Lightwood
A second venture into TT
Some features I wanted
to incorporate were: - Stick to TT, a perfect size, neither too big nor too small. - Automation, at least of trains running round the main line. This would
provide a perfect opportunity to combine my interests in model railways and
computers and – if I ever got to exhibit the layout – release me from
continuous manual operation. - Lightest possible construction for portability. - Avoidance of as many constructional chores as possible (it’s supposed
to be fun after all). - Possibly build two layouts in one, with continental 1:120 and British
1:100 trains and buildings interchangeable on 12mm gauge track. Going continental
Light and
easy construction
As I wanted a layout as light as possible for easy dismantling and carrying, I decided to forgo the conventional chipboard and two by one, and went for balsa baseboards covered with polystyrene sheet and supported by lightweight ¾ in. square legs. Hence the cunning name of the layout, though it doesn’t sound as good when translated into something European. Any ideas, anyone? Balsa is extremely
easy to drill, cut and saw (but did you know it’s classed as a hardwood?) The downside is of course robustness. Balsa is remarkably strong for
its weight but the layout would probably have crumpled if a large person had
leaned heavily on it or blown away if someone had switched on a hair dryer at
full blast. Balsa is also a little
expensive. It cost £77.50 for about 23 square feet in pieces 4in. wide and
3/4in. thick. The layout was about 8
feet long and 27 inches wide at the ends. It was made in three sections, joined
by wooden dowels and a couple of bolts, for fitting in the back of a hatchback
to carry to all those exhibitions I had in mind, that is, a) if I got asked and
b) if I could ever be bothered to dismantle it.
Scenics
“A model railway should
look as if it has been built into the landscape and not the other way round”. Well, I’m sure those
words of wisdom are right and proper, but I just designed the track plan, laid
the track, sorted out the electrics then added the scenics. I don’t have the
patience to do lots of carefully sculpted hills, trees and valleys, so my
predominantly industrial layout is almost as flat as a pancake. But it does
have a nice sprinkling of different shades of grassy earth. Auhagen have a feast
of 1:120 and 1:100 scale building kits and scenic items. I ordered a selection
direct from For the record, the
kits I made are: two-road engine shed, Hagenau
station, sawmill, loading bays, signal box, admin building, an old-style house
and some half-relief warehouses and shops for the backscene. Track and
Electrics
Ease of construction
is another reason I used Peco flexitrack and points throughout (apart from a
few lengths of 3mm Society track in sidings when I ran out). Laying this is a
cinch, and the points are self-isolating and eliminate frog polarity wiring –
though I unwittingly signed the death-knell for my Tri-ang wheels, which won’t
go through the frog on the curved Peco turnouts. The track was fixed
with N gauge track pins through tiny holes drilled into the sleepers at roughly
six-inch intervals. The pins pressed very easily into the balsa beneath. I
didn’t use any glue to fix the track so it could be taken up easily. Some of the track was
angled or curved at baseboard joins, which you are strongly advised against –
but I seem to have got away with it. What did prove to be a problem was the reverse curves incorporating curved turnouts – a
recipe for derailments and I wasn’t disappointed.
Electrics is one aspect
of railway modelling I’m perfectly happy with so you won’t find any comments
here to the effect that it’s some kind of black art best performed by the club
warlock. There are eleven track sections. The layout of the sidings and
position of the baseboard joins dictated six main feeds, with the points
providing some of the isolation needed. Contact between the
baseboard and control panel was via plug-together terminal blocks. I decided on a simple
colour code for the wiring: blue for track feed, brown for track return, and
white for turnout motors and loco sensors. Points and
Point Operation
There were 13 sets of
Peco electrofrog points, four of them motorised with either Seep or Peco point
motors and computer-operated. The rest were operated by piano wire bent at a
right angle under the baseboard and stuck into the ends of wooden dowels for
push-pull operation from the front of the layout. AutomationAfter researching a number of options, I bought electronic hardware and software components from US-based CTI Electronics. When connected to a PC or laptop, these enable automatic train detection, throttle control, block control and turnout and signal operation.
I built in a manual override for the main line just in case of mishaps. Turntable
The turntable deck was
made of balsa with plastic handrails, and manually operated from underneath by
a Meccano handle and gear mechanism. I had plans to motorise it and automate it
with CTI…but the layout didn’t last long enough. Uncouplers
These were made from
plastikard ramps operated from underneath by Slippery Sid, a flexible
wire-in-tube arrangement. I wanted something compatible with both Tri-ang and
Tillig couplings and these worked very well. Operation
Generally I’m happy to
sit and watch a nice rake of coaches or wagons glide round the main line. But
with a station, engine shed, sawmill, loading bays, turntable, goods sidings,
two passing loops and headshunt, all worked by five locos, there must have been
a lot going on while I wasn’t there. |
