And the Paper Mashie Continues......

AND THE PAPER MASHIE CONTINUES......

With a Saturday morning free, i managed to get a few more layers of Paper mashie on the layout. I am now at a point where i can add track to the layout and might even see a loco run around the layout before the end of the year....

 

In this last picture i have added little rock outcrops, around where the trestle bridge will be (Honest....)  Once this has all dried of course ;-)    

Paper Mashie - God i hate it :-)

So with the cracking weather we have had over the weekend, i decided to lock myself in the shed and attack the layout with a pasting brush and ripped up newspaper.









What a difference it makes to have the layout covered in newspaper,

Its starting to take shape and one i like.

Its a lot clearer on how the levels are changing and clear where the tracks are running.  This is just the first layer of paper to give me a base to work from.




The next step is to form the Scenic are where the track will disappear into the 2 tunnels after the Trestle bridge.

This is a View at the back of the layout, where the track crosses.  The plan is not to have this as a viewing side,  but this might change if i can make it look ok

The well is where the Turntable will sit when built.  Another project that needs kick started.  I am going to use an Atlas N Gauge Turntable with motor.  I am going to fit a Chip to it to allow me to operate it using the controller and then there is no need for fancy boards and switches.

Model Rail Scotland 2016 - DCC SYSTEM

Scotland's biggest Model Railway show was this weekend.  I went along on Saturday with a friend and Sunday with my little boy.

In my opinion, I found the show to be quite poor.  If you have an interest in British OO you would have enjoyed it.  The trade stands just seemed to be selling the same stock, and i found there was no real variety of scales and scenic s.  A lot of the layouts I had seen before and most of them had Model Rail Scotland Badges from previous years.

There was a few nice layouts,  One stand out was The Raven Group American On30 backwoods layout.  The snow affect has been done very well, and the weathering on the loco's i was very impressed with.

One good thing about the show for me, I was able to pick up my DCC system i will be using

The Ecos 50200

I had the chance to operate a layout at the show using this system, I found it very easy to control the Locomotives and find the different functions.  The full colour touch screen shows everything you need at a touch of a button.

I now have a lot of reading to do, to understand all the functions and how i can operate points, and other parts of the layout through the system.

I also picked up a bachmann 2-4-4 forney outside frame second hand from a layout that no longer required it.  It has been very nicely weathered.  I am hoping this will run around my curve to get onto the Turntable, if not it may just do a little loop around the track every now and again.

The build up of polystyrene is progressing, the layout now looks like a Xmas cake.  I have the base level set for the Turntable to sit on, and i am starting to build the rock sides up.  Its a slow, messy process but i get see it starting to take shape.

Risers in place, and Turntable Location sorted

It has been a few months since i last posted, I have been busy in this time.  The Workshop has had a lot done to it.  I have build a 8x4 foot workbench in the middle of the room, allowing me to put the layout done on a flat surface level surface, and be able to work around it.

 I emptied the kitchen cupboards to weight, it worked very well

 All the risers are in place now, i have a bridges to build now to cover the gaps.

 The Turntable will sit here, about 7 inchs higher.  My next move is to infill the middle section to get it up to the correct height.  The piece of paper is a template for the first curved Trestle Bridge. It will be 3 inch's tall.

I am going to build a dock at the front of the layout, the piece at the front is the road into it.



A few more pictures of how it is taken shape

Baseboard risers added

 USING AutoCAD i drew out a rough track plan at 1:1 scale and used a plotter at work to print them off.
This let me see how much space i had to fit things in and see how the curves were fitting in.  After speaking it over with a friend we made some changes and i printed version two out.


Cutting through the paper to mark the board below, i had a guide to follow when placing the woodland scenic risers,

I emptied out our cupboards of tins for weight to hold down the risers while the glue dried.

I used PVA wood glue on the underside polystyrene to attach them to the baseboards, and left them to dry over night.

I managed to get the inner ring in place, before i had to return the tins back to the cupboards...

With the weights removed i now have the start of the track heights.

I now have one four inch side in place and the starter blocks for the rise.

The next move is to put the outer ring in place and fill in the middle to bring it up to the level. then to cover it all with paper mashies to fill the holes.

Baseboards, yes honestly

Yes, i can't quite believe it either, a Baseboard, its a long time coming.

Construction is 3x2 C.L.S. timber with 12mm plywood.  its 1200mm x 1200mm (4'x4')

The track plan i have base the layout on is 900mm square, so with this being 300mm bigger i hope i am able to make the turntable at the top, big enough to take a Shay.  Also i hope to add a dock with a siding for unloading the material the is Mined/logged from the top of the hill.

This is my template track plan which i will amended to suit what i need   I want to make the lead onto the turntable have a more gentle curve,  Add a few inch's to the turntable to allow maybe a shay with a wagon to be turned (but this is not important, as i will mainly be using porters.)  And along the bottom add a dock with a boat beside it.


Now onto the fun bit of designing the track plan proper and decided what structures are needed......

Brecken Mountain Railway - South Wales

On Holiday in South Wales went up to the Brecken Mountain Railway

The Loco was built in 1930 July in Philadelphia.
It worked most of its life in a Cement Factory in South Africa.  Where is was involved in a crash and written off.

The owner of the railway bought the wreck, shipped it back to the UK and had it restored.

 Its an Amazing trip and it takes about 30mins to reach the top, where you stop off, for the loco to be switched to the rear, which is now the front.