N / OO9 Two scales one gauge

BOGHOUSES IS SET TO RETURN!  

Following on from the original Boghouses thread I shall open a new one for what will be an all-new project.  As described in "Boghouses" this will be a reworking of the original but with the added interest of creating a twin-scale layout using one set of rails.

The OO9 theme will now be known as "Tŷ Bach" which menas, literally, small house in Welsh.  Colloquially of course it means toilet or other words used to describe that facility.  And thereby nods to its alter-ego of Boghouses.

Two scales.  One layout.  Using N-gauge track, double-sided back-scenes and swap-out structures.  Have I set myself another challenge?  I hope so.  

So we now have a track plan.  And an outline sketch of what goes where.  Not to scale but with a general idea of size and shape.  One of the interesting possibilities which arose during the drafting of this plan is that with very small rolling stock and despite the restricted space I can potentially have a split-level fiddle yard.

As one views the layout - probably by sitting at my desk - the station will be to the left.  There is sligfhtly more width here and a small station can be fitted in to accommodate a 2 or 3-car N-gauge train.  For OO9 the N-gauge platform height will be fine as the "bug-box" passenger coaches to be used have ground-level steps for entry.

There will be redundant track beds just as there were on the original Boghouses and ancillary buildings will be "swap-out" to suit the two scales and different themes but using the same footprints.

The crossover will sit midway along the board and will therefore be above the computer.  All the points could be manually-worked but the intention is to power them up.  The main line then vanishes at the right-hand end where again there is rather more space and a wider, curved-edge, section of board acn be used for the fiddle yard.  That will hold 2-3 tracks each long enough for an N-gauge loco and four (possibly more) of the "Megabox" bogie freight wagons to be used.  Those will be more than sufficient for the OO9 trains.

The "Tip Road" which will be the destination of the N-gauge freight known as the "Boghouses Waste Dump" and can be used as a loading / unloading area for quarry trains in OO9.  Behind that there is space for a rising single track which will lead into the OO9 mountains and give reason for the quarry trains to be there at all.  As with various Welsh mountain railways these will accommodate passengers on demand so while the trains might be all skips or all slate wagons some will include the passenger coaches.

In case it cannot be read from the image the basic plan of operation is that the N-gauge passenger service will be a DMU simply shuttling in and out while the freight will arrive, have the wagons shunted by an "08" shunter and those then returned to the station where the loco can couple to the leading end and take them away.

The OO9 train will come down the mountain into the station where a second loco will come off the spur and shunt the stock as or if required before leading it away down the main line.  And vice versa.


 

Bearing in mind rail size and sleeper spacing for the two different scales, what track will you be using Rick?


Ed

Ed said

Bearing in mind rail size and sleeper spacing for the two different scales, what track will you be using Rick?


Ed

From “Post #290,394”, 22nd July 2024, 9:27 am

I shall be using standard Peco N-gauge track just as I did on Porthgarrow.  While this gives incorrect sleeper spacing for OO9 some of that can be disguised by building up the ballast over the sleepers and filling the "four-foot" with crud.  I may well use some OO9 track on the mountain branch which is plain track and will not be used by N-gauge trains.  Some points and crossings in OO9 are available but not always what is needed.  The crossover is a Peco item (SL-E383F) that will save space but which is not available with OO9 sleepers.   

As usual with this hobby compromise is the way forward.  

 


Ed

Great to see you are still modelling Rick. I look forwards to seeing how you tackle an n/009 layout. 

Off to your end of the woods on Friday, staying on Lizard. It was there 6 years ago I first stumbled across Penhayle Bay. Wondering if it was ‘local’ to find out a little while later it was in the other side of the planet!

Wood has been cut. And measured twice before doing so. 

    

 The layout will be built along the wall shown and above the computer screen so fully 130cms from the floor. 
  
The wide shallow-angled return will be the station end; the narrower return with the small curved section will support the fiddle yard. As there is room for about another 20cms on the return this will be fitted with an outrigger panel to maximise storage length.  

TeaselBay said

Great to see you are still modelling Rick. I look forwards to seeing how you tackle an n/009 layout. 

Off to your end of the woods on Friday, staying on Lizard. It was there 6 years ago I first stumbled across Penhayle Bay. Wondering if it was ‘local’ to find out a little while later it was in the other side of the planet!

From “Post #290,400”, 22nd July 2024, 10:11 pm

Definitely still modelling!  Waddlemarsh is under restoration at the premises of Hayle Railway Modellers which is also home to Porthgarrow.  If you’re in that area on club days (Wednesdays and Sundays) it’s worth popping in. As I am 20 miles away I am normally only there on alternate Wednesdays. 

A line-up of rolling stock, some brand new and some of it from previous layouts.  And a comparison of OO9 and N side-by-side.  The Baguley-Drewry OO9 diesel loco is missing as are most of the V-skips but this gives an idea of twhat the OO9 stock will be.  The N-gauge will be the 66, eight of the "megabox" wagons, an 08 shunter and the 158 DMU.  

There are minor clearance issues with the OO9 stock on adjacent tracks using the N-scale crossover but as I only intend running one train at a time this will not matter.  Most items will pass most other items; it's only the Peco open passenger carriages which will not pass either the bug-boxes or the Baldwin locos on the adjacent track.  

The first of the bug-boxes and the first of the slate wagons have been weathered.  In attempting to remove the "FR" monogram from the bug-box the livery itself came away.  I have therefore made the most of this and very carefully rubbed a bit more away beneath the window frames using the tip of a scalpel blade.  The remaining coach retains its "FR" for now but this could become ER or even BR with deft application of the white marker-pen.


The slate wagons are really tiny.  Even by OO9 standards they are small.  This one will be an "end" wagon in the rake as it has been fitted with a standard OO9 coupler at one end.  All intermediate couplers on this rake will be the simple hook / loop arrangement they are fitted with as supplied but which sensibly are a plug-in fitting allowing changes.



The green Baguley-Drewry shunter also used on Porthgarrow's ng line is shown alongside.  I now have a lined maroon version as well making two diesels and with the arrival of "main-line Hunslet" Blanche (which may have her name removed) there are now three OO9 steam locos with the pair of Baldwins from Porthgarrow also available.



Most of the track is now here.  The baseboards are ready for mounting on their legs which will be the next and slightly tricky stage as the cottage floor is far from level so each leg will be a different length.

Good luck with getting it level Rick.


Ed

Nice looking kit there, Rick. Looking forward to seeing the complete layout.

Ed said

Good luck with getting it level Rick.


Ed

From “Post #290,432”, 8th August 2024, 11:23 am

Thanks!

I invested in some screw-in feet for the supporting legs which will allow fine-tuning of the levels.  They arrived complete with a drill-bit in the box thoughtfully included in case the purchaser might not already have one.  The feet are threaded shanks, rather than the fully adjustable variety that cost a lot more, and are 7mm diameter.  

The drill bit is 12mm diameter ………  

In other news I am also awaiting the morning and a trip to the hardware shop (yes, we have a good old hardware shop in a town of just 4500 people) in order to obtain some small wood screws.  Having got the angle brackets to fit legs to baseboards I found that those did not come with screws and all those I have in stock are too long.  Just another minor but frustrating delay when I have today to myself and nothing that I can do to progress the build.  

I used Tee nuts on my legs along with an M12 bolt and a locknut on each leg. Is this what you're talking about?

An afternoon of determined, if less than skilful, woodwork has resulted in the boards now being up.

The legs are attached to them with small angle brackets and are cross-braced in pairs below the half-height point. As they have to stand clear of skirting the legs are not exactly at the corners.

The two boards meet with a front-to-back bearer beneath the join and both sheets of MDF glued and screwed to it. One mid-section leg currently takes the weight and rests on the desk. One more will be added on the other side.

With an uneven 1820s cottage floor and a decent span across the desk getting things level was not a given. The feet will screw in or out of the legs for fine adjustment if required but it seems I have it as near level as makes no difference at the first attempt.

All bearers, legs and other joints are glued and screwed to minimise distortion and damage from the occasional knock

As can be seen the layout fits along one wall above the desk (which is messy today), computer, printer and weathering works. Quite a lot in a small space.

Looking good  



Ed

I am inspired 🚂🚃

Claus Ellef said

I am inspired 🚂🚃

From “Post #290,444”, 15th August 2024, 9:00 am

Excellent news!

In other news the second intermediate support went in late last night.  Not only does this offer much greater support to the left-hand board than the initial images suggest but means I now have a neat set-up with a "post" either side of my computer.  Just in case that matters!  

The desk has been cleaned and tidied today.  All the shelves and everything I can find in the room have been dusted to remove as many traces of MDF cutting and sawdust / drill swarf as I can manage.  The lack of an indoor workshop has been slightly inconvenient but I can work outside in the backyard in good weather.  I chose not to because the boards are quite large to get around the angles and through the doorways in the cottage especially with the legs fitted.  

The OO9 stock has been assembled on temporary track placed on the boards and may end up living there.  Placing the crossover and some yards of plain track down means I can gauge the feasibility of the proposed track plan.  

It seems to be workable for both scales.  

I thought about how to manage the station platform height as that will not be a swap-out structure and have concluded that the operational face will be different.  N-gauge trains will use the track nearer the viewer which will be laid and built to N-gauge standards.  The OO9 trains will use the far side of the platform which will have track suitable for Peco open-sided passenger coaches and the "quarryman's brake" coaches.  The "bug-box" coaches are designed for track-level entry / exit which might require different arrangements.

As I don’t yet have any track fixed down I took the new OO9 stock to the clubroom today for a running-in session on the test track 

Both locos are powering. There was no problem with differential gearing so no push-me-pull-you at all.