Narrow Gauge Beginnings - getting started in HOn30 and H0e

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Lesson 2: it would have been a good idea to check how much ballast I had in stock when ordering the track.  I was given 6 tubs of assorted scenic materials a while back and hadn’t realised the supply of ballast was the most depleted.

 

One tub labelled “scenery ballast” is actually a much darker grey and is a fluffy powder rather than fine stones.  If I leave the ballasting until later, it may never happen, so there may be (another) short delay now.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
(Edited for text only - photo no longer exists)

[Northroader]

Try sand? (Not the red builders stuff, more like gardening type silver/grey)

[JZ]

2 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Try sand? (Not the red builders stuff, more like gardening type silver/grey)

Play sand?

 

[Northroader]

I think play sand is a bit claggy. You just want something that you can brush round the sleepers to get an even surface, then dropper your watered down pva glue (plus washing up liquid) round.

edit: here’s one using garden sand, I’ve taken it up and relaid since, but I tend to reballast with the same stuff. The track is Peco On16.5.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Northroader

[Keith Addenbrooke]

23 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Try sand? (Not the red builders stuff, more like gardening type silver/grey)

 

20 minutes ago, JZ said:

Play sand?

 

 

14 minutes ago, Northroader said:

I think play sand is a bit claggy. You just want something that you can brush round the sleepers to get an even surface, then dropper your watered down pva glue (plus washing up liquid) round.

I wondered about sand as I do have a supply of good quality (clean) play sand - I’ve been using it as a weight when gluing down the cork sheeting!    Can I ask how you re-colour it though?

 

Edit: now I’ve seen the photo in the post above, it is a less yellow sand than play sand to start with.  Thanks.
 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Northroader]

Pass on that, I wouldn’t attempt to colour it before laying it. Maybe do a wash in water based pva paint after, or tint with powdered pastel chalk, and if it’s old narrow gauge plenty of weeds, etc. over the top. Then you could consider some of Chris Nevards techniques.

http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/2011/08/creating-effect-of-ash-ballast.html

[JZ]

What's the sand like at your local beaches? If it's fine enough and the right colour, maybe get a bucketful.

[Northroader]

No local beaches, I live mid continent, my wife’s a gardener, and we get a bagful of sand intended for mixing pot plants and stuff from the garden centre, and I pinch some of that.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

4 hours ago, JZ said:

What's the sand like at your local beaches? If it's fine enough and the right colour, maybe get a bucketful.

 

2 hours ago, Northroader said:

No local beaches, I live mid continent, my wife’s a gardener, and we get a bagful of sand intended for mixing pot plants and stuff from the garden centre, and I pinch some of that.

 

In our case, peninsula living does come with plenty of beaches - the play sand was bought when we briefly lived inland.  It's not a good day for collecting sand today though (our turn for the thunder storms).

[Keith Addenbrooke]

I’ve bought a large bag of a reptile bedding product called “Calci Sand” which looks OK.  Probably not the cheapest option, but I had some time to fill this afternoon and just happened to be near a pet shop so had a look inside.  It's a bit lighter in colour than may be ideal, but in my (very limited) experience with ballast it tends to darken when soaked and glued.  And this stuff is safe for reptiles to ingest (in small quantities).

 

Word of Warning: I discovered when I used it this changes colour to look more like sand when soaked- it does not turn a darker grey like stone / slate-based ballast chippings.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
(Edited for text only - photo no longer exists)

[Keith Addenbrooke]

It didn’t prove possible to start track laying this week, due to the usual problems of time and space to set it out and then leave it to set.  I did however manage to get out a couple of my baseboards and take a few pictures to help me visualise the scenic part of the layout, as I’m still getting used to “seeing” the size of Narrow Gauge stock:

 

 

 

 

 

The track is just laid on the boards and is not fixed down.  In the last shot, the distance from one end of the boards to the other is only 1.4m (4’ 7”), so I’m really pleased with the way the train still fits into the scene rather than dominating it.  

 

I then tried my larger locomotive, the RhB Ge 4/4i.  As a genuine express locomotive, I’d started to think it might look ‘too big’ for this layout, so it was good to see it in context at last - the first time it’s actually met these baseboards:

 

 

 

Being more used to the size of American HO, I also took some photos of the GE 4/4i alongside some Standard Gauge rolling stock for comparison purposes:

 

 

 

[The F-unit is an old unmotorised one hand painted by my Dad many years ago].  It’s perhaps not a direct comparison, because of the large American loading gauge, but it shows I do have room for the more powerful locomotives in NG.

 

I also wanted to get a feel for how train length might compare:

 

 

 

[The dome car is another one given to me by my Dad and is lettered for a freelance railroad - as is my Combine!].

 

Although I’ve not been able to make the progress on the layout that I’d hoped to in recent months, setting up and taking these photos has nonetheless really encouraged me to keep going.  

 

That’s helpful, as I spent time this week wondering about a desktop Kato RhB Nm9 layout (surely even I could find space for that - and a few minutes to lay some Kato Unitrack!) but my funds won’t stretch to adding yet another project to my list.  Instead, it’s been good to get out the trains and confirm that the concept for this H0e / HOn30 Narrow Gauge Adventure still works.  Have a good weekend, Keith.

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Mikkel]

On 06/08/2021 at 19:20, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 

The track is just laid on the boards and is not fixed down.  In the last shot, the distance from one end of the boards to the other is only 1.4m (4’ 7”), so I’m really pleased with the way the train still fits into the scene rather than dominating it.  

 

A really nice view, Keith. I see what you mean about the train in the scene. Can I ask what material the track-base is? I had a look in your first posts but couldn't see any mention of it (may have missed it).

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

48 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

A really nice view, Keith. I see what you mean about the train in the scene. Can I ask what material the track-base is? I had a look in your first posts but couldn't see any mention of it (may have missed it).

 

 

Hi Mikkel, thank you for your post.  The roadbed is 12mm ply reclaimed from previous SG unfinished layouts.  I’ve had the ply for over 20 years, and it’s moved house several times - I think I mention it in passing somewhere on page 1, but didn’t make a big thing of it.  

I probably wouldn’t buy it now (it was bought to use as a lightly-framed table top 8’ x 4’.  It’s stable, but heavy).  It has the advantage of being strong enough that it needs little support, and helps add to the rigidity of the boards, which will remain portable.

 

My local supermarket was selling some cheap green paint at the start of lockdown last year, which explains the colour!

 

(On an unrelated note, seeing your photos and video of the wonderful Farthing Goods Shed in the micro-layout e-mag thread reminded me I still need to finish a OO GWR Platform Awning kit I also started last year!)

 

Keith.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

When I began this thread on 11th April, I did some with some caution, knowing how many previous false starts I’d made over the past couple of years.  I’m most definitely not at that stage again (“Good!”), but both the planned layout space and the space I can use for baseboard building / tracklaying are being used to support family moves this Summer.  Our outhouse still looks full after the first full carload of packing and boxes has been taken to the tip for recycling.

 

As it now looks like it could be a while before either time or space become available again, passengers are now being advised to make alternative arrangements:

 

 

But I’m sure another one usually comes along soon after:

 

[In other words, I’m going to be paused for longer than I expected - I just wanted to confirm (to myself really) that I really haven’t given up or stopped, and I’ll try and make sure my next post includes some sign of modelling.  Thanks, Keith.]

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
(Edited - some photos no longer exist)

[Keith Addenbrooke]

OK, so this is not really a post about modelling progress, but every day teaches me something new about Narrow Gauge modelling, and today I finally discovered what the small pieces of plastic that come with some new r-t-r H0e stock are for.

 

I thought I’d share it for anyone else like me who is new to all this: it seems they clip into the holes at the ends of the couplings.  This provides a quick and simple form of semi-permanent coupling that doesn’t involve removing or modifying the existing standard couplings on the rolling stock, and helps keep trains coupled up when going round sharp curves.  They are a bit fiddly to fit, but I managed not to lose any while doing some test running this afternoon on a desktop Setrack circuit.

 

The 009 Peco GR-106 bogies I’ve tried on the scratchbuilt rolling stock don’t seem to have the holes, so this may just apply to European H0e.  My apologies if everyone already knows this and it’s just new to me, but I was rather impressed.  Keith.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
(Edited as photos no longer exist and rolling stock now traded)

[Nile]

Not something I'd noticed before. Just looked in the box of my Liliput diesel and found a bag with 10 of them in it. Bachmann 009 stock have the same couplings, so they should work them. I don't think any of the Bachmann wagons came with these things.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

As noted above, I’ve not been able to progress my layout project as I’d hoped over the Summer.  When I have had some time, I’ve been doing a bit of selling and buying instead.  Two new locomotives have appeared:

 

 

The H0e U-Class 0-6-2T is a Zillertalbahn loco (#1) bought from the 009 Society Members Shop - exactly the loco I need.

 

The 3-D print is from the Merseyside and South West Lancashire Group of the 009 Society and is a 4mm scale Bagnall Tram engine (based on the Stony Stratford prototype).  The level of detail on the firebox backhead is quite incredible, and the Kato chassis it has been supplied with runs perfectly over my Insulfrog points.  

 

Note too that the chassis and body print together are also only 1/4 the price of some new r-t-r 009 DC locomotives!

 

There is a logic to this purchase (in addition to the fact I like it!): I’ve not tried building or painting a locomotive before, nor have I tried modelling with a 3-D resin print, so this seemed a gentle way to see how I get on, before maybe looking at something more ambitious for my HOn30 line.

 

I’ve also bought a rake of Liliput H0e Austrian wagons from the 009 Society Shop, and a couple of larger Austrian Narrow Gauge coaches as well, making the most of the products available to help get me get established.

 

Although I was very impressed with the Bemo Ge 4/4i, I do have to work on the basis of “selling before buying” and took the decision to trade it on - it was a pragmatic decision: I can make up for lost time by not needing overhead line electrification, added to which it looks likely I’ll have to move my portable boards around the house more often than I’d thought, so minimising the bits that can get knocked off makes sense.  It means all my H0e is now Austrian based again. *

 

The new arrivals have been successfully test run, and are now just awaiting their layout.  That’s still the next job, Keith.

 

(* I’ll overlook the German RSE livery on the 0-4-0 diesel, as it later ran on the Zillertalbahn)

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Northroader]

Have you come across the book “Schmalspurig durch Osterreich”, published something like fifty years ago, so copies are a bit battered by now, and in German, but plenty of photos and small drawings, so quite useful.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Tracklaying 1

Finally, some progress with track laying on the test circuit layout.  I’m mainly following advice shared on the NGRM Forum, although the mistakes are all my own of course.  

 

To being with, I’d made an MDF former to help align the 228mm end curves, which I marked out using Setrack:

 

 

Using Flextrack then allowed me to introduce slight transitions even on this small layout, which were initially marked using drawing pins.  When I was happy with the alignment these were removed and replaced with track pins, which meant I could also check the curves with some rolling stock - the VS5 Driving Cab is possibly the longest piece of H0e rolling stock available? (It does have quite an overhang, but as a Liliput model is still designed for 228mm curves)..  

 

 

 

Track was then trimmed to size and glued in place with DIY store PVA before being placed under weights to set:

 

 

I’m doing the two end curves first, then the side pieces: the track plan is a simple circuit with a stub siding along one side.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Tracklaying 2

I’ve been able to make some more progress and can expect to finish over the next day or so (my modelling is a bit ahead of the write-ups):  I completed the track laying using just 3 yards of track:

 

 

As a test layout, I want to use the practice for more than test running trains (though there’ll be plenty of that).  In terms of track laying, 5 details I’m trying are:

 

1.  Electrical power using Pecolectric wired fishplates - not everyone recommends these, so I want to see how I get on with them here.

2.  I’ll be inserting spare sleepers to hide the gaps at track joins.

3.  A tip I got from NGRM is to paint the area under point blades a darker colour to hide the absence of ballast there.

4.  Electrical contact using point blades - it’s worked for me on unscenicked layouts, but is not generally recommended.  Will I find it still works here (it does simplify wiring)?
5.  This track joint (beneath the front wheels of the grey open wagon below) is fitted with insulated railjoiners: another test for the point blade electrical contact.

 

 

I’m happy with the size of the pieces of Calci Sand I’m using as ballast.  When I’ve used granite clippings before, I’ve found they turn a darker shade of grey when soaked with water / washing up liquid mix before gluing.  This is it still dry:

 

 

This Calci Sand however rather turned the colour of, well, sand…

 

I’ll edit the relevant post earlier from when I bought this to give a warning - I’m going to live with it, but it could put some people off what might otherwise be a viable ballast option.  I’ll see how it looks when the rest of the boards are sceniced.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Northroader]

Whoops! ‘Twas I that recommended sand for ballast, sorree if it’s not to your liking. Very neat job otherwise.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

9 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Whoops! ‘Twas I that recommended sand for ballast, sorree if it’s not to your liking. Very neat job otherwise.

Hi there!  No apology needed - I chose the Calci Sand based on the size of the chippings and in that respect it is ideal and still good value for money.  It hasn’t gone too ‘goby’ after gluing either.  Personally I quite like the colour, and I could always darken or paint it if I wanted to anyway.  
 

It’s only when I compare it to photos of the Austrian Zillertalbahn to match the rolling stock I’m using that it catches me out.  Their ballast is a well-maintained light grey - closer to the colour the Calci Sand was before soaking.

 

Thanks for the book suggestion too - I’m not short of things to read, but I’ll have a look on t’internet at some point, Keith.

[Northroader]

Couple of shots, one from postcard and one from aforementioned book cover. To me I’d say a sandy buff rather than grey? Limestone or granite? On the matter of granite chippings, one I tried was a subdued grey, and when you added the diluted glue mix, it turned a very blue shade! Very frustrating.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

36 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Couple of shots, one from postcard and one from aforementioned book cover. To me I’d say a sandy buff rather than grey? Limestone or granite? On the matter of granite chippings, one I tried was a subdued grey, and when you added the diluted glue mix, it turned a very blue shade! Very frustrating.

Thank you - I think my scenery may well turn out looking a little bit like the colours in the second photo.

 

As for the coaches, my understanding is that these days the emphasis on tourism means the local authorities expect the trains to be kept quite clean - I’m not sure I could weather coaches to look quite like those ones do!
 

Progress is continuing, and I should have some more photos tomorrow.  Really useful pictures to see.  Thanks, Keith.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

As promised, some further pictures of progress.  

 

Scenery

I wanted to add some simple scenery before time ran out for the end of the holidays (otherwise it wouldn’t get done at all).  This is just basic beginner’s stuff, to see how I got on and what I needed to take note of for future reference: despite happily playing trains operating model railways on and off over a period of more than forty years, too many house moves (and other factors) mean I’ve never actually tried scenery on even a simple working layout before.  So here goes:

 

 

With plenty of Calci Sand to hand, I scattered a layer over the bare baseboards to add some simple undulations, then sprinkled on a mix of colours from the tubs of flock powders I had in stock.

 

At the other end of the baseboard I included a trio of H0 Scale huts, Auhagen freebies my Dad got some years ago.  These are to serve two purposes:

 

1.  Could I make them look like they were set into the ground, not just sitting on top of it.

2.  Can I carry the baseboard around the house without knocking them off:

 

 

As the sides are very narrow, I simply brushed a layer of PVA alongside the track and stuck down some flock powder (I also did this for the section inside the point).  I tried to mix the colours as I made my way around the layout:

 

 

An overall view after the PVA had set however quite clearly shows which bits were stuck straight down, and which were soaked and glued like ballast, as the parts that weren’t soaked remained much lighter:

 

 

It might have been wise to find more time so I could stick down the base layer of Calci Sand first, then add the grass, as several bits along the edges brushed off when I was removing loose pieces of flock powder (top left is particularly noticeable).  For a first attempt however, and with limited time to finish, I think I can still be happy with this as a test.

 

Another good clean of the track and it was time for the next test run:

 

 

 

 

(The train is running the right way for testing the electrical supply to the siding, though the wrong way for shunting!).

 

The impression the close-ups give me is perhaps of a less well-maintained NG line running along a windswept coastline?  I’d need to take more care to define the boundary between ballasting and scenery for it to look more like a modern Austrian NG line, which was the idea (I bought Peco Mainline Flextrack for this project - and until a couple of weeks ago I was still looking at Swiss Metre-Gauge lines of course).  Nevertheless, I’m more than happy that a bit of practice is what I need now.

 

Final task was to paint the outside of the rails, and then take this layout inside where it can be called ‘finished.’  Hopefully I’ll be able to complete this Chapter of the story with a final post tomorrow.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke