So many false starts!

[PaulBee]

Hello All,

I’ve been following members workbench and layout activities for many years now and I’ve dreamt of starting a project of my own. The dreams started small, but always grew to epic proportions (soon outgrowing the very, very limited space and budget available), then vanished as nothing more than a pipe dream. I never got further than the dream although I once sketched something on paper!

 

So, in an effort to avoid yet another false start I’ve decided to record my first railway modelling adventure here. I wanted something I stand a chance of completing while learning some modelling skills along the way and something to use when completed.

 

Hopefully in this post I’ve included a few pictures of my first steps. So far I’ve only managed to buy a cheap box, make a board to fit inside and mock up my idea in scrap cardboard.

 

I’m probably being a bit over optimistic with the space available but at the moment I’m trying to squeeze a 5,3,3 shunting puzzle in to the space (725mm (l) x 230mm (w) x 145mm (h))with the help of a removable sector plate. Once I get track and a few items of rolling stock I may have to downgrade this to a 3,2,2

 

Either way I hope to end up with a functioning shunting puzzle that will be easy to store, keep covered when not in use and allow me to learn some modelling skills.

 

Any input with be most welcome.

 

Thanks

Paul

[andyram]

Good luck with this project. I like the Inglenook design and will follow your progress with interest.

[Thunderforge]

Awesome use of the plastic box, I just hope it doesn’t go brittle on you. We’ve had a few for the kids toys which split round the lid clips, but maybe we just bought cheap ones!

 

Is it OO? Modern image or kettles? :-)

[Bill_J]

I like the way that you have thought "outinside the box". Building the layout on the lid and using the depth of the box as protective cover, is inspired.

 

Look forward to seeing more...

 

Regards

 

Nill   Bill

 

edited because I can't even spell my own name 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Bill_J

[Jerry1975]

I'm liking this, like others have said I hope the lid doesn't break/crack, looking forward to seeing more.

 

Jerry.

[andyram]

The use of the box is definitely a nice idea. I certainly will be intrigued to see how this works.

[1722]

Great thinking regarding the lid!

 

We've all been there with the many false starts!

[TheBeardedOne]

Really interested in seeing this take shape.

[Thunderforge]

Really interested in seeing this take shape.

 

Not the same TheBeardedOne from Bugman's Brewery by any chance? Or are you a different bearded one? haha!

[PaulBee]

Hello All,

Thank you for kind words and encouragement.

 

I hadn’t considered the plastic box ageing (and it was a cheapie at £7 off Amazon). I’ll keep a look out for off cuts of ply in case I need to make a box for it.

 

To answer an earlier question it’s 00 but setting and era will be freelance in the very broadest term possible. I’m afraid I lack any knowledge of railway era/historical reference. I’m a fan of the mechanical aspects of locomotives (and enjoy seeing working steam and old diesel locos) and I enjoy making/creating things, so decided long ago that I would like to combine it all in to this kind of project.

 

I’m open to suggestions regarding what others think will be a reliable, slow running loco that will offer fine control for shunting in a restricted space and can perhaps work to an era from there?

 

I’m pleased to report that Phase 2 is now under way, the removable sector plate. I tracked down a piece of aluminium channel that fitted the bill, a scrap piece of PCB that allows the channel to glide side to side smoothly and an old rc car steering Servo horn from my odds n sods bin, that performs well as the pivot point.

 

It’s now assembled and works very well. The leading edge of the channel has a lip to keep the channel height aligned when the loco runs on to the extended ‘overhang’ and I’ve left the channel length alone for now, until I have a loco and 3 wagons to test the length required and I can then trim to suit.

 

The weekend is set aside to work on countersinking the screws used and alignment and track power options.

 

Here’s a few pics

[luke the train spotter]

Hello All,

Thank you for kind words and encouragement.

 

I hadn’t considered the plastic box ageing (and it was a cheapie at £7 off Amazon). I’ll keep a look out for off cuts of ply in case I need to make a box for it.

 

To answer an earlier question it’s 00 but setting and era will be freelance in the very broadest term possible. I’m afraid I lack any knowledge of railway era/historical reference. I’m a fan of the mechanical aspects of locomotives (and enjoy seeing working steam and old diesel locos) and I enjoy making/creating things, so decided long ago that I would like to combine it all in to this kind of project.

 

I’m open to suggestions regarding what others think will be a reliable, slow running loco that will offer fine control for shunting in a restricted space and can perhaps work to an era from there?

 

I’m pleased to report that Phase 2 is now under way, the removable sector plate. I tracked down a piece of aluminium channel that fitted the bill, a scrap piece of PCB that allows the channel to glide side to side smoothly and an old rc car steering Servo horn from my odds n sods bin, that performs well as the pivot point.

 

It’s now assembled and works very well. The leading edge of the channel has a lip to keep the channel height aligned when the loco runs on to the extended ‘overhang’ and I’ve left the channel length alone for now, until I have a loco and 3 wagons to test the length required and I can then trim to suit.

 

The weekend is set aside to work on countersinking the screws used and alignment and track power options.

 

Here’s a few pics

That sector plate looks very professional! Much better than my attempts.

[PaulBee]

Hi All,

Just a quick update. Remarkably, thanks to the inspiration provided by all the posters in this section, I can report ‘track laid’

 

If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure if this idea would end up as another ‘false start’ but the track is down, painted and wired.

 

A wagon arrived today and hopefully a loco later this week.

[luke the train spotter]

Well it looks fantastic! The track is laid very neatly and the weathering looks great too.

[andyram]

A good start. Always great to get track down and have play (sorry I mean test)

[marc smith]

Hi PaulBee,
Really great start to a promising layout

I fully identify with "false starts" - I had a few of these, many years back.
I know others get plenty of them too. By using the box, you have avoided the temptation to tack another siding on to the front / back, or add another 6 - 12" to the length of the baseboard
These sort of practices, while sometimes working well, so often detract from neat original designs, or the overall "flow" of a small layout

You've employed another good idea by making cardboard mock-ups of buildings too - this can really help you get the proportions of the buildings right, within the whole scene.
It can also save you a lot of time - so many people construct kits and scratch-built structures, only to find they just don't look quite right on the layout, or need to be moved - which may require modification / re-modelling

Really neat work on the sector plate too - much tidier than my own work in this area of modelling
Now you have laid the track and weathered the rails, you're a good way into laying the foundations of this project - so please stick with it
Like others who have already replied to this thread, I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress
Best of luck with it

[Smoking gun]

Hello,

 

I agree with all Marc has said above, and I too look forward to seeing this develop.

 

Martin

[PaulBee]

Hi PaulBee,

Really great start to a promising layout

Thanks for the comments and pointers Marc, a number of which have already surfaced.

 

The 'scrap material' mock up was a fixed plan in my mind as was a 5,3,3 puzzle but I didn't want to restrict myself to only short wagons and locos to facilitate it. I was struggling to make it work, I dismissed a 3,2,2 puzzle and so I very nearly did exactly what you cautioned against - making it bigger, scraping the box idea, adding length to the baseboard, and so it went on! I resisted - but only just!

 

By being more openminded about the overall look (and raiding the scrap cardboard stock again) I have been able to keep my 5,3,3 plan, allow the operation of standard size wagons and multiple loco options (from a small steam Sentinel to the larger diesels), facilitate uncoupling on straight (ish) track and keep it all in my original box/baseboard/sector plate creation.

 

I had planned to ballast this weekend but I'm still testing out various uncoupling methods to find the most reliable, which at the moment is leaning toward the 'staple' method.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to post a few update pics after the weekend.

 

Thanks again

Paul

[marc smith]

Hi again Paul,
I'm glad you resisted scrapping the box idea. During the design and early build stages of several of my my layouts, I was tempted to scrap, or heavily modify my existing baseboard, and I was always pleased that I resisted this temptation when I had finished said layout projects. I have seen several layouts at exhibition, where it was obvious that a piece had been tacked on to a baseboard front, to add a siding (or two!). Of course, I've also seen layouts where this has been done, and it wasn't immediately obvious, and layouts where an extension has been successful - even the making of that layout, but this is probably not as common as those that don't work so well.

This box project is forcing you to design within a very definite, confined space -  this is what is helping you focus your design and resist extension temptations. I'm sure this will also help you with future designs & projects, as you will have learned how to use space wisely and effectively, and what works for you and what doesn't. I'm glad you haven't been tempted to cram more track to your limited space too. As fans of railways, we often forget about all the "empty" space within a yard or depot, and how such space can add atmosphere and even a sense of place to a finished layout. Good point re keeping the 5,3,3 plan, so you can use longer wheelbase wagons. Cheers again

Edited July 3, 2018 by marc smith

[PaulBee]

Hello All,

Here’s a little update on progress of my first layout.

 

I’m learning a lot (read making lots of mistakes) mainly how not to do things in the future!

 

I initially printed out some ‘brick’ sheets to manufacture a low relief retaining wall and building to go along the edges of the base, but I’ve had real issues getting the scale right. In the end I purchased a pack of resin walls and building. At least now I have a reference point.

 

I still don’t have a reliable auto uncoupling system for the shunting puzzle, but my experiments continue.

 

At the moment I’m surrounded by scrap pieces of wood and track as I tried to perfect ballasting. My collection includes a variety of ballast materials, most of which ended up looking like clumps of something indescribable and few that never set. I purchased a small pack of ballast material and now have a test piece that looks ok and even managed to mix up a glue/water/washing up liquid mix that set properly.

 

Once I’ve settled on a coupling method I will start ballasting but in the meantime I have some walls to paint and a few wagon kits to build.

 

It looks very much like I will finally be producing a working layout so I should name the project. An suggests?

 

Paul

[Thunderforge]

Trident Yard!

[1722]

If it's a Really Useful Box, perhaps an anagram?

 

Must say, this is looking very good and the time spent perfecting ballasting was well spent - the test piece looks very neat. Super work!

[andyram]

How about "Dunnit End" - reflecting on the fact that you have not had a false start this time.

[PaulBee]

How about "Dunnit End".

I like this one Andy. Thought about adding a few barrels to the scenic plan and wondered if expanding the name out to Finley Dunnit Brewery might work?

 

Anyway, poured a healthy measure or two of whiskey last night and burned the midnight oil with paints and brushes and came up with this. Needs tidying here and there but I’ve pretty much captured what was in my mind.

Edited July 6, 2018 by PaulBee

[andyram]

I like this one Andy. Thought about adding a few barrels to the scenic plan and wondered if expanding the name out to Finley Dunnit Brewery might work?

 

Anyway, poured a healthy measure or two of whiskey last night and burned the midnight oil with paints and brushes and came up with this. Needs tidying here and there but I’ve pretty much captured what was in my mind.

 

 

I like that idea.

[PaulBee]

By way of acknowledging those who took the time to post on my thread I want to say thanks. The project isn't dead in the water, but I did have a major disaster when it came to attempting to add a paved/cobbled area to the board. I decided to try and create the look I was after, using DAS clay, but ended up making such a mess of it that I eventually had to remove the scenic items and scrap the board.

 

I have spent the time since, following everyone else's endeavours on the forum and achieving nothing myself! Or to put it another way, reverted to type and become an armchair modeller again!

 

On reflection, my MS being what it is, I have found it a struggle working with the 4mm scale, but I don't want to give up on the idea of creating myself a shunting puzzle. To that end, I have recently put together two 3ft x 16in boards to create a 6ft x 16in inglenook 5,3,3 in O gauge. It's early days but I have found the odd kit build in 7mm scale far easier for the hands to manage and I will start a thread when I understand where best to post it. Is 6ft x 16in for O gauge considered ok for this section, I wonder?

 

Thank you again.

 

Paul

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by PaulBee