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.uk.

END.

To Part 1.