Recent developments

I have gotten rather unhappy with my micro tram layout lately. Not only because some rolling stock doesn't like the tight curves, but also because of some design errors like the curved platform (causing huge gaps) and the limited room for buildings, giving the layout not quite the look as I wanted it to have.
Well, I decided that I won't finish it the way it was intented, but instead use the layout as a base for a new layout in G9 scale (1:22,5, running on 9 mm track). Read about these developments in the thread I've started on the Gn15 forum. Now I just have to find a nice prototype to model :)

On the N tram front meanwhile,  I'll go for the modular approach, using 15x35 cm modules which together will form a small tram network. This allows me to work on a manageable, small project at a time, while not having to compromise on urban look, curves radii and platformlenghts. I have just started on the first module, depicting a downtown scene, with a double track tram line in the front. The buildings in de background are just 3.5 cm deep. I'm very happy with the way things are looking so far!

The story*
As I think every layout needs a story behind it, here's mine:
Alfred Mongy is known for constructing the grand boulevards between the french towns Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing, giving the towns a connection by tramway. However, little known is that he also did a similar project in Lileau, a town with roughly 50.000 inhabitants on the French/Belgian border. Finished just before the beginning of the 20th century, the boulevard and tramway (althought slightly less wide as in Lille) connect the city center with its suburbs.
Originally, two-axle vehicles drove the line, which were later replaced by 4-axle units. In the 1970's it became clear that much had to be invested in new trams, to replace the aging stock. However, the city counsel made plans not to do so and replace the trams by cheaper city buses. An end had come to 80 years of tramway history in Lileau...
...if it wasn't for the Lileau people. They were outraged and absolutely weren't going to lose their beloved tram. By the smallest possible majority the plans were rejected and the tramway was saved, be it that not much money was invested in maintenance and rolling stock. The community transport authority had to purchase trams second hand from many European and even a few US cities, making Lileau a favorite city for tram enthousiasts. Düwags, Tatra's and even PCC cars can be seen operating on a single network.
Things have been looking good for the tramway recently. Although mostly second hand stock is used, rumours have it that the transport autority will be investing in brand new light rail vehicles. A tram from Toyama has even been spotted during test runs...

*This story is completely fictional and not by any means final. It may be changed without prior notice ;)

Collecting for my new layout...

I found these two facade kits, by Artitec. They're highly detailed resin models of a 30's department store and a late-19th century townhouse. They also have some nice etched details.

Guess that solves the dilemma whether my new layout will be European or Japanese ;)






A couple of pictures of the resin castings (I just started on the department store):

Overhead: the easy way

As I did not want to waste my energy putting a lot of effort in soldering together working overhead for a layout on which my only trams with working pantographs will not run properly, I decided to go for dummy catenary poles. To stick with the 'wood' theme on my microlayout (I used it on the platform sides and level crossing) I thought it would be nice to use wooden poles.
The big advantage of not having to pull all overhead wires is that it's done in no-time, while the layout still has the looks of a suburban tram terminus.

Construction was quite simple, for one pole I used a 2mm diameter wooden stick, some 0,5mm brass wire and some pieces of insulation, pulled from thin electric wire. The brass wires were soldered together, the insulation slid onto the ends, and then the whole thing was stuck into small holes I drilled in the poles. A paint job and voilà! I made ten of these in just one afternoon.



I know the placement of the masts is not entirely prototypical, a lot more of them would be needed to keep the wire over the track. On the other side, putting them closer together would also unprototypical...
I hope I found an acceptable compromise here.

Tight radius stress (2)

Okay, I'll finish the layout I'm currently working on as soon as possible, and then start to work on a new one. One on which all of my models will actually run. There are just too many that don't make it through the tight 103mm curves. Anyone interested in a 30x40 cm microlayout? :)

Roofing

Some jobs appear easy and actually are! Putting a tiled roof on this DPM Otto's Parts is just one of those jobs. I simply cut the new roof out of cardboard (keep the model closeby, as you'll want to measure this correctly...). Then thin sheets with roof tile structure were glued on top of that. I bought these from a guy who casts them using white glue (!) and aluminium foil. A paint job and a piece of recycled flat roof glued against the top and the job is done :)

Looks a lot more European to me!

Layout update

I had a lot of time to work on the layout the past week. I almost finished ballasting, only need to find a way to work around the little turnout levers. Two level crossings were added. One for the main road, made from styrene sheet. I used tracing paper to make a little jig, and cut the sheet to fit the curved track. The other level crossing, which pedestrians use to access the platform, was simply made using some leftover strips of wood. A path will connect it with the road.

Still no sign of the other two DPM buildings :(

I wanted something different for the platform, so I decided to use wood for the sides of it. After making the platform from a sandwich of styrene sheets (again, using tracing paper as a jig), I superglued strips of wood to the sides.When soaked in water first, they're quite easy to bend. After washing them with dilluted black ink, they're looking more natural. The platform was primed and further coloured using greyish weathering powders. Of course, it still needs furniture a small shelter. These will be added after I have sorted out the electrics (it's much easier to turn the layout upside-down at this stage).

In case you're wondering, Momo's missing pantograph has been recovered in the meanwhile :)

A little on streets and buildings

I've decided to build the middle of my layout as a seperate unit, which will be glued in place when finished. This should make the build a little easier.

Like you can see in the little drawing I made, there will be a dead-end street with a couple of houses in the middle. I made the street from 1 mm styrene sheet, using a tiled sheet from Evergreen for the pavement. The tiles are 2.1 mm square, about 30 cm in the 1:1 world. A 1x1 mm strip was glued to the edge of the pavement. Still a lot of detailing and painting to do but it starts to look believable :)
The building is DPM's Otto's Parts. I didn't really change anything to it. Perhaps it'll get a tiled roof, but I'll make a mockup first to see how that looks. A couple more DPM buildings should be on their way from the States right now. Can't wait to start on those.

This little building is made by Artitec. It's a little transformer kiosk ('electriciteitshuisje'), of a design very common in the Netherlands. I thought it would make a nice addition to the layout. It came as a highly detailed resin kit, which was surprisingly easy to build and paint, despite its absolutely tiny size (see the paint container in the back as a comparison...) Now just find a nice place for it :)

Still ballasting

Just a few pics of the ballasting progress. Note that the space in between the passing loop hasn't been done yet, as I will first build the platform.

Drawing and ballasting

The weather has been tropical the past few weeks, so progress has been slow. But the plans are slowly turning into an actual layout.

This is the plan, a passing loop at the end of a tram line, somewhere on the outskirts of a city. There will be a platform with a little shelter between the tracks. This will be situated in a park-like environment. A path leads to the end of a road, which crosses the track a little further. A couple of houses will be situated next to the road. I will be using some DPM kits for these, which I'll slightly modify to give them a more european look. I'm not trying to model a specific country, this allows me to use any rolling stock I like :)

Although the Tomix track is a good system to work with, I had to put some effort into it to make it a little more believable. First of all, the ballast bed is way too high for a light railway like my tram line. The easiest way to solve this, is to raise the baseboard around the track. So, after glueing down the track, I cut some leftover 2 mm cardboard to fit and attached it to the baseboard around the tracks. Some big gaps needed filling, you can really use any filler for this job. The picture shows the track as it comes (in the middle) and the 'lowered' track at the right. Next step is painting the rails and the sleepers. Tip: paint the whole thing using a rusty brown colour, then use dilluted black paint to give the sleepers a slightly darker colour. This gives a quite realistic appearance. Then it's time to ballast the track. This fills the gaps and also looks much better than the moulded plastic ballast. I used fine grey Woodland Scenics ballast, using the dilluted white glue method. It looks a little light, but remember that the track in the picture still needs a final weathering job. Don't forget to paint the cardboard an earth colour before ballasting, this is much harder to do afterwards. At the left the finished result.

After cleaning any remaining glue and paint off the rails, it's time to test. I was very happy to see the Bachmann trolley do its rounds without any problems.There are still some sections to ballast, a perfect job to do indoors to escape the heath outside :)

Getting started

The track arrived today. A perfect fit for a IKEA Ribba 30x40 cm photo frame :) The little Arnold tram felt at home immediately.

Designing a layout

I drew this design of a little layout, using Tomix Mini and Super Mini rails. It's designed to fit on a 30 x 40 cm baseboard. The layout allows me to run two trams, and still have some switching possibilities. The stub track can also be used for a short maintenance train. The right part will be a two-track terminus in a park, while the left side will be more urban. Watch this blog as the plans develop.
By the way, I used AnyRail for this, a great program, which is free to use for small layouts using less then 50 components. See anyrail.com.