Building the NM&RC

[Svein]

You have obviously mastered the subtleties better than me Svein! I did notice your girlfriend had built the coach. At least I get encouragement for my N scale modelling from my wife.

Mind you, she has expressed an interest in a G scale 'Christmas' train ..... Perhaps that could be a seed .....

Keep your great photos coming, perhaps they will inspire her!

Well there you go, a G scale Christmas train is a very good starting point, who knows what comes next!

LOL - Vigdis might just "very subtly" allow you to move the whole pile of dirt alone now, and let you think that was all your idea in the first place ;-)

Good progress on your garden layout!

Yeah, of course that one would come around and bite me in the butt...

LOL, Vigdis got a good laugh right now, standing behind me and reading your comment!

Svein

[Svein]

We hadn't exactly planned for an extension this soon, but figured that the new framework next to the extisting one should be in place. The outer track in this curve will lead to a return loop with a station, with a track branching out from the station to a service area at a comfortable height:





Yesterday we had about 10 tonnes of rock delivered. With the layout being so high above the ground in some places, the outer stone retaining walls should be in place before landfilling the whole area, so that is the next step on the agenda.

Svein

[Svein]

When building the framework for the new extention in front of the deck, of course we forgot to put down drainage pipes outside the posts, so today we had to dismantle the framework to get the pipes in place. Luckily we hadn't finished the crossmembers when we discovered the oversight, so it was an easy job to get it fixed. Got the pipes and crossmembers in place today, now only the top boards and roofing felt remains.

There might also be a slight change in plans. The old deck will be removed and a new one put in, as mentioned earlier, but we discovered today that the framework height almost perfectly matches the height of the new deck!:



The old plan was to have a perimeter stone wall with gravel walk paths alongside, but now we're thinking of extending the deck all the way to the layout. The future layout extension will be from where the new framework ends, and with the deck at the same height, one can easily walk across the track to reach the outside of the layout.

The roof will also be extended outwards, approx. to the point where the old deck now ends. Then we will have a nice, cozy covered sitting area, which has been sorely missed.

Svein

[ngauger]

That's a GREAT idea!!!

[Ralph]

As a rule, one home improvement project tends to lead to another!

[Svein]

Time for a little update in this thread, and a couple of new pics.

Yesterday we started digging out and leveling for the foundation of the new terrace. The clay soil is awfully hard, and heavy to dig, we did actually rent a mini excavator for this job, but since it had been delayed for several days, we figured we just had to get startet manually.

The old roof overhang is now gone, we opted for a pergola awning instead. The wall is also fitted with the new paneling and new water boards, gutter is in place and the old deck has been removed. The post in the foreground marks where the track will eventually go (stage 3) from the framework just barely visible to the right, and also indicates the end of the terrace, which will be flush with the framework right here:



The soil removed from under the terrace have to end up somewhere, and stage 2 of the railroad is now mapped out and marked with spray paint on the east side of the house. This area is about 8x10m (26x33feet), and will have a return loop with a station, plus a large engine service/train preparation area along the slope to the east (the top of the slope will have a fence, to ensure the safety of the operators )





Svein

[faraway]

Your photo hosting service changed it's rules and does not permit hot linking anymore. We see a red stop sign and remarks that hot linking is not allowed only.

[Svein]

Your photo hosting service changed it's rules and does not permit hot linking anymore. We see a red stop sign and remarks that hot linking is not allowed only.

That's because of the Big Blue site changing it's domain name, I just discovered that myself. I have changed the entry to "bigbluetrains.com" instead of "the-gauge.net", so the pics should show up eventually. Thanks for the heads up, please let me know if you still can't view the pics after reloading the site, it may take some time for the update to take effect.

Svein

[faraway]

It is still the stop sign. I access this discussion via <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/....">....</a><!-- l -->.

[Svein]

OK, I think I've found the error. I tried "bigbluetrains.com" (without the WWW) and got the stop sign, added WWW and everything worked. I will add another entry without the WWW to cover both cases, then it should be OK.

Svein

[faraway]

you fixed it

[Svein]

Well, we didn't get to complete the terrace by the end of our vacation as we had hoped for, but there's not much work left to do now:



We're about half way done with the floor boards, posts and railing still to come. We've also put down the framework for the railway running in front of the terrace, on the outside there will be a small raised patio and a stairway down the slope to the right, making the railway seem embedded in the terrace floor.

Svein

[Svein]

The terrace is done, finally:





A new terrace demands new furniture, and a nice place to relax while running trains, so we went to a local garden supply shop today:



The view from the terrace is great, but it will be even better when we get some planting done:



This picture shows how the railway will be enbedded in the flooring. On the outside there will be a patio at the same level as the new terrace floor, leading to a few steps down towards the lower level at the outside of the loop:



And finally, a pic of the terrace with the awning retracted. I was somewhat sceptical about spending so much money for a pergola awning, but the end result is very satisfying :



Svein

[modelsof1900]

Svein, very good work!
When do you start the opening party?

[Svein]

Thanks, Bernhard. Actually, the line has been operational for a year now, but we've never had an official opening ceremony. Maybe next spring or early summer, I'd like to have the layout a little more presentable first.

Svein