Far Yard - A micro first Attempt in O gauge.

[birdseyecircus]

Over the last couple of years I have acquired a few O gauge items along with some second hand track.

The delivery of the Dapol 08 has finally given me the kick up the backside to producing something to run it all on.

 

I model OO gauge and a small bit of N gauge too (!) so space is at a premium. Apart from the loft floor it looks like this will be operated on the dining room table when (if) its finished. The wife doesn't know this yet, so 'pass me the salt' could take on a whole new meaning!

 

I had a 4 foot x 14 inch plywood board which means it would have to be something very simple.

 

A short cassette/ fiddlestick was made out of scrap wood and an off cut of track.

 

Before any track fixing I ran the 08 and arranged a few wagons in different sequences. All worked well and I had a nice 30 minutes.

 

 

The wiring is only temporary for the moment but it all works!

 

I have begun to fill in the sleepers with card to reduce the depth of the ballast. 

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

[Dava]

Welcome to  the world of Gauge 0 microlayouts! As you've found, the length of the Peco medium radius point takes up a lot of your space. Many of us are waiting for the long-promised short turnouts to appear. 

 

To add more interest, you could possibly have a short, 3 wagon independent siding which butts up to the provender store, running from your shunting stick if you can move this across between the tracks? This is the layout I used for the very simple 'Coxheath Sidings' which was running yesterday. This also used a 2 -track sector table [see microlayouts & boxfiles].

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96750-easy-low-cost-micro-layout-baseboard-ideas/page-4

 

Have fun!

 

Dava

[BG John]

My Cheapside Yard is a 3-2-2 Inglenook with a traverser instead of any points. The scenic part is 4ft x 1ft, and includes an O-16.5 terminus as well, and the traverser is 20". You can get a lot in a small space!

[birdseyecircus]

Well the last couple of nights has seen me fill in the sleeper gaps with card to reduce the depth of ballast.

 

 

Tonight I gave the track a spray with a Railmatch 'Sleeper grime' aerosol. After a clean up of the track, a quick test ensured that everything still worked ok.

I then placed cork on the remainder of the board to bring the ground level flush with the sleeper tops.

 

 

Ballasting next. I have been watching the ballasting in O gauge thread. So a few experiments will be needed.

 

I did have a quick go at ballasting a couple of sleeper gaps last night and it certainly takes more time than doing it in 00!

 

I am still undecided wether to opt for sand or ballast.

 

Paul

 

 

[Tove]

Well the last couple of nights has seen me fill in the sleeper gaps with card to reduce the depth of ballast.

 

I did have a quick go at ballasting a couple of sleeper gaps last night and it certainly takes more time than doing it in 00!

 

 

Paul

I`m sure that if you have a couple of those bud`s in the last pic,the ballasting will  take no time at all....!!!

 

Brian.

[bertiedog]

I don't know if you have tested it, but the use of card like that to save ballast can give a problem, as it wets from the ballast glue, the card may expand a lot, I only say may, as some does not, it depends on the density. if it expands it stands a chance of the glue setting before the damp card contracts, giving very lumpy looking ballast! It just needs a test sample wetted with glue, set on a surface and left to see what happens.

 

Bristol board or Art grade cardboard is OK, very dense, the opposite side of the coin is packing cardboard and cereal packs, they mop up water like a sponge.

 

Just a point, with such a micro layout are you really saving that much ballast? you could do cheap sand first as a base layer, then a top layer of ballast to finish.

 

Stephen

[birdseyecircus]

Thanks stephen. It is some off cuts of thick art card i had lying around. I have used it before when it has been in contact with water and glue on 00 layouts.

 

I didnt want a bed of ballast with just the top glued forming a crust.

 

Paul

[John R Smith]

I didnt want a bed of ballast with just the top glued forming a crust.

 

 

In my experience, that doesn't happen. If you spray-damp the ballast with water mixed with just a spot of detergent first, then ballast using 1:2 PVA to Water plus another drop of detergent, you should get solid setting right through to the base. Whether you want that or not, is of course another matter - especially if you might wish to remove and alter the track layout at some point in the future. Full depth PVA ballast is like concrete!

 

John

Edited November 17, 2016 by John R Smith

[birdseyecircus]

Thanks John. On 00 ballasting i do spray with water before glueing but from time to time things dont always turn out as they should!

 

I have found some woodlands scenics fine cinders i forgot i had. I did a small test which i was pleased with.

I managed to ballast around 10 sleepers tonight. It takes much more time than 00 gauge.

 

Paul

[Dava]

I use DAS to fill in between the sleepers, either premixed with paint or then paint it, then when dry ballast with mixed granulated cork or grey/brown flock powders to give an ash ballast effect. I also use a hopper, you can buy or build one. I don't like using granite but my models are of lightly used industrial & light railways.

 

Dava

[jamest]

Hi,

 

I too am tempted by the lure of O gauge so I'll watch your efforts with interest - the 08 looks good.

 

I have planned to convert an old triang Hymek using a detail kit but I'm afraid I am very tempted by the new Heljan 25, but I'm still getting my head around next to £500 for a loco!

 

You seem to have made a good start and have the sense to take baby steps in O before committing to much space or money.

 

All the best,

James

[birdseyecircus]

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

Yes I did think about Das clay, but never having used it before I wanted to stick to something I had done before.

 

I first bought some 0 gauge stuff a couple of years ago from a friend. This was a Rivorossi shunter painted up in BR colours and  3 wagons.

Since then I have bought  a Heljan class 26, Heljan Railbus, Dapol terrier along with some Heljan wagons. All this stuff has just sat in their boxes, with the odd run up a length of track!

So getting the Dapol 08 has really spurred me on.

One other purchase was a Tower models 02 diesel shunter kit, which I have yet to tackle!

 

Paul

[birdseyecircus]

Well, work carries on with my first O gauge micro shunting plank.

Ballasting has been completed, 20 minutes here, half our there! it just needs tidying up on the edges before work begins on the surrounding ground cover.

 

Looking at the picture left to right, we see the point which was ballasted with WS medium grey. I will give this a wash to tone it down so it blends in better.

Next is 1/43 Oxford diecast Vauxhall Hal In BR Yellow.

 

The provender store is a Bachmann Scalescene release.

 

Coal Staithes are from Skytex this has been partially painted.

 

A corgi Leyland in 1/50th scale was bought yesterday from a toy fair, It does look a little on the small side but there is very little suitable in 1/43.

What swung it was the cable drums on the back which I can use in the yard whilst the Leyland will be for the coal merchant.

I did see a number of battered 1/43 dinky HGV's but they required new glazing, headlights etc. I may get one at a later date as another project.

 

The buffer stops were installed and painted just need to add the actual buffer cross piece which I will paint white.

 

I reconnected the power and ran the 08 about to see if there were any issues.

 

Paul

[Jerry1975]

Good start, look forward to seeing more.

 

Jerry.

[birdseyecircus]

Due to chores and the mood factor i have not done a great deal. But lots going on in my head!

Just a wash over of the ground cover to darken the colours a little.

 

I have been selling some stuff on ebay to generate funds. Hence my purchase of two more Heljan tanks for another project later!

 

Paul

[CloggyDog]

A space saving trick I've used a couple of times is to chop the point in half (at a point between the switch blade hinges and the vee) and just use the vee end. The fiddlestick would just plug into whichever road you want to access using standard rail joiners. In OO I made use of a couple of Peco points that had disconnected switchblades. in O, I made the vee end up from C&L components. Saved having to file up the switchblades and arrange an operating mechanism.

 

Hidden under a suitable scenic break, you'd gain some useable inches on each road.

 

DSC_0457 by Alan Monk, on Flickr

[birdseyecircus]

I have managed a liitle more today. The 2 road vehicles were given a spray of matt varnish. I used Humbrol Maskol for the first time to mask the windows.

I found it better to apply thickly to the windows using an old brush.

The liquid starts setting almost straight away before losing it's colour

Anyhow I left it an hour before spraying Humbrol matt varnish out of a can onto the BR van. After it had dried off the maskol was peeled off the windows using a wooden BBQ squewer.

 

The Leyand flatbed had it's lettering wiped off using acetone then treated the same as the Van. I also dusted the flat bed with black weathering powder.

 

A small section of static grass was applied with a Noch puffer, but the only strands i have are short so will have to aquire some longer lengths.

 

Inbetween all this I was doing a bit of shunting. I still seem to be having problems coupling up using a length of bent welding rod. The 3 links on the 08 and the Heljan tank seem a little on the stiff side. uncoupling is a doddle!

 

Paul

 

 

[Brinkly]

Looks good so far Paul. I think a lot of us, myself included, fancy building a 7mm layout.

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick.

[Jerry1975]

Looking good, I do like that 08.

 

Jerry.

[MarshLane]

Next is 1/43 Oxford diecast Vauxhall Hal In BR Yellow.

 

 

 

Really pleased you posted this, as I'm on the look out for vehicles!  Shall be scouring eBay now for these!!!

 

Layout looks superb - well done, following with interest.

 

Rich

[ColinK]

My Cheapside Yard is a 3-2-2 Inglenook with a traverser instead of any points. The scenic part is 4ft x 1ft, and includes an O-16.5 terminus as well, and the traverser is 20". You can get a lot in a small space!

Your layout sounds interesting. Any pictures?

[BG John]

Your layout sounds interesting. Any pictures?

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/101184-cheapside-yard-a-low-cost-7mm-micro-layout/

 

It's still progressing slowly, despite a lack of recent updates.

[birdseyecircus]

Apart from some running i have not done anymore, but a nice little packet turned up today from Digitrains.

 

I hope to install it within the next day or two.

I have been selling a few things off to fund some more 7mm purchases including a booster for my NCE powercab.

Then maybe a little extension to Far Yard so i can run a mainline diesel.

 

Paul

[birdseyecircus]

Sound decoder now fitted. She's alive!

It sounds superb and really brings a very small layout like this to life.

 

 

Paul

[railwayrod]

Nice steady progress there Paul. Keep us posted. I have said it before on RMweb once you start in 0 gauge you are hooked. 00 will seem far too small.

 

Rod