eproject

Nixnie
Ted Polet
1 – the idea

At the start of this project it was known as 'the demo layout' - an idea born about 5 years ago when I thought it would be a good idea to build a small demonstration layout in 009 to promote 9mm gauge narrow gauge modelling for the Dutch 009 Group. It is only 80x55cms and features a midget-size station with a passing loop, and a siding to a brickworks. The theme of the layout isn't really fixed, but most of it is light railway/industrial, although it will be built to accommodate some of the smaller C&DR stock if needed.

Nixnie is a name halfway Dutch and South African slang and could be translated as 'nothing at all'. The funny part of it is that the layout was thrown together using all kinds of cast-off bits and pieces that somehow came together. The baseboard is a sandwich of 50mm styrofoam between a sheet of chipboard and a sheet of three-ply. The chipboard came from the attic and the styrofoam from a spare sheet found under the ground floor of the house which I insulated against the cold over 20 years ago. In one corner I cut away the upper sheet of plywood and some of the Styrofoam, so a river bed and a short trestle bridge could be planned. When the plan evolved from its early shape, I had to widen it by about 4cm to be able to get the trackplan in the limited space.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

	The initial plans were for a light railway with an industrial theme and a fiddle yard at the rear.
	Later a small wayside station appeared, with a short loop and a siding. The idea of adding a fiddle yard with access through the doors of a shed is the most recent.
	The baseboard takes shape, back in 2006.
	Cutting the Styrofoam.
	The contours of the river bed (left), and the first alignment of the continuous run (right).
	Left: the best way to determine clearances: run the longest and widest vehicle you have over the track, holding a pencil against it. Right: the track as eventually laid in 2011.

2 – the idea evolves, and track is laid

The successive plans show how the idea evolved from a simple mine served by a siding, and a fiddle yard behind a backscene, to the latest version which has a backscene along part of the centre of the layout. The backscene terminates in a clump of trees, with the scenery virtually wrapped around the end. Thus a scenic setting is created which continues from one end of the layout, in a U form, to the other, following the curve over the river bridge. The plan will speak for itself – it even includes an off-stage connection through the sliding door of an industrial building facade which is part of the small station.

Initially I wanted to use a minimum radius of 22.5cms, but this proved to be impossible, so I came down to 19.5cms. The track is mainly re-used sectional track and a piece of Roco H0e, all of which came from earlier layouts. Only the points are recent Peco. The track of Nixnie was laid in the spring of 2011, subsequently wired (in a very simple manner) and tested with the available rolling stock. This went all right apart from one or two glitches with long wheelbase Egger coaches which I planned to use on the line. Even fixing the two-wheel bogies didn't help very much although it improved things. I think I need better wheels under them.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

	Left: the layout, with the cut down brickworks buildings in place. Right: trial running, with some of the other structures set out on the baseboard.
	Wiring installed (left), and trying out the idea of a centre backscene (right).
	More photos with a sheet of ply positioned in the centre, and stock on the layout.
	A few photos taken in the garden, showing the structures and rolling stock against a natural backscene. The brickworks dwarfs the train next to it (right).
	Passenger train passing the Faller shack (left), and a short train of Roco stock at the grounded van body serving as a goods shed (right).
	Passenger train entering the scene (left), and preparations for ballasting (right). Note the area under the Peco point painted brown.

3 – further development and structures

In preparation for the Dutch Group meeting of April, 2011, I fitted the backscene and added most of the structures. The backscene was fitted along one side of the layout and at an angle, slightly off-centre. Its position was largely dictated by the size of the Pola brickworks which I built in the mid-1970s and never used for anything. I cut off part of the building so it would fit in the available space. The river bridge was made re-using stripwood offcuts that came from a scrapped TT layout I once built for my sons.

The other structures are two small kits by Pola and Faller which I bought new, and an Airfix standard gauge van which I was given by Lee Bryant at Expong a few years ago. A water tank was made up using two spare pillars from the Pola brickworks and a Tri-ang TT milk tank given to me by Tom Dauben, and a small kit of a builders’ caravan which serves as a PW hut. More is to be added, but this is sufficient to show what a motley collection of materials went into the layout up to now. All buildings have been weathered using simple methods. The brickworks still has its basic 1970s weathering using dirty thinners.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

	The layout at the Dutch Group meeting of April 2011, showing some rolling stock by Jan Mekenkamp at work.
	Adding Styrofoam contour patches to the top of the baseboard to suggest a continuation of the landscape contours from below the track.
	More views, also showing the central backscene which was set up using curtain rail brackets.
	Overviews of the layout before ballasting was started.
	Spreading and levelling the ballast in dry condition, taking care to leave the moving parts of the point clear.
	Flooding the ballast with a solution of PVA glue, water and detergent from the side of the ballast, taking care not to flush it away (left). The wet ballast is seen on the right. This procedure has to be repeated once or twice after the glue dries.

4 – initial scenery

The river bed was modelled with rock represented by cork bark offcuts that came from the same TT playing layout mentioned before. A few small pieces of slate were added. More work is needed here because the bottom will have to be detailed before pouring in the epoxy. The funny thing is the river has no source – it starts in the clump of trees and its source is camouflaged by low branches. Elsewhere on the plywood baseboard I added small contoured patches of Styrofoam. All Styrofoam contours were then covered in a hard shell made of toilet paper and white PVA glue.

In preparation for the Valkenburg show of 2011 I pasted computer printed backscene sheet on the plywood panels, using wallpaper glue – an error as the brown dye from the plywood came through the paper. I will have to re-do this. I also ballasted some of the track, with dry ballast spread between the sleepers and the glue flooded in, dissolved in water with a little detergent added.

During the Valkenburg show I ran short trains and in the meantime made the scenic cover in the river area. A mixture of plaster, PVA glue and black dye was spread over the ply base and some of the underlying hardshell and cork. After drying, this was covered bit by bit, using Woodland scenics ground cover, and rubberised horsehair for bushes. Finally, trees were added – these are inexpensive ready-made trees made of ‘Meerschaum’ and ground foam, by Heki.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

	The scenery in its present state, after the work done during the Valkenburg show. A short goods train hauled by a tram engine crossing the river.
	The station with a railbus and trailer entering (left), and the view past the clump of trees (right).
	Close-up of the siding entering a sliding door in a shed, which hides a future fiddle yard (left), and a close-up of the railbus next to the 'station building' (right).
	The water tank (left) and a view towards the right of the small station (right).
	Goods train shunting the brickworks siding (left), and an overview of the river area (right). Note how the clump of trees hides the end of the backscene.

5 – rolling stock

Most of the motive power and rolling stock I will use came to me by error and chance, and most of them was given to me. A few can be seen in the photos. They include a Peco Jeanette, a Chivers C&M Barclay ('Chevalier') normally used on Rae Bridge, a rebuilt Egger diesel, various draisines I built just for fun, and Roco and Egger H0e stock, which will soon be augmented by two Parkside Dundas Ffestiniog type bogie coaches.

However, during the Valkenburg show I found that using very short trains of C&DR stock on the layout is possible as well. I have several railcars, small engines and short 4-wheel stock that don’t look out of place. So this layout seems to be very versatile.

At the moment the project is temporarily stopped, but I will keep you posted on developments.

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