Club Roadshow

By the January 2012 London Model Engineering show at the Alexandra Palace in London Adrian had already built a larger Mark 3 version with four 4’ corner sections and four 3’ straights giving an overall size of 14’ x 8’.

Again caravan jacks were used to raise the tracks above the tables (usually provided by the show) and also provide a means of levelling out the layout once assembled.

The club president Richard Hall with his OOLS creations testing the new layout

Significant modifications to this version included:-

· More substantial framing under the edges of the baseboards providing more stability

· Providing. ‘Wings’ for the bolts used to fasten the baseboards together. Again these bolts were fitted in slightly oversized holes so that in conjunction with a hammer (a job right up my street) they could also be used to adjust board positions to ensure accurate track alignment.

The layout had been built at the last minute before the show and as a result the wiring was very much a temporary job

Over the course of the three day show we also discovered that the track alignment adjustment idea worked well enough initially but the changing temperatures in the venue constantly affected the alignment leading to regular derailment issues. We also experimented with adding a second circuit and discovered that no matter who wielded the hammer it was pretty much impossible to successfully align two sets of rails all the way around the circuit.

The temporary wiring also caused quite a few problems and from an exhibiting point of view by the end of the weekend we had learned a few hard lessons.

In order to achieve reliable running we needed radical solution . . . . and that meant going back to the drawing board. Although owned by Adrian the layout was being used for the benefit of the club so Richard and I so agreed to help Adrian upgrade the Mark 3 into the Mark 4 Roadshow.