Tag Archives: baseboards

April 2014

Although the five 4ft by 33 inch staging yard boards were already constructed, we still had to make the curved end boards. The photos show their construction. We again used a ply base and softwood bracing, but the sides were from 4mm MDF board which bend nicely. All held together with screws and white glue (PVA).

Doug came up with a support system reminiscent of that used on the scenic board, but this time using a softwood T-section. This fits into slots on the top of the trestles. and is very strong. The last two shots show the end boards and the first staging yard boards erected a couple of weeks ago (that’s me being smiley!). Finally a few shots of the stock running while we extend – I’ve been weathering the F3 units and cabooses with Pan Pastels after the article in Model Railroader. Generally we’ve been very impressed.

Paul and Dave are still modelling nearby us in the clubhouse on their EM (4mm scale, 18mm gauge) layout of a local station and we often go for a drink with them after the modelling sessions.

Hopefully the update to the site will become more regular now. Gordon is retiring this Friday (Easter Friday) and I was made redundant last October so am semi-retired at 58. Doug is working a 4-day week so often has Fridays free. All-in-all this should mean more modelling time as we start on track laying and wiring.

2nd half 2013

We left the layout with construction just starting up again in May. Here are Doug and Gordon working on the new staging yard baseboards – plywood top and softwood bracing. I’m helping by taking photographs. We used ‘EM-gauge society’ baseboard locators – metal pin and holes that screw to the ends of baseboards; These are visible in the third picture where we are weighing down the cork with anything to hand. The fourth picture shows an unusually summery set of modellers and below that are some shots of the layout in July.

Also in July, we completed purchase of the clubhouse from our local council and that meant that the plans to move into the main hall, with more room for our extension, became possible.

As some of you will know, we were very sad to lose Chris Bennett at the end of August – he had prostate cancer and had been in hospital and then a nursing home since the spring. His modelling prowess is evident in so many of the structures on our model of Mauch Chunk, as well as in the overall construction. He is sadly missed.

Over the Autumn (= the Fall) we finished the baseboards while one of the other groups modified the new annex building that we had acquired on the site. This would mean they could move there out of the main hall making room for us. After the end-October exhibition, which their layout attended, they duly moved into the annex. We cleared the space left and in January moved Mauch Chunk through into the main hall. We were delighted that even with inexperienced modellers we dismantled it in a couple of hours and then re-erected it (see photos above) in another couple. At the end of this we had stock running! A testament to Chris and Paul’s construction and wiring.

August 2002

In August work continued on the baseboards. The trestle legs were adjusted and the horizontal supports for the boards were “unwarped”!   The boards are high by most standards to give a more realistic viewing height. Sadly, one of our members, Don, decided that he had to give more priority to his charity work and very amicably parted company with us.  Thanks Don for all your work on the room and the baseboards.

The Beginning – June 2002

The baseboards that would become “HO Mauch Chunk” started out as the baseboards for a proposed UK-based S4 layout that would be called Helmshore. However, it became apparent that although this would be fun to build, it would be rather boring to operate, and the group started to discuss alternatives. Steve had visited Jim Thorpe in 1996 and stayed with a model railroading friend (Eugene Mones) and visited the Hudson Model Railroad Club. He proposed Jim Thorpe as a subject and photos were admired. It was only later that we discovered this was a CNJ line and the additional problems (and pleasures) this would cause! Even this early, the internet was used extensively to get photos and plans and a number of helpful people sent information. We were able to start planning, although the track plan later changed many times as more information became available. The photo shows a variety of the plans and photos laid out for an open day in summer 2002.

We moved into our new room in the Merseyside clubrooms in early summer 2002 and after painting the walls and ceiling, started to erect the baseboards. We are using trestle legs with horizontal supports for the baseboards proper – designed by Chris, our architect.  The boards are high by most standards to give a more realistic viewing height.

The layout will have a staging yard running along the back and the modelled section at the front, with tight, hidden curves at each end. There will be no central well – see the track plan.