Bodgeford: OO gauge 90x28cm

Discussion in 'Planks, Switching and Shelf Layouts' started by Graham K, Dec 4, 2020.

  1. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Assuming that 90x38cm (not 28cm as per the title, sorry) still counts as a plank, here goes :)

    Baseboard - the side of an old shelf unit
    Track - various bits of Hornby and Peco acquired over the years
    Stock - a rather random selection, mostly Hornby and Airfix/GMR, mainly from eBay
    Plan - small end of the line station with run-around and 1 siding
    Fiddleyard - will be just a stick
    Scenics - I like to think I have the imagination and ability to scratch-build pretty-much everything. Time will tell, but I'm reasonably pleased with the 2 platforms I've bodged (hence: Bodgeford) together this morning.

    I have started and abandoned a couple of layouts prior to this, but now retired and with a spare room in which I can let-rip, I'm much better equipped to get this one through to completion and then start a larger layout. This one is really just to get me going and a chance to try my skills, assuming I have any. As is likely obvious, I'm trying to do this on quite a small budget before I splash-out on something more permanent, so must acknowledge Budget Model Railways (Youtube) and Wordsworth Model Railway (paving/brick paper downloads).

    The cunning plan

    View from FY

    View towards FY

    Both the 'ballast' and 'tarmac' are carpet tiles - a little experiment that sort-of works but doesn't really. Points are controlled by lengths of old coat hanger which the upturned carpet tile handily keeps in place - except the one that I'll have to disguise due to forgetting to fit in place before gluing the tile down :hammer:

    All the best
    Graham
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
  2. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Hi Graham,

    Using carpet tiles is a novel idea.
    I must confess I would be worried about them shedding fibres and other muck which would gather in the loco mechanisms but I may have worried for nothing never having tried them.
     
  3. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    It was seeing roofing felt used that minded me to give the tiles a go. It only really gives an impression of ballast, nothing at all as good as the traditional methods, but it has the advantage of being quick, and as they were the leftovers from carpeting my hobby room, cheap too.

    I did consider the fibre issue, but having given the tiles a few hard whacks and a going over with a vacuum cleaner, I'm pretty confident that any that might come loose will have done so. I've used Copydex to fix the track in place, so that probably also gives a bit of a barrier too. I may come to regret it, but the only loco's that'll be running on this are old Hornby 0-4-0's from eBay, so I'm not too concerned. I'll update if I do find any issues.

    All the best
    Graham
     
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  4. Andy_Sollis

    Andy_Sollis Staff Member Moderator

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    An interesting idea.

    many use teadybeat fur for hills, so why not a carpet tile?
    Do you intend to colour it?

    sand paper (wet and dry type in black) make good roads.
     
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  5. Mark4mm

    Mark4mm Guest

    Hi Graham this sounds an interesting layout build and I like your plan. Flooring tiles are new to me but it’s definitely worth a try.
    I look forward to seeing more of your build.:thumbs:
     
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  6. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Nice simple plan to practice your modelling skills on. :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
    I'm hoping that you have run your little 0-4-0s through the points to make sure there is no dead spots, as I have noticed you are using insulfrog points. Hopefully the little locos run faultlessly.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  7. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Thanks for the above replies and suggestions :thumbup:

    @Andy_Sollis - Teddy bear fur is a novel one - hopefully not involving any cruelty to bears!

    The carpet tiles being mottled-brown, they do give a passing resemblance to some sort of stone, so no need to paint it. I'll post a close-up pic later.

    I've a stash of unused sandpaper, from failed/never started DIY projects, so am sure I can find a use for it somewhere on the layout :)

    @Mark4mm - The plan is a slight alteration of this layout

    @Gary - Yes, thankfully my loco's are OK through the points - but only after I gave the wheels a good clean - probably quite common with ebay purchases.

    EDIT: Here's a close-up of the carpet tile 'ballast'

    All the best
    Graham
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2020
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  8. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    I'm thinking you could paint that carpet a ballast colour with acrylic paint. If you applied two or three coats, it would help reduce any possible fibres from getting caught up in the gears and axles of your locomotives. ;)

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  9. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Painting the carpet is an excellent idea ! Two or three coats would help keep any stray carpet fibres at bay and stop them from getting wound up in locomotive axles and gears. :thumbs::thumbs:

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  10. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Thanks Gary.

    Before I glued the carpet tiles to the baseboard, I gave them a good few whacks over a clean sheet of paper and really, only a minute number of fibres came free. I also gave them a good going-over with a vacuum cleaner. I've just repeated the whacking exercise with another offcut, and again, after 20 hard whacks there's just a handful of fibres on the paper. Being carpet tiles, in which the fibres are securely bonded into the plastic backing, I think they're somewhat less susceptible to to molting than 'normal' carpet would be. That's not to say there's zero risk, but it's maybe not as great as may be imagined. I'll of course keep an eye on things and report any findings once regular running sessions commence.

    All the best
    Graham
     
  11. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Some (slow) progress over the past few days.

    The more I looked at them, the less happy I was with the passenger and goods platforms, so they've both been rebuilt. The goods platform from corrugated and cereal packet card, the passenger platform from a bashed Superquick kit and a Peco shelter and shed kit. Backscene added, but I'm still to cut the exit to the FY.

    plankD.JPG
    plankE.JPG plankF.JPG plankG.JPG plankH.JPG

    I also made a start on some coal staithes, cutting matchsticks to size, staining with a felt-tip marker and gluing them together - a sure way to make yourself start to doubt your sanity :eek: and develop repetitive strain injury as a bonus to that :rolleyes: I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end though.

    Now that it's starting to look a bit like an actual layout, I've aware of how bright and shiny the track looks so might think about painting it some sort of rust/grime colour to tone it down a little. That'll likely also have the added advantage of defeating any carpet fibres that make a dash for freedom, as suggested by @Gary above.

    Is it a rule of railway modelling that everything takes 4 times longer than you think it will?

    All the best
    Graham
     
  12. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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  13. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Thanks Gary

    I'm quite happy now with my rebuilt platforms. I already have a pretty random collection of kits, bits of kits and a large box of bits n bobs (mainly stuff that'd normally go into the recycling bin) which I hope I'll find uses for somewhere. I purchased a kit from scalescenes a while back but have yet to print it out, which reminds me, I need to go and stock-up on printer inks and glue sticks.

    All the best
    Graham
     
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  14. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    I very much doubt that anyone has been waiting anxiously for my next update, but apologies for having left things hanging for a while. A couple of events knocked me sideways for a bit and brought my modelling to an abrupt halt. Thankfully though, normality, such as it is, has been restored and I've been creating once again.

    I wasn't overly happy with the progress I'd made, hard to say what exactly, but something just wasn't "right". Tracks have been lifted and re-laid onto a 100x24cm floating shelf, a backscene fitted and a couple of buildings and a bridge to hide the exit to the fiddle yard fashioned, mainly from cereal package cardboard.
    overall.JPG platform bldngs (2).JPG platform bldngs (3).JPG platform bldngs (4).JPG
    I think the scale may be a little out, but I'm rather pleased with the results, especially as both buildings were pretty-much just made-up as I went along. A Sainsbury's apple pie box supplied the green doors, bench and awning/valance, brick and tile papers are from Wordsworth.

    Next on the plan is a cattle dock and a coal merchants office ... but I'll need to consume a few more apple pies first.

    All the best
    Graham
     
  15. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    The track work looks a lot neater and you now have enough room to run around the train in the station ! :thumbs:

    Your buildings look pretty good. If anything, I would just alter the height of the station building roof and change the angle from your (approximate)30 degrees down to about 15 degrees.

    I don't know if you have a scale rule but it is one thing any scratch builder should have in their tool box. I know Hattons sell them, as do many other model railway retailers.

    Scale rule : https://www.hattons.co.uk/44438/expo_drills_tools_74104_scale_ruler_4mm_oo_gauge/stockdetail.aspx

    Since you are modelling the GWR, some of their cattle docks were made from welded bridge rails, as well as the common timber structures. Here is one I have built for my O gauge layout from Code 100 rail : https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/inde...st-foray-into-o-gauge.3143/page-11#post-67637

    Keep up the good work, looking forward to updates.

    Cheers, Gary.
     
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  16. Graham K

    Graham K Full Member

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    Thanks very much Gary.

    Yes, altering the roof as you suggest would probably greatly improve the look. I was um'ing and ah'ing about it during the build, but my eagerness to get it finished won-out. I'll see about taking a knife to it later.

    I do have a scale rule (somewhere) and would obviously benefit from making better use of it rather than guestimating dimensions :hammer:

    Although I'm not specifically aiming at a GWR theme, those cattle docks, and your fine example, do look that they would be an interesting project. I need to brush-up my soldering skills as also want to attempt some rail-built bufferstops.

    All the best
    Graham
     
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  17. Mark4mm

    Mark4mm Guest

    Hi Graham you are building a lovely little layout, I agree with Gary the station building roof looks a little steep. This is easily rectified but most of all its all about enjoying and having fun in this hobby.:thumbs:
     
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  18. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    Hi Graham - Congrats on Pic of the Week, a lovely project.

    Paul
     
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  19. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    G`day Graham,
    Congratulations on Pic of the Week..........well deserved...:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
    :tophat:Gormo
     
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  20. Mark4mm

    Mark4mm Guest

    Graham great picture of the week mate.:thumbs:
     
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