Paynestown: most of the track now laid.
I'm building an N version of my old 4mm Paynestown layout, in anticipation of the Sonic Models 56xx tanks. The new layout will
be about half the size of the old and uses Code 40 Finetrax components for the points and plain track.
In the previous exciting installment I showed some laid and partly ballasted track. Well, hold onto your horses, because here's
some more laid and partly ballasted track.
At last I've got the basic essentials done, in that there's now a functioning run-round loop. I must admit I had to force myself to push on as I neared this stage, as making
and installing the points was becoming just a little repetitious, and I was starting to make excuses rather than go into the modelling den. But Dunkirk spirit etc and I
dug deep and got the most tedious stuff done, at least for now. A headshunt and a couple of sidings are still to be added, but they're not difficult.
The blue board, in case it's not obvious, is one of those 4 x 2 insulation panels, so hopefully gives an idea of the size of the thing, and how it can be easily accommodated
on a single board. In fact, I'm giving serious thought to making the whole thing, including the fiddle yard, as one unit - say somewhere between 5 and 6 feet long, I know
4 feet is generally considered the sensible upper limit for layout modules, but I think - in this case - being able to have the whole layout in one piece, would be worth the
slightly extra hassle of it being a somewhat long single module. My P51D wing, incidentally, is 53 inches long so I've got quite used to handling that without clonking it
on things. Having an integral fiddle yard would eliminate a whole raft of other layout issues, such as track joints and electrical connectivity, so I think it's well worth
pursuing, especially as train lengths will be nicely short.
At the moment, the foamcore sub-base is just resting on the blue stuff as I haven't quite decided what sort of angle I want it to make as it cuts across the scene. As you'll note from
the shadow, there's also now a sub-frame to the foamcore, but again just more of the same stuff, partly to stiffen it as it got longer, but also because I needed some depth under
the boards to add the electromagnets. I've installed one so far, and I'm pleased with how reliably it works with the DGs. I'm less convinced that the delayed action will be 100%
reliable, so as a precautionary measure, I'm going to put in enough electromagnets to enable all shunting moves to be done with or without the delayed action. It'll be nice
if it works, then, but not a show-stopper if it doesn't. We don't use delayed action on Dave's Sherton Abbas and I don't think anyone's ever missed it - it just means a few more
magnets dotted around.
As a point of comparison, here's the old Paynestown at an early state of construction, on the same bit of lawn 11 years ago!
The differences, and similarities, should be reasonably evident. The old layout was built on a rather severe curve due to me having some old Peco curved turnouts I
wanted to use up, whereas the new one is on a more gentle alignment. I don't think one's better than the other, but the straight geometry of the Finetrax points
obviously made it easier to keep things straighter, notwithstanding the one point I built on a curve. The bay is still in place, and I'm aiming to have a similar
covered carriage shed - Ratio do one in N - which I think looked good on the original. The station building this time will be parallel to the platform, not
at a right angle to it. And rather than an engine shed on one of the kickback sidings, there'll be a covered goods shed. The engine shed was derived from an
even older layout, but it turned out not to have as much play value as I hoped, as other than moving a loco in and out there wasn't much to be done with it. I
can't remember now but I think possible there was an option to drop a coal wagon or two off at the stage, but in any case I think it'll be better if that siding
is now purely for goods services. At the moment, I'm undecided about the road which passed under the platforms on the original. It looked good from most
angles, but it was a bit a problem head-on as I had to cut a hole in the backscene so that the road didn't seem to disappear into subterranean gloom. As
an additional factor, the point operating switches and so on might mean that a road wouldn't be as easy to arrange as before, but we'll see. I'm very much
one for not planning too much in advance, just sucking and seeing as I go along.
But - but - there's one possibility which I will need to either incorporate or dismiss at an early stage. Take a look at that pristine sheet of 4 x 2, and imagine
Paynestown cutting through it on a higher level, at some diagonal angle. Now what about an entire loop of track at the lower level, with the back half hidden,
but the front making a gentle arc through the scene? Plenty of valleys towns were served by two stations, often at different levels, so the temptation to
add a Paynestown Riverside or Paynestown Low Level is quite high! The lower station wouldn't be more than a halt, but with a pair of controllers, or a DPDT
switch, it would be a way to keep something moving at all times. Between moves on the top level, or when a train's being made up in the fiddle yard, a DMU
or auto-train could pootle around on the lower level. Another factor is that I rather over-calculated how much Code 40 plain track I'd need, so there's plenty
left over!
Finally, for now, some thought's been given to the final structure and framing of the layout, with an eye on keeping it all as light as possible. At the moment I
can pick up the entire terminus between thumb and forefinger! Obviously that won't last as stuff gets added, but I'm very keen to use foamcore and extruded
foam as much as possible, and (if I can) no wood at all. To that end, a friend's kindly doing some batches of fibre-glass reinforced foamcore for me, to get a feel
for how much extra durability the glassing imparts. It seems that a single layer of glass-cloth is enough to armour the foamcore against dents, which may be
all that's needed - it's not about structural strength, so much as protecting the foam against knocks and dents as it's transported. Anyway, it looks promising
so far.
- 10
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