Laying Cork and Track - Nathans Point

Nathans Point station is the 0.00km mark on my layout which is a bit unconventional since most terminus locations are the end of the line.  Well, this is the start of the line in my book and it is also where I am starting the track laying.  While the layout isn't a TOMA, I intend on working on Nathans Point (all 8m of it) until we have fully operational track and maybe a bit of scenery.  

I have been laying 3mm cork, cut from a 1220mm wide roll.  A good straight edge and a sharp box-cutter knife are essential.  I am using a piece of aluminium angle as the straight edge which is the perfect width for HO scale trackbed.  

Nathans Point arrives as a single mainline and splits into three tracks (main, loop and grain).  The end of these sidings is a couple of sets of crossovers to allow cross over movements.  The main moves are for the passenger service to come off the main and run into the platform.  Off the loop end is the intermodal terminal.  

The main is designed to be a dead end, but I will build a bridge across the doorway for continuous running at times.  It won't come out for operating sessions, but will be good to get some kays under the belt of new wagons and locos before they go on the roster.  

So far I have laid a few metres of track and the 5 turnouts at the southern end of the yard.  The photos show the intended use of the sidings.  

I still need to install and wire up some tortoises for the crossovers, but that shouldn't take too long.  

Things are progressing well!

Layout Planning - Nathans Point

A few photos of layout planning from last week.  The first one is a pano of the layout shed, then a few shots of Nathans Point (along the wall), and a coupld of shots of an SSR at Heidiville (the penisular).

Enjoy!

The New Nathan's Point

It has been along time between posts, and I have been happily focused on my prototype blog Rollingstock News for the past few years, although I am very keen to get back into the modelling.  

Since my last post, the old Wills St layout was set up, powered, and the mainlines were operated on DCC for a couple of years.  The round and round nature of the exhibition layout didn't really fill the void for me, so I was more than happy to part with it to a fellow modeller down the coast who I believe has it set up and operating in DCC. 

With my shed having been empty for more than 12 months, I decided I needed to get cracking while I had  a chance.  Over the January 2018 period I managed to complete all the benchwork in the shed, and then life got busy again, so everything went on the backburner for a while.  

In the last week I have taken delivery of a large roll of cork and a lot of track and points, with the intention of commencing track laying in August.

I intend on going back a posting details about my benchwork, but for now, as as introduction, below are a few present day photos of the shed and layout planning.

An overall shot of the layout shed from the access door.  Length is 9.8m and width is about 3.8m.  The bottom right is the terminus Nathans Point and the far left wall is the main yard terminal of Jonestown.  With the large peninsular, mainline runs are nice and long.  

A bit of planning for the grain receival terminal at Jonestown.  The mainline will come around the wall and loop into Jonestown Yard in the foreground.  Grain trains will need to be broken up into smaller portions to be unloaded, similar to what happens at Graincorp Carrington.

The terminal of Nathans Point with a small intermodal terminal on the edge and a simple country platform against the wall.  A removable bridge will be built to allow continuous running at times, but is not part of the operational plan.  

The town of Nathans Point, with a mainline, loop, and grain loop.  The layout is designed for trains of about 4m in length as a maximum.  Modern era trains will feature prominently on the layout, especially SSR and PN.  

Enjoy!

Progress!

It has been a while since I last posted on this Blog - progress has been pretty slow but I did take some photos recently inside the shed. 

 

Down one side I have a selection of number boards which I have legally aquired through my job or swapped or purchased from others. 

 

The other side has 12 of my photos taken in the Southern Highlands between Bargo and Burradoo.

 

I recently had 6 x double batten flouros installed (as well as power) and the shed is a whole lot nicer now! 

 

As I may have mentioned in earier posts, I am converting an old layout from DC to DCC.  Essentially I've cut back all the wiring to just the droppers and have run a then connected these to two bus wires.  I'm not sure if I will run a DCC bus around the layout as I have put an aerial on a roof span and all my throttles are wireless.

 

So far I have rewired the three section fiddle yard and the farm (Rick's Rock) section.  I have left the frogs unpowered for now but do have a Hex Frog Juicer to try out.  I am also working on a suitable manual turnout control arrangement for the fiddle yard as there are about 30 points all up and I'm not keen on wiring up Tortoises.  The fiddle yard desparately needs a backdrop to give it some depth.

 

The plan is to get the main line operable before Christmas.  Easier said than done as I have removed about 1 meter from the width of the layout at both ends, meaning I need to carry out major surgury to connect the main lines from the fiddle yard to the display sections.   

 

A job that will be done soon is the facia repaint - into Wisconsin Central maroon!

 

Stay tuned... 

 

 

 

 

 

My New Shed

Wills St has been in storage for over 11 months now, and finally it has a home. 

Time for a new shed (Train Room!)

This week has seem the demolition of the existing shed - which was no good for model trains due to rodents, damp, and vegetation. 

A new 4m x 12m shed will be going up later this month, with fully insulated walls and roof, and walls lined with plywood.

Once that is finished, it will be time to move in Wills St. 

The New Shed

Things have finally settled down after moving and I am getting quotes for a new shed (aka Train Room).

WIth site constraints the best I am going to do is 4m wide by 10m long.  This will fit Wills st length ways, but it looks like I might be taking a metre or so off the width.

The plans for the shed include full insulation and plywood internal walls.

Cheers

Chris