Ultra-Lightweight Test Track Made From Castoffs.

So, I was becoming mildly annoyed that I had to constantly go from the ground floor of my home (where I do most of my train tinkering) to the attic (where the layout is) to test locomotives I was working on.   Really not a big problem in the grander scheme of life, but I decided to solve it anyway.  

So, I dug through my train supplies and came up with:

-A 4 foot long skinny offset of insulation foam

-Some Steel EZ-Track

-Extra Bachmann Transformer, power supply and hookup-wire

-Pair of banana clips

Add some caulk and a bunch of zip ties and behold!

Just your basic Bachmann train set power pack.   Still, it's got plenty of power for a test track, the knob turns very smoothly and this one has AC accessory contacts. 

Note the pair of banana clips twist-tied to the end.

 A bulky "wall wart" power supply attaches on the left, It's almost as heavy as the whole test track so I will probably leave it separate, possibly plugged into the wall.

                                

The track connection (red wire) uses a mini stereo audio jack so there aren't easy contacts for attaching banana clips if you want to test contacts/motors/etc with DC power. 

At some point I might wire banana clips to a mini audio jack but for now, you can just clip them to the rails. 

At the other end of the track is a bumper to protect against over-eager testing.  Might put a little EVA foam on that bumper pad.

Bachmann steel EZ track doesn't have the best reputation, but just these few sections shouldn't be hard to keep clean.  At some point I may also solder the track connections, but it's working fine as-is.

It's about 4 feet long. Still looks a bit wavy, but after sanding the sides and rounding the edges a bit I got it smooth and even enough that it no longer sheds bits of foam.

It's not going to win any beauty pageants, but the result is a sturdy, effective test track that is lightweight enough to be easily hung or tucked away in the dining room closet.   Total weight minus the wall-wart power supply is only 1 lb, 6.6 Oz!

No more running to the attic every time I need to test a loco I'm working on!

-Karl