Layout In A Box – Demo Micro Layout Project (part 6)

Where the track of the main running line meets the side backscene wall, mark out a suitable sized aperture big enough for a train to pass through. Use a pen/pencil & ruler to mark out a straight cutting edge. 

Drill a hole at each corner of the marked out box on the backscene board. Make sure not to catch the drill against the track!

Moving round to the outside of the layout, mark the cut lines as shown on the right between each hole. We’ll be using the the electric jigsaw tool to cut the two sides & the top. Don’t use it to cut the bottom line as we’ll be using a stanley knife to cut that.

The four holes we drilled in each corner are just big enough for the jigsaw tool blade to fit in. Start at the bottom & cut up along the marker line to one of the top holes. Repeat with the other side & then finally cut along the top marker line.

For the bottom cut line use a steel ruler as a straight edge to cut against, & carefully cut along the line using a Stanley knife. Take care whilst doing this & be careful not to damage the track on the otherside of the backscene wall. You can of course cut the access hole for the track prior to the trackwork being laid. The choice is yours!

Once cut, remove the cut piece. Remove any excess bits from the opening & sand back the edges so that they are all smooth. For the opposite end of the layout, a bigger opening is needed for the three tracks. This will be hidden by the raised factory area. 

The sleepers on the track ends at the access holes will be removed & replaced with a copper clad sleeper, to which the rails will be soldered to & the copper clad sleeper glued into place. This will make the track ends more robust & less prone to damage.

We’ll look at the copper clad sleepers in a up coming part of this series.

Happy modelling.