aac

You can put the fence where you like. It simply denotes the extent of the railway-owned property. aac

Photos of the current layout, and of the proposed new location might allow some to give advice on how to reduce the complexity to fit your needs. aac

I have been watching this thread over a period of time and still await results from all the very fulsome advice and information people are feeding in to you. I find it a bit difficult to know how best to help when any responses from the very helpful members on this excellent site simply result in another question from you. Where is the input taking you? Where are the progress photos of the un-braced MDF baseboards, etc, etc? What are you up to? My real concern is that in my browsing today I stumbled across the Readham thread and an alarm bell rang. You said in your entry on 19 October at 17:26 that you are trying to write a free magazine. It would be very sad if those who have been offering help with your modelling problems are having their time wasted by being unwitting assistants to another enterprise. If you need to know stuff, please do what we all do, and get books out of the library, use Google and YouTube, buy model magazines, and attend a few exhibitions where you can ask questions of the good folk operating their layouts. The greatest compliment you can pay them is to ask how they created such a lovely piece of work, be it the building of the humble fiddle yard or the fantastic rolling stock. Regretfully, I am withdrawing from trying to help with your thread and feel I need to call for a stewards' inquiry! aac

I'm not sure that you are clear in your own mind what help you need. You have space constraints yet want a fairly grandiose set-up, mixed UK and non-UK stock, DC locos but hope to do DCC (If they are convertible - do you know?), and baseboards that will become a liability. This forum is full of ideas and examples for all the challenges you face, so it might be worth settling down for a few hours to see what others do when the harsh realities and limitations of cost, space, time and know-how moderate their dreams.

Please, just consider this link, specifically the photos in posts #9 and 10. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123673-severnside-recycling/

Show us a photo of where you are up to. How much track and infrastructure is already in place? Nobody is saying change for Change's sake: you will benefit by having braced boards with ply tops. And if you don't know already, please be VERY careful cutting any MDF. The inhaled dust is very bad for the lungs. aac

Your MDF sounds about 3 times too thick (and heavy!) and, as the guys are saying (because MDF will only retain dimensional stability for a time) over time you will regret not bracing. Use a braced top and, if you are prepared to go back a step, buy thinner MDF, or 6mm or 9mm ply (my preferred material) for the top. Check out any articles to do with first principles on baseboards. If the woodwork is a worry, order a laser-cut set of boards to suit your needs. The baseboard is the absolute foundation upon which all your visible work will be based. Believe me, I've seen big, heavy O gauge locos derailed on a poorly braced baseboard. Good luck aac

Turn down your radiator if that photo in #4 is the intended layout location. Locos parked above it can sweat grease over time if it gets too warm. aac

You could also use Google Earth to check out the rail-served depot just by Warminster Station in Wiltshire, and there used to be quite a set-up at Ludgershall between Andover and Tidworth, accessed by a single track branch line out of Andover Station. aac

Seek out Rails Across the Plain: The Amesbury - Bulford Railway. You could suppose the rail service continued if you want a more modern period as the cameo shots in the book offer possibilities for a smaller layout. aac

This is a useful link in YouTube and then you will find others in the margin once opened. With sound and exhausts, this layout attracted people all day long at the NEC a few years ago. A "Less is More" layout in my opinion. aac

Crikey! I always put the wire near the feet....... aac

P.S ...And have you painted the rails? aac

Who made the point? DCC or analogue control? Live frog or not? Are you switching polarity with a switch or using point blade contact? aac

Have you seen "Rails Across the Plain"? Quite useful reference material with photos covering rail-served military installations on Salisbury Plain: www.amazon.co.uk/Rails-Across-Plain-Amesbury-Bulford/dp/1906419515

Yes. what will the viewer see? Roofs of buildings and rolling stock can be quite samey. What is the side elevation like? That's where the character is! aac

I think the picture went without words. Sorry! See above. Just a quick sketch to give you an idea of what I was getting at, designed to give you an idea of the side view looking into the layout. This is based on a simplified view of the water tank shed at the old Liverpool Central which was in a very gloomy position. I just try here to visualise, say, how high the back walls might be, and how the building on top will fit into the view generally. Just a few minutes' work at this stage to generate ideas. aac

I would start by thinking about which is the viewing side (if you are having a backscene). Which features/structures act as view blockers, and which simply constrict your view (ideally you want to avoid the latter). Plans are important for working out measurements, but it can be useful to sketch the side view of the proposed layout on the same sheet of paper, under the plan. Drop verticals from the plan (say the ends of the goods shed, signal box, platform, station building and creamery) and then draw them onto a rough sketch of what the viewer will see. This will give you an idea of where the various features (and their relative heights) will sit in relation to each other within the picture you are creating. The plan alone gives the view from a helicopter, but no real idea of what you will see on the finished model. Hope this helps. aac

This has been a great layout to follow. The question now is who will be the millionth viewer, and when will that be? aac

I understand - it's the slats that do it, because the wood's weight sags in between them. Once I've bought it, if not to be used for a few days, I lay it on the floor under a rug. It's out of the way and encouraged to stay flat. Ply and hardboard can be frustrating stuff, and expensive if they play up. aac

i never buy ply stored on its end or edge as it inevitably distorts. My local Wickes sell it in horizontally stored piles. It still needs a rudimentary check - hold up the edge and look down it like a rifle sight, and get the straightest you can find. aac

Why not add static grass to the existing layer? It would start to look like the foreground in the first photo of #52 - some lying, and some standing which would seem quite natural. aac.

Here's the link into all the Liverpool Central pictures: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/liverpool_central_hl/ aac

I agree. See the link. Something ticking over down there would be great. It would make a good enclosed diorama with the tunnel running off to minimal fiddle storage. www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/liverpool_central_hl/index43.shtml aac