A Small Door Layout.

Small? Perhaps, but really neat. Fun way to display the biscuit tin collection. 

Very neat little fun layout there Jamie

Regarding points and or extra track, it can be expensive to find here in Australia ( sometimes not) but in general its a heap easier and cheaper to actually buy from the UK on "the Bay" as it is cheap as chips over there !

Of course the currency exchange rate and shipping may work against you a bit, but in general if you shop around you WILL find bargains

Just figure out that Aussie shipping is likely to cost you $14-18 say 7-9£ and suddenly 15£ shipping for a stack of track at a few dollars a piece starts looking good lol

Happy hunting and if you get really stuck I might be able to help out some ..

Very nice layout - looking forward to seeing your progress on it!  Always happy to see another clockwork layout....

VERY nice layout and I REALLY LOVE those biscuit tin buildings!

It is a very nice neat layout, but your mere mention of a turntable, doesn't seem feasible, with the area you have to work with.  Turntables take up a lot of real estate, so you may want to rethink that.  Otherwise, continue with the project, and post updates.

I thought so too, Teledoc, but there's one on the door already.  What a neat layout - lots of operation in a small space!

Fatman posted:

Very neat little fun layout there Jamie

Regarding points and or extra track, it can be expensive to find here in Australia ( sometimes not) but in general its a heap easier and cheaper to actually buy from the UK on "the Bay" as it is cheap as chips over there !

Of course the currency exchange rate and shipping may work against you a bit, but in general if you shop around you WILL find bargains

Just figure out that Aussie shipping is likely to cost you $14-18 say 7-9£ and suddenly 15£ shipping for a stack of track at a few dollars a piece starts looking good lol

Happy hunting and if you get really stuck I might be able to help out some ..

 

 

 

Thanks very much Fatman for the advice. I will keep looking out for a set and let you know if I can’t find any.  

TeleDoc posted:

It is a very nice neat layout, but your mere mention of a turntable, doesn't seem feasible, with the area you have to work with.  Turntables take up a lot of real estate, so you may want to rethink that.  Otherwise, continue with the project, and post updates.

It’s going to be a real squeeze but I’m hoping that with a few mods to the turntable and some custom angle track I may be able to fit 3 loco bays in.... Well it seems to work in theory but in practice it may not eventuate. 

Farmer_Bill posted:

I thought so too, Teledoc, but there's one on the door already.  What a neat layout - lots of operation in a small space!

I was at first planning to built a bigger 3 rail layout but once we moved in and sorted the furniture it wasn’t going to work. My dear wife suggested trying to do the layout using all R1 curves and points and seeing if it would fit on an old door we replaced. Glad I gave it a go - I would have never thought so much action could fit on a small layout either. 

Mill City posted:

Small? Perhaps, but really neat. Fun way to display the biscuit tin collection. 

Thanks Mill City. Biscuit tins are like trains - you buy 2 and they breed like rabbits.. Will be good to finally have a spot to display them.

WindupGuy posted:

Very nice layout - looking forward to seeing your progress on it!  Always happy to see another clockwork layout....

Thanks James.

Its been in its current state for to long now. I’m hoping to have the cabinet to fold back in to - made for it soon. In the meantime I need to get cracking on re-tinning the track and restoring the station. 

Tinplate Art posted:

VERY nice layout and I REALLY LOVE those biscuit tin buildings!

Thanks Tinplate Art! 

Mill post some more pictures of them soon. I have a real weak spot for tin litho artwork. Sadly recently there hasn’t been many house shaped tins sold new here in OZ. I’m finding the best era here in Oz for tinplate buildings is between the mid nineties and early 2000’s.. Hopefully they will come back in to vogue again and have new designs back on the supermarket shelves.

Why not just roll it under the bed?

Joe Hohmann posted:

Why not just roll it under the bed?

It would be a lot easier but due to a medical condition I am not always able to get down on my knees or bend. I’m hoping that in a cupboard it will be at working height and with a hidden counterweight I will be able to easily open and close the layout. Sorta complicates things...

I don't have one now, but I love Small Door Layouts.

When I first dabbled with O Gauge back in 2011, it was reading the story about Dave Allen's (an Aussie just like you are) Matterhorn Project for a OGR contest that was featured in Run 251 that got me hooked.  I even did HCD layouts with Kato Unitrack like you're doing Jamie.  Keep up the good work!

Well a little more progress on the layout. 

The points in the inner circuit have been installed and the siding is in place. Just need to modify the turntable to fit the three track sections closer together. Anyway here is a look at the layout with a clockwork double header mixed freight consist scooting around. (Apologies for the missing tender on the lead loco. I must get around to making a repro tender...)

https://youtu.be/Awsc3Ikdfn0

Jamie,

Love your door layout! 

Have you considered adding an automatic Wolverine coal (black marbles) loader to your layout?  It would be a very cool addition!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAxIBYpr5g

Bob Nelson

Here is a DIFFERENT biscuit tin from Switzerland (Lackerli-Huus):

navy.seal posted:

Jamie,

Love your door layout! 

Have you considered adding an automatic Wolverine coal (black marbles) loader to your layout?  It would be a very cool addition!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAxIBYpr5g

Bob Nelson

Wow - what a great accessory! I need to find myself one of those! Thanks for the video link and idea!

Tinplate Art posted:

Here is a DIFFERENT biscuit tin from Switzerland (Lackerli-Huus):

What a beauty! I will have to find one of those.  I love the crocodile loco’s! 

Great layout.  That's quite a bit of action in a small space.  Check this site out.

http://www.thortrains.net/index.html

This looks lovely. I love clockwork too. 

Cool layout. Mine is 3 rail O-27 and also on a door. Small layouts are better than no layouts!