OO Mosslanda Modular Micro layout - OO gauge

[ruggedpeak]

Having relocated from a UK house with a sizeable garden (having both a garden layout and largish micro layout) to a Swiss city centre flat space is at a premium. Even the micro layout is too big for the flat, custom made as it was for the Ikea Fjallbo shelving units. Also lacking access to a garage, tools or even mail order baseboards, I was keen to find something to run trains on, however limited. The Ikea Mosslanda photo ledge (shelf!) (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?q=mosslanda ) was an interesting concept, self contained with the added bonus of sides so rolling stock can't fall off. Others have been looking at the Mosslanda as well. Being Ikea it is available across Europe, and comes in two sizes and multiple colours. I have initially bought one short (55 cm) and one long shelf (115 cm) to experiment with.

 

My initial thinking was to use Mosslandas as modular layout boards, primarily using the long 115 cm version. The basic details were:

 

1. OO gauge as this is what I have already - probably these 'ledges' are better suited to N, Z or TT:120.......
2. This would allow 2 tracks at almost normal mainline separation between the lines
3. Every board would have 2 'universal' track joins at each end to allow any board to join to any other - I use Modeltech rail aligners for this

 

Playing around with AnyRail, it became apparent that there was a lot of scope for operational interest, but the tightness of the board in OO meant it was not going to have prototypical accuracy. Using short Y's and points, plus designs with no points there is a lot of scope to create a modular format. The challenges are:

 

1. how to join the boards together
2. electrical connections
3. support legs etc
4. overhang issues with longer rolling stock due to walls on both sides

 

With the concept of how to fix the boards together not being obvious and my struggling to get to grips with the Swiss equivalent of B&Q, I decided to leave that and get a single board up and running. This was to be a simple shunting puzzle where the complexity is added by the passing loop rather than multiple sidings. This board would also have the 'universal' joins at each end so it could form part of the modular system if that came into being. 

 

Using AnyRail and rolling stock the long Mosslanda allows for a loop with ends that will take a small shunter like a Sentinel and SWB wagons at each end and more in each loop. It is also just long enough to allow a 47 to pass Mk.2's in the loop. The in the ends are just long enough to hold them and for the points to be changed (my Mk3's are in the basement and not sure they will fit given they are longer but will see in due course....). This was initially designed with short Peco points but then redesigned with standard Hornby points as I had a pair in my track box. Despite the more acute angle of the Hornby points it still works, as per the track plan.

 

 

The two short sections of track at the top are to provide connections to the modular system for other boards, in this case the top lines become sidings. The positioning of the loop track is critical to ensure longer rolling stock does not foul the sidewalls. This took a bit of fettling but there is now several millimetres on each side, as can be seen here. The sleepers are wonky as I have been re-spacing them but not fixed them down yet.

 

 

Some more views. Note below there is a v shaped groove in the bottom of the shelf to hold photos and stop them sliding. I have filled that in with polyfilla (the pure white strip on the far right between the Anyrail printout and the Rail Joiner) to ensure it does not interfere with track laying etc. The sidings at each end will be added later.

 

 

 

 

 

So the Mosslanda has provided a quick, easy and robust micro layout with some operational interest in a tight space. If no fragile scenic items are added like trees or signals then it can easily be moved, stored etc. Also ideal shunting puzzle for my 7 year old once I have put something on the ends to stop things flying off and dig out an old 0-4-0 and wagons that don't matter if they get damaged! Power is delivered by crocodile clips at one end, which form a de facto buffer stop.

 

Scenery wise it can be ballasted, various options for the back wall such as brick paper or [very] low relief buildings. Further to electrical issues that I will cogitate on in later posts, ground signals could be added safely. With the fixed end track joins there are lots of permutations of track plan for other modules, the most obvious being a reverse of this - 2 tracks at either end meeting in a single track via 2 sets of Y points in the middle.

 

The Mosslanda ledges are very strong, I have been wondering about trying to remove the front wall as  having walls on both sides makes fine track laying operations a bit tricky at times. However I suspect it is well glued on and could get messy trying to remove it. Sawing it level with the shelf floor would give vital extra width for OO use however. The ledges have pre-drilled holes so you can just screw them to the wall as well. A simple way of creating a layout around the edge of room?

Edited August 28, 2023 by ruggedpeak
typos

[ruggedpeak]

Pending the addition of some scenic detail on the first 'ledge' and also working out the technical aspects of how to make them join together I've set out some of the module designs so far. All pretty standard but with enough variation to create some interesting routing. There is enough room to create some form of narrow station platform with a single or even double track option. With the siding/dead end modules it is possible to create routes that require some thought to operate. I printed off the images at reduced size on A4 and then cut them into strips to play around with them.

 

None of the designs are millimetre perfect but good enough. The track joins are positioned with the edge of the sleepers 10mm from the sidewall on the respective each side. For consistent positioning I have a 10mm x 17mm length of wooden edging strip, and press it against the sidewall and then the sleepers of the track against it to ensure that the locations are exactly the same on each board. All desings are with Peco Streamline HO/OO track items as per AnyRail. 

 

2 short Y points back to back

Double slip - not cheap!

Straight flexi

 

Back to back Long Y points

 

Right hand long points (long points reduce overhang)

 

Left hand long points (long points reduce overhang)

 

Simple Long Cross-over

 

Passing loop with sidings, left hand (flip for right hand)
 

Single track switching sides with sidings.

 

Simple Short Cross-over

 

Peco Y point version of shunting plank in 1st post with sidings

 

Single into double line with siding.

 

One interesting combo for example would be the long straight flexi, as a de facto station, followed by the left or right handed point crossing, then the single crossover. Makes station operation interesting.

 

A quick calculation of the cost of the Mosslanda ledges and the points (assuming existing stock of flexi track so no cost) 8 of these boards could be done for under £400. That excludes the double slip, it adds significantly to the cost - two back to back Y points are a lot cheaper and only slightly longer (see top two plans).

 

Definitely something to think about once there is a suitable method to join the ledges together robustly. The V slot in the ledge could be used for wires, and simple legs underneath could provide space for wiring, point motors if desired, and electrical connectors.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by ruggedpeak
typos

[ruggedpeak]

On a recent trip to Ikea to get another Mosslanda they now have a bamboo version, call Maleras. It is noticeably more expensive but the taller rear panel comes as a separate piece that you have to attach yourself. This may or may help with creating a layout if it is left off or used to widen the base.

 

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/maleras-picture-ledge-bamboo-00446237/

 

Next module is likely to be the short crossing as I picked up a Peco one at my local model store here in Geneva, Jouet Boller, along with some ballast so I can start to do the scenery.

[ruggedpeak]

The latest issue of Micro Model Railway Desptach has an evaluation of a wide variety of Ikea shelves by Ian Holmes 😊

 

https://micromodelrailwaydispatch.com (direct PDF download here https://micromodelrailwaydispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Issue-10-Autumn-2023_final.pdf )

 

Going back to my original post, I had a previous thread on an earlier micro layout that saw all the photos disappear but here are the two Fjallbo units that supported my earlier micro layout, full of stuff! In theory you could put a layout on the top and lwoer shelf levels, with storage in cupboards at the bottom. A good bit of furniture.

 

Edited April 28 by ruggedpeak
update

[ruggedpeak]

After a protracted period of not progressing this, I have managed to get track laid on 3 shelves to create modules. I have a 4th shelf and that will just have straight double track. On a flat surface (our parquet floor turns out not to be flat but slightly wavy!) the align well.

 

 

They provide a robust 'baseboard and can be stacked. They are piled up on the top of a tall bookcase out of the way when not in use. The track layout is for entertaining an 8 year old rather than prototypical accuracy! The double crossovers reflect the fact I got a retail pack of 10 Hornby crossovers on the Swiss version of Ebay for next to nothing so have used a couple! The top two boards also work well as standalone layouts. They are definitely something (assuming no protruding scenic detail etc) that can be picked up and moved around, stacked etc without risk of damage. So a good basis for a small layout.

 

Next activity is to find a robust and reliable way of joining them together so they can be connected up quickly and easily. Given the end profile this does not seem straighforward if structural strength is required, especially as my trips to DIY stores here has not yielded the same selection of hinges and other potential connectors as B&Q et al in the UK. Cannot find flat hinges for love nor money....All ideas welcome.

 

 

Electrical connections will probably just be banana plugs on wires through the base as there is no space at surface level for connections due to the tight clearances between trains and the side walls.

[Ben B]

I'm really taken with this- I've a couple of standalone micro layouts under construction in N, but never even thought of doing one in 00! Ideas of a railbus/light railway micro are forming...

[Rich_F]

20 hours ago, Ben B said:

I'm really taken with this- I've a couple of standalone micro layouts under construction in N, but never even thought of doing one in 00! Ideas of a railbus/light railway micro are forming...

I've got some N gauge track & stock in a drawer. Very tempting with a Mosslanda as you say!

[ruggedpeak]

I bought a N gauge Grafar O3 and a couple of wagons in the pre-xmas sales and once I get some track the plan is to start a small layout, possibly an inglenook on the short 55cm Mosslanda which I also bought.

[scottystitch]

Have you seen this excellent thread? IT might be of inspiration, if not:

 

 

[ruggedpeak]

Yes, James's work is of the highest standard and inspiring, as are his blog and books.

 

Here I am looking at a slightly different concept along the lines of a combo of modular and standalone micro layouts using the Mosslanda with play/use interest and storage flexibility and robustness rather than high quality modelling.

 

The thinking behind it is that where space for baseboards is limited but there may be storage, a robust modular layout system that can be 'lobbed' in a cupboard or under a bed might provide another route to enjoying trains and providing a means to have longer runs than a standalone micro. That robustness however does preclude a lot of the scenic detail and means things like signals will have to be excluded. At this point the design of the Mosslanda plus my own limited practical skills and limited DIY stuff available in Switzerland means that joining them together in a way that is sufficiently robust and accurate for running and regular assembly and disassembly is proving more complex than hoped. As a solus baseboard they are very good however and James has shown the potential of them.

[scottystitch]

I understand, thanks for the response.. It was more about the scenes that appeared to be possible with that kind of shelf, but I get where your coming from and what it is you're trying to achieve better now.

 

Sorry for the diversion.

 

Best

Scott.

[Ben B]

19 hours ago, ruggedpeak said:

Yes, James's work is of the highest standard and inspiring, as are his blog and books.

 

Here I am looking at a slightly different concept along the lines of a combo of modular and standalone micro layouts using the Mosslanda with play/use interest and storage flexibility and robustness rather than high quality modelling.

 

The thinking behind it is that where space for baseboards is limited but there may be storage, a robust modular layout system that can be 'lobbed' in a cupboard or under a bed might provide another route to enjoying trains and providing a means to have longer runs than a standalone micro. That robustness however does preclude a lot of the scenic detail and means things like signals will have to be excluded. At this point the design of the Mosslanda plus my own limited practical skills and limited DIY stuff available in Switzerland means that joining them together in a way that is sufficiently robust and accurate for running and regular assembly and disassembly is proving more complex than hoped. As a solus baseboard they are very good however and James has shown the potential of them.

 

What your scheme lends itself to though is making use of vertical storage space; if the layouts are scenically worked to a reasonably neat standard, then having them up on the wall (resting on brackets, maybe locked into place with dowells from the brackets, fitting into corresponding holes in the base of each Mosslandia) means they can be stored in a spot usually unused by modellers. That's my plan with the N layout, making use of a space on the side of a warderobe which is otherwise ununsed. On top of which, with stock placed on them, your various modules could effectively act as display shelves when not in use. Dust might be an issue, though a protective cover could be fashioned.

 

As for scenery... put stone effect or cliff textures along the rear walls, stone effect along the front edge, and imagine it's the visual 'slice' of a railway cut into a steep hillside in Scotland or the Pennines?

[JamFjord]

Very interesting concept, this, and an interesting, innovative use for these mini shelves. I just ordered myself a couple with a larger IKEA order as I fancy seeing what might be achievable using both James' and your approaches, and whether I might be able to combine them.

 

As a reader of his blog you're no doubt already aware of the layout, but I was just wondering whether James' more recent Mosslanda adventure 'Wrecsam Canalog' might suggest a couple of features that could be useful here?

 

• The box with lid (and lighting pelmet perhaps if you're feeling fancy) could offer some protection to any scenery you did decide to add.
• Maybe the attachable fiddlestick system could be adapted to lock two Mosslanda shelves together, or more end-to-end?

 

In any case, I'm following with interest - looks like a fun solution to a real-world limitation many of us face.

 

[ruggedpeak]

Hi Jam and Ben

 

Thanks for the interest and for posting. I think it can be summarised as James' shelf layouts are at one end of the modelling spectrum, mine at the other! I definitely think a combination of the scenic quality that James can achieve and the modular concept is a great idea and would love to see what is achieved.

 

In terms of scenery and Bens' comment, with my twin track modular concept there is only 10mm from the sleeper edge to the rear wall, and with anything other than straight track the overhangs of normal length locos and coaches use almost all of that space so there is no room for 3D scenery. I have maxxed out the use of the available width with two tracks, points and crossings and the requirement to operate full size rolling stock. This means scenery is 2D painted only. Even a ground signal can be tricky to place. I have designed it so that I can run long stock like a Class 70 and Mk3's over all the tracks without clearance issues. Obviously using only short wheel base stock, a single track or straight track only etc will permit much greater scenic flexibility and opportunity as per James'.

 

My shelf layouts are the most basic possible (and I definitely do not have the scenery skills to replicate 'Wrecsam'!) using whatever track I have to hand. As I live in a small flat with a child and both parents mostly working from home on multiple computers and screens means there is no room for anything significant in terms of layout. As per the first page and the Anyrail designs, I was looking for variety in operation and running over scenery or accuracy.

 

The ultimate goal is a series of Mosslandas that can be joined together in various ways to form a long single straight run along the hall/landing of the flat (a sort of interior version of my previous COVID garden layout built on scrap decking boards - again not a masterpiece but it worked), operational variety provided by changing them around and hence the modular connections. Mosslanda's are perfect as they are solid, don't flex and are knock proof. They are heavy at 7.5kg for the long ones but that is the price of robustness.I keep mine up here to get them out the way, on top of the bookcase behind the models! That's a yet to be opened Mosslanda at the back, they just stack on top of it. 

 

 

My original inspiration was this chap's homemade modular Hon30 layout. I really liked this as you get variety. As I didn't fancy the carpentry it was a case of waiting to see if something came along that could be the basis for something similar:

 

 

In an ideal world one of the layout makers might come up with a product that is a basic laser cut ply kit that does this with standardised positions for connections etc. Hint hint 😉

Edited January 20 by ruggedpeak

[ruggedpeak]

After several trips to DIY stores, I settled on a very simple mechanism for connecting the 4 Mosslanda modules that I have now finished.

 

Small metal right angle brackets are fixed to each end and are held together with a bolt and wingnut. To keep the metal brackets from scratching the floor a short length of wood is fixed at each end as a leg. I have found that the modules don't need screwing together as long as they don't get knocked.

 

 

Nothing remotely scientific or engineered about it but it works.

 

Electrical connection is via wires soldered at each end with bullet connectors. This ensures power along the length of each line. One module has 2 siding ends rather than a through line, so the two ends are through wired with a switch, so that top line can be powered along it's length or the sidings operate as a isolating break. The switch is mounted in the module floor tucked inside the lower wall, ensuring it is protected during storage etc.

 

Successful running has taken place and will post videos later. So concept works. Obviously there is scope to make a more engineered joining

[ruggedpeak]

Here are the joins between the modules, the top two include the siding ends and the switch is indicated by the yellow arrow.

 

 

 

 

So working fine, when I get some time during the week I will get all 4 laid out together in the hall of the flat to have a full run. Then onto some form of scenery, and think about how I control the two lines, probably a simple switch box that switches the controller between either line.

[ruggedpeak]

I have found some time to do a bit more work on one of the Mosslanda shelves, doing some basic scenery on one as a trial. With very limited clearance in OO anything scenic will probably have to be 2D, so decided to replicate a retaining wall. I bought a Scalescenes downloadable brick paper (TX01 Red Brick OO), and then using the arch and pillar components included in it the PDF, created outlines of a retaining wall arch. Rather than cut and stick multiple sets of arches, I made one then scanned it and printed as many as I needed. As the printout is limited to the width of printed A4 the shelf would require 5 sets of wall.

 

I also bought some of Railtec's excellent graffiti transfers to liven things up a bit. They were applied to one wall section but unsurprisingly water based transfers weren't so keen in printed paper, even after it had been sprayed with varnish. The transfer attached OK but it was clear they would probably come off or get scratched more easily than the printed paper. So I scanned the original and printed it out so that the graffiti is part of the print.

 

The front 'wall' of the shelf was also coverd on both sides with the brick paper. The gaps between sections had a brick pillar piece stuck over it.

 

The overall effect is pretty good in my view for a flat surface and as a background. The main issue is the different colour of the brickwork. The front wall is a straight print as supplied by Scalescenes. The rear wall except the graffiti section is a scan of the original print, and the graffiti section is a scan of the scan....so the colour changes with each scanning and reprinting. So future work will require a consistency in the number of scans for each printed section so they are all the same shade. All are sprayed with matt Windsor & Newton varnish once printed and dry, which dulls the colour further.

 

The next step is to try and create some 2D lineside equipment like relay boxes, signals etc that can then be stuck on the back wall. I did discuss whether there was scope for transfer for flat side on images with Steve at Railtec at the recent NEC show, however I doubt it is high on his priority list at the moment! In the mean time I will need to find some good quality head on/side on images of equipment to then scale them to the right size to add for more realism.

 

Some photos with a couple of 37's below. Ballasting is the next job along with the trackside equipment imagery. The other issue that OO gauge items are almost as high as the back wall, so the scenic effect is limited unless perhaps a board behind has blue sky or something. However it should work much better with N or TT:120.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bazzer42]

Looks good, once the ballast is down some greenery at the base of the wall will add another colour/dimension without intruding too much.  I have some 3d printed relay boxes that are quite narrow, made me wonder whether you could fit similar where the point narrows? Cable trunking or dummy ground signals would be low lying and might be another option

A clever use of limited space, thanks for sharing.

[PatB]

I like this idea a great deal, and your work so far looks good.

 

Might I ask what the width of the shelf between walls is? I couldn't see it mentioned (beyond "slightly more than 2 00 37s"😄), and I can't see it on Ikea's website.

[ruggedpeak]

3 hours ago, PatB said:

I like this idea a great deal, and your work so far looks good.

 

Might I ask what the width of the shelf between walls is? I couldn't see it mentioned (beyond "slightly more than 2 00 37s"😄), and I can't see it on Ikea's website.

Hi Pat, the shelves are 98-99mm wide between the walls, they vary very slightly according to the finish.

[PatB]

1 hour ago, ruggedpeak said:

Hi Pat, the shelves are 98-99mm wide between the walls, they vary very slightly according to the finish.

Thanks. I was thinking in terms of about 100mm by eyeball, but it's good to have it confirmed.

 

I'm currently fiddling with some Triang TT stock, and thinking that it might be just possible, with fag paper clearances and some lateral platform shrinkage (which may be OK if only viewed side on), to fit an island platform station, through or terminus, into the width.

Edited June 3 by PatB
Additional material added