Since the conversion of the garage has been delayed whilst I get planning permission I've decided to begin the construction of Cruikglen with a single board to keep me occupied until the real building begins.

I chose board 4 which contains the shed and lies just beyond Cruikglen junction. It contains the most variations in height of the track bed with the Waverley line climbing to the right (as seen in the picture below), the branch falling away to the right, and the slope descending to the shed…

Each square is 6 inches in side, the entire board being 4 foot by 2.5ft. Percentages indicate slopes other figures are spot heights above the baseboard in millimetres. Anyrail, the software I use for track planning calculates the slope between fixed heights, and the 1.9% is a ‘rounding error’ – in fact both mainline tracks slope at 2% (1 in 50). If that sounds a little steep, it is, but this is on the climb to Whitrope and it’s another excuse to use bankers for trains heading south. The different coloured track sections are track occupancy detection sections which I’ll discuss in another post.

I’ve detailed the construction of the boards in a previous post. Board 4 has a solid top as nothing scenically descends below the shed level.

The shed itself is 3mm above the board surface, by dint of the whole shed area being laid on thick cork tiles. The junction (which spans boards 2 and 3 to the left of board 4) is at 25mm above datum and so the track to the left of board 4 begins at 25mm above the board. There are three slopes on this board, the descending 2% slope of the branch, the rising 2% slope of the mainlines and the 3% descent into the shed area.

Each of these slopes is constructed from Woodland Scenics Subterrain Inclines. These slopes are made from polystyrene and are flexible along their length allowing them to be curved to the correct track geometry. They provide smooth slopes with and a solid base for the track.

Scenery between the inclines is built from loft insulation sheet, carved to shape and then covered with papier mache. The papier mache is torn newspaper soaked in a 50%/50% PVA/water mix. Cereal packet card is shaped and glued onto the top surface of the inclines to provide a base for ballasting and then the papier mache is overlapped onto the card to give smooth transition. Next all is coated with a brown ‘mix’ of 40% cheap sticky brown emulsion, 40% water and 20% PVA. This imparts a rough texture on the scenery, seals the papier mache and provides a tough outer shell which is ready to take scenic treatments.

Here is an overview of construction work so far. The board is 180 degrees rotated from the plan above. The track bed and test laid track at the top is part of the branch sloping down toward board 5, the rising slope in the centre is the Waverley line itself, the beginning of the climb toward Whitrope. The slope nearest the bottom of the shot is the entry to the shed.

The next two shots are from either end of the shed area, which nicely illustrate the smooth (albeit steep) slope into the shed, and the sweeping, more gently rising track bed for the mainline. The cork tiled area will be the location of the shed and coaling/ash/water roads. The pink foam to the left of the second shot has been carved and sanded and awaits its papier mache covering.

This final shot shows the branch dropping away towards board 5. The slope for the branch is another section of the Woodland Scenics Incline having been covered in cereal packet card and papier mache, before being painted with the emulsion/water/PVA mix. The track bed is Woodland Scenics N scale Trackbed on which I’ve laid some Peco code 55 flex track.

The near vertical gaps in the scenic slopes to the side of the track are gaps into which I will place moulded rocks, before adding dirt and flock to the slopes. The scenic material will be laid on either side and flush with of the track bed which will be ballasted and weathered before the rest of the scenic are completed.

In my next post I'll discuss the wiring for this board and my plans for computer control.