Club Roadshow

As I was involved with the Mark 4 build from the start for this one there is much more in depth detail available. Also there are two distinct stages involved in the process of getting the layout to the point where reliable operation could be expected.

At the time we didn’t actually have a specific plan, just a number of improvements that we wanted to include. These included:-

· Provision of two running tracks and two warm-up areas

· Accurate alignment of track across the eight baseboard joints.

· More reliable electrical connections

As it was still Adrian’s layout and was also being used to test his modular construction ideas then it should also still include:-

· Hardwood blocks with wings retained on the ends of the baseboards

· Bolts used to both join and adjust the baseboards

· Provided a power bus using the same bolts to create the circuit

So on Saturday 18th February 2012 Richard Hallam and I trundled (If you have ever driven across Lincolnshire you will know what I mean by trundled!) from the very top (Glossop) and the very bottom (Aston-on-Trent) of Derbyshire across to Binbrook Airfield to make a start.

By half past ten we had assembled in a room at Adrian’s premises on the airfield. We had all mod cons – a kettle, a packet of shortbread biscuits and a two bar electric fire that was in a wooden frame and looked just like the one we had in our lounge when I was a kid in the sixties!

Adrian’s original idea was to make the outer curve sections exactly two pieces of flexi track long and this was how the single track was laid. However at the last two exhibitions we have suffered random coach derailments on some of the track joints on the curves. Based on this practical experience the decision was taken that the first job would be to lift and relay the existing circuit of track.

The layout corners are cut from a four foot piece of plywood so the curves are quite generous. The hardwood blocks used to join the sections are already pre-drilled for both prototypical BR and the wider Hornby train set track centres so after a fair bit of discussion and some “seat of the pants” testing we opted for the closer prototypical spacing as it is visually more satisfying. This spacing was eased slightly on the curved sections to ensure stock clearance. (It might also have been because Adrian’s specially bought track spacing tool wouldn’t quite close up enough for the prototypical spacing)

One other aspect of using the pre-drilled pin holes in each hardwood section is that to hold the rails properly it is essential that at either side of the joint the track must be dead straight for around one and a half inches. This results in an interruption to the smooth curve at the point where the centre of the curved track crossed the baseboard joint.

In the photo you can see how these short straights introduce a small kink into the smooth curve.

As this prevents the curve from being continuous it took quite a while for us to lay the first curve. Following much discussion we eventually listened to Richard and agreed to lay the track using transitional curves at the start with a tighter centre radius (incorporating the flat bits) using fish-plates to ensure the track joints are properly aligned.

It was a bit fiddly inserting the short straight sections of track between the two longer sections of the curve but after much cursing we did eventually manage two nicely smoothed curves. The fiddly short bit was made worse by our decision to provide every bit of track with a feed from the wiring bus so that at no point is power transmission dependant on fish-plates.

Once the first outer curve was in we then split up to work on different sections of the layout. I continued with the inner curve, Richard started on another corner section and Adrian worked on the first corner section running two power bus wires, providing dropper wires, connecting the droppers to the respective power bus and devising a system to connect the power bus across the baseboard sections. Again we had much discussion about the merits of joining the sections using block connectors or sticking with Adrian’s plan of passing the power via the bolts used to fasten the sections together. In the end a democratic decision was made ........... and Adrian did it his way (to be fair . . it is his layout!). However if threading the wiring eyes onto the bolts does slow down the building or breaking down of the layout there is enough slack in the wiring to convert to some other form of connector at a later date.

At this point we also began to look at how to incorporate loco warming sections by using the points that Adrian had already bought.

For the inner track we agreed a half circle. A L/H point on the back straight section will provide a third track that runs down the inside of the straight section, around the inside of the inner track on the two corner boards, up the inside of the straight section re-joining the inside track via a R/H point at the end of the straight section. This will be wired to allow a loco to be warmed for the inner track but will also provide stock storage for either coaches or wagons, or both.

For the outer track there will be a point on the front corner board at the opposite end to the inner loop. This will then split into two tracks that will be wired to allow a loco to be warmed for the outer track but in addition will have isolating switches to allow either loco warming or static display.

By now it was 3pm and we were getting quite hungry. We had also worked out that we would need additional supplies of rail joiners, insulated rail joiners, seven lengths of track and one point. This seemed like a good time to take a break so we piled into Adrian’s van and set off for sunny Cleethorpes in search of the sea, Adrian’s local model shop, a quick drive by of the station and, more importantly, fish and chips.