Entry posted by Ian Smith
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Now that I have completed the baseboards, a start can be made on the track work...
However, as preparation is everything I first wanted to put down a raised track bed. This is formed from some 1/32" bass wood sheet which was fixed to the baseboard top with PVA, and weighted while it dried. This was done in relatively small sections by transposing the Templot trackbed onto the sheets before cutting out ready to be affixed - I had included the Trackbed Edges on the print out from Templot.
Once all of the trackbed was in place and dry, it was rubbed over with some 280 grade wet and dry fixed to a flat wood block to ensure that all was level.
Because I didn't want to stick the Templot plan to the baseboards or the trackbed, it was necessary to transpose the track plan from paper onto the layed and levelled track bed. This was achieved by cutting through the rails on the Templot plan every 20 to 40mm, then "dotting" the rails in place on the track bed before finally joining the dots :
Templot plan with a myriad of little holes in it!
Rails "dotted" in place on the track bed
Rails drawn in by joining the dots.
Transposition complete (towards Exeter)
Transposition complete (towards Plymouth)
Obviously, it only makes sense to do the above operation if you only need to know where the rails should go and don't need the sleeper positions!!! Luckily because I'm going to be laying "Baulks" rather than Sleepers I can. 
However, in order to be able to put the Baulks in place consistently I do need a jig of some sort, so out came the lathe, and in an hour or so I'd made a couple of roller gauges to allow me to just that :
The Baulks are actually HO gauge copper clad sleeper strip which at 2.4mm wide is about right for a 2mm scale timber baulk (At least for the plain track work - Although I need to produce something somewhat wider for the switch baulks and the crossing baulks (not an issue as I have some PCB strip that is the same depth as the HO sleeper strips but is too wide at the minute so needs milling down to size).
Regards,
Ian
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