The following baseboard design was produced by the Aberdeen Modern O Gauge Group for their layout Strathdon. The design parameters were that it should combine light weight with rigidity and be erected quickly when attending exhibitions. The principles described can be adapted to suit a range of baseboard sizes for different layouts.

Open frame plywood baseboards combine lightness with ease of adaptability permitting ground relief to be shaped and contoured above and below track level. Construction details are shown in the accompanying diagrams.

Each board is a 1500mm long by 900mm wide open box made of 12mm plywood. The rear panel is 450mm high and the front and ends are nominally 225mm high (Figure 1). Plywood cross-members are added to increase the strength of the assembly and to act as supports for the track base. The front and end panels can be cut and shaped to follow the ground contours with an electric jigsaw, as can the cross-members where the contours fall below track level. (One of the attractive features of Strathdon is a 6.15m long embankment with a road underbridge which is easily achieved using an open frame design).


Figure 1. General view of open baseboard design.

On the inner face of each end a 100mm high plywood panel is built across the full width of the board. The panel is held away from the end piece by means of four 50mm by 25mm timber blocks creating a vertical slot at each end to locate the support legs (Figure 2). To assist in maintaining the frame as a perfect rectangle, triangular blocks are attached to the end panels and large triangular plywood gussets are used to join the cross-members to the front and rear panels. These latter gussets are deliberately made quite large to provide base support for the polystyrene blocks which form the ground contours.


Figure 2. Exploded view showing end frame and leg unit.

The support leg units are identical and fully interchangeable. They are constructed from 50mm by 25mm timber glued and screwed together but with the top cross member dimension increased to 50mm by 38mm to allow the adjacent baseboard to sit 'piggy-back' on it. The vertical posts are extended 90mm above the cross stretcher to lock into the slots in the end panels described above. The normal arrangement is to mount baseboard in two leg units and the other units sit 'piggy-back' with support at the outer ends only and secured to their adjacent units by 10mm bolts and wing nuts. However, by having an end slot at each end of all baseboards, individual baseboards can be temporarily mounted on two leg units for maintenance or other work away from the rest of the layout.

50mm by 25mm diagonal braces are fitted to every pair of end support leg units and are attached by metal plates called flush mounts (see Figure 2). These are used in the kitchen installation trade to suspend wall cupboards. One plate is attached to the vertical post of the end support leg unit with its tongue facing upwards while the corresponding plate on the diagonal brace is fitted with its tongue facing downwards. As the brace is pushed downwards the two tongues lock together to give a rigid assembly. The group also use these flush mounts to attach the vertical posts of the overhead lights, control panels and various accessories. Their use makes the erection of the layout extremely simple and rapid. The track base is also made from 12mm plywood, its shape varying depending on the geometry of the track and the position of buildings, platforms, etc.

The layout consists of six baseboards which are assembled into two large crates each containing three baseboards. Each crate requires two 12mm thick chipboard ends, 1350mm by 900mm, with 10mm diameter holes drilled to match the bolt holes in the end panels of each baseboard. To form the crate, three baseboards are placed with their rear panels on the floor with the top edge of one in contact with the lower edge of the rear panel of the baseboard above. The end sheets are placed in position and attached to the baseboards by bolts and wing nuts which when fully tightened forms a strong rigid crate. The end boards have carrying slots cut into them and when the assembly is rotated 90°, with the three baseboards stacked vertically, it can be carried easily by four men. The two crates, when lying on their backs, fit into the majority of light delivery vans.

Because of their size and weight, the stock turntables are loaded individually but are able to rest on top of the baseboard crates without damage to the baseboards.

This article was originally supplied by Robert Humphry, Michael Ogston and Tom Simpsom of the Aberdeen Modern O Gauge Group, and was published in the Gauge O Guild Manual. It was adapted for the GOGWiki by Nick Baines.