GETTING STARTED

Once you have decided upon a track plan which offers you the desired potential you can then decide on which type of baseboard you will need. As I have previously stated I still prefer the traditional 2 x 1 principle but there are other designs which may suit your needs better, for example: If your layout is to feature hills and valleys with a simple track plan running through, then a flat topped baseboard is not exactly what you want, for this situation a thin plywood formed honeycomb should be your chosen style with the 'railway' running on shaped trackbed sections where required (I will try to illustrate this method in the near future). There are a number of manufacturers advertising similar designs in the various modelling magazines at present some of which have me puzzled as to how you manage to install electrics and point motors within the small areas allowed.

TOOLING-UP

Anyway, the first thing to do when building your own layout is to invest in a good range of tools. We are extremely fortunate at present with the massive selection of both hand and power tooling currently available and many of these at very affordable prices. Your layout will take a sizeable amount of your free time to build and this time can be drastically reduced by having the correct equipment to hand, it does not have to cost the earth either as many one-time cost prohibitive items have fallen dramatically to levels affordable to most people, let's face it if you can afford say £100.00 for that locomotive you really want then you should be able to invest the same in say a small bandsaw which will save you hours against cutting by hand, and remember the bandsaw will be able to cut your plastics and odd shapes for scenic work too!