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Doddington - Beginners layout 00 steam


Tomathee
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First, a word on naming....

 

Around 11pm last night I realised I had been staring at a similar page that I am currently, that of a new topic. However it had been blank for approx 90 minutes as I pondered a title/layout name before proceeding to the body of the post. As if procrastinating didn't take up enough of my time I now sat running through infinite methods and ideas for names - various combinations of real/semi real/fantasy places, shortened and merged family member names (among others in my sleep deprived state Kirthojac, anyone?), words that the four year old it is all being done in aid of would find familiar whilst suiting a passing resemblance to being a real place, and so on.

On the way up the stairs tonight to revisit starting this thread I decided to simplify and just shorten the name of the nearest village to where I live. It is suitable in being unquestionably real, in my mind it works with various words added that may come in and out over time as it develops, it didn't have a real line or station passing through at any point, so I can do what I want without any kind of comparison being drawn by myself or others, consciously or otherwise. So hats off to those with creative names for their layouts that give the reader an idea of what they'll be looking at, or simply draws us into reading the thread, it seems to be a skill in itself!

 

Welcome to my layout thread, given my skill level and pace of work I won't be setting the world ablaze with updates and content. I wanted to do this partly as a diary for myself, I've taken pictures and made notes along the way, some of which I'll need to refer back to if I come to expand, and some of which will be nice to look back on as hopefully the layout improves. So I wanted to put it into some sort of order, in one place. If it manages to help others or provide a worthwhile read for anyone than all the better.

 

A brief history, as a child I had very much a trainset, it was a bare board that stood up against the wall at the end of most evenings, with an assortment of everything from Thomas & friends, Intercity 225 and at least one each of steam and diesel. Fast forward and I have a son, now age 4, he's been through the plastic Thomas track, the wooden Brio/other brand track and is way more into trains on the whole than I was at his or any other age. Several months ago I started on the idea of getting him a trainset ready in time for Christmas, I had my doubts re. 4 year old vs. delicate model train related items and the risk of them being treated similarly to the wooden stuff he was into at the time. So I decided I'd keep it simple and cheap in the beginning, to see if he was interested and also to see whether I'd need to be replacing trains and trucks etc more regularly than was economically viable.

 

The first part of the thread deals with the temporary layout he was given for Christmas, and then I'll get into making it a permanent feature in the spare room. Hopefully within a few posts I'll catch up to the present day and can start talking about plans for the future, so here goes....

 

The size of the initial layout was determined by the space on the living room floor. We wanted to have it there for Christmas morning so he could come down and play with it, show the grandparents and all that. The board ended up being slightly smaller than ideal at 5'x4'. I decided I wanted to add bracing from the outset, although it was going straight on to the floor I knew that inevitably it would get walked over and I wasn't sure what that would do in terms of bending and so on. Because of the weight this would add I decided to do it in two parts, to aid in carrying it up and down stairs at various stages of building, keeping it hidden, and moving it out of the way if needed. Many layouts seem to use 4'x2' as a standard size so I went for that, as it should be ready made if and when we expand, along with a 4'x3', as a word of caution this was at the limit of being unwieldy and not something I'd repeat if starting over. I had another 4'x3' leftover, I'd asked for 8'x4' in total as a standard size sold, not sure if I could have just had only what I needed, but it's there ready when needed and hopefully will encourage expansion so it doesn't go to waste. It was all 12mm ply from a local company, and at a very similar price to what was available in the chain stores. In terms of bracing, 2"x1" seems favoured so I went for a close match with 27x44mm 'softwood planed square edge'. 

IMG_20181125_093937358 IMG_20181125_113246514 IMG_20181125_131629946

 

Untrusting of my carpentry skills I decided to build the frame onto the board, rather than build up the frame and attach the board after. The 4'x2' was naturally easier, gluing and screwing the four outer edges and then making two inner lengths to fit. The 4'x3' I did the same, and then added in further braces through the middle, I sited these such that if future expansion requires the use of 4'x2' this one can be butchered down to the correct width without the bracing being in the way. Also have drilled holes for any future wiring should I get that far. I used 25mm screws for the board and 50mm for joining the frame, along with PVA glue and clamps as far as possible.

IMG_20181223_212926704 IMG_20181223_212949393

 

The boards were given two coats of grey primer/undercoat and then some white emulsion underneath should I need the brightness for any future wiring type jobs. For attaching the boards I wasn't looking for too complicated or expensive of a solution. Following suggestions I went with coach bolts and some latches, to be honest the bolts were probably fine on their own and I think one of the latches was slightly too close so didn't pull tight enough to offer any help.

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Onwards with the track, following the budget route I picked up a trainset from ebay which included the standard loop plus siding. This however didn't fit on the board as intended and had been known from an early stage. The fully plan could be done in the space which I'll come on to later, however wouldn't have been conducive to the temporary requirement of separating boards. So a plan with shortened straights was used so that straight sections crossed the board joints.

Layout 1

 

After some extensive playing testing all was set for Christmas Eve, which conveniently brings me to a good time to end this part, to be continued.

IMG_20181223_224048791

 

If you've read this far then many thanks, happy to answer any questions or take on board suggestions. I'm very much a newcomer to this and have had several threads asking questions along the way, so any further help is appreciated.

 

Tom

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It looks like you have used ply for the board tops. It seems to be much less prone to warping than chipboard or MDF.

 

Suggestions: Getting something running is a major milestone for most modellers. It looks like you have done that.

Don't be tempted to get too complicated too quickly. By keeping things simple, you can understand how it works & will be able to fix it when it goes wrong.

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  • RMweb Gold

I like the name - I was born (sort of) in a village called Doddiscomesleigh so it feels like it could be the next town along. It was also where I got my first train set which was an oval of 00!

There's something marvellous about the simplicity of the oval, the true train set that can be adapted into anything you dream of. Best of luck!

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Thank you all for the kind words. The carpentry is ok if I have a clear set of instructions and I'd be happy to build more boards, there were many threads on here and I asked a set of questions before starting so I had a good idea of how, it's areas such as distance between bracing, to not leave it too weak or go overboard with too much, that I needed the guidance on. And it was somewhere on here that i had the suggestion of building the frame onto the board, rather than trying to build the frame and add the board later, as it likely wouldn't have been as good a fit given my skill level. As part of the next update when I get round to it I'll include the legs, which I've possibly over-engineered because I didn't have a lot to go on and had to think of mostly for myself, many of the guides are suited for portable or exhibition layouts which I didn't need to account for.

 

Getting something running is/was a must, a four year old soon loses interest when nothing is happening and I think either no or a very short downtime is going to be a leading priority for any work that requires a halt to trains running. Likewise as long as this is being done 'for him' (I'll cross the bridge of what happens if/when he loses interest if/when I get to it regards disposal, downsizing and so on) then continuous run is another hard and fast rule for future planning. I've been clearing space and trying to space out ideas in my head, although at the moment the majority of any time I get for layout related work is going on resurrecting the old locos me and my brother had, which he keeps finding at my mothers house and bringing home in anticipation.

 

I haven't really come up with a prototype, although it's always on my mind. Mallard is his favourite in LNER blue, which I'm weighing up with not particularly liking the teak coaches that I'd be budgeting for before I limited to that area. If it was up to me I think I'd go for a fictional/fantasy setup of former LMS/LNER in BR colours as I think I could live without the other two. However given what is being brought home for me to fix up I don't think it will come anywhere close, last week it was oiling a James, this week I've been ordering new brushes for a Class 91....

 

On the name I went with Doddington, drawn from Great Doddington, which I either drive home through or is on one of my running routes, however I've since found Doddington as a place in Lincolnshire, so apologies for any confusion. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Onwards with the backlog of photos and notes....

 

This part I'll cover putting the temporary Christmas layout (which I've called version 0) on to legs (v0.5) and if I'm still awake tweaking it to the current plan as it stands today (v1). If I can get that far then I'm up to date with the layout and there's just a few side pieces to write up my ramblings on, then I can start looking to the future in earnest.

 

With the end of Christmas and the lounge returning to its normal furniture arrangement the layout didn't really have the space without encroaching on seating space. It had been a definite success and stayed in place for the duration, rather than the anticipated need to move it out of the way a few times to allow other activities. Here is its next temporary home whilst I planned how to add legs. It now sits in the spare room, which includes the standard junk and fruits of hoarding. One benefit of the layout being floor-bound for a number of weeks was forcing some decluttering, however this promptly halted once the extra space under the newly raised layout came into existence...

IMG_20190116_220133344

 

I had spent some time looking into the legs and hadn't really found a perfect solution. Many were geared towards portability which I didn't need, or trestle supports which I wasn't sure would take the potential leaning and handling of a four year old. So I ended up largely making it up as I went along. Obviously starting with the legs, then a horizontal between the legs and then some diagonal bracing between the legs and board/frame. Testing as I went along I did see the difference in stability through each stage and I think this part I'd keep the majority of the idea for any future board construction as it is solid. I wanted to make them both as complete 'tables' so they could stand alone if I had to move them around the room, or if I expand and as I think will happen the larger board is cut down to smaller lengths.

 

Starting with the larger board I added the legs, For these I used 38x63mm CLS. It seemed to work out cheaper than other options and the rounded edges I think are nicer. Square edges on the frame are a must I think, to help with keeping it square and to avoid a 'cranny' all the way around but the legs don't have that requirement. I used more 50mm screws here, figured I should use two from each side to reduce any movement, the formation in the second pic seemed the only way to avoid any running into each other.

IMG_20190209_131306594 IMG_20190209_131347576

 

As expected - very wobbly. Next up was the horizontals. This is where my technical knowledge reaches its limit, most things I read/saw had two, however it wasn't much sturdier than without any, so it seemed like four would be better. However I didn't really want to do that as it would hinder access to the much needed storage underneath, so I went with two and looked at another idea I had bubbling around, which I hadn't gone into too far as I knew it would be more difficult than if these did the job. These are from the same 27x44mm used for the board frame, I had plenty left over and the wood for the legs was probably too thick to use here.

IMG_20190209_170825734

 

So the next thing I wanted to add was bracing between the legs and frame/board. I had been wondering if the last step would make it stable enough as this needed angled cuts and more accurate measurement and so on. Because I have no faith in my skills of description I'll put a photo of the end stage and work backwards;

IMG_20190210_195718131

 

I started with one brace on each corner, can't remember if it was the type on the left or right hand side, whichever was opposite direction to the horizontals from earlier. This stopped any wobbling in the direction they were installed however some remained in the other (making me further question the benefit of the horizontal bars). Usual 27x44mm, on the right hand brace there are two screws through the leg into it, at the top there are two down through the baseboard into it, one through the outside of the frame and one through the inside brace, so its held in place from three sides. These were a bit of a pain to get right using a saw and mitre block, the bottom was fine as its a single line but at the top there are two, and shaving a bit from one side was impacting on the other, so it took a lot of trial and error, and although I could use a rough template each one was slightly different. The left side was a bit easier as it doesn't butt up to the inside frame and need the extra flat edge creating with the mitre, I could have done it that way but the bottom joint with the leg would have been quite far down and the brace take up a lot of space, causing the previous mentioned issue of access to underneath. These had their own issue that they were on the thicker side of the legs, rather than using excessively long screws I opted to drill and countersink through the brace into the leg. With various bits held in place with clamps I was able to get things screws in relatively well aligned. A selection of photos follow to show various stages...

 

IMG_20190210_110136749 IMG_20190210_195653256 IMG_20190210_200417242

 

I decided to replicate this for the smaller board as far as possible, there might have been different requirements given the smaller area and weight but I'm not in a position to do any sort of workings on what is required and how that varied from one of these boards to the other. I followed a similar method, a couple of changes being the horizontals along the shorter side, and the braces were able to be set such that one side joined to the frame and the other joined with its opposing number on the other side without blocking too much of the underside. Some photos to illustrate, they paint much more than my poorly written words;

IMG_20190211_200800365 IMG_20190216_082055705 IMG_20190217_130917539 IMG_20190218_181608843

 

Going to call it a day for now, these seem to take longer than expected to write out. 

 

Back soon, thanks for reading if you've lasted this long

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  • 2 weeks later...

To mop up from the previous thread, leg braces awkward due to differing methods depending on if it meets up with the framing or not, and if I go through the thinner edge of the leg into the brace or have to go through the brace into the leg on the thicker side. Seems to have been worth it as they have been solid so far. Not sure if horizontal bars are along the correct sides, might try the leg braces first next time and see if they do the job by themselves. 

 

Next up was positioning, as you'll see the room isn't square, leaving a triangle of unused space in the far corner, railway or otherwise. It's no small deal, there's a rough plan further down but it's approx half of a 4'x2', or half of the smaller baseboard previously built. I had two options, both of which left the far corner empty. It came down to which appeared to take up less space, which reduced potential friction from the domestic authorities. The far corner would be perfect for additional railway as it wouldn't cost any extra space into the room, however with the current board width it is unreachable to do any work with any barely in the case of basic rescuing derailments. I've got a few ideas but they'll have to wait for an if/when we expand and get an open centre and cut down the reach. 

IMG_20190220_203729282

 

The boards were held together with the same coach bolts as before, with a clamp and some wood holding them level whilst tightening them. I've also stopped using the latches and taken off the far one so the board can go a bit closer to the wall. They're a good idea but I didn't find it easy to get them in so they'd hold the boards tight enough, probably good as a joint effort with another method of joining boards for temporary setups though.

 

Next up was to get a basic layout going again, which was duly done

IMG_20190223_092458722

 

As well as the set we'd given him for Christmas one of his great uncles had added another starter set along with two track packs, so there was soon demand to add in all of that. I duly complied, wanting to use the trackmat needed some jiggery pokery as the marked out plan doesn't quite fit on a board this size. It was easily fixed through and the mat glued down, annoying bubbles included despite various attempts at rolling and flattening.

 

IMG_20190325_210843095

 

Which brings me to the end of the board and track section with version 1 as above. As of today that hasn't changed in the two months since I got to that stage. Nearly all of the time I've had for modelling since has been spent bringing old locos back to life, which I might do as the next post. Other bits of note are some grass mat in the corners and a card kit of a cottage, which I'll put together with some of the ideas I've been having on what to do next.

 

Thanks as ever for reading

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  • 3 weeks later...

If that is the layout up to date, then i'd consider putting some kind of bead around the outside at least, to help prevent trains launching over the edge on those curves due to overzealous driving. Other than that, a great start out and something you and your son can enjoy for many years to come no doubt.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks Nick and apologies, I hadn't noticed your reply until now. That's 95% as it currently is, have been doing several other things with locos etc that I need to update on if I can drag myself to sort out and upload photos etc. Take your point on beading so thanks for that. I can see the merits but I'm going to surprise possibly myself more than anyone else and say I trust him not to drive too fast around the corners. Also the more likely outcome I can foresee is that the bead would need constant repair from him reaching over it and knocking it and so on. Work is currently apace (in mind at least) to swap his bedroom into this room, once that is all in place I'll have a confirmed outlook for expansion and I can improve on the vague and woolly thread I started asking for help with board and layout design, hopefully leading to a more generous space between track and cliff edge.

Edited by Tomathee
typo
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