Mike Greenwood

Hi Guys, Hopefully someone may know the answer to this and be able to help. I make Wooden Trains to use as garden planters, don’t worry I’m not here to advertise. I was wondering if it is possible to get Driver figures in the standing position at around 6 inches tall? Thanks in advance. Mike

Hi guys, so I put together a rough idea to bounce around, please ignore the actual track design itself, its just there to give an idea. The blue loop would be a passenger line and would be raised but flat throughout, the yellow line would be for goods. The board would be in 4 main areas: East End would be a raised town which would cover all the track at than end. South Side would contain the station and some sidings and support for the station itself. North side would contain industry, undecided on what this would be, both the Station and Industry would be connected tot he town on East Side. West End would be much more rural so a transition on both North and South side from Urban to Rural would need to be achieved, I would possibly like to incorporate some kind of Viaduct in the West End section. (Spectators would only really be stood at the West End to view) The general idea here would be to create 3 different "scenes" to look at which won't appear connected on the layout due to tunnels etc. I could then work on one area at a time leaving the rest as just plain track, and therefore maybe alter it as the layout progressed. Would it even be viable to add a double sided back scene between the West End and the remainder of the layout? Just some thoughts to get going. Some questions raised: I would say both, but I think purely from what I have mocked up here I would say Urban is probably more appealing. Bit of both but again I think urban and goods feels more appealing. I only have a load of setrack at the moment gathered from a few sets I have bought and been given but I would have to use Flextrack for a lot of the things I want to fit in. Enjoying the feedback, I'd left this board empty and unloved for too long so glad to have got back to it. Thanks Mike

Hi Guys, thanks for the feedback so far, here are the photos I should have posted int he first place! Firstly the hand turned winch which is bolted through the garage wall and out the other side, this then leads up the wall and turns at the pulley to head towards the centre of the room, this then pulls on a rope section which is 2 ropes attached either side of the board that come um the walls and over another pullet each to meet in the centre. I have also attached 4 safety chains which when raised the board can be hooked to meaning it has 8 attachment points and no danger of falling, this also helps it hold its square while up in the roof for longer periods. The board itself is 12 by 8, with the central operating well. As you can see no space either side but the far end can be accessed by opening the door. To answer some of the questions from above. This seems to be the logical solution to my issues and I think multi level is the only way I can fit it all in. I very much like the idea of a station one side being the focus, then the other side with the industry and the the passenger line being more background, hopefully disguising the generally circular format. I had thought about having the backscene on the garage door end much further in and sending the trains into this to then reappear at the the other end, effectively making it more of a horseshoe shape. In terms of era, its not so much I don't care, I just don't know enough to get it right, I only want to run Steam and Diesel, so I suppose I have to push towards 50's 60's? I'd love to make a more realistic layout in the future but as this is my first project, and also a rented house I just want something to get my trains on and learn the ropes as it were. Originally the board was far too heavy duty, I could walk over any section of it which is massive overkill and made it very heavy, it has since been on a huge diet and I can lift it from either end myself, the system will cope with around half a ton, to be honest I don't really know what a layout ends up weighing but I assume I will be fine. Ok so I forgot to mention this in the write up: The board has to go up to a certain level so that when the garage door is opened it rolls inwards and comes just under the board, can't avoid this and the Mrs won't allow the garage to stay shut forever. The whole board has a clearance of around 24cm as it is, but as you can see from the roof there are only beams running along certain points and the clearance for anything not directly under these can easily be another 30cm. I have also made the board narrow enough so the backscenes on the long edges will fall inside the roof beams and therefore can be the larger height, the end backscenes would have to have cutouts for the beams if they were to go above 24cm. I'm all for off the wall suggestions, the current layout is off the roof so it seems apt. So with the above are you suggesting all 4 lines run together round the layout or all 4 meet at the station and it becomes and passenger/goods station? Thanks for the feedback, I really needed someone else to throw ideas at me. Mike

Hi All, I am brand new to the forum and also new to the hobby, although the fires have been burning since I was about 9, over 30 years ago now :) I am building a new OO Gauge DCC Model Railway (my first) in my garage. The size of the board is 12 by 8 and it covers pretty much the entire garage. There is an operating well in the centre of the layout approx 2 by 6, although this can be modified in size/shape. Here's where it gets interesting, the entire board is on a hand cranked winch system I built and can be raised and lowered from the roof, meaning the garage is still usable for anything else. The north and sound edges of the board (12 foot sections) almost touch the walls and so are not accessible at all from the sides. The East end of the board is where the garage door is and so is accessible when the door to the garage is open. The West end of the board is fully accessible. (I'm thinking a plan or photos of this might be a good idea, I'll get that sorted...) So I built and rebuilt the board 2 years ago and I have spend hours and hours trawling over track ideas and playing on Scarm and still have nothing on the board. My problem is I want too much on the board and just can't seem to get a layout I am happy with. Ok so what am I trying to get: I don't mind about correct Era or realistic operation, I just want to see trains going around, mostly steam but some diesel too, none of those new fangled electric ones though! What I would like: Double main line (continuous loop) Single or Double line for goods trains (continuous loop) these I would like to be fairly long trains. Possible 4th/5th line for small steam trains (goods only) again ideally continuous loop. I would like a station, this will have to be a through station because of the above, but I have toyed with a fake terminus in one corner for this. Passenger trains will be loco and 3 or 4 coaches (I have 6 for my longest but it won't fit on a layout like this) I would ideally like there to be 4 lines in the station as it means I can have a waiting train on each of the 2 lines and easily switch out. Potentially a couple of siding for engine sheds etc, no turntable though. No fiddle yard required. (let's face it no space for one) I would like some industry for the goods lines to have a purpose so with the station as well this means a fairly urban layout which is fine, although a bit of greenery somewhere would be nice, maybe a tunnel or bridge. I have played around with the passenger lines being raised up, only 80mm or so, then the goods lines down at baseboard height, so they can cross each other for interest. Ok I have waffled on for far too long, hopefully I have posted this in the correct place. I would really love some help in getting my layout moving and would love some input from others. I'll get some pictures on as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. Mike