Black 5

The progress on my boards has somewhat slowed as of late. The cork is now stuck onto the fiddle yard boards and the copper clad strips laid on the ends ready for the rails to be soldered. I visited the Railex Show at Aylesbury over the weekend and was impressed by the quality of the layouts and traders at the Show. I got some good advice from the C&L stand and have decided to have a go at making my own track. I know that this is a tall order but realism is the key. I have already had a go at making a 36" copper clad curved radius point at the March 2014 Missenden Abbey course (photo enclosed) so will have more confidence to have a go at making some more In the meantime I will start to put the track templates down on the fiddle yard and start to mark out the track positions according to the plan. Rob

After the busy activity of the Easter weekend it is now down to the more mundane tasks such as varnishing the boards. I have chosen a matt clear varnish and intend to varnish all accessible areas. Does anyone recommend more then 2 coats? My next stage is to glue the cork in place especially on the fiddle yards and then add copper clad strips to the ends so that I can solder the rails to them. I am debating whether to use rubberised cork for some of the track beds in the scenic section but this is expensive at over £8 per roll. For those interested I enclose the construction PDF files which show the drilling/pilot holes and board construction for 1 baseboard module

Hi Jock, Thanks for your comments. It is good to share my experiences on a forum. I am lucky to have the assistance from my model railway club chairman who helped design the boards. He has done a fantastic and thorough job. Incidentally, the modules are based on the ones which have been built for our Oxford layout at the High Wycombe club which is currently under construction. They are constructed from 9mm birch ply for the tops and ends and 6mm for the sides and form a strong and robust unit when they are put together. There is virtually no warp age in them and also the construction means that there is plenty of room for point motors wiring etc underneath as there is only cross batten in the centre of each board. At present I am working on the fiddle yard but have a comprehensive track plan ( see earlier blog entries) to work to. I look forward to hearing of your progress. Best regards, Rob

Easter came and went. I had set myself the target of getting the baseboards in place round the room by Easter Saturday . Having spent the best part of 4 months on the construction it was a major achievement to get them in place. Following an adjustment of 20mm to bring the height down from 890-870mm, I linked them together. The alignment dowels performed well and after some adjustment, the boards were joined together. I was very impressed by the robustness of the boards with no movement whatsoever. The levels by and large were spot on but I had some adjustment on the legs just in case The next challenge was to installed the removable raised section. This was to be hinged on the end of the scenic board and would join up to form a solid bridge across the door. Remarkably it seemed to work as the boards were designed to move slightly so they could be pulled apart but as this is a semi- permanent layout, most will be left in position. The boards are tightened using toggle catches and M6 bolts with wing nuts. I have now started to varnish the boards and am starting to add the cork sheet coverage for the track bed. The next stage is to add the point templates and get the track down according to the plan. But that is a later development, Rob

Hi Graham, Will certainly look into this. Once the modules are built, then I will go about this before adding the legs. Incidentally the same board design is used on the new Oxford layout currently being built by High Wycombe club of which I am a member. Best regards, Rob

I have now been constructing the plywood baseboard modules for the past month. Each module is constructed from 9 and 6mm birch wood plywood which each forms a strong and robust module. Some of the sections are approx 1320x600mm and each weigh nearly 10kg! I am adding alignment dowells to each end and sides as appropriate and these will link together to form a unit round my room. I have completed 6 of the 9 modules and have tested the alignment of each one - so far, so good. Last night I completed the raised section which will allow me access into the room.This will be hinged to form a "drawbridge section". I will next be thinking of the supporting legs and will link each section up using hinged fasteners to maintain tension across the board joints. I hope to complete the baseboards and have them in place round the room by Easter. I enclose some progress photos and PDF constructional files which I trust readers will find useful. I hope that my next progress shots will show the legs in place with the boards linked together ready for the track laying to begin

Hi Alistair, I have just noticed your videos on construction of your Bakewell layout. They are very good and I enjoyed the one on the road bridge. As you are probably aware, I am also constructing a layout based on Bakewell but am a long way behind you. At present I am building my baseboards (see my blog) and will add some photos later on this week. I am now on board 6 out of 9 and will be linking them up around the room hopefully within the next 6 weeks, In the meantime, keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing some more of your progress. Best regards, Rob

I am finally underway with the assembly of my baseboard modules. Having collected the cut timber from the timber merchants in Oxford, I have spent the last few weekends carefully marking out the components for the 9 separate boards which I am assembling. I have now reached the stage where I will be drilling out the enlarged holes for the alignment dowels before assembly of the tops, sides, ends and supporting battens The design is based on the same principles of the the new layout based on Oxford being built by High Wycombe club of which I am a member. I am indebted to the Chairman for supplying all the assembly diagrams and drawings. I am confident that the new design will solve the problems encounted on my previous layout which was built on a framework of 2x1 softwood and sundeala boards. Although this lasted 10 years, there were various niggles in the design which caused poor running. This is something I intend to iron out with the new boards built from 9 and 6mm plywood. I will update on my the next stage of the project in due course Rob

Hi Al, Thanks for your note. I was informed that the flickering fire came from a module supplied by a company called All Components who were at the St Albans show lasr weekend. Will up date you on my layout once I have more news. Still at the design stage but the baseboard drawings are being sent to the timber merchants for cutting shortly. Cheers Rob

Hi Al, I am admiring your building of Bakewell station. Visited the St Albans show yesterday and the model of Kirkby Longsdale station on the S/C layout had a flickering coal fire inside it. Are you going to do the same with your building? I am about to start my Bakewell project (see my blog) but am about 2 years behind. Mind you, I will be starting to put the baseboards up soon as they are being designed at present before being sent to the timber merchants for cutting. Would be grateful for any advice on how to go about the buildings. Of course I have all the drawings from Bill Hudsons "Bible" Through Limestone Hills. Looking forward to the next installment on your progress. Cheers Rob

Hi Al, Not sure if the trackplan was received. Can you confirm? Also, did you scratchbuild your buildings as I am new to this discussion. Best regards, Rob A3 baseboard detail v1-1.pdf A3 baseboard detail v1-1.pdf

Hello Alistair,A3 baseboard detail v1-1.pdf I too am in the process of starting a new OO layout project based on Bakewell station. I started out my baseboard designs back in March 2013 and have had a great deal of help from my colleague in my High Wycombe club. I hope to start the carpentry aspect of the project in Jan. The layout will be housed in my loft conversion in an 11.5 x8.5 room, I have been doing a load of research on this using Bill Hudson's superb book and have visited the area on numerous occasions. My track plan has been drawn out using any Rail Software which is really good. I will be starting a project blog and hope to share my trials tribulations and success stories with all my readers. Here is the trackplan below. It is in early stages yet but includes fiddle yard, scenic area Bakewell station and Mosall Dale viaduct. Good luck with your project, Rob Brooks