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Thos

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  1. Thos

    Getting There?

    By Thos,

    A severe attack of logic:
    Harry's Hornby will now be moving to the cellar (5m x 3.6m) and the spare bedroom (2.5m x 2.5m available) will now house my 2mm layout. When he prefers girls to trains I'll move my layout to the cellar.
     
    The cellar room was cleared, but has now acquired some surplus furniture. When that finds a home I will be able to start preparation. I'm currently adding lights to the Hornby Railroad carriages. I've already added seats and passengers.
     
    Now I've joined the Association I'll create a small test track and start practising wagon-building and turnout production.
  2. Thos

    Proposed Layout

    By Thos,

    I managed to get approval for my seven-year old to be given a trainset for Christmas, so we now have a simple board in the spare bedroom and I have big plans.
     
    Layout 1
    Location: Spare bedroom
    Room 4m x 3.6m
    Size: 3m x 2.5m rectangle
    Scale: OO
    Setting: variable. S&D to BR Blue
     
    Layout 2
    Location: Cellar room. Dry, no windows
    Room 5m x 3.6m
    Size: 4.5m x 3.6m U
    Scale: N
    Setting: 1930s
     
    For the setting I am thinking of mid 30s where there was no grouping but a competition regulator to limit the continual mergers. I have not decided whether the L&Y / LNWR merger / reverse take-over took place. The 1930s means I have a few static cars and a Faller-type road with a few buses and lorries.
     
    The main station will be based on Bolton Trinity Street, but probably grander (Scalescenes large station) and the town will be elevated over the trackbase to facilitate road crossings and the terminal loop. There will be a power station and gasworks, fed by coal from a coalfield off board.
     
    I want to have circuits rather than a yard so the computer can manage the trains and I can just watch them go by. I therefore envisage a full lower level accessed from four double track helices. The lower level will serve to link all the helices so that trains can appear from any helix and exit at any helix. This will mean a very busy station - more like Crewe if you exclude the time compression.
     
    I also want Light at Night and area sound.
     
    I will post the plans for both layouts when the plans are a little further developed.
     
     
    In the meantime, here is the actual progress made.
     
    Layout 1
    Christmas 2010
    Track laid, Scalescenes free goods shed, Scalescenes cottages and an engine shed constructed.
     
    August 2011
    Painted inside 2off Hornby Railroad LNER carriages. Painted and added Preiser sitting passengers.
  3. Thos
    Yikes, a nearly a year has passed. Harry now has a County and a pug running on his trackmat, with a few extra wagons. I have completely revised my plan.
     
    The helices have gone. My current idea is 2mm.
     
    Top level double track mainline with an external circuit and lines from south and west (appearing from cuttings, so no tunnels) going to the town station and then a cut & cover where the tracks join the circuit out of sight. Before the station, the lines split to go to the goods yard through another cut & cover. On the North side of the circuit two lines descend to the mid level.
     
    At mid level, a single track line with passing places also does a circuit. Three lines come from the circuit on the East, one through gates to a wharf, one from downriver behind (actually through) a factory/warehouse and one from a quarry behind other warehouses. This runs through a dockside with station and either goes on towards Town 2 (offboard) upriver under a bridge with the top level lines, or crosses over the river where it meets a line from Town 2 (again under a bridge)and proceeds towards the town. Again, a line runs to the goods yard and the other terminates at the station.
     
    The North side of the circuit has lines climbing to the top level and descending to the bottom level. The bottom level has two reversing loops.
     
    Both top and mid levels have hidden sidings. This is 50cm wide, to be shared by the two levels.
     
    The climbs are about 1 in 60 and straight. They are only used to get access to the reversing loops, so few trains will use them. Minimum radius is 60cm, all turnouts B9 Versaline, plaintrack Easitrac. I will post an XtrkCad plan once I have drawn it.
     
    I should be able to have quite a busy layout, with lots of entrances and exits, subject to being able to make enough rolling stock. I will be able to start playing trains with sixteen turnouts and two loops, and then add the rest of the track later. Software will be Freiwald, hardware either LDT or ESU with Cobalt and NCE Switch-8
     
    To this end I will first be constructing a test track about 150 cm long with a single turnout and curve.
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