10-19-2010, 10:30 AM
I’m in the process of building a small H0 shelf layout, actually this is my first permanent layout since I had a tabletop Märklin layout as a kid. While I feel quite intimidated by the fabulous work done by so many of the members here on this fine forum, I have humbly decided to share my progress with you in this thread.
My layout is based on a fictional branch of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) in the 1930s. The exact location of this branch line is unknown, but it lies somewhere in the rural and forested areas of southeastern Norway, close to the Swedish border.
The Hjemstad Line gets its name from the small town of Hjemstad (Homestead in English, direct translation), in which the line terminates. Funny enough, Hjemstad is also my family name on my mother’s side (my family is the only one with this name here in Norway, currently 11 people are registered with Hjemstad as their last name), talk about coincidence!
Motive power on the Hjemstad Line in the 1930s was steam all the way, but since I have two diesel engines plus some cars that are too modern for my era, there will also be the occasional time warp into the late 50s. Rolling stock are mostly short boxcars, flatcars and stake cars, with wooden coaches for passenger service.
I want the layout to be portable and expandable, and have decided to build it in smaller lightweight sections. The construction method is inspired by Iain Rice, with the sections made from 6mm (1/4”) plywood pieces interlocked and glued together. I have never done this before, nor can I remember seeing anyone else’s layout (other than Iain Rice’s of course) built this way, so this is much like an experiment for me. I hope this will be of some interest to you people as well.
Here’s the current track plan as of October -10, room size is 290 x 210 cm:
![[Image: HjB_09_w1200.jpg]](http://www.hjemstad.no/pics/HjB_09_w1200.jpg)
As you can see by the track plan, the layout is only a station (Hjemstad) with the main track leading to a staging area on a transfer table, basically an ISL in a rural setting, and operations will reflect that. A local switcher will serve the industries and sidings while the arriving engine takes a turn on the turntable before getting ready to depart back to staging. In addition there will be some through freight on and off cassette staging via the railway ferry track in the center front of the layout.
Translations from the track plan:
Tømmer - Log loading
Gods - Freight
Stasjon - Station/depot
Privet - Privy
Plattform - Platform
Lasterampe - Loading ramp
Industri - Industry (still undecided which type)
Frilastspor - Team tracks (direct translation: Free load track)
Ferge - Ferry
Comments, suggestions and critics are welcome!
My layout is based on a fictional branch of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) in the 1930s. The exact location of this branch line is unknown, but it lies somewhere in the rural and forested areas of southeastern Norway, close to the Swedish border.
The Hjemstad Line gets its name from the small town of Hjemstad (Homestead in English, direct translation), in which the line terminates. Funny enough, Hjemstad is also my family name on my mother’s side (my family is the only one with this name here in Norway, currently 11 people are registered with Hjemstad as their last name), talk about coincidence!
Motive power on the Hjemstad Line in the 1930s was steam all the way, but since I have two diesel engines plus some cars that are too modern for my era, there will also be the occasional time warp into the late 50s. Rolling stock are mostly short boxcars, flatcars and stake cars, with wooden coaches for passenger service.
I want the layout to be portable and expandable, and have decided to build it in smaller lightweight sections. The construction method is inspired by Iain Rice, with the sections made from 6mm (1/4”) plywood pieces interlocked and glued together. I have never done this before, nor can I remember seeing anyone else’s layout (other than Iain Rice’s of course) built this way, so this is much like an experiment for me. I hope this will be of some interest to you people as well.
Here’s the current track plan as of October -10, room size is 290 x 210 cm:
As you can see by the track plan, the layout is only a station (Hjemstad) with the main track leading to a staging area on a transfer table, basically an ISL in a rural setting, and operations will reflect that. A local switcher will serve the industries and sidings while the arriving engine takes a turn on the turntable before getting ready to depart back to staging. In addition there will be some through freight on and off cassette staging via the railway ferry track in the center front of the layout.
Translations from the track plan:
Tømmer - Log loading
Gods - Freight
Stasjon - Station/depot
Privet - Privy
Plattform - Platform
Lasterampe - Loading ramp
Industri - Industry (still undecided which type)
Frilastspor - Team tracks (direct translation: Free load track)
Ferge - Ferry
Comments, suggestions and critics are welcome!