Old Head

[Nestor]

Good Morning all

Being new to the forum (and by extension, the society as well), I thought I should get round to making the time to start a thread to chart the progress of my new (very) small layout. This will be my first go at building anything to P4 standards. Not being one to make life easy for myself, it's going to be based on the Irish Broad Gauge (5'3") which, as I'm sure you are all well aware, comes to 21mm in 4mm.
The layout will also act as my entry into the MRC's layout challenge. The rules of the challenge only allow the builder 4 foot by 1 foot inclusive of fiddle yard. the idea I've come up with is more of a scenic diorama than a model railway. However, once completed it will act as the first section of a larger project. The plan is the most simple I could think up; the very end of a very long siding. I've attached some photos of where I am at the moment. This is essentially just checking the plan using templot templates to make sure it all fits okay etc.
You'll have to excuse my rather messy "planning" of the land around the track...

IMG_5935.JPG

IMG_5932.JPG

I'll post some info about the actual railway is based on and my own little history of the line either later today or tomorrow

Nestor

[pheald]

Irish prototypes are very different from UK so interesting idea.Look forward to news of progress.

[Nestor]

I should say at this point that progress will be pretty intermittent due to work and other commitments but I shall try to keep this updated as much as possible...

Nestor

[Ian Everett]

The layout will also act as my entry into the MRC's layout challenge.

Nestor

First of all, welcome to the "club" of small layout builders. It's the right way to go, especially if you can incorporate it into a bigger project later. Which is maybe why there are so many small layout initiatives at the moment. If you fit a couple of turnouts it would also comply with the Scalefour Society's Standard Gauge Workbench initiative.

And then there's the EM gauge 5ft challenge...

It's good to see something which will be a bit out of the ordinary!

Best wishes, Ian

[Nestor]

Turnouts will be included much later on the "grand" extension later on in the year after this initial bit is built. I'm still finalising a trackplan for that though. I want to get confident enough that I can build a layout that will actually allow trains to run on it before I start anything really huge and turnout filled.

Essentially, watch this space in the future!

Nestor

[Terry Bendall]

I want to get confident enough that I can build a layout that will actually allow trains to run on

I am sure you can. It is not really that difficult - just a bit of care, and use of track gauges should produce a successful result. Get something moving with perhaps a bit of scenery and bring it to Scaleforum.

Terry Bendall

[Nestor]

The arrival yesterday of some plywood sleepers means the beginning is not too far away now. Just need some chairs and all systems go on the track building front.

I've also started on a small building for the layout of which I will post some photos over the weekend hopefully/probably.
This is all terribly exciting for me as pretty much everything will be a first on this project.

Getting something running will take a little time longer as I need to build some stock. The discovery of one loco kit suitable for the period and location will speed this up slightly. The same company also produces a couple of MGWR wagons which will do nicely for what I'll need.

More to follow
Nestor

[Nestor]

Work continues...

Quick question before I post a longer update tomorrow, what kind of solvent would people recommend for fixing chairs to plywood sleepers? If PVA works then terrific but I can't imagine it will

Cheers
Nestor

[RobM]

I've always used Butanon. It's a solvent applied around the chair and sleeper. It melts the plastic sufficiently 'pulling' a small amount down into the solvent soaked plywood giving a good bond. PVA…….don't think it would be recommended….
Rob

[David Thorpe]

Another vote for Butanone (aka MEK). It's what C&L recommend for use on their chairs and sleepers, and certainly it's worked well for me firmly fixing plastic chairs to plywood sleepers.

DT

[stevecarr]

Butanone every time but plenty of ventilation!

[Will L]

Butanone every time but plenty of ventilation!

Spoil sport.

While irritating to eyes and nose, Butanone it isn't usually consider harmful, although caution is recommender "because of reports of neuropsychological effects".

I wouldn't go pouring it on a fire but it is only a flammable vapour at concentrations too irritating to tolerate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone

[stevecarr]

I usually find it gives me a headache. Perhaps it was the beer after all!

[JFS]

Another vote for Butanone (aka MEK). It's what C&L recommend for use on their chairs and sleepers, and certainly it's worked well for me firmly fixing plastic chairs to plywood sleepers.

DT

Fully agree - but just to mention that Slater's MEKpak is NOT MEK (AKA Butanone) - it used to be but it isn't any more, and, whatever it is, it will not stick chairs to ply wood sleepers!

Cheers,

[John Duffy]

Butanone every time but plenty of ventilation!

I wouldn't go pouring it on a fire but it is only a flammable vapour at concentrations too irritating to tolerate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone

I would definitely not recommend pouring on a fire and would treat it with great care as the statement above is not strictly true. The explosive limit of Butanone is 1.8 to 11.5% volume in air, so a mixture that is too rich (probably very irritating to humans) will prevent an explosion, however Butanone is highly flammable at anything over -9C and should not be used near to any open flame, or spark source. Using a slitting disc to cut track near an open bottle for example is certainly not the best idea.

John

[Nestor]

Thanks for the responses guys.
The same has been recommended by those outside this forum as well so it seems logical to go with that.
I'll see if my nearest craft shop has any otherwise i'll order it from C&L.

Nestor

[Nestor]

afternoon all

I haven't any photos to accompany this post as I don't think there isn't anything visually interesting to show yet.
I've started laying the outside rail on the layout. I've quickly learnt that Butanone really does not smell good. Using it next to two open windows makes it somewhat more bearable. I certainly won't drinking any anytime soon...

I'm waiting on the arrival of two kits from Studio Scale Models (an Irish company). The first is a kit of the MGWR E class. This was a small tank locomotive that was used over much of the system both before and after the grouping into the Great Southern Railways. In my opinion, this is a very attractive locomotive and I'm looking forward to having a crack at it. The second kit is of a relatively uninteresting convertible wagon.

More to follow in the coming days hopefully

Nestor