Richard Insole
Western Thunderer
Hello All,
New here, and wanted to start off with what I have got. like a few others, I have seen in this thread, there are some lockdown layouts that have been started, etc. It has always been something that I have wanted to do and having the time during the lockdown, I finally found the time/excuse to make a start.
In my younger years, I found my passion for this through my dad (Peter Insole). There are many photos of me as a wee nipper pushing a coach down the track, probably getting in the way, as dad was tinkering with the layout under construction. It was one of my more treasured memories, certainly as I got older and made my first purchase of a loco in 2005 (Class 20). The layout lay dormant for a few years after the initial construction and became active again with this new loco.
So, fast forward 15 years... as a parent now myself, I wanted to give my boy that same memory. But, and is the big but, living in an already cramped flat with my wife and two children, how do you pluck up the courage to ask the wife to build one? And where?
I have dad to thank for this. Some weeks and probably months ago now (gulp) dad came round and the conversation was started over the two or three locos that I did have displayed on a shelf. I had previously purchased 3 sections of Peco Flexi track and a DC controller from our most local modelers. I bought these when my boy was approximately 3 years old. sadly, he was too young to appreciate it, although even at that age, already adored all things trains. As seen here holding grandad's hand to look at a train. Although, he was probably closer, if not already 4 years old in this photo.
After talking to dad for a little while, I decided to get the track out. Laying it on top of a side, I managed to get my locos running. Wahey... This is where dad popped home to fetch a wagon or two, as I didn't have any of these. Immediately, the memories came flooding back, seeing a snapshot of some of the rolling stock I played with on dads old layout some 15 years previously.
Furthermore to this, my boy (and my girl) were jumping for joy over the excitement. So desperate to "have a go". He ran the little train we had put together down this 3m straight and the gentle control and excitement in his eyes as he would stop it in the imaginary station. This is when I knew... he was ready.
I started the planning in my mind and discussed carefully with the wife, as not to upset with the very idea. I got the green light. Sadly, I did not get many photos of the early stages of the baseboards although, I can tell you that lightweight and minimalistic was the key. I made a small shelf-like baseboard that sticks out 100mm from the wall and over by my desk, a little station area. (I don't deserve such an understanding wife who allowed me to do this).
Once I had the base, I then started to plan out a nice little simple layout. And please, do excuse the state of the desk! Everything had migrated to make space. The excitement was too great to stop and make it look presentable.
All the questions of what kind of platform do I want, how long etc etc... I used some foam board I had laying about to make a simple construction to decide how it looked. But, overall, the decision that I made with the foam board and layout here above is what I went ahead with for the layout.
I was planning on scratch building a platform. There are a few options out there, but nothing that I could see myself wanting. I took the easy way out and ordered the Peco platform edges and...
New here, and wanted to start off with what I have got. like a few others, I have seen in this thread, there are some lockdown layouts that have been started, etc. It has always been something that I have wanted to do and having the time during the lockdown, I finally found the time/excuse to make a start.
In my younger years, I found my passion for this through my dad (Peter Insole). There are many photos of me as a wee nipper pushing a coach down the track, probably getting in the way, as dad was tinkering with the layout under construction. It was one of my more treasured memories, certainly as I got older and made my first purchase of a loco in 2005 (Class 20). The layout lay dormant for a few years after the initial construction and became active again with this new loco.
So, fast forward 15 years... as a parent now myself, I wanted to give my boy that same memory. But, and is the big but, living in an already cramped flat with my wife and two children, how do you pluck up the courage to ask the wife to build one? And where?
I have dad to thank for this. Some weeks and probably months ago now (gulp) dad came round and the conversation was started over the two or three locos that I did have displayed on a shelf. I had previously purchased 3 sections of Peco Flexi track and a DC controller from our most local modelers. I bought these when my boy was approximately 3 years old. sadly, he was too young to appreciate it, although even at that age, already adored all things trains. As seen here holding grandad's hand to look at a train. Although, he was probably closer, if not already 4 years old in this photo.
After talking to dad for a little while, I decided to get the track out. Laying it on top of a side, I managed to get my locos running. Wahey... This is where dad popped home to fetch a wagon or two, as I didn't have any of these. Immediately, the memories came flooding back, seeing a snapshot of some of the rolling stock I played with on dads old layout some 15 years previously.
Furthermore to this, my boy (and my girl) were jumping for joy over the excitement. So desperate to "have a go". He ran the little train we had put together down this 3m straight and the gentle control and excitement in his eyes as he would stop it in the imaginary station. This is when I knew... he was ready.
I started the planning in my mind and discussed carefully with the wife, as not to upset with the very idea. I got the green light. Sadly, I did not get many photos of the early stages of the baseboards although, I can tell you that lightweight and minimalistic was the key. I made a small shelf-like baseboard that sticks out 100mm from the wall and over by my desk, a little station area. (I don't deserve such an understanding wife who allowed me to do this).
Once I had the base, I then started to plan out a nice little simple layout. And please, do excuse the state of the desk! Everything had migrated to make space. The excitement was too great to stop and make it look presentable.
All the questions of what kind of platform do I want, how long etc etc... I used some foam board I had laying about to make a simple construction to decide how it looked. But, overall, the decision that I made with the foam board and layout here above is what I went ahead with for the layout.
I was planning on scratch building a platform. There are a few options out there, but nothing that I could see myself wanting. I took the easy way out and ordered the Peco platform edges and...