It's Bigger Than I Thought

So Hudson's Pizza has taken a small step forward today as I popped out and bought the baseboard; as I did for Jerusalem I've gone with 9mm MDF (68cm by 53cm). As I'm not planning to mount anything under the baseboard this works well. It's fairly light but gives a strong foundation and doesn't take up too much of the depth of the storage box I'm intending to use to keep the layout in.

The main issue that has arisen is that I've actually got more space to play with than I thought I had. I built the track to match the prototype (see this previous post) and then sized the board based on the storage box. In my head they were a lot closer in size than they have turned out to be. I'm still trying to work out exactly what I want to do with the extra space but I'm thinking some extra track in amongst some builds to add a little more movement to the layout. Building mockups will be next which should help me decide exactly what to add in the space.

And We're Off

Work, albeit minor, has now started on the new layout, although as yet there isn't exactly much to see. Now as well as a box to store the layout in (the trays have now arrived as well), I have the baseboard on which everything else will be built. As with Jerusalem I've gone for a simple piece of MDF as the baseboard; this time 9mm MDF rather than 12mm based solely on what the local DIY store had in stock. To ensure that I can get the layout out of the box, the final baseboard size measures 110cm by 22cm giving a maximum model, at 4mm to the foot, of 275 foot by 55 foot. Also, given the depth of the box, minus the MDF and storage trays I have 22cm I can build above the baseboard (so 55 foot of model space), which should be enough, although it certainly means that any point control etc. will have to be on top of the baseboard as I won't be mounting anything under it.

I've also had my order for the Dorothea kit from Brian Madge confirmed so that is at least one piece of rolling stock confirmed for the layout (assuming I manage to put it together correctly). Given that there isn't much to show I thought I'd illustrate this post with one of the slides my Dad took while I was growing up, which shows a Quarry Hunslet locomotive which isn't that different from Dorothea. The photo shows Elidir, built in 1899 for the Dinorwic Quarry and original named Enid, at the Llanberis Lake Railway on the 6th of August 1985.

Skies The Limit

After a little bit of planning I've managed to successfully fit the panel that will eventually form the sky, and hence the limit of my little world. Another quick trip to the local DIY store and I was in possession of a piece of bendy board of roughly the right size. It was difficult to measure the length of the curving back scene accurately so I over estimated it slightly.

As you can just about see it is attached to the baseboard using three upright posts behind the board and one small block in front (which will be hidden under the scenery). The four posts are screwed and glued to the baseboard but the sky then just slides between the two middle posts with the two edge posts forcing it to curve. This arrangement means that the sky can be easily removed which might be useful but we'll see how it goes when I start to build up the scenery. I included the second photo as this gives you an idea of why the back scene is quite tall (it's 30cm above baseboard level) in that it allows me to get down quite low to the track and still see sky rather than my study, which I'm hoping will make it feel quite immersive once the scenery is in place.

Mockup Time

So having built a baseboard the next step was to finalize the track plan. Unfortunately I discovered two problems. Firstly the track plan I'd devised on the computer (using AnyRail) didn't really inspire me when I actually tried it out; the layout looked very unnatural and didn't give me much in the way of scope for scenery. The second problem, however, was more of an issue as the baseboard was way too flexible. If you remember I'd built the top from what I think was the back of a flat-pack wardrobe. As anyone who has ever built flat-pack furniture will know this material is quite strong (cutting or nailing it is difficult) but is fairly flexible. I'd hoped that because I was only using a small piece and was bracing it in the middle that it would be okay. I was wrong. Just the act of the train running over the track was enough to make it flex. While adding scenery would probably have strengthened it slightly I was worried that it would still flex causing cracks to appear in hillsides etc. So I've buried the baseboard at the back of the garage and started again.

This time I figured out the track plan before making the baseboard and checked that I was happy with it. Adding space for scenery around the track led me to the right size for the baseboard, which is 74cm x 54cm. I've also decided that currently I don't have any need for anything under the baseboard, so instead of building a frame I've opted for a single piece of MDF (I'm lucky in that there is a very friendly DIY and wood cutting shop two minutes walk from the house, so it took me about 15 minutes to walk round, wait while it was cut and then walk home with it).

So having settled on a track plan and bought the baseboard here are a couple of mockup photos showing what I'm aiming for.

Essentially it's a simple loop (so I can just watch trains go by) but is meant to represent a short piece of a sleepy branch line which also serves a local factory. On the left the train will emerge from a tunnel part way up a hillside before running down to the mill and finally passing under the road bridge and out of sight. I might also add a small station before the road bridge, but this will depend on how things look as I start to add scenery as I don't want to try cramming in too many buildings. Behind the scenes I've added a siding to allow me to store a second train, and at some point that might actually turn into a cassette based fiddle yard, but as I currently only own one N gauge locomotive the siding isn't likely to see much use. The power feed is currently in the wrong position, but will eventually be placed in the short section between the two points as placing it there will allow me to shuttle a train between the sidings while isolating the rest of the loop.

While the baseboard I built turned out to be useless I have now at least arrived at a track plan that I'm happy with, I even have a name for the layout, but that can wait for a future post (although given the description in this post you might be able to guess it already).

Starting At The Bottom

Having made the decision to move to N gauge I now have nothing stopping me from making a proper start on building a model railway. Laying out temporary track on my desk is fine for a bit of light amusement but it doesn't allow me to build scenery etc. I've now taken the first step by building a simple 3"x2" baseboard.

Given that I haven't built anything substantial from wood since I was in high school I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially as it didn't cost me anything other than time to build. When we bought our house there were a number of bits of wood and board left in both the loft and the garage which were mostly ideal for building a baseboard.

The frame is simple glued and screwed together with the top pinned and glued to it. The top is made from what I'm guessing is the back of a flat-pack wardrobe. Unfortunately the pieces weren't wide enough to cover the entire frame so I've had to use two pieces glued along the join. This seems to have worked alright, and will hopefully hold up under the added weight of the scenery. The most important point is that I managed to keep the frame square so not only does it fit on my desk (just) but it also sits flat without rocking.

At the end of the day if it turns out to be the wrong size or not strong enough it doesn't really matter as it didn't cost me anything and any scenery I build on it will be a useful learning experience even if I do end up starting over again at some future point. I still have to decide on a track plan before I can do much else but hopefully progress will be slightly more rapid than it has in the past.