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

[big jim]

Last night i secured the boards on the yard side of the layout before i made a start on glueing down the risers with pva, used a couple of pieces of 4th radius set track to get the inner curve positioned right then butted the outer curve riser up to the tighter curve piece.

 

Let it set over night and this is what i came back to this morning, some of it is still drying as its a bit cold in the shed and i spread the glue quite thick in places

 

I have placed some track on to get the idea of how it will look

 

This is the "down side" entrance to the yard, a single lead between the figure of 8, it will be accessed from a curved point on the down line, the other end will be similar with a curved point from the "up side", i recon i could get 5 decent sized roads in there, my longest train is the 8 100 ton tanker wagon "sinfin tanks" train which may just fit in, i'll worry about that once i get down to laying the yard area

 

 

As the yard will have to enter and exit from opposite lines (up and down) im going to isolate the whole yard from the rest of the layout and fit a reverse loop module to automatically change the polarity of the yard depending on which way trains are entering

 

Due to space constraints i dont have the room to easily fit cross overs from down to up and vice versa so anything wanting to leave the yard will have to propel out onto the main line, the only place i could put them would be in the hidden section and that would invlove putting something in to tell me what way the points are set, may look into it before i secure the high level bit down though

 

Along the back wall i thought i'd do something for a bit visual "stimulation" (cant think of the word i need!), i have made the up and down line split at different levels, originally i had the front line rising first so the rear one went out of view but suddenly had the thought the uphill side would be better to have the gradual climb and the down hill side could be a little bit steeper so i changed it over

 

Cut the riser along the line where the removable section detaches, gonna put the amae wood i used for the layout framing along the edge of the risers on both sections so i have something substantial to work to when it comes to having to cut the rails between the sections

 

The next job is to cut the last bit of wood for the high level area and I think i may well plaster coat the risers this week too, also going to see if the local pound shop has any cork tiles to lay in the yard area

[d winpenny]

Still coming along great, david

[Shedman5]

Really looking good and great woodwork skills, found the "door" section very interesting, looking forward to watching this layout progress

[tender]

Hi Jim,

This all looks familiar. Coming on very well. I saw your use of the riser system in your earlier thread and decided to use this myself on the spare room layout.

 

Here's a pic of the hinged section across my corner doorway. I glued some pcb strip across the wood edging, laid the track across and soldered it to the pcb before cutting through with a 0.012in razor saw.

 

Im surprised how smoothly the trains run across the join, the only giveaway is the clackety clack from the coach bogies.

 

Do you have a track plan?

 

Ray.

[big jim]

Hi Jim,

This all looks familiar. Coming on very well. I saw your use of the riser system in your earlier thread and decided to use this myself on the spare room layout.

Here's a pic of the hinged section across my corner doorway. I glued some pcb strip across the wood edging, laid the track across and soldered it to the pcb before cutting through with a 0.012in razor saw.

image.jpg

Im surprised how smoothly the trains run across the join, the only giveaway is the clackety clack from the coach bogies.

Do you have a track plan?

Ray.

thats how i want to try and do my joint, the picture has given me a lot of inspiration, can pcb strip be picked up from maplin?

 

i don't have a trackplan at all, just making up as i go along, its going to be simple whatever i do as i just want to run trains, going to make it as close to operationally prototypical as i can though when it comes to signals etc

[Swifty11]

thats how i want to try and do my joint, the picture has given me a lot of inspiration, can pcb strip be picked up from maplin?

i don't have a trackplan at all, just making up as i go along, its going to be simple whatever i do as i just want to run trains, going to make it as close to operationally prototypical as i can though when it comes to signals etc

You'll need enough room for a log rake lol

[Captain Kernow]

Really good stuff, Jim - very much enjoyed reading this thread, very impressed with the way you've managed to make such good use of the space available. Looking forward to more installments!

[tender]

thats how i want to try and do my joint, the picture has given me a lot of inspiration, can pcb strip be picked up from maplin?

i don't have a trackplan at all, just making up as i go along, its going to be simple whatever i do as i just want to run trains, going to make it as close to operationally prototypical as i can though when it comes to signals etc

The pcb strip was from C&L, it's the 1.6mm thickness stuff (part no 4ZC101C), its not quite the same as the thickness of Peco track sleeper but I just bedded it in on a good layer of quick set epoxy. It put a piece of cling film in the join between the two sides to stop them getting glued together.

 

I like the idea of a freelance layout, I did a track plan but while laying it I found areas that didn't look as good as it did on paper so a lot of tweaking has taken place. Will be interesting to see what you end up with.

[250BOB]

Hi Jim,

Somehow this thread slipped off my radar until Pete Harvey told me about it at the Derby show yesterday......but looking very good.

I want to see how you do the end of the lift section where the hinges are.....I cant quite get my head round how it works, I keep thinking that the polystyrene block wont allow you to lift because it wants to push into the opposite side of the cut.??

Bob.

[big jim]

hi bob,

 

its not hinged, it just lifts out vertically using good old elbow grease, got to fit some grabholes/ handles at some point, also a shelf for it to sit on when removed

[250BOB]

Thanks Jim. I think it gets complex when trying to hinge different levels of track.

Good to see you are really moving on, will give you a shout when I'm next Crewe way visiting family.

[big jim]

ok bob, i'll have to ty and get up to you again soon, i will give you a toot on thursday afternoon though when i pass through uttoxeter on the tanks!!

[newbryford]

hi bob,

 

its not hinged, it just lifts out vertically using good old elbow grease, got to fit some grabholes/ handles at some point, also a shelf for it to sit on when removed

 

And don't forget to fit a piece of wood over the ends to prevent you driving off them when the liftout section is removed! Maybe some sort of hinged flap that can be raised into position?

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Barnaby]

Great effort so far Jim looking good too.

 

Regards

[big jim]

mick, i was thinking of somehow wiring the main bus feed from the controller into the removable section so the whole layout wont work without it in place?

Edited May 12, 2013 by big jim

[newbryford]

mick, i was thinking of somehow wiring the main bus feed from the controller into the removable section so the whole layout wont work without it in place?

 

I had thought of an electrical solution such as that, but it means that the whole layout will be dead when the section is out. You may want to do some limited testing of stuff without replacing the section.

Maybe you could isolate a few feet either side of the lift section when the piece is out? Allowing for anything that may have power units not at the front. (previous personal experience with 47/7 push-pull sets...........)

And do you have a falling gradient towards the gap on the outer circuit?

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited May 12, 2013 by newbryford

[250BOB]

mick, i was thinking of somehow wiring the main bus feed from the controller into the removable section so the whole layout wont work without it in place?

 

But what about when your rake of log wagons decides to do a runaway  by themselves.

 

Bob.

[big jim]

called in at hereford model centre earlier and got a stack of 2nd hand peco code 75 points for less than £5 each including 4 express points, Y point, a few medium sized and small radius ones, not sure exactly what i need but at hat price i thought i'd get them in stock just in case.

 

one thought i have had, and previously mentioned is im going to use the express points in the hidden area so i can cross from up to down and vice versa to get in and out of the yard without a propelling move, it was the cost that put me off but having picked up the points cheaply i will do it now, just need to work out how to make myself a points indicator of some sort!

 

 

i also knew i needed a couple of curved points to get into the yard so i called into trident trains and got a couple of those too, turns out the one for the down side is too long to fit before the removable section so i'm going to fit a small point in there instead and use the curved point to make the entrance to what will probably be a platform loop line therefore giving me a longer loop in the station than using a straight point

 

next up i cut the wood for the transision area between the risers and high level area, very loosly placed on the layout to figure out my way forward, you may be able to make out that the wood is actually sloping towards the taller inner riser but then bending back out level to meet up with the outer lower risers, as i say very temporary and i may in fact split the wood to save having "bendy wood"

 

if i do cut it, i will do it at the narrowest point next to the riser in this picture, the difference is caused by me adding a flat section to the middle of the inner riser making it a longer distance to climb, the wood to the right of the riser is on the level

 

i may well cut it back a bit more to give me a bit more height at the tunnel exit (basically the tunnel mouth/bridge hole will be nearer to the lower end of the riser

[tender]

I would definitely slit the ply back a few inches where it joins the gradient to make sure you get a smooth transition.

[big jim]

just done a big description of the work i did on friday but hit backspace on the keyboard and lost the lot and quite frankly cant be bothered writing it all again, anyway here are the pics, i'm sure you can work out what i've been upto!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

laid cork in the yard area

 

removable section work

 

 

 

 

the 2 blocks need to be planed down while in situ to get the tops level

 

i then added some hobbycraft plastered cloth to the risers

 

also glued some of the offcuts from the B&Q space board to the outside of the incline, it will need to be surformed down and filled before i cover it with the plaster cloth, the inner (yard side) of the inclines will be retaining walls so i don't lose any siding space.

 

going to try and crack on with it this week before i go to work

 

EDIT: PICTURES SEEM TO BE ALL OVER THE PLACE BUT LINKS ARE CORRECT, WEIRD!!

Edited May 19, 2013 by big jim

[66702GBRf]

This is looking very promising!!! Can't wait to see what you come up with for preventing trains running off the end!!!

 

66702GBRf

[chris p bacon]

I find this thread interesting in the way you are making it it up as you go along, I'm a bit of a planner and have to have a pretty solid plan before I start or I get into all sorts of problems.......mind you, I still get them with planning !

 

Look forward to more on this thread.

[big jim]

Believe me i WILL get into all sorts of problems as i go along, already realised i can't fit the curved point i wanted to fit at the door end so will have to use a small radius point instead, i think the hardest bit is going to be the raised part as i will have to reach through the lower base board to fit point motors etc so that side will need a bit more forward planning such as not using the space board under it and i will make cut a few more reach through holes to the lower board

 

And ive not even thought about wiring either the layout or shed yet!!

[250BOB]

Just get on with it Jim.........you know that within a year that parts of it will be ripped up, cos you have had a new idea for this part or that part........I love that part of railway modelling, it doesnt have to forever, if you get bored with parts of the layout...change it.......you know that I do.

[big jim]

a few days worth of work in this reply....

 

first job was securing the wooden block on the edge of the base board, used a couple of kitchen cabinet corner brackets

 

in place, i have managed to reduce the gap a bit too

 

filled the gaps with foamboard pieces, this has reduced the gap

 

then i plastered the inclines

 

also plastered the foamboard i'd put in place on the sunken section

 

 

this morning i got some supplies from the local car boot, a brand new sander and plane for £6!!

 

which i used to get the wood on the edge of the removable section level with the piece on the baseboard

 

 

next up i cut a bit of the plastered foam board out to fit a bridge deck

 

 

 

 

 

the "fun bit" of this part of the layout is going to be the fact i need to fit the point to get into the yard partly on the bridge but to complicate things it will have a point motor on it, a seep type so not too deep but i'll have to work out the wiring so it can be unplugged when the section is removed

 

also need to trim the edge off the wooden bit, simple enough as its on the edge of the board so i can reach it with the jigsaw

 

the yard side of the layout is about as far as i can get now without actually starting to lay track which i don't want to do until i've got the other side of the layout secured

 

with any luck i should be able to crack on with the layout over the next couple of weeks while the family are having a half term holiday, i think the next job is to do the bracing/legs for the shed area, relay the hidden section track with the crossover points then i can secure the high level and start thinking about that area and what i want to do