O gauge coarse scale layout......

[andi4x4]

So, I finally got around to starting on a coarse scale railway for my increasing collection of modern and vintage tinplate and coarse scale locos and stock. It is not going to be very much of a scenic railway, as it is located in a basement room which also houses, amongst other things, the tumble drier (vented outside not into the room) so will be accessed almost daily for other purposes.

Fairly basic construction of pinewood framing with mdf tops, most of which were already in existence having been recovered from a previous abandoned project prior to the house move just over 2 years ago. Tops are covered with interlocking rubber matting of the type you can buy in most hardware chain stores (B&Q in the UK). This is to provide some sound deadening, as, those of you who run vintage style tinplate trains will know, running on bare boards is very noisy !  The boards, when completed, will run around the perimeter of the room, with a lift out or folding bridge across the door to facilitate easy access. They are at approximately waist/worktop height to provide storage space below.

Track is nickel silver Code 200 three rail by Maldon, although, the four points and one crossing I have appear to have been made by soldering rail to copper clad sleepers, so may either be kits, or are possibly older Mike Foster or even John Pentney items. Either way, they are in good condition (they were purchased second hand) and will do nicely for the time being, but, shorter, tighter radius points would probably be a better option given my space restrictions. As already mentioned, track is being laid on top of a rubber matting material and held in place, very lightly, by 3x30mm screws through the moulded holes in the Maldon sleepers. Power, at present, is provided by my trusty old H&M Duette, which chucks out sufficient power to run all the old motors I have, including the modified 20v AC motors.

 

Pics to follow, not that there is much to show just yet - I'm not going to show the board construction, there are many good sources detailing the various different construction methods, and my carpentry skills are certainly nothing to brag about !!

 

 

[mervyn]

Nice to see another Coarse scale modeller on here ! Looking forward to your updates !

[andi4x4]

Hi Mervyn !

 

Looking forward to providing some updates....time permitting !  I have been collecting parts for a couple of loco builds I have in the "project box"  - all of which will eventually get their own build threads once they get going - 

 

Ace/Darstaed diecast A4 bodyshell needs wheels, motor, gearbox - have frames waiting,

Kit/Scratchbuilt "Black Watch" awaiting frames, motor, gearbox, wheels in stock,

ETS 0-8-0 motor block going into old Hornby body which needs a repaint - ROD style

All the above have tenders in various states of build

 

Also have four 0-6-0 locos under construction - the pannier linked to in my sig, as well as a second pannier which is a glass fibre (Douglass ?) body currently fitted to an ETS 3r motor block, along with a J94 style saddle tank with a poor chassis and seized motor, and what I think is a J71 or Jinty style side tank with no running gear.

 

As I said, all will get their own build threads, but, I may put up a thread with all of them in prior to builds commencing to gather the collective thoughts of the the forum on each loco prior to delving into them.

 

Regards

 

Andi

 

 

Edited November 27, 2020 by andi4x4
poor spelling !

[mervyn]

Sounds an eclectic mix Andi sounds like some good lockdown projects there !

[andi4x4]

 These all started well before lockdown, Mervyn, and will more than likely continue well beyond it too !   

 

Regards

 

Andi  

 

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Good to see another coarse scale layout emerging Andi, I shall be looking forward to seeing the progress! I too am in a similar situation, but my layout is on the floor of a spare room.

 

Douglas

[andi4x4]

 

As promised - some photos of the beginnings .....

First pic shows main area - here will be a station and small goods yard ........ possibly on the inside of the curve, however, I am also considering a 'Minories' style terminus across the back edge of the board, bringing the curve forward in front of the terminus with a small goods facility towards the front edge ...... much thinking to be done !

 

 

 

Second pic shows 'rebated' area to allow easy access to the window. Tumble drier vent hose needs to go out of window when in use hence the need for easy access. Tumble drier is here temporarily - however, it has 'temporarily' sat there for the last two years !

 

As for the track layout here - there can be seen three tracks to the left of the pic, it is hoped that a small goods yard or engine shed can be squeezed into the inside of the track in the top left of the image, with the points giving access to it on the straight section in the lower left side.

Just visible in the very bottom right corner is the corner of the board running down towards the other side of the door. There will be a lift out section here.

 

 

 

And finally......

The access to the room and into the middle of the boards. A lift-out section will span the gap across from one board to the other. Track plan in the station area needs to be finalised as it will affect the layout of this area, so needs be finalised before the lift-out section can be built, then the ends of the erected boards can be cut to suit.

 

 

 

The boards have been topped, as previously mentioned, with interlocking rubber matting of the type used for home gyms and workshop flooring. It seems to isolate the boards well, with virtually no rumble/drumming noise from the boards when trains are running. Not completely silent, of course, due the the 'empty box' design of tinplate rolling stock ! Track is fixed using just one screw at each end of each length and one in the middle of longer ones. Not screwed down tightly, but enough to stop the track creeping and to allow it to 'float' slightly so that the screws transmit as little noise through to the boards as possible. The rubber matting I acquired from B&Q , approximately £10 for a pack of 6 x 600mmx600mm tiles - I have used 15 of the 18 tiles so far. The brand I purchased just happened to be smooth on the back, so I have used them chequer side down.

 

 

 

Andi

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by andi4x4
poor spelling, again !

[andi4x4]

Spent some time in the basement this afternoon and this evening working on the lift out section. Narrow board to the right of the door (viewed from inside the layout) has had the end cut at a suitable angle. Lift out board has been started. Need to dig out some more framing timber from my stocks in the garage attic tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 As for locating and retaining the lift out section in place, I will be using two 8mm wooden dowels in each end and two overcentre catches at each end to pull the boards together. Fishplates will be used to align the rails if needed, however, I am hopeful of being able to maintain alignment without them. I have used this method quite successfully on my portable 00 gauge layout.

 

 

Electrical connection will, eventually, be by plunger and contact, hopefully, in order to make fitting and removal of the board quick and easy. It will need some research into what is available commercially, or, what I can fabricate at home, so, for the time being, plug and socket will probably be the go to solution !

 

Andi

 

 

 

[Nearholmer]

I’d somehow missed this so far.

 

Very familiar territory, what with the tumble-dryer, and the door and lifting section right in the corner of the room. You haven’t got a freezer, and the back-up dry-goods store cupboard in there too have you?

 

The use of those floor tiles is inspired. Fortunately where mine is noise isn’t an issue, at least not until I try to listen to the radio, at which stage the trains and the fact that I’m three-quarters Mutt and Jeff in one ear do cause minor difficulties.

Enjoy!

 

[andi4x4]

Hello Nearholmer, knew you'd find me eventually ! 

 

No dry stores or freezer thankfully, but, I do have all my 00 stock, locos, and layout and a couple of boxes of 7mm fine scale stuff stored underneath the layout, along with various other boxes of 'essential' junk !

 

Sound insulation is fairly important as the railway room / basement is directly below the living room and 'Woe betide' anyone who interrupts the Domestic Dragons telly viewing !  The floor tiles work quite well as a sound insulator. Only problem with the floor tiles is the colour - the sleepers are not particularly visible. I am thing about something grey to go under the track - mount card or similar. Thinking on it, I do have some very thin grey underlay foam normally used under laminate flooring. I have used this before under the track on a tinplate layout I had ten years or so back, again using Maldon track, but it was not a very good sound insulator on its own. On this occasion, though, it would merely be cosmetic.

 

Andi

 

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by andi4x4

[Nearholmer]

You could go all deluxe, and use grey carpet-tiles as MetH is doing - they look really effective and are quite good sound-insulators on their own, so over the floor mats they ought to allow silent gliding.

[andi4x4]

Carpet tiles probably would indeed improve the insulation further, however, I only used the black floor tiles because I had a load sitting in the garage unused. I originally bought them to put on the garage floor, but, my wheeled motorcycle work table won't roll on them (it just sinks into them), so they got lifted again. I have a double thickness row of them in front of the workbench in the garage though. Very good for insulating your feet from the cold concrete, (especially this time of year !) and I have half a dozen loose ones I can loose-lay as and where I need them when I am working in there.

 

Andi

 

 

 

 

[Metropolitan H]

Andi,

 

Have you thought of using grey "mounting board" card as the ballast strip between the sleepers and the floor tiles?

 

I had thought of using the foam similar to yours under my Atlas track, but I was worried it might not be quite as stable as the carpet tiles - which I am very pleased with. The other alternative would be grey speckled "Cushion Floor" vinyl which will give a good look and stable load spreader.

 

Whatever you do, keep at it and enjoy yourself. I look forward to hearing more.

 

Regards

Chris H

[andi4x4]

 So, quite a bit of progress to report today - 

 

Finished off the lift out section - might have to have a rethink on the locating dowels as it is a little awkward fitting and removing as the dowels have been fitted horizontally at both ends. This means that I have to spread the static boards apart slightly to fit or release the lift out section. It may be better to have the dowels vertically ....... we'll see.

 

Anyhow,

 

Piccies !  

 

 

 

 

Andi

 

 

[andi4x4]

Aaaannd.......

 

Track laying has been taking place !  Most of the twin circuits are down, a couple of small 'infill' pieces are needed here and there and some longer pieces need swapping out for a couple of shorter lengths. I will need to cut the four curved sections where they pass over the joints of the lift out section and figure out a secure way to fix the ends at the board edges to that they don't get knocked when fitting and removing the lift out section and to ensure they line up reliably each time.

 

Oh, and I need to find alternative storage for the rolls of carpet and lino !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andi

 

 

[andi4x4]

Well,

 

It has been a while since there has been any update on this thread, but, there has been a little recent Permanent Way works going on. As previously mentioned, I was having thoughts about the station area and the inclusion of a 'Minories' style terminus - several sets of points and some track shuffling later, this is now taking shape. The longer Foster/Pentney points and crossing have been removed and replaced with shorter standard 38" radius Maldon points giving the area a terminus and pilot siding across the back of the main board running into the right hand corner. The Minories style points arrangement has been altered slightly to allow for double track running through the junction and past the ends of the platforms around to the lift out section across the doorway. The Foster/Pentney points will be re-used elsewhere - probably within one of the goods yards/sidings areas.

 

Will put some pics up over the next few days - still waiting for a couple of track items to arrive to finish off.

 

Regards

 

Andi

 

[andi4x4]

Been a good while since there has been any update, but, today I have been through the thread and replaced the missing photos that were lost in the server crash.

 

There has been a little movement on the layout, some swapping out of the remaining longer points with the shorter replacements and laying of some track, but, still a long way to go. The acquisition of rolling stock and locos has continued with a number of bargain purchases over the last 12 months, including a clockwork B/L George V, minus tender and what looks like a clockwork Marklin Precurser (not yet verified!) for the grand sum of £60 each from a local antique/second hand trader, both in need of some mechanical TLC, but fair/good bodies considering age. Also a rather nice 3-rail (probably 1950's) either Leeds, Millbro or kit-built Stanier type 2-6-4 tank loco which runs beautifully and pulls strongly for a well-spent £230. It's heavy brass construction, quality cast iron wheels and powerful motor give it enormous traction ! Very pleased with it !

 

Photos when I get chance ...... 

 

Andi