Kinross: walk the plank...

The intention with Kinross was to create a cameo layout that had some operating potential, albeit limited...

This was a contrast to Pont-y-dulais, which had initially been constructed for such a constrained site that no end access was possible. Now it’s relocated this could be rectified but probably won’t be... however Kinross was built to live on these new shelves and to this end the layout was built with ‘holes in the sky’ at each end, even when I wasn’t sure I’d progress the layout beyond the envelope of the view. I figured it would have been difficult to modify it later so the sky just papered over the holes. Later, when I was more certain about the direction I wanted to take I cut open the views on the main line.

However, only limited thought had been given to how to construct the fiddlesticks required, and how these would be interfaced with the layout, and supported ‘off shelf’. Despite continued lockdown there are a few remaining off cuts of material in my store, and so a tired but serviceable sheet of 6mm MDF amd some 9mm off cuts were rescued to aid an experiment...

I say experiment as I wasn’t quite sure how it would work, These are only for infrequent home use, as a result they’re more fragile than you’d want for exhibition. However that allows for a little more bodging and creativity in their form. I’m almost certain there is nothing new here, but I shall share it as part of the complete Kinross story. The baseboard, if it can be called that, is simply a 9mm sheet of MDF. The track bed is 6mm, to give some relief and stiffen the structure. The track bed is inset at the end, so I could add a T piece to the end of the riffle stick to plug into the sky, and rest on the the 9mm base. This means the stick is a 6mm finger, with a 9mm spacer at the end that rests on the shelf. To restrain the stick from just popping up, there are two triangular fillets, in 9mm each side of the track, that the finger pushes up against, with the weight of the layout holding it down, and stopping the lot from lifting.

A Peco code 75 fishplate was cut in half, and carefully prepared to be a very tight fit on the layout track, and the original ends opened up a touch to allow the track on the fiddle stick to be gently aligned. The track is then just glued in place on the stick. In use, although it felt secure, I was concerned the weight of the locomotive at the top of the stick sound cause sagging/drooping and spell disaster! A small dowel, discrete enough in every day, was fitted to the door frame. This is all that is needed to support the end of the finger, and works very well indeed.

This is all very heath Robinson but I’m sharing to show that projects don’t need to wait for materials or hi tech solutions. This was all assembled with scraps off cuts and a jig saw one rainy Sunday morning. A lick of paint hides a multitude. If you’ve got a stalled project and you’re mulling over complicated solutions maybe just try something simple for now. It will get you moving forward, and can always be revisited and improved in the future. Until next time, more soon...