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Ressurection

Liddy

Entry posted by Liddy

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I started a couple of years ago on a simple shunting plank, as space is short and I wanted somewhere to run my stock. There is a simple oval in the loft which works fine for running-in, but with Peco code 100 and only space for short radius points it is clearly a toy train set. I wanted to create something with scenery and work towards 'finescale' appearance. I'd like to work in P4, particularly as I like the 'spindly-ness' of the wheel treads on P4 wagons giving a strong impression of prototype wagons. Anyway, a plank was duly constructed with plans for an industrial setting at the back of a factory with a loading platform and run-around loop and a couple of sidings all in 6' x 8"! Well it would fit in the space I had behind the 'struts' for the roof trusses, but it was a PIA to wriggle it in and out and I was frustrated by having to work between the roof trusses.

 

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But I got to grips with DCC and even DCC sound and experimented with Kadees with sliding under-track magnets and had all the points working beautifully with 'stick-in-hole' including PL-15s switching the polarity to live frogs.

 

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So far, so good. But working in the loft was really anti-social and at 6' long it wasn't portable and being only 8" deep although I worked on low-relief background buildings it just wasn't satisfying. So this weekend it got dismantled with a mallet.

 

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I knew I had to build something smaller that would fit on the bench in the utility room for ease of use and something lighter, more portable. I read what I could about sector plates and decided that was the answer to operating interest and read what I could about using foam slabs as baseboards. I've been inspired by Mossley Terrace and decided that simplicity was the key to success, so I've chosen not to have any points, just rely on the sector plates for switching tracks. I figured that as this was another experiment I could re-use the code 100 track and re-cycle any materials that were in half-decent condition. So, this afternoon I collected a pile of bits from the garage and laid them out on the bench to gauge lengths etc. The following pictures should give you a good idea of my progress to date. I've yet to construct sector plates, but my plan is to create 2 different sets of sector plates, one for use within the constraints of the bench length and a second set twice as long for when I use the full length of the kitchen work surface to enable me to run longer rakes of wagons and through trains.

 

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The odd shape (thank goodness for the adjustablity of a B&D workmate tm)

 

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is from a need to work diagonally across the bench, a desire to not have any corners in the background, only needing to accommadate sector plates at each end and some ideas discussed on the 2mmSA VAG when I worked in 2mm about 'organic' shapes.

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  • RMweb Gold
Donw
  • RMweb Gold

I am with you on having a layout that is convenient to use. If you can make use of odd bits of time you get more done. If its in a loft where you have to get the ladder down or in a shed when its wet its easy to sit in comfort instead.

Don

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Liddy

Well, time marches-on ever-faster it seems, I've been working on that same baseboard on-and-off for a couple of months now and in the last few weeks made some progress good enough to write about. Firstly, I ditched the Sector plates as again being too long and restricting where I can work, so the ends got cut-off. Then I concluded that if I was ever going to model in P4 there was no point in doing anything more in 00. So, I read about P4 track and tried some Ratio 'EM' 18.83mm trackbase, only to discover that it contradicted my new track gauges and learn that it is under-gauge, so I tried copper-clad P4 which matched with the wheelsets that I'd set on a B-2-B gauge, only to find that the 2 x B2B gauges I had differed. So now armed with official Scalefour gauges and a B2B I'd mike'd up as correct I built a section of copper-clad that worked! But, I don't have enough life left to be sawing chairs in half, so I chose Exactoscale trackbase only to learn that it was in short supply, so finally I've bought C+L trackbase.

 

I'm still avoiding points as a) they take up too much length on a short board B) they aren't cheap c) I'm not sure I can make one successfully yet. So, it's going to be plain track with cassettes.

 

Having played with track base I'm confident of laying that correctly, so I decided to step out of my comfort zone to make more progress. I've never done good scenery and I'm put-off by pictures of layouts covered in track on bare boards, I want to do better than that. So I bought a Landscape Kit and I've been working on the baseboard to get my landscape done before I lay track and get too absorbed in playing trains to ever finish the scenery.

 

Let me figure-out how to load an image after all this time and I'll continue shortly

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Liddy

3 images to demonstrate my progress,

An overview of work to date

 

Colouring-in 1

 

A picture of me trying a coach for size against the site of the platform, clearly showing that I needed more than 1 kit

 

Trying for size

 

The downloaded backscene to fit behind and above the embankment

 

[

Basic Backscene Fields

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