Jump to content
 

Sturminster_Newton

Members
  • Posts

    179
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Location
    Heathfield, Devon
  • Interests
    Garden Railway, Micro-lines in all scales, Photography.

Recent Profile Visitors

581 profile views

Sturminster_Newton's Achievements

109

Reputation

  1. Nearholmer Looks like LGB track which is pretty much bomb-proof and I have 300+ feet of it on my line. It has survived 20 years of Devon weather but not the vegetation... Not sure that any standard OO offering would have such a long life. The finer the track the higher the maintenance required to make it work.
  2. Foam won't last unless it is closed cell, but closed or open cell, any water that is trapped underneath will rot the foundation if you use timber. Loose ballast is fine if you you don't mind constant leveling and renewing. To reduce the maintenance you could add exterior PVA to the ballast but then you could get the problems outlined with closed or open cell foam. Personally I wouldn't bother life it too short. Deal with station areas and put them into their own shed or shelter leaving the connecting track exposed. Few will be too harsh with their thoughts on the lack of neat ballast. You could use sectional track that is supplied on a moulded base Kato etc but it is likely to be ££££ of investment.
  3. Rule 1 of outside work DO NOT SKIMP ON QUALITY unless your railway is in the Atacama or Antartica both have famously low ambient humidity levels but also some other environment tricks which make them less than ideal. You will need W.B.P. (Water Boil Proof) ply grades and that supplied will not be as long lasting as that you are replacing. Modern stuff seems to rot before you get through the fifth winter and it is touch and go whether in a horizontal orientation it will see out 10-15 years...The stuff used for house building is always at a fairly steep angle to the horizontal so has a better service life. All are only waterproof where they are not punctured by fixings. There are alternatives such as orientated strand board (OSB) which can be purchased in a waterproof grade for shower backing in the bathroom. try >> Abacus Elements Waterproof Wall Kit 3 12mm - 7.20sqm << in google. There is also waterproof MDF but either board will be almost as expensive as the WBP ply. I built with belt and braces using commercial 900 x 600 x 50mm paving slabs mounted on 3m concrete beans with a 150mm reinforced concrete base, this provides a base that will last pretty much until the house is no more but may be a bit over engineered. It also survives the best/worst that West Contry weather and a woodland environment can produce. The left field choice would be recycled plastic and stainless steel screws. It cuts using wood tools and will last - it will also be lighter than the ply and need less foundation than concrete blocks topped with concrete beams and paving slabs. Spend wisely, spend once.
  4. Fabrication needs, in no particular order; tools, skill and space. It is quite easy to spend more on the tools of construction than the result of one's efforts might save when measured against a commercial product; even when purchased in multiples. If you are proud owner and can use correctly lots of woodworking tools then read no further. Pretty much all timber product has trebled in cost since the Covid Brake came off and is unlikely to reduce in cost any time soon. So a commercial product which gets a quart out the pint pot has much going for it, will be lighter and possibly last through many changes to the layout built on its surface. There are low profile professional baseboards that will fit into a 'really useful' plastic box and slide under a bed or on top of a cupboard. A tip to pass on to prolong the life of your basey fundamould is to build the layout on 5mm Foamboard rather than the raw timber, a practice much favoured by professional muddlers. It would be feasible to manufacture a baseboard from 'scrap' corrugated packaging as long as you desire a solid baseboard around 2" (50mm) thick amongst other compromises in construction. Triwall Corrugated Card is incredibly strong for its weight and three or four thicknesses laminated can be sawn with standard wood saws. once the glue has dried. If you need more strength around the perimeter and to fix legs onto standard 50 or 75 x 15 pse would be adequate for most purposes when glued to the sides and lower surface. Remember that most modern domestic doors are a thin skin of ply over a form of cardboard honeycomb interior with a band of timber around the outer edge into which you fit latch and hinges. As with all aspects of muddling the route chosen to reach your target has many choices, and in some instances a layout that clears away into a minimal space will find greater favour with the domestic goddess than one that sprawls across the lounge floor or fills the spare bedroom. It may be your 'magnum opus' but it's production can be messy and disruptive.
  5. Why not consider the Scale Model Scenery BB010 400 x 295 large baseboard modules? They don't not fold down and are slightly larger than a box file. Also being laser cut fit together reliably and at a price that won't break the bank. For slightly more cash the Tim Horn photo boxes 900 x 300 are also worth consideration, not hugely expensive and larger again. Either base unit allows a little room for development which can be very useful if you are not a dab hand at measuring twice and still cutting over/undersize... I have been roughing out layouts on Anyrail, which saves a lot of time laying up possible designs that are too compromised. One tip I would pass on is setting a FoMo style of 113mm limit to the inside of the furthest rail. The larger area available also allows the muddler to slide up into 0-16.5. Set-track geometry works fine in confined areas. The radii are well produced and repeatable year on year. All of which help the modeller who is looking to squeeze in as much as possible into a very controlled space.
  6. Thanks for the mention. I can confirm that in a sunny place moss will not grow...seems obvious but few manage to work out why. Shady areas attract moss but it can take years. Once you have it I've found it is difficult to live with. I seem to be forever removing every bit that grows between the rails. 20 years down the tracks from first putting in the line some areas look fresh laid and others have a bosky moss covered abandoned look. I don't think it really matters what you do to encourage moss, like all plants it will only grow in areas that are damp and pollution free. So don't fret and live with your various lineside attractions. Moss free areas can just represent the latest attentions by the track crew. Trying to get a line to look like the 1950s versions of Ffesto-rail or Talyllyn unless your line is in semi permanent shade; is a big ask of nature when the line is in full sun. Right plant in the right conditions will always be the way forward.
  7. But, Maldon don’t make tinplate track! XxxxX But we don't want to muddle on tin plate track! If a heinous statement and crime worthy of burning at the stake that may be. Just a track system that is reliable and enduring. The Maldon system of moulded sleeper fitted with Peco smerty-two n/s rail would suit both my buddy and myself for dabbling in the lounge/garden/shed/greenhouse. Using a mix of 16mm and/or 7mm coarse depending on our whim of the moment. It is feasible to have modern TP models arrive ex-supplier suited to smerty-two rail profile then it looks as though that is a route worthy of experiment at an affordable price. I don't see either of us being chasers after the original Hornby No1. But the proportions and presence of the current models and their more than acceptable appearance go a long way to providing satisfaction of ownership and operation. Even if it is the ownership is just a rake of 6-wheel carriages and a Terrier on an oval of 0-31 or equivalent; or a Class03 with a selection of advert vans for a little shunting plank pleasure in the privacy of one's own shed/greenhouse/dining-room.
  8. Indeed I did wonder my computer only has a modest monitor so not everything is revealed without a lot of scrolling left and right as well as up and down. At least I am certain in my own mind that in the case of modern, read New, tinplate smerty two looks the way forward for my buddy's garden line. Meanwhile I have surfed to Maldon's web site https://www.maldontrack.com/index.php and seen the delights of traditional tinplate track in all its glory. One of the great joys of this hobby is that with a little research and assistance pretty much every potential relief of the swollen wallet can be sought out and enjoyed. People smirk at my plastic tracked OO Wilton and Axminster yet on the Meldon website O-gauge carpet railway layouts are featured for purchase. There's a lot to be enjoyed when you strip back to the basics.
  9. Looking at Newhomer supplied measurements and then at the 16mm Association wheelstandards from their website. The dimensions look the same so current new ets/raylo/darstead tinplate rolling stock should have no problem with smerty-two track. The whole set of standards it is a minefield of information and opinion and there is a lot of difference in the modus operandi of tinplate 3-rail pointwork compared to smerty-two. I guess the only way to be certain is to invest a few sets of smerty-two points and curves and see what passes through by taking a facing/trailing junction to an exhibition and actually trying the models you intend purchasing on the track you intend using... One lives and learns...
  10. ...but the 2-rail wheels are incompatible with coarse scale points... And with smert-two what is the story there? Will the ETS Adams Radial and Terrier make their way around smerty-two or is life simpler with ets track for these desired models? Or does one start with ets 2 rail and run Mamod/Roundhouse live steamers on that to save a load of compromises? There is not space to lay multiple track systems to cope with incompatible nature of the wheel standards.
  11. Many thanks. Where does one find/obtain/purchase modern 3-rail track suitable for the old coarse standards?
  12. Can modern "tinplate" offerings run successfully on Peco Smerty-Two? I have read that it is compatible so I assume that the 'coarse' scale 1.5mm flanged wheelsets will clatter through successfully. A buddy of mine is about to put in a smerty-two loop as a tri-way standard for 16mm, O-gauge and O-gauge coarse the easier availability of 'set-track' in 762mm and 982mm radius corners will make the most of the limited space he has available. I think he should be able to run Dapol class08 and Y1/Y3 sentinels on the larger radius corners with a few finescale O-gauge wagons. It's always nice to encourage a=someone to test the O-gauge waters even if it is with coarse scale models.
  13. Initially planning using a selection of set track segments from my collection of MyWorld plastic track. with standard OO/HO R1 and R2 curves, meant I soon had the basic railway laid out. Then, like many, I looked at practical embellishments, in this case two 'fiddling/storage yards' beyond the scenic areas. I needed a practical means to connect these yards to each other and the rest of the layout. Thoughts turned to whether a double slip, two facing/trailing crossings or two Y points joined toe to toe would be employed. In the real world cost would rule as much as practical considerations, so two Y points would score highly. But two facing trailing crossings would connect either yard to its twin or either leg of the scenic part of the layout. A double slip is less space hungry but also maintenance heavy but also in with a chance if only for the 'operational flexibility' it would bring. Assume 'Rule One*' will not be the mark of compliance in this case. (*Rule One it's my line I'll do as I please.) Pictures are threatened to clarify
  14. What constitutes to a micro layout? As I recall that Carl's site featured a G-scale muddle by Bob Hughes which fits within the 4' x 1' constraints and featured just a loco and hopper wagon as the operating element shutting from a quarry to a crushing/screening plant. https://www.carendt.com/small-layout-scrapbook/page-41-september-2005/ The other was double deck compact layout featuring a time saver on the upper deck and a dock side interchange on the lower using LGB R1 pointwork, yes the track and points that garden railwayfarers laugh at, on baseboards fitting in the space of 8' x 3' Hedgehog Hill Estates Railway (7/8″ scale) https://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/micro-tymesaver-designs/
  15. I'm on regularly flooded sand in woodland. 52tonnes of best reinforced ready-mix and 2000 concrete blocks have not moved in 19 years... The bunged in quick 'stations' have been subject to settlement and collapse so are now replaced by 5tonnes of reinforced garage footing foundation and 50 concrete blocks Build you footing deep enough once and you are set for life...
×
×
  • Create New...