June update

The previous update jumped slightly ahead of progress, as I added the fascias after I had added the cork roadbed – although the lighting poles were made earlier!

Anyway, the latest post details the steps I took to lay down ¼” (or 6mm) cork, with 6mm square (supposedly) timber at baseboard joints. It’s a fairly easy step, but requires a bit of planning and then allowing time for the glue to properly harden. It is also worth knocking up a simple tool for sanding over a larger area. This will also be used again when I come to lay the sleepers.

Enjoy if you visit!

Addendum: apparently I have now made 100 posts, and reached out to 50 countries.

5 thoughts on “June update”

  1. Chris Mears's avatarChris Mears

    Congratulations on one hundred posts and the progress reported on in this update.

    There’s something quite satisfying in sheet goods. That plane of cork looks just like a nice thing. Does some of it get removed after track is laid?

    I was about to suggest an Edmund Fitsander of your own but then got to the part showing the one you made. They’re a lovely tool to have around aren’t they?

    Wonderful to see this update. Thank you for inviting us along on this adventure.

    Chris

    1. Simon's avatarSimon Post author

      Hi Chris,

      Thanks for the kind words, and yes, some cork will be removed later on: patience, dear boy, patience… ;)
      We have the laying of templates and sleepers, followed by their removal and relaying, yet to come (things didn’t go to plan – quite literally) before I attacked the surface to remove some of the cork outside of station limits.
      I have found Edmund to be useful for other tasks around the house, too.

      1. Chris Mears's avatarChris Mears

        Hi Simon, glad to hear your Edmund has been on adventures too. So did mine. I’d used a piece of oak leftover from a door threshold and was quite proud of it so inviting it into other parts of our home was easy.

        There’s something so satisfying about pristine canvases like these sheets of cork. I can imagine myself not being keen to tear into them or disturb them for progress even if that was the progress leading to trains. I think that’s why I carry a curiosity to design things that show the layout equally as a finished scene representing a fully-textured “real life” and also a naked “and here’s how it’s made view.

        Regardless, I’m really grateful for a chance to reconnect. Thank you for inviting that.

        Chris

  2. superblysong00d62cb1be's avatarsuperblysong00d62cb1be

    Thanks, Simon. Interesting read. I like the idea of the tool for the sleepers, traditional sanding block is way too short.

    Have had a couple of very pleasant dreams recalling operating East Lynn. I won’t give you a psychological interpretation of the possible manifest/unconscious meaning!

    Best,

    Steve ________________________________

    1. Simon's avatarSimon Post author

      Hi Steve,

      East Lynn not only looks right, but works perfectly. Nothing fancy: 12V DC with cab control and very few sections, points and signals mechanically operated. Everything set up properly. Not surprising that you dreamed about it! (Nothing deep, psychologically, either, as it was your brain recalling the memories and consolidating the learning whilst you were asleep.)

      The sanding block really comes into its own in the next instalment, in about a month!

      Thanks for commenting,

      Simon

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