BallyTown

[Damo666]

BallyTown

 

Eh?

 

BallyTown!

 

‘What’s that?’ I hear you ask.

 

It’s a start, that’s what it is.

 

You see, I’ve bought a great little layout recently. Actually that’s not correct. I bought a large layout recently, it’ll be a bit of a squeeze to say the least, so I need to see how can I store it out of the way, but that’s for another day. There is also the issue of it not fitting through one of my doors, and I’ll need to change the era from c.1940s to modern, add lots of scenery, Convert to DCC, make/change/remove/complete/alter ..........

 

and that’s been my problem. Where do I start?

 

Plus I don’t even have a name for the layout.

 

Which is why I’ve started with something that can change later.

 

So BallyTown is it for the moment.  Bally because I’m from Ireland and lots of towns in Ireland begin with the word Bally, like Ballysadare, Ballyshannon, Ballycastle, Ballyjamesduff (apparently 5,182 according to someone who had a lot of time on their hands). It ‘kinda means’ Town of ...’ (not technically correct), so this means my layout is called, eh, Town of Town. And it'll be UK Modern image. Hmmmm, this definitely needs another look.

You see, I’ve returned to the hobby after a 30+ years hiatus. (College, Work, Girls, Marriage, children, generally in that order). Over time my interest faded into the background. Won't elaborate as it’s a familiar story.  Then about 2 years ago I saw some locos in a shop, bought on impulse and realised I still had the interest.

 

So fast forward to today, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking, planning a layout, pencil sketches, AnyRail layouts, buying stuff and came to a cold realisation. If I can spend 28 months and not even have a baseboard, what hope have I got of actually having an operational layout and having some fun? I’m still working, so my time is limited. I was afraid that I’d get to a point where I’d lose interest due to stagnation. So I made a decision that if I saw a suitable layout for sale I’d go for it.

 

Then one of the members here posted a link to a layout for sale, I made enquiries, and bought it. Fantastic but large. It’s in OO with Peco Bullhead track, just what I was thinking of using myself. The seller has changed direction from OO to O gauge. It’s very well constructed, in 9mm ply, just what I was intending. The only thing is that it’s DC and I want DCC, but that’s not an issue.

 

 In my next post I’ll describe the layout and what I need to do.

 

But for me this is a relief. I've made a start, and that's the main thing.

[Damo666]

I’m not sure how this will go, whether I should break out topics into separate threads or keep it all in this thread, I’ll see.

 

An index of what I’d like to cover on this layout will be:

• Physical Description of the Layout
• How to store it. (includes setting it up / taking down)
• My ideal layout (Rule 1)
• What I’d like to change

 

So, taking the first heading,  Physical Layout

The main part of the layout comprises 4 scenic baseboards which covers the station terminus, turntable & sheds and some industrial building.

Then the layout sweeps through 180 degrees to reach 3 boards covering the fiddleyard.

 

(In case you are wondering, I've blurred out the original owner's garage, as I don't feel it's my place to show someone else's property)

 

Overall length when assembled is 6,200mm x 2,200mm (approx. 20’3” x 7’3”)! As such, I cannot leave in an operating state for long periods, so I will need to store away in between fun times.

 

It breaks down into 7 large boards and 3 small connecting planks. The existing storage rack is OK, but does not hold all the panels or leg supports, so I have to carefully balance some on top, with obvious risks.

 

The individual baseboard sizes:

Station Building & Engine Shed #1                         1,220l x 702w

Platform end, Water Tower & Engine Shed #2     1,220l x 702w

Turntable & Signal Box                                             1,220l x 702w

Dairy & Industrial Blds                                                 920l x 702w

 

Then there is triangular board converging the lines from the 4 scenic boards towards the fiddle yard via an arc of track. Its 680 long and tapers to 170mm wide.

Fiddle yard is accessed after turning through a 180 degree arc, overall radius 1,850mm

 

 

First Fiddle yard (Converging the 3 incoming lines then diverging to 8 roads): 1,552l x 403w

Then 2 fiddle yards: each 1,220 l x 400w

 

So you can see the original builder has allowed for good sized trains, allowing for up to 10 coaches in the station and similar length trains in the Fiddle Yard.

 

My next post will focus on the storage rack, as I’ve been making some card models to explore how it could be improved.

[Pigwife007]

Your return to the hobby is the Exactly the same  as mine.

 

including buying a built layout then changing and redeveloping it. I made mine in to a continuous three track loop with extras in the end.

 

do you plan to keep it a s a terminus. You also mentioned storage. Are you un able to keep it in situe 

Good luck with the project 

Dan

 

[Damo666]

1 hour ago, Pigwife007 said:

Your return to the hobby is the Exactly the same  as mine.

 

including buying a built layout then changing and redeveloping it. I made mine in to a continuous three track loop with extras in the end.

 

do you plan to keep it a s a terminus. You also mentioned storage. Are you un able to keep it in situe 

Good luck with the project 

Dan

Hi Dan,

 

As it's so big it will share a room in the house, so unfortunately I cannot keep it in situ for long periods of time. The room was supposed to be a 'Family Room' but the kids commandeered it and called it the chill-out room! I have no idea what stresses they have that means they need a chill-out room, I'm the one who needs a chill-out room! Christmas with relatives staying, it'll definitely need to be put away.

 

I'd have preferred to have a roundy-round, being a sole operator. That way I can have some movement going on whilst I concentrate on shunting or freight operations. This will be something I will be looking at later, how best to introduce a loop or two, and seeking advice and opinion here. This plus some more landscaping features are on my long list of things to consider.

[Pigwife007]

It seems your living my life five years ago.

 

i had a large attic extension built at great expense for me and before I knew it it became a dance studio 

for my children and what feel life half the kids from there schools.

 

lucky to have the garage I guess.

dan 

[Damo666]

Identifying the problem

 

Considering  the storage of the layout, it’s a priority, especially if I have to disassemble it regularly.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the layout breaks down into 7 large boards and 3 smaller connecting planks. The existing storage rack is ….. OK, but does not hold all the panels or leg supports, so I have to carefully balance some on top, with obvious risks.

 

 

In addition, I discovered when I bought the layout home for the first time that the Storage Rack (let’s call it SR for simplicity from now on, and use BB for Baseboard) is too wide for one of my internal doors, which only has a clear opening width of 670mm between the door stop and the door handle. The SR is 780mm wide. Therefore one of my design requirements will be to make sure the SR can fit through a 670mm opening but can also store a BB that is 700 wide.

 

 

You can see from the pictures how the existing rack is made. 44 x 15 planed timbers with coach bolts at heights where the boards then sit. Although the coach bolts are long, I still fear that any slip and a board could fall onto the one below.

 

   

 

 

All quite precarious.

 

In summary, the existing SR:

• Won't fit through one of my door openings
• Doesn't contain all the boards and legs
• Doesn't offer minimal risk of damage to the layout, in fact, probably increases it.

My next post will start looking at addressing these points and possible solutions to the storage rack.

[Damo666]

How easy it is to procrastinate.

 

I’m returning to the problem of storage, not that the last year I have been doing nothing. (I’ve got all my loco and rolling stock neatly in transportable storage boxes and arranged my modelling toolbox.)

 

I’ve also set the layout up a couple of times and enjoyed a bit of time running trains, but it takes a lot of time to set-up carefully out of the existing storage rack without doing any damage, so my next ‘organisational’ challenge is to find a safe and secure way to store the layout.

 

It is unfortunate that I cannot leave the layout set-up for long periods, but such is life and compromises.

 

To recap, there are 4 main scenic boards, each approx. 1,220mm (4’) long x 700mm (2’4”) wide before the tracks diverge onto a 180 degree sweep to a fiddle yard over 3 boards.

Fiddle yard is a total of 4,000mm (13’).

The 180 degreed torn has a gentle radius of 1,850mm (6’).

 

To help me visualise how the various boards might stack safely together I made a cardboard model at 1:10 scale.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Damo666
Changed the scale from 1:20 to 1:10

[Damo666]

I realised I needed to add some 3D information if I was to understand how each board could be stored relative to the others, to make sure one board didn't lop off the roof on another board. Also the 1:10 scale (of a layout that is 1:76 scale) was just too small, so I made another schematic mock-up, this time at 1:5 scale.

 

Here are the scenic boards:

 

 

The 180 degree sweep:

 

and the fiddle yard:

Edited June 28, 2020 by Damo666
Amended the scale

[Damo666]

This is my current thoughts on the storage rack.

 

It would have wheels so that I can move it easily out of the way. if necessary.

 

I've tried to make the side out of one sheet of 4' x 8' ply (1,220mm x 2,440mm),

Overall length is 1,220mm and height 1,000 (excluding any wheels)

 

Concept is to have a frame that will support internal rails (either timber rails or aluminium angles)

 

The sides will be one piece, no joints, to make it more rigid. One piece and ply should remove the need for any bracing.

 

You will notice that the shape of the sides look like the figure '6'. This is so that both sides can be cut out of the one sheet of ply and give 3 verticals to fix the rails to.

[Damo666]

Here's how the first 4 scenic boards could be stacked on the rack.

 

Being all 700mm wide, they will neatly sit one above the other.

 

 

 

 

The next boards are the awkward ones.

 

[Damo666]

Before I go too far, there is one other constraint.

 

The door to the room where I have my layout has a narrow opening. It's about 670mm clear (at a push), yet the layout is just a smidge over 700mm wide. Clearly won't work, add to this the storage rack and I've got a problem if / when I need to move the layout.

 

I thought of a collapsible rack, something that folds in the middle. This would mean that I would have to:

1: Remove the layout boards from the rack

2: Collapse the storage rack and wheel it out of the room

3: Put the layout back into the storage rack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this ridiculous, over thinking a problem?

 

The other alternative is two storage racks and find a way to store the boards on their side, but I fear items falling off or dropping a board when turning it.

[Damo666]

And now to the awkward boards.

 

The two curved units won't rest on any rail. They might have to sit on the bottom.

 

 

The fiddle yard is only 400mm wide, so won't be able to span across the rack to the side rails.

Plus one of them is 1,550mm long, so overshoots.

 

I might be able to attach these to the sides of the rack, as there are no protrusions (buildings, signals, trees etc).

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Damo666

[Damo666]

The triangular transition board which comes off the scenic board to the curved section, whilst narrow, is 700mm long, the same width as the scenic boards.

 

This has 2 options:

 

Somewhere in the rack spanning to the side rails....

 

.... or on the end of the rack.

 

So that's where I am.

 

And I haven't even thought about the support legs for the boards.

 

Would welcome any thoughts or ideas. Or even a criticism that I'm heading in the wrong direct (with a construction alternative even better). I need a way to be able to remove the boards safely by myself.

 

I had thought that the rack could double-up as a base for one of the boards, but I think it'll be too high.

[Damo666]

Oh, and here are the non-standard boards beside the loaded storage rack:

 

[TheQ]

Welcome  back to the hobby,  it's sad you can't leave the layout up,  I have the same problem with a layout I inherited,. But luckily mine is not so big. 

 

Your plan / prototype storage looks good.  The only alternative,  I can think of is to store boards on their sides, this does require securely fixed buildings and you always have the problem of shedding ballast and scenic materials. It might certainly help with the curved boards and you could half interlace  the boards facing them in opposite directions. 

 

I've lived in a  Bally(kelly) and a Bali( vanich)  and  my layout was built near several villages prefixed with Bale .

Since Bally is a mild expletive in English,  and the layout is difficult to move, how about Ballymove or Ballybogadh. 

 

[Damo666]

Time for an update.

 

The foldable option was a step too far, and I feared that they whole thing would either become unstable or over-engineered to compensate, and then far too heavy, so I went an alternative route of reducing the width of the baseboards (more on that elsewhere).

Having made that decision, I ploughed on with making my new storage rack.

 

The base is 12mm ply. It started out like this, cut to 628mm wide x 1220 long (the standard sheet width).I

I put a second strip of 12mm ply along the edge glued & screwed to reinforce the base and prevent any sagging. (the 4 screws in the pic above are temporary). Overlapping this strip by 12mm it also allowed an edge for the sides to sit. I also let it over-hang the end to allow a shelf for future use (if needed).

 

A hole was cut to reduce the weight. This gave me an idea later on.

 

And this is the view of the underside:

The extra strip on the sides was idea for the wheels for giving extra fixing. (2 free-wheeling and 2 lockable).

[Damo666]

I worked out the overall height I needed for each of the scenic boards and placed 32 x 32 aluminium angles on the sides, As the aluminium is only 1.6 - 2mm thick and I had countersunk for screw fixings, I wasn't happy that this would be sufficient to support the baseboards, so I placed a strip of timber batten under each angle.

 

 

Again, I cut out some holes in the side to significantly reduce the weight. It also allows easy access to the baseboards if they were to get stuck. This already happened when testing when some cables dropped down and got caught on a building.

 

I had planned to leave slight protrusion in the cut-out end supports to allow a ratchet strap to secure the rack in a van if I ever wanted to transport the whole shebang, but for some reason I forgot to do this. I'll now do this as a recessed cutout.

The holes in the side were based on having at least 125mm of ply all round and that the cut-out would still be useful, being the same width as the rack. (You can see this at the end).

 

The rough diagonal timbers are temporary bracing.