Building Platforms

[Dmouseair]

Hi All,

 

I have been researching how to build platforms for my Leighton Spa layout, and found limited ready information on the subject; and also time consuming internet trawling.........

 

I propose to build a thread on all the available options from the likes of Hornby various to Peco to Metcalfe to Scalescenes etc.

 

Can you help?

 

These tips could include:

 

1. Correct platform heights?

2. How to build straights and curves?

3. How to build the larger areas for mounting the larger station buildings?

4. Kit assembly and recommendations?

5. How to build the surfaces, and what to cover them with?

6. What to use as internal structure i.e. 3" x 2" wood etc?

 

My input initally:

 

1. Heights vary from product to product when measured against the Peco gauge, there is a couple of mm variance, nothing too major I admit.

2. Other than the Hornby curves on their plastic and "Skaledale" range which seem only to cater for the tighter curves there is not much out there.

3. Use the Hornby loading ramp? I need something suitable for the Bachmann Scenecraft range of new art deco bits and bobs - why don't they make their own platform stuff.

4. I recently purchased the Knightwing Station Halt, which looks very nice, and if I can get extension pieces for the straights I might be onto a winner. I need to have sufficent to accommodate an eight coach, plus loco train on my layout - no small feat.

 

Any suggestions with lots of photo's would be great.

 

Regards,

 

DM.

[jamie92208]

Hi, I'm just doing the platforms for Lancaster Green Ayre. We are drawing them out full size on lining paper then putting the paper over the track and rubbing over it with a wax crayon to produce a rubbing of the track. From that I mark out the platform edge with sufficient clearance on teh curves, The paper is then glued to a piece of 3mm ply with Pritt or PVA brushed on. The buildings can be positioned as well and if you want you can make a cut out for each building so that they just drop in. I then work out the height of the platform above the baseboard which takes account of things like cork underlay and sleepers etc. Then cut many pieces of 1" square timber and glue them down on the platform edges and at about 6" centres elsewhere. The platform is then glued and pinned onto the wood blocks. It produces a bespoke pltfrom that fits your layout precisely at the height you want. I haven't any pictures at the moment but hopefully will have soon.

 

Cheers

 

Jamie

[edcayton]

This is a classic "piece of string" question. There are so many different ways, and I'm not going to suggest a "best" way, but If I make some observations:

 

1) straight is a lot easier than curved, and on tight radii curved can look silly because of the large clearances

necessary unless disguised.

 

2) If you look at the real thing, the surrounding ground generally rises up gradually to platform level. Apart from

island platforms it can look "train setty" to use something like the Airfix/Dapol kits with steps up to platform

height.

 

3) My personal bugbear is the Hornby platform ramps with their curved/tapered shape. They are shaped to go with a Y

point, and to me they look plain wrong and take away realism.

 

I shall now watch with interest while the proponents of the many methods argue their cases.

 

Ed

[Edwin_m]

UK passenger platforms should be 3ft above rail level (12mm in 00), they can be quite a bit less but never more*. You'll probably find that some products assume that the bottom of the platform and the bottom of the track are on the level and others expect you to lift the track up a bit using cork or some sort of underlay.

 

*except on Heathrow Express but that's another story.

[Pete Harvey]

Here is a .pf file that will give you all the measurements you will need.

 

civil_eng.pdf

 

Pete

[Dmouseair]

Hi All,

 

I am impressed with the quality and speed of the responses, please keep them coming.

 

Myself and others ( I hope) will be very gratefull to you all, for not having to once again re-invent the wheel!

 

For something most layouts have, it does not need to be so hard.

 

Regards,

 

DM.

['CHARD]

Jim S-W's P4 New Street contains a very good exposition on how to create the Rolls-Royce of 4mm station platforms based on a defined prototype.

 

Me, I'm pretty close to Jamie's Green Ayre solution when it comes to getting the shape right. Like Ed, I dislike RTP platform components as being too toylike, particularly for older stations that appear as though they are actually embedded into, or part of, the landscape. As a habitual meddler with track geometry, and because I like prototypically curving stations, I initially carved platforms from 1-inch polystyrene. These could be adjusted until happy with all relative dimensions and proportions (run-past of marginal T&RS etc).

 

At that point, using the polystyrene as a template, and aided with a WHSmith flexicurve, I transferred the shapes onto a sheet of 15mm MDF, leaving an extra 3mm gap to track. With due care this stuff carves and shapes like cold fudge. Placed in position, the platform bases are adjusted and then screwed to the baseboard. The base is topped with thin MDF projecting 3mm beyond the edge(s) to enable an overhang to be created where one exists, and enough clearance for plasticard facings to be affixed.

 

MDF sprayed with Hobbycraft (or equivalent) dark grey chalkboard paint gives a durable surface that can be distressed and weathered to represent tarmac. I'm presently insetting plasticard paving slab sheet to reflect a contrasting surface treatment. There will be an entry on my layout blog in due course - when I've decided precisely the form of my ramps, and integrated a few other furniture elements. Oh, and taken some decent photos...

 

EDIT: linky - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/158/entry-4213-platform-progress-of-sorts/

already posted on my layout blog, full of placeholders as was the case a few weeks ago, but the solidity of the MDF solution is apparent from the first few of these pics.

[GWRfan]

I've just completed my platform using the Wills Platform Kits including the ramp packs. This has proved to be an easy and realistic way to create platforms. I added additional strengthening pieces underneath and staggered the platform edging and top pieces so that they didn't coincide with the bases or each other. This adds strength and helps mask obvious joints.

[Etched Pixels]

I've mostly used card. I've tried plaster in the past and found it messy and hard to get level.

 

Card has a big disadvantage depending upon location - I build a card platform under a window which one day I left open in the rain. While the scenery survived and dried out happily the platform top shrank.

[10800]

These (on Eridge Mk1) were based on 12mm thick MDF, cut to shape based on the full-size trackplan, itself derived from a BR 1:480 plan and on-site measurements.

 

These are over 8ft long and separate from the boards. When set up they are bolted to the baseboards (crossing a joint) and inset in the cork trackbed we used at the time. The boltheads were countersunk into the top of the MDF before covering. The tops were covered in plasticard and (IIRC) painted and textured. Although total thickness was over 3ft equivalent by this time, when allowances were made for the cork, railhead and the platforms being lower than the maximum anyway, it all worked out. The edges were fitted with plasticard copings and the sides were covered with brickpaper. You can see how much this was already deteriorating, and the ends are warping up very slightly, and for Eridge Mk2 changes are being made (but since I am remoter from the project now I'm not sure exactly what).

 

 

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

A picture being a thousand words:-

 

 

 

This is not yet completely finished or fixed in position. It is a Metcalfe kit built as per instructions i.e all card with card stiffeners. Note carefully that the platform brick wall is parked on the ballast. i think the Metcalfe wall is designed to sit at sleeper top height as the coach steps are literally 1mm or less above the platform. Where there was no ballast and the track stuck down on cork sheet, I had to stick a further layer of cork under the platform wall and on top of the track cork to bring it up to the right height. i wanted to make sure that at normal viewing angle, the coach wheels are not visible. this means that at the back of the station building in the eventual car park, I will need to put two layers of cork

 

I did use ordinary paper taped together roughly cut to shape using the railhead and a coach with attached pencil run along the adjacent track.

 

I made the platforms as long as I could without coming up to any severe curves. it is surprising how quickly the coach straightens up when the curve ends and curves that allow the coach bogie to stay under the body will rarely foul the platform in such a way that the platform then looks toy-like.

 

This particular set up took slightly more than one kit. Fortunately I acquired a leftovers bundle for free.

 

I used Rocket Poly as glue which was excellent being very grippy and drying quite quickly.

 

The only downsides are the joints between the platform sheets are too readily visible, the platform edging tends to peel unless a dob of glue is put there

[devondynosoar118]

The PDF was usefull! I was looking at this today as I have yet to build my platforms so this was good timing. I was thinking foamboard bases with plasticard details and scribed das for the stonework. Am working in N so the biggest challenge is going to be the gravelly surface at the ends, anyone got any ideas for convincing 2mm fine gravel. Have used fine playsand for the yard gravel/cinder surface so can't use that as it will mess up the scaling visually.

[Kris]

The PDF was usefull! I was looking at this today as I have yet to build my platforms so this was good timing. I was thinking foamboard bases with plasticard details and scribed das for the stonework. Am working in N so the biggest challenge is going to be the gravelly surface at the ends, anyone got any ideas for convincing 2mm fine gravel. Have used fine playsand for the yard gravel/cinder surface so can't use that as it will mess up the scaling visually.

 

Try using some fine sand paper cut to the appropriate size. This gives a consistent level and size of "gravel". It does need painting once done though, I did this with a light wash of water based paint.

[devondynosoar118]

Thanks again Kris- It didn't look too even? From photos the gravel moved around a bit with traffic on the platform. Any ideas on colour, it looks like quite a light sandy shade but can't tell from B+W pics.

[dasatcopthorne]

Hi Guys

 

On our latest club layout we have built platforms from 21mm x 4 or 6mm strip with a 2 or 3mm MDF top. This makes for very lightweight platforms. The strip is laid to the track line and an imprint of the edges is taken on lining paper. this is then transfered to the MDF and the top cut out with a suitable overhang. Before fixing down the underside of the overhang is chamfered with a plane to give the effect at the edge of a 1mm thick top.

 

I hope the pictures help to explain.

[Kris]

Thanks again Kris- It didn't look too even? From photos the gravel moved around a bit with traffic on the platform. Any ideas on colour, it looks like quite a light sandy shade but can't tell from B+W pics.

 

Given the scale the evenness is not really an issue, good painting should suffice. Colour wise, I guessed that with lots of footfall it would get reasonably dirty especially in the steam age. Try basing the colour on what you see at Staverton, I suspect that this should give a reasonable representation.

 

 

 

[kiwinewt]

Out of curiosity, what sort of height would a GWR platform be near the beginning of BR?

And what would this be converted to N? I'm likely going to use either 1mm thick cork for the whole layout or 3mm thick cork under just the track (depends on cashflow...)

 

Thanks

Nate

[BR60103]

One of our club members told me that the easiest way to do bracing under a platform was to do it on diagonals. That way you don't have to be absolutely precise about cutting it to length (we used cardboard for this).

[Kris]

Out of curiosity, what sort of height would a GWR platform be near the beginning of BR?

And what would this be converted to N? I'm likely going to use either 1mm thick cork for the whole layout or 3mm thick cork under just the track (depends on cashflow...)

 

Thanks

Nate

 

No hard and fast rule to the height. Maximum height of the platform would be 3ft above the top of the rails (6mm). Many older platforms would be lower. The platforms I have built for Avonwick are 2'6" (5mm) above rail top. I think that others would have been even lower than this (not by much though). To make it even harder some platforms varied in height along there length.

 

 

 

[Chubber]

Something came to mind on reading this thread, the 'slope' of a platform. Am I imagining it, or where platforms gently pitched down away from the track so that loose trolleys, baby buggies, drunken supine matelots etc would incline towards safety? I ask because I noted somewhere recently the long drain grid running parallel with the track.

 

Doug

[Edwin_m]

Something came to mind on reading this thread, the 'slope' of a platform. Am I imagining it, or where platforms gently pitched down away from the track so that loose trolleys, baby buggies, drunken supine matelots etc would incline towards safety? I ask because I noted somewhere recently the long drain grid running parallel with the track.

 

Doug

 

That is certainly the case with modern platforms, I don't know how far back it goes but it may even date from the Wellingborough parcels trolley accident in (?) 1898. My own platform are a Plastikard surface with faces of Peco platform edging. I managed to find some stripwood which was slightly lower than the edging and put this at the back of the side platform and down the middle of the island. This provides the slope (on the island I've tried to simulate the drain using a plastic strip painted a different colour between the Plastikard either side) but to be honest it's hardly noticeable. It also provides a foundation for lamps etc that will be fixed by drilling into the platform.

[Kris]

Would the slope be as much for drainage as anything else? If this were the case you obviously would not want a slope towards the track to stop rolling items ending up there.

[Edwin_m]

A slope of some sort is needed for drainage - a nominally level surface would collect puddles which could be dangerous in icy weather. A slope towards the track would drain just as well, possibly better as water would just drop onto the track with no gulleys to get blocked. So the direction of the slope is dictated by preventing things rolling onto the track.

[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]

These (on Eridge Mk1) were based on 12mm thick MDF, cut to shape based on the full-size trackplan, itself derived from a BR 1:480 plan and on-site measurements.

 

These are over 8ft long and separate from the boards. When set up they are bolted to the baseboards (crossing a joint) and inset in the cork trackbed we used at the time. The boltheads were countersunk into the top of the MDF before covering. The tops were covered in plasticard and (IIRC) painted and textured. Although total thickness was over 3ft equivalent by this time, when allowances were made for the cork, railhead and the platforms being lower than the maximum anyway, it all worked out. The edges were fitted with plasticard copings and the sides were covered with brickpaper. You can see how much this was already deteriorating, and the ends are warping up very slightly, and for Eridge Mk2 changes are being made (but since I am remoter from the project now I'm not sure exactly what).

 

 

 

Hi

 

I am building MDF platforms for Llanfllyn, I am using 1mm thick evergreen plasticard for coping stones, random stone plasticard for the facing edge and card for the surface. What would be the best way to stick plasticard to MDF? I plan to use PVA for the card, would this work for the Plasticard too?

[10800]

I'm always pleasantly surprised by what you can stick with PVA - don't see why you can't use it for this (in fact we've been experimenting with PVA for Slaters brick onto MDF bridge piers for the Ouse Viaduct).

 

Try it on a spare piece first, make sure you get a thin even spread and load/clamp it up while drying if practicable. It may help to 'size' the MDF with PVA first as well.