chaz

Thanks Mike, will do.

I needed a large building at one end of the layout to hide the cassette area (there is not enough room for a full fiddle yard). First move was to make a foam board mock up to check size, sight lines etc. This snaps shows the mock up in position on the layout. There are two lines running onto cassettes - the main running line on which trains will arrive and depart - and a private industrial line which drops down on a 1:35 grade, purely for visual effect. The latter line ends inside the warehouse which overhangs it, allowing access to the cassettes from the rear. One of the nice things about foam board is how quickly the shell of a building can be put together. Chaz

Sorry - the original photo is lost so I can't replace this image. Small hut made as a test piece - the first building I made with a foamboard shell. SE Finecast embossed English Bond brickwork, painted buff colour for the mortar courses and then diagonally dry-brushed with Humbrol #70 (brick red). Door is made from 0.8mm ply (lovely stuff!). I'm not sure yet where this will go on Dock Green, there are several spaces where it will fit. What do they keep in it? Chaz

Thanks Don, will do! Chaz

This snap shows the whole layout, viewed from one end. All the track is cut and laid although at this stage there were a few alignment niggles that have now been fixed. It shows just how small a 16 x 2 foot layout is for 7mm.... The wagon in the foreground is standing on the end of the headshunt. To the left the uncorked area is where the stock cassettes will be placed. Immediately to the right is the second cassette area, at the end of a short downgrade - which I put in for the visual effect. On the extreme right is the warehouse siding. The tracks at the far end are (from L to R)... The arrival and departure siding No 1 goods siding No 2 goods siding - these two will have a loading platform with a canopy between them the exchange siding - to allow transfers between the BR metals and the industrial estate tracks The crossover in the estate area will allow the industrial loco, a Peckett 0-4-0ST, to run round a few wagons whilst shunting. Although when this picture was taken none of the buildings and bridges were yet installed, some have since been made and I will post pictures of them later. On the third board from the camera the baseboard top has been cut for the canal. Chaz

Might be....

A few notes to make sense of the sketch.... the public side is at the bottom of the sketch the area on the operator's side of board AB is for a cassette fiddle yard (staging) the track in front of this is a shunting neck or headshunt in front of that is a second cassette area at the bottom of a short incline - representing the connection to an industrial estate this is screened from view by a large warehouse, with a loading platform along the front the track on the operator's side of board DE is for arrivals and departures to stand in front of this is a platform with a siding on each side of it - this is covered by a large canopy I will post more snaps as the layout progresses. Chaz

I will start this topic on my exhibition layout with a sketch of the track layout. Four baseboards each 4' x 2' The yard is hemmed in with retaining walls divided into a number of scenes with overbridges Chaz ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Read this next! If you want to go straight to some of my photos and not have to look at Photobucket's pathetic offering I suggest you jump to page 173. ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................