Tomlins Creek ..... A NSWGR Inglenook

I didn't say which Saturday....

Yesterday afternoon I knocked up the base board... I only used one 1200 x 600mm x 3mm sheet of MDF for the surface, 3 x lengths of 1800 x 42 x 19mm pine for the frame. Total cost of the baseboard and 30mm insulation foam = $27.00 (£15.45).



I predrilled two holes in the base board frame to pass the bus wire through. You will notice a lip on the front edge of the base board. That is there to protect the three wire handles for the points (wire in tube) and also protect the NCE PCP (power cab panel).

This morning before I headed off to work I secured the 30mm insulation foam, so it would be ready to lay the track out on. One 1200 x 600 sheet was all I needed as I cut the sheet into three 400mm x 600mm pieces and fixed it down with Gorilla Glue.



I started laying the track out onto the board this afternoon to see how it fits... The track is all second hand from a previous layout (Kelly Bray). Oh, you'll notice that the kick back siding has been moved to the front of the layout, not at the back as in the plan.



...and from the pic above and below, you can see that it fits quite nicely, with rolling stock and loco !



An old Powerline or Trax MHG guards van sits with a BDX bogie open wagon and an old 4 wheel, K wagon. In the foreground is 4 x FRH bogie fertilizer hoppers. You can see that I can fit five easily into that siding, no worries at all. I'm going to need buffer stops as I don't want to attempt the 'Toto Flying Machines...'



Next up will be tracing the track out and sculpturing the land form. I wish to have some variations in the land forms with the drainage ditch, railway cutting, raised track profile, in some areas and some reasonably flat, but slightly sloping ground...

More as it happens.

Cheers, Gary.

 

I'll be using long pins to locate the track in it's final resting place and glue the track to the surface using PVA. For wire in tube, I use 1mm diameter welding rods (wire) for the point movements. This will be fed through some fine plastic tubing, most probably RC car aerial tube, which will be glued to the bottom of the base board.

As for the vinyl collection, I have a few hundred albums in my collection. I like to play an album on the mornings of weekend. In a matter of fact, last Sunday I was listening to Stevie Wonder's album Original 'Musiquarium 1', followed by Queen, 'A Night At The Opera'...

Speaking of Led Zeppelin, I took my boys to see 'Thor Ragnarok' a few weeks back, now my youngest son likes 'Immigrant Song'...!

Cheers, Gary.

 

Missed your post last night Chris..

I do have the space for an extra inch or two of track, no problem there. The lead is a little longer than what I expected so I can also move the track further to the left if required.

Cheers, Gary.

 

Thanks Chris, the tank wagons are beautifully detailed indeed. Yes they will become an issue with the 5-3-3 siding lengths, but hey, it throws another spanner into the mix !

Cheers, Gary.

 

OK, in regards to Chris's concerns about siding length due to the three new tank cars I purchased (see here : http://p1mrc.com/p1mrc/view_topic.php?id=2516&forum_id=31), I slid the track to the left and reduced the lead in by 60mm. This has allowed me to gain the extra 60mm on the right hand end of the layout, which means now I can add an extra 105mm of track to the sidings and allow for comfortable placement of all rolling stock.



The lead in is still ample in length and I have a spare 40mm between the first right hand curved point and the end of the lead (behind the loco in the pic below).



Cheers, Gary.

 

...and it ain't going to beat me either !

Cheers, Gary.

 

We Aussies just like to push the boundaries and do something a little more difficult than the norm Ed !!

As they say, "if it you build it, we can break it.., if you can rebuild it, we'll just make it better..."

Cheers, Gary.

 

Started the build on the trestle road bridge...

I'm using balsa wood for this build, which means it will not be 100% accurate to dimensions, but most aussie modellers will recognise the style of bridge. I have only seen this type of bridge modeled 90 degrees to the railway track, but I have put a twist on my bridge



Chris will know what the individual parts are for...



Slowly, slowly it will become a bridge...

Cheers, Gary.

 

I'm only using PVA for this build and thought about touching it up after painting/staining with a little super glue, if it requires it.

Cheers, Gary.

 

This morning I have glued down the track using PVA. The red lines on the baes board is the alignment for the track, not the black lines.



When squeezing out PVA, make sure the lid is on tight and there are no cracks in it either !



I pre dug a section of the board for the low trestle or culvert. Much to hard to do once the track is fixed down ! Thumb tacks temporarily hold the track down in alignment.



Last of all, weigh it all down !



That's all for now...

Cheers, Gary.