Model Railway Forum

Modular approach
For my loft layout I'll be using quite a few 8 by 2 boards (can possibly 3 foot wide through hatch but then not 8 foot long) and can't help thinking the law of sod will mean some essential mantenance task wil mean, once fitted, part of it is in the way for access to under floor for some future essential task.
The boards will be around 15-18 inches off ground to top, so with 3 inch sides, that's 12 inches underside to do a Charles Bronson great escape impersonation.

My current thinking is to have each board lifting up from chunky legs, each leg having 2 dowels/ferrules sticking out top, acting as support for 2 abutting boards.
To facilitate I have also been looking at the D-sub multiblock 21 pin plugs for lift out scenery lights.

Scenery.
I had in mind these could lift off baseboard seperate to reduce weight and also enable the piece to be modelled more comfortably in regular workshop.
Other than painting/texturing I've never created 3D hills etc, so will be researching, but thinking any of
- coat hanger wire
- thin ply verticals slotted into each other at right angles
- polystyrene (modern equivalent)...needs to be non flammable.

Baseboard cross bracing
I see baseboards available commercially and DIY versions with cross bracing.
Again sods law comes in, servos are chunky and need precise positioning so cross bracing will be in the way.
I therefore I plan to purely do the frame, then attach track and points with servos/motors on underside, and only then glue/clamp the extra bracing, so can space to avoid the servos.

Dave

Dave S wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 2:32 pm ........................
Again sods law comes in, servos are chunky and need precise positioning so cross bracing will be in the way.
I therefore I plan to purely do the frame, then attach track and points with servos/motors on underside, and only then glue/clamp the extra bracing, so can space to avoid the servos.

Dave

Hi Dave, don't forget that servos don't have to be fitted directly beneath the point motors. For example, because of height restrictions, R/C model aircraft generally have all the servos mounted in the fuselage and connected to rudder and ailerons via wire rodding. Useful to remember when retrofitting additional points at a later date - same principal can be used for Cobalt or solenoid motors - been there and got the T shirt!

@daveS
You talk to using dowels for vertical alignment.
I went one further and used pluggable terminal blocks as both alignment and electrical connection.
In my case the removable section is a horizontal slide-in shelf with the connectors at the back acting as both back stop and power disconnect for when the section is out.

TDD. I understand the words but can't understand how. Servos use a rod already directly underneath, if servo is a few cm to the side, I'd expect the the blocked point underside to need some sort of pivot arm to implement what you say, so struggling to imagine the workaround.
My T-shirts are falling apart, not getting any new ones for 2 years.

Whilst talking about servos, bearing in mind they are usually on a mount how far do they stick down?
I'm trying to work out required length of 1:33 drop for train to pass under them from upper layer.

RAF: 2 birds with 1 proverbial stone, like it. Thanks for posting the photos.

Bit like this. Just an example.

WTD.
Wow. Even grommet would be proud.
It wouldn't work on full scale though.

Would work on 12 inch to the foot, that’s exactly what signalmen were operating when they heaved on the leavers.

Here is an example from an earlier layout. this one is above board but could easily be below. As WTD has shown, right angles can be achieved with the use of bell cranks, lots of types available from R/C model shops, for example:

https://www.modelshopleeds.co.uk/catalo ... HLEALw_wcB

What do you call this bit [attached to tie bar] I’ve failed to find, or make, anything similar.

Apologies for blur on image, I boosted it up a bit! R-

RogerB wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:39 am What do you call this bit [attached to tie bar] I’ve failed to find, or make, anything similar.

Apologies for blur on image, I boosted it up a bit! R-

"Modified" one of these Roger

https://peco-uk.com/collections/electri ... tre-spring