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Badger's Cross 2. Modern image DCC layout.


Thesmudge
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Hello all, just over a year ago I moved into my new house, this meant I had to dismantle the original Badger's Cross layout. However, the move and new house has allowed me to have a bigger space for the next layout Badger's Cross 2, the layout is situated in the back of my garage which is easy to get to compared to the old layout in a loft (which was either very hot or very cold and difficult to move around the beams).

 

The new house has required a lot of renovation which took up most of my time up last year. The garage too needed are large amount of work doing to it, I divided the space into three rooms, train room, machine shop and double garage. This started last year as was work was squeezed in around house jobs.

 

Whilst the house was being renovated the garage became a dumping ground for lots of 'stuff'. I first had to move fixed benches and work tops that the previous owner had installed out of the train room area. Once out of the way I started to add in the dividing walls. The bench I moved from the train room was then added to wall in the machine shop area.

 

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Edited by Thesmudge
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Once the stud wall was completed I added wiring to it, I then plaster board and painted it white. The train room was now an empty space which I could now start to set about adding in base boards (all reclaimed wood, the base material is old exterior ply wood 18mm thick and very solid).

 

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In the machine shop end I have a useful work bench for all kinds of projects.

 

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I even added in an extraction unit for spray painting, I was given the old cooker hood and fed the exhaust out of the roof.

 

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Music sorted for those long days and evenings spent tinkering. The other end of the shop has a mill, lathe, band facer and pillar drill.

 

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Edited by Thesmudge
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The layout room base boards were completed for the lower level, the plan is to have two levels accessed by two helix's. The trains and rolling stock will be left out on the lower level fiddle yard, this will keep them out of the way from damage (and means it's easier to work on the scenics) and hopefully dust free.

 

I have made a number of different plans for the layout, the design is still very much fluid and will change again once I start to lay the track. One thing that has already changed from the designs is that the helix's now are wider and therefore fit differently to the designs. The reason being I wanted to run third and fourth radius curves, there is room for second radius on them if I feel the need to add them in the future.

 

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Edited by Thesmudge
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With the lower level design fixed I started laying track.

 

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The helix's are made from 9mm MDF and all of the levels were cut then drilled at the same time so that they match up.

 

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I am using M8 threaded bar for the supports, this allows very accurate adjustment to each level. The helix is very sturdy once completed.

 

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I am soldering a copper bridge between the track joins on the helix to ensure continuity throughout its life.

 

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Edited by Thesmudge
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This last post now brings the thread up to the present day. This weekend my brother and I did some more work on the layout and this was the first time we have had any real trains running. He brought down a few to carry out some testing, at the same time I started to build helix number two.

 

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Just found this via Andy's repainting thread

 

Apologies for the well-worn phrase.

"Will be following this with interest........."

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited by newbryford
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Thank you all for the very positive and warm comments. We plan for the layout to better Badgers Cross the original, it will be a larger layout with greater scenic areas that we plan to add greater detail to over the coming years.

 

Tonight I manged a few hours straight after work with a beer in hand to help, the new track and screws arrived this week. I added the turn to the helix, screwed down boarding around helix and then started to lay the three tracks which will form the station.

 

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Nice work on the 2 Helixes, what radius' are you using for them?

The two radius curves used are 3rd and 4th. There is space to run a third rail of 2nd radius. The board size is 4x4 (1220mmx1220mm) and the track just fits this board size.

Edited by Thesmudge
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I have worked hard on the layout this weekend and have acheived a lot. The structure for the base boards is finished and a few pieces of board have been laid. Before I can lay the rest of the base boards I need to first install all of the surface mount point motors on the lower level fiddle yard and secondly install a removable panel on the lower level infront of the door to make access to the room easier. This I can foresee being a time consuming and slow process, I plan to take my time to do it right, therefore during this time I plan to install a slim line track loop over the majority of the layout so that I can start to run trains and test the track and start work on a few areas of the scenics.

 

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Edited by Thesmudge
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Awesome progress, really can't wait to have a play now. As you always say do it right, and only do it the once. Week Thursday till play day!

Edited by Andy7
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