AAAAARGH!

Oh its just one of those days.

In preparation for the predicted weekends rain I have printed off my Scalescenes goods shed.

Except I forgot to switch the scaling on the printer off so everything was shrunk to fit letter size paper.

Luckily I do have plenty of paper and ink available....

Matters Arising

So things are chugging along "behind the scenes" so to speak.
I've placed an order for an Ultrascale conversion kit for my Bachmann 08 (14 weeks delivery quoted on that). As well as the required track components from Exactoscale to enable to make all the track for the visible section of the layout, and on Saturday I downloaded the Scalescenes goods shed. In the end I opted for brown brick. It was a difficult decision brown or red. I did spend quite a while thinking about it. In the end I plumped for brown. Sometimes I think the red is a little too pale. I'm sure I'll be happy with it. With the 4th July holiday weekend looking and rain forecast I may even get a start on building it!
One interesting that has arisen from displaying this plan over at RMweb is that a few people have remarked on the fact that the plan has a feel of Outwell village on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. I'd never considered that and indeed my W&U books have stay firmly packed away for a long time. Having thought about this some. The idea has some appeal that the East Lincolnshire Light Railway could have something of a W&U feel to it With the J70 "Toby the Trams" and class 03's with skirts and cowcatchers. I think I need to dig my Wisbech and Upwell books out again...

More Pink Thinks...

I've spent the last couple of days giving thought to how I would make the baseboard for this layout out of pink foam. The first and most obvious was is to get layout sized slabs of foam cut to shape and glued together. Which I dismissed as quickly as I thought of it. I searched for a magazine that I thought I had that featured construction of foam baseboards but couldn't find it. But what I remember of the article the structure was designed for miles of Appalachian forest. I think I don't really need that level of substructure. The next most obvious way to look at the foam is to treat it as if it were good old 2x1 timber or similar. I think the sketch below explains it the best.

Strips of the 1" thick foam would be cut to the required shapes as if it were timber and glued together much as you would glue and screw sections of 2x1, 4x1 or whatever your preferred method of using wood is. I'd then glue pieces of foam where the river and the ground would be this would then give it the rigidity it requires. The exact form of the interior bracing isn't decided but I expect that towards the rear the bracing would have to be taller. Other than that I think it will work. Now to work out how to cut all I need out of an 8' x 4' sheet of pink foam.

P.S. I wonder If I could get away with 1/2" foam instead...

Think Pink...

Flymo said "I certainly hope that the pink extruded polystyrene is suitable for a P4 layout as it's exactly what I'm planning on using".
That makes me feel a lot better, knowing I don't have to dismiss the material out of hand. I feel confident in using pink foam. In the past though my "baseboards" were just slices of foam cut to shape and any land contours that were needed were just extra pieces of pink foam cut to shape and stuck on top of each other. Crude but effective if not without problems...
I really think I need to put a bit more thought into this one this time. Somewhere at home I have an article in an old N scale magazine that described working in pink foam in great detail. In that 1" thick foam was used to produce a box girder type structure. I'll have to look into that. Not only will be using one inch thick foam be easier than using two inch. It will also be cheaper.
Once I have the baseboard complete I will then lay some cork sheet on the surface because in my experience pink foam baseboards can be rather noisy.

Lots to think about

Oh boy. Now I've put my foot down and decided on the layout plan, things are getting serious.

What type of baseboard construction do I use?

I am, without a doubt. One of the worlds worst woodworkers. So getting a square and level baseboard will be a task of Herculean proportions for me. You wouldn't believe how bad some of my wooden baseboards have been, even using 2x 1. I did like using pink insulation foam for my Gn15 layouts and used it to great effect. Except when I had to exhibit the layouts that entailed construction a wooden box or frame for them... That took me back to square one. I doubt that a pink foam baseboard is feasible for a P4 layout. Foamcore board is gaining great favour amongst modellers who favour smaller layouts. Chris Nevards Catcott Burtle is the prime example of this. Perhaps I might be able to use that. I can easily cut a straight line with a Stanley knife and straight edge on Foamcore.

Next up to think about is how to operate the points. After 20 plus years of modelling I have only just got around to electric point motors. When I built a previous EM gauge layout I used DPDT slide switches to change the polarity and both operate the switch rails by means of a wire drilled through the knob on the switch. I liked this, it was simple and easy and not much you could do wrong. Hopefully I can remember how to do that and find a suitable sort of switch over here in Radio Shack.

I need to give these things some thought over the next couple of weeks for tomorrow I'll be down at the post office mailing a couple of orders off for some P4 bits and bobs...

The ballad of Arthur "two sheds" Jackson*.

Not unlike Arthur's garden, my layout will only have one shed. Goods shed that is. But I have 2 in mind. Firstly there is a very nice looking structure available from Scalescenes that I'm really quite taken by. I like Scalescenes a lot. I've made a few of their kits and even messed around with conversions. If you are unfamiliar with Scalescenes you should check them out. You purchase your building kit online, download it and print it off on your printer. You only need to download one for a few quid and you can make as many as you like. Great for rows of terraced houses for example.
The Scalescenes goods shed looks terrific. Though not based on a prototype structure, it certainly looks believable and has shades of Great Central and Great Northern architecture about it I think. It wouldn't look out of place on a layout based in Lincolnshire.
My second choice is to go the more prototypical route and model a local goods shed. Something like Mablethorpes brick shed or maybe even Sutton-on-Seas' or Huttoft Mumby Roads' timber shed. I think I have enough photographs to enable me to produce a model of the Mablethorpe shed. The trouble is I just know that I'd want to get the interior absolutely correct as well and I don't have any pictures of the interior. As you will be able to see directly inside the goods shed from that front of the layout there will have to be an interior to the shed. So unless anyone can help me with pictures of the interior of Mablethorpe goods shed. Then Scalescenes it is.

*That's a Monty Python reference if you were wondering

We needed time apart...

Our planned mid-week break came just at the right time from my railway modelling point of view. Having planned and planned for weeks and just come up with something I really like. I needed a break from model railways and in particular that latest plan. So my wife and I headed up to Duluth, Minnesota, one of the most beautiful cities in the States for a well earned break. While we were there we got to photograph some of the huge great Lakes freighters, as well as some interesting rail scenes.
above: The Paul R Tregurtha at just over 1,000 feet, it is the largest freighter plying its trade on the Great Lakes.
above: An old SW1 switcher working the CHS grain elevators in Superior, WI. A subject for a layout in itself. So we returned home refreshed and I looked at the plan anew. Guess what? It still looks as good as when I left it. This is a very positive sign. If I'd have stayed at home I may well have tried to tweak it and as a result destroyed any enthusiasm I had for it. I've done that many a time before. Come up with a good idea and kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I didn't care for the idea any more.
No more tweaking. I have a good plan. Lets order some track components and get building!