Peter & Seth

Interesting that you said you used Games Workshop/Citadel paints. I've noticed a few people on here saying they've used them. Are you into GW too? I link Ultramarines from the Warhammer 40k universe. I don't play, just model. They Citadel paints are fantastic for washes, layers and highlights so I've always found it a little surprising that there isn't more discussion of those techniques in the railway modelling world?

And it's great trying to decide if one should use Bestial or Bubonic Brown as a match for Sleeper Grime

Nice work on the signal box BTW!

That's got a great flow to it, nice work!

Thanks, Will. Very kind of you to say so. I've really no idea what I'm doing. I do like all the points though and looking along the tracks down at eye level is very pleasing for some reason!

I'm using 10x SG90 micro-servos on my n-gauge MPD layout. I've decided to go for an Octopus II controller from Tam Valley Depot. It's yet to arrive but I'll post my findings as I use it. I'll be keeping an eye on what you're up to as well - it seems using servos is gaining interest/popularity.

Regards,

Peter

Wow! What a fantastic idea! Only minor drawback I can see see is if you want all the windows to be lit. But with some clever brickwork using thinner blocks I'm sure this could be accomplished for most structures. I'm certainly going to try this method on my next scratchbuild.

Two other thoughts come to mind:

• Car boots are a great place to find bags of old LEGO cheaply.
• You can use http://ldd.lego.com/]Lego Digital Designer to mockup your design even before buying any bricks.

PS. Great looking layout. Is it N-gauge?

A cross brace under the middle of the board might be prudent, just to be of the safe side, don't want any sagging.

 

regards

trebor

Hi Trebor,

Well spotted but I have a plan! Because I've got rather a lot of points (which I will hopefully be upgrading to electrical switching) and bus wiring for DCC I'm going to fit cross-braces after the trackwork is done.

But thanks for the tip - it's this sort of community advice that helps beginners like me avoid the usual pitfalls.

Regards,

Peter & Seth

Peter, where do you obtain the paper track templates from?.

 

Garyp

Hi Gary,

The plans were designed and printed using a free program called XTrkCad. It takes a little getting used to and can be a bit fiddly but you really can't complain for free. It has dozens of ready made track parts, such as all of those made by Peco. The printing can be tricky to setup to make sure it comes out 100% life-size but it well worth the effort.

Regards,

Peter

Is it possible to dissassemble the thing, and then reassemble with the two convex components facing each other?

I could give it a go, nothing to lose I suppose. Parting the MDF from the frame could be tricky though. I did use plenty of PVA and it's unbelievably tough stuff. Most likely a layer of the MDF will give way rather than the glue breaking.

Why not use the "strips of ply screwed and glued to spacers" method as the supports, and mdf as the base again?

Mmm... interesting idea. I guess now that I'll most likely be starting from scratch I can do it however I like instead of being constrained by what I happened to have.

... I wonder if the PVA applied to glue the paper down was a contributing factor?

I wondered if that was a possibility too. My suspicions lie more with the spruce though rather than the MDF. From experience I suspect that it is the spruce that has expanded more than the MDF due to warming rather than the MDF shrinking due to drying out. Yes, it's cold and cool in my workshop but it's not wet. Unfortunately it looks as though progress will be halted at least until the weekend because the chances of me getting to the timber merchants in the next few days are looking very remote!

Now you know why plywood is recomended.

Yes, now that I will have to buy a new sheet of wood to start again I'll probably go for a quality piece of Scandinavian marine ply or the like. I don't think this problem was the fault of the MDF though, I've not had this problem before and I used enough of the stuff building cupboards and partitions when I did my own loft conversion. I just forgot to acclimatise the wood first. I bet if I put the baseboard back in the workshop for a few days it'll straighten back out again... especially as it's about -6°C and under a foot of snow at the moment!

Hi Peter

 

That's the same size as my plank. Have you allowed the sides to be deep enough for point motors? Also Can I advise some diagonal bracing underneath as it will twist.

 

HTH

 

Jim

Hi Jim,

What happy coincidence! Are you entering the 2010 Challenge too? Regarding the point motors I think this is going to be a manually switched layout. As there are 10 points in Peco Streamline Code 55 the cost of these alone is going to be the better part of ??100 and adding point motors plus wiring, CDU and switches would pretty much double that. I really fancied experimenting with DCC on this layout which would easily be covered by the cost of electrifying the points (Hattons are doing an unboxed Bachmann EZ Command for ??39). If time permits I'll attempt to install some form of mechanical control for the points - I've seen this done on other small layouts that have a series of knobs on the edge to control switching.

As for the twisting, that's the least of my worries! See my forthing coming blog post...

Regards,

Peter

Hi James,

I printed it out 1:1 full size again and now that the baseboard has been built (48" x 9" - coming in another blog post soon...) has been tacked in place for testing. I always find it amazing how different it all feels when the plan is taken from the screen into the real world. I think the shed being near the front is going to work well because the entrance is angled towards the front of the layout it will be possible to see inside. A few windows and/or a side door will help with an internal view (I want to kit out the workshop and install inspection pits). Also, there's plenty of space in the front-middle area for workshop detritus (maybe a derelict loco ready to meet its maker) and some permanent way stuff, such as those diggers with the extra wheels so they can drive on the line as well as the road. I've also got to come up with a micro-diorama to make use a beautiful little white-metal kit of a Mercedes Benz Unimog from [url="http://www.pg-models.com/viewdetail.aspx?id=105?

Hi Bryn,

Very interested to see you constructing a 3-way using Easitrac for this layout. I would really like a 3-way for my layout (Harpers Road) although I'm going to be using Peco Code 55 so may not be a good match. I couldn't find anything on the 2mm Finescale website concerning 3-way points. I'd be most grateful if you could give me some pointers as to plans, parts required, costs, etc.

Regards,

Peter