Making a start, my foray into 0 Gauge.

So after getting rid of the mould which 'inhabited' my untreated base board over the winter months (that'll teach me not to leave a job part finished!), I'm finally in a position to make a start on tracklaying, or at least, almost. As the boards are only 2ft (600mm) wide due to it being an end-to-end garage layout, I'm somewhat limited as to what I can fit in, so I'm going for an initial trackplan based on Buxton in the nearby Peak District which I came across on the freetrackplans.com website. They've revamped the site recently and it appears I can't reproduce the trackplan here without their written permission, not too much of a problem as I intend to alter it slightly, but until I can get around to drawing out my 'revised' plan, I won't be able to show it here. Also, as I use an iMac as opposed to a PC, I can't use the usual track plan programmes, so it will be a 'suck-it-and-see' approach.
I've already amassed 30 x 1 yard lengths of 'Marcway' flexible track, about 10 left and right hand points and a couple of crossovers, so can at least make a start. The most difficult part of this layout will undoubtedly be the curves at the point where the two sides meet the rear of the garage, and this limits curvature of track. I scribed up and cut out a 5ft 6in and a 6ft curve onto some old wallpaper as a rough 'will-it-fit?' guide, and I know that the 5ft 6in will go, the 6ft will be a squeeze, really dependant on wether my coaches will clear on the curves, and bearing in mind I have a yet to be built Merchant Navy loco kit which I hope will also be able to navigate these curves (if not, I shall be severely pee'd off!).
Anyway, the wallpaper guides are not accurate enough, so today I found some 3mm ply, scribed and cut out the said curves, making the width of these templates about 31mm so that they will sit inside the rails. Template length is almost 1200mm, and no, I'm not making boomerangs!

 

I also bought a couple of sheets of 3mm cork, these are needed as the "Waverley' and 'Marcway' point and crossover kits are the PCB type, so 'sleepers' are thinner than those of the flexible track. Using the cork cut to fit under the points brings everything back to the same level. Here you can see how the templates fit to the track, and I will be drilling holes at intervals in the track sleepers, countersinking and fixing down with some 3/8ths No.4 woodscrews rather than gluing in position. Should I then decide to alter, or if something either doesn't fit or look right, I can easily change things around. (Some might say I'm making this up as I go along, and they're likely right!). To be continued as and when.
Keith.

 

Hi Brian.
It'll all be on one level, any point motors etc will have to be above the baseboards as they are fitted to the tops of several sets of shelves, meaning motors/wiring etc could easily be damaged by adding/removing contents of the shelves. The idea is to fit the motors (or maybe servo's if I go down that route) at the edge of the layout, wiring will be contained in a continuous length of Minitrunking which runs the length of the layout, it being screwed to the outer edge of the upstand with motors/servo's fixed at the inner edge operating points via 'wire-in-tube'. Basically I do have a trackplan, but it will be modified as I go along to fit what space is available, hence the 'suck-it-and-see' approach.

Keith.

 

From what I've seen on the GOG website Paul, it's more a case of the leading bogie having enough sideways movement to 'steer' the driving wheels round the curve without them derailing, similarly with the rear pony truck, rather than the tender and loco not clearing on a curve. Clearance under the footplate (cylinder drain cocks/pipes etc) would be the issue where the front bogie is concerned, pipework under the cab for the pony truck. I'll be trying to give as large a radius as possible to the curves, and just hope for the best.
Keith.

 

Having had a couple of 'warmer' days lately, I've managed to get a fair amount of tracklaying done, 22 lengths of track and 7 points fitted though not got around to 'wire-in-tube' yet. I've now reached the stage where I need the 3 way point kit I was considering and also run out of both metal and insulating fishplates, so until the model shops reopen, hopefully on April 12th, I'll leave things for now as I have other jobs (like finally getting decals onto the '02' loco) to do. That in itself is going to be fun, as it seems no-one does specific decals for this loco. I just cannot get on with the HMRS decals, either pressfix or methsfix, so have gone back to my supplier of preference, Fox Transfers, and bought the 'Waterslide' set they do for the M7 loco, which is slightly larger so I'll need to cut things down slightly. Also, they are what I'd call 'double layer' transfers, that is, the Grey outers go on first, varnished, then apply the Red/Cream inners. I recall the fun I had with the lining for the Bulleid "Leader" loco I did in 00 gauge, as that too was double layer, with over 200 individual decal parts as it was a general lining set, some thing they don't appear to do in 0 gauge.
Anyway, here's the state of play so far.

 

Platforms will be between 1st and second and second and third track from the left in the first pic, probably a goods dock between third and fourth tracks, maybe half relief buildings between the left hand track and the wall. At the far end, there is a short stub of track from track 3's point which will feed the 3 way point and the tracks from this will go to the engine shed whilst the right hand track extension is just a siding alongside the loco shed, maybe coal/ash/water siding. The single track goes round the curve towards the other side of the garage, this layout will depend on space available as the length from the back wall of the garage is only 2.35 metres, and has not been started yet. All the points have a 3mm cork backing to bring them up to the same level as the Marcwaytrack. Here's the view from t'other end.
Keith.

 

In the back corner on the 'long' side is a tall shelving rack, the track actually going through this and round the curve. My intention is to disguise this shelving upright (a bit like 'Dexion') by constructing a 'hillside' around it and taking the single line through a tunnel, emerging on the narrow rear wall 'shelf'. Jury is still out on this at present. This could be fun!
Keith.

 

I decided that I'd try and further the layout by adding the 'wire-in-tube' and point motors as far as possible for the present. Some months ago I bought a pack of 3mm O/D brass tube from China in preparation for this job, so I cut and sorted the required lengths for each of 7 points which are fitted so far. A couple of the distances from point to motor are longer than the supplied tube lengths, so as I have a stock of 2/3/4/5 and 6mm tube, I cut 1/2" lengths of 4mm O/D tube (which happens to be 3mm I/D) so it just slides over the 3mm ends to be joined, then soldered in the same way as you would with 'end-feed' fittings on 15mm plumbing pipe and fittings. The 'wire' in question is from the coil in my Mig welder (thanks for that tip Pete!). Once the tubes were ready, I marked on each one where to solder on brass sheet brackets to screw the tube in place on the layout, and with that job done, got them fitted into place.

 

Some time ago, I'd bought a few Hattons point motors to add to half a dozen I'd already got in stock, and I've decided to go with these, always assuming that they will do the job. As can be seen, the idea is to keep all the point motors to the 'outside edge' of the layout, drilling through the upstand for the wiring and into the back of the 'minitrunking' which runs around the outer edge. I will then run feed wires to each point motor from a 'yet-to-be-constructed' switch panel sited at the curve at the rear of the garage, this being the mid point on the layout, but until I'm able to complete the remaining layout, the total number of points is as yet unknown so I'll leave the switch panel until then. The midpoint will also be where the layouts power feed is connected in due course, and my intention is to solder 1.5mm copper wire across each rail end thus making the track itself the 'busbar' as I don't want any wiring underneath the layout in case it gets damaged when adding or removing anything from the shelving under the baseboards. Frog switching for each point will be done by microswitch on each point and I have yet to work out the mechanicals of that, but I'll get around to it (A Round Tuit !!) eventually. I will be adding a strip of black Electricians tape over each brass tube where it goes under the tracks to prevent any shorts, though there is a mm or so clearance. Here's a different view of the 'wire-in-tube' setup and you can see the white minitrunking on the outside of the upstand. I will be constructing some 'lineside cabinets' in due course to camouflage the point motors.
Keith.

 

Finally completed the trackwork, though I'm short of fishplates, both metal and insulated, so some dismantling to fit these when available (ie, when model shops open again and I can get over to Marcway) will be needed, but at least the basics are there. I've made up and painted the 'lineside cabinets' which will fit over the point motors, and decided not to stick them in place but to glue a length of 0.9mm brass wire in the front 2 corners of each cabinet, drilling matching holes in the baseboard into which the 2 wires per cabinet will fit, thus securing them in place but leaving them easily removable for point motor adjustment if needed. I had 3 boxes of 10 x 1 yard lengths of track, and am left with half a length, so not a bad 'guesstimate', anyway here's my rough drawing of the trackplan since I've no idea how to draw one on a 'Mac.

 

I now have 4 of the single Tam Valley frog juicers and one of the 'Hex' 6 frog version so that's all 10 sets of points covered (chose this method rather than faff with microswitches), the 3 left-most points at the platform end plus the curved point at the other end will use the single frog juicers whilst the remaining 6 towards the loco shed will be handled by the 'Hex' version. Now I know how many points will be used on the layout, I've ordered switches from China, I already have a CDU for the point motors, and probably next job will be to build a suitable control panel within which I hope to incorporate the 24 volt point motor power supply, the Lenz TR150 5 amp transformer and the Lenz LZV100 control unit. Since it's turned flipping cold again today, I'm staying out of the garage for the time being!
Keith.

 

Hi Gormo.
Yes, that would work, and it's something that hadn't crossed my mind, though I've already covered the tubing under the tracks with Brown pvc electrical tape, a better match for the base colour than the black, but as a retired 'Sparks', as you'd imagine, I have a selection of different coloured tape. It's unlikely to be seen anyway once I ballast the tracks in due course. It does seem to have 'motored along' a bit since I started, but with retirement and lockdown, having previously sourced most of my stuff for the layout, it's been a straightforward job despite a degree of 'making it up as I go along' from the track plan point of view. I have a panel to build (which won't be anywhere near as salubrious as your block signalling cabinets!) to incorporate the power supplies and points switching before I can wire in and test the points, and some fishplates to fit and some to replace (once model shops re-open) since the Peco ones are supposed to fit both 00 and 0 gauge track, but they don't. Once that's done, I can solder in all the individual links between each rail and hopefully then maybe actually run a loco. Plenty to keep me occupied for now.
Keith.

 

Roll on April 12th Pete, then we can organise that!
Keith.