February Website Cover

The Misterton Station Master checks the time of arrival of an up stopping passenger train hauled by an aging N15 locomotive.

View the cover here.

A Model Railway - Fiddle Yard

The options are i) a fan out of fixed track from the single line of the layout (not space efficient) ii) a sliding traverser comprising several tracks (complicated construction) iii) portable cassettes.

I opted for cassettes simply because I already had some spare from a previously scrapped layout.

The existing cassettes are two road but, a three or four road may be better for this layout. Simply made from hardboard and softwood frame with track glued down using  Aleene's tacky glue. The open softwood frame is joined to the scenic board with hinge and removable pin, as before.

Track connection is a successful method I previously used. Copper clad sleepers are soldered to the end of the rails. Copper tubes* are soldered to each end of the sleepers. Lengths of mains copper wire are pushed into the tubes for both alignment and electrical connection.

*The tube was formed by holding the mains copper wire against the copper strip in a vice, bending the copper strip around the wire and then repositioning to bend a bit more and so on until the tube was formed. A tag was retained for soldering to the copper clad sleepers.

The train controller connecting wires have croc. clips on the end, which are simple clipped to the far end of the cassette track currently in use.

This completes the basic operational model railway layout, which took about 2 months of spare time to build (not including railway buildings). Fine detailing, like platform lamps and benches etc. can now be applied.

A track mat template upon which to lay track and scenery for this model railway is available from January 2019 at http://www.amodelrailway.co.uk.

END.

To Part 1.

A Model Railway - Hidden Exit

The transition from scenic layout to bare fiddle yard needs to be disguised. Common ways to do this are a tunnel, bridge, buildings or vegetation. I have opted for vegetation as being the most realistic scene for the open countryside section of the layout. Second choice would be an over bridge but, as a road is already close by then that would be overkill. A tunnel would not work here because, to be realistic, a steep and tall hill side above the tunnel mouth would be necessary.

 

Trees and shrubs are sprigs of dead Yarrow and Sedum flower heads joined together with PVA glue. The plants retain tightly bunched small flower heads when the plant dies back in Autumn. These give the appearance of leaves so, scatter sprinkling is not necessary. The brown 'leaves' of the assembled trees and shrubs are sprayed with green acrylic paint.

For a step by step guide to making trees from Yarrow or Sedum click here.

To Part 15.

To Part 1.