Watch this space

Lone Wolf Jul 18, 2010

  1. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    Left wall 13'6", Rear wall 9'8", Right wall 11'2"
    Fully lined and fully insulated. Quotes on lumber tomorrow.
    Its been coming for about 4 years and now start time is finally here.
    I must say I'm pretty excited.
    Cheers,
     

    Attached Files:

  2. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Congrats on progresson of your layout space. I look forward to seeing the layout progression.
     
  3. SteamDonkey74

    SteamDonkey74 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice! It's so exciting when the space is ready to go and its time to build the new layout!
     
  4. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    My plan is to build L girder benches with a half inch plywood cookie cutter top. (Foam as an alternative...haven't quite made up my mind yet)
    The layout will be a 2' wide U shape around the walls, with 4'x4' areas for a large and gentle loop at either end. Well, thats the plan anyway.
    What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men?
    Perhaps one of the Ozzie members could answer this....
    Can you buy extruded foam here in Australia? If so, from where and what would I expect to pay for it.
    Cheers,
     
  5. SteamDonkey74

    SteamDonkey74 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Too bad the ocean currents don't run from Oregon to Australia or I could buy a few sheets, lash them together, and float em out the Columbia to you. Our friends to the south in California have a real hard time finding extruded foam.

    If you can find it, it's a good base material in a lot of respects. Best of luck, from another of the worldwide Scottish diaspora!

    Adam
     
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Congratulations on getting a layout started. Please keep the progress pictures coming!

    Boxcab E50
     
  7. Gats

    Gats TrainBoard Member

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    Rob, nice looking space you have there!

    As for the foam, a quick search found reference in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth! Maybe contact a local hardware or timber yard and ask there, or search online for a distributor/manufacturer who may have a listing of local suppliers. It is available.
     
  8. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the words of encouragement gentlemen. Much appreciated.
    Gary, Thank you also for the extruded foam info. I'll get on and do some googleing this evening.
    Rob.
     
  9. Sly

    Sly TrainBoard Member

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    Hi Rob.

    I can confirm the info about the extruded polystyrene insulation being available in Australia. I bought some from Just-Rite insulation in Canberra a few years back. In fact, I found the piece of paper I wrote the details on the other day. The pricing wasn't very good compared to the low prices the US has it for, nor were the sizes as varied.

    Details:

    2.5m x .6m sheets (or just over 8 feet by 2 feet)

    Thickness:
    50mm was $53.29 a sheet
    30mm was $31.99 a sheet
    25mm was $26.65 a sheet

    I only bought two of the 50mm to test their suitability as a layout base. Those prices were more than I expected. (and yes, they would do fine)

    However, I lucked out when they were replacing some insulation at work because they were using the same sheets in the carpark so I took a car full of scraps away. I also know someone who has a bunch of them under their house which I'm intending to take off their hands.

    If you do find a good distributor with good prices please let us know.

    Good luck! And congrats on the new layout room.

    Sly
     
  10. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    Gary & Sly,
    This morning I paid a visit to the local insulation company and asked them about EPS.
    I hit the nail on the head when I walked in as the owner/salesman said he had a truckload coming in tomorrow specially for a builder working on a major project, locally. I told him I wasn't a builder and that I needed just a few sheets, as I was building a diorama.
    Almost embarrassed, he asked tentatively "for a model railway"?
    I said "yes" and it turns out he's and HO-er, building his own layout. He's building his in an old railway carriage he's moved onto his property nearby to me. WELL, you can probably tell, the ice was well and truly broken. He said he had just the thing for me and showed me 4 sheets that had been returned by another builder, as they were in surplus to his needs. Because they had a few small chips and scars from the extra handling, they would be reduced in price.
    I ended up with 1 2450X1200X50mm sheet and 3 2450X600X25mm sheets for $100.
    He's delivering them tomorrow, FREE.
    All this in a small country town with a population of less than 8,000.
    The gods are smiling.
    Rob
     
  11. Gats

    Gats TrainBoard Member

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    Excellent news Rob, but two things -

    1. Don't drive for a week near Chinamen or black cats
    2. Wear a hard hat

    Your luck quota has been filled!
     
  12. Sly

    Sly TrainBoard Member

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    Sounds like the stars are aligning for you Rob! And there is another model railroader near you to boot. Looking forward to seeing the progress. ;-)
     
  13. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    A progress photo.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Moving fast! Definitely looks very sturdy.

    Boxcab E50
     
  15. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    "Lone Wolf Railroad"

    Never having built a layout before, and probably not likely to build another one, I want to do it right the 1st time. Living where I do, I don't have other model railroaders to visit to see how they do it, so I am gaining all of my information from magazines and you guys here on "Trainboard". Maybe I should have called it the "Lone Wolf Railroad".
    I'd be grateful of any tips or suggestions, so expect to hear quite a bit from me while its being built.
    Cheers,
    Rob
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 1, 2010
  16. norco44

    norco44 TrainBoard Member

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    Rob,
    Somme good results on your search for the high density foam. Find another train nutter is always good news.
    One thing to consider with using foam or plywood for the roadbed - switch motors.
    Have seen one guy have some real problems mounting Tortise switch motors under the layout. He used 1" foam. The dramas outweighed the advantages of lightness. Had to point out to him that his layout was to be permanant so why worry about the weight compared to plywood. He is now back to using plywood roadbed.
    Just one of many things to think about in the planning stages.
    Gary
     
  17. davidh

    davidh TrainBoard Member

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    One of the popular alternatives that I've used several times specifically because of the switch machine issue is to underlay the foam with thin plywood. In my case, I'm using 1/4" with 1 1/2" stryrofoam overlay. This gives me a surface to attach my Bluepoints to, which shouldn't be much different than Tortoises for attachment. The combined 1 3/4" thickness gives no problems whatsoever with the linkage.

    David
     
  18. jolio55

    jolio55 TrainBoard Member

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    Looks like a great space! Good way to start off a project on getting a killer deal on some foam! Good luck and keep us posted!:thumbs_up:
     
  19. Lone Wolf

    Lone Wolf TrainBoard Member

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    Gentlemen,
    Thank you for the suggestions, tips and words of encouragement.
    Its much appreciated.
    I will keep you posted, as I'm pretty proud of the fact that for the 1st time in my entire life I am building a permanent model railroad layout. This, instead of setting up a trainset on the carpet with my Dad. It was something he always wanted to do too and although he's been gone for 20 years, I'm sure he's enjoying it as much as I am.
    Once again, Thank you.
    Cheers,
    Rob
     

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