Gareth001

Here's the 7mm version for comparison.

I've scaled down a version of my own 7mm kit for a terraced house, and although the muntins (or glazing bars) have lost a tiny bit of definition when compared to the O gauge version, I'm quite pleased with the result. The kit is designed to give the builder a choice of finishes and detailing: what is shown here is the unpainted version of the basic kit. I'm going to put a representation of a rendered finish on this pair.

And some pics of the row of castings in place (sort of). When I stick them on I'll raise them a bit so the railhead isn't higher than the dockside.

The pics below show what I was trying to describe. You can see what I mean about the weakness of the mould at the top. The closeup is a bit cruel, and shows flash on the mould I hadn't even noticed. Having seen that, I'm surprised (but pleased) that the castings come out as well as they do!

Hi Barnaby. the panels don't just butt up together: the timber stanchion at the right hand end of the panel is cast half on and half off the stone section behind, so that when the panels are put together it overlaps the adjacent one. I don't think I've described it very well...I'll post a pic tomorrow. What this means is that the edge of the mould is wider at the bottom than at the top ( the same apples to the part where the stanchions rise above the wall). This in turn means the casting has to be coaxed out of the mould, which is not usually a problem as long as the undercut is not too deep, or the mould above the undercut is not too thin because someone is too mean to use any more latex. Lesson learned!

First castings out of the mould. Couple of schoolboy errors though...I didn't really use enough latex (cos I'm a skinflint) so the mould is a bit thin on the overlap areas, so may not last too long. I still have the pattern though, so I can make another mould. I've also realised that I should have made the panels a bit bigger than the depth of the baseboard edge, so that they at least match the rail height. I'll have to mount them a little higher...ho hum. I think the castings look ok though. They fit together nicely, and could also be used for some applications in 7mm too.

Finished the pattern for the dockside wall, and remembered again why I moved to the more optically friendly 7mm scale. Drilling the holes to represent where the chair bolts had been in re-used sleepers was particularly migraine inducing. We'll see how the mould comes out in the morning....I'm a little apprehensive about the overhang in the pattern to allow the panels to link together, but I think the mould will be flexible enough to deal with it.

I fancy the idea of the front of the baseboard being part of the scenery, so I'm going to make an old harbour wall, with the idea that it could be a silted up canal basin or disused estuary port, or the tide could be out. This is part of the master, made from 10 thou styrene stones on a 20 thou backing. When it's finished I'll make a mould and cast enough for the whole of the front of the layout. Sorry about the poor photo, and I couldn't rotate it for some reason.

Here's a better view of the sector plate entrance. With another structure to the right of the entrance track it should be disguised pretty well.

Started to make some simple mockups of buildings to get an idea of how things will fit. This is going to be a sort of granary / mill thingy which straddles the sector plate, hiding most of it from view. The terraced house is a scaled down version of my 7mm kit, but I'm still doing the artwork for the windows, so it's just a shell at the moment. I'm going to incorporate at least one pair of these along the backscene.

Thanks for the very kind words...long way to go yet though! Wiring pretty much complete now. I might put a couple of isolated sections in later, but I'm pretty much working on the one engine in steam principle. The sector plate self isolates when not lined up. The little point actuator mechanisms work quite well.

Bit more wiring done today while I should have been working. In the general spirit of using up any old bits I can find, the point actuators are made of a bit of rail running through the brass bits cut out of terminal strips and soldered to brass strip, simply driven by a servo. The end of the rail works a microswitch to change the polarity of the frog. Bit Heath Robinson, but it works.

Hi SZ....all the tracks do line up (very closely) from a single pivot point. Some aspects are slightly better than others (see pics below), but the angle is close enough that even the little Peckett runs over at a crawl, with a wheelbase of only about 22mm. There isn't any noticeable "kink" as trains run across...I say trains, but I only have one wagon so far! It's saved me about 6" on the length of the layout....important on one this tiny. It all works reliably with the microswitches isolating and energising the tracks as they line up. I don't think it's a new idea.

Well, I have an excellent supplier!

The first little waddle of the Peckett across the yard. It really is a lovely piece of work by Hornby, and with a bit of fettling runs smoothly over the recycled pointwork. Point control next, which is again going to be courtesy of old bits and pieces from the back of the cupboard: this time some servos courtesy of Heathcote Electronics. Dangerously close to playing trains, or would be if I had any rolling stock. The wagon in the background is all there is at the moment!

Some basic wiring done with a couple of simple bus bars and micro switches on the sector plate....

Thanks Jim. If I needed reminding why I moved up to 7mm scale, cutting chairs in half for the check rail certainly provided it: more on the floor than on the bench, and several more pinging off as I tried, with maximum magnification, to fit them in place. Railway modelling is not supposed to be this close to extreme violence, but having resisted the urge to launch the lot into the field, we got there in the end. Now for some sparky bits and see if we can get some movement.

Hi Jim..always interested to learn from someone else's ideas, so very grateful for the pics. I'm looking at a die cut or CNC cut solution, so I can produce an accurately repeatable square and rigid module. Of course the design has to be right, so lots of planning and prototypes to make. I'll post updates, and thanks for your input

Good to hear from you Mark, and hope you're well. I've made a little progress on the O gauge layout, but I've spent quite a lot of time on commissions...plan to do a bit less in the new year. I'll update soon, and I have a new terraced house kit nearly ready. All the best to you and yours for a happy and healthy 2021. Cheers, G.

Hi Jim....they seem pretty rigid to me. They are designed to be bolted together, but Ive permanently stuck mine, and there isn't much in the way of twist, at least not without risking damage. I have noticed a very slight sag in the 3mm mdf baseboard though, so I'm going to add some bracing as you suggest. I think they're up to the job though. I'm in the process of designing some card baseboard kits (made from mounting board, well braced) which I think I'm going to make in 2' x 1' modules to start with...I'll post updates on here to let you know how I get on! They'll be light, strong and cost effective. I'm also thinking about fitted backscenes and presentation arches to suit.

Thanks for all the replies....all very valid observations. I did think about running the tracks separately to the sector plate...that's a good point. But because of the limited width and the limited movement of the sector plate itself, the tracks on the plate can really only line up to a single track along the centreline. I've pushed the envelope to get the alignment on the 2 exits on the truncated point....and if I'd left the point out I would have lost the run around loop. I did also originally plan on using y points throughout, but being a skinflint adapted things to suit what I had in the junkbox. Should have called it Scrooge Lane Sidings. Quick squirt of paint and the addition of a check rail on the tightest curve follows. The pic shows the particularly naff condition of the recycled pointwork, but a lot will be buried under the usual industrial grime.

Track now laid, and held in position by blobs of superglue prior to painting and ballasting. The point at the exit of the fiddle yard is a cut down curved Peco point to save space....it was the only way I could get a run around loop in the tiny space. 3 wagon trains will be the order of the day. Track is all doctored Peco code 75.

Having started modelling in 7mm scale, and decided I'd never go back to anything smaller, I made the fatal mistake of ordering a Hornby Peckett, just because they're so gorgeous. In ex works livery, it sat in it's box for over a year, while work on my O gauge layout had almost stalled as I'd been spending time on commissions and making resin and CNC cut 7mm scale buildings that I produce on a short run basis. I started to wonder about producing a little "photo plank", to give the little Peckett somewhere to shuffle about and perhaps as a presentation piece if I scaled down some of my buildings to 4mm scale. While I was thinking about this, I came across the Norfolk Heath Works Micro Modules baseboard kits, intended for 009, and wondered if I could squeeze a little OO gauge micro onto them, so ordered 3 modules (including a sector plate) which duly arrived. They went together very easily and I can report they are a very nice piece of work, and reasonably priced. Then came the challenge of whether a believable little scene with a bit of operational interest could be made to fit. I had a few bedraggled old bits and pieces of track from a previous stalled layout lurking in corners of the garage, which were enough to come up with this basic plan.

Apologies John....the message was meant for Keith. I'd wrongly assumed it was your thread.

Hi John....A while ago I produced a kit for a signal box, and although they proved a little labour intensive for me to produce, I'd happily put one together for you if you were interested. The base is a resin casting and most other parts are CNC cut styrene. Some pics below....the steps can go at either end.