Lacy almost ready

My wife did some extensive modelling on the Lacy hotel. She cut the roofshingles by hand and one  by one. I think that is the only way to give the buildings from this time period the correct look and "feeling".

Yesterday evening she finished the front side, only the corners have to be done yet:

And as this morning, I think it starts to look pretty good:

I myself am busy to try work out a solution for the link and pin couplers. Also the frog of the turnout has to be constructed in a different way than I did now. At this moment there is a sort of "hole" or "gap" in the turnout. So I nee to construct the frog seperate from the turnout itself and before starting the latter.

Later more!

Tracklaying part 5; it works!

Did the final check, the turnout does what it has to do. Straight:

Turn:

And with a truck to see if it will negotiate the little "knick". And it does!:

I'm happy with it, so let's go building the rest of the trackwork.

Later!

Tracklaying part 4; the turnout

Today I started the first turnout. First I laid the outer length and the first part of the point. The latter was made so the second part fits smooth against it:

Then I make the second part and the outer rail on the other side. Also I solder the point to one piece:

After that the inner railpieces are made. Here it takes dome time to make it fit properly:

It almost looks like a turnout, it only needs the guard rails:

And with them in place. Only the switch tie is to be made ready:

Later more!

Tracklaying part 3

Today I started the laying of the rail. First I did a good brush on the first section of ties at the front. After that I started. The rail is from C&S from England and is code 80.

First I used 4 pieces of Wenz for spacing the rail at the correct gauge. They are screwed on the layout between 2 ties. After that I pushed the first microspikes in:

A liitle bit closer to see the spikes better. There heads are very small and hardly seen:

Checking again with the NMRA trackgauge:

A tryout with a loose H0 truck to see if it runs properly:

 And it does. Here are 2 links to youtube. The first I did with a Shay. The "tick" you here is not from the track but from the gears...:

And one with the 4-4-0 to be used:

Both are digital but now used with a analog controller. That's way they are more difficult to control. Better control will be obtained when using a digital system. My plan is, allthough I have a Lenz system, to build in a seperate system for this layout. I do have a Piko Digi1 system with a infrared controller that will do fine for this layout. It will be a better choice because the layout will be in the Dutch Railway Museum for a 3 to 4 month period in a special exhibit about railways in wartime. This layout will be the oldest railway to show.

My wife did some more work on the Lacy hotel. It now has a roof and front roof:

She now makes a stone chimney for the side wall and that is some work. Later more!

Staining the ties part 2

Brushed a piece of track to see if it would become lighter. Well; yes, it did:

Looking good, isn't it? Later more!

Updated the page

Reworked all the labels so you can choose per category!

Staining the ties

Today i first brushed the ties with a steel and brass brush. After that I stained it with stain from Wenz Germany:

Overview:

Now it is needing drying time so that I can start lay my rail! Before laying it needs a second brush to make the ties more older and used.

Later more!

Mockup part 2

The Lacy hotel gets its definitive form.

Front:

Side:

Looks good, isn't it? I like it very much. The idea is to put later on some light in it. That way it is like it has life in it.

Later!

Mockup test of the Lacy Hotel

My wife does the building of the Lacy hotel for me. The front is partially ready so this morning we tried out the location to determine the depth of the building. We make it as a background building because there is not enough depth of the layout:

Now she can make the left sidewall and later on we make the final setup so she can make the right sidewall. Because of the round backdrop this is a little trickier to make.

Later!

Trying a closed car

Tonight I did first some trackwork. The last part was layed in place:

After that I tried a closed car. I already had a undercarriage build zo I started the framing out of 4 x 4 mm wood:

Put the frames together. See the example in H0, I measured from that one (build it 2010):

The roof rounders:

And in place:

Loose on the undercarriage:

And with the other stuff.It looks too short, next one will be 4 scale feet longer (28 instead of 24):

All in one line:

Later!

Tracklaying part 2

Today I went on where I stopped yesterday. First I finished the left part and the last turnout:

This was yesterday evening:

That is finished now without any problems:

This will be the probable location of the watertower and the tent camp:

And a overview of what is finished. Only the left corner is still to do:

More later!

(Hand)tracklaying has started

Today I started the preperation for the tracklaying. This afternoon I tested the length of the ties, about 2 inches:

After that I cut 20 lengths of 2 feet, so I had about 240 ties. Enough for the start:

Before I started the underground I made a jig for the round corner, I maybe will need it:

I took pieces of 3,5 mm plywood as roadbed, I do this to have some "flesh" for the tiny Wenz rail spikes. Here testing the track- and building layout:

Then I cut it to the form needed with a electric saber saw:

I tested for the positions of the turnouts, so I printed out three templates from the Fast Tracks website and glued them in place:

Well, let's start laying some ties. I started with the first straight pieces of track:

I glue these ties (of basswood) on the roadbed with cheap white glue. It is still of high quality, I use it on all my layouts and never had problems with it. Here my son took two pics, the first of where I set the glue on the tie:

And where I press it in place. I look over the valance by standing on my toes so I can align the ties properly:

Some more work is setting the turnout ties. I measured them and then cut them to there desired lenghts:

Here the first turnout is as far ready. The swith tie lies loose between the long ones for proper distance:

And at the end of my (hobby)evening at 9.30 pm: 

 Enough done, tomorrow there is another day. First a good glas of wine on the Saturday evening!

Later!