and to the forum. Glad to have you on board and hope you enjoy your stay with us. Don't procrastinate too long, jump in and join the chat whenever you want. Cheers for now Toto
and a warm welcome from Dundee Glad you decided to join us here at platform1mrc, and look forward to hearing about yourself and your modelling adventures. Once again welcome to the forum Paul
Thanks Toto and Paul for the welcome. After spending a few days perusing the forum, I like the vibe of both the modelling and those modelers here. With so much choice online these days (facebook, et al), Platform 1 feels a comfortable balance between the enthusiasm for actually modelling and the camaraderie that accompanyies it. "The Procrastinator" ..... well, I have not yet even begun to procrastinate! Deciding 5 years ago to enter the hobby as a adult after enjoying the "toys" of my my childhood, I have had several fits and starts at putting together the foundation of a layout on which to build something I will find enjoyable. A couple of years ago, I did put together a working 15' x 5' setup that I was somewhat happy with, though it did prove over-complicated to use. Too much in too little space. It was very good experience to hone my track laying skills however. A move of home spelled the end of the first attempt, but I find myself contemplating a different approach. I have a 15' x 13' room at my disposal (with an adjacent courtyard providing the potential for a fair-weather extension!). However for now I'm going to start simple. These are my practical criteria for the new layout: New baseboards to be made light but resilient (one of the issues of layout #1 was that is was over-engineered and was too heavy and difficult to move; I anticipate another house move in the next 5 years)[/*] "modular" construction. Not conforming to any module standard; simply a way for me to extend or contract the layout to adapt to circumstances.[/*] Non-prototypical location. I am located in Sydney Australia and will primarily model the railways of NSW through the '50's and '60's. Although ..... I still have the Hornby stock of my childhood that is being refurbished. Sentimental location license, if you will.[/*] Code 83 rail; I have experimented with old and new stock I have, also the prototype perway appearance of NSW. I am not up to the skills point of hand-building track yet, so I consider the sleeper size of Peco code 83 a close approximation to NSWGR, although it does require re-spacing from the US pitch to a more typical local pitch. Tillig pointwork likewise visually appeals to me.[/*] Less is more; I have decided on the key elements I wish to have, always throttling back my enthusiasm to squeeze more into the space.[/*] I have begun to construct base units from Knauf Insulation 1200 x 600 x 50mm XPS Multi-Use Foam Board, laid in an extruded t-section welded aluminium frame. Lightweight, dimensionally stable and torsionally rigid. I have four key module alignment break-outs where I can add or remove additional sections if I chose. It has been constructed as a wall perimeter layout so I can use the room for other purposes (storage) also. I have also as a quiet night-time activity been refurbishing the old Hornby Dublo of my childhood. Sure, it would be cheaper and the detail would be better to buy modern RTR and .... plonk. But the enjoyment factor of stripping down, for example the HD West Country, fitting Markits wheels and axles, a romford gearbox and Mashima motor, Albert Goodall detailing parts, close-coupling the tender and finally repainting and relining it (probably things you more experienced people all did many many years ago!), is far far more satisfying than a plonk. Probably more expensive than a plonk, but there is no free lunch ...... I am also fitting a Hollywood Foundry chassis kit to a HD Class 28 Co-Bo; another sentimental favourite that will run happily on code 83 or better rail. And that's where I'm at, at the moment. I see much for inspiration on these pages and am looking forward to joining in. Once again, many thanks for the welcome. Gary.
Hi Gary, What a fantastic introduction into your current modelling position. A great insight. sounds like a decent size room that you have at your disposal, lucky man. I'm glad to hear that our forum is appealing both from a modelling point of view and also for the light hearted way that we encourage as well. There is definately the skill and knowledge base on here to help progress your projects and the ability to have a bit of tongue in cheek banter along the way. You will probably have worked out by seeing some of our other members that there are a few Sydney siders on here already so you are great company. Get settled in and feel free to jump onto any of the other threads that takes your interest and I look forward to following your trials and tribulations as you progress through your projects. Once again, it's great to have you on board. Cheers for now and thanks for posting Toto
Welcome aboard Gary - can the world cope with Gary's from Sydney Glad you like what you see, and we all will look forward to helping with your procrastinations, there's nothing like the odd question to turn everything upside down. Paul
G'day Gary, Welcome aboard from another Sydney-sider. Plenty of great members here willing to answer any questions you may have. Get yourself settled in, have a browse, read up and then, when ready get involved ! Great intro about where you are at with your modelling adventures. Looking forward to reading more on your future layout, it's operation and so forth. Enjoy the camaraderie and banter that is P1MRC. Cheers, Gary.
G'day mate, what a great story. I'm from Melbourne, so I hope you will forgive me for that. I'm 62 trying to recapture my childhood dream. I wish you well. Phil 🤓
Hi there Gary, Welcome from the northern tip of Sydney! I like your idea of the kana boards with aluminium frame, sounds like a great combination of rigidity and light weight. Would love to see some pictures. I am building a modular portable layout, but with more conventional materials, I need to make sure I can master the basics, like track alignment. Don't worry about standard module sizes, that's really only a NMRA thing if you were to mix and match with others (always wondered what happens with the scenery then), if it only has to match yours then you are free to do what works for you. Sounds quite ambitious your plans with the old HD stuff, might have to take that approach one day with my old Tri-ang Hiawatha Pacific loco, centre drive wheels are shot. Always good to have the non-prototypical location. I am a surveyor and I spend my life making digital 3D models of things as they are, to go back in time, where there is no 3D laser scan data available and only sketchy photos doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. My layouts will be a combination of scenes I like and how they fit together, well, that's the idea anyway! Cheers Tony
