Mcbuffys buffet (OO, DC, 3.5x2.4m or 141x96")

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Good evening everyone, i have been a member for about a month or so now but have been just browsing at all the useful material this site has to offer,

i would like to say thank you to everyone who has shared their ideas it has been an eye opener to what is achievable!

so this is my story as to why i am here (same old same old)

my little boy was four earlier this year and his Nan told us we could use the train set she had for her son, now when i was my boys age i was also lucky enough to have a hornby train set (the HST which is the same as the one we got given) and i would like my son to have the same memories i had when i played with it so now i am planning (and currently building a few buildings) for him

i am soo lucky to have an large space to set this all up, it is all in the attic and it's 3.5 meters by 2.4 meters of space to use

i have downloaded XtrkCAD and have been playing about with different layouts and copying and moving others i have seen on this site and else where on the net, i have grabbed and few bit's of track/points/low mac and brake van from the car boot oh and managed to find in a random box peco n gauge set track plans for free so if anyone would like some plans i will be willing to send some images/XtrakCad Files of the tracks

i have gone a bit mad in eBay purchases lately (2 class 37's and one came with three coaches, a diesel shunter i think it's a 060, lots of points and last second cheap track, a nice brakeman power pak which i have still yet to try out but it looks like it'll be fun for the little man to use, and lastly a single engine shed building)

over the past few weeks i have been scouring the net for free buildings to make out of card and acquired quiet a large collection which i am willing to share to people so it's easy for beginners to get started and start getting buildings on their boards, i also get a bit ahead of myself and i am looking into Arduino programming, and also bi directional lights for the dc loco's

well that's that and now i will attach some track plans for you all to comment on

more planning is needed but at the moment i am currently building a Wordsworth 3 lane engine shed which might turn in to being 4 panels long (currently at 3 panels), i am in no rush to get the track laid so a lot of configuration can be made now and besides we had a rainy Sunday a few weeks ago and enjoyed having the trains running in the front room on the carpet so it doesn't matter yet

well thats it from me for now i'll get a post up in the workbench section at some point to show you what's been built so far

[Mountain]

Very exciting. Plenty of time to plan. It may help to sit in the room the trains will be and let your imagination flow!

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Very exciting. Plenty of time to plan. It may help to sit in the room the trains will be and let your imagination flow!

I have got 3 more loft boards to cut down to fit and lay and then that is the floor finished, then I want to put some carpet down, batten the walls with some 2x1 and then cover to seal the room up, so there will still be some mess made and I don’t want to get it all over the trains yet but yes that also came into my head, I will just get everything out and connect it all and see what goes where

Cheers

This is the mess a few Saturdays back

It looks small and yes’s its cramped as you do have to bend but it’s quiet a large space once sat down

Oh and twin electric sockets are also there at both ends for future requirements

[Bufferstop]

When I used the loft, similar headroom I found an office chair with a broken gas-lift which allowed me to sit lower than a normal chair and had the advantage of castors so I could move without standing up. It worked for a few years but in the end the bending forward became a pain in the neck, so I moved down into a spare room.

[BuffyMcBuffer]

When I used the loft, similar headroom I found an office chair with a broken gas-lift which allowed me to sit lower than a normal chair and had the advantage of castors so I could move without standing up. It worked for a few years but in the end the bending forward became a pain in the neck, so I moved down into a spare room.

I’m lucky enough to still be young (ish) and a bit flexible, besides all other areas of the house are out of bounds

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Carboot purchase yesterday for £1



If anyone would like some track ideas let me know and I can send some over

[End2end]

Your lucky to find those items at a boot sale. I usually go to 2 nearly every weekend during the summer and railway models are VERY few and far between.
The last item was the Hornby MR liveried 0-4-0 but for £20 they can keep it.
Thanks
End2end

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Your lucky to find those items at a boot sale. I usually go to 2 nearly every weekend during the summer and railway models are VERY few and far between.
The last item was the Hornby MR liveried 0-4-0 but for £20 they can keep it.
Thanks
End2end

Our carboot is kinda hit and miss

When there is oo gauge bits they are kinda asking more than what they are worth but it’s cheaper than the stuff you see in flee bay

Nothing at all happened over the past few months since my last post, one being days out with the misses and little man

Second I have a new project to build in the garden for the little guy at the moment so all attic work has to come to a halt

Third we went to the Hornby visitors centre in Kent and grab one of their £20 mystery bags, got a nice scalextric go kart, a red arrow airfix kit, hoody teddy, drinks bottle, pencil sharpener and a oo gauge express starter kit!

So me and little man have been doing the red arrow kit in the evening.

Got some free time coming up so I’m trying to crack on with finishing his garden project

I must confess I did a few spontaneous purchases these past few days

One being this item which will make little man smile.... the Flying Scotsman



And it arrived in this huge box!! Spot the little box in the middle....



and a couple of cranes which have yet to arrive

Will update in a months time

[BuffyMcBuffer]

It’s Sunday, it’s raining so I think I’ll update you all on what’s been happening this past month

Finally completed the garden project for my little boy, he’s happy

So I turned my attention to the loft again.... I’m going to at some point batten the walls and t&g them to add a bit of warmth/coolness up there but I decided I would do that maybe next year??

So I saved our old carpet when we had new one fitted earlier this year and got this laid and then my patience vanished.....

Grabbing the piles of accrued track I Started laying it all out and connecting it together, result was

Laid track



although it was a nice twin loop McRoundy Round and little man did enjoy it, i wasn't happy with what i had given him

so track adjustments were made and voila





Still not happy with what i had done more adjustments were made and also the track was nailed down to stop any movement which improved train running







apologises for the blurry photos

little man is happy, i am content (would like to get 3 controllers running (one for each loop) or even build a inglenook at the top end nearest the gable end wall to add a bit more excitement) so any ideas how i can do that would be greatly appreciated

by the way this is only temporary and will be ripped up in the future, but this gives my little man a bit of fun for the moment considering the weathers now going to be a bit rubbish, me and him can pop up the loft and enjoy some time together running trains round and daddy picking them up because they have come off somehow ha ha

anyway until another months time to see where we are with the layout

[End2end]

Great that your having some fun.
I will say though, you really shouldn't run them on the carpet. It will cause all sorts of problems with fluff getting in where its not wanted etc.
Even a simple board under that lot temporarily would help.
Thanks
End2end

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Great that your having some fun.
I will say though, you really shouldn't run them on the carpet. It will cause all sorts of problems with fluff getting in where its not wanted etc.
Even a simple board under that lot temporarily would help.
Thanks
End2end

Note taken and I will stick some thin hard board that we have laying about at work under there

In fact I’ve just been there to cut some up to go in between the tracks so I can run wire to the points and manually switch them but I’ll stick that under the track to stop the fluff

Cheers

[Mountain]

Is an interesting controller. Do a check that the mains wire is in good condition and that the case has a rubber grommet to prevent the wire from wearing against the metal case. Is just aa safety check as it looms an older controller.
I like the older controllers. They also gave more power as some of today's little trainset controllers struggle to power anything other then a little lightweight shunter.

Regarding attic safety. Try to make some gate or something to prevent one accidently falling down the trap door. Just something visible. I once almost went straight down as I just didn't think to look as I walked right by the entrance!

[Chops]

That looks like great fun, and so nice your son is engaged. Young people seem to opt out for video games given half a chance. In my day, model trains were the equivalent of video games of today.

I rather like that diamond crossing that permits a move to the inner loop. I'm on my second track plan that allows that, and for me it adds a great deal of operational interest as one has to pay attention to avoid a collision, whilst keeping the trains moving. My next step is to get some sort of timer, maybe an old wind up kitchen timer, with specific stops and destinations to be required of each operator, whilst having to cross paths. Simple railroad type rules of the road, as well: such as passenger has precedence over goods. It's a bit trickier than it sounds, especially if one has a momentum function, delaying stops and starts. On those rare occasions when the trains bump into each other, the solid buffer bars prevent any damage.

I see that the current arrangement allows the outer train to get to the center line, but there does not appear to be an "escape" route, short of backing out onto the main- nothing wrong with that, but consider if you could place the same diamond arrangement on the right side of your plan allowing the outer mainline train to cross back and forth.

I cannot resist. If I may, let me post a link to a short video of what I am talking about. It is from my first version of Henley:

https://youtu.be/pZfePF_tClQ

Very nice arrangement, and terrific backstory. If you compose a little video of an operational session with your young train driver, that would be enjoyable.

[joshv8]

So this is the layout eh? You and your littlein will be having a great time with this to! Its not often you see single track engine sheds these days.
Was the flying scotsman a new model? I havent seen one with the red on her for quite a few years now.

Those 3 tracks will keep no end of trains running! An inglenook might make a little more interest for yourself. Any plans to further it a little more permanently?

[BuffyMcBuffer]

Is an interesting controller. Do a check that the mains wire is in good condition and that the case has a rubber grommet to prevent the wire from wearing against the metal case. Is just aa safety check as it looms an older controller.
I like the older controllers. They also gave more power as some of today's little trainset controllers struggle to power anything other then a little lightweight shunter.

Regarding attic safety. Try to make some gate or something to prevent one accidently falling down the trap door. Just something visible. I once almost went straight down as I just didn't think to look as I walked right by the entrance!

Hi again Mountain yes the controller was checked over before i connected it and all looks good and nothing perished. trains runs great and it's seems nice to use, cant really say much about the last part as my little boy uses it rather than me

Attic safety is all above board,

as you can see, there is a ledge to gain access to the "play area" after you climb up the ladders



this was taken from the the "play area" side and the rest of the main loft is on the other side of the hatch, again you can see the ledge this side so no one can accidently step back and fall down

I see that the current arrangement allows the outer train to get to the center line, but there does not appear to be an "escape" route, short of backing out onto the main- nothing wrong with that, but consider if you could place the same diamond arrangement on the right side of your plan allowing the outer mainline train to cross back and forth.

yes i see that and seen as this is only a temp setup i'm not really fussed, i might decide to rip out one of the straights and stick a point in to make an escape route but it's not a priority

thanks for the tip

So this is the layout eh? You and your littlein will be having a great time with this to! Its not often you see single track engine sheds these days.
Was the flying scotsman a new model? I havent seen one with the red on her for quite a few years now.

Those 3 tracks will keep no end of trains running! An inglenook might make a little more interest for yourself. Any plans to further it a little more permanently?

this isn't THEE layout its just something i have knocked up so my little man can use it when ever he feels like whilst i get the insulation and walls sorted

the flying Scotsman was an eBay purchase, got it cheap and runs lovely!

an inglenook would be great and i think it'll be something i might do on our proper layout

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Right that's the reply's now for our monthly update..............

been on and off with track design and i think im starting to get the basic shape i would like to go for

all good and bad opinions welcome

v.1.1


v1.6 ( versions 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 were just oval designs like what is there now)



v1.7



also got some coaches to extend the Scotsman



one turned out to be weathered! no bad for £5 each



think this enough......



picked up some cheap cheap track for £1.80 off the auction site and then the guy offers more lengthy track so all of this for £3 win win for future layout build



Picked up a large box of items (it did have about 6 or 7 buffers, 2 plastic buildings, 3 card buildings that need some tlc which ill do at a later point, got a unopened metcalf building (think its a good loading building), a twin track tunnel and some scatter.
this only shows some of the stuff in there. Exclude the model red arrow



oh also got all the track lifted up and stuck the board under.



i also placed a make shift turntable that if i'm honest i am not happy with, it's turned out fine just not liking how the track has been fixed down and also getting power on to the turntable (it's only 6mm hard board)




and the latest and last bit of news tonight is this



battons fixed to the wall and im going to fix pallet wood on there and make it a bit warmer hopefully (thats the idea)

cheers for looking