discussion My layout in the making

[dynamite25]

Abit of a update when i come to do the upper level i will need to get into the corners of the layout so on one side i will have a removeable 2ft square board that will have a small village on it,but the otherside i was just going to crawl under the layout to get to the back of it but i thought wait a minute i have a 2ft square piece of baseboard on the lower level that hasn't got a thing on it.

So i will cut that 2ft Square section out so i can get to the back of the layout to work on the upper level but the steam engine sheds sit over that bit on the upper level,so i will make that section removeable so i can get to the back of the layout to work on it and then replace it to operate the layout.

Heres a picture showing what section of baseboard i will be removing but the pic is of the board before the rest of the baseboards were fitted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/dynamite25/Cutout.jpg

 

[dynamite25]

Ok i have cut the 2ft square section out and took two hours to do i have taken photos as i did it so you can see how it was done.

First Pic shows how it was before the boards were removed.

Second Pic shows the framework without the boards there.

Third Pic shows one side cutout.

Fourth Pic shows both sides removed and one section screwed back in the other way and two new legs have been fitted,aswell as the one that was in the middle before i removed that section.

Fifth Pic shows half of the baseboard refitted back in place.

Sixth Pic shows half of the second baseboards refitted back in place.

Seventh Pic shows both track put back in place so i can continue running trains again.

 

[dynamite25]

Just alittle update on the layout.

I have manged to get the wood cut that will sit on top of the supports for the upper level to be screwed to give it more support and i had to undo one half of the fiddle yard,and reposition it 1inch towards the other half to give me more room for the supports for the upper level because when i added the extra track it took what space i was going to use for them.

Which took about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours to unpin the track and move it over and then re-pin it down but had to move the trains out of the way first so i added some sidings on the otherside of the layout,just to store the trains while i did the fiddle yard then put the trains back into the fiddle yard once finished.Tomorrow i will fit the supports and the 3 inches strips i cut today and fit the 6mm ply sheeting for the upper level.

 

[dynamite25]

Today i got some of the supports for the upper level in place so it's piccy time again.

So here some pics of the supports i've put in for the upper level and the excess needs cutting off for the return incline.

And heres some with the 6mm board on top first one has two screws put in to hold in place and for the second one i have just place the supports in place and placed the 6mm sheet ontop.

And heres some from under the upper level.

And the last one is of a plug socket i wired up so i can plug it into my extension cable so i can use the drill over the otherside of the loft,while i have other things plugged in the extension cable on the other side.

 

[Guest]

it looks abit tight in there just enough room at the top though to clear the roofs and chimneys!

 

[dynamite25]

The apex in the loft is just under 6ft high which i can walk back and too ok and it's ok working on the side where the countryside scene will be as i can stand upright ok,but on the fiddle yard side i had to slightly bend to work on that side when i did the fiddle yard but once the upper level is done i should be ok and not have to bend to much to do the station.

 

[Guest]

thats is brilliant you should ask my dad for a picture of his railway set he did. well done for taking time on that im sure it will look stunning at the end of that project. well done

 

[dynamite25]

Well after seeing pictures of Gordons massive fiddle yard on another forum i thought i could lengthen mine around the bottom end so i got more space to store locos and rolling stock,so i have extended half the fiddle yard which is five roads around the bottom to the otherside aswell as the return incline.

And i will be using my hornby 2nd radius curves as i got alot of them from all the hornby train sets i have bought and need using up and two 3rd radius curves,also i might need to buy some more lengths of flexi but i won't know till i start the extension to it as i have a couple of lenghts left over from the box of flexi i bought months ago.

Anyways here is the track plan of the extended fiddle yard.

 

[dynamite25]

Well that idea is out the window for a number of reason and i have decided just to add three tracks at he bottom to house DMU's or EMU's or both.

Here it is.

 

[Guest]

Hi Dynamite,

What Cad Prog are you using?

J.

 

[dynamite25]

I'm using the Hornby virtual Railway 2 program to do my track plans.

 

[Guest]

geoff's toys in loughborough have got hornby flexi track for sale and they are only a quid a track they are the 3 foot 1's!!! just thought i'd let ya know!they may have them in other shops for the same price i am not sure about it though!

 

[dynamite25]

I only use peco flexi track as i was told it's better than hornby flexi track.

 

[dynamite25]

Not much as happened on the layout due to the hot weather we have been having but have managed to get alittle done on the other cutout,hope to have it finished tomorrow if it stays cool and if it stays cool for the rest of the week then i can get both inclines fixed in place also sort the upper level boards out and maybe start on the wiring for the lower level.

For the cutout i still need to cut the board to become the removable section so i can still have something on the layout there,but still beable to remove it to get closer to the corners without having to stretch across the layout.

 

[Guest]

looking lovely steve!

i know its a long way away but do you have any ideas on diorama on this set? figures/buildings..etc

will you be making the building or buying pre-build/kit ones?

 

[dynamite25]

I think for the townside scene it will be more present day with modern buildings and the countryside will be like last of the summer wine setting as i like the old style stone building in yorkshire,most buildings will be bought and i may try and build some from scratch if i feel upto the job which i think i am.

I was going to work on the layout today and finish the other side off and some other things but i am not feeling upto going into the loft,and i have some slight back pain and just feel very tired and drained really but i am gonna try and get into the loft tomorrow as i want to get onto the elcetric's part for the lower level.

 

[dynamite25]

Ordered some more things for my layout on saturday and got them today by Royal mail when they were down to be delivered by ANC but nevermind i got them,so i ordered another box of Flexi track,two track rubbers,three packets of track pins,three packets of rail joiners and a pair of Xuron track cutters.

And i might be going back to the first idea of extending the fiddle yard than just adding 3 sidings to the bottom of it now i have more flexi track as it would save me money,also the long viaduct is going on the other side on the lower main tracks so now i need something to fill in the otherside but not sure what might have the village there or something with a smaller station than planned.

I will be taking some photos after to show the progress i have made which isn't much really but i have said it is a longterm project.

 

[dynamite25]

Some new photos.

First pic of the new goodies i got today.

Heres some pics of the progress i have made on the layout.

These ones show the small pieces of 9mm ply i put in to make the supports sit higher so i can get my hand under better.

Here's a pic of the second cut-out that will have a removable section put in place so i can still use the space for buildings.

And a pic of the incline where i needed to put in a small section to finish it off,but still have the first bit of the incline to finsih off and to finish the return incline.

 

[Guest]

Are you going to have a grand opening Dynamite?

If so can you put up about a dozen members and will we all fit in the remaining space. This layout is just too good for pics i want to see it for myself.

J.

 

[Guest]

I think you are putting more time and effort into planning and constructing this layout than Railtrack put into maintaining the real thing!!

I'm sure it will be more reliable.