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Building Your First Layout Supplement


Phil Parker
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took your advise and used local b&q for cutting the timber good idea. gave the rather young looking oparater my sizes and here comes the but this where the worry started when he replied "it wont matter if there a couple of mil out will it"??

well not as confedent as when i set out i headed home up into the loft and and started assembling. one black thumb and finger later i have now assembled the base boards (in a fashion) how big did you make your back scean boards and are they bolted onto the base boards?

 

Pottsy - The backscene is part of the baseboard, forming entire back and made of the same 9mm plywood as the rest of the boards. Mine are 16 inches tall (4 below the top of the board, the rest above) but make them as tall as you like. The ones on Melbridge dock are 18 inches tall as we had some big buildings.

 

Don't worry about a couple of mm as long as that's all it is. He's probably thinking of the thickness of the saw cut so hopefully you'll be OK.

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One other layout I would loved to have seen in the flesh was the Wisbech and Upwell project layout, but unfortunately I didn't get out to any of the shows last year and it now resides with it's new, (presumably delighted,) owner. My layout is/was planned to represent the same area, which means no convenient hills to bridge over for a scenic break, but hopefully I can get around this with trees overhanging the line, based on the railway as it passes Begdale on the other side of Wisbech, (now part of the proposed Bramleyline preserved railway). Type in Redmoor Lane, Begdale on google maps to get a glimpse of what I am aiming for.

 

Keep up the excellent work Phil, I look forward to following future projects on Edgeworth both in the magazine and here and hopefully trying out some of those techniques for myself. 

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Just one quick question Phil, on p7 of part 3 it says the fence panels are made from "24mm tall strips of 3mm thick plywood" - is this really correct, at a scale 9" thick? It looks much thinner in the photo! Other than that, I have really enjoyed reading these supplements, definitely inspired by the track plan, just wish there were some GER/LNER branchline-suitable RTRs (eg - F5/6) as I'd love to model something from round where I live. I really don't want to model the GWR if I can help it!

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Paul - Just checked the sheet. Writing in pencil by the vendor says 3mm. Vernier says more like 2mm.

 

The grey stain makes it look a lot thinner though. Sticking it to the backscene also confuses the eye slightly making it look better. At 9 inches thick, it would be too thick but handling something of veneer thickness would be fiddly. Plywood is also easier to buy, especially if you have a model shop that supplies aeromodellers nearby.

 

Hope this helps. As you say, it's a pity there isn't much suitable RTR stock available for this sort of line for companies other than the GWR. As modellers, we seem well supplied with express locos but most only have space for a branch line.

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David - An N gauge project is certainly possible. I'd love to do one as aside from a couple of wagons, I've never worked in the scale. Looking at modern stock, well I can see lots of things we could do.

 

Watch this space...

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phil did you stick the buildings down and what did you use?

if i were to use gwr what 2 cariages would go together and are there any kits.? 

still cant get the electrics to stick in my head is there a book fo dummies

Edited by pottsy11
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Buildings were stuck down with UHU - the solvent free stuff although the normal version will be fine.

 

Coaches - Hornby B set would be best although I'm still waiting for mine!

 

Electrics - There are lots of books on building layouts which mention them. Probably the cheapest are the Peco "Shows you how" booklets though as there is a basic electric one in there. Once you get the basics stuck in your head, it become easier. Wire things up in small stages then if anything goes wrong, it's probably whatever you did last. That's still the way I wire things up!

 

Good Luck.

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Hi Phil, Jock here, thank you for picking up my blog of last night. As a recent member I still don't know my way around the site very well! My original query as I am now at the planning stage was about point wiring. On Edgeworth, which by the way is an excellent starters guide and very useful to an 'old' returning modeller like me, I simply wondered why you hadn't used the accessories switch and point re-wiring as suggested on the Peco advice sheet for code 75 electro frog points. Was it because the simplicity of the layout makes it un-necessary? Keep up the impressive work and thank you in anticipation, Jock 67B.

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Jock - I didn't use them because mostly, I didn't need them. Peco points will switch polarity quite happily without extra switching.

 

The only point requiring help was the first one from the fiddle yard. Even then a bit of cleaning and a small bend on the switch rail ensured electricity will flow:

 

PecoBodge.jpg

 

The arrow shows the tweak.

 

Does this mean you don't need to use the switches? Difficult question.

 

If I were building a hard-core exhibition layout then I'd certainly put them on. They WILL improve reliability. Without them you will need to keep the switch and stock rails very clean where they need to touch to route the electricity. This is an option for a home layout which isn't subject to the highs and lows of temperature, dirt from halls and general abuse an exhibition layout sees. You also aren't under public scrutiny for 8 hours with every fault "tutted" at by someone on the other side of the barrier. If a model won't pass the point, it's anoying but you can stop and deal with it.

 

Basically, if you want to be sure, fit the switches.

 

This can be done after the layout is built, assuming you can get at the motors. I dropped the connecting wires from the frogs through the board as I anticipated that I'd need to do this but as it turned out, I (for the moment) have got away with it. On that basis, I felt able to leave them out in the interests of simplicity (and space on the page) of the Edgeworth write-up.

 

If you do decide to add switches, the common contact goes to the frog, the left and right ones to the nearest rails. It's simple and self-contained, you just ened up with more wires under the board, another thing I wanted to avoid as I encourage people to look underneath at shows and don't want to scare anyone.

 

Hope this helps. Glad you are enjoying the guide.

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Phil, thank you so much for the clarification, it is really refreshing to have people in the hobby like yourself who are committed to helping us dunces along and you have clarified my requirements as my layout will be firmly fixed at home. Retirement due to a terminal illness means that time as well as budget are limited, thanks again, Jock 67B.

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Glad to be of help. Don't worry though, there are lots of people just as keen as me to assist beginners in this hobby. All you have to do is ask, after all, that's what RMweb is for!

 

There are no dumb questions, except those that aren't asked.

 

Anyway, a young lad called Andy York sent me some pictures he had taken of the layout and I thought it's time to start sharing them with everyone.

 

edgeworthandy.jpg

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The reference in the latest BRM guide to catch points and their purpose is well illustrated in this video clip - catch points are very obviously as relevant today as ever!! -

Enjoy, there's always something amusing about somebody else's discomfiture!!

And thanks for lots of practical info within this thread

Wellsy

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I didn't find this amusing. Fortunately there seem to have been no injuries caused but there will have been damage and disruption and possibly the end of volunteers careers.

There was a thread about this incident at the time (and I believe the Volunteer Signalman involved no longer is one) however as we covered in detail in the past I don't really think that further discussion of it has any place in this thread.  The clip was posted to illustrate the principle of a trap point (not a catch point ;) ) and does that well and and in that context was relevant to some of the discussion in this thread.

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The reference in the latest BRM guide to catch points and their purpose is well illustrated in this video clip - catch points are very obviously as relevant today as ever!! -

Enjoy, there's always something amusing about somebody else's discomfiture!!

And thanks for lots of practical info within this thread

Wellsy

 

I didn't know what to tick, I guess informative comes closest.  Without reference to the previous thread I'd have thought the driver was at fault rather than the signalman, but I'm sure Mike knows better.

 

Ed

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Another photo from Andy, this time showing the Ratio engine shed. There's more work to do around this area to add detail but it's getting there.

 

Another great scene but I'm afraid the backscene just doesn't do it - very confusing effects on perspective and content. Still think this whole project was a wonderful idea and well worth the effort put into it.
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 Another great scene but I'm afraid the backscene just doesn't do it - very confusing effects on perspective and content. Still think this whole project was a wonderful idea and well worth the effort put into it.

 

Fair point - I don't think this shot, which is taken at quite an angle, shows the backscene off to best effect. I doubt any backscene would look much better.

 

It probably proves the value of blue sky backgrounds in the magazine as in real life, it looks better. In fact, it was the main topic of conversation at Doncaster with many people unaware that the Peco scenes existed.

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Sure has been a controversial topic on here in the past. I have to add that I am also a voter for the blank matt grey/pale blue backscene but would also say that I think it has worked quite well at the other end of the layout where you have blended in the on board scenery with the Peco scene. Perhaps it is just the very flat townscape that just clashes. Only a minor issue, still like the layout.

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phil as i have put in the past iam a novices novice but hey got to start some where.

this has been great project to follow and is brillant for a beginner like myself before i move on to the big ambitious one. will you be taking this to alley pally

thanks phill

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