[Swingcats]

Hi

Just retrieved my old layout from my parent's house where it has languished in the shed for 6 years, stood on end. Apart from the odd snail trail running across the scenery it looks not too bad. However looking at the track layout I see some real bloomers in the way I laid it out and despite some good scenery feel inclined to start over.

New idea is run a line around the shed walls instead of a 6x2.5 foot base board, with terminus station/goods yard one end, goods, and turn table other end and station half way along.

1. Board Construction

So any tips on base board construction, the old one was sundeala board? with insulation board on top of that.- very heavy on 2x1 pine frame.

2.Ballasting?

Should I use underlay?- on the last one I did not and glued /pinned straight to the board, ballasting with so called 'N gauge grey scatter material which in looks like boulder size lumps of rock rather than ballast, any new products to true scale out there?

3. Tips on cleaning old track, points from old board?

4. Engines are coming out of storage in boxes, what gear oil to use?

Thanks in advance

 

[neil_s_wood]

Oh, there's a few questions in there.

1/ I use chipboard and it does me well. I'm not familiar with Sundeala so I cannot comment on this.

2/ Yes but wait for a while until you've been running your locos for a bit and are completely happy with performance and how it looks. Once you balast it it locks it so that you cannot adjust it. It's a pain to rip up if you change your mind.

3/ I wouldn't waste my time onold track except for the points as they are expensive. See if you can clean them up and they perform ok. If you cannot then it's probably time to chuck them.

4/ See what your local model shop has in stock. Anything produced by the major companies should be ok.

 

[Swingcats]

Yes, nipped up to Henford Hault, our local shop and got a bag of Gaugemaster N ballast, looks far more to scale than the Peco stuff I was using, also got some oil and rigged up a test track to get the engines running again. I have not yet ballested the points on the old board, so I will most probly use them on a new layout, once I have completed the DIY building projects my wife wants doing first!

 

[Swingcats]

Update:

What a great morning, the sun is shinning and while my wife nips down to the local gym for a facial or something, my 3 year old daughter and I headed for the shed. Back boards removed for a clean up and the hoover inside the tunnels to remove unwanted cobwebs and spiders, snail tracks rubbed off with a finger, and track cleaned up with Peco rubber. Soon have some locos running round again after 6 years off.

Interesting to see peco track pins rust, old paper mache dried out and flaking, but the hills which had a layer of glass fibre are sill good. Will use some decorators chalk to fill the gaps as its flexble.