Construction Part One – Open Frames and Baseboards

65/425 open frames and baseboards, LH end of frame work and support with back scene.

65/425 Inner member of open frame screwed to wall and supported, and back scene.

Without a firm foundation nothing can be built. In his section I show how I set about constructing one for Hintock. First covered is the constructing the open frames and baseboard, then the basic superstructure.

As this is a semi-permanent layout I could use a structure secured to the walls to support the baseboard and as the house is of framed timber construction this was easy enough, More so as the layout is in my home office I wanted it to look tidy and to have access to the book shelves below. [Continue Reading…]

Construction Part Two – Baseboard Superstructure

SYd 081Base Board Superstructure Early days in building adding Sheepcroft Yard, the curve laid in (two Peco curved points), three sidings and loading bank. The back scene and retaining wall with its building was put in first.

SYd 081 Early days in adding Sheepcroft Yard.

With a firm foundation established, it is time to work on the baseboard superstructure, the broad outlines of Hintock. My techniques are best illustrated in in the building of Sheepcroft Yard in Phase 2, and its extension to enable the addition of the HFTS warehouse. At the same time I improved the Staging Yard. These works and images illustrate my methods. What they amounted to was a widening, the laying of track, altering the back scene and new scenery. [Continue Reading…]

Construction Part Three – Scratch Building Model Railways

006 (8) scratch building model railways

One of the many scratch built buildings on Hintock Branch.

Scratch building model railways, buildings, provides me both pleasure and satisfaction. Not locos, goods wagons or coaches, the current r-t-r are more than good enough for me, but buildings. For more than 50 years or so, this has been my pleasure, a long lived one. In fact there are on the current layout 34 or so of my scratch-built efforts with some dating back to the late 1960’s. They are long lived.

The materials I have always used, and seen no need to change, are good quality card and obechi stripwood secured with white glue. [Continue Reading…]

Construction Part Four – Model Railroad Kit Bashing – Improving the Ratio Signal Box Kit 503

au-2309 Model Railroad Kit Bashing

au-2309 Completed Signal Box sitting on its sub-baseboard that will be secured by a small nut and bolt.

Model railroad kit bashing is taking a standard building kit, like the Ratio Signal Box Kit 503 here, and improving it by custom modification. I use this kit bashing technique In addition to scratch building to provide buildings for my layouts, including Hintock. I improved the Ratio Signal Box by the addition of a characteristic lobby. Out of the box it is fair enough, but much enhanced by this use of the imagination and ingenuity. The following images illustrate what I did, those familiar with the kit will readily observe what alterations and additions were done, so commentary appears unnecessary. For others they will act as a guide. It is worth doing. [Continue Reading…]