T Gauge Briefcase Train Build

[Chako]

Well, I may as well make another ongoing thread on the next project. As mentioned previously in the N Scale train build thread, I had bought the T Gauge online as a sort of novelty once I came across its existence. T Gauge is the smallest rail system that can be commercially bought. The track is only 3mm wide. while doing some train system research, I had stumbled upon someone who had made a train diorama in a suitcase. I thought that was a neat project.

Then when I ordered all of the items, I realized I didn't  have a clue on how to even start building a system. I came across an N scale terrain kit online, and I just mostly finished that project. With the information and experience i gained from the first build...not to mention, I still have some extra materials to sink into this project, I feel somewhat confident that I can now do this some justice.

to keep everything in one spot, I am going to repost some photos with some new ones added when I get them done.

Here goes...

Ground zero for this project.


The train set. Yes it is that small. The two center cars are the power houses, and the two outer ones have a tiny running light. The motors are the same used to vibrate cell phones.


I did stock up on items for the build. Everything comes from Japan. There is a movement currently unerway to produce North American and European trains for this tiny scale, mostly in the UK.


I even bought one package of people. Now this is rather funny, as at this scale I will need the use of a magnifying glass to place them on the scenery. The people package came with a mix of people, animals, and even a few house riders.


Preparing some track for the layout.

[Chako]

Well, this Saturday morning, i broke open the two boxes that contained the elevated rail subsystem. It took me a good 20 minutes to puzzle out just what exactly I had here. The instructions were mostly in Japanese, a language I know very little about. What was in English was a bit confusing. It took me some time to puzzle it out...but at least I did.



I did eventually realize that I had several options depending upon what the track layout will be...which explains the overabundance of parts...which I first found confusing.



It took me a further couple of hours playing with the slop and straight elevated track pieced to figure out a not so bad layout based upon the limited space that the suitcase offered me. This is what I came up with, a simple loop with an elevated track portion.



And here is a video of the train on the track inside the briefcase. Well at least I know the train works on the track, and more importantly, there is enough space for the train to run with no interferences.

[Medic82]

COOL!!!

[Whoey]

round and round it goes, where ever the suitcase is...

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

That Rocks!!!  Totally cool!!!  I thought Z gauge was the smallest scale... 

A few years ago I built a disassemble-able table out of a 4x8 sheet of plywood so we could build a Christmas layout.  Our tradition is that it goes up the week of Thanksgiving, and comes down a week after New Year.  It's O scale though, but we buy one new building for it and a few accessories every year.  Usually we get Lemax stuff, but if we can find something nice by Dept. 56 at a good price, we'll splurge.  We got a beautiful Dept. 56 building a couple of years ago that was being retired, the Silent Night Church, that was on sale, so we jumped at it.  Since it's been retired, it might be worth something in a few years.

Keep posting the pics, it looks like an awesome project!  I wish I had time to do stuff like that!

[turnsouth]

That is so 

[Chako]

This morning, I was hoping to go out on my motorcycle...however, the weather isn't cooperating with me. So, time to do a little more on the Briefcase build.

I wanted to get the underpinnings roughed out today. I am using cheap foam board bought at the local Dollar store for most of everything.

Here, I traced the track layout and trim it using my hobby knife.


I cut out two pieces, with the base board being slightly larger than the top layer. The idea is to trim the edges at an angle so that when I plaster cloth everything, you won't be able to see those 90 degree angles.


Next step is to measure the briefcase and cut out the floor. Under the floor, I have placed some scrap foam pieces from the N scale build.


Before assembling everything roughly, I figured I had better finish the buildings. Each floor has to be installed separately and fixed into place using a plastic pin. The stairs on one of the buildings was a nightmare. To affix those tiny metal pieces took me 2 hours of frustration. The holes on the building and the pins on the metal staircase didn't quite match.


And everything roughly placed in there to see what it might look like. I tossed in the buildings to get a better sense of scale.


These buildings remind me of the hotels and houses from Monopoly.

[Mercury]

Great project!  Can't wait to see the results.  After seeing your N build I told my Dad about it.  He still has some stuff from when I was a kid and he told me he was going to send it to me.  I may just call and remind him about it now.

[Chako]

Sounds good Mercury.

Well, I built the smallest road crossing I have ever seen. I had to augment my eye power to do this. So the head magnifier came in handy. You can see the lens in the upper right of the photo...just in case you were wondering what it was.

[Chako]

I just finished plastering the foam board.

First, to make a few hills.


Then the plastering.

[Chako]

Seeing that I was forced to take the day off work due to illness, I may as well suffer doing something positive.

So today was a semi good day to get a little more done on this build.

I just finished gluing the track, and painting the surface umber. I also drilled a hold through two opposing corners, and fished a leather lace in to make it easier to lift the scenery once it is in place to access the storage area.



Next step is to paint the roadway, glue the buildings,  vegetation...and call it finished!

[Chako]

I just finished painting the roadway, and gluing in the buildings. I have to figure out if I want to paint the grassy areas green, or use some of the left over grass powder from the N scale project. Just a tad worried that one grass grain could derail my tiny train. That and I wonder how it will stick on adequately when buttoned up and on its side.

Either way, the scenery is set to look a little greener. Here are all my trees. That should be enough for what I want.



I also have plenty of left over from the N scale project for low vegetation.



I somehow forgot that I need to get my two packages of vehicles painted. Not exactly sure how easy this will be, but I do have plenty of magnification on my side...and I fear I will need it all. By the way, this is one vehicle package. Mirror type sticky back foil is used for the windows. On something this small, I am not really looking forward to doing this.



If the cars are small, the people are more so. I have one package of people to populate my scenery. My worry is that they will blend right into the scenery and are too small to notice. I won't know till I install them I guess.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Very cool!  Looks like it's coming along nicely.  Great work!