Now that I'm 50

[IainD]

Now that I have reached the age of 50, and have inspected my lifetime contract, apparently I have to build myself a model railway!

 

Being very impressed with Waverly West (and having been to Waverly many times as child on the train to Kirkcaldy) I would like to do a layout that attempts to do the original justice - yes, I know it's a copy and won't be anywhere like as good, but I'm not that great with ideas - implementation yes, ideas, no!

 

The room size is 4m by 3m and the total board coverage is 12ft by 7ft (I'm allowed to mix measurements, I remember pre-decimalisation). It will primarily be viewable from one side with a control section in the middle. No board is anymore that 3ft deep and most are 4ft by 2ft (I have a dose of chipboard boards already that I was going to use of this size). It will be a permanent model, with the top and left hand side as you look at it attatched to the wall, the rest will be supported by legs. Each board will be bolted to it's neighbours by at least two coach bolts per joining length.

 

I have attatched a .jpg image and a zipped AnyRail plan for your consideration. Please give any comments you feel valid as to the track plan and any potential pitfalls you might forsee. I plan to use DCC on the layout (as a compter programmer, the implementation of computer control of a DCC layout I find really interesting and I am considering either BigBear or Hornby RailMaster as potentials - with a view to perhaps writing my own software in the future, but that's a long way off yet!).

 

If anyone could mock up a wiring diagram for this as well I would be very grateful as I am still somewhat bemused by the wiring of a DCC layout. The track sections are all Peco Code 100 (I still have my Triang models from my dim and distant youth and would be quite keen to get them running on this as well - whether they can take a DCC chip or not remains to be seen) but I would consider using FlexiTrack where approriate. The total budget is around £2K but that has to include carpeting and painting the room as well - it had a laminate floor (cheap) that I have now lifted and consigned to the workshop.

 

I am making a 'train set' here as I want both runarounds and shunting operations to occur, so I am aware that most of the traffic into the main station area will be coming from right to left, with the odd express hurtling through at times.

 

 

Looking forward to your responses, and remember, I know nothing!

 

Regards

Iain

Waverly12x8.zip

[Guest Dave.C]

Now that I have reached the age of 50, and have inspected my lifetime contract, apparently I have to build myself a model railway!

That was my plan too, but I appear to be a couple of years behind schedule

 

Good luck with your project though

[A1X]

looks like a nice project in the pipe lines

[Park]

It must be something about that age and that same contract

 

If your going DCC then there is no worry on the wiring front, just wire it all. Put a pair of 'bus' wires all the way around and connect everything into it. (Like a ring main but powered from your controller and not the mains )

Prove it all works on your old DC controller to save frying your DCC systems and enjoy.

 

Flex track will allow you to put a bit of 'sway' into your plan as I am sure many will comment that it's a bit square. In the end it's what you want, though there is loads of help to be had on the forum.

 

Check out JMRI if you can code in Java, it's free