Week 30-2002

01-07-200


Well, the foundations have been dug and we are waiting on the cement for the foundations which should be here in the next day or two. Boy, does it look terrible. Can not wait for it to be finished.

Here is the view from the gate. The wall on the far side will remain as the room will be joined on at this point.















A slightly different view from the corner of the yard.

Week 41-2002

14-10-2002

Well, the building has been finished for nearly 6 weeks now, but it is definitely the finishing’s that take up more time. These photos were taken on Friday 11th October 2002.

One item still to be finished is the ceiling. Again, with the help of John (Who has been an incredible assistant) I spent Sunday fitting the corner pieces for the suspended ceiling. 80% of that has been completed and a portion of the grid system fitted. I hope to have the entire grid up by next weekend. The ceiling boards will be ordered next month and are laminated polystyrene with silver backing. The insulation properties are fantastic, so hopefully no expansion or contraction problems with the track. The finish is exactly the same you see in office and shopping complexes.

Last weekend, I completed all the electrical wiring in the room. I had to fit a junction box in the existing Laundry room to get power to the new Distribution box in the Hobby room. I ran armoured cable about 8 meters to the new DB and then fitted an earth leakage and 4 trip switches. There are 4 double plug outlets at each corner of the room as well as 4 Fluorescent lights installed. Two near the door end and the other two at the opposite end. Separate switches control each end. Provision has been made via a third switch for the future installation of track or recessed lighting that will follow the contour of the layout. Again, the electrics were rather tiring. Not so much in hard labour, but staying power. There were so many cables to pull, cut and fit. 

Once the ceiling is completed, the room has received its final coat of paint and the skirting fitted, I will take some more photos and post them on the web. Till then, keep well, happy railroadN and enjoy the photos.

The Hobby room from the Gate. The dust from the re-laying of the paving this week dirtied the walls. Fortunately it is undercoat. When there is time, we will hose the walls down and paint it finished once and for all.

Here is a photo from the back yard. As you can see, the room has enclosed the area into a very nice courtyard. Hopefully, there will be operating sessions one day. The “Crew” can rest in comfort around a lekker braai in this area.

Exactly the same view with John strolling through the countryside.

Here we have a shot from inside. The tiling took three weekends of back breaking labour. I thought the tiling was killing. Then I decided the grouting was actually worse.

Believe me though when I say it looks absolutely incredible and definitely worth the effort. It will be such a pleasure working on it and even better keeping it clean. Simply vacuum all those wood shavings and plaster pieces from the layout.

Here is a shot from near the door, which is on the Left. There is a piece of sheeting covering the two windows at the end. There are two Venetian blinds currently on order and should be here in the next week or two. The two windows on the left will also have Venetian blinds, but that will be next month after payday.

The two modules at the end on the left are my yard. They are basically stretching half way down the room.

I spent this weekend with the help of the family painting the interior. I used a colour called “Periwinkle” which is a deep blue. As it was going on, I had my reservations. However, once complete, it is perfect. We put the first coat on and will put the last coat on after some of the other work is finished.

One last photo from the door. The module on the right with the hammer has turned into a nice workbench. Just the right height and size. However, once the finishing’s are done, back to the layout it will go.

Week 29-2002

01-07-2002 One item all us model train followers want is our own, very big, layout room. I started off building a layout in my garage, which was great to begin with, but over time became a major headache.

To run trains, three lift-out sections would have to be fitted across the two garage doors and the section in between. Dust was a major factor. Although there was a ceiling, the cornices were not properly sealed, and no matter what we did, dust would come sweeping in through the Garage doors.

Lastly, no matter what, the modules always became a place to store this and that. So often, before even running a train, all sorts of rubbish had to be removed from the top of the layouts before even running.

The solution, build a dedicated train room. This was no small task, and the common thought on everyone’s mind was where. One day, I had an aberration on where to build it and the rest is history.

This is the current view of the area that will be built upon. The boat will be parked round the back of the building where there will be room for extra cars, caravans etc.

The area involved is basically unused and more often then not, cars park here. It does not form part of the main garden.

I.E. the ideal spot.

The wall in the picture will be knocked down and the gate on the right will now be on the left.

Basically where the gate is in this photo is where the new door to the Hobby room will be.

It is hoped that the new Hobby Room will enclose this area into a nice Courtyard as it is currently.

Where this photo was taken from, will basically be inside the room.