Just been searching building station platforms as I’m about to embark on that project. Absolute revelation to use plasterboard. What a brilliant idea. 👍👍👍
i live an hour down the a1 in hertfordshire.I too love leamside layout even now its 20 years old its still much better than more recent layouts. I have just looked at your videos of your layout and its looking good.
Excellent video mate very informative them platforms will look the biz when finished,look forward to your next update this layout will look the bees knees when finished mate something to be proud of.All the best Kev.
wondeful! It takes you 7 minutes to start with "how to build station platforms"?!? Had to sit through that, finally it got interesting! Thank you for the later 11 minutes!
I just ran across this video and it is timely for me. I am going to be building platforms soon for my expansion 2. The use of plasterboard is a great idea. Not sure if i can get 3/8 board here in the US, but will look. Great video. I know it is a year old, but still super.
Excellent, i like the way your getting all your preperation done in the house so atleast you will have stuff to move into the shed straight away. You really need to get on with that shed though! Jason
lol I did recognize the voice. Plus I had watched this video before coming. I must admit that I hadn't thought of doing platforms with plasterboard either. I like it.
hi andy thanks for the comment.yes i have found this method the easiest and cheapest way of building the platforms. i have just completed converting the loft as my layout room now and will carry on building the layout next week end.
i di tend to spread a thin layer of filler over the plasterboard before I paint it so I can rub it down foa a rough finish. Also when your painting the platforms you can sprinkle sand into the paint as you go along while its wet and that will give you a rough surface and it soaks in the paint.I have used this method lots of times and looks very good.
Another well made video. I like the idea of the plaster board, I was going to use mdf, but opted for peco platform sides with card top, and mdf supports between the platform sides. So far after 2 years in the shed it has held up quite well. Bet you can't wait to get your sheds finished. My layout is in a 12' x 10' shed with a 10' x 8' hand built extension. although the layout actual size is 15' x 7'. I have still got room to expand? ;-) All the best Mark
Have you considered putting a LRT system on your layout. Some great models from Leopold Halling. Just a suggestion. Keep up the great work. Thanks for the video. Look forward to future updates.
great video mate it really helped , will it be a good idea to place in the peco sections and fill up the space with woodland scenic smooth it plaster to get an even curve or would it be better to cut plaster bored in to the shape of the radios ??
Shame to hear about Glebe Road. But I'm liking the ideas of the new layout, particularly what you're doing with the station. It's all looking good so far, keep up the good work!
after watching your video it has helped me decide to build my platforms just using filler! I'm hoping it will give that slighty uneven concrete effect! and possible cheaper!
When you said the the measurement between the track was 2", was that rail one side to other rail side (other track) or one slepper side to the other sleeper side(other track)? I hope you know what I mean. If you used packaging foam for the station and used sidings and filler (Poly filler I think you use) over the space/screws and over the top, would that affect the foam in any way or will the foam affect the filler in any way? Thanks, KingJack1999.
hi mark Thanks for the comment and yes cannot wait to get the shed completed so i can finally get some trains running. Sadly I think that's going to be a long way off.
well once you have drawn the lines for cutting i just use a sharp stanley knife and score the lines two or three times and then it should just snap off easily.once cut rub the knife up and down to smooth down the edges. its very simple to do mate.dont worry if the edges are uneven and rough to much as once you add the platform sides you will fill all gaps with plaster then paint it. hope this helps mate.
Plasterboard edges can be sanded smooth to reduce gaps and use polyfiller for any gaps seal the tops with pva glue watered down a bit great surface to be painted
I tried this on an n-gauge layout where the platforms were not on a straight line and it just didn't work for me. It didn't help that I had 9.5 mill board but shaping it was not easy. Also the peco sides I bought had a grip on them which I assume you'd cut off in your example? I'll definitely try again with a straight edge platform though so I'm not dismissing the technique just sharing my experience.
I'm following your steps on how to make the platforms, I've just finished the peco sides and I'm onto the plasterboard. What tool did you use to cut the plasterboard because I really don't want to mess it up!
Hello, I think that you are doing a great job on your station platform. I am a complete beginner in this wonderful hobby, so I hope my question is not too stupid. can you tell me how you paint such straight yellow lines. Happy modeling , Allan.
Painted straight lines is a hard task in this hobby. You could use masking tape to get straight lines but that would take ages to complete. Or just paint them by hand with a thin brush like I did but you will a steady hand for this. There are also felt tip paint pens on the market which will be easier. There is also rolls of adhesive colour strips which you buy and just stick them down to represent the yellow lines but this is only good for straight lines and will come stuck around corners. So hand painting the lines would be the best option in my opinion.
i use copper screws so that i can solder the track to them to stop the track from moving.if you dont fix them in place they will expand and move resulting in derailments.you can also use copper clad sleeper and solder the rail heads to them but you will need to make a cut in the center of the copper clad so that you do not get an electrical short.
Hey Bloodmarine. This'll sound weird but I'm pretty sure I was stood next to you at the Trains4u open day in Peterborough today. You are looking at Runswick Leamside wearing a yellow shirt. I was the guy in the grey shirt next to you. It was only when I got in the car to come home that I realized who you were. If I had realised sooner I would have said hi.
Its 2 inches from the center of one track to the center of the other track that runs along side it.this way you wont have any issues connecting the track to the points.and yes i used foam to form the ramps at the end of the platforms and used filler to smooth it off and so far i have had no issues with the two working together.
Hi, I'm currently building my own layout, and I'm using separate baseboards as well, but I still can't understand how to join the tracks on the ends of the baseboards. Could you please explain to me why you are using the screws underneath your tracks?
yes it needs to close.best thing to do is tape a pen or pencil to the corner of a coach so the pen touches the baseboard then run the coach up and down the track and that will give you a rough idea of how close the platform edge needs to be.
Only about half an hour actually, what about you? I'm currently building my own modern image layout in my garage and I'm on the hunt for ideas. I love Runswick Leamside. Plus I also liked the shopping center on Shopliegh, the layout in the entrance.
cannot remember of the top of my head. the best thing to do is tape a pencil to the corner of a coach and run the coach along the platform and the pen will draw the line for the edge of the platform. hope this makes sense.
Good Thanks Glebe.. :-) I'm contemplating on making 3m x 80cm diorama of same sort of layout as Your platform section here on youtube.. Not sure if i will have as many tracks between the platforms but most likely max 3 and then a single freight on one side.. and then frogs on one side .. Any tips? Did you wire each of Your track sections or did you solder them.? Thanks..
no i added droppers to each cut section of track to ensure power at all times.its a pain and long winded but well worth it as i have no issues with stalling locos.
Maybe Peco recommend 2 inch centers for adjacent tracks but this is much more than British Rail track centers work out to be in 4mm / ft modelling. Prototype track is normally set at 6 feet from outside of rail on one track to the outside of rail on the next track for straight track. this is widened as required on bends. 6 feet plus two rail head widths = 6 ft 5.5 inches. plus track gauge of 4 ft 8.5 inches gives a track centers total of 11 ft 2 inches. If you round this dimension to 11 ft 3 inches, it becomes 45 mm track centers in 4mm scale.and will look very much more realistic. Another feature of prototype track is that the distance between a running track and a siding is close to 15 feet. This is 60 mm in 4mm scale. The Peco recommendation of 2 inch track centers is way out for this situation. You have put a lot of effort into building platforms and retaining walls but have allowed Peco's recommendation to ruin the overall appearance of your modelling. Trevor LL
the plaster board works really well.its a shame you didn't realize it was me when u was standing next to me as we could of had a good chat.do you live far from trans4u?
