A short video of my old tank engine on the layout

Looping around the innner track from the station and then up and crossing over to the middle track.

Coming in to the station.

Tight Curves

I thought I ought to test how tight a curve I could make for a tram track. It turns out that I can easily get a 4 wheeler to run on a 5" curve. Anything smaller and the friction on the wheels causes reliability issues.

I tried 6", 5.5" and 4". It easily runs on 5.5".

Here's a video:

I've started using foam core heavily  for my test work and will probably be using this on the layout when prototyping the system. Final work will be done using cuts in the plywood base with timber supports, but maybe I'll just keep the foam core in place!

It's certainly stronger and lighter than cardboard, easier to cut and shape etc so will most certainly be used for the basis of landscaping.

I think that the track itself is about 4mm from base to rail top. I will be using an underlay under most of the track - most likely cork - but the tram will probably be different. The underlay is to absorb noise and form a good basis for ballast. With the tram tracks, I may use something like rubber matting used for lining kitchen drawers - it's a non-skid thing used to keep plates from banging about when drawers open. It's thin, absorbs vibration and is cheap.

I guess that means a 5mm foam core can be used for the road-base to line up with the rails? Anyway, that's getting a bit ahead of things.