GridNorth

I seem to have given myself a difficult task. Can you point me to any good layout plans. I have discovered that the small layout plans seem to focus on the modelling/scenery elements and the larger ones on running the trains. I wanted both but with the emphasis on the running the trains. I seem to have arrived at a disillusionment moment. I could spend a little more but with some reluctance. Al

Which would be best? Laying my track directly to a 12mm plywood base or gluing some 10mm XPS foam to that base? My original idea of using 50mm insulating board proved impractical. Al

I've decided to go for a more straightforward layout by adding height rather than taking it away so I've abandoned the canal idea. This is my first layout so I will endeavor to keep it simple. Al

I was in fact thinking of raising the whole surrounding area by a small amount Al

Well it's 12mm ply, it may be possible but may not turn out so well in practice. I've seen 5mm modelling foam for sale at Hobbycraft. Would it be practical to cover the whole,board in that adding layers to build hills and cutting out to create track and my canal? My layout design is mostly flat as it comprises a station at one end a canal and wharf at the other with a small industrial area between. Al

I will be pinning my track to a 12mm baseboard which is all well and good but what is the easiest way of creating a canal and wharf which needs to be slightly lower than the track. Should I raise the track in that area with foam or dig out 1/8" from the plywood. I've seen videos on how to create hills etc. but can't find anything that relates to this specific issue. Al

When people are recommending using 12mm ply are they basing it on not having a frame? 12mm ply with a 400mm x 400mm 2" x 1" framework seems to be over engineered and OTT. Al

I'm not sure that I understand why that should be the case unless there was a LOT of track and several e.g. more than 3 or 4 locomotives. Would you care to explain a little further. Al

I too am just starting out, unlike you I do understand electrics and computers but to start with I don't think you need to know about either. When I was investigating layouts and baseboards there was loads of contradicting and downright misleading information. Now I've settled on both of these elements I've started to research DCC and control. As far as I can tell it is not necessary to run any wiring whatsoever until such time that your layout grows and even then it's probably advisable rather than mandatory at least for the track. Motorised points and signals are another matter. Not wishing to offend anyone but one problem I'm discovering with railway modelling is that there are loads of people who have been at it for years and dare I say may have become a little set in their ways and still proposing old fashioned solutions. I wouldn't hesitate to go DCC and if you do end up having to wire things it's honestly not that hard. Al

If I can do it to get up and running quicker with clips then that's what I will do. The way it's put together it will be easy to wire at a later date. Al

I'm finally ready to start laying some track. I have purchased the "Mixed Freight" DCC starter set to get me going and some additional track. During the design I was pondering how to run the wiring but I have just seen some components called Track Clips. My layout is a small L shape 1200 mm x 500 on one leg of the L and 1500mm x 600mm on the other. It has 10 x points. If I use these track clips will I be able to power the whole layout for DCC without any wiring? Or am I misunderstanding their purpose? Al

My L shaped foam board will be against walls on three sides so I will be putting edging on the remaining sides. The board will be sitting on top of L shaped 12mm plywood of the same dimensions so I'm hoping that the framing will hold it in place allowing me to lift it to get to the underside. I will decide at the time whether to run the bus down the side or down the middle, it may depend upon the lengths of the wires from the bus to the tracks but either method should be feasible. I've had enough thinking and agonising over this so it will be a welcome relief to actually be able to get on with it. Unless of course someone comes on here and says "You don't want to do that because.......!

After staring at it for 2 hours I've come to the same conclusion. Thanks for your help. Alan

Thanks JohnP. That's a damned good idea but I've just bought 3 x 1250 x 450 x 50mm boards which leads me nicely to my next question. The foam can rest directly on two desks that I have pushed together. I should also be able to secure it without resorting to nails or glue simply by clamping it in place with end panels but what is the best way to wire the layout. Dig trenches in the top surface, dig trenches in the underside or raise the board by gluing a couple of pieces of 2 x 1 to create a space underneath. Al

I've decided to use 50mm extruded foam laid on top of 12mm plywood as my baseboard. The plywood is laid on desks so there is is no opportunity to create a space for the wiring. Should I a) dig trenches in the surface of the foam and lay the bus and the wiring into that or b) dig the trenches on the underside to lay the bus and drill small holes for the wiring to power the track? Does anyone have any direct experience of which would be better? Al