have his scraps at a fraction of the actual cost. I have had mine out in the weather for two to three years and will swear by it. The stuff can't rot; doesn't soak up water; is pretty stable over wide temperature ranges; holds screws well, especially if pre-drilled; and best of all... is reasonably fire-resistant even if you light a puddle of alcohol.
BTW, I think Jim had a deck builder do his structure and he added the railroad on top. Probably cost more money, but gave him time to actually do track work. When I replaced my original track, I spent 30-40 hours a week from mid-May to mid-September just putting up the new structure. I then had to try to relay as much of my track as I could over the next month before my Fall steamup. The 560 ft circuit and 2000 ft of track on the I E & W Ry has prompted me to advise one and all: Design it for what you would like... then shrink it down to where you can maintain it by yourself and still have time to enjoy the rest of the hobby. I didn't really do that... and am paying the price. Regards Jim Stapleton Purcellville VA ============= At 05:07 PM 02/08/2003 -0500, you wrote: >Harry, > >Jim Pitts track. There is a picture of it on the back cover of SitG number >68 and here is a link to it on Southern Steam Trains website. >http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/gallery02/willjimcoalfired02-1027.jpg > >Also check issue 67 of SitG for an article on building a raised layout. The >Trex could be substituted for the regular deck boards the author used quite >easily. > >Chuck
