The Maidenfield Railway - OO - Modern, Diesel, UK

[rmg1919]

Looking good - a job well done

Thanks - cutting the MDF (the warped frame meant there was overhang on one side) was a bit of a nightmare... but some sanding/filing afterwards got it nice and flush... I can see why some people would opt for Sundeala.... Though, personally, I still think the price premium on Sundeala is too high.

A good start there. From the looks of your plan you have a long way to go. What will the middle be used for? Is this where you'll sit, or will it fit around something?

Thanks. Yes... a very long way to go. I am beginning to appreciate the whole "a model railway is never finished" thing...

As for the middle bit, I'm not sure yet. My original reasoning was that there was no way I could easily reach more than 3 ft across a board, so decided to cut it out. The result is something that I can either use as my control point or else just use as a sort of scenic break, if you will. The plan is to put a backboard round it at a later point and then add those scenic background shot things.

Really looking forward to laying the track and getting the trains moving. I'm probably going to start at the station end, and while I'm doing that have a temporary loop of track on the bottom end just so I can 'have a play' should I get a bit bored of hard work!!!

[mortyfootball]

Trust me, a layout is never finished, but that is a good thing as you'll have hours of enjoyment out of it.

Keep up the good work,

Shaun

[rmg1919]

Ok. So, I've sanded down the polyfilla to make it all nice and smooth, and have sealed and primed the MDF. Good stuff...

...Only I've just tried laying out the track and I can't figure out how best to do it. Any ideas anyone? I'm using the Peco Streamline Flexible Code 100 Concrete Sleeper stuff and am not sure how best to temporarily lay the track... How does everyone else do it? My plan is to then figure out where I can have points and then order the points in one big hit... to save on P+P.

Any hints/tips on this part of the building process would be greatly appreciated?

Do you use drawing pins? Tape? Glue? Heavy objects?

By the way, I just wired up a short strip of the nickel silver track and boy, does it make a difference... My locos whizz along at almost double the speed!!!

[Raider]

For fixing the track down I use Petes method of putting a small screw between the sleepers. You can adjust the track till you are happy with the positioning and then ballast it. Once the ballast is dry you can remove the screws and touch up the screw holes.

HTH

Chris

[rmg1919]

I decided in the end to add a layer of cork on top of the MDF, will help me pin the track in place during laying, and may also reduce the noise levels of trains a little bit (maybe...).

So, have vaguely laid out the track today... only to run out of track, so have just had to put an order in for more track, points, fishplates, etc. So probably won't be any more updates until sometime next week when I've got all the track in place. In the meantime I will probably paint the cork an appropriate colour.

UPDATE: just ordered the stuff, so hopefully will have updates sometime next week.

[rmg1919]

Latest news:
* started track laying yesterday;
* drilled a few holes for point motors and power feeds;
* constructed a plastic station roof kit.

Photos to follow.

[andrewteenagemodeller]

What kit was it?

[rmg1919]

What kit was it?

Peco Manyways LK-20X Station Roof.

Looks jolly good - though it's a shame they don't make a slightly larger one - that would have an enormous presence... Only downside: had to spend ages cutting any flash off 100+ glazing units!!

Photos to follow. Hoping to have station (track) finished by end of Sunday... Yeah right.

[rmg1919]

Latest update (complete with pictures):


BELOW: The site of the main station - I have now completed the two furthest out lines at this end of the board. The other three tracks are still not done


BELOW: Another view of the main station end of the board; you can also see the Peco Station Roof I made the other night...


BELOW: Virgin HST - used for testing the bits of track I've currently completed. All is well so far - runs very smoothly, and have (I hope) now got the loading gauges correct.

[mortyfootball]

Nice progress, keep it up.

Shaun

[Class 60]

Looks good so far and great progress

[westbrom]

Great progress, look forward to more.


Neil

[dynamite25]

Super progress mate looking forward to seeing more of your layout.

[rmg1919]

A few more photos of progress... also hopefully giving an idea of what I hope the station to look like. Between the "Thru" line and the edge of the board, I'm hoping to install a nice retaining wall feature. Does anyone have any recommendations for retaining walls?

[Class 60]

Looking good so far, can now see how its going to look like