Model Railway Noob Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Hi, I originally built a Thomas layout for this boy when he was only four. This was my first layout just over two years ago, so I am pretty new to all this. However it is too big to keep out and there is not enough room for it in the house, so I suggested to his mum that I could build a new layout that will fit under his bed. The layout is 5ft x 3ft (needed a bit of room for the bedside table) and is on six wheels with pull handles on the side. The controls are all on the right end side. There is a Hornby controller, bank of 8 switches for lights and sounds , 5 switches for points and 2 for signals. There are sockets for each of the respective transformers and all are colour coded. The maximum height for this build because of the bed frame was only 22 cm, so I had to remove some chimneys and I couldn't add the windmill I had motorised or wind turbine I would have liked to have added. The base is 9mm hardwood ply with a frame of pine for strength. As the 6 year old boy has a younger brother, sound could be an issue if he is in bed, so I used Plastazote foam with copydex glue. Plastazote foam is a closed cell polyethylene foam blown with nitrogen. This made quite a difference but it wasn't that easy to paint onto. However, glue bonded well to it and I was able to transport the layout an hour in my car, through a narrow entry and carry it upstairs. It nearly killed me but it got there in one piece and nothing fell off. The bottom has a 3mm hardwood ply cover to protect the wiring. I wanted add as much interaction as possible so there are lamp posts, traffic lights (UK system), a railway crossing with alarm, a car crash and attending police vehicles, every building is lit, electric point motors, signals and two sound modules; a modern railway sound module in the railway station and an urban sound module inside the derelict farmhouse. All can be turn on and off via switches. This way the 2.5 year old can at least do something to take part. I will post several sets of photos of the development over the next couple of days in case anyone is interested. The boy (kind of my step-grandson) guessed it was me that "bought it" for him but was most impressed that Santa could deliver it without him hearing a thing. He couldn't understand how Santa got it under his bed because he said it is"massive". The cars used for the photos are the Majorette cars (all I had in the house) and they are 1:64 so a little big and some of the people were HO, so a little small but the 6 year old is fine with that. The two most important questions were, Is the boy pleased with it? and yes extremely happy and, Was I pleased with it? and it came out pretty much as I hoped it would. There were some lessons learned and new skills but I enjoyed making it. It was a rush job because I am coming out of retirement next week to go back into my nursing role for dementia. 11 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 31, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2020 What a great looking layout for children. 1 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JSModels Posted December 31, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2020 That's a fantastic layout for little ones - Well done! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Thank you everyone. Very kind of you to say so. I am hoping to get to play with it with him after lockdown restrictions ease. At least we got chance to go on the Great Central Santa Express before Christmas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhaul 70 Pey Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Looks great. Lots of nice little scenes. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsoundmove Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Fantastic scenes ! A job very well done. So much nice detail and play value. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 51 minutes ago, unsoundmove said: Fantastic scenes ! A job very well done. So much nice detail and play value. Thank you. That is very kind of you to say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2750Papyrus Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 That's a smashing layout for young children. Lots of detail as well as action, well done. I am sure you and your (step) grandchildren will continue to get many hours of enjoyment from it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Nice one. plenty of modern cameos to keep the interest up 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 Thx everyone. I am relatively new to all this so it is nice getting such positive feedback here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Short-ish videos of the making of the layout 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Railway Noob Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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