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My first O Gauge layout - Version 2


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For the last week or so I haven't really done anything on the layout except for chipping some locos, but this has had it's moments. I have chipped both OO and N gauge with speakers in the past and I thought O gauge should be a doddle compared with the other two, how wrong I was. 

 

I have mainly chipped so far those locos which use a standard size decoder and except for the Dapol Sentinel which in the end I ended up hard wiring so I could use a better sized speaker next to it.

 

Yesterday I decided to chip my Hymek and it has been a nightmare, Heljan certainly didn't make it easy, nor do they still, considering they have a fairly big market in the UK some English on their website would be useful. The loco must be over 10 years old and never been run, when I wired it up there was a short, one of the motors was the cause and as the contacts are hidden it can't be easily fixed so I will have to get a replacement motor.

 

I have stripped one of the power cars on the Derby Lightweight and the paint stripper revealed the truth, I've not anything else with it yet so hopefully this week I will start painting it.

 

1203390_DLW001.jpg.53c078cc8c6bb345a4dd111ba66ed179.jpg

 

I have also ordered a 3 way point and a short cross over from Marcways and when they arrive I am going to redo the boards now I can get some wood as it is sagging in one or two places and I will take the opportunity to widen it a little to put on some scenery items.

 

I have also been experimenting with doing my own backdrop. I have a cracking piece of software called 'Panorama Studio 3 Pro' which I bought years ago. You can easily take a series of photos and it will stitch them together as a panorama shot which you can then print out at whatever size or width you want and it prints them on the appropriate number of sheets needed. I have taken a number of photos on a near by country lane and the should work better together than the current Gaugemaster ones which are all totally different scenes on each section.

 

358163585_KnottRederring028.jpg.e9158d27bdac543c84315f3f54e908c5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Peter Crichton (Savoyard)
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  • 2 weeks later...
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No activity on the layout as I've been sorting my stock out, taking longer than I thought.

 

There are a few problems with some of the wood being warped, so I've bit the bullet so to speak and got some decent wood and I am going to completely rebuild now I know the concept works. It will be same track plan with the option for a single track around the shed.

 

Knott Rederring rebooted - coming soon! :)

 

 

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Heart breaking when the boards warp.  From the first pictures it looks like you used regular wood for sides.  From experience, straight sections are hard to find in the DYI. 

 

A better option, I have found, is to use ply throughout.  My layout has 4" wide sides and ends.  I had the lumber yard rip a piece of ply for me.

 

P1010001.JPG.561b87783ac019bcc6c63af51af62489.JPG

 

The ends of the boards are 12 mm Russian ply because stability is essential here.  They are also dowelled.   The sides are lesser quality 1/2" ply.   Tops are 3/16" VG ply.  I'm trying to balance weight with strength because I do anticipate taking the layout on the road.

 

Good luck

 

John

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On 01/06/2020 at 07:51, Peter Crichton (Savoyard) said:

No activity on the layout as I've been sorting my stock out, taking longer than I thought.

 

There are a few problems with some of the wood being warped, so I've bit the bullet so to speak and got some decent wood and I am going to completely rebuild now I know the concept works. It will be same track plan with the option for a single track around the shed.

 

Knott Rederring rebooted - coming soon! :)

 

 

 

Sorry to hear this but I will stay tuned and wait in anticipation

 

Jim

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Hi John,

 

Thanks for your post and if I was building an exhibition layout I would be doing the same.

 

What I plan to do with this rebuild is have a baton of 2" x 2" on all the walls, then some 2" x 2" to make in effect shelf brackets. The rest of the wood will be 2" x 1" and so reduced the weight and also the amount of wood as I will be having 2 x 6' sections, one at each end being 2" against the wall coming down to probably 16" in the middle, this will require 1.75 x 4' section.

 

The current one is has a real mismatch of wood so I am hoping it will be a lot neater - depending on my cutting skills! LOL!

 

I've just had a Heljan O Gauge Prairie delivered from Rails of Sheffield via EBay, it is sound fitted and weathered for £395. I thought that was a bargain.

 

I have be working on my Fowler 3F, an very old white metal kit. I've replaced the motor, put new Slater wheels on and using a Dapol Jinty's valve gear. Still needs some work as it is not running too well, so I've been investigating that.

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If there's one thing I've learned here, is that if you ask 5 people how to build a baseboard, you'll get 6 answers.

 

Good luck with your building.

 

I'm sticking to smallish locos (my largest is a Tower Models J39).  The rest are 6 coupled tanks.  Then there is the Cl15 of course.

 

John

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I haven't done anything on the layout for a couple of weeks or more as I have been sorting out all my stock and get them chipped.

 

I am considering a major rethink on the shed and having the O Gauge on the lower level and putting the OO on a shelf instead. It has a lot of advantages as it would be a lot easier to have the layout going round the shed, also I could eventually run it out of the shed in to the garden at that level.

 

I am not rushing into it whilst I weigh up the pro's and con's. 

 

 

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6 hours ago, brossard said:

When I switched to 0 gauge, I knew I wouldn't have the time, energy or resources to keep two scales going.  I sold off my 00 stuff.

 

John

Hi John,

 

I am thinking the same but I have a lot of OO stuff I want to keep so I thought if I had a 12" shelf all the way around I could have a reasonable OO layout with some scenery to give me something to run it on.

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6 hours ago, Peter Crichton (Savoyard) said:

I haven't done anything on the layout for a couple of weeks or more as I have been sorting out all my stock and get them chipped.

 

I am considering a major rethink on the shed and having the O Gauge on the lower level and putting the OO on a shelf instead. It has a lot of advantages as it would be a lot easier to have the layout going round the shed, also I could eventually run it out of the shed in to the garden at that level.

 

I am not rushing into it whilst I weigh up the pro's and con's. 

 

 

Morning Peter

 

Clearly there is going to be lot of work involved if you choose to go down this route also if you plan to go outside with the O gauge then build this into your original plan so all obstacles can be thought through prior to the building commencing.....  I will look forward to seeing / reading your choice.

 

Jim

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6 hours ago, Peter Crichton (Savoyard) said:

Hi John,

 

I am thinking the same but I have a lot of OO stuff I want to keep so I thought if I had a 12" shelf all the way around I could have a reasonable OO layout with some scenery to give me something to run it on.

 

I had a lot too Peter.  Everyone is different of course but for me 0 gauge is a full time activity.  It also, for me, puts 00 to shame.

 

Happy ruminating.  :D

 

John

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Hi Peter.

 

Before I built Ramchester my plan was to build a large Continental HO layout. At the time I had about 150 locos (counting some British ones), around 70 coaches and some 200+ wagons. When I was young I belonged to the Rugby Model Railway and Engineering Society who operated a large terminus to terminus layout in the upper floor of the club house. Also I was a regular visitor to the late Arthur Forsyth's 0 gauge railway situated in a 12  x 8 shed with no less than 4 stations based on the Callender & Oben Railway in CR days. Both these layout were coarse scale, the clubs was electric while Arthur's was clockwork. My dream was that one day I would have my own 0 gauge layout but until the advent of reasonably priced RTR models this was a pipe dream. When my friend Howard turned up one day with a plan for Ramchester the writing was on the wall for my European stock. It was not an easy decision to make BUT I have never regretted disposing of the lot which gave all the funds I needed to build Ramchester. I still retain an interest in German railways and have a growing collection of German stock mainly by Lenz (in 0 gauge) which I keep in a showcase pending the day that I can get round to building a small layout on which to run it. Time will tell if I ever get round to making a start on this, however I can always give this stock a run on Ramchester even though it is not British. lol!

 

In the meantime Ramchester takes up all my spare time as it is still developing.

 

The moral of this story is make up your mind and stick to it just like I did. A move which I have never regretted.

DSC04148_(2).JPG.21db00237e891d0ff06b3d6c71282cd9.JPG

 

Rod

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I had OO & O Gauge, I sold all my OO, not regretted it one minute, just waiting on a house move, new abode will mean the "train stuff" will be consigned to a garden based mancave, with an out and back garden line, I reckon i can live with that ! :unknw_mini:.......... :good_mini:

 

Best regards

Craig.

Edited by muddys-blues
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Rod and Craig,

 

I think I'm slowly coming to the same conclusion, at least in the shed and just having the O gauge. I have a couple of OO gauge layouts at our club rooms so I could just keep the stock I need for those layouts.

 

I am also thinking about just doing something similar to what you have done Rod with Ramchester, in essence I will have a U shaped layout as two lots of curves would take up too much room even in 20'.

 

My latest thinking is to have the layout plan under the current shelf layout then on the opposite side a small fiddle yard of three roads hidden behind then a scenic break like a wall so I could either have a goods yard/engine shed or another small station in front to maximise the scenery. This will no doubt change after I've hit the send button! :)

 

Rod I have started looking again at your Ramchester pages, it looks very interesting and has inspired me to do something similar. I need to put aside some time to have a good read through it.

 

I don't think I will pursue the idea of it going outside the shed as the space is too restricted at the back of the shed and it would also be at a height that is too obvious, but I've just had someone round about landscaping the garden and I may just do a simpler end to end at about a foot or so off the ground which would easily blend in to the garden. Again this will no doubt keep changing, but separating the garden and shed will simplify things.

 

I should have just stuck to the shelf layout! :)

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Thank you Peter for your nice comments on Ramchester. I have been very happy over the last 10 years or so building it with my friend Howard. I do not know where you live but if you are ever planning to visit Torbay or South Devon and would like to see the layout please get in touch via a PM.

 

Rod

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10 hours ago, railwayrod said:

Thank you Peter for your nice comments on Ramchester. I have been very happy over the last 10 years or so building it with my friend Howard. I do not know where you live but if you are ever planning to visit Torbay or South Devon and would like to see the layout please get in touch via a PM.

 

Rod

Thanks Rod for the invite and I should be able to take you up on the offer as my girlfriends mum lives in Ottery Saint Mary and we will no doubt be visiting once things ease so I will sneak off for a couple of hours or so and look forward to seeing it. :)

 

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Hi Peter.

I look forward to meeting you when you finally get down this way. Give me as much notice as you can please so that I can ensure that everything is shipshape and we can find a mutually convenient time for your visit.

 

In the meantime keep up the good work on your layout.

 

Rod

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1 hour ago, railwayrod said:

Hi Peter.

I look forward to meeting you when you finally get down this way. Give me as much notice as you can please so that I can ensure that everything is shipshape and we can find a mutually convenient time for your visit.

 

In the meantime keep up the good work on your layout.

 

Rod

Hi Rod,

 

Will do, Sally was talking with her mum yesterday and we may aim to come down towards the end of July if we are allowed! I will let you know in plenty of time.

 

I have been playing around with AnyRail and a couple of friends have put suggestions forward. One of the friends actual works for Network Rail in Cumbria and I've incorporated his suggestions in this plan, it is a very rough first stab to see if it would work.

 

I like the way he suggested incorporating the curve into the station creating an island platform, it could be a branch line disappearing off into a tunnel, reappearing after the hidden fiddle yard on the other side. He also suggested having a small turntable using the Peco OO one, which I already have, and modifying it for a small tank engine.

 

With all this, if it works, it will be a layout with a lot of interest. I've made a start on taking up the OO track and completely redone the baseboards on one side, levelling them out and permanently attaching them to the shed wall rather than being separate movable sections. Doing this I found the shed is not as level as I thought.

 

1064132695_ShedOGaugeLowLevelVersionUShapedVersion002B.jpg.7c1897be77f12d28d97b67f1e8c6717f.jpg

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Peter

 

The Goods Yard looks very small. Can you increase the siding lengths by moving to the right - i.e. so the connection to the rest of the layout is nearer to the point that gives access to the two terminal platforms?

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52 minutes ago, Ray H said:

Peter

 

The Goods Yard looks very small. Can you increase the siding lengths by moving to the right - i.e. so the connection to the rest of the layout is nearer to the point that gives access to the two terminal platforms?

Hi Ray,

 

It is something I will change, I just wanted to see if the track plan would work in principal within the space I have available, it will no doubt will change when I eventually start to lay the track. Also I will be using a Marcways reduced crossover on the station run round, not two Peco points as on the plan and Marcways three way points which are smaller than the CnL ones used on the plan so this will make a difference.

 

I have completed rebuilding the baseboards on the top part, but before I start rebuilding the station area baseboards I have taken the opportunity to reorganise the storage under that part of the layout so a slight delay in service. :)

 

 

   

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Taking Ray's comments into hand and having a further play around in AnyRail, I've made some changes to keep it mainly within the existing boards with some minor additions. This will no doubt change when I start laying the track but it gives a reasonable idea of what I can achieve in the space.

 

Also a change to the name of the layout to 'Ploverleigh', which is the imaginary village in Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Sorcerer', performing G&S being my other passion. I am still tempted to have it as a preserved railway so I am not restricted in what I operate, but then I should build it first! :)

 

454407496_ShedOGaugePloverleigh001.jpg.bcdbc8ac35be3cf96c3c9577a49d6bc2.jpg

Edited by Peter Crichton (Savoyard)
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Hi Peter. 

 

I like what you are trying to do and in particular the nice flow to the curve from the end and into the station. I see that you have been working on your baseboards so what follows is probably too late. Have you considered using the L girder principal for baseboards? Ramchester is built using this system which if planned carefully means that alterations to the baseboards are relatively easy should you decide to alter the layout plan in the future. The system also enables the front edge to curve rather than having a straight face and of course the front can be dropped down where the scenery needs to go lower than the track. There are other advantages as well but also some disadvantages but I will not dwell on them here. 

 

As I said just a thought even though it may be too late.

 

I look forward to meeting with you when you come down this way and you can see for yourself how I have built Ramchester.

 

Rod   

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Hi Rod,

 

I've looked on the web at pages on the L girder system and it looks interesting but I've already done over 3/4 of the boards but there may be one or two places I could make use of the principal at a future date. I was talking to a friend tonight about it and it used it on a section of his layout where he wanted a viaduct, so if it would work I may do the same in the area at about 2 o'clock on the layout where I would like to have either a small river, stream of canal going under the track in this section. 

 

The latest thinking is the August Bank Holiday weekend, but that could easily change, if that weekend would be a problem we will be down again at some point.

 

Peter

 

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Knott Rederring is no more, it has ceased to be, it is a dead layout, well a demolished one! It has all been taken down ready to start work on it's replacement 'Ploverleigh'.

 

It was an interesting project which gave me something to do in the early days of lock down and has resulted in me replacing my original plan for a OO gauge layout based on Longton Bridge Station, for which I had laid most of the track, for a full O gauge layout and a decision to drastically downsize my OO collection.

 

All the boards are now done, so once I have tided up the mess I will take some photos and let battle commence on 'O Gauge - The Next Generation'

 

 

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