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28/06/06: The Bottom’s Up!
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Construction has at last started on the baseboards for Redhill. The frames need to be about three inches deep to allow for the junction and magnetic stop mechanisms so instead of timber I have used ply or foamcore board girders.
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Initially I intended to make the baseboard frames from two layers of foamcore board with plywood inserts where necessary for baseboard dowels and bolts. Whilst the foamcore board is quite strong and resists being bent it does not take kindly to being compressed across its thickness - it compresses the polystyrene core. I came to the conclusion that it would be preferable to use ply girders made from two thicknesses of 3mm ply glued either side of 18mm thick timber blocks where two baseboards will join. For ease of construction I used a similar construction for the foamcore board girders. One problem that I encountered was that the foamcore board girders were taking much longer to make than the plywood ones. Both had the timber spacing blocks glued in place with Resin W woodworking glue, but on the plywood ones the blocks could also be fixed in place with a staple gun allowing both girders to be fixed in place long before the glue dried. Changing to a hot glue gun for the foamcore board speeded things up nicely.
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I have adopted a baseboard datum level of about 60 inches which gives an eye-level view of the roadway. This height was chosen not only for visual effect but also to clear a freezer that lives in the garage. The height makes the first two boards look much larger. The boards sit on a framework based on Iain Rice’s Universal Layout Supporting System - basically two L-girders running the length of the layout supported by a number of legs. For home use the legs will be fixed in position with trestles substituted if the layout does ever venture out into the light.
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The first two boards contain the roundabout and provide a small self-contained section of roadway about four feet square. One board will also house one of the railway sector-tables which will be situated behind a multi-storey car park. On the other board the railway will cross the road by means of a girder bridge built from a Wills Varigider kit.
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The hidden section of road has two exits for the storage loops, one at the front for normal operation and one at the back for use at exhibitions. A total of nine junction mechanisms will need to be installed (none are needed for trailing junctions of course) plus various stops and detectors so I have not yet put the cross bracing in place on the baseboard frame. That will follow when I can fit it without hitting any of the sub-baseboard infrastructure.
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What is foamcore board?
Foamcore board is a sheet of polystyrene foam sandwiched between two layers of card. It comes in various thicknesses from 3mm upwards and is very light and rigid. Its main use is for display boards where it can be suspended over shoppers without risk of severe injury if the board should fall.
I am using 5mm thick board scrounged from a supermarket. Once promotions are over the boards are usually thrown in a skip - if you know someone who works behind the scenes or speak nicely to the customer service desk you can get them for nothing. Otherwise you will need to purchase blank sheets from graphic or office supply shops.