N Gauge Model Railway - Episode 2 - MDF uh huh uh huh!!

Documenting my journey into model railways.

If you read episode 1 of my carrom table layout build then you will have heard me rant about how the "big box" DIY stores in the UK have fully transformed into soft furnishings stores.  

What you probably don't realise is the markup is significant.  Two pieces of 12mm MDF required to make just my baseboard would have cost in excess of £32 leaving me to buy extra wood for the side panels.  However, a whole sheet of MDF custom cut to my requirements by an oldfashioned builders merchant was £40 and left me with so much extra from the full sheet that I have MDF coming out of my ears. 

Building my N Gauge Layout Baseboard

With all my wood precut to approximately the right size it was a fairly easy task to trim the panels to final size and screw together.  The whole structure sits neatly on top of the carrom table and can be lifted off in case carrom needs to be played.  The carrom tabletop is hinged to allow access to the storage bin below and this can still be operated with the layout sitting on top although any loose items like rolling stock will need to be removed first.

What did the Romans ever do for us... The Viaduct

This week also saw the addition of the first scenic item to the layout in the form of a viaduct.  I purchased the single track viaduct model by Crafty 3D from Cults3D  and threw it on the printer.  

Whilst this is a scenic item, adding this to the layout early on is crucial as it dictates the height of the elevated Loop 3.  Working out the exact gradient of the incline from base to viaduct is going to be a process of trail and error, but I would like a train to be able to pass from Loop 1 to Loop 2 and ultimately to Loop 3 and back again.

I will not be printing these viaducts en masse as my viaduct is also a front for the Loop 2 tunnel.  I don't fancy carving a hole through 8 or 9 of these bad boys, to say nothing of the wasteful use of resin in printing something just to cut it out.  The future is here, there is a better way...

My solution is to make these into removable fascias, allowing me to extricate any trains which may have derailed inside.  The plan is to print out a series of these fronts which can be linked together to form a long fascia.  The fascia will be magnetized to stick to a solid shelf which will carry the Loop 2 track and allow wide access for said emergency train extraction.

This is a fairly trivial task to open the STL in Meshmixer and use a plane cut to remove all the unwanted model leaving you with just a thin fascia.  Taking this approach is doubly advantageous as it also allows me to spread these fascias around a curve.

Small Businesses

The viaduct model also comes with a selection of arch inserts ranging from shop fronts to a warehouse.  These will of course be magnetised to allow for easy swapability and add a bit of variety to the layout.  

The exact nature of these businesses remains to be seen and will be covered in a future episode.

Obligatory Running Trains Video

To ensure that I keep up the momentum it is important for me to keep a section of the layout in running order.  The layout is in my front room and so it is everpresent and what good is a model railway if you can't play with it.