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O Gauge from a standing start


Gareth001
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After a 30 year break from modelling (!), and despite a couple of false starts with 4mm branch lines in the intervening years, it is time to embark on the last great project....not because of my advancing years, but because I know it'll take me forever to finish it!. That having been said, I'm determined to get the basics sorted in a reasonable time frame. Why O gauge? Well yes, it is expensive, but cash is less of an issue than it was. I'm also starkly aware of how my eyesight has deteriorated (I'm only 52), and I've always been drawn to the gravitas of the senior scale. I've also always been frustrated by the narrow gauge of 16.5mm, and not confident enough to build pointwork in what now seems a small scale.

 

So...having spent years thinking about all this, I've set myself a target or two. If I can a.) build a wagon kit and make a decent job of it (not too challenging), b.) build a point from a kit that actually works (slightly harder) and c.) scratchbuild a building to a decent standard (might be an issue) then I'll get on and tackle the rest of it, which will be a small industrial concern, details to be thrashed out as I go.

 

But...it's good to have a plan, right? So, after more hours of research and sketching than the CEO (domestic) could believe possible, I downloaded AnyRail and came up with this:

 

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Which I didn't like much (too contrived, kickback siding all wrong), but led to this:

 

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which involves a double slip....help! but also looks too cramped....so I finally came up with this:

 

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By adding 6" to the 10 feet I originally wanted to stick to, I think the track plan looks a lot better, including a small sector plate for loco release which I really like. The depth of 21" (driven by my cunning plan for baseboard support...watch this space) gives the opportunity to clutter the foreground a bit to give depth and realism...there are a lot of inspirational layouts around that use this technique, and I'm not too proud to pinch a good idea!

 

All comments welcomed.

Edited by Gareth001
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hi Gareth

 

Welcome to the forum...I also have plans to build an 0 gauge layout in the future  and being 53 I consider I have a little time left yet...I have built a loco, brake van and a point all without any difficulty and have a nice Martin Finney A1 awaiting my attention in the erecting shop. I think you'll find building your own track work will be a very enjoyable exercise, in fact I got more satisfaction from building the turnout than building the rolling stock, I think you'll find C&L's turnout kits in a bag very straight forward.

Alas i suspect it will be some time yet before I am able to start my layout, too many other projects/interests that need my attention but I will get there at some point, have fun in your hobby and keep the forum updated with your progress.

 

regards

 

Pete

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Hello Gareth welcome to the forums.

Your post heading sums up my present build except mine has crept up to 12 feet now but similar concept in being industrial based.

I've attached my Anyrail plan to look at.  

 

I've built the boards, got 2 running locos, building 2 more and 1 RTR on order the Ixion Fowler, built a dozen or so wagons and have most of the track to hand and temp laid out to test for clearances.  I also have a Lenz DCC system which requires me to add chips to the locos.

Better make a start with the laying of track as I'm fairly settled now with the plan but I may move some of the proposed building positions about or change their businesses.  

 

I watch out for your progress with interest.   Regards

post-1159-0-55761500-1391688742_thumb.jpg

Edited by Barnaby
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Hi Gareth,

 

Looking forward to seeing the layout develop, Building points that work shouldn't be too much of a problem, after you have tried a kit you may feel brave enough to build from scratch, which can be more cost effective and flexible. There's also plenty of inspiration and knowledge base on RMWeb to help with building construction. - As you intend, start with the wagon and you will be hooked into 7mm.

 

The layout is similar to a scheme I have considered for a small layout, only you have a bit more width which allows an extra siding. If you were short for length you could come from a sector plate in the fiddle yard in lieu of the first point on the layout, and shorten the whole scheme by the length of a point.

 

You're right it's good to have a plan, the only problem you will have is if you put a timescale on it, it always seems to take longer than you think, otherwise it's great for keeping focus, (I must get a plan).

 

Can't wait to see the cunning plan for the baseboard support!

 

Welcome to the fold.

Edited by peter220950
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Thanks for all the encouragement! Well, the plunge has been taken, and a Parkside Mogo van duly appeared in the post. First impressions: loads more bits than a 4mm kit, and fantastic detail. I did think that perhaps a Mogo van wouldn't be at home in a small industrial setting, but I think that quite a few of them were used on general duties as well as the car transport that they were designed for, especially towards the end of their lives. I'm thinking of a time period of around 1947- 49, ( early nationalised stock a possibility ) so this van would be in a careworn condition towards the end of it's GW ownership.

 

The kit went together pretty well, with only a few tiny bits pinging off in all directions....loads of hinges/brackets/clamps etc...and I found them all except for one, so carved a replacement from a bit of sprue. I also stuck 2 sheets of lead inside with silicone sealant, so it's big (to me at least!) and heavy. Lovely. I'd also invested in a few jars of acrylics, having only ever used enamels before, and about a year ago I treated myself to an Iwata airbrush and a compressor, on the basis that I'd get around to learning how to use it one day. Today was the day.

 

Much easier than I expected...the airbrush is a really nice piece of kit, and I'd certainly recommend it. So I now have a grey van, and tomorrow it gets transfers, rust, grease and all the rest. I'll post a pic or two when it's done.

 

It took a lot longer than I expected...I seem to remember 4mm wagon kits going together pretty rapidly...but I have to admit I can't see myself going back to a smaller scale. I practised with the airbrush on an old unpainted 4mm Slaters kit, and it felt tiny and quite crude.

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Interesting stuff. One small comment if I may. On your diagrams all the buildings are parallel with the baseboard edge. If you can find a way to put one or two of them at angles they will look more interesting. On my layout Dock Green I was forced to put the buildings parallel by lack of space (your reason too, I suspect) so I put one of the bridges and the canal at angles.

 

Chaz

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Thanks for that tip Chaz I'll also bare that in mind, great point.  I suffer from the same constraints and all though I have got some buildings on the angle it was not done from a considered view point.

Your suggestion will add more interest to the scene.

 

Regards

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Thanks Chaz...you're right of course. I'm very much at the "will it fit" stage, and I'll certainly be looking to vary the angles, etc. when it comes to finally positioning the buildings. So...thought I'd pop the transfers on the Mogo, light dust of weathering and job done....no such luck. The transfers were a nightmare, and it took ages as each individual letter had to be positioned with the point of a knife. Not sure if I was doing something wrong, but lots of swearing, some muck and grime and a coat of matt varnish later and it was time to leave well alone before I lost the plot and threw it out of the window! Reasonably happy with the result though, and learnt a lot....I reckon I can do better next time. Results below:

 

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Stage 1 complete....order a point kit from C&L tomorrow! Does anyone know the radius of an A4 point ( I can't bring myself to call them turnouts!)

 

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Nice job on the Mogo. A small tip from me. I mic talcum powder into the paint that I use for the van roof to give a reasonable simulation of the canvas covering. Attached is a photo of one of Parkside vans. On this example I scribed and painted part of the roof moulding to simulate the planking. I then applied some Maskol and then painted the roof with my paint/talcum powder concotion. When hard, the Maskol was peeled off to leave the effect of damaged canvas that could be seen on some vans.

 

Regards,

 

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  • 5 months later...
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Well, it's been a little while, but I did say this would take forever! I've knocked together a couple of wagon kits, built a point (which I'm quite chuffed with) and I'm much less apprehensive about building my own trackwork. Although I did say I'd have a go at a building before I finally took the plunge, rules are made to be broken, and I've addressed the loathsome job of building the baseboards. I went for 6mm mdf, all glued together with pva. All a bit wobbly at first, but when I got all the bracing in it became pretty solid.

 

I've seen lots of high quality exhibition layouts which have been a bit questionable below baseboard level, so rather that go for rickety legs or big constructions, I recessed the bracing so each 5' baseboard sits snugly over a portable Keter workbench (secondhand on ebay for £30). These things are brilliant: can be carried like a suitcase and set up in about 5 secs. Couple of pics below.

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Edited by Gareth001
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The other thing that spoils a lot of exhibition layouts for me is the baseboard join. I know this is a tricky one, and whilst my focus isn't exhibiting, I want the layout to be portable. I reckon the best way is to really beef up the join, so the boards clamp together tightly and accurately. I used some 6mm 50x50 Aluminium angle, offset across the join. I put washers between the two lengths of angle and bolted them together before fixing to the boards with M8 countersunk hexhead screws and Nylock nuts. I then took the washers out before bolting together (screws and wingnuts) to really pull the edges together. worked pretty well.

 

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I've also put a traverser in by setting in some cut down drawer runners into the baseboard, stuck in with silicone sealant. This allows the traverser deck to slide above the main baseboard. I'm going to cut the track plan out of more 6mm mdf so that the track sits 6mm above the baseboards: If you build onto a plain board, you can build up, but you can't go down: real ground doesn't work like that, and I think this will allow me just a little contouring to put in some dips, puddles etc. It'll also allow me to plant buildings below ground level.

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post-17777-0-05197300-1405096643.jpg

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I've also put a traverser in by setting in some cut down drawer runners into the baseboard, stuck in with silicone sealant. This allows the traverser deck to slide above the main baseboard. I'm going to cut the track plan out of more 6mm mdf so that the track sits 6mm above the baseboards: If you build onto a plain board, you can build up, but you can't go down: real ground doesn't work like that, and I think this will allow me just a little contouring to put in some dips, puddles etc. It'll also allow me to plant buildings below ground level.

 

I cut my teeth out of high school in a civil engineering office.... can't stand a dead-flat baseboard. I've used a rubber/cork hybrid underlay (about 5mm thick) which seems to be a Yank product - but is excellent, and gives me that bit of elevation to shape some authentic drainage between the tracks.

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With a bit of motivation derived from having the full layout surface stretched out in front of me, I'm waiting on a delivery from C&L to crack on with the trackwork. In the meantime I'll cut out all the trackbed from 6mm mdf...laminating that to the baseboards should give even more rigidity. Meanwhile, during the ridiculously long planning process this has all gone through, I've re thought the track plan (below). Only two points, and not too crowded, but still some good operating potential.

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Hi Gareth,

I like the look of your track plan, my only advice for you is remember in 0 gauge less is more.......there is massive opportunity for the small details which do get lost and can look contrived if there is too much crowding. I built a small layout called Puddle Lane (still have it in the shed & only got as far as track & ballast) which was simply a passing loop with a short parcels siding. Operationally it was great fun, I'm sure you will enjoy yours

Doug

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Gareth,

 

It's looking good, I particularly like the baseboard joints and support system, it's nice to see some different thinking. I would have put both angles at the board ends but your way of doing it gets around a lot of level/alignment issues, clever. Glad to see you got on alright with constructing a point, it is satisfying, any thoughts yet on point control?

 

I said back in February that I was looking at a similar scheme, (shorter but fatter), and by now it's running pretty much in parallel with yours so it will be interesting to pick up ideas from your build, I shall post when I have finished track laying but it won't be too long now, the beauty of something this size is the speed you can make progress, although the detailing will take ages you can get trains running relatively quickly.

 

Keep up the good work, it inspires the rest of us into doing something.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
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So, after another indecently long pause, I have finally finished the second point and laid the remainder of the track which I've initially stuck down with jolly old No More Nails. I thought that once the points were down the rest would follow swiftly...no chance. It's taken quite a time to get the plain track down, because I've been quite fussy about alignment, etc...I want the slow running to be spot on. I went to a recent exhibition (Folkestone) where, incidentally there were no O gauge layouts, and I only saw one exhibit which didn't involve the giant hand from above within a minute or two of viewing. I know it's easy to criticise, and I'm sure I was just unlucky, but I want to aim for a bit more reliability. Interestingly the one layout which ran perfectly was dcc controlled, which has started the cogs turning.

 

I really enjoyed building the points, and the whole exercise in 7mm trackwork has been very satisfying....the gauge looks right, steel rail is a massive improvement (I've never been happy with nickel silver) and the small details such as the beautifully cast fishplates from C&L make a big difference too. I've still got a bit of fettling to do, including re-soldering the tie bar on one of the points....I've got the blades just a fraction too far apart.

 

I'm actually looking forward to the ballasting (must get out more!) and getting something running. As my entire stock consists of 2 wagons, it's time to take the plunge...I've ordered one of the last maroon Ixion HC tanks. It was always going to happen! I remember the review of it in RM when it was released which went something like " all you now need to get started in O gauge is a couple of points, a few wagon kits and away you go.."  Well, that's exactly what I did! I've already been inspired by other contributors to make a few mods...but it'll take a few days to pluck up the courage to start the surgery on such a cracking little loco...watch this space!

 

A couple of pics of pretty much the entire system attached. The stuff that looks like custard is expansive foam, which is easy to cut and shape, and will form the base for some coloured flexible filler which will give the final ground cover.

 

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Here's a pic of part of  the baseboard join, which I have admittedly got a bit OCD over....still got a bit to do get it right. Once all the tracks are aligned for the traverser and sector plate, I'll superglue every chair anywhere near a joint of any kind. I need to adjust the sleeper spacing a bit too, and I should have set the points a fraction further apart to accommodate better spacing at the joint....hindsight is a wonderful thing. However, in the run down sidings of the type I'm trying to portray, lots of the sleepers were buried in the mud, grime and spoil, so I should be able to camouflage it successfully later.

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Here's the line's entire rolling stock....the board of directors clearly need to make some purchases. Photos can be cruel...the rusty bits don't look so orange in real life. I reckon I can do better in future.

post-17777-0-08631400-1415543692_thumb.jpg

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