Part One: The beginning

The Beginning

In February half term 2011 I took my then 18 month old daughter up to Grosmont to see the trains. This is when the seeds were planted for my model railway project.

I'd had a small layout as a child but never really did much with it scenically, so I bought some books, subscribed to a magazine and began to plan what I was going to do.

I bought the Hornby Trackplans book and picked a layout that I thought was achievable, but had a lot of scope for scenery and train operation.

We lived in a terraced house then which had a loft room, but I knew we'd be moving so I didn't want to start building the layout itself so I began to gather the track, some buildings (such as the Hornby Skaledale Coal Drop) and I began building Metcalfe card kits.

We moved in summer 2012, but we had a bit to do in the house so the train room (which at that point was going to be a shed down the garden) was on hold. Then in 2013 I had a brain wave and thought about building a room at the back of my garage. 

In February half term 2014 Kev Howard spent three days installing the double glazed window, building the partitioning wall and fitting the doorway- all of this he insisted he would do out of the kindness of his heart. I then fitted shelving all over the outside of the partition wall (so you open the garage door and are faced with a wall full of shelves); I painted the walls and I put the ceiling up and insulated above. In October 2014 Aimee's Uncle Martin came and completely rewired the garage and sorted the lighting out as well as putting in plug sockets where I'd need them.

Kev begins the work converting the garage into the model railway room. (Feb 14)

Kev's help was greatly appreciated and the project would've ended before it had started if he hadn't built the room. (Feb 14)

The window in place, all we need now is a wall and door. (Feb 14)

Finally in the construction phase Aimee's dad came in February 2015- almost 4 years after the initial idea- and constructed the baseboard.

On the right it sits above the trunking, and on the left it sits below the light switch, whilst being high enough to both work on and get underneath to do wiring -which was the plan. The cross supports are positioned so they aren't below where the points will be. The dropped section on the left is where the lower lock gate for the canal will be. (Feb 15)

Although it has been a long time getting to this stage I'm glad I haven't rushed it as I've been able to familiarize myself with DCC, wiring, build up my scenic gear, hone my model making skills, collect some model making tools I'll need and do the job correctly without breaking the bank- although the project will be well into the upper hundreds and I haven't ran a train yet!