Last time I got quite a few mails asking about Alasdair’s wiring, so he’s kindly set this explanation in:
“Hi Al , thank you all for your very kind comments as to my layout, the control panel is like a canopy fixed to the baseboard flush as to save taking up scenic space, it is hollow underneath to hide all the wires,and a little shelf for the controls,hope this helps.
regards
Alasdair”
“Hi Al
Well it has been almost 1 year since I started my layout. It is far from finished, however the track laying is complete. Here are some pictures showing progress so far.
Remember I am in Mexico and some things others take for granted just do not exist here. Also because this is in a rented space, like a storage unit facing a busy street, I have a constant flow of people stopping to look and talk, most have never seen anything like this and the children are the best , with their excited expressions and wide eyes as I run a train for them.
All the best, enjoy.
The beginning: From this;
To this;
To this;
To this;
To this;
And this;
And from this;
To this;
To this;
And from this;
To this;
To this;
To this;
To this;
And from this;
To this;
Materials are simple, pink building foam, dry wall compound, clothes dryer sheets, news paper, regular house paint. For track ballast I use sifted sand, the kind used in construction from local building site. Trees come from fabric store, or dried flower supply store.
Also along the way I discovered a few places where changes were called for.
For example;
This view is the back side of the mine, main line on top, mine track through tunnel just off right, and the road that goes through the tunnel to the mine. The lower track begins the climb up to main, closer one to the main platform. This is how I planned it and saw it in my mind, then wife comes along and asks, where are the houses going, got to have houses? Only one place left, above everything else.
This road is the only place to do this, so continue road up and build a bridge.
Bridge under construction, checking clearance with large box car, so far so good.
Trouble; same car, hits wall.
Track surgery called for, move away for clearance.
Change complete, track moved, aligned, leveled and checked,
Next is paint, base coat is grey, why , you ask, because I have lots of it. Then comes black,
Then washes of brown,
All for now, hope this helps some one, I decided before I started that operation was first, looks second, because I could over time improve and or change the looks easier than operation.
Ken”
A big thanks to Ken, I do love seeing the progress – and the time and effort – that goes in to a layout.
Please do leave a comment below if you’d like to join in.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you take big strides towards your own layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
