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Oak Road - 2013 to present (a fictitious place somewhere in Somerset) - Raising Money for Meningitis Research


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On 27/12/2019 at 10:30, john new said:

Has anyone tried using sections of metal L angle at baseboard ends to stop warping? I.e sandwiched above the frame but below the track bed.

 

It is an idea I have thought of but not yet tried hence wondering if other people have? No point experimenting with an option already tried elsewhere and proved not to work.


I’ve often thought the same but haven’t tried it

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It works but it’s blummin’ heavy if it’s strong enough to make a difference. An old club layout had sections of steel angle in it and it was a pain to move for shows. I found well glued wood works just as well without the weight. I use 70-90 deep wood ends and 100mm deep ply sides and have no issues. On a shallower board I use 9mm ply end plates and they stop warping too. 

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I’m sat here scratching my head - for the second year running I’ve been nominated for an RMWeb / BRM Award. This year it’s for Oak Road in the best layout category. Quite how, baffles me? Whoever nominated me clearly hasn’t read through this thread, or operated it! 
 

I’m very flattered, and whoever it was, thank you. It’s nice to know that people like what they see. 

 

 

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Hi Mike,

Congratulations on being nominated for the rmWeb awards - fingers crossed for you!

 

I hope you don’t mind a slight hi-jack of your thread, but I am about to start on a new layout, and while I doubt it will ever be good enough for exhibitions, space at home means it has to be portable, so can be taken down and stored between sessions. Given your comment about baseboards, it seems an apt time to ask have you any advice? I am looking at potentially 9mm ply for the frame and crossmembers with 6mm ply for the baseboard tops. But they will need to sit on a frame work with legs as well. Mine will need to be maneuverable by one person, me, so Hence why I am thinking the supporting legs and frames need to be separate.

 

I would welcome any views from advice you’ve been given to your own transporting, setting up and operating experiences with Oak Road, please feel free to PM if you do not wish to clutter the thread. Well done on a superb layout btw.

 

Rich

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9 hours ago, MarshLane said:

Hi Mike,

Congratulations on being nominated for the rmWeb awards - fingers crossed for you!

 

I hope you don’t mind a slight hi-jack of your thread, but I am about to start on a new layout, and while I doubt it will ever be good enough for exhibitions, space at home means it has to be portable, so can be taken down and stored between sessions. Given your comment about baseboards, it seems an apt time to ask have you any advice? I am looking at potentially 9mm ply for the frame and crossmembers with 6mm ply for the baseboard tops. But they will need to sit on a frame work with legs as well. Mine will need to be maneuverable by one person, me, so Hence why I am thinking the supporting legs and frames need to be separate.

 

I would welcome any views from advice you’ve been given to your own transporting, setting up and operating experiences with Oak Road, please feel free to PM if you do not wish to clutter the thread. Well done on a superb layout btw.

 

Rich


I’m probably the last person to ask for advice Rich, but I can tell you what NOT to do!

 

Ideally, chose some good quality wood with lots of plys per mm. 9mm should be fine for the tops and the sides, but if you need to bolt it together, use 12, or better still 18mm on the frame ends. Make sure you glue everything - mistake number one for me because I just screwed it together and now I’m paying the price! 
 

if there’s any areas that will be weak, reinforce any joints with some blocks of wood, and once the boards are built, seal them with primer to stop moisture ingress. 
 

That’s the very basics and if you follow those simple guidelines, it should be a good foundation to build on.

 

:good_mini:

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4 hours ago, scoobyra said:


I’m probably the last person to ask for advice Rich, but I can tell you what NOT to do!

 

Ideally, chose some good quality wood with lots of plys per mm. 9mm should be fine for the tops and the sides, but if you need to bolt it together, use 12, or better still 18mm on the frame ends. Make sure you glue everything - mistake number one for me because I just screwed it together and now I’m paying the price! 
 

if there’s any areas that will be weak, reinforce any joints with some blocks of wood, and once the boards are built, seal them with primer to stop moisture ingress. 
 

That’s the very basics and if you follow those simple guidelines, it should be a good foundation to build on.

 

:good_mini:

 

The "last person to ask for advice" is normally the most useful :)  Thanks for that, I'll take them onboard.  So 9mm for the tops and sides, and 18mm for the ends.  What do you use as a primer to seal them?  

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I do enjoy following your adventures and stories with Oak Road.

 

Rich

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3 hours ago, MarshLane said:

 

The "last person to ask for advice" is normally the most useful :)  Thanks for that, I'll take them onboard.  So 9mm for the tops and sides, and 18mm for the ends.  What do you use as a primer to seal them?  

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I do enjoy following your adventures and stories with Oak Road.

 

Rich


Unfortunately, I didn’t seal mine, but good old wood primer (paint) appears to be the choice of my friends. 

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Well the plot thickens, as they say....or should that be....'I'm just thick'?

 

The scenic baseboards are in a lot worse shape than I first thought, and I'll put this down to the following:

 

I didn't glue the board parts, I just screwed them together, which was a pretty stupid idea. Not so bad when you can get to the screws but almost impossible once they've got three years worth of scenery on top of them! The 9mm ply at the board ends certainly isn't substantial enough and with the fact that the screws have worked loose, the plates flex by around 5mm! 

 

I've also found another problem, which we'll put down to the layout in transit. The panels that bolt up to the board ends to form a crate, rock under the weight, and this in turn has caused the D Nuts to pull through the ends of the boards.

 

Ian and Paul have given me a couple of solutions so I'm going to try both and see how I get on, although I'd already had some similar thoughts on how to beef everything up.   

 

Everything else is now on hold until I get this fixed.....

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On 01/01/2020 at 21:53, scoobyra said:

I’m sat here scratching my head - for the second year running I’ve been nominated for an RMWeb / BRM Award. This year it’s for Oak Road in the best layout category. Quite how, baffles me? Whoever nominated me clearly hasn’t read through this thread, or operated it! 
 

I’m very flattered, and whoever it was, thank you. It’s nice to know that people like what they see. 

 

 

It’s a great layout to see being operated, and operated well. 
 

also for me the fact that the layout helps meningitis research is brilliant. 
 

it’s great that your passion for the modelling is benefiting others through meningitis research support

 

having read the posts of the layout as it has developed you’ve always been very humble about the skills you have. You’re best comment on the thread for me is one just above. ‘’I’m probably the last person to ask for advice Rich, but I can tell you what NOT to do!’’

 

if anyone was to ask me the same question my response would pretty much be the same.

 

thanks for bringing such a brilliant layout to fruition. I got to see it ‘’live’’ for the first time at taunton show last year. Was very impressed

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10 hours ago, GWRPhil said:

It’s a great layout to see being operated, and operated well. 
 

also for me the fact that the layout helps meningitis research is brilliant. 
 

it’s great that your passion for the modelling is benefiting others through meningitis research support

 

having read the posts of the layout as it has developed you’ve always been very humble about the skills you have. You’re best comment on the thread for me is one just above. ‘’I’m probably the last person to ask for advice Rich, but I can tell you what NOT to do!’’

 

if anyone was to ask me the same question my response would pretty much be the same.

 

thanks for bringing such a brilliant layout to fruition. I got to see it ‘’live’’ for the first time at taunton show last year. Was very impressed


Kind words Phil, thank you

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Well I made a start on the boards last week and ripped out the wiring (not literally), and started reinforcing the ends......

 

Board4.jpg.abe6b02211482dd1ea9c3f2a863436b4.jpg

 

Board3.jpg.561b730aa8a6abc2d2ce060e0889d55e.jpg

 

Board1.jpg.4ea34f5b7461c68c20d255d875f71b00.jpg

 

Board2.jpg.98415e009dfa6c2b878022743b8f9434.jpg

 

Board5.jpg.869b37e8954f800bd30ab094cf0280f7.jpg

 

.....all was going well until Friday evening until I bent down to pick something up off the workshop floor and locked my back up! Yesterday was spent mostly laying flat on the floor in agony, but on the plus side, it took the pain away from my arms and shoulder for a while! :lol::lol:

 

Today, I took a few dozen painkillers and attempted to crack on........

 

Board6.jpg.9ad6593d73f3c2b73dd20d1bdda3bd3b.jpg

 

Board7.jpg.dfa37394f0be7032346d8b10d025e634.jpg

 

Board8.jpg.21087f81175cb8b3f190d6489b1a99ba.jpg

 

The end plates are now pretty solid so I may finally have a layout that won't fall to pieces...hopefully. There's still a few reinforcement blocks to add in a couple of places and another coat of primer here and there, but overall, I'm 90% there. James at DCC Train Automation sent me a few hundred feet of 24/02 wire for the new power buses and I'll make a start on those on Wednesday.

 

I also had a good find on ebay for some alternatives to the D Nuts that I destroyed. Basically, they're M8 threaded feet locators for sofas etc, and have a flange that can be secured with screws. That'll fix the issue of pulling them through the end plates!

 

Next dilemma is what electrical connections to use between the board joints....... 

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44 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

I don't know if it's any help, but I use Male / Female Terminal Blocks set into the Board ends, so always a good fit.

IMG_0149.JPG.32a1780fd44c34cbbfb7d734102bb122.JPG

 

IMG_0152.JPG.a04e4b74f481b774bf12f85ab49c9512.JPG

 

IMG_0276.JPG.ddc4ab8ab15999d8a0b66b6471421afb.JPG

 

IMG_0153.JPG.6aa6150a2c96a5361582f78e0f88ffe1.JPG

 

Yes and No Andy.

 

I've thought about using them but I need something that won't get destroyed in transit

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The new D Nuts turned up at work last week and look like this.........

 

1961297903_DNut.jpg.404581a5c75915f7c683ef168dc9cbf8.jpg

 

...these really are a huge improvement over the original ones I used and are a doddle to fit - just drill an 11mm hole and then pull them in with a bolt and a washer.

 

This is how the board joints look with them fitted (ignore the painting)..

 

272741886_NewEndPlates.jpg.dfe651da20bd4e0c37f0f1081dc17051.jpg

 

1561573495_BoardsBandC.jpg.ebdad480880a5f340527c0aea800ffc0.jpg

 

I've also managed to rewire all of Board A (the tunnel board) and it looks a bit like Ian's handiwork on Tidworth. Well it worked ok for him so why not do the same! I had a bit of a dilemma over what electrical connectors to use, but I've decided on some 12 pin GX20s and some trailer cable for the jumper leads.

 

Board A.jpg

 

Hopefully, I'll get the other three boards completed by tomorrow evening and then I can crack on with  fitting the new MBT point motors and DCC Concepts AD1-HPs. If anyone needs any Cobolt IP Digitals, I've got 9 for sale! :lol:

 

Right, time to downlaod iTrain 5................... 

Edited by scoobyra
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Hi Mike,

Ive followed your build very closely and loved watching its progress, your attention to detail and I have laughed at the frustrations that I too know all to well!

 

Ive been meaning to ask - board joins and cork..... have you experienced any damage to the cork and wished you had taken a different approach? On my build (a scale replica of Sheffield Station in OO with handbuilt track), I have a fairly unique approach to my boards (jigsaw approach!) and have cork exposed on all sides on some boards. I am wondering if maybe I should edge the baseboard tops with 4mm ply so the cork doesnt get damaged and hence rip ballast etc off.

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On 23/01/2020 at 17:21, Sheffield Midlands said:

Hi Mike,

Ive followed your build very closely and loved watching its progress, your attention to detail and I have laughed at the frustrations that I too know all to well!

 

Ive been meaning to ask - board joins and cork..... have you experienced any damage to the cork and wished you had taken a different approach? On my build (a scale replica of Sheffield Station in OO with handbuilt track), I have a fairly unique approach to my boards (jigsaw approach!) and have cork exposed on all sides on some boards. I am wondering if maybe I should edge the baseboard tops with 4mm ply so the cork doesnt get damaged and hence rip ballast etc off.

 

I've had a few problems with it Martin, namely the fact that it expands! The problematic board joint in question is very odd, because the rails are soldered to panel pins so it physically cannot move.

 

If I'm honest, I probably would use 5mm ply to create the ballast shoulder in future for just the reason you've mentioned. I'll try and get some close up pictures to show you how the cork has reacted. 

Edited by scoobyra
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2 hours ago, scoobyra said:

 

I've had a few problems with it Martin, namely the fact that it expands! The problematic board joint in question is very odd, because the rails are soldered to panel pins so it physically cannot move.

 

If I'm honest, I probable would use 5mm ply to create the ballast shoulder in future for just the reason you've mentioned. I'll try and get some close up pictures to show you how the cork has reacted. 

 

That would be really useful Mike - thank you. In the past I have used small brass screws driven in to the baseboard top (through the cork which is glued to the baseboard top with heavy duty contact/carpet adhesive), dremelled and filed to make them inconspicuous  and it has performed really well in temps from -20C through to +25C with no realignment issues. I have tried pins before and found that they have a little too much flexibility with 4mm cork (not very supportive) and then a gap (sleeper depth) up to the base of the rail itself.

 

Concern is cork potentially getting damaged or worse - peeling up!

Edited by Sheffield Midlands
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Apologies for the complete lack of updates....I've changed the operating system on my PC and for some reason I can't upload any pictures to it. Given the fact that I have the same issue with my Mac, I'm guessing it's something to do with my phone?

 

Anyway, written updates will have to do.

 

I'm running a month behind (not entirely my fault) with the improvements to the layout, but so far all of the end plates have been strengthened and the old wiring has been completely removed.

 

The fiddle yard boards have been relaid, along with the entry boards to make the centre roads longer, and to get most of the points off of the fiddle yard.

 

Added to the control system have been the following:

Digikeijs DR5000

Digikeijs DR 4018 x2

Digikeijs DR 4088 x5

MBT MP1 x24

 

I've removed the Cobalt IP DIgital point motors and replaced them with the above MP1s driven by the DCC Concepts AD!-HPs that were surplus from the 4018 installations. 

 

This whole process seems to be taking forever and I still can't run any trains........and on top of that,  I've not even started to look at iTrain yet either!

 

There is a positive side to this though - the boards are now very rigid when bolted together, and the wiring is now split in to a power bus and an accessory bus (the later will be powered by a DR5033).

 

Hopefully, I'll work out how to get some pictures up without resorting to using my phone!

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Right, I still can’t upload pictures to my  computer, so I’ll add the latest one via my phone.

 

AA9995C6-C191-424B-B2DE-7EDE942484F8.jpeg.41da0ee530bde92c4b71dda96e773f4f.jpeg

 

This is the rogue board joint that’s been bugging me for about two years now so I’ve finally decided to rip it up and relay it. It looks a lot worse than it is - I’ve removed everything down to baseboard level and will lower the track to take out the ski ramps on the board tops. I started this yesterday evening and with any luck I’ll have it ready to run trains by this evening.

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With the whole Country approaching lockdown, and every show except RailEx NE cancelled, it’s safe to assume that I won’t be working on the layout for a while. I’ve managed to get the electrics finished all bar a couple of frog wires, and the signal decoders but it’s all connected up to iTrain. It’s been a massive learning curve and one which I wouldn’t have managed without James Hudson at DCC Train Automation, and he deserves a medal for his patience! There’s still a fair amount to do in terms of inputting locos and rolling stock but that’s par for the course.

 

I’m going to spend a while getting the station buildings up-together now and finish off the 166, along with sorting out the rest of the stock.

 

stay safe people and see you all on the other side. 

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On ‎22‎/‎03‎/‎2020 at 14:35, scoobyra said:

With the whole Country approaching lockdown, and every show except RailEx NE cancelled, it’s safe to assume that I won’t be working on the layout for a while. I’ve managed to get the electrics finished all bar a couple of frog wires, and the signal decoders but it’s all connected up to iTrain. It’s been a massive learning curve and one which I wouldn’t have managed without James Hudson at DCC Train Automation, and he deserves a medal for his patience! There’s still a fair amount to do in terms of inputting locos and rolling stock but that’s par for the course.

 

I’m going to spend a while getting the station buildings up-together now and finish off the 166, along with sorting out the rest of the stock.

 

stay safe people and see you all on the other side. 

Looking forward to when you get back on with your layout build Mike..

 

cheers neil..

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