Layout construction
During the early stages of planning of Pine Bluffs Depot, we came up with a list of layout musts and shoulds, which were used to make the final designs of not only Pine Bluffs, but also of any future modules that we planned on creating. What resulted was the modular standards that we now use when designing and building modules, whether it be as part of the section, or individually.
Must be:
Transportable so it could be exhibited.
‘HO’ based to match the availability of appropriate stock
Modular so that, when exhibited, the layout could be tailored to the space and transport available.
Constructed to a set of standards that would permit growth and interchangeability.
Should be:
Of mid-west origin, ideally Colorado (we had some DRGW stock).
First generation diesel era (1950s).
Have a good mix between railroad and scenery.
Generic, rather than prototypical, to accommodate the difficulties of conducting detailed research on a subject located over 3,000 away.
Modular Standards
What resulted from the criteria, and from previous layout building experience was a set of Modular Standards that best suited our requirements. These included
A board size of 1.0m by 0.5m
Two module entry and exit points, at one third in from the front and back
A floor to track-level height of 1.0m
A standard wiring loop, enabling control of adjoining modules
General Construction
The layout baseboards have been constructed using 6mm plywood sandwich to a 1 metre long by ½ metre wide overall format. ‘Plaster of Paris’, cast in rock molds and laid over expanded polystyrene foam formers has been employed for the majority of the scenery. This has been coloured with acrylic paints and detailed with ‘Woodlands Scenics’.
Track-work and turnouts are ‘Peco Finescale’ (code75) the turnouts being operated by the wire in tube method.
The structures are a mixture of kits, ‘bashed’ kits and scratch built with the majority being scale lumber based.
See also:
Layout Construction - the construction methods we used on the layout
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Layout History
Find out about the history of the layout, including previous modules, the various changes that have been made to the layout and more
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Layout Construction
Find out about how we constructed Pine Bluffs Depot, our modular standards and the methods we used
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Future Planning
See our plans for the future of the layout, including TWO new modules being built at the same time
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Have Layout, Will Travel
Details on how to book us for your exhibition
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