Looking back, I am a serial baseboard builder. I enjoy the woodworking and I'm happy with the results. My last effort was a simple working diorama plank with scenery (see profile photo) now home life has settled down again I'm having another go. This time trying an Ikea Lack shelf with an N gauge inglenook (Boomerang generation (sad consequence of the pandemic) mean my space is restricted again.

Starting with a 110cm shelf, because it fitted over my bench I realised that by rationalising my books/magazines and cutting the bookcase down to size I could add a 30cm unit to make space for large radius points. By gluing the shelves together I could use the bracket rebate in the 30cm unit to help hold the backscene board.

A simple inglenook has been laid out with a road overbridge to disguise the left end and trees to hide the right-hand end. Buildings will be minimal to help the sense of space, a fantastic Harburn Hamlets Railway office, a Kestrel platform and hopefully a scratch built Goods shed as per Llangynog. I have some Woodlands scenics trees but at £13 for 5  I'm going to have to learn to build trees.

11th July Update

TBH I wasn't comfortable with the arrangement above, so I've been moving things around. Now I'm much happier with the look I'm trying to achieve. As you will see below, the open end of the board (because that's the view when you walk in the room) now has a P&D Marsh level crossing. Like the header photo the line will disappear into a tunnel at the far end, so I can extend my sidings to the max. The tunnel is possible because the road climbs initially as it crosses the line and then for the whole length of the board. This is freight only, saving precious inches over a platform and allowing more room for vehicles.

The Bothy now guards the yard entrance, the base for the Goods shed will come towards the camera a couple of inches and the centre track will terminate where a coal merchant still operates at the far end of the yard. Track will be laid on foam track bed to absorb wheel noise.

UPDATE; I must be my own worst enemy, I haven't done any work or added to the blog in months, but my thoughts haven't stopped. I decided that I didn't like what I was creating and in my head went back to Square 1. I joined the N Gauge Society and N Gauge Forum to read others stories, I decided to use Easi-shunt couplings and played with them, I decided to make do without buildings and not to fence the layout. Though I still think the Artitec Warehouse https://www.artitecshop.com/en/goods-depot-1160.html in anglicised form has great potential. I stopped buying rolling stock unless it had NEM coupling mounts and started selling my Farish BR Bauxite goods wagons. There was much playing with AnyRail to find something that is practical. Eventually the wallpaper for the backscene was glued-on, a curved corner created (filled with lightweight filler) the first layer of foamboard glued and the trackplan stuck down. 

Working with the printed track plan on the baseboard was really useful, it gave a great feeling for the space left for roadways/hedging/trees etc. I'm really pleased with this.

A second layer of 5mm foamboard has been lightly glued to the rear of the trackplan and Woodland Scenics foam roadbed lightly glued over the track image. I'm trying to eliminate motor-geartrain-wheel to rail noise as much as possible. Good progress was made today, it shouldn't take long to fill-in with foamboard to the front edge of the baseboard. Also, I need some thin card overlaid on the backscene board now to smooth the ripples in the corner.

I've re-printed the trackplan of the points to locate them exactly, not a big deal, but with hindsight as the roadbed is so wide I could have just drawn the outline of the whole trackplan and filled it in with roadbed, saving the printout for re-use. Having positioned the points, I will take my time to lay them carefully, add the wire in tube and fix them down.