Track level

[Terry Toenges]

I can't remember if I ever posted this on here or not. This is a rolling track level that I made so I could tell where my track was level and where it wasn't. It came in handy when I was doing grades and bridges on my other layouts so I knew where the track actually leveled off and if the bridges were level. On my current layout, I added the wing so I wanted to see if the track stayed level when extending out on the wing. (I  did end up with bit of a dip.)
I don't even know if anyone makes a "level" car.
I used a Bachmann HO Bobber caboose (You could use any scale car to make one for whatever scale you have.) and a line level. The line level fit perfect on the caboose chassis.
I took the body off the caboose and glued the level to it. Before I glued it on, I used a regular level to make sure the table upon which I was working was level. I made sure the caboose chassis was level sitting on the table. I sat the line level on the chassis to make sure it would sit level. Then, I glued it on.
In the pic, the track has a little slant to it there.

[jward]

From my experience, most problems with trackwork come from track being out of level laterally, with one rail being higher than the other. This is a bog problem when the height of one rail relative to the other changes abruptly. Is that what the wings are for?

[Trainman203]

This is a pretty neat idea.  Sell it to micro mark.

[Terry Toenges]

Jeff - If you found a much smaller level to mount sideways it might work. I don't know.
As far as selling it, I'm not interested in that. I'm just putting it out there for someone else who might find a need for something like this and want to make one.
I always seem to have issues with focusing with this new fangled camera I bought. All these whistles and bells on it still don't help me take better pictures. I had an old on that I could just "point and shoot" and get good pics but it crashed on me. I bought a Casio EX-Z120 that has all kinds of different settings. Even if I put it on automatic, I have issues. These old hands getting shaky doesn't help either. I sat the cam on the board for this pic and it still came out blurry.

[Terry Toenges]

The "wing" I talked about is just the extra section I added on the layout. The part on the right.

[jward]

i wonder if the level could be mounted in such a way that it could pivot out to 90 degrees?

[Terry Toenges]

After you talked about the lateral problem, I wondered about some kind of pivot. I don't know how it could be kept stable enough to do that given that cars rock side to side.

[Terry Toenges]

This is how I'm redoing the layout. I have to add extra pieces of foam to extend the wing a few inches on the end and on the side. I plan on putting a turnout in the inner loop somewhere so I can work my turntable in there somewhere.

[WoundedBear]

This is a pretty neat idea.  Sell it to micro mark.

Micro-Mark is way ahead of you lol. Here is their Digital Mini Level. This thing is about 2.5" square, magnetic and very sensitive. Reads in degrees and percentage.

Here I am using it to level out the plexiglass that I am using for a pond surface. It is sensitive enough to detect lateral differences easily.



Sid

[Terry Toenges]

But can you pull it behind a loco and watch the bubble as it goes around the track?   You have to drag it by hand or you could mount it on a car. Of course you wouldn't be to see it from the top. You would have to bend down so you could see it from the side.

[Ken Clark]

  Terry

   I use a T level gauge, has 2 level gauge's mounted at right angles for grade and level of the track.
I will admit the first set up I had for On2&1/2 I laid a stretch of track which dropped 3/16" on one rail to see
if it would work, yes it did, neat to see the train drop to one side then return to level as it traversed   this section of
track.

  Ken C
   GWN

[Terry Toenges]

Ken - Thanks for the info. I just looked those up. I will get one of those. I had never seen one before and did not know something like that existed.
They are 2 1/4" long and 1 5/8" wide. The bobber chassis is 3" long and 1 1/8" wide. There would 1/4" on each side overhang. As long as a person got it perfectly centered, it could work on the bobber since the bobber is a solid frame and doesn't rock.

[Len]

If you can't find a 'bobber' to use for this, the 4-wheel HO/OO Thomas & Friends freight cars all have ridgid frames. For that matter, if a longer chassis is needed, so do Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta

Len

[Maletrain]

There are also small circular bubble levels, often seen on camera tripods to make the pivot vertical.  Then work well for small scales like N.

[Terry Toenges]

I never thought of the circular ones. I'm sure they would work. I like the idea of two separate bubbles myself.