For Whom The Bell Tolls.... (amended)

Well now, it is just about a year to the 2mm Scale Association's Golden Jubilee Exhibition and the conclusion of the Golden Jubilee Layout Challenge. I have some photos of the baseboards made for Rothervale so far. Panic hasn't set in yet, I'm pleased to say - though it probably should have done by now.

"Send not to find for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee!"

In truth, I am still very pleased to be participating - even though I don't expect to have a particularly brilliant layout by this time next year. It is the taking part that matters. Without the Challenge, I would never have got this far this quickly, though there is still a huge amount to do.

Research
A trip to Beighton Junction, on the hottest day of the year so far, produced some excellent photos and information for Rothervale. It also answered a few questions and doubts in my mind. Though it never happened, a station on the MR at Beighton Junction (which I am calling Rothervale) really could have been a decent possibility.

I also found out that the MS&LR (later GCR) re-sited its station at Beighton in 1893. I am now thinking that they might have moved it adjacent to my imaginary MR station, instead of on the far side of Rotherham Road. In the very long run, that would make a great site for a model of a preserved line. The 2 lines were no more than a few inches apart in 2mm scale, at this point.

Baseboards.
I have been working on the baseboards to get them ready for laying track. For the non-scenic ends of the layout, I have stripped the old end boards down to basics and laid a new 9mm ply trackbed on top. This is a bit of a bodge, as the boards were built for track laid on a slightly different alignment. Still, it saves a lot of work - and the end result doesn't look too bad. I have also widened the scenic board at the north end of the layout slightly, to accommodate the station building.

The photos show what exists of the layout now. The lawn is a bit uneven, so I was unable to get everything level. Click on the pictures for a larger view. I have placed a Midland mainline HST and the ground floor of the station building on the baseboards to give an idea of scale.

The end boards are very strong, despite their slender appearance. One is an 'I' beam, the other a rectangular tube, both made out of softwood. Of the 2, the tube is definitely the better, but I am happy enough with the 'I' beam to keep it.

The top of the scenic boards looks a bit of a mess as it still has the track plan and plywood underlay for the old track plan. This will all disappear under the scenery, in due course. For the new track, I intend to lay some 4mm thick wood strips over the old trackbed.

Inflation
The bad news is that this work has increased the area of the boards quite a bit. The scenic boards now come to 6.76 sq ft, a relatively small increase. On the other hand, the end boards (excluding the area built solely for future expansion) are now just over 2 sq ft in total - pretty well double my estimate for the original design. The extra is largely due to the space required for DMU sidings between the 2 main running tracks. That leaves almost nothing for a fiddle yard at the back of the layout.

(The sections below amended or added)

However, the middle scenic board and the south end board do not have to be as wide now, so I could increase the area available for a fiddle yard by losing some of this width - by hiding it behind the backscene, rather than physically removing it.

Comparisons
I found the recent article in BRM about Runswick Leamside, probably my favourite modern image layout. Amazingly, the length of Rothervale is not far short of Runswick, scale for scale - though Runswick has scenery around the corners too.