Progress on the layout.

[3-Gees]

G'day all,
Haven't posted for quite a while, have been busy in the shed building the train room and layout. Last time I was on I didn't realise we had a Railway forum!! Anyway, here's a couple of shots of the layout and progress so far, I'm also doing a video series of it's construction on my you-tube channel "Fishplate Films", look for the "Birdwood Sub" clips.
Any U.S modellers or railfans are more than welcome to visit for a run , cuppa and a chat!
Cheers Gregg
FishplateFilms - YouTube

[robbotd5]

Looks very impressive Gregg. HO I'm guessing. I have a little bit of HO/OO stuff and some N. I would love to just get a simple layout happening to tide me over until I can get a lathe and mill. Live steam is my passion. Would love to see more!!!
Regards
Robbo

[3-Gees]

Thanks Robbo!,
I take my hat off to anyone who builds live steam!, I don't have the patience(or skill?) , those engines are works of art!. Yes the layout is HO, the room is 9m x 6m but it's hard to get a good pic of it duue to the shape. When finished????, the mainline will be close to 200m including a 20m run up the Helix. I'll get some more pics, but for a better look, go to my you-tube page and look at the "Birdwood Sub'" updates.

Ps, isn't that 7 1/4 Big-Boy amazing, and I bet the guy who built that dosen't spend all day looking at his phone
Cheers Gregg

[Pedro_The_Swift]

WOW!
love the cab view up the helix!

[3-Gees]

Thanks very much Pedro!,
I'll be doing a lot more "cab rides" in the future,that camera takes great shots but I can't shoot in HD as the other camera is SD, but it still is pretty good. We've run a 40 car freight up the Helix with 4 locos and that looked pretty cool, it nearly wrapped over itself twice. I'll post some more pics soon.
Cheers Gregg

[3-Gees]

Hi all,
As promised , here are a few more pics of the "Birdwood Sub" progress.Track is being laid in the lower level yards and a temporary yard is being built on the top level ,this will enable trains to go to the upper level and be broken up. Also, some signals have been installed (temporary) to prevent drivers running through turnouts!. I'm looking at having a run day in about a month , if anyone wants to join in, let me know.
Cheers Gregg

[drivesafe]

Hi gregg, love the layout so far and a couple of questions.

How do you get the track work so tide?

And why do you use the such a thick baseboard?

[3-Gees]

Thanks Drivesafe!
As far as the trackwork goes,patience,patience,swearing, more swearing, then patinence.., plus I've been doing it for a few decades so I should be ok at it?. It's one of the few things that is not made difficult by having only one good eye, not having any depth perception is a pain when working with small tolerances..Having a thick baseboard means less supports and a more sturdy base for the track and scenery, good trackwork , like most things, needs a good foundation, so the thicker ply results in smoother track.

Rail expansion is a huge problem in the shed, so gaps are left in certain sections of rail to allow for expansion on summer, and yes, I have had buckled rails in the past.
A new "layout update" will be on my channel in a couple of weeks.

Thanks and cheers ,Gregg;

[spitfire]

Hi, I have just discovered the railway section of the forum,i'm a big fan of live steam,all gauges, i built my first loco at 19 and am still going 50 years later,i have built 10 locos 3 1/2",5" and 7 1/4" g, 3 traction engines up to 1/2 full size, weighed about one ton, sold my last 5" loco last month and now concetrate on the smaller gauges,HO,O, and G all outdoors,i run DCC also outside,i put down a multi gauge layout 100' approx in each run,expanding that to 300' next year. I run 16mm and 7/8 scale live steam on the G 45mm track, the boys are coming over this week to help with a roof over part of the layout to keep the sun off us old farts,we play trains every wednesday,...pete

[drivesafe]

Hi Spitfire and welcome to the magic ( read sickness ) of the rail enthusiasts Section.

Can I suggest you start a new thread about your gear, BUT, you must have pictures!!!!!