MarkRand

Thank you all for such very helpful advice and encouragement. I have looked at all the links and photographs, which have answered a good few queries. Yes, it is inevitably a shelf set-up made of 4" wide x 2" thick tanalised board, to go with the chunky ambience inside the Midland Railway's iron tank. Brackets will be at 4 foot centres in fact - I can drill and plug into the sealant between the 4 foot long cast iron tank plates. The sealant is amazing stuff. Obviously applied in a semi solid state originally but it sets like cast iron itself. I am told it was a concoction of putty, bitumen, powdered coke, iron turnings, sulphuric? acid and one of the ammonium compounds. I guess the idea was that it rusted, expanded, then set solid. Anyway the tank did not leak one drop. I am grateful for the roofing felt idea and shall ensure it is stuck down thoroughly. Intrigued by the soldered wire connectors between the rail sections. I was thinking of drop wires to cables below the deck. Does that sound like a good idea? The entire shelf is against the continuous tank perimeter, inside which is the roof room and walkways so I have no complication of an access flap. Weather permitting I hope to make a start this week. I have an existing Blog settlestationwatertower.blogspot.com so I shall be posting pictures of the progress there. The real expertise clearly resides in this forum so I shall rely on you guys to keep me on the paths of goodness and righteousness and to prevent me from making too big a public fool of myself. In passing, we are on TV in the USA in the next month or two. A programme called "You Live in What?" This is quite separate from Restoration Man. A film crew from Dallas Texas came specially. We have our fingers crossed that they will be gentle with us. Mark Rand

Evenin' all, My name is Mark Rand and I am the challenged person who lives in Settle Station Water Tower. You may have seen us on Channel 4's Restoration Man. After a few years of hard work the job is more or less finished and I am considering an OO gauge track all around the inside of the water tank, which is 52 feet x 20 feet in old money - so about 144 feet of track. This is for the grandchildren, you understand. The last time I had an OO gauge set it was Triang (sorry) and I was about seven. I need advice on what sort of track to get and where to get it, in quantity. It will live permanently outdoors and at altitude and will run about a foot below the inside of the tank top, secured every 5 feet or so to massive cast iron flanges. The curves at each of the corners can be as gentle as they need to be. You can see our blog at settlestationwatertower.blogspot.com I am sure there will be an 'idiots guide' somewhere on this forum if somebody can point me towards it.