Big jim's (now dismantled) 12 x 6 shed layout

[Swifty11]

Nice job Jim!

[ess1uk]

More great work.

Looking forward to progress updates.

[Timtrains66]

Nice work, looking foward for updates !

 

Tim

[big jim]

Been having a play around with the boards, i think maybe the pics of the new boards i posted last week may have been overlooked by people watching the thread as they are last post on page 1 and swifty11 replied within 2 mins of me posting them so viewers may not have seen the pics (as there is only 1 "like" on the pics!) as his was the last post viewed if you see what i mean!

 

Anyway, going to use the offcuts to make up the cross pieces, both 2ft wide so plenty of room for the curves

 

Called into trident trains earlier to get some scenecraft risers and a few lengths of code 75 flexi as well as a tracksetta gauge and peco track spacers

 

Ive decided that the inner line on the curves is going to be the equivalant of 4th radius and the outer will be 24" radius so a nice 5ft curve at both ends

 

So onto the pictures, you will have to use your imagination for now!!

 

The end board will be 18" wide, obviously got to cut it to size!

 

The track in this picture will be running below a raised area which will have the station etc on, i will be cutting holes to allow me to clean the track and retrieve any derailments

 

This is the inner curve, 4th radius, it will begin to rise at around the 90o point of the curve while still inside a "tunnel"

 

Still plenty of room for the yard and line from the high lavel to drop down

 

Again, imagination time, this double curve will be on an incline (high end nearest the camera to get the line up 3" to the station area

 

Which then curves back round, still rising slightly to the high level

 

Plenty of room for the station

 

And looking back into the shed

 

The inclines are 2% incline which raises the track to 4 1/2" height over 16ft, i have however only used the pieces to raise it to 3" over 12ft, im going to use a single set of formers for each double line (got to buy one more set) which i will secure to the boards and use 3mm ply on top to secure the track to

[big jim]

Another couple of hours this evening......

 

First up was marking up and cutting out the holes for the hidden track section, 3 1/2" wide so ample room to reach in to clean etc, cut to avoid the cross members, i then fitted the lengthways bracing under the boards before screwing them down (only the station side boards so far)

 

 

 

 

Then took the edge off the boards where they narrow

 

Fitted the joining board at the top end

 

At the door end i was thinking about fitting it lower down so i could put a bridge across the recess, this may still happen, but probably not!

 

Finally i fitted the inner risers in what i hope to be their final positions with sellotape just to see how it looks, i think once finished trains should look good climbing this section

 

Nice bit of room for the p-way yard between the inclines, im thinking of making the incline against the wall a slightly steeper 3 degree one with a leveling out section 1/2 way along the wall before dropping down to board level

 

The next job is to put some cork down on the hidden section ready for track laying then i can get some wood cut for the high level bit, im thinking of also putting a single low level spur off the main at the door end to run either the opposite side of the cleaning holes or as a scenic line which will head into the yard

 

Really pleased with how its looking with just the risers taped into place

[fishytrains]

Developing very nicely. I look forward to seeing more as the layout progresses.

 

Mike

[artizen]

The curving incline across the removable board across the door will be an interesting planning exercise!

 

I take it the short person at the door is part of the planning committee? 

[big jim]

I've decided not to make the door bit removable unless i have a eureka moment before i finalise the design, its not too much of a problem to make it removable but i've got a feeling the final design may have 2 or 3 sets of points on that board all of which will need to be wired to accessory decoders and bus wires etc which is where it becomes complicated!

 

My eldest in the pic is not that interested at the moment, he will be when trains can be run though, he was just hanging round waiting to take the iphone off me to play games!!

[big jim]

I'm sat looking at the final picture i have had my "eurika" moment, why not make the door bit hinged, but hinged so it drops downwards (hinges on the left as you look i to the shed)

 

As long as any structure/embankment etc up against the outer edge of the hinged section has a slight angle to allow for the swing then the board should be able to drop down clear, any point wiring etc would then reach the board from the hinge side

 

Obviously i'd have to be careful about knocking any scenics when entering the shed, i could also incorporate some sort of wiring "short out" that cuts power to the layout when the board is down to prevent locos plunging off the open end!

Edited May 1, 2013 by big jim

[artizen]

Have you seen this thread by Mark? He details how he got around a board crossing the door into the garage. 

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/58011-maybeck-road-depot/page-5

[big jim]

had a sneaky hour earlier so i had a look at how to solve the door area problem, quite simply i wanted to keep things as easy as possible so i have simply made a removable section.....

 

the top is the bit i'd already cut to which i added sides

 

underneath i braced it with small square strips of wood set back a bit

 

 

the reason being i needed to be able to fit a piece across the end

 

however this part isn't attached to the removable section, its screwed to the main board side, clamped into place to line up

 

then screwed into place

 

both parts in place

 

and the board slides down over the fixed blocks to look like this

 

i then cut a curve to the corners of the removable panel to make it a bit easier to drop down

 

and in place from the other side

 

when it comes to wiring i will put a bus wire on the removable bit with a connector to the main boards

 

not far off actually getting some cork down to lay track in the hidden bit before i can add the high level area

[MattWallace]

elegant and simple - I like it

[muddys-blues]

That door access board is simplicity at its best and very effective, I think we have a tendency to been drawn into over engineering things sometimes, very neat JIm, I like it, I also like how you are working in a methodical way and not being tempted to start laying track before the boards are complete.

[millerhillboy]

Great stuff. I love, for some unknown reason, layouts. In sheds. I think I'd love the isolation of a shed just sitting working away or running trains all in peace.

 

I also love well engineered and well thought out solutions like what you've got. It enjoyable to see your solution emerge and come together bit by bit.

[big jim]

Todays project was to get the high level boards in place (loose at the moment)

 

First up i went to B&Q and got another sheet of 9MM ply cut to size, one 8ft by 2ft and the other 4ft by 18" to mirror the bottom boards for now, i then have the option to cut them back a bit to allow me to add something scenic low down on the starion side, possibly room for a siding?

 

I decided that the boards should be 3 1/2" high so made some stands which on the wall side are screwed to the shed batoning, they are then screwed crossways with a short leg on the outer part

 

With the boards in place

 

The view from below the boards

 

Plenty of room under there

 

I then placed the risers in position, they need to be double the width you can see there, i have however set them so that the curve that is laid is the sharpest for each bend

 

Im wondering whether to make the up and down line split slightly on the incline and put a small 2 car island platform in between the lines?

 

Overall view

 

The parts of the layout that will be laid on the risers will have 3mm ply on top to secure the track to

 

To get the idea of how the low level will come out from below the upper board i placed a small board on top, it will however be a lot bigger once i get the proper board in place

Edited May 5, 2013 by big jim

[Tase]

Coming along at quite a pace now mate. Looking forward to more updates in due course.

[d winpenny]

Looking good, david

[Pete Harvey]

Jim

 

You have been visiting 250Bob to much there is a resemblance to his layout just a lot smaller.

 

very nice Jim.

 

Pete

[big jim]

JimYou have been visiting 250Bob to much there is a resemblance to his layout just a lot smaller.very nice Jim.Pete

damn, rumbled!

 

quite a few ideas are borrowed from bobs layout, mainly the figure of 8 set up and using scenecraft risers

[big jim]

A little bit more done today

 

First job was to cut a river bed/road cutting/disused railway cutting into the removable section so i can build a couple of bridges to span the gap

 

Fitted a couple of barrel locks to secure the removable section in place, still need to add metal plates on the hole side

 

Put some cork down in the hidden section

 

I then had a think about what i want to try and achieve on the staion side, as this is the side that will need to be finished first due to the hidden track section underneath

 

The more i thought about having a big station with lots of platform faces/island platform/bays, through roads etc the more i thought "in this day and age they are few and far between" so im thinking of having a couple of platforms, maybe a single bi directional loop to the rear with a chord going into a low relief industrial building (think warrington bank quay backdrop!) however one thing i did want to do was to reuse my scratchbuilt shed off the birmingham depot so i came up with this idea.

 

A while back i bought some ecoboard from b and q to see if it could be used for scenics, i cut it down and placed it on the lower board, chamfering the edge while cutting

 

Placed the shed on top where it fitted nicely

 

I then cut the top board down to sit on ecoboard so the shed would be slightly lower than the station area, as the board is quite flexible the right hand side is sitting on the batoning for the high level board dropping towards the shed which is sat on the level, i have also turned the ecoboard over to lose the chamfered edge which gives me a bit more "hard standing" area around the shed

 

And finally the first bit if track is laid, the part in the covered section as once the top is secure i wont be able to reach it to lay track

 

Next job is the final bit of upper board at the far end of the shed, the transition between the upper board and risers, going to try and disguise the climb a little bit (i have an idea in my head!)

Edited May 6, 2013 by big jim

[newbryford]

Hi Jim,

Looking good.

 

I'd have been tempted to put a batten all the way along the wall to support the upper board. There is a possibility it could sag between the short battens that are there.

Easy to add infill pieces at this stage though!

 

Cheers,

 

Mick

[big jim]

I was just using up offcuts otherwise i would have put full lengths of wood in there, the only piece of B&Q wood i had left had previously been used to check the curve of bananas i recon, or possibly come from whatever tree they make boomarangs from!!

[ess1uk]

Nice work there Jim

Edited May 6, 2013 by ess1uk

[fishytrains]

Very good looking progress.  

 

Mike

[SNCF stephen]

Wow, I enjoyed the old version of this thread but I suspect I will enjoy this one even more. I am stunned by your woodworking skills. If I was able to do things that good at the speed you have done it I would have built a few layouts by now. I will be watching with interest.

 

Good luck.