Page last updated on 02/02/2010

Hints and Tips

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Baseboards   Always ensure the baseboard, no matter what chosen material is used for the surface, is always well supported underneath. I would recommend that a grid of supporting timber be spaced at no more than 400mm (15 inch) centres and better still on a grid at 300mm (12inch) centres. This will over time give a ridged and sag free surface to support your railway.

A simple timber frame of  21 x 44mm (2" x 1") or deeper if wished PSE timber can be end square cut and simply butt jointed together. Use PVA woodworking adhesive and suitable wood screws to secure the framing. Intermediate cross braces are added by the same method. A hand operated mitre saw will give a good square cut if you're not overly good at carpentry or if you're likely to use one more frequently, then an electric mitre saw (Chop saw) could be purchased to cut the timber square.

When using softwood (PSE) framing it is essential to purchase timber that is as knot free and straight as possible (warp free) then condition the timber prior to use. That is, remove any polythene covering and leave the timber for at least 48 hours in a dry room ideally where the final construction is to be located. This will ensure the timber takes on any moisture before its been cut and glued.

Before you fit the baseboard top remember to drill a series of 15mm to 20mm dia. holes on around a 25mm centre line from the top down and centrally in all internal cross braces. These holes will allow easier wire running to be undertaken once the top surface has been glued and screwed or  pinned down.

Baseboard supporting legs should always be as ridged as is practicable to make them.  For permanent layouts use  (63 x 38mm) CLS timber fixed inside the corners of the supporting timbers.  For portable layout up and under or free standing trestles can be used.

Portable Layouts  If your layout is to be portable then one of your main criteria is going to be final individual boards size and weight. As you may end up carrying each board up or down stairs especially if your layout is to be of exhibition quality.  Overall board size should really be limited to around a maximum of 600 x 1200mm (2' x 4' feet) after this it becomes a two person lift and is also quite unwieldy!   

You can reduce board weight by using plywood as the underneath framing rather than the more conventional PSE timber used on edge,  9mm ply is ideal here but it must be at least 70mm deep or even deeper is possible.  An alternative is to use 4 or 6mm ply and make this up into a box section with some thin (9 x 21mm) strip wood timber used top and bottom plus the ends and intermediately horizontally within the box section. This not only makes for a fairly light frame but is also immensely ridged too.

The boards will require some method of ensuring continual correct alignment and means of holding one board to its mate securely. Alignment can be with nothing more than the aid of your eye and then tightening any through-board bolts securely, but a far better option is to use dowels.  I like the very simple brass male & female types called 'Cabinet Makers Dowels' and all that is needed is a 7mm dia. drill bit and some PVA glue. Place the two boards together and temporarily hold in place with a couple of G clamps once you're satisfied the top surface and sides are all aligned. The drill right through from one side two 7mm holes around 50-60mm in from each corner. Release the G clamps and into one outer side glue then tap in the male dowel and into the other board glue and tap home the female dowels.

The method of holding two boards together can either be with two 6mm coach bolts passing through predrilled holes and then a suitable washer followed by a  6mm wing nut tightened up or by latches fitted on either side of the boards side panels. These just link across the two boards and when locked into position pull the joint up tightly.

Track laid across portable board joints can normally be fixed and held securely in place by one of two well proven methods.  Method 1) By using PCB sleepers and gluing the PCB to the end of the board then soldering the rails to the copper PCB surface - Don't forget to cut a slit through the centre of the PCBs copper track to remove the short circuit that the copper makes to both rails.   Method 2) Using small - No3 brass wood screws, drive each screw into the board until its head is just below the bottom of the rail, then solder the rail to the screw head.    In both methods the track should be laid right across the joint, having firstly removed the required number of sleepers so as the track is free to be soldered to both board sides. Then each rail is soldered to both sides (PCB or screw heads) and then finally cut through directly in line with the boards joint with either a razor saw or an electric mini drill fitted with a suitable slitting disc. Once all the track has been cut through the two board can be separated and the ends of all the rails lightly filed to remove any burs etc.   The drawing below shows both methods of rail fixing. 

Note also the hard wood strip fitted to the ends of each board, this gives adequate fixings for the rails and a much harder end surface than some materials used for the boards main top may offer long term.

Both rail fixing methods are eventually masked by the addition of real stone track ballast.

Below is a very simple twin folding board unit. More boards can be added to the ends and they also could fold in pairs themselves or they can be individual boards abutting onto the hinged opened pair. The height of the central pivot blocks is determined by the clearance needed once folded. This can be anything from 12mm to 70 or more millimetres. The pivot blocks and Back Flap hinges are hidden by suitable scenery, such as an over bridge, which simply drops into place once the boards are opened and secured. The size of both folding boards really need to be the same, but they can be of any length or width that's required and is practicable to physically lift and carry.

Note the use of a multipin plug and socket to take power across the joint. The number of 'ways' in the plug/socket is determined by the total number of functions needing to pass over the folding joint.

Lifting Bridge Section is often needed on fixed layouts to allow access to the central operating area or just for general access as it prevents having to crawl underneath the layout - Something appreciated by those of a more mature age perhaps!  The bridge section is made in the same way as the rest of the layout. e.g. Conventional PSE timber is used to make a ridged framework topped with the chosen baseboard surface. The section is a close but not dead tight fit between the two fixed baseboards either side and is hinged at one one end allowing an upward pivot to take place. The Back Flap hinges (or Butts if preferred) are screwed down either side of the baseboard. They need to be fitted onto small spacer blocks to raise the hinges above the baseboard surface. The spacer blocks are at least the same height as the measurement taken from the top surface of the baseboard to the top of the rails. These then allow the the bridges rails to clear the fixed ones as the bridge is lifted upwards. At the other fixed baseboard side a suitable piece of PSE timber is screwed to the underside of the fixed board to act as a small lip onto which the bridge rests when lowered. Into the lip and the underside of the lifting section are installed a pair of Cabinet makers dowels to ensure full and secure alignment when lowered.  A simple sliding bolt locks the bridge down.   A suitable sized multicore cable or individual flexible wires connect the fixed hinged side baseboard to the bridge span and carries all track power needed for the bridges tracks, remember to leave sufficient slack in the cables or wires to allow for the bridge section to hinge upwards without over tightening the wires or cables.

Power connections across the bridges gap can be arranged from one fixed baseboard to the other fixed baseboard. This can be via multicore cable(s) running from one sides fixed board, passing across the gap and onto the other fixed board. e.g. the cable is run around a door frame etc. Or alternatively these feeds can be distributed around whole of the fixed layout sections ending up at the further fixed board after the lifting bridge section. The choice of how these feeds are supplied is the layout builders.

Below is a simplistic example of how the bridge section is hinged, aligned and locked down etc.

Storage and transportation of portable layouts can be improved by placing two identical sized baseboards scenic side to scenic side with a suitable gap between the two scenic faces and then holding the two boards secure with the aid of two end plates made from Ply, MDF or Chipboard.  Use 9mm board for the end plates as a minimum.  M6 'Gutter bolts' approx 50mm long or of length to suit your framing thickness, are passed through the end plate and through the baseboards framing and then held secure with a M6 washer and M6 wing nut (2 per baseboard end).

Track laying.  While I'm actually using "00" Peco Streamline code 100 track these tips should apply to any type or gauge of track. 

Firstly draw in pencil a straight line on the baseboard in the middle of where the track is to be laid, this will give you a guide as to where the actual track is to be positioned. Then, to ensure your main line tracks are nice and straight use a steel rule, ideally a 2' foot or longer one, and place the edge of the steel rule against the outer edge of the rails web. By ensuring all the length of the track is gently pushed up to the edge of the rule a dead straight track length can then be lightly pinned in position. Once fully pinned, move the rule forwards onto the next section, but keep around 150 mm or 6" or so still in contact with the first section laid as this will ensure your track remains straight throughout its entire length.

When pinning the track down, like to use the Peco track pin, as it is a very fine pin and comes pre blackened and it has a small pin head too which isn't that obvious if left in place after ballasting. However, trying to push or drive the pin through the sleepers and into the baseboard is quite often problematic as the pin easily bends and then becomes useless and has to be pulled out and discarded!  I recommend pre drilling a fine hole dead central through the sleeper and just a little way into the baseboard. An Archimedean hand drill is the ideal tool here or an electric mini drill. However, I find the very fine drill bits needed easily snap and are quite expensive too. So here's a little tip I have found very useful....Cut off the head of a Peco track pin and place the pin into the drills chuck. The pins sharp point will then drill through the sleepers and into the baseboard giving a nice starter hole for the actual track pin to pass through. When eventually the 'pin drill bit' bends or looses its sharp point simply discard it and use another pin. Cheap and effective hole making!

Back to Back wheel gauge  (B2B) should be checked with the aid of a specially made gauge block, This will give the correct distance between the two inner faces of the flanges of all rolling stock. You should check and adjust if it's possible to do so, all wheels on a loco including those on any pony trucks and bogies plus also all the wheels on your coaches and trucks.  The B2B gauge for standard "00" is 14.4mm+/- 0.05mm and is set by the UK's The Double O Gauge Association.

You can buy gauges directly from the Association by visiting their shop at  The Double O Gauge Associations Shop  For "00" you would need their 'Commercial' gauge. Or they can sometimes be purchased from some good model shops, just be sure you purchase a 14.4mm one.

While this checking is being carried out, take the opportunity to remove any deposits of dirt from the tyres of the wheels, that all so easily builds up during running. Do this with the aid of a fibre pen, an old small flat bladed screwdriver or a specialist brass wire brush or even a Lint free cloth (old cotton hankie perhaps?) soaked in a little Meths or Lighter Fluid and rubbed onto the wheels, or use a cotton bud to apply the fluid and wipe off with a clean lint free cloth. Please ensure safety measure are in place when using the fluids previously mentioned - strictly No Smoking and have a well ventilated room.   Consider too replacing any plastic wheels with metal tyre ones, as the plastic wheel is renown for spreading dirt and grim from its wheels onto the rails, resulting in even more rail cleaning being needed.

Fold up layouts can be made to around a maximum front to back measurement of 4feet (1200mm). The two reasons for this restriction are:-

1) When folded up the layout will be almost to the underside of a conventional ceiling as the baseboards lowered height needs to be around 39 inches (1000mm) above floor.

and

2) To reach a piece of stock that is close to the wall, the maximum 'reach over the layout' is really no more than four feet and even that is pushing the limits of a persons reach!

Length can be whatever is chosen and fits the available wall space.

The wall plate timber, which I recommend to be made from at least 3" x 1" (69 x 21mm) PSE timber, must be securely screwed to the wall and be level throughout its full length, which will be the same as the layouts length. Onto this is securely glued and screwed a similar 3" x 1" PSE full length timber onto the top of the wall plate and finally secured by a piece of 2" x 1" (44x 21mm) PSE glued and screwed up tight to the internal L shape to produced an additional brace to the L construction.

The main layout boards are constructed in the usual fashion, with a chosen baseboard top and securely braced underneath with a minimum of 2" x 1" PSE or a ply box etc. on a square grid ideally at 15"(400) centres  The baseboard is then hinged from the edge of the top 3" x 1" 'L' bracket by at least four 2" (50mm) back flap hinges.

A set of drop down legs, which are also hinged with the aid of back flaps, are fitted onto the two outer corners and if necessary a central leg mid way long the front edge too can be used to give added support. These MUST be braced to the baseboard to prevent accidental movement of the legs back under the board when lowered. The braces or stays can be a smaller dimension timber or made preferably from flat steel bar. These stays are held in place by No 10 gauge round head screws as shown in the lower diagram, the stay then clipping over the screw heads. Alternative a smaller layout could be lowered and rest on top of a cupboard e.g. a chest of drawers. In which case the 'L' wall plate is fitted at the same height as the chest top.

Once folded up against the wall note that the baseboard has a slight angle inwards towards the wall to help maintain it in the up position. The layout touches against a small wall plate made from 2" x 1" timber and I recommend a sliding bolt be used at both ends to secure the baseboard when fully raised.

On larger fold up boards it may be desirable to have a simple form of rope and pulley system to enable easy and controllable lowering and also to aid the raising of the board to its upright position.

The only disadvantage of the fold-up baseboard is that all rolling stock and virtually all buildings etc have to be removed before it can be stored upright, as there is very little clearance between the wall and the raised surface of the baseboard. This 'setting up' and 'putting away' time has to be added to every running session!

Basic British Railways track and signalling.

Track in the UK is normally divided into Up and Down lines. Some are also fully reversible. The gap between the two running lines is known as the Six Foot (6 foot). Where more than two lines run adjacent to each other there is often a wider area know as the Ten Foot (10 foot) used too.

The areas outside of the ballasted track area on each side of the railway is know as the Cess. Here track drainage, cable routes and other items such as Over Head Live Equipment (OLE) masts and Signal structures are placed and often this area is deemed as a safe walking place for rail staff too.

Commonly, but not always, the term 'Up' and 'Down' refer to the direction towards London.  Up = towards London and away from = Down.  As I stated this isn't always the case and there are many exceptions to this rule. Fast and Slow lines are fairly self explanatory. Slow lines are often used for stopping passenger trains and freight trains.

UK practice is to drive on the left hand track. Except on Bi-directional (Reversible) lines or where special rules permit right- hand line driving, but mainly its drive on the left, the same as the UK road system. Therefore, its normal practice to place signalling on to the left-hand side of the approaching train. As is always the case, there are exceptions, but mainly they are on the left. 

Below I have tried to show two very simple examples of standard railway practice and some of the terms used.

In the upper picture Semaphore signalling is in use and in the lower identical railway drawing multi aspect colour lights are employed. Note; four aspect signals are shown, but they could equally be three aspect versions. The aspect nearest to the drivers eye line is always the Red, which on post of gantry mounted signals is the bottom aspect. Above the Red is the Yellow and above that the Green. On four aspect signals there is a second Yellow aspect which is placed above the green and is lit only in conjunction with the lower yellow, never on its own.

Colour light signal aspects mean.... Red... Stop.  Lower Yellow.. Caution next signal is at red.   Lower Yellow and top Yellow both lit...Start to slow, next signal is at Yellow and signal beyond that is at red.  Green... Line ahead for the next two signals are at proceed on four aspect signalling and the next signal is at a proceed aspect on three aspect signalling.

Semaphore signals.....  Red arm horizontal ... Stop.  Red arm raised (or lowered) by approx 45 degrees... Proceed to next signal, which may be at stop.  Yellow Distant arm horizontal...The whole section of signalling ahead is not cleared to proceed. Yellow Distant arm raised (or lowered) to approx 45 degrees and only in conjunction with the red arm being raised (or lowered). The whole section ahead is cleared - All section signals ahead are at proceed. 

Semaphore signal arms can depending on the region, be either raised to approx 45 degrees from the horizontal (known as Upper quadrant signals) or lowered from the horizontal (known as Lower quadrant signals) for a proceed indication to the driver. Both lowered or raised positions mean the same. You would not expect normally to see a mix of the two type in the same signalling area.   'Section' is the whole area normally controlled by one signal box.

Above shows....

The Up slow line has all signalling ahead cleared to proceed.

The Up Fast line train can proceed past this signal but should be prepared to stop at the next signal.

Viewed from the rear...

The Down slow line train can proceed past this signal but should be prepared to stop at the next signal.

The Down Fast train must stop at this signal.

Note the terminology used... Cess has already been described above and is the area to the left and right of the tracks. 'Four Foot' is the name given to the distance between the inside faces of the running rails (Actually 4' 8½" or 1435mm). 'Six Foot' is the term used to describe the nominal distance between two adjacent tracks. 'Ten foot' describes the wider distance between tracks and one 10 foot is normally found on four track railways. 'Ballast' is the stones that retain the track at the correct level and prevent the sleepers, which the rails sit on, from moving together or sideways. 'Sleepers' are the Wood, Concrete or Steel beams that the rails and their fixing are held in place by. The rails sit in specially shaped 'Chairs' which are in turn fixed to the sleepers.  Two types of rail exist - 'Bullhead' and 'Flat bottom'. Bullhead is now virtually extinct on UK main lines and can now mainly be found in some sidings and on preserved railways etc. Flat Bottom rails are used on virtually all UK main lines and often this is of the 'Continuously Welded Rail' (CWR) type where long 600 foot lengths of rail are laid in place of the older 60 foot jointed lengths. The 600 foot lengths of CWR are then welded into even longer lengths on site to make an exceptionally long rail length. Special expansion joints are used at set distances in the CWR to allow for temperature changes causing expansion or contraction within the rails.

As stated previously, there are always exceptions to these basics and if you're modelling a specific location or time period you will need to carry out research to find more about what was used at that time or place etc.

00 Gauge Standards Of help to the model railway constructor is this British standard "00" gauge loading gauge drawing:-

More to follow….

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