smallman28

Good idea to mix set track and streamline, I tend to do that as the short straight sections of set track are useful to save cutting small fiddly bits of streamline flexible track. I have acquired a 1200x400mm Grainge & Hodder modular baseboard and the lightness/sturdiness of it is something of a revelation compared to the solid lumps of baseboards I usually build , it may well be used for a third layout

Added the fiddle yard track and wired it up so now I can run locos in and out and swap over tracks, gives it much more scope now Excuse the feet and general clutter, the other bit of random track is just some unpowered storage. Also wired up the first of three Viessmann model 6722 lights, got three although I might not use all of them. Fiddly to assemble but look good when built, wired directly into the DCC power bus.

Having worked in a DIY store with a board cutting service you would be unlikely to get 6.5mm strips cut in the first instance and even if they would do it as others have suggested the accuracy would be hit and miss to say the least. Our saw was pretty accurate but you couldn't accurately set .5mm and the ability to repeat that 15 to 20 times and expect them to be the same size............... I have had good success with scoring 4mm MDF to "cut" it, with a sharp blade it only take 2-3 goes to get through it.

Well, it's not so micro and portable as it once was Matt black paint is a pain to work with, you think it would cover so easily yet you go over one spot more than another and it ends up looking different to the rest. You almost need to apply it in one coat over everything at the same time and then just leave it. I have physically joined the two boards together, just need to let all the glue go off, I added some strengthening pieces to the edges of each board where they join rather than just rely on the 4-5mm thickness of the baseboard material itself. I tried it with a spare bit of track and the rail heights are slightly off but nothing that stops a loco passing over the join.

I appreciate it has been done to death ( I have done a search) but I would just like to clarify something in my own head if that is okay. I am thinking of using these but I would want to switch them manually so I would have to use SPDT switches to change frog polarity. Now this is where my limited understanding kicks in I believe that two switches would need to be "tied" together so they switch both frogs at once, however with three point positions and only a double pole switch my head scratching increases So, am I right in assuming that one switch would be wired opposite to the other and that if the switches were both at the top of their throw that would say allow the straight on part of the 3 way point to be used without any shorts? And if I moved the same switches so they were then both in the bottom position that would allow either of the turn outs to be used without shorts? Does that sound right, I think it is but who knows

Looks really good, be paranoid about spilling anything on that carpet now

Doing a few more bits and pieces to keep it moving forward while I am off for 2 days. Been trying to get a decent transition from scenic to storage, not too bad. Added a few walkway sections I had left round the portacabin/sidings area. Slightly decluttered this area in the foreground, also added some greenery along the bottom of the retaining wall that runs virtually the whole length of the board.

Ordered the second board this morning while they had one left, they sell out quite quickly Will need to see about trying to get some track although that is a bit of a gamble at the moment. Was toying with the idea of holding the two boards together with neodymium magnets rather than bolting them up to each other although another part of me says just join them together permanently, undecided at the moment as you can probably tell

Decided to open the one end of the board up again, wasn't that happy with the retaining wall that was there as there was no way for anyone to get into the depot Still a work in progress and a bit of paint touch up needed in a couple of places.

Well the "tightness" is dictated by the size of the board so it is something I have to live with and I half expected it anyway. There is going to be another board that will act as a fiddle yard and give me the ability to switch tracks and locos. If I get an 08 eventually I dare say it will make it into the siding okay.

Ah, never rains but it pours Couple of things gone "wrong" since getting my Colas class 37 today. One thing that I had anticipated due to the lack of space is the loco cant make it into the siding without collecting scenery in the form of the speed sign and the raised platform with the relay boxes on To be fair I had thought it might be an issue and it is, the other was the roof of the fuelling point and again the loco was going to strike it. Luckily I managed to pull the roof section out of the base and bend the roof up a bit more, this assembly is metal rather than moulded plastic so it was doable. So, one self inflicted problem that I can't solve and one that I could. And that bloke on the hard standing area with the spade, I have bashed him over at least twice today Either way, a few pics.

Few bits to bring it to life a little bit more as well as the last bufferstop. Trackside workers going about their business. The office has had aircon installed now so along with the gas powered heater they have all weather eventualities covered. Some chap standing idly by just waiting for the next loco to come along to be fuelled.

Yep, kids can be a bit rough playing. Fixed Scalextric cars for a friend of mine several times and despite me showing them how to repair the most common issues that keep occurring they still find their way back to me.

Trying to progress this towards somewhat of a finish as it has dragged on for about 3 years as it is. Used the spare portacabin from my other layout and plopped it down here without a great deal of thought behind it Had to redo the ballasting around the track as this area was just hard standing before. See how little ballasting is left now. Used a few walkway sections around the fuelling point, will probably add a few more in random places.

Finished the track ballasting, wasn't a big job but I hate it, was lucky with the good weather as it has all dried much quicker than usual. One more bufferstop to go in, was going to extend that track a little bit but hardly seemed worth it I kept the fuel point in the end, after a while it started to look smaller than it did initially Might have solved the portacabin stair problem, made a side door out of a bit of scrap MDF so I could mount the stairs on the end if I wanted to. Still not sure wether or not to just have the one even though I like the height from the two the left side just feels tall with both of them and the fuelling point occupying that end.

Okay, so don't bash me with saying it's not like the prototype Forgot I had the orange cable trunking stuff and seeing as a lot of the track is already ballasted I stuck a bit on as a token gesture just to add a bit of colour more than anything. Might put a few more bits on yet seeing as there are going to be some yard lights. The portacabin didn't quite work out, the dimensions seemed to indicate the total width with stairs was about 55mm but that doesn't seem to be the case. As a result I can't put the upper one on as there isn't enough room for the stairs to go in Got the Accurascale(?) bufferstops purely cause they were lit out of the box as it were and there were no more additional wires to mess around with. They are fiddly to get on though. I might just leave out the fuelling point, for some reason it feels very bulky and dominates the space a bit too much, we will see.

Fair enough was trying to make something rather than trying to be prototypically correct The line would continue out of the tunnel so I thought that 10mph would be good enough without being too quick

Cracked on with a few more bits, another hard standing area that will have a portacabin on it. Walkway between the tracks, still another bit to go on yet but need to ballast that side of the track first. Fuelling point to go in between the two tracks, it should fit , just but need a loco first before I fix it down and make it too permanent. The extremely fiddly speed signs, test for your eyesight to make and paint them.

Last bits of track wired up and fixed down. Spent quite a while on the hard standing area and I think it looks quite good. Had to trim down the top sections lengthways as the area for it to go in was a lot narrower than how the parts came. Fitted the fence along the path, not the best job as the joins are off a little bit, few bushes along the back of the fence between it and the hard standing area. Also done a little ballasting test, Woodland scenics medium buff and then washed down with a matt black wash to give it a bit of extra dimension. Quite pleased how it looks actually.

NCE Power Cab came today that I am going to use for both layouts, got an extra fascia/connection panel and mounted it to the back of the baseboard. Interested to see the Powercab panel is now plastic instead of metal, got to save a few $s somewhere I suppose. Wired and fitted the first bit of track as well, need to wait for the stuff to come from Scale Model Scenery before I can fit the next track as there is a bit of hard standing going between the two sections and I need to get the spacing right otherwise it wont fit. Couple more sections of retaining wall gone on as well, I might go all the way across the back with this but I need a piece about 2 inches long to fit in the gap left, typically I think I threw a bit that size away after I cut some up for my other layout

Yeee found that out last few days although managed to scrape the few bits I needed from various sources.

Few bits of track arrived today Changed the original plan a bit so both sidings are now parallel, the idea being there will now be hard standing between them which will go virtually to the edge of the board on the bottom left. There is going to a fence between the path and the other sections of track, trying to make the path look like it came from a different direction before turning right along the track. There will be another board after the tunnel mouth eventually so locos can move in and out and of both tracks.

Well I have to admit I am in love The Scale Model Scenery baseboard in a box is awesome! It was down for delivery Thursday but got delayed till Monday next week then this morning I had a message saying it was coming today, it turned up at about 6pm in the end after I had just about given up hope of it actually showing. There will another of the boards at some point so I can run out the tunnel mouth to switch locos/shunt a little bit. Still waiting on the track for the current board as well as a ton of stuff still from Scale Model Scenery, hard standing kit, fencing, walkway to name but a few.

That is awesome, I just wouldn't have the balls to do that all that foam everywhere would drive my anxiety through the roof!

Is this still an issue? Had 2 Bachmann Dynamis systems years ago that were plagued by this so eventually gave up with them, luckily one was bought locally so I took it back there and the other one was from Hattons. Find it hard to believe that this is still a problem some 7-8 years ago from when I first tried them!