As told in the planning page, the start of a new project goes step by step.
After we decided what the size of the new layout will be, it is time to make room for it.
We decided that we will keep a part of the old layout to be able to ride the trains during our building phase. This means that we'll have 3 places where we can have activities, the Bernina modules, the new Gotthard modules and a part of the old layout.
Early July 2013 the first step has been made and the old layout is being dismantled.

Find below a photo report of our progress. Click on the photos for an enlargement.
This time the newest photos are shown on top, so start at the bottom to have chronological order.

 

12-jan-2018:

The main station "Gurtfeld".
Die street of points on the left hand side progresses stadily.
Here we build a combination of H0 and H0m rails.
We want to have the option here to go with H0m material to the depot over 3-rail.

The track on the right hand side, in the rear, will be a dead end to have more shunting posibilities.

12-jan-2018:

The main station "Gurtfeld".
A part is being prepared to swing upwards.
So we can easily make the wiring needed in this module.

4-jul-2017:

Another jump in time because we moved again, This time from Hoogland to Kortenhoef.

The spiral now ends in a set of points that make up the entrance of the main station "Gurtfeld".

7-Juli-2015:

A jump in time because we moved from Wijk bij Duurstede to Hoogland.

The spiral from and to the shadow station takes shape.
Hans has started deploying tunnel overhead wiring because the height in the spiral is insufficient for some locomotives as otherwise the pantograph would get damaged.
for the overhead wire I use 2,5 mm2 installation wire because this provides a sturdy construction.
The rail spiral is made out of half circles of 9mm multiplex, supported by 6mm threaded end.

9-Dec-2014:
Doing meters of rails in the shadow station.
Fred and Marcel are busy with rails and module crossings.

7-Okt-2014:
Mounting the point engines was successful.
Below a few pictures that show how we created the "remote control".
On the left hand side the rail bed with cuts for the tubes. On the right hand the points and their engines mounted.

The connection between the point machines and the point is made by a steel wire that runs through a plastic tube, when you glue the tube at the beginning and at the end, the metal wire can go nowhere and you can put it in a small bend. Your only limit is to keep the curve wide because otherwise it would get stuck or you need to apply force to move it. This technique is used a lot with model aircrafts to control the tail and altitude rudders.
The white addition is an aid to mount the point engine more easily and to make sure it is always in the same position should you need to replace it. It can now be slided underneath and fixed with only one screw.

9-Sept-2014:
On the right side we are busy with the spiral to / from the shadow station.
We thought there was room for three points in this module, but there is room for 5. Below you can see how we think the point machines can fit in so that they are always accessible. The points are driven via a flexible wire that runs through a tube so the point machines do not necessarily have to be placed directly next or under the points.

9-Sept-2014
Man hole taken out and it's a nice circle with room for the point machines.
Inner turn will get a radius of 108cm and the outer turn of 120cm center to center.

9-Sept-2014:
On the left hand side we have added another 2 modules.
We are finally around the corner and you can already see that the landscape is getting higher.

13-May-2014:
The last module along the rear wall is there. Now you can clearly see the shape of the layout.
On the 2 modules at the end we will make a depot and below it the spiral from / to the shadow station.

21-Apr-2014:
Fred has mounted a platen against the wall at the right height to put the modules on.
This takes away the need for supports on the rear side of our modules.
Now everything is closer to the wall so we have more space left to pass by.

12-Apr-2014:
The mounting of the modules together has started. Here a few pictures of our way of connecting.
We drill a pipe in the side of each module.
Through there we put a bolt which Frans modified on the lathe to exactly fit through the pipe and which also functions to position the modules.
In this way we can connect and line out the modules at the same time.

29-Oct-2013:
In the mean time we started constructing the third module. Here Peter and Theo on the job.

8-Oct-2013:
The construction of the supports, They can now be inserted diredtly as is done by other regions in our club. That saves us a lot of time.

8-Oct-2013:
Fred, Rene and Theo proud that the first module has been built and the floor for the rails of the shadow station is already in.

4-Oct-2013:
The wood for the first modules has been bought, cut and sorted. it's been sorted module by module in our basement.
6-Oct-2013:
It has been possible to repair a table saw so we used it right away to create the supports and various construction parts to start building the modules.