e2e in two laptop boxes

msimister · Post by **msimister** » Sun Oct 15, 2017 3:32 am

Some time ago I posted a few pics of my first go at T gauge modelling, a U-shaped track from a station to a traverser ('In a laptop box'). Pics of my second T gauge layout, in the raw without the scenery, that fits into two laptop boxes are attached and in developing and building it some thoughts occurred.

: Station end looking towards tunnel end.jpg (44.89 KiB) Viewed 6745 times

: Start of cork underlay at station end.jpg (70.9 KiB) Viewed 6153 times

: Staton end.jpg (94.47 KiB) Viewed 6153 times

: Tunnel end.jpg (97.67 KiB) Viewed 6153 times

: end looking towards station site.jpg (44.17 KiB) Viewed 6745 times

As you will see in the pics, my carpentry, electrical and modelling skills are limited but what I wanted was:

* To fit the boards into two ASUS laptop boxes so they can be stored away easily
* Of reasonable length
* End-to-end layout with no points. As others have suggested, points are an Achilles heal of T gauge
* Double track, with a station and a canal scene.

What has resulted is:

* A layout measuring 158 cm x 12.5 cm, excluding the cassettes at each end. In 1/450th scale, this is about 777 yards long, a bit over 4/10ths of a mile.
* Four baseboards, two fitting in each laptop box side by side
* 3.5cm height available for scenery. This is plenty for the station buildings I am proposing but limits other scenery (e.g. tall trees)
* The 12.5 cm width gives just about enough scope for some townscape and scenery, including a canal with a lock, as I've laid the tracks mostly towards one side of the boards rather than being in the middle.

It's already a bit of a nuisance having four boards with their electrical connections to cope with every time I put up and take down the layout, but that's a price I have to pay for compact storage and it doesn't take long.

The baseboards are lightly constructed, being 1.2 cm x 1.2 cm frames (of Tasmanian Oak as that's what the hardware store had but I'm sure that pine would be just as good) and 3 mm MDF board. My original idea was to just put the layout on a table so the baseboards wouldn't need to be all that strong. However, I neglected to take into account the space for the cassettes I'll need at each end so that led to another thought.

I've often wanted to be able to change layout from time to time, without getting rid of the previous one. On my Southern Region OO gauge layout I operate two eras, mid-1960s mostly with steam and BR's blue & grey era, with diesels and 3rd rail electrics. Apart from the rolling stock, nothing else changes, which isn't strictly correct but I don't have the space for two OO gauge layouts. And in addition to the Southern, I've also got a soft spot for the GWR but, similarly, I can't have SR and GWR too.

Leading on from what was going to be a T gauge table top layout and realising that we don't have a table long enough, I'm going to have to construct a framework on legs to support my new layout's baseboards. As the baseboards won't be fixed to the framework but will just rest on it will then enable me to have multiple layouts which can all rest, one at a time, on the framework. When I've had enough of one layout, I can put it away in laptop boxes and get out (or build) another, and another, etc. This is more difficult to do in OO gauge due to the space required for the storage of layouts not being used, but a couple of laptop boxes for each T gauge layout is no problem. The cost of the additional rolling stock may be, but over time...

By the way, the 'cassettes' for my new layout are about as simple as it gets - pieces of the 1.2 cm x 1.2 cm Tasmanian Oak cut to length with the track glued on top and with electrical connections also glued on. Apart from a prototype, I've yet to build these but have put the electrical connections on the baseboards ready. The cassettes will vary in length from a few cm to accommodate a GWR railcar to longer ones for the 2 + 7 HST.

These cassettes are the reason for the two tracks being quite wide apart at each end of the layout, which you can see in the pics. Needing a real life excuse for this, the station used to have two through roads which have been rationalised while, for some mysterious geological reason, when the track was duplicated it wasn't possible to widen the single track tunnel bore and has resulting in two single bores a little way apart. The line is a former GWR broad gauge so elsewhere the two tracks are a generous distance apart. While it's freelance, in my mind the line is that between Swindon and Gloucester. Stroud has a lovely station building and the Thames & Severn canal (being restored) passes close by.

When I've added some scenery I'll post more pics, but don't hold your breath.

Any comments and other thoughts are welcome.

Cheers,
Malcolm

dkightley · Post by **dkightley** » Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:23 pm

This is looking good...I do like the idea of restricting the size so that the boards fit into a carrying/storage box.

You must show some more details of how you're ensuring track alignment and power connections between boards. The integrity of the whole layout obviously revolves around these connections being good.

msimister · Post by **msimister** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:52 am

Sorry for the delay. Pic of the board and electrical connections herewith. For the boards, while there is a little (I mean a little) movement, once the track is lined up exactly they work fine. With the electrical joins, I didn't leave much room so I had to remove the brass joins from their insulation (they were in a row of 12 in plastic insulation). They are held in place with BluTack. OK, shudder away, but, so far, it has worked fine and I can always use something more robust if that proves to be ineffective.
Cheers,
Malcolm

: Join between boards and electrical joins.jpg (56.92 KiB) Viewed 6696 times

msimister · Post by **msimister** » Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:03 am

Been making progress with this layout. Station platforms and ballasted track are now in place; about to start on some scenery, including tunnel mouths and a canal lock. Pics below showing the layout and also its storage in two laptop boxes. That almost half a mile of double track railway fits into two laptop boxes amazes me.

: Layout from the tunnel end; Layout from tunnel end.jpg (64.84 KiB) Viewed 6059 times

: Layout from the station end; Layout from station end.jpg (81.74 KiB) Viewed 6059 times

: Almost a scale half mile of double track in two laptop boxes; Scale half mile of double track layout in two laptop boxes.jpg (71.76 KiB) Viewed 6059 times

: Station platforms in situ; Station platforms.jpg (48.86 KiB) Viewed 6059 times

Cheers,
Malcolm

msimister · Post by **msimister** » Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:07 am

Progress on the tunnel end, per pics below. Just about 'finished' although a tree or two wouldn't go amiss. All in good time.

The tunnel mouths are made from suitably coarse glass paper, painted grey, scored to represent stones and cut out. I think it looks reasonably convincing. I added a few embellishments to add some realism. In trying to find a prototype with two single track tunnels so close together I came across the twin Marley tunnels, about six miles west of Totnes on the GWR main line to Plymouth & Penzance.

The dry stone walls are also glass paper - see the separate post where Doug has described a different way of modelling them.

I intended the semi-derelict barn to have a sagging roof with plenty of rust. It is made from a yoghurt container lid which was silver on the inside, scribed to represent corrugated iron and then painted a suitable colour without any undercoat/primer. In that way the paint doesn't adhere too well so it's not 'rusty' all over.

Now for the canal lock section...

Cheers,
Malcolm