39 - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

This is the story of the Dolly
Varden Silver Mine, set in British
Columbia, Canada, circa 1914. It
was fascinating to sit in on a lecture
about this mine while at the Toronto
NMRA Convention of 2004. It was
just what I was looking for to reproduce
as a portable modular layout
to exhibit at shows and, of course,
it would fit around the walls of my
garage!
The whole thing caught my eye
because of the rugged terrain, the
plethora of trees I would have to
make, and because the buildings,
cabins and mine area were all made
of wood and shingles. It also gave
me the opportunity to try a new
scenery technique not seen before
in Western Australia. Just the thing
for me.
I decided to move up in scale
to On30 and to try DCC, too. NCE
DCC was the operating system of
choice, used in Bachmann locomotives
(a T-Boiler Shay, and the new
Climax). I’ll need to acquire some
more small locos, but they will
come with time.
My aim was to keep
it small and modular.
I made the main modules
12” wide, 4’ long,
and 2’-8” high, with a
fluorescent light fitted
behind the valance
of each module. The
layout has seven modules
arranged in an
“L” shape. Spectator viewing was also
considered, with a height of 54”eventually
chosen to allow people to look into,
rather than down on, the layout. The pine
trestle legs supporting the modules were
four feet high, with the layout’s framework
sitting on top of them. The basic
frames were constructed using 1x6 pine
with mitered corners and timber gussets
inside where the trestle legs sit. Risers
(1x2) and 1/4” plywood roadbed were
installed and cut at each module end. In
all, construction took nine months.
Narrow-gauge On30 track and rail
(all code 100) were purchased. Track
was handlaid in the yards and over the
bridges, which took over three full days
to complete. Turnouts were Peco HO,
due to their competitive price.
Clay was used for general ground
cover, as were sticks and twigs collected
from the natural environment. Flower
stamens from the marri tree (eucalyptus
calophylla), various lichens and mosses,
and branches from the sheoak tree mimic
tree trunks superbly. Various flowers from
proteas, bansksias, caspias, dryandra,
wattles, and paperbark twigs were also
used. In fact, most of the scenery materials
were natural products mingled with
(of course) the old faithful ground foam.
Using an industrial sealant, Selleys “No
More Gaps”, the whole assembly was
fixed to a polystyrene base which was
fixed between the wooden frames. Automotive
spray paint from cans and spray
glue were also used extensively with a
final coating of diluted PVA glue. u
(more photos on page 6)
July/Aug ’08 - O Scale Trains •