Time to catch up.

I am so far behind with this blog I am ashamed to say but I am back here to make make up some time. I'll try and keep the next few posts short as I can so I can catch up to where I am with the build.

Moving on past the window I started marking and putting up battens around the next wall. As I have been buying timber in 2.6 metre lengths I needed to bring the supports for the next section closer so as to span it. I used the same box sections as I did everywhere else in both corners with a leg for support.

The first support on the next wall I secured between two bookcases. Once this was done I could then hang the long shelves between the corner units.

Then once I was happy with the position of the first shelf I hung the top two making sure they were narrower so viewing of the bottom shelf wouldn't be compromised. I then put the angles in at the corners.

I then moved to the next wall and put up the battens again. This is the wall where the bookcases are and I put a support for the bottom shelf between each one for the stability of the shelf but mainly for the stability of the bookcases as had to remove the tops of them so I would be able to get under the lower shelf for wiring. The main upright support for all three shelves at the far end I attached to the outside of the far right bookcase.

At this point I used the same box units as everywhere else only a lot narrower to span the window. The upper two I used smaller sections of timber. The result does brutalise the window somewhat, but this is now well and truly a model railway layout room and not somewhere to put flowers on the window cill and stare out into the garden :0)

I've since painted the outside facing and underneath of the window sections in a dark brown paint as they were very obvious from the outside. This has made them very much disappear.

Big boys don't cry but they do have tiers.

I'm on the verge of going out and getting more wood for the build, so before I do I better get this blog up to date.
After the uprights were secure I installed battens to support joists for the 2nd and 3rd tiers.

These are as level and as balanced as I could get them as they are for the most part, making sure the joists are level. I then marked out and cut the Gussets for the joist support out of quarter inch plywood. 12 for the main joists and 4 shorter ones for the end of peninsula support. All my cutting has been done on my Black and Decker Workmate in the garage as to keep the dust down in the room and rest of the house. 

Each gusset was glued, clamped in place and screwed.

At this point I needed a reminder that all this work is ultimately for N scale Trains so I had an evening of laying out some track and putting some trains down to get a sense of space and size.

After each joist was cut to it's own correct length, it was glued, clamped, levelled and screwed into position. most of the main joists are supports for both sides of the upper decks so are very well balanced.

Then came time for the end of the peninsula. As these joists were not being balanced on the other side I had to make sure they were supported adequately. This lead me to the double joist arrangement. Two gussets plus screws though the last joist gave plenty of strength to both cantilevered lash up.

At this point I was out of wood and money. Time to plan my next stage and save some pennies.

I will end this post again reiterating how much fun this build has been so far. The results on first glance seem complicated, but as this is my first ever carpentry project of any kind I am having to keep it simple as I hope you can see. My only regret is that I hadn't done years ago. 

The signs are good and my benchwork so far, point to a happy man.

Divided it stands.

Once I had installed an old dining table into the corner to use as a modelling table, I was at the point where I was itching to get on with construction, I cut joists to length and laid them on the base units to see what it might look like.

I then put some very basic box frames together at the wall end with some batten timber attached to the wall to give and guide the correct level. I attached the frames to the base units and the walls and then bolted them together. This gave a very strong and sturdy structure.

You can see from the last photograph, gaps to the wall, but this is the dry lining wall that is out and not the frame. I have never found a completely square house.

Next I put a frame to the door. This was a little more involved as it tapers down to the door frame but no more complicated than cutting a few different sized joists and screwing them in place where they fitted.

Next was the return to the window. Once I had it glued and screwed I located it on the level batten and attached it to the wall. I put a 3x2 leg at the window end for support, as from here it will span the window over the radiator so needs to be secure. I will have to put a floor to ceiling  leg here later, to support the upper two decks as well.  I also added 45degree sections to round out the inside corners for support for the eventual facia.

I was at this point I looked at it from a point of view of putting my Terminus station and village on it. The peninsula is 11'x4' at it's widest and I had a feeling that this might be to open for what I had in mind. I then put out a question on the Model Rail Radio Facebook page. Which might be better, open or divided ?

The general consensus was overwhelming in favour of a scenic divide that would prevent you seeing the whole layout at once and at the same time giving me more track space. I first thought I might keep this to the first level but it soon became apparent to me that if I could gain that much trackage on one level I could do the same for the upper levels as well. So I put the kettle on and thought of ways to achieve this with what I had already constructed.

The use of the base units turned out to be a key factor in this. I could put in upright timbers that attached   to the frames of the units with roughly with 18" centres. I only had to space out two of them that weren't attached to the units but they were to the floor and the other uprights.

It wasn't until this point I fixed, and boxed in the joists for the first deck. A minimum of 1.5 inches overhanging the units was left for hanging curtains to cover the lower shelves and storage. This overall gives a very strong and very secure base. Each joist is attached to the framing and the base units with screws, also to the uprights where possible.

The divided peninsula has the disadvantage of me having to replace and relocate the room lighting but the room always needed more light anyway so no major problem there. I will finish this post here to keep it from being too long but I will add that all the wood I've used here is machined dimensional  wood bought in packs from B&Q which is a large hardware retailer here in the UK. I plan on a separate post giving wood and screw sizes and also tools used but I've not collated that yet.

Next I'll describe the process I went through to install the second and third decks of the peninsula but until then happy modelling.

It's been a long time.

Forgive me, but it has been a long time since my last post. My wife got the job she was after in Chester and we have now moved from Swindon to just outside Wrexham in North Wales, which for trains is fantastic, especially Narrow Gauge. But more of that on another post.

Moving house takes up a lot of time. We had to sell our old house, find and buy a new one, find a new school for our son. Pack. Un pack. Decorate ( before and after we moved ). I even tried fixing a squeaky floorboard in our new house the day before we were due to have the new carpet. Unfortunately i put a screw through the central heating pipe on the landing and flooded the newly decorated hall downstairs. I had to decorate again :0)
All this keeps you from modelling. The worst of it was that it kept me from starting work on my new Layout room.  I now have a room that is 15 feet by 9 which would be a bedroom in anyone else's house. It has a heating, power and plenty of light from the large window.
As we were unpacking boxes, I put the empty ones in the layout room so I could get a feel for where I could put the benchwork and how much space that would leave me. I tried several different ways of laying it out, finally settling on a long central peninsular. 

I drew a 2D plan which I posted on the Model Rail Radio Facebook page and almost immediately one of the UK members there,Tom C-UK, came back with a fantastic 3D rendering of it, which is pretty close to what it will look like when it's done but with one more deck than shown.

I rigged up a couple of old book cases and adjusted the shelves to get a better idea of the levels of the three decks and how they would be viewed on completion. Deck 1 at 40 inches, deck 2 at 54 inches

 and deck 3 at 66 inches.

I stripped the carpet out and painted the walls, ceiling and most of the woodwork white.

Then I was ready to start.

Along with all the equipment that is needed for a model railway I also have all the gear that made up my recording studio back in Swindon,  along with books and more books. So to store all this gear I opted to base the foundation of my peninsular on Kitchen units. These come on a verity of sizes and all have 5 fully adjustable legs each.

The Guitars by the way are now hanging on the wall on the Landing. Once I had these built I could arrange them as I wanted and get them perfectly level. Coach bolts were used to secure them together and make a very solid whole. I then put in what was an old extendable dinning table as a modelling bench.

This is the point where I am ready to start the wood work. So as to keep my posts as short as I can, I will stop here and carry on the story in the next post. It has been a very long time coming but I cannot tell you how much fun I am having with this project. I'm now off to buy some more wood ;0)

My Plan.

   When you've waited Fifty years to do something, ideas stack up. It's not that I want everything you understand, but just as much as I can fit in. I have acquired an interest in many Railway prototypes over the years and have deliberatly stayed away from even more. My plan is to have four layouts on three levels. Conventional wisdom suggests that you start small and hone your skills, but I fear I would run out of time before I got anywhere near all the things I would like to cover.

    My four layouts will be English, Japanese, Swiss and American. The Japanese and Swiss linked on the same level, where Catenary and snow will bring a common feel to the scenery. I have always imagined my layout to be a round the room affair, so why not go all the way around the room three times.

     Picking a UK location has bothered for many years as there is so much to choose from and location will always dictate what you can run.  I have chosen to cheat a little and model a Heritage railway. Here in the UK we have an ever growing number of Heritage lines all of which have their own feel and flavour. Check  out heritage-railways.com to get a feel for the amount there are and the areas they're located. 

    The premise in my head is that there is a very lucky chap (Me) who got lucky on the Euro Millions Lotto and has built his own Railway with his winnings. It's located close to an existing Main Line so anything current can be seen rolling by and Gives a physical link to make it easy for visiting Locos and Rolling stock to arrive. 

    I'm not alone in this sort of idea. There is a chap in America by the name of Jerry Jacobson. Although he didn't win the lottery he did build his own railway for real,which can be found at ageofsteamroundhouse.com

So with Diesel and Steam Galas happening every weekend I can cover pretty much any UK prototype.

    I have always loved Swiss Trains, starting with the Re4/4. But after visiting Switzerland back in 2008 and traveling everywhere by train, the experience pushed me over the top. It was my wife's idea I should model the Glacier Express and to push that home she bought me the Kato set for my Birthday this year.

My thing for Japanese trains happens when I just look at them. They just seem as if they are from a different world and couple that to my thing for Passenger trains then I'm off. So they have to be included.

Finally American Trains. There is something about the size and power of these great beasts that captivates me. Modern diesels mainly, but also there are the old Named Passenger Trains that get me too. Trying to squeeze the two together might be a stretch even for my imagination but it'll be my layout and what I say might just have to go :0) Having never been to the United States I have no great affinity to any one Line. Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union Pacific and BNSF I tend to see most of so somewhere they all run would be good. Although they were one offs, the Norfolk Heritage liveries really made my eyes pop.

So these are my plans for prototypes and locations. Just saying four layouts on three levels seems over the top but having written this down as a means to explain this to anyone who is interested has confirmed to me that this is the very least I want to achieve. There are many more things to think about as we all know but the foundations in my mind at least, are firm.