It takes two or three hours to set up Southdown for a show. The layout arrives packed into a trailer with the buildings and smaller accessories such as people and vehicles in members cars.
The more the merrier is generally the case when setting up, it's possible with just two people but would take a little longer.
First
of all, the baseboards and legs are assembled, these are held together with
allen bolts through angle plates screwed to the underside of each board for
alignment. Fishplates are slotted on to line up the rails, remembering two sizes
for the 32mm and 45mm tracks. Next task is to assemble the tunnels at each end,
plywood construction with paint and flock designed to withstand the rigours of
frequent dismantling. The nature of the layout construction means that each
section packs flat to enable storage and transport in the trailer.
The time consuming piece of setting up the dioramas and scenery commences
straight away.
The
buildings are placed according to a plan, but the figures and vehicles are free
to wander.
The delicate nature of finer detail requires care and each person has a pin
fitted to one leg (or as appropriate) that matches holes in the boards to ensure
they stand (or sit) still once placed.
A
cloth is fitted to the sides and front of the layout, hiding the legs and wiring
for the effects and lighting, and giving a tidy area for stock storage.
Backboards
are bolted upright in place and locked together making the whole layout a rigid
and stable base for us to play trains on.
At the end of a show, we can dismantle and pack away in about an hour, the trailer hitched and the cars loaded: you'd never know we'd been, apart from perhaps a lingering steamy, oily atmosphere....