The ?100 Project ? A complete layout build described in 9 days

[Dave777]

 

 

It’s an expensive hobby, right?

 

If you buy the latest Ready To Run (RTR) items, then yes it can be. However, I’ve always maintained that this hobby can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. As much as I might want to model Kings Cross in O gauge, the fact is I don’t have the money to do it, so I model something smaller and cheaper.

 

But what if we took this argument to the next level? What if we actually tried to find out how little money someone can enter the hobby with and still manage to arrive at a completed layout?

 

In short, can a layout be built for £100?

 

 

 

Now this is far from the first time that something like this has been attempted, as several of the monthly magazines have published ‘Build a layout for £100’ articles over the years. But what makes this slightly different is that while those projects typically only cover the cost of building the actual layout itself, the £100 used here will be the cost of everything required to complete the layout – so that’s baseboard, track, wiring, controller, rolling stock, scenery, details, paint, glue, paintbrushes and so on. Essentially the project will mirror someone entering the hobby with absolutely nothing in the way of modelling materials and some £100 later arriving at a completed, operating layout.

 

For me, one aspect that never sits very comfortably with some of the existing ‘build a layout for £100’ projects is that frequently the cost isn’t actually the amount that needs to be spent. For example, if the project uses half the trees in a pack that cost £10, it’s added to the total as only £5 spent. All very well, but the fact is you can’t actually buy those trees for £5, you have to spend £10. So here the total cost will actually be what was spent, and that will even include postage costs. The only things I won’t be including are some basic tools such as pliers and scissors, and some general household objects that I expect most people to already have.

 

I tend to find that online projects like this – that aim to show a specific idea or concept in action – work better if the thread progresses along at a decent pace, so this layout has actually been completed before I’ve started this thread. A little unusual, but don’t you get frustrated by those threads that start with a project, show a couple of progress updates, and then disappear for 6 months and fall off the radar? At least here you’re guaranteed to see the final result!

 

I must just quickly mention time, of which there wasn’t much. In certain areas more availability of time would have allowed for a better result, but equally I didn’t want to spend 12 months trying to complete this project. What I’ve done as a demonstration of ‘This is what you can do, but with more time you could do better’.

 

So in 9 separate updates, posted 1 a day, I will be detailing the results of this project. Did I manage to keep it under £100? Hmmmm…

Edited August 25, 2012 by Dave777

[Dave777]

1 - The Plan… and the first purchase

 

The limited funds meant that inevitably the layout would be fairly simple in nature, but two aims were to get away from anything resembling a train set and to include both passenger and freight operations. Fairly early on I decided I wanted to set the layout in the BR blue period, as this could then further the concept of the £100 layout if we had the premise of an adult in their 30s or 40s wanting to take up the hobby for the first time. Modelling the trains that they remember from their youth may well mean BR blue.

 

Needing to keep the costs down meant I thought we’d probably have to buy a ‘job lot’ of track and then try to design something with what that contained. In the end I purchased this, an old Hornby Track Pack E (not to be confused with the Pack E in the current catalogue which contains different items).

 

 

 

At first glance not an obvious thing to buy, but for my £22.50 I got four brand new points, some straights and a curve, and even some buffer stops (and at this level of funding little extras like that can be very useful). Yes the points are Hornby short radius set track, code 100 and insulted frogs, when Peco medium radius streamline code 75 Electrofrog would have been better, but even secondhand that would have been nearer £25+ for just the points alone.

 

 

 

 

While purchasing the trackpack I also decided to grab a secondhand Peco Y point for £2.50. A good inspection revealed that it was a bit grubby but intact, the spring action was fine and the rail tops were shiny & unmarked.

 

 

 

So now armed with 3 left hand points, 1 right and a Y point I tried to construct something along terminus-to-fiddleyard lines.

 

 

 

The idea is a small terminus, with a rail-served industry/warehouse, and a couple of sidings for a fuel depot and general storage. The platform extends under the road overbridge to suggest the station is longer than what we see on the layout. The fiddleyard will be a ‘manual’ job, in that stock will need to be lifted on and off by hand, but I don’t necessarily see that as a problem (it’s not expensive handbuilt stock we’re going to be manhandling here). I was also keen to not go beyond 6 feet as the overall length, mainly to keep the whole thing reasonably portable.

 

An initial aim to include two coach passenger trains proved feasible (just) within the space, but some long-range costing up of all the likely items required for the layout revealed that the money for the second coach could be better spent elsewhere. So while the aim was to include passenger as well as freight operations, I don’t mind admitting that the passenger side has been reduced to not much more than a token nod with just single coach trains. The idea is that we model the ‘end’ of a much longer train, by having the train arrive and stop with the first coach still half under the bridge.

 

An alternative would be to model parcels operations instead, or a (slightly clichéd) remote Scottish terminus somewhere that might experience genuine one coach trains. I did consider both of these, but parcels stock remained resolutely out of reach on eBay, even old, over-length Lima items, and the Mk I coach needed for a Scottish terminus also remained out of reach - I didn’t expect to be able to secure a Bachmann Mk I coach, but older Hornby or even Triang Mk Is were beyond what I could afford to pay. Suffice to say, it wouldn’t add massively to the overall cost to expand the passenger side of things, either by including a second coach or spending a bit more on a single, decent Mk I or parcels stock.

 

 

Spends:

£22.50 Hornby Track Pack E (4 points, 3 straights, 1 short straight, 1 curve, 4 buffer stops)

£2.50 Peco Y point

 

 

That’s the first post to kick things off. Tomorrow it’s baseboard building time.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Dave777

[traction]

Dave, you can't do that to us!!

 

I'm wanting to see more already....go on do two posts a day even at specific times you know you want to.

 

Pretty Please.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[woodenhead]

The plan does not match the track you have, what is the cost of the other track - ok I'm nit picking but if you are going to build a layout from scratch for £100 then every cost goes in.

[Jack00]

Edit:

Edited August 25, 2012 by Jack00

[Removed a/c]

This will be an interesting build and I shall look forward to viewing all the post to completion. My only concern (and I haven't had chance to look yet) is the availability of the older track pack.

[colin penfold]

This will be an interesting build and I shall look forward to viewing all the post to completion. My only concern (and I haven't had chance to look yet) is the availability of the older track pack.

 

Isn't the idea to come up with your own route to sub-£100 success rather than copy the OP? There are plenty of track bargains out there, I'm more worried about a pacific and 8 coaches within budget.......

[Dave777]

The plan does not match the track you have, what is the cost of the other track - ok I'm nit picking but if you are going to build a layout from scratch for £100 then every cost goes in.

 

Patience...

[Removed a/c]

Isn't the idea to come up with your own route to sub-£100 success rather than copy the OP? There are plenty of track bargains out there, I'm more worried about a pacific and 8 coaches within budget.......

 

Perhaps but it has to be do-able as well, if this was a fluke purchase at £22 and is not realistically available to (and I think this is aimed at newcomers) it could put them off. Perhaps I am missing the intent of the OP, perhaps this is not a how to post at all and merely just more of a personal challenge.

[bcnPete]

Nice one Dave - do like an nice 'self imposed' challenge myself.

 

Look forward to update No. 2

[Dave777]

Perhaps but it has to be do-able as well, if this was a fluke purchase at £22 and is not realistically available to (and I think this is aimed at newcomers) it could put them off. Perhaps I am missing the intent of the OP, perhaps this is not a how to post at all and merely just more of a personal challenge.

 

With several purchases - as we shall see - I have checked that the price I obtained was 'fair'. For example, if I've used eBay, I searched completed listings to see if I had got a 'fluke purchase' or if the price I had paid was typical. I have written all parts out already, so you'll see in later posts me doing this, and it won't be a response to this comment - I had considered it important that the build is achievable by someone else. For my track pack, I walked into a model shop and there it was.

 

There's only one item where I've used a 'theoretical' price since I used an item I already had. I just searched on eBay for completed listings and took a 'typical' selling price to add.

 

The very last post contains a complete list of all items used, the price paid, and where I purchased it from.

 

 

 

Here are some completed listings on eBay for the same track pack E, all selling for less than I paid (including postage), and they weren't auctions ending at 4am or anything:

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4168d23a6c

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item19d32d536b

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item25719d8faa

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20c65ba60e

 

And one ending in 3 hours...

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...&prg=1005&rk=2

Edited August 25, 2012 by Dave777

[Removed a/c]

Thanks Dave for your feedback and also the links, much appreciated.

[vac_basher]

I'll be looking forward to watching this develop. The track plan looks interesting too....

[Dave777]

We need to get through a couple of boring stages I'm afraid, so brace yourselves

 

 

2 - A (very) Basic Baseboard

 

Many people today are turning to materials such as foamboard to create lightweight baseboards for portable layouts. From the very start I’ve needed to keep costs down so I’ve forgone the traditional wooden affair and used cardboard as it was, to all intents and purposes, free. There have been some articles in the printed modelling press demonstrating cardboard being used successfully - see Raymond Young's 'Take a cardboard box...' layout in the January 2008 edition of Railway Modeller, and also Ken Gibbons' Port Pennan layout featured in June 2010.

 

I kept an eye out at my place of work for undamaged, thick cardboard that hadn't had any water damage and within a week I had several boxes that I could cut up, some of which I actually remembered to take a photo of before cutting them up (apologies for the poor photos throughtout this posting).

 

 

 

The use of cardboard explains why I went for a 'manual' fiddleyard and not a traverser or sector plate. I’m sure it’s possible to build one from cardboard (I remember seeing Chris Nevard’s Arne Wharf at Railex the other year and I think that used a cardboard traverser), but for simplicity I decided not to bother. Trying to get the whole thing to line up and work reliably just seemed to be adding an extra layer of challenge for the sake of it.

 

So here’s the completed baseboard. The main ‘board’ is a box folded flat (which by pure chance came out at 6 feet exactly), so it’s effectively double thickness cardboard.

 

 

 

 

 

No it won’t take being bashed about too much, and it would need protecting from damp if kept in a garage or shed (storing it inside a couple of dustbin bags would help that however), but it’s strong, lightweight and best of all it cost a total of just £1.50 for the PVA glue to hold it together.

 

Having constructed the baseboard, I mixed up some diluted PVA (about 2:1 PVA:water) and pasted a folded piece of newspaper into each corner. I then pasted some A4 card sheets all along the background so as to even out any inconsistencies in the cardboard and to remove the 90’ corners. Essentially, a very basic curved backscene. The photo shows the card not even touching the folded newspaper, but this is right at the top and further down it's directly supporting it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The backscene was then painted a suitable sky background colour using an emulsion tester pot.

 

 

Spends:

Cardboard for baseboard – free

PVA glue - £1.50

Craft knife - £0.64

Newspaper – free

Pack of A4 card sheets - £1.20

Emulsion paint tester pot for backscene - £1

Large paintbrush – 50p

 

Not a very exciting post, I admit. Next up, trackwork and wiring.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Dave777

[JohnR]

Dave, this thread is brilliant. I cant wait for the next installment. I think you should submit it to the magazines, as it deserves a much wider audience.

[PaulRhB]

Just a thought, (if you did it again),about storage in a damp garage and ballast etc, how about sealing the card to protect it from moisture with several thin layers of outdoor paint from small tins?

Edited August 26, 2012 by PaulRhB

[Tim Hale]

Dave,

 

Foamboard is dumped by signwriters. The material for my extension was donated by a local company who were so glad to see me remove their industrial waste (they pay for it to be collected) that they gave me some adhesive.

 

It is excellent stuff, weatherproof - it is used for house sale signs - and light.

 

Tim

[bcnPete]

Hi Dave,

 

Is it possible to give a running total summary spend at the base of each update?...to save keep scrolling back and fetching my abacus

 

 

 

 

[rodshaw]

Oooh, I do like a good well thought-out and well presented study. It could almost be the subject of a Ph.D.

[woodenhead]

Are you sure those boxes were free, are you sure you didn't purchase them for a sum of money and they came with free HP products.

 

This could blow your budget.

 

How rigid is the cardboard for transporting, or is it assumed that once placed it will remain in situ - I can see strength in the scenic end from the backscene vertical but the fiddleyard area doesn't have much and a bit of track on top might begin to create a sag if not fully supported.

Edited August 26, 2012 by woodenhead

[SNCF stephen]

This thread really is inspiring, in fact I would say it is dangerously inspiring. I am sure that there are a lot of people out there who might see a project as being viable after seeing this thread whether they are new to the hobby or veterens.

 

Are you allowing yourself any leeway with the £100 budget or is it that figure or nothing? I only ask because if it went a couple of £s over then I am sure that you would have achieved your overall goal of making an affordable model railway.

 

Good luck with this project and I look forward to seeing more.

 

Stephen

[SHMD]

This thread is fantastic!

 

My (soon to be) 5 year old has started making castles out of cornflake boxes (cue the sticky backed plastic jokes) with the help of mum.

All of which I am pouring lots of praise and encouragement on. - You never know where this might lead... ;)

 

Kev.

(Watching with enthusiasm, especially as this project should come to a conclusion very soon.)

[Dave777]

Thanks for all the comments folks. I confess I was a little irritated yesterday that, even with the first post, already some folks were calling into question some of the 'validity' of how I was going about this. Calmer today...

 

 

Dave, this thread is brilliant. I cant wait for the next installment. I think you should submit it to the magazines, as it deserves a much wider audience.

 

The photos aren't really good enough to be honest. And as I went through the project I kept seeing bits that I could do better if I had had more time. If I were to do it for a magazine, I'd do it all again but do things a little differently, as I discuss in the very last post...

 

And hey - let's see the final result first before we declare it as 'magazine quality'!

 

Just a thought, (if you did it again),about storage in a damp garage and ballast etc, how about sealing the card to protect it from moisture with several thin layers of outdoor paint from small tins?

 

Yes, that's a good point. Or seal it with PVA I guess (would that work?). Do please chip in with alternative suggestions as we go through, it all adds to the richness of the thread.

 

Dave,

 

Foamboard is dumped by signwriters. The material for my extension was donated by a local company who were so glad to see me remove their industrial waste (they pay for it to be collected) that they gave me some adhesive.

 

It is excellent stuff, weatherproof - it is used for house sale signs - and light.

 

Tim

 

Another good suggestion Tim, thanks.

 

 

Hi Dave,

 

Is it possible to give a running total summary spend at the base of each update?...to save keep scrolling back and fetching my abacus

 

I had originally included this, but I took it out as towards the end you could see if I was going to hit or miss the target, which kinda took away the suspense ( ) of the final stages and the final 'big reveal' of the cost. I might give a half-time score though around Post 5.

 

How rigid is the cardboard for transporting, or is it assumed that once placed it will remain in situ - I can see strength in the scenic end from the backscene vertical but the fiddleyard area doesn't have much and a bit of track on top might begin to create a sag if not fully supported.

 

I do stick an extra bit onto the fiddleyard later on as with the constant moving around the house it had started to sag a bit

 

Are you allowing yourself any leeway with the £100 budget or is it that figure or nothing? I only ask because if it went a couple of £s over then I am sure that you would have achieved your overall goal of making an affordable model railway.

 

I certainly aimed to not go over £100, but I assume someone else doing the same wouldn't need to apply the limit so rigidly.

[The Evil Bus Driver]

Great idea Dave! Might i suggest cornflake packets and paper for any raised scenery as if you use the stiffer card to make a lattice and then tear up the paper to make the surface you get a very cheap (and very light) surface for any scenery. Shoreham MRC's "Chelfham" scenery was done this way, including the valley with the viaduct.

 

My missus suggested this when I mentioned building a small portable layout (or even large modules) :

 

A pasting table. B&Q do them for about £15 but that would make a big dent in your budget for other things. But then I suppose anyone else on a budget wouldn't necessarily be using £100.

 

http://www.diy.com/n...noCookies=false

Edited August 26, 2012 by The Evil Bus Driver

[gc4946]

In my experience, it's easier finding unwanted cardboard than foamboard, also card's surprisingly strong - think of the packaging that came with your TV or washing machine.

 

It'll be interesting how you'll be dealing with the scenics, buildings and accessories, as they are features of a layout, after locos and stock, potentially another cause of overspending.

 

Keep up the good work, however.