In this video you will see the steps in building an O Gauge Roller Test Base. While I won't go so far as showing wood being cut, track being screwed down, I will give you the steps to making this for yourself. We will use the Micro-Mark O Gauge Rollers # 83417 on sale for $38.99 as of 6/19/2023.
The important measurement here is the rise from the locomotive base to both the tender and pilot base. It should be 3/4", the height of the rollers. The length and width of all the bases can be made to your liking although I feel 5" wide is a good fit. I would keep the length overall manageable to your workbench but keep in mind the tender base must be long enough for your largest tender and trailing locomotive trucks. A few steam engines would benefit from the pilot base having the common hooked up. In these very few cases a simple clip lead can do the trick from the locomotive base to the pilot base.
The wood measurement I used for this base is as follows...
Locomotive Base = 46" (L)x 5" (W)x 3/4" (H)
Tender Base = 18" (L)x 5" (W)x 3/4" (H)
Pilot Base = 3/12" (L)x 5" (W)x 3/4" (H) made up of 1/2" and 1/4" pieces as seen in the video.
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00:00 Intro
00:27 Opening Credits
00:48 Welcome and Project Overview.
02:00 The Parts and Pieces.
04:42 The Locomotive and Tender Bases
06:02 The First Step Complete.
07:04 Adding the track.
08:33 The Pilot Base Construction.
09:32 The Pilot Base a closer look.
11:06 Wiring the Locomotive and Tender bases together.
13:38 Binding the outside rails.
14:16 Rollers, Options, and Wrapping it up.
15:55 Punch the Like Button, Comment, and Thanks for closing in on 600 Subscribers.