Returning

[Biskit]

Hi All,
I'm just in the process or returning to modelling after an absence of about 5 years... I had the classic 6'x4' double track ovals as a child, and have dabbled with various layouts over the years, none of which have been completed for one reason or another.

I'm now in the very early stages of planning a permanent loft layout (about 12' square) for which I will certainly need some input and assistance. I am considering the possibility of commissioning out at least part of the design and board construction process to make sure I end up with something I'm really happy with, rather than being limited by my own carpentry skills.

I'm new to this forum but have browsed this and others in the past. I'm also into 304.8mm to the foot scale, and drive steam and diesel on a preserved railway.

I look forward to help, advice and discussions in due course.
Kind regards,
Ben

[Mountain Goat]

Welcome. It is a great hobby to be in... One in which one can get easily carried away!
12x12 is a nice space. What gaue and scale are you thinking about using?

[bulleidboy]

Welcome Ben - You have joined a great forum with lots of help and advice. I can highly recommend Model Railway Solutions in Poole as suppliers of very well constructed boards (and legs), which come in easy to assemble kit form - I built a complete 6x2 board (frame and top) in an hour. There are other suppliers. If you were going around all four walls, don't forget "reach" - two feet is great, three can be a problem! I will be interested to see how you progress. BB

[yelrow]

A good way of improving your carpentry skills, is to have a go, yourself. Sure you will make the odd mistake, but wood is as cheap as chips, for framing out, and plenty of help here. To my mind the construction of the layout, is as important, as the running of it. Many of us, change bits on a regular basis. There is a great deal of satisfaction, in doing it yourself, and its hard to change or add, to ready made stuff.

[Bandit Mick]

Welcome to the friendly forum Ben. For me, building baseboards is also part of the fun and satisfaction. I know not everyone is as confident but most of the time a baseboard is a fairly simple shape and yes, mistakes tend to be easy and cheap to amend. On lots of forums you get people describing complex shapes cut to the millimetre and how if you are not so precise then it will all go very wrong. This is not true. Laying track and points with care and dealing with track lining up across baseboard joints if you have them is it seems the things to get right. On this forum you will always come across some sound bread and butter advice - just what a newcomer or returnee needs. Brian’s book was for me a great help and is very readable.
Disclaimer - I’m not a member of Brian’s family or his publisher - he just gives great advice!

[Biskit]

Thanks for the responses so far. To answer the queries, I'm looking at OO, almost certainly code 100 because a primary requirement is to run a large collection of elderly Dapol, Wrenn, Airfix and early Bachmann and Hornby stock which I inherited from my grandfather some years ago. I will also run modern stock too. I intend to wire for DC control as I have no intention of converting all the old locos to DCC, however I will almost certainly go DCC eventually for the modern RTR stock so will ensure the wiring makes it possible to switch sections of the layout between the two systems.

My last layout (smaller than planned here, and set track) was always a bit disappointing in terms of operating possibilities, and I'm keen to ensure I avoid this happening again. I'd love to go with streamline track and include features such as flyovers and possibly an under-board fiddle-yard with helices (helixes?) for access. It's things like that which I'd not be confident in tackling myself, and not just the practical woodwork element but getting my head around the design and construction of such things. Basic flat baseboards... no problem at all.

Thanks for the pointer about maximum reach. I am indeed looking at going round all four sides so this is certainly a consideration. The room is actually longer than 12' however being a loft, the headroom drops off at the ends so 12' is about the maximum 'usable' space. Access behind the boards at both ends will be possible by crawling under for emergencies and maintenance purposes.

Thanks again for the welcome!

[IanS]

Welcome to the forums.

With regard to your inherited stock, an idea of it's age may be of assistance to people here offering advice. Is it from the 1950's, '60's etc.

It can be important as some very old stock may have difficulty on modern code 100 track and points (as I found to my annoyance) and stock may need to be modified (re-wheeled) to work satisfactorily.

One way to find out if it is going to be a problem is to try it out on a small section with some modern points in, so maybe a 6ft by 2ft6in length. This will enable you to try your stock on new track.

[yelrow]

A few of us have Helixes, home made, also, lower fiddle yards. You can buy helixes in sections, to whatever height, on ebay, complete with fittings. By saving the money, you could spend it on track/ pointwork. Just a thought.

[Biskit]

Thanks for the pointers. The inherited locos range from die-cast Wren models (early-mid 1970s?) right through to Hornby an Bachman ones which were still the current models when my granddad died in 2007 and were probably purchased only a year or two before. I ran them all on my 00 code 100 set track layout, and they were all generally ok on the pointwork. However I did have one continuous run loop which (intentionally) had minimum of 3th Radius curves and no facing points in the normal direction, so I generally ran the older models on there. I'll probably go for something similar with my next layout - a continuous circuit which can be dedicated to running the older stock.

All just food for thought at this point though, I still have building and decorating works to get finished first!

[Mr Bones]

Welcome to the forum Biskit. Friendly helpful bunch on here.
I'm sure you will be pleased to know you share your name with one of our dogs