FULL SIZE PLANNING

 Maudetown's new baseboard gets track.

Use of a 3-way point and short diamond crossing allow more track to fit into the space. It's all Code 75 Peco for the 'OO' trackwork, with Code 55 'N' for the narrow gauge line. 

As mentioned the other day, I've been working on reorganising my shed to finally free up enough room to allow me to work on my layout projects in some degree of comfort. There's still much to do, but at least I have more space now than at any point in the last 3 years! I've also been out and bought the necessary track and points for Maudetown's extension and the trackplan has now been finalised and set-out full size to make sure it all fits.

The track on the first baseboard will have to be modified slightly, with the short stub siding (currently used as a watering/servicing point for locomotives) soon to become a through line, linking up with the lower of the 3 standard gauge lines visible above (on the left hand side). This will allow locos to run-round their trains while allowing a rake of loaded and empty wagons to stand in both sidings. Loco facilities will be relocated to the two small sidings on the right.

The narrow gauge line, also complete with short run-round loop, will enter the foreground, emerging from a low relief building on the extreme right. I'm using N gauge track rather than OO9 on grounds of cost (I already had the track and points) and, besides, I aim to sink the rails into deep ash ballast. I had thought of using 'HO'/'N' dual gauge cross-overs, as suggested by a reader of this Blog some months back, but am now not sure - I'm trying to keep this as low-cost as possible, with the wiring kept simple.

Doris (a York Modelmaking kit) and her new train of wagons and brake van try out the narrow gauge system.

The GD layout tower! In the shed, there are 5 layouts stacked rather precariously on top of each other, with Dent Station on the bottom, Maudetown on the top, with a bit of the Egyptian desert somewhere in the middle!