[Chinahand]

I've been planning my new layout for something like 10 years now with the intention of building it when I retired. As part of the planning process I even built a 1/5th scale model of my intended layout to aid in the design of the landscaping and topography. Well I retired at the end of November last year and the build has started.

Just to provide a bit of background information I'm married to a Chinese lady and we bought a very nice apartment in Guilin, China a couple of years ago. It has 3 bedrooms but one of them has been allocated as my Train Room/Study. I had cupboards built into the room during the fit-out process so that the space underneath the layout can be used for storage.

This was the room before layout construction started.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...ilway_room.jpg

Although I have built 00 scale layouts in the past I was always limited for space so couldn’t really model a good length of main line without compromising the overall scenic side of things. This time I was determined to build a layout that looks as though the railway has, as in real life, been carved through the scenery rather than the scenery being ‘stuck on’ as an afterthought almost. Space is still limited to a degree so the decision was made to build in N Gauge this time.

This is the design I finally came up with which you will see is basically ‘U’ shaped with a ‘dog bone’ twin track main line. There is a twin track spur rising from a junction to a 4 platform main line terminus station on one long side of the layout and a single track branch line rises further from here to a branch line terminus on the other side of the layout.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...out_design.jpg

As mentioned earlier, as part of the design process I built a 1/5th scale model of the layout to give me 3 dimensional view of the possibilities in terms of topography and landscaping. The model was constructed using artists board and included the construction of scale baseboards. This was the first stage of the model which shows the open grid baseboard design.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...8/model_01.jpg

I had used Winrail to develop the actual track plan so I printed it out at 1/5th scale and stuck it onto card. The track bed areas were cut out and installed at the various levels so that the interlinking gradients were also correct to scale. Papier Machè was then used to construct the topography and this was very much a trial and error exercise to gradually develop where cuttings, embankments etc. could be incorporated and also the scenic contours away from the actual track. It eventually evolved into this:-

Much Binding Branch Line Terminus

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...8/model_02.jpg


Canal Junction with Branch line on viaduct in the background

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...8/model_03.jpg

Chipping Main Line Terminus Station.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...8/model_04.jpg


I should perhaps also explain that I have been living and working in Dubai for the past 6 years so, having got the design sorted it was a case of gradually getting everything together in Dubai ready to ship out to China when I retired. Retirement actually came a couple of years before my originally intended date due to the total collapse of the construction industry in Dubai. - (and pretty much everything else with it). Nevertheless I had managed to get everything together by then and ended up shipping almost a cubic metre of model railway equipment. Everything from locos, rolling stock, trackwork, building kits etc. down to scenic materials, figures and loco detailing parts.

Construction started in mid January with the baseboard grids made from 12mm ply. 6mm ply is used for the track bed & board tops. By mid March the boards and backscene for the Chipping side of the layout were virtually completed though no wiring or trackwork has been installed yet. Here are some pictures of the present state of play.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...010_status.jpg

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/..._status_01.jpg

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/..._status_02.jpg


http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/..._status_01.jpg


http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...kground_01.jpg


This final shot shows the full scale print out from Winrail laid out on the board to use as a track template and check that everything is still going to plan. I think the picture looking down the length of the track towards the station gives a good indication of how it should eventually look. The station building by the way is a Scalescenes kit.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/..._full_size.jpg

Loco control will be DCC by means of an ESU ECoS controller though pointwork will be operated via a traditional mimic panel. I built the panel while I was still in Dubai and this photo is how what I call ‘Mission Control’ will eventually look.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...on_control.jpg

I mentioned earlier that the cupboards provide some much needed storage space but there is one cupboard which is a bit special.

http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/.../workbench.jpg

This is my modelling bench. The panel at the back folds down and the whole thing slides under the layout on wheels. It helps to keep the room tidy which, in turn, keeps the little lady happy.

I hope to run this thread as a sort of ad-hoc Blog with progress updates as and when there is something to show. The next step is to bring the branch line terminus boards up to the same state of completion and then build the board for the link section. I am already working on the viaduct itself which is over 1.5 metres long and has 19 arches. You may have noticed the framework for it in one of the earlier photos

I hope you found this interesting and would welcome any constructive criticism or ideas you may have.