New loco!

A new layout deserves a new loco i think, so today the first new HOe loco for a few years arrived. A little Liliput diesel shunter complete with flashing light! It runs fine (though a little extra speed is needed over points to avoid it getting stranded in an electrical dead zone) but does wobble a bit, maybe when the track is permanently fixed down that will be improved. Now what shall we call it?

Good progress

Today i made a lot of progress on Mausstadt. I wired up the head shunt siding and taped down the station/depot area - using double sided sellotape as used on the loop. This is only a temporary fix of course but i want to get the layout right before i commit to anything permanent. I've also made a start on the back scene with the 2 tunnel mouths. The mouth with the 2 tracks is a bit low to be honest, i think the authorities would want a word! A new loco has also been ordered, more news TBA...

A week of trial and solution

Unfortunately my experimental board top layer of a card-foamboard-card sandwich proved to be a flop. What worked great in a smaller prototype didn't translate to the full size board. It was just too warpy and uneven. Instead i've gone back to wood, nicely flat planed wood. I know from experience with Eskalon than HOe couplings can be quite sensitive to uneven track so i'm saving myself a lot of trouble in the long run!

Now the building can properly begin. Welcome to Mäusestadt!

The new board

My third generation board then, the frame is as before but the top is a sandwich of stiff card and foamboard. This is the first time i have done a layout board like this so it will remain to be seen if it works out, but it should be robust enough. Hopefully! As you can see below the new board literally goes on top of the Knell Lane one. I want to keep that and maybe reuse it in a couple of years time. I simply have no where to safely store it, apart from where it is now. And no the new board is not lying on top of the track, i put some spacers on the frame of the board to avoid that!

The final fling

Knell Lane has been decommissioned now, as Spock once said "Only Nixon could go to China." ..no not that one, he also said "All things must end"! The CEP had the final run earlier today and then everything was packed away. The track (and non-tree scenery) has remained in place as the new board (which i built today) has been put on top!

A test of track

I've bought some Roco HOe track, the first time i've bought none PECO track since i restarted railway modelling. The aim is to use the track on the main curves of the forthcoming new layout. As the video shows below the track works fine mixed with a couple of PECO N gauge straights. Now i need to lock-down the design and buy the remaining track i need for it. I'm thinking of having the main straight use PECO 009 track plus much of the station area will use PECO N. The mix of track types will bring an interesting dynamic.