Building a Hornby TT 120 model railway 2 - Baseboards

[@14KOSHAL]

Great baseboard mate. Looking forward following this layout as the others 😀🚂

[@davidharle952]

Starting to take shape and looking forward to watching the rest of the build all the way to ading scenery.

[@nicholasbishop3300]

Nice job Simon Looks great Nick Australia

[@CGngauge]

For those that are just starting out and are planning on going all out DCC, when building your baseboard you also need to take into account your actual layout.. How this is going to sit on top of the board. Reason being is when you come to fit point motors.. if you have a frame in the way, it will cause you issues.. So best to plan forward and think about this. :) Good video Simon. Craig.

[@lostcarpark]

Looks fantastic! Makes me want to start a new layout!

[@SimonsShed]

Go for it 👍

[@crompton33022]

Hi Simon, I think you have well and truly caught the TT bug. I, too, used MDF for my N gauge lsyour with no issues at all. In fact, I am currently building a HO end to end small run for my two Roco German engines, under my N gauge railway. Great channel, best refards Ian, Swindon.

[@SimonsShed]

Thanks Ian, yes enjoying TT at the moment (still running trains in the shed on the n gauge layout, just not filming it!). I'll have to have a look at some OO or HO locos at some point - it'll basically be a video of me just laughing and saying 'it's massive!' 😁

[@exehavenharbour]

Hi Simon, nice job, I used a mixture of boards as I had some 9mm ply in the garage but it was mainly mdf. My father in law who was a carpenter said mdf would be fine properly braced and paint it in mixture of PVA glue and water to seal them and they are absolutely fine! I painted them for good measure too. My woodworking skills got better as I went along having no real woodworking skills at all. Looking forward to more progress, cheers Simon, John

[@SimonsShed]

Cheers John, yes pleased with how the baseboard turned out. I think MDF deadens the sound of the wheels a bit better but I did want this one to be a bit lighter as I'm going to have to carry it to the shed and lift it against the wall to store it etc. Will try and get some track laid next time. Thanks for watching 👍

[@iansngauge]

Enjoyed watching you build the baseboard Simon! It's always good to see how other people go about it! Like you say, there's no real right or wrong way! Anyway, looks like you've got the start of a great new modular TT system in the making! :)) FWIW, I've used 9mm birch plywood for my baseboards, but am thinking of building a separate test track for running locos in on DC and DCC using MDF! I just need something cheap and flat that I can rest against a wall when not in use! Keep up the good work! All the best, Ian.

[@SimonsShed]

Thanks Ian, yes I'm pleased with how the baseboard turned out, as I said I have used MDF before with no problems and now I'm starting to lay the track I'm finding the ply quite noisy when the test train is running. Thanks for watching 👍

[@iansngauge]

@@SimonsShed - Yes, plywood can be quite noisy, especially if there is a cavity below, which there usually is! The XPS foam that I'm using is quite good at deadening the noise as long as it's about 20mm thick, but that brings with it other problems like point motor access and pinning flexible track to keep it in place! It also makes the baseboard considerably thicker, so you need to plan for where you're going to store it when not in use! Cheers, Ian.

[@onnomulder9775]

Awesome video Simnn!! Good luck with building the new lay out! Cheers Onno.

[@peterkazmierczak7273]

Hello Simon. I've just built a couple of baseboards for my "Shardlow" 4mm layout. I used 5mm ply and wood bracing; also used glue/panel pins rather than screws. Seems to be strong enough - I used 9mm ply and screws for a previous layout, but found it rather heavy and over-engineered. Regards.

[@SimonsShed]

That's good to know, I was going to use 18mm ply which would have been way too thick / heavy to move!

[@peterb1543]

Very Professional

[@LordBonesaw]

Got ya self a new sub dude

[@LetsGo_41]

Hello, just wondering what the make and model of the saw you were using?

[@SimonsShed]

Evolution Power Tools R185SMS+ Really impressed with it 👍

[@LetsGo_41]

@@SimonsShed Thankyou

[@wild_rover2648]

good job 👍

[@dinmorejunctionmodelrailway]

Nice one Simon

[@SimonsShed]

Cheers 👍

[@davidshaw5979]

Hi Simon, from start to finish how long did it take for you to do the base board.

[@SimonsShed]

Hmm I did it a few hours at a time over a weekend....I'd say 6/7 hours altogether, although I could have done it quicker if I didn't film each stage 😁

[@insomniacbritgaming1632]

Hi Simon, how do you attach your track to baseboards? I'm looking at gluing rather than pinning, I'm working in N so figured I'd ask :)

[@SimonsShed]

I always glue my track down with PVA, I will show how I do this in the next layout update video 👍

[@edwardthomson8569]

Forgive my ignorance, please, but why ply and not MDF? I’m planning a TT:120 layout too and want to avoid rookie mistakes!! 😅

[@formercrow5242]

MDF soaks up moisture like a sponge, so over time your MDF will warp or sag messing up your layout. This will definitely happen if you'll be storing your layout in a Garage/shed/attic.

[@SimonsShed]

People say it warps / sags easily and that its a lot heavier if you need to move the layout. I did use MDF on my 1st layout in the shed and never had any issues at all to be fair.

[@edwardthomson8569]

@@SimonsShed okay, cool thank you! Good luck with yours, I considering a 6x4 with a little shunting outside the loop. Take care!

[@edwardthomson8569]

@@formercrow5242 thank you! I have seen MDF soak and expand before, ply it seems is the way!

[@Andy.Gledhill.Models.]

I am a complete novice too. Eventually want to get into model railways with TT-120. I was going to ask what is wrong with MDF too. Maybe I will use Plywood in the end when I do build a board.

[@davidbarr9343]

👍😊