Playing with trains is all well and good, just as long as the benchwork is satisfactory. What I had used from a previous layout was 40mm (1 3/4") foam with a topping of lightly made fibreboard. It worked well enough, but it became clear that the roadbed was not what I required with the thinking of the time - where the turnouts (points) would be operated from underneath. That has now changed, but that is for an upcoming post. The other issue was that it was just a bit too small. In one of my previous blog posts there was a lot of discussion about how to squeeze it all in... and an extra 10cm (4 inches) will make all the difference. Again, that is for another post.

I looked around on the internet and found a supplier of 10mm (3/8") plywood at a reasonable cost and hurried across the country to pick it up. With my bicycle, of course. Oh, and on the railway train. If one plays with trains, one has to keep up with the professionals who also play with them (according to a tight schedule of course.) These latter having the delight of a 12" to the foot gauge.

 So there I was with some... 12mm plywood which I hadn't noticed at the time I picked it up. Never mind, I was able to sort it all out and integrate the 10mm plywood that I already had. Just as a note, the design of the layout is effectively the same. Which you can see in the photo to the left.

 Naturally my cat wanted to help, so here he is. In terms of playing trains, he is extremely well trained and doesn't chase or bother the plastic mice that run on 9mm railway track. In the photo to the right you can see how the plywood is being cut. Since my flat is small, this was being done on the lawns outside my garden!

On a day when it didn't rain.

 it all ended up looking like this photo, to the right. The far end is the much discussed gasworks and coming towards us is the river (laughably small, but this is a model, right?)

The straight line is the wall of my bedroom, the curved line is the operating side. The point furthest to the right is where my bed is, and I can get out without knocking anything over.

Thanks for reading! In closing, I want to say that this is intended for enjoyment, and is not intended to be dimensionally or historically accurate. The intention is to create the atmosphere of an industrial city that is served by a steam powered railway.

Gem