My layout in the making - Page 33

dynamite25 · 14-10-2007

Restarted work again my layout today and got the hinges recessed and refitted them and the boards too I also screwed a 25mmx50mm length of wood to the front piece and screwed the boards to that as the front piece will be screwed to the baseboard,then I stuck the hinged section on top to see how heavy it was lifting both up and I am going to have to split both sections up as it is to heavy to lift up altogether so that is my next job tomorrow.

I had an idea that it would be heavy but not that heavy but it's better to sort it now than later.

I will have pics up during the week once I got it sorted.

dynamite25 · 15-10-2007

Got it done today but just need a few odd ends sorting out tomorrow then I can lay track down tomorrow or Wednesday.

First two pics show the new MDF sheets in place with the hinged section in place.

These next two show the hinged section in two pieces rather than one long one as before.

This one shows where the upper level section has been cut so it's in two sections.

And this one is where I had to put a support piece to support the hinged section in the middle but it will be made removable so I can still get about the loft.

But once I did all that I lifted one section up and it was a lot lighter but then I ran into another problem which is when I lift the sections up to get to the track below I only have about 8 inches clearance between the baseboard and the upper section when lifted up,because the hinged section hits the rafters above so I will have to remove the hinged sections to lift the upper level up to give me the room I need to clean the tracks below and to fix any loco and it only takes me 2 mins to undo the screws to remove the hinged sections so not a big problem.

alan2525 · 15-10-2007

Do you have any sketches of your proposed layout? I can't get my head around all those hinged parts - if you have two levels how would you get from one to another, what kinds of gradients can you get away with in 00?

dynamite25 · 15-10-2007

Hi Alan at the moment I don't have a track plan for the whole layout as the plan is always changing the only part that won't change is the hidden sidings,there is only one incline to the upper level at the moment but there will be a second one once I got the upper level done plus there will be a viaduct for the country scene side of the layout for the upper level.

The incline on the layout now is roughly 16 ft long from 0mm to 104mm but has been made in stages so the curves are flat and the second one will be the same.

The MDF sheets will have the station on and the hinged section off that will have the main lower lines on and the second incline to the upper level,and both inclines will be hidden from sight so the trains look as if they are going somewhere and not just seen going round and round in a circle.

dynamite25 · 17-10-2007

I was going to order all my stuff for the layout in November but decided to order some things yesterday instead So I have ordered.

Knightwing Kits From Express Models

1xPM103 Fuelling Points
1xEXL103 Lighting Kit For PM103 Fuelling Points Kit
1xPM116 Diesel/ Oil Depot
1xPM108 Drums, Packing Cases etc

Hornby and Peco Items from Hattons

6xR603 Long Straight
4xR608 3rd Radius Curve
1xR614 Left hand diamond crossing
4xJAV/PIN Packet of trackpins
2xLK56 Loco inspection pit for Code 100 track
4xSL10 Pack of 24 metal rail joiners/fishplates for Code 100 track

dynamite25 · 21-10-2007

Fitted the rest of the supports for the upper level just need to make some L brackets for the back scene out of some 2x1 timber then I can screw the boards down and cut some ply to fill the gaps in for the upper level,I had a look through all my model railway mag's today to look for ideas for the upper level and I couldn't find anything I could use so it looks like it will be sometime before I will lay any track on the upper level.

Here are some pics of the work I've done.

I have decided that my TMD will be on the left in the pics and will be 7ftx18" as the 6" left of the 2ft wide board will be for the mainlines.

Hopefully my stuff comes tomorrow so I can lay the rest of the mainlines on the lower level.

dynamite25 · 28-10-2007

Got a bit of work done on the layout while I still wait for my stuff from hattons so I put some supports under the MDF sheets in the middle to stop any sagging but didn't take any pics of that as I had stuff on top of that part of the layout,I also hinged the smaller section so it hinged down out the way so I can walk pass to the other side of the loft but I need to get some things from wilkos to finish it off.

And this is where I am altering the track for the hidden sidings so they are separate so I have the four long ones for the outer loop and the four short ones for the inner loop,also so I can have the trains running in different directions so I have an up line and down line on both levels but can't finish it off till I get my track from hattons which royal mail still have it.

dynamite25 · 31-10-2007

This has been a boring two weeks as I haven't been able to do much work on the layout as I am still waiting on stuff to arrive from royal mail and will be two weeks since it was posted,but once there arrive I will be straight into the loft to get the track laid and trains running on both lower lines if and when they arrive just hope it ain't another week.

dynamite25 · 02-11-2007

Well I can now start back on my layout after waiting two weeks for Royal Mail to deliver my goods from hattons and here is two pics of the stuff I ordered.

Items from Express models.

Going to order a few more things from Express Models before Christmas.

Items from hattons plus two extra left-hand Diamond Crossing I ordered the week after the first order.

Tomorrow I am buying a new soldering Iron and other bits and bobs for the layout plus some MDF primer paint.

dynamite25 · 11-11-2007

Well I have finally got the track down on the hinged section of my layout and I now have train running again.

And here is a video of the trains running which is my merchant navy loco pulling the orient express pullmans and the Gresley coaches from my Northumbrian train pack and a class 47 pulling mk3 and mk2 virgin and intercity coaches.

Sorry about the poor Quality but every place I upload it to makes it look bad but it isn't on my Laptop as it's clear but if you click on the button below the video next the volume to shrink the screen size it is a lot clearer.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AZPlzqYlWvU