Small, Broad and Totally Pointless!

[Northroader]

This is worse than the Christmas quiz. You haven't left anything for room either side, is it going up on a viaduct? No kickback into sidings in front of the fiddle/ sector table?? Yet there's space for something??? Then there's the ?traverser at the far end.. All very mystifying. I promise to stay awake.

Hang on! It isn't a small version of Kingswear, is it? With a quayside at the front.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Northroader

[BG John]

I didn't specifically have Kingswear in mind, but you're not far out. Newham is another one with a quay. With what I'm planning to block the view into the fiddle yard, it won't be either of them, but a creation of my rather warped mind!
 
Having removed 3 inches from the front some years ago, I'm now adding 7 inches on the back, for two sidings. I'll be able to put the station building on the back of the train shed, where it should be,  too. It will also have a three track fiddle yard, as the one track one was always a severe limitation. I've cut various bits of old plywood for the extension to the board, and the backscene, and will start putting it all together soon. The original sector plate is made of Tufnol, which came from a family member's stock of useful stuff, but I'll have to buy some for the new one, and rather annoyingly it seems to come in 600mm or 1200mm lengths, but I need 611mm! I have to use the same pivot point, so can't shorten it.
 

 

 

 
It will end up being a bit less Small, but will still be Totally Pointless!

[Northroader]

Looks great, more room behind now with a very modellable station building. I've got to admit no knowledge of Newnham, (hangs head in shame) that's a very good link. You're off to a very promising start. Good luck!

[BG John]

Promising start? I started planning it in 2006:

 

and building it in 2008:

 

It's heading for its tenth anniversary

 

 

[shortliner]

Re Tufnol - go look in B+Qs offcut box - they frequently have offcuts of MDF with a formica-like/plasticized printed facing with floor planks printed on it - It works just as well. I usually get charged £1 for about 8 feet of it. Also recommend a trip to Morrisons for a non-stick oven liner which will provide a good slippery surface for it to slide on - I find it can be attached in place with Evostick

[BG John]

Getting to B&Q (or anywhere similar), especially on the off-chance they might have something useful, is a problem at the moment. Do you mean like laminate flooring, as I have plenty of that?

 

The non-stick oven liner looks interesting, and I was thinking I needed something like that. There's lots on eBay too, which solves the getting to somewhere I can buy it problem.

[shortliner]

I suspect that may well be what it is used for. Provided it has a slippery plasticy coat each side it should remain flat. Non-stick oven liner works well - I only suggested Morrisons because that is where I found mine

[BG John]

The thinnest I've got is about 6.5mm. The current one is 3.6mm Tufnol with copper clad sleepers supporting very low bridge rail. So it's probably too thick. Add the oven liner, and it will be far too high. Lowering the baseboard would be a big job. I'm inclined to buy some 2mm Tufnol, put aluminium angle along the top edge, and some strips of something slippery at right angles to it to slide on.

 

How thick is the oven liner?

[Nearholmer]

First time I've dipped into this saga, and I've really enjoyed reading it. Great layout, and knowing the history makes it all the more interesting.

 

PTFE oven liner? We've got some at home that is barely thicker than a stout piece of paper, and can be cut to shape with ordinary scissors, although I can't for the life of me think how it could be glued to the two faces that need to slide over one another, since it truly is non-stick.

 

Kevin

[BG John]

First time I've dipped into this saga, and I've really enjoyed reading it. Great layout, and knowing the history makes it all the more interesting.

Hopefully this stage will be the last bit of "interesting" history, as I can't face another rebuild! If I can get the fiddle yard right, I think it's finally got the potential to get somewhere.

 

PTFE oven liner? We've got some at home that is barely thicker than a stout piece of paper, and can be cut to shape with ordinary scissors, although I can't for the life of me think how it could be glued to the two faces that need to slide over one another, since it truly is non-stick.

 

Kevin

What I was looking at on eBay is described as heavy duty, and had a visible thickness, but I couldn't tell what it was. I was hoping it would only be needed on one surface.

[shortliner]

The Morrison one is as Nearholmer describes - similar thickness to a sheet of paper - I find that a single sheet stuck to the base with the rubbery sort of Evostick seems to work - I have never needed a second sheet on the bottom of the sliding surface

Edited January 5, 2016 by shortliner

[BG John]

Are we talking about things like this, which looks quite thick:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121722675462

 

foil like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Baco-Bacofoil-Non-Stick-Disposable-Kitchen-Foil-10m-Roll-/272004772152

 

or something different?

[shortliner]

John - I think the correct description is "Teflon non-stick baking sheet" - I have just looked in the cupboard and my lady has donated a pack - we have plenty - PM me your snail address and I'll put it in the post (no charge)

[BG John]

Thanks Jack. That would be great. I'm a bit stuck here at the moment, as my van is playing up and I'm only doing local trips. The local shops don't have much variety, and the ones that do may not be reached before overheating occurs! So I'm buying most stuff online, and it takes days to get things, possibly to discover it's not suitable!

[BG John]

More cobbling together bits of wood I have lying around, to add the seven inches on the back. It seems to have come out pretty well. Once the glue is dry, I'll add the backscene that will strengthen it. The board is still quite light, which makes a change from my other layouts!

 

I've quickly drawn a couple of sidings at the back, to show roughly where the new ones will go. The scenic area will be 35.5" x 19", making the area 4.68sq ft, and no longer a micro by Carl Arendt's definition, although he frequently broke the rules! Bit of a failure though, as I've managed to get a 7mm layout in 4sq ft, with O and O-16.5 gauges.

 

The new sector plate will take up the whole width of the fiddle yard. It needs to swing right to both edges to line up with all the tracks. I'll sand the baseboard, and hopefully stick a non stick surface on it for the traverser to slide on.

[Northroader]

Do you need quite so many sidings?

1. Short bay line maybe and room for station building at back.

2. Behind that space for semi-flat buildings, dobbins with carts and carriages, in the space you've gained.

3. Just a quayside siding in front.

4. Splitting into two sidings front and back takes up most of their length with a point.

5. Having so many tracks converging into the sector table will make treatment of the exit "bridge" or whatever difficult.

6. Sector table or cassettes? (I'm a cassette fan, me)

[BG John]

Do you need quite so many sidings?

Yes! It's supposed to be somewhere I can run stock as I build it for a potential future layout, so needs a fair bit of capacity. I wouldn't have put so much effort into extending it otherwise. The original version had three sidings.

 

1. Short bay line maybe and room for station building at back.

2. Behind that space for semi-flat buildings, dobbins with carts and carriages, in the space you've gained.

There won't be a bay, as that means building more coaches, although the siding may run parallel to the platform behind a fence. I don't want to spend a lot of time adding details, but I do want somewhere to run and test locos and rolling stock as I build it. Details can wait for future layouts.

3. Just a quayside siding in front.
4. Splitting into two sidings front and back takes up most of their length with a point.

There's only one siding at the front. The tracks were drawn with a permanent marker pen, so when it changed direction to get the quay in, I couldn't rub out the original lines!

It's a totally pointless layout, and has no points, so they don't take up any length! The rear ones may well diverge so close to each other that it looks as though there's one just off stage.

5. Having so many tracks converging into the sector table will make treatment of the exit "bridge" or whatever difficult.

I agree, but that's part of the challenge! I'm planning three "half layouts" like this, and bridges across the middle of a branch terminus are very rare. The other two will have them (I have explanations/excuses prepared!), but I want to try to do this one without a bridge if I can. I have half a plan, and the rest will be trial and error, which may fail!

6. Sector table or cassettes? (I'm a cassette fan, me)

Sector table. It represents all the pointwork in the station throat, and operating it needs to feel like it's being done a bit like a proper railway. It's one great big multi-way point! On a real railway you don't unplug the track with a train on it, and drag it across the ground to connect it to the next line!

Edited January 7, 2016 by BG John

[Northroader]

Right you are, it's your line after all. Will await developments with interest.

[BG John]

Today's developments were a bit dull. Just attaching a couple of bits of architrave to the bottom to strengthen it, and make the base for the quay. After all the work over the years, there are a lot of bits that would ideally be straight, but aren't, so I need to plane some of the edges of the wood I'm attaching, once the glue is set, before I can move on to the next phase. The parts that matter do seem to be square and flat though. As there won't be any pointwork, and all the stock will be compensated, hopefully it will all be up to a suitable standard for reliable running with P4 wheels.

 

 

I also filled in the hole where the controller was.

 

I think the next job will be to sand the top, before attaching the backscene. Although I won't be laying the new track yet, I want to get on and make the building that will hopefully block a good part of the view into the fiddle yard, to make sure I'm on the right track with it.

[BG John]

It's got a backscene, screwed and glued in place. It looks as though my idea for blocking much of the view into the fiddle yard should work pretty well. It won't be possible to hide it anywhere near completely, but I think that's to be expected. I can ballast the track onto the sector plate to help as well.

 

I had a nice little package from Shortliner with some non stick oven liner, so can start experimenting with the fiddle yard.

[shortliner]

John - a possible cure and an alternative use for liner - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/3354-jacks-in-or-shortliners-shortline/page-9post 207

[BG John]

John - a possible cure and an alternative use for liner - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/3354-jacks-in-or-shortliners-shortline/page-9post 207

Brilliant. Thanks. You posted a picture of something similar some time ago I think, but that makes it really clear. I was thinking of doing it anyway, but using something like a black bin bag, or maybe even printed paper with a picture of the rest of the station on it. I was concerned that anything too stiff might damage stock running through it, as my 4-4-0ST has some delicate bits. I'll add it to the list of things to experiment with.

[BG John]

The baseboard is pretty much finished now. It will need some sealing and protective edges, but I'll do that later when I see what's needed. Not the most elegant bit of framing, but considering its history, rather unavoidable, especially for a cheapskate like me doing it with whatever I had lying around:

 

I've added a raised end to the fiddle yard to stop trains running off the end. I need to buy (shock! horror!) some materials for the new sector plate, so will do that later:

 

It's not likely to fall apart! The backscene is 4mm ply from different sources, framed with the timber from some old pasting tables I was given. The hardboard from these tables may well appear in a forthcoming project, as I'm running short of ply:

 

I've tidied up the corner of the quay. The plan is to put a fairly large low-relief warehouse in the corner to help block the view into the fiddle yard. Then I'll work towards the back, adding features that help hide more of it. Then I may well add a curtain as suggested by Shortliner:

 

The train shed and loco give a better idea of the size of the layout:

 

It's a good idea to check that your locos comply with the standards! This one ever so slightly bends the rules:

 

A quick attack with a jigsaw and sandpaper (to the layout!), and everything is fine:

[Spitfire2865]

Dont feel too bad about the baseboards, they look sound.

Just started baseboard construction myself and Im already hating it.

[BG John]

I don't feel at all bad about it. I'm quite pleased actually, as I like to create quirky things! I enjoyed doing it too.

 

The PVA under the first lot of cork underlay is currently setting (I hope) under various lumps of wood and weights. There are a couple more bits to go down when I can take the weight off.

 

I've ordered a sheet of 2mm Tufnol for the new sector plate. I had to buy a baseboard sized sheet, 1200mm x 300mm, to get the 611mm length I need, so will have plenty left over for future projects. I thought of using ply instead, but what I have is too thick, and I don't think would have produced such a good end result.