The Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway

[tedp]

It looks like quite an interesting project. The size is nice as well, about 10ft long and 1ft wide at shoulder level is OK. On my layout there is a high level area about the same height over the floor and similar in width. Running the line through a plasterboard wall is what I once did when my layout was situated in my attic, which I had insulated and partitioned myself. I'll be following this!

[Tigger]

Yup, I agree with Ted here - it all looks very interesting and fun!  I'm looking forward to following progress.

Does the abbreviation of the name as B&W have any connection with the fact that the two first photos are also B&W??  ;D

[clayliner]

Thanks, guys, for your interest.

Re B&W:  (1) given that the order of the names is quite arbitrary I've always worried that from time to time it will become the W&B, but your comment has helped to fix the correct order in my mind  :) Thanks!

                (2) colour is also available:

loco and wagons


locos 1

More anon.

David.

[rod335]

I don't know how you have managed to get so much atmosphere in what are fairly simple scenes. Yes, the Furzebrooke lines are there, but also Midlands ironstone, I'm thinking particularly Eaton Ropeway quarries.

Rod

[clayliner]

The photos are a bit of a con, to be honest - I just crammed as much stock into the frame as possible and dropped a couple of bits of lichen on to make it all look vaguely scenic... The shallow depth of field (it was very gloomy) maybe adds to the atmosphere.

The baseboard construction is pretty straightforward, as these pics show:

baseboard 1


baseboard 2


I try to avoid buying anything if I can avoid it (!) but on this occasion I did treat myself to some new 12mm MDF and some other timber to provide some longitudinal stiffening. The backboard, however, is reclaimed hardboard, bent to a curve in the corners (easily done by applying boiling water to the affected parts, bending gently and holding in position until it's cooled off and dried out).

The first picture shows the simple shelf structure and adjustable supports from underneath - also the slots I cut to drop the formation a little to steal a bit of extra headroom for the overbridge and so ease the approach gradients a tad. The second picture shows the view from above, with the embryonic overbridge mocked up with a couple of matchboxes, and before I plucked up the courage to start making the holes in the wall. The board is actually in two sections so it could be broken down relatively easily if the need arose.

David.

[rod335]

It doesn't matter if the photos are a con, the end justifies the means. Your photos look so atmospheric. Now you have the problem of making the railway live up to them!

Rod

[tedp]

I agree with Rod they are atmospheric photos even if they are a temporary mock-up. It shows what can be done with simple means.

Your baseboards: the shallow shelf like set-up at some height over the floor does work. You'll be looking at it from a low angle. If you set up the backscene so the 3-d scenery continues into it you'll have a spacious effect. I have done the same in part of my layout (Rod has seen it for himself). My Inverlochan scene is only about 30cms deep. A description is here: http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/pages/einverlochan.htm.

The only thing I'd advise is to fit softwood longitudinals under the layout all along. I'm not sure how the MDF will stand up to time without support underneath.

[Tigger]

I like the curved backscene foundation.  I still have a dreaded 'skycorner' on the L&TR which I really must eradicate.

[clayliner]

Here some tracklaying is in progress:

tracklaying b

Although I did try (against my natural instincts!) to be disciplined at the planning stage and drew everything out full-size on lining paper there were some places (quite a few, in fact) where 'adjustments' had to be made as things progressed.
The Barry slip is left of centre. I've used cork underlay throughout because it seems the done thing, though I'm not sure why; certainly I remain to be convinced it has any sound-deadening properties and as others have pointed out by the time everything is ballasted and glued with PVA it's all pretty rigid anyway. It does look 'ballasty', I admit, but again I imagine most of us cover it all with ballast in due course in any case or at least paint over it.
What I have tried is using plastic foam camping / yoga mat as underlay - its the green stuff in the photo. This was less about sound insulation and more because I wanted to avoid a totally 'flat' layout and it allows simple gradients (i.e. those on the board, not the ones in the sky as on the approaches to the overbridge) to be done quite easily, cutting gentle slopes in strips with a sharp, stiff blade. A bonus is that the track pins don't need to be driven so far into the baseboard, which I've found decidedly tricky to do cleanly...

David.

[Graeme Dunbar]

I seem to remember someone advocating sleeping mat foam as a track bed. It might have been Iain Rice and done to make a "floating" track bed.

I've read somewhere that the problem with using standard PVA for gluing the ballast is that it sets hard and so transmits sound. I can confirm that PVA on a foam board base "drums" very loudly and that the pizza layout that it is should not make so much noise for such a small layout. I'm trying to remember what the suggested alternatives are - possibly artists matt acrylic medium. Diluted latex glue was another but I've heard that it does not age well.

[rod335]

I understand Copydex doesn't set solid but stays rubbery, maybe that's worth a try as it is also water based. Stinks a bit though.

Rod

[tat2drod]

I use bookbinder's glue which is PVA based mixed appropriately. The track's laid on single/multiple pieces of hardboard which rests on mdf or polystyrene. In one place it's laid directly onto mdf. I don't notice too much in the way of noise but then it's also based in a fairly big attic. If it was too noisy, I'd certainly notice as I have a low pain-threshhold in my ears.

I do think that it's less noisy than the old std. "hardboard with batten frame" baseboard that I had when I was a kid but the memory may be playing tricks on me.

[Graeme Dunbar]

I'd heard that Copydex may yellow with age and go brittle. If only there was a water soluble (i.e. dilutable) version of "glue dots"! Possibly there some acrylic formulations that might do the job.

[tedp]

Anything that sets ballast solid will result in noise, as I know from experience in my layout which is made of 5mm ply on softwood framing, without any foam or cork underlay. The best answer is to lower the resonance frequency of the trackbed by fixing it rigidly to a carrying member below the baseboard. I often just glue a piece of softwood under the ply which takes away most of the drumming.

[Isle of Stoner]

Copydex does yellow with time. I used to use it to fix flock powder which looks fine at first but goes yellowy and shrinks with time.

John W