Any interest in yet another layout being built?

[Biggles]

I have recently moved into a new home, having trashed my previous oo layout that was in a converted dairy.

The new house has a 'spare' bedroom that is the new home for the layout. This time in N scale.
It will be freelance Western Australian railway called Myara Rail, after the Myara brook that flowed through my last property.
It will be steam and the directors will buy from any source Worldwide.

 

[Drew1125]

Hello Biggles, & welcome to The Gauge!
We'd love to follow the progress on your new layout!
Hopefully, you are able to post pictures(?)
If not, at least tell us how it's going...
I too, have just started a new N scale layout, a free-lanced Appalachian coal hauler set in the 1930's.
This will be a very small display layout, which I'm hoping to put in a show this coming March.
I'm calling it the Clear Creek Mining Co., & I posted a thread about it in the Track Planning For The Future section of The Gauge.
I'm kind of sceptical about N scale steam at this point...I'm hoping somethings gonna come along & change my mind!
Do you have any N scale steamers that you like?

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Hi Biggles and welcome to the Gauge! By all means keep us posted on your progress!

 

[Catt]

Any interest in yet another layout being built?

On the Gauge??? Your kidding? Right?? Heck yea theres interest in your layout,by the way welcome to the Gauge .

 

[Biggles]

Thanks for the welcome encouragement guys.

Since there were no "No. Get lost" replies you only have yourselves to blame.

Now I am retired, money is tight so it will be an el cheepo approach. Scratch building as much as possible.
Since the layout is for me and I will only be running one loco at a time, I have ruled out DCC.....I also enjoy the wiring....shows what kind of sick bastard I am.

I have a simple point and shoot digital camera, so I can post pictures. I have attached one of the overall view of the railway room, showing the basic framework complete.

This rail company is supposed to be in Western Australia and it is flat around here...very flat. So there will be no mountains, tunnels, tressle bridges atc. I still think I can make it interesting.

Charlie. I have two steam locos from MicroAce. A japanese company. They are 4-6-2 's and the slow running is superb.
I will post a picture if this first one is okay.

 

[Biggles]

Attached is a picture of my MicroAce 4-6-2 as promised.

It is posed on a small diorama that I made whilst practicing modelling techniques.
This is something I would recommend for any newby.

 

[shamus]

Hi Biggles, and welcome to the gauge, looks like you are off to a good start. Biggles, now where have I heard that name before - oh yes I remember, I used to read the Biggles books when I was a kid (Where's Ginger?)

Shamus

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Nice diorama Biggles, and you are right a newbie should do this before tackling a layout.

 

[Biggles]

Hi Guys.
Thanks for the kind comments.
Encouragement is like gold dust.

Shamus. Ginger married one of those 'Damsels in distress' that we used to rescue from the baddies.

I have attached a close up of the loco.

 

[Matthyro]

Nice to hear from another STEAM buff. You have a great start going there Biggles. As Shamus said, I too grew up reading Biggles books and ended up flying when I was 16. That's a long time ago. Now I am retired and like you, have developed an interest in scratchbuilding. Mainly because of the cost of kits and no kits available for the buildings or structures I wanted for my layout and of course, being on a reduced budget.
You sure picked the right place to come. There are a great group of folks here.

 

[sumpter250]

It will be freelance Western Australian railway called Myara Rail, after the Myara brook that flowed through my last property.
It will be steam and the directors will buy from any source Worldwide

Welcome!, Love the concept,"from any source worldwide", about as good as being owned by a shipyard, that buys a lot of "scrap", worldwide (and sometimes rebuilds it for their own use), or pretty much builds their own (3' gauge outside frame 2-4-4-2).
I can see, you DO trees!
Pete

 

[Biggles]

I was virtually forced into going freelance.
There is almost nothing available for the real Western Australian railways. What there is is hideously expensive.
I am not talented enough to scratch build locos.

Anyway, it's supposed to be a fun hobby.
I would love to eventually have an articulated loco.

Here is a picture of work in progress.

 

[Biggles]

When I started this new layout, I made a few basic decisions, based on past experience...as you would.

One was not to use cork underlay with fine granite chips, dilute PVA glue and detergent.
The whole lot sets like concrete. Destroying the sound deadening of the cork and making future recovery of the track nearly impossible. ( I dumped one board from my last layout in our dam and left it there for two days. The MDF disintegrated, but the the 'concrete' still gripped the track.)

I found this foam sheet...picture attached.
It comes in many thicknesses from .5 mm up to 4mm
It is plastic, but feels like rubber. You can cut it with scissors or a sharp knife and it will curve quite well without cutting easements in one side.

 

[Biggles]

I cut it into strips, paint it with matt latex paint on sprinkle on the ballast.
When dry I attach the track using blobs of silicone sealer.
This stays flexible and makes future removal of the track easy.

I know the sleepers sit on top of the balast, but in N guage I personally find this acceptable.
That's another decision I made. Not to bother with detail that will only be visible in a close up photograph and not it 'normal' viewing.
I know this will upset some people, but that is what the hobby is all about...no, not upsetting people, but pleasing yourself and having fun.

 

[Biggles]

Whoops. Sorry about that.

 

[NYCentral]

Hi, Biggles,

Your roadbed looks good to me!! that is a great idea.

 

[Matthyro]

Thanks for the tip on that foam roadbed Biggles. I will have to try that.

 

[cpr_paul]

Looking good there Biggles. Seeing as I had been away from the hobby for a while I too did a little diorama before starting in on my layout. Definitely helped build a bit of confidence!

Good luck!

 

[Biggles]

Another decision I made, based on previous experience and of course to save money, was not to use electrically operated points, but to use a mechanical method instead.

The method I chose, was to use 8mm doweling, running in white plastic clips. The type used for TV cable. They have a round inside shape.

See attached picture.

The vertical rods are needles from a scrap knitting machine, but any stiff metal rod would do. eg. sewing needles.

 

[Biggles]

Since there was no interest in my fabulous mechanical points operation system

I will try something else.

I have made progress with the back scene.
Hand painted....with a brush and water colours.

This is an overall view.