As I have promised in the intro, this is not just a blog about one layout, it will be the umbrella for quite a few. I don't have the room to put in a massive layout, the cars have to stay in the garage, that is not negotiable. The December 2018 hailstorm in Berowra decided that.
So small layouts are the way to go, and exhibition ones at that. Engaging with other people at exhibitions is a great thing, having an excuse to be there all day is fantastic (and the next day).
I decided for my first one of these to use all the Hornby stuff that I have had floating around for so long and I wanted to do a kid-friendly layout that would fit in the car, not the trailer yet.
A shunting layout was going to be the thing, since most exhibitions have a round-roundy already, this would be something different.
I decided to do a timesaver layout as it looked interesting and offered lots of possibilities.
The layout space I had would be 2 modules each 1 metre long by 1/2 a metre wide. This would then be able to fit into my car, a sedan, one piece in the boot and one across the back seat. It might also be possible to stack them and have them both in the boot.
Legs would be low and would use saw-horses. These are the right height for kids, fold into the boot and are quite stable. They are also useful at other times.
I have designed a system of buttons, levers and raising plates to uncouple the wagons at strategic spots, rather than using commercial products. These levers would be fitted to ribs of the base board to act as strength pieces.
Overall weight is to be kept low, i used 6 or 7mm marine ply nailed and glued to frames of 42x19mm pine, a well used method by others. The nail guns makes light and quick work of this.
This layout has a name keeping with my system of naming after Trig stations around Berowra. It is called Gundah Junction.
No comments:
Post a Comment