My OO Scale Model Train set Build.

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Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi Homestar, this is just a suggestion, you could use 100mm thick sheets of styrofoam.

If I ever get back into building my G gauge layout, I have seen a yank club that uses the styrofoam as the base and it work well, is very ridged but weighs next to nothing.

It’s easy to fix the track to it and any scenery is easy to, and wiring is so much easier to do.

Also, because the sheets are so ridged, you do not need as much framework.

Just a suggestion.

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Looks like you beat me to the submit button. I don’t see how I could make the point motors operate through 100mm of anything to be honest. I also really want to be able to secure wiring, etc under the board with screws. I’ll be using foam on the top for a variety of reasons - mostly to be able to give the landscape some depth below the rail level - something that is missing from a lot of layouts.

Also not sure how I’d make that style of board easy to move/disconnect/reconnect when being moved (It will be so this is an important factor, I can’t build it into the room permanently)

I should also mention that this is my third layout so I’m not a newby at this. While I will be taking this to another level compared to my old layouts, the basics, etc are all in hand thanks. Where I have and will struggle is the buildings and scenery - I’m not very arty farty so this has always been the hardest bit for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Homestar

I should also mention that this is my third layout so I’m not a newby at this. While I will be taking this to another level compared to my old layouts, the basics, etc are all in hand thanks. Where I have and will struggle is the buildings and scenery - I’m not very arty farty so this has always been the hardest bit for me.

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The games workshop warhammer guys have some great online tutorials on scenery, IMO they are some of the best when it comes to scenery building. Might not be the same scale but the skills are the same, the only reason I ever liked the game was for the building side of it all good fun.
Cheers

Been watching a heap of modelling channels while waiting on parts - this is one of the best - and an Aussie too. 👍

https://youtu.be/HEG3d0cMuv4

Ok, so complete redesign number 1 has occurred. While trying to work out a track layout, I wasn’t happy with how tight some of the radius’s would be, so I moved the spare room to where I was going to build the layout and have now set up shop in the other bedroom. This will allow me to run a track around the whole room. First thing was to setup a workstation.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b7d6ad57_k.jpgBD2E7CE4-B064-48A0-BCB0-9F7AC09AD629 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

The track will run around this room, on a 600 to 800mm wide board - where it will go in front of the work area, there will be a lift out section only a couple hundred mm wide - enough for the 3 tracks to get through and will be an un landscaped ‘back of house’ area. Most of the timber is there, just the top which is in large sheets in the garage still to be cut down. It will all be a self supporting setup, not screwed to the walls or anything. I may move in the next couple of years, so don’t want it to be too hard to move if I do.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8185a50d_k.jpgE086C210-A614-4307-90DD-11D9D8ECDC98 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

Well it's all systems go now. Have been putting together the first board the last few evenings and it is now complete and in place.

Trying to make them strong yet light, so joints are all recessed, glued and screwed.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2231e4ce_k.jpgIMG_1509 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...29c6ce55_k.jpgIMG_1508 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

I'm a metal worker not a wood worker, so this was challenging at times and I know I'm being picky, but I did find it frustrating that at times I can only get to around +/- 1mm when working with timber and this unit is 2mm out of square corner to corner. No dramas, but if it was steel I would have it under 0.50 mm and much closer than that for stuff that matters. It did come out well though, but I'll not become a cabinet maker any time soon...

I made the base so there is a strong shelf down the bottom supported by 6 legs, while the top can be removed and stood on its side for wiring and access to point motors, etc as needed. You can see in the pic below how this works - and it worked better than I expected. No cross bracing needed, it's heaps strong enough as is and once bolted to the end board will be even stronger.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d7c47896_k.jpgIMG_1510 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

And with the base down - it is extremely rigid and once bolted to the other unit at the far end of the room, won't be going anywhere, yet easy enough to move if every required.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e21ee0ad_k.jpgIMG_1511 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

Still waiting on some adjustable feet to put on all the legs so the boards can be dialled in exactly with each other. They'll also be an arrangement to ensure track alignment if the boards are ever moved.

Will post again when I have the next 2 completed. The board just made is 600mm deep and 2400mm long as will the one opposite will be too but the one at the back will be 750mm deep and 3000mm long so this will have the centre legs running all the way up. The 2400mm long base is very rigid though and there's absolutely no flex in it. The track, trains and scenery weigh bugger all too.

Still needs a final quick sand and then not sure how to treat the timber. Paint or varnish? I'm really wanting most of it to be hidden eventually, but I don't want it to look tatty like some timber work on model railways I've seen. Some people just whack old 4x2's together with tech screws and call it good. That's not me.

Eventually, there will be a trim at the front with a black cloth hanging below it to cover the shelves. I may even run a shelf up above the set for more storage and to hang lighting off - thinking of some RGBW lighting that I can change to make the set look different at different times of the day or night - that's a loooooooooong way off though. [smilebigeye]

Noob question from left field,, [bighmmm]

track guage, N, O etc,, is there a conversion to Matchbox cars?

Matchbox cars are 1:75 scale, model rail scales are as follows from smallest to larger (there are more but they get big enough to ride)

Z gauge - 1:200
N gauge - 1:148
TT gauge - 1:101.6
HO gauge - 1:87 - uses 16.5mm track
OO gauge - 1:76 - uses 16.5mm track
O gauge - 1:43

There are heaps of others with different track widths with similar scale.

To answer your question, the standard Matchbox cars (Made in England) fit the OO scale well as this is the most common scale used in England as well. In the US and many other countries (Including Aus) HO is the more popular scale, but as I’m building a British railway, it’s OO for me. 👍

HO is more prototypical than OO and in reality, OO should run 18mm track but us Poms seem to do it different. 😇

HO and OO use the same track width, but there are different track profiles depending on how prototypical you want to get. I’m using what’s called code 100 track which is taller than the scale track should be but it runs some older and cheaper rolling stock better that has deep flanges on the wheels. Scale would be code 83 for OO but I have quite a bit of rolling stock that doesn’t run well on code 83 and I’m not a rivet counter when it comes to such things (but there are heaps that are)

A standard Matchbox car would look out of place on an HO layout, but there are heaps of cars available for all scales.

When I was a kid we had a few Hornby sets, not big, but oval shaped layout. Never knew the Gauge size but I reckon the Loco was aprox 6" (150mm) long + Tender. We are going back aprox. 70 years or so.

The Locos were based as far as I can tell, on the Sir Edward Henty Loco of Spirit of Progress fame but were black gloss slopey front firebox cladding & all had that lovely perfume of lightly oiled clockwork machinery.


I suspect they were made for the Australian market but were not electric powered but simple wind up stuff.
Thing is, I have searched for these online but have never found them. Anyone know these? Would love to see one again.

Thanks.[happycry]

They are extremely rare and very expensive if you can find one now - I'm taking 1000's but they almost never come up. You might find them come up at Auctions in England from time to time, but they are a real collectors item now.