Running test #1

This past weekend, back from holiday, I reached a long-awaited milestone. Click below for the evidence!



This is a vindication of all the work that has gone before, showing (a) that the trackbeds are level enough to support smooth running, and (b) that the mainline gradients are manageable. Although it has to be said, as far as (b) is concerned, that this is not the most stringent test. The test train, a Hornby class 101, is a small unit with a relatively good motor; I have yet to try the test with a longer loco-hauled train. And I also need to try the branch line, where perhaps the gradients are more challenging. I will do both of these things before going any further with construction. But, so far so good.

A work in progress

This is a brief post to check in before going off on holiday. Last weekend I did a bit more in the loft, finalising the F1 sidings and putting down the first of the cork underlay on B1l.















The above shows B1 with the lid off and the underlay on. Also shown is one of my Peco setrack points with point motor attached. Every point that goes down on the lower level will need one of these motors before the lid goes on for good.















And here is F1 with the top sidings finished (and B1 removed as in the above photo).















And finally, here is B1 with the lid on (at least temporarily) showing where the lower track will join onto B2. On B1 all the bolt holes have been drilled and the top board attaches nicely to the frame. B1 is the first board that has to come out when moving the layout and it's a bit of a fiddle (as I discovered on Saturday when I had to extract it for this work) so I may have to strengthen the frame a tad more.

When I'm back from holiday I will try to run a layout test and see whether I can get a train all the way round the circuit. Watch this space...

Nearly time to hang up the spirit level

Today the last of the trackbeds went in. It completes the branch line loop round to the station, and adds some sidings on F1. That completes the track bed construction - although I still have some tweaking to do, as always!
















The level area will house a small depot (for freight or locos, I'm not sure yet). The curving trackbed to the right is the branch line that climbs up from its wiggle through the mainline supports.

The level board is the closest this layout comes to the construction method I used on the old portable layout (see this post). The surface is 6mm MDF, which is not ideal but is what I had left (all the plywood has been used or cut up). It is well supported by the timber frame, and won't ever have high-speed traffic, so should be OK. It's not fixed yet but there are enough surfaces in good contact to make that a simple task next time I'm up in the loft.

Here's a slightly wider shot of the same area showing the station throat as well:
















I have also spent some time tidying the loft and organising the "bits and pieces" that I am gradually acquiring - including, most recently, a consignment of nuts and bolts for fixing the baseboard tops to the frames along the back.

Next up, a continuation of the first fix...

Progress... but not entirely as we know it

I did make some more progress this weekend, although (for various reasons to do with faulty boilers and a car in need of a new door) not as much as I'd have liked.















The branch line now meets up with its access point to the storage sidings. I still have to add the track bed round to the station on B1; that will be the last piece of track bed construction that's required.

And so to the first fix. Below is a close-up of the junction between B1 and B2, showing the bolts that secure the top board to the frame. A lot more of this to come.














And here's an overview of the entire construction so far:

The first fix

I've decided that the next few weeks are going, of necessity, to be a bit boring. Boring, at least, from the pictorial point of view. Before I can lay any track, I need to give the framework and baseboards a "first fix", i.e. a thorough going over to make sure that everything is level, solid and safe. This means countersinking all the trackbed screws, tweaking the levels at the section joins, and fixing the top boards to the frame on the back sections.

Today I began the first-fix process by working on board B1; here is the result:














Comparison with a previous shot of this section in this post shows the new cross-bracing added today, along with the white fix-it blocks that will hold the top board in place. This section is now ready to have its top board added. I want to make the top boards detachable if possible, as I still worry about having to get at the tracks below for cleaning, re-railing or whatever.

It's nice to revisit these back sections, having not done anything with them for several weeks while I've been concentrating on the front sections. I sometimes wonder whether I am merely putting off the track-laying by finding things to do; but all this work is necessary and if I don't do it now, I would have to do it later and that would be much harder.

Solving the branch line conundrum

My layout plan provides for a branch line: it has an approach to the station, and an access point to the storage sidings. But until today I had no clear idea how these two ends were going to join up. At first I thought the branch line should cross over the main line on a bridge. This would look good and add interest to the model; however, the track plan for this required too many over-steep gradients (maybe even a helix, which is not really practical in the available space). So the branch line has instead to cross under the main line and somehow weave between the network of feeder tracks on its way from the station to the storage sidings.

Here is my solution:














The photo shows boards F3 and F4 (as well as my new Hornby 2009 wagon, purchased today!). All of the branch line track in the above photo will be covered by scenery: the line will emerge from a tunnel portal just to the left of the photo, and climb up and round to the station. At the top right there will also be a short section of uncovered branch track - just before it dives under the main station boards - to provide a bit of "watch for the train" interest!

The curves in the "buried" section are tight - all 1st radius - which will limit the rolling stock that can use this line. But for light freight and DMU movements it will be fine. I have cut the track bed but have not fixed it down yet. It winds its way through the main line supports and I will only need to move one support to provide enough clearance.

I am relieved to have solved this. More construction to follow: the last bits of track bed are about to go down.

Completing the circuit

A major milestone today: on a sweltering hot afternoon in the loft, I completed the inner and outer loops. It should now be possible to run a train all the way round the main circuit (although I've not tested this yet).















The final linking sections took some work, as I had to get the levels and alignments exactly right, but on the whole it looks pretty good. My work rate today was slower than usual because of the heat (far warmer than it was outside - the loft absorbs and retains heat rather well). But I have reached the point I wanted to reach by the end of today.

Here are some close-ups of the two linking sections:















The long gap in the above photo will be the bridge mentioned in a previous post. I have removed some of the framework to allow me to put in a lowered section when the time comes to add scenery.















Note the double-slip crossover in the above. The hanging track to the left is the start of the branch line.





























The time for laying track is fast approaching, but there are a few bits of tidying up and levelling to be done. I hope to avoid these dragging on as I really want to get started on the railway rather than the construction. And I also have some news about the branch line: more on that in the next post.