baseboards Sandy Shores - Board Design & Construction
Entry posted by SouthernRegionSteam
920 views
Welcome back to the SSLR!
Last blog entry, we looked at the fictional history of the SSLR, and how it came into being. This time, we'll be taking a more factual look at the layouts design and construction.
We've already touched upon the fact that I wanted the layout to take up only as much space as was necessary in order to include the features I wanted to. As a result of this, and given that I seem to love curved boards, the shape of the layout is somewhat... unconventional. That said, regardless of layout shape, there are still principals that I personally think everyone should try and adhere to when designing the boards and associated woodwork. Whilst I appreciate others may have differing opinions and techniques (and that's fine!), the following lists explain some of the methods and restrictions that I plan around during the design and construction phase of layouts. Many of these have been found out the hard way!
The Design Stage:
- Any points and complex trackwork should NOT be placed over board joins
- Any cross-members or bracing on the baseboard should be kept clear of points (especially beneath tiebars and frogs) so that point motors and wiring can easily be placed/accessed
- Bracing should always include diagonal cross-bracing, where possible, to reduce any twisting of boards
- Board size should, where possible, be kept under 4' x 2'. (Sandy Shores comes in just slightly over that, but as it's a weird shape and a single-board layout, it's not much of a problem.)
- In an ideal world, any layout legs would tuck away under the layout on hinges for transportation and ease of set-up. However, some people prefer other methods such as trestles; particularly if they're exhibiting alone. (Oh, and I'm not going into the whole layout height debate - I refuse to!)
- Consider how you will store and transport the layout; do you have room at home to set up the layout for long periods of time to work on it? That should be a major factor in deciding the layout size.
Particulars For Exhibition Layouts:
- Good presentation is important (you're representing the hobby at a public event, after all). And it's not difficult to achieve! I like to paint any exposed timber/surfaces a muted and neutral colour; and fit a matching "curtain" with Velcro on the layout edge to hide the legs. Usually I go for either a grey, pale blue, sage or black. Black looks smart, but can be overpowering; so a light to medium grey is probably better. Whatever you end up choosing, make sure it's consistent across everything.
- Any lighting pelmet(s) should extend a little beyond the edge of the scenery to prevent shadows being cast on foreground buildings/trees
- Speaking of lighting, good lighting is essential. I now use flexible LED strip that is marketed as "Natural White 4000k". The 5m strip I was recommended was found on Amazon (including a transformer) for under £20. Anyway, very few exhibition venues have good lighting. And even if they do, what's to say you won't be located in front of a window in the blazing sun...
The Construction Stage:
- The track should ideally be built on a piece of ply as a firm track bed, so that it can be wired up and point motors installed away from the layout. This makes life much easier than crawling underneath the layout to wire it up!
- There are too many different construction techniques to suggest a particular one; and what might suit one person may not suit another. I hear foamboard is particularly strong given its low weight; but as a man who prefers to build his baseboard from wood, I often use a sandwich technique of 6mm ply and 30mm softwood battens. How you construct your baseboards may also depend on your layout idea; especially if it features gradients and large height differences in the scenery.
- Scenery should ideally be formed from polystyrene or another lightweight material; preferably with lightweight plaster on top. Don't however do what I did and cover the entire layout with a layer of clay; it's too heavy!
- If a lighting pelmet is not to be permanently attached/integrated into the layout, its construction should be lightweight, preferably collapsible, and strong enough to support its own weight and the weight of its lights (obviously!).
- Ideally, a backscene should be included, and should be slightly taller than the tallest structure or tree on the layout. If you operate from behind, obviously a careful balance will need to be struck so that you can reach over if necessary.
- Ideally, any timber framework should be glued and screwed, and preferably (if the material is thick enough) a countersunk drill bit can be used so that screw heads do not poke out. (It also looks much neater!)
So, with these principles in mind, we can look at Sandy Shores specifically. Before any wood was cut, the first step was to draw a scale plan. For initial plans, I like to use A3 Layout Paper as it's translucent. When I think I'm nearer to a solid plan I tend to copy it across (here's where the translucent paper comes in handy) onto a thick bit of polystyrene or a piece of 6mm ply. There, I begin the next stage; mock ups. The important thing at this stage is to test, using actual track or templates, whether you can fit everything in; paying particular attention to headshunt lengths and clearances. It's also a good idea to mock-up some buildings/trees/structures to make sure the layout has the right "feel", and that sight lines are satisfactory. This is one of the aspects I find crucial in layout design, and it's also great fun shuffling bits around until you find the perfect design. Those of you that love 3D modelling will also find that a useful tool at this stage. The photo below shows the final plan, with mock ups in place, and clearances being checked. Note the blue line marking out the location of the backscene.
So, happy with the mock-up, it was time to consider how to construct the baseboard. I knew I wanted to use softwood battens, 6mm ply, and polystyrene; primarily because that's what I had at my disposal, but also because they are materials I'm comfortable using. What I wasn't sure on were the finer details of the construction, however, I did eventually have an idea; and this is where I chose to go down the road of 3D modelling to test it. Now, the idea... For once, I began by thinking how I could store the layout conveniently. I also knew I wanted the layout to be exhibitable, so it had to have an integrated lighting pelmet and backscene. Where this becomes tricky is the notion of making it all dismantle into a few main components. After much doodling and head scratching I came up with something plausible:
It may look complex to begin with, but in actual fact, the only difficult part from a construction standpoint is cutting the softwood battens at the right angle! There are a few things that may not be apparent from the image above. Firstly, the backscene is actually held in place in two ways. The first way is a trench between the scenic and non-scenic section by which 5 softwood blocks (split into 3 on the inner face (see layer 5) and 2 on the outer face) hold it in place and help form the curve. The second way is the lighting pelmet; the backscene is sandwiched against each leg of the pelmet. The pelmet itself has its central leg slotted right down through to layer 1; you'll note the large amount of battens towards the rear that hold it in place. The leftmost leg is actually kept in place by positioning it over a metal bracket; this also holds the backscene in place. Finally, the right leg rests on layer 2, and is held in place via a slot in the fiddle yard trackbed. This means no screws or any fixings are needed to keep anything attached; so the whole thing can be assembled by little me in a couple minutes at most.
Below, you'll see a close up of my lighting pelmet design, and the rear of the layout. The three legs of the pelmet support are hinged as you can see. The longer central leg of the lighting pelmet is also visible, with the shorter legs resting on the ply top. The method of attaching the pelmet itself is also dead simple; a "bracket" (just two bits of thin ply) located on each end of the pelmet supports and in corresponding places on the pelmet line up, and can simply be slotted into place. Obviously the middle one is located first, then the outer ones to get the curve (or reverse when disassembling).
So to summarise; Backscene put in place > Central leg on lighting support slotted through > Left leg slotted on metal bracket > Right leg located in fiddle yard slot > Middle locator on pelmet attached > End locators on pelmet attached
Now that I had sussed the board design, since I had already used the polystyrene as a mock-up, my first step was actually to cut the polystyrene to the shape I wanted the board. I could then use that as a template to cut the 6mm ply out with a jigsaw. Using Layout Paper, I also took the opportunity to copy the centre lines of the trackwork onto an offcut of ply to form the trackbed. It was important at this stage to allow sufficient space around the centre lines for point motors to be installed underneath it. With the jigsaw already out, the trackbed was cut to shape, and then used as a template so that I could begin carving out the polystyrene; both for the landforms, and a 6mm trench so that I could test fit the new 6mm ply trackbed on top. Now that I knew exactly where the points would lie, I could mark out large access holes in the polystyrene for point motors; making sure that the access holes were not wider than the plywood (I'd be left with a big hole otherwise!). These were carved out of the polystyrene, and then marked onto the ply where they were cut out with the jigsaw. This is the end result:
Again, it's crucial that I remind you that the trackbed was not glued down until the track had been laid, wired, and point motors fitted!
Anyway, now that the access holes were cut, and I knew where points would lie, I could begin planning the sub-frame, and whereabouts the cross-members could sit. The photo below shows some rather neat mitred cuts by my dad (he happens to be a carpenter!), but after this I was on my own! Note two things: Firstly, the sub-frame is sat temporarily on top of the ply base, and secondly the wedge shaped piece sticking up; this will be where the central pelmet support slots into - this piece was inserted temporarily to ensure minimal movement whilst screwing and gluing!
With a few extra softwood blocks screwed on to support the 3mm ply fascias, it was then time to construct the lighting pelmet. Due to the lightweight softwood, metal brackets and a few screws were all that was needed to support the pelmet arms and legs. Once again, note how I've countersunk every screw! It's also worth mentioning that all screws had pilot holes to minimise the risk of wood splitting. The second photo shows the basic construction of the pelmet locators; simple, but very effective!
For completeness, I've also included an overview (minus backscene), as well as a detailed shot of the metal bracket that holds the left hand pelmet leg in place, and also sandwiches the backscene against the baseboard:
And that about concludes this blog entry. As always, I hope you've found it interesting, and as this is a condensed version, you can always check out my personal blog which documents everything in more detail! You'll find board construction details on the right hand-side in the blog archive; look under December 2015. Anyway, next time we'll be looking at the trackwork and wiring; including my first bit of hand-built track!
P.S. Apologies if there are any typos or errors; these will be fixed tomorrow when I'm more awake!
-
3
-
1
-
4
5 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now