Building a HO scale Railroad Tunnel though a fish tank

[Ocean Railroader]

There was a idea I was thinking about woundering could it be done. I was thinking about one day having a giant fish tank custom made one day for my living room. The room the fish tank would go in would be in the middle of two rooms eatch with a different HO scale train set such as one would be a HO scale model of the Florida Keys while the other one would be of a major city. The train set would have a main line run from the major city layout to the Keywest layout but would have to go though the giant fish tank beaking the room in half.

I have asked the people at the local hobby store who know a lot about trains and said as long as the trains and tracks don't get wet the trains would keeping running. But now I wonder about the fish tank part of it would it be possible to build a arlyric tunnel wide enought for two HO scale railroad tracks to run though the bottom of a 1000 plus gallon fish tank with the trains running though the tunnel with the passanger cars running at the same eye level as the gravel level and with locomtive sized Goldfish and Bluegills swimming all around and over the trains running though the clear tunnel?

Also could it be possible to step this idea up from a sold arylic fish tank and to build a arylric railroad tunnel running along the bottom of a giant cement fish tank's cement lined floor going between the two sections of ayrlic holding back the giant Goldfish and Bluegill infested waters?

Is this idea in anyfrom possible or as anyone done this before?

 

[Cookie*]

I certainly doubt that it has been done. I do think it is doable tho. I think the tanks would be really expensive custom made like that, but it is possible. What were you smoking when you came up with this idea? Lol, just kidding. I like it.

 

[Egon]

Really it's not about what cha smoking, but more about: Do you have some for me?.......

I'm not judging...........

Cheers bra

 

[Ocean Railroader]

One of the owners at the hobby store said he might have had a rumor about something like this existing.

The railroad tunnel idea was something that I have drawn up several times over the years and have been woundering about for the last five years. In that while planning out my dream railroad layout and adding a large fish tank I understood that they would run into one another.

Also the strangeness of it would freak people out if they suddenly saw a GG1 Locomtive moving at full speed at the bottom of a giant fish tank.

 

[Cookie*]

I think it would look pretty cool. But, I'm smoking on something.

 

[Ocean Railroader]

Here is what it might possibly look like if it where built into a fish tank

The link does work on the otherside is a photo of the railroad tracks going into the tunnel.

 

[Egon]

Saturday night........I'm baked.

Seems like a great idea though.

 

[Szar]

Drill two holes, have some one build you a glass pipe and there you go.

Or you could get a custom tank made that looks as if the train is going through the tank while in reality its simply just under it.

 

[aquaculture]

Can easily be done using acrylic tank and tube.

 

[Buckdog]

I am currently building an underwater diorama and had the though cross my mind about doing something like that. Already fried enough brain cell just trying to do the diorama so I let the train thing go...for now.

The challenge is to get away from the acrylic tube idea and have the locomotive run through the aquarium in real time. At 1k gallons you have the luxury of having the train being able to run through a "course" like a real layout. Other than that - it's a nightmare.

First and foremost you have to be able to "seal" the train and ALL, and I mean ALL the related components from fouling the water. All the components must be water safe or sealed in a way to be water safe. This is where folks say using an acrylic tube is a good bet. Now you're getting into the aspect of bending an acrylic tube "layout" in your tank. How will you maintain that? Will it be air filled? What if the train derails? So now you're back to trying to running in real time without the tube.

The ultimate challenge is powering the locomotive. Good luck. I talked about doing something like this with an engineer friend and we both ended up having a good laugh and a couple of beers. I know the whole setup can be done - I just haven't figured it out...yet.

Keep at it though - one of us will eventually figure it out.