Hello again, in this issue I will continue describing how the Speedlow layout came about and how I wanted to build and operate the layout.
Right from the start it was always envisaged that Speedlow would be DCC operated and I tried to plan for that accordingly when it came to planning the track plan. The layout boards as previously described in Issue 5 were built for me by Black Cat Baseboards in 2011 to the design I specified. There are 4 boards each 4 foot long and two additional outer 2 foot long boards added on at each end. As I had specified that I wanted supporting legs that would fold up underneath the boards themselves, this did of course restrict the maximum length of the legs as the had to clear the angled corner that formed the wedge shape of the baseboards. To the visitor viewing the layout Board 1 would be to the left followed by 2, 3 and 4 in order. The smaller 2 foot extension board purchased at the start became Board 4A off to the right-hand side. Board 3 has a short section of the board that curves and descends towards the fiddle yard that would take up the rear portion of Board 4 and 4A, with a scenic section taking up the remaining baseboard space at the front. The line linking the main sidings and the fiddle yard and supposed link to Buxton drops away down 1 inch gradient. The 2 foot board purchased later became Board 1A off to the left of Board 1. So in all Speedlow is 20 feet long and the maximum depth across all the boards front to back is 33 inches.
Once the track plan had been sorted I then started to lay down the cork bed and glued this down with Copydex. Then work could start on preparing and laying the Peco code 75 track and points making sure that holes were in place to take the point control rod that would be installed.
Progress on track work was slow given that I could not take the boards to the flat I was living in at the time as there simply wasn't the room and so I just had to work on the boards when I went back home to house sit for my parents. So by January 2013 all of the main track was laid down with the Copydex.
Meanwhile the code 100 track forming the fiddle yard was still being tweaked to get the best positions for the proposed 5 lines but once I had put the two 3-way points down and added the short piece of track between them it became apparent that I could in fact get 7 sidings with a mix of long, medium and short roads.
More to follow soon!
Cheers Paul
Edited: 1st April 2023 missing images restored.
Edited by pharrc20
restoring lost photos
-
3
2 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now