The perimeter of the baseboard subframe was built from 4" x 1" pine, except for the topmost edge which was 3" x 1". The cross member used 3" x 1" pine. This was to give a 1" gap between the cross members and the baseboard covering (12mm MDF). The longitudinal central member would have been 3", but I had a long joint on the MDF at this point and 4" x 1" was used to provide support. The diagonals are 2" x 1" pine. |
A closer shot of the construction.All joints were as well made as I could, and screwed and glued. there was negligible deflection on the frame before the MDF top was added. |
The baseboard set up with its legs down. You'll note the 1" gap on the nearest edge - for mechanical linkage to the pointwork from a lever frame. This space was intentionally large to allow a bit of elbow room when planning the lever frame, and could be filled in with 1" material to provide more support for the MDF. The legs are braced by strong chain and a 2" x 1" strut which just pushes in between the cross braces on the legs. This bit of 2" x 1" is stored inside the subframe when the legs are folded up. |
The board with the legs folded up and ready for storage. You can just make out the strut for the legs lying on the horizontal cross member.The one problem with this method is the weight of the assembly. The size of the board is about 5' x 2'6", and I didn't expect the weight to be so much for this size of board, hence the reason that I moved over to thin plywood construction for the 7mm scale layout. |
And here's the top view with the track with the usual guddle of slips, three ways and diamonds :-). This is the centre baseboard of three, with a fiddle yard board extending from the bottom of the picture, and a station platform board extending from the top.There's a basic similarity between this layout and the 7mm one and I did try to copy this design for the 7mm one but I just couldn't squeeze it into the space available for the larger scale, so a complete re-design of the throat was necessary. |