RMweb Gold Popular Post Tony Teague Posted October 5, 2016 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) Index to this thread (last updated 13.10.23 to p.62; missing images all now restored!): Abbey Farm barns, Churminster p3, 13 Brewery - see Wadleys 'Brewery Tap' PH p7 Cassette storage p22 CCTV system p52, 55 Charmy Bottom station p.59 Churminster p2, 14, 17, 20 Churminster Goods Shed p6, 8-9 Churminster Locoshed p3-4, 8, 14, 16, 24, 26 Churminster Quarry p4, 16-18 Churminster Station p1, 27 Coaching Stock (& see trains, below) Ironclads p16, 21, 60 Kirk Maunsells p13-14 LSWR 30' 6w brake p33 Maunsell Dining stock p21 Northstar (Adrian Rowland) coaches p.5, 39, 61 SR Set No.2 ex-LSWR P-P / Northstar p.5 SR Set No.36 ex-LSWR P-P / Northstar p.3, 5, 60 SR Set No.45 Maunsell non-corridor / Hornby p.9, 60 SR Set No.74 Bulleid / Comet / Hornby p.19, 27, 60 SR Set No.98 ex-LSWR 51' IoW / Ratio p.38, 56, 61 SR Set No.158 ex-LSWR 3-LAV / Northstar p.38, 39 SR Set No.159 ex-LSWR / Roxey p.61 SR Set No.239 Maunsell / Hornby p.62 SR Set No.241Maunsell / Kirk p.60 SR Set No.253 ex-LSWR cross-country / Bachmann - EFE Rail p.59, 61-2 SR Set No.309 ex-LSWR panelled stock / Northstar p.61 SR Set No.329 Maunsell / Hornby hi-window p.65 SR Set No.373 ex-LSWR gate stock / Kernow / DJM p.22 SR Set No.374 ex-LSWR gate stock / Kernow / DJM p.5 SR Set No.392 Maunsell / Hornby p.62 SR Set No.439 ex-LSWR ironclads / Phoenix p.60 SR Set No.447 Maunsell / Hornby p.39, 56 SR Set No.469 Maunsell / Hornby p.3 SR Set No.502 ex-LBSCR IoW stock / Gibson SR Set No.578 ex-SECR Birdcage / Roxey p.60 SR Set No.660 ex-SECR / Roxey p.3, 5, 60 SR Set No.733 ex-LSWR / Northstar p.3, 5, 19, 54 SR Set No.749 ex-LBSCR balloon / Roxey p.32, 59 SR Set No.790 Bulleid / Bachmann p.62 SR Set No.980 Bulleid / Kirk p.60 Coaling stage p2 Continental Ferry vans & wagons p2, 22, 38 (& see separate thread - link in footer) Control Panel p1, 27-32, 37, 55, 59 side panel p55 Engineers trains p33, 61 Faller Road System: p55 Fiddle Yards p1, 10, 30 Gardens p5, 13 Locomotive Collection p1 A-Z p6-12 'Missing' list p12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 24, 35, 41,51-2, 58, 62 Locomotives, Diesel 400S p24 DS1169 p1 Locomotives, Electric DS74 p13 DS75 p42, 46-7 (build), 50-52 Locomotives, Steam EKR No.4 p14 'Big Tanks' p2 'Ironside' p.57, 60 LB&SCR A1X p20 (Hornby), p37 (Rails/Dapol) LB&SCR C3 (test build) p45-6, 48 LB&SCR E4X p23 LB&SCR E5X p9, 17, 21 LB&SCR E6X p13-14, 16 LB&SCR K p3 LSWR 330 + review p36 LSWR A12 'Jubilees' p.57 LSWR C14 p.58, 59 LSWR H15 p35 LSWR K10 p9 LSWR L12 p4, 9, 14-16, 19 LSWR S11 p.59 LSWR T6 p20 PD&SWJR p1 PDC 0458 ('Ironside') p52, 56 SECR D1 p.62 SECR J p.61 SR BB (black) p.19 SR I1X p.62 SR LN p29, 40 SR N15X p3 SR V p.39-40 WD p20 Magnorail cyclist p3 Mashed Potato p29 Moussa coach sides p21 NPCS Bulleid Cinema train p.60 Bulleid Inspection train p.60 LSWR 6Wh brake p30 Parcels p23, 26 TPO p5 Operating sequence p.42 Overview of layout p1, 31 Progress review (15 years) p.48-49 RAF Charmy Bottom p22 Review of the Year 2019 p28 2020 p41 Signals colour light p4 interlocking p36 semaphore p28-30, 49, 54 St Giles Church, Stowe Magna p25-26, 29, 31, 33 Statistics p.55 Stowe Magna p18, 25 Stowe Magna Church - see St Giles Stowe Magna Locoshed p5 Stowe Magna Goods p34 Stow Magna Manufacturing p.58 Stowe Magna Station p32-33, 55 Track Plan p1 Trains (& see coaches, above) ACE p13 Breakdown Train p.59, 61 Continental vans p22 Engineering train p34 Golden Arrow p3 Kent coal train p11 Milk train (short) p11 Night Ferry p3, 31 Ocean Liner Set p.42 Parcels p23, 26 SECR short goods p34 Soton Boat Train p16 Sunny South Express p.44 TPO p36 Viaduct p28, 31 Wadleys Brewery p6, 27, 31 Wagons Banana vans p.59 Kit builds p22, 25, 28, 30, 32, 48 LSWR ballast plough brake p.32 Rapido p.57, 59 Weathering p4, 13, 16, 20, 38-40, 49-50, 55 --- (original start of 1st post) Encouraged by others, I have finally got around to starting to document my 'project of a lifetime'; I hope that it may be of wider interest. The brief history is that I have had model railways of various descriptions ever since I was given a second hand Hornby trainset for Christmas at the age of 4, and this interest has continued and developed alongside my interest in full size trains, interrupted only by such things as work, children, family life & availability of funds. I am now retired, but by about 20 years ago my interest had settled on the Southern Railway and on a period stretching from just before WW2 until just prior to nationalisation. At the time there were almost no RTR SR locos available, and those that existed were pretty awful ( Sir Dinadan etc ); although I had some time available to start a layout, pressure of work & a complete lack of skills meant that I did not have the means to build my own kits and so I settled on having these built for me professionally. As time has gone by, many of those early kits have become available as good quality RTR models and in many cases my collection now includes both. As I moved towards retirement I realised that I now had such a wide collection of SR locos, including ex-SECR, ex-LB&SCR, ex-LSWR and SR itself, that modelling a single prototypical location would be difficult, and so I made two key decisions: 1. To model an imaginary location, but to ensure that it shouted "Southern Railway", and 2. To complete my loco collection so as to include at least one of every loco that the SR had on its books at nationalisation I am now some way along the route to achieving both of these aims and will try to provide more of the details here, with pictures - BUT, I stress that almost nothing is finished at this point, although I am working hard towards this with considerable help from others whom I will name as we go along. The layout is housed in purpose re-built accommodation above my garage; the railway room measures 32' x 17'6"; a reasonably early picture shows most of the overall space (note my tendency to make the trackwork as complex as possible...!). Although the layout is non-prototypical, a number of principals drove my design - as much storage as possible ( I like to be able to just pull trains out when wanted, rather than storing them in a drawer) - all 90 degree bends to be hidden - stations to allow minimum 6 coach trains to stop (with longer ones passing through) - storage to allow at least some trains up to 12 coaches long - everything controllable from a single position (this is a one man layout, although there are plenty of options for multiple operators if needed). I also wanted to include facilities for "watching the trains go by", as well as shunting, being shedmaster, and eventually, running to some sort of schedule. The layout is built in Peco code 75 track, excepting the main fiddle yard which is code 100 as I had this available from a previous layout; it consists of a double track main line around the perimeter, which passes through the junction station at Stowe Magna and later, through the main fiddle yard. The main yard is split between 10 up and 10 down lines, each of which will hold two trains; the second train moves up when the first vacates, controlled by Heathcote Electronics IRDOT detectors. Stowe Magna Station was largely completed about 10 years ago, and as with all things, my standards and skills have progressed since then, nevertheless I am unlikely to get back to re-do anything in the forseeable future: (Picture courtesy of Tony Wright) I have laid the main fiddle yard 3 times - the first re-laying occurred after I first visited Tony Wright's magnificent 'Little Bytham' and understood how he had squeezed in 50% more tracks than I had managed; the second re-laying then followed when I realised that having 2 double tracks entering at one end was causing massive complication, conflicting routes, and a lot of space lost in unnecessary pointwork. Main fiddle yard - original: Main fiddle yard - final: Two double track branches leave the main line in opposing directions, the first in the Up direction at Stowe Magna station and provides what looks like a 4 track main line down one side of the layout; this leads ultimately to a reversing loop which includes a further fiddle yard which sits above the main yard and comprises 13 storage roads. The second branch leaves the main line in the opposite (Down) direction, just before the main line enters the main fiddle yard, and this leads first through Churminster station and then into a second reverse loop (in the opposite direction to the first - otherwise all trains would end up facing one way!), and a third fiddle yard comprising 14 roads. Current efforts are focussed in about 3 main areas; the first is in the area of Churminster Station where the loco & goods yards are receiving a lot of attention: The second focus is on installing back scenes which will hide the fiddle yards from view; I will cover these in a later post. The third is on rebuilding and developing the Control Panel, where I am having massive help from John Freer and Giles Walburn of Elite Baseboards - again, this is very much work in progress! I suspect that is enough for a starter, and I will post more in due course. Tony Edited April 14 by Tony Teague index updated 29 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike B Posted October 5, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 5, 2016 Flippin' 'eck! It's huge!! I'm not too jealous of you railway room space either!!! Please. please, please, get some more pictures up. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Impressive. That's railway modelling as I understood it from my father's old stack of RMs. Loads of mainline railway, with all the facilities and still room for a high-level townscene! C J Freezer would have been proud. There are not enough layouts like that these days; John Dew's Granby Junction is a superb example: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/2773-granby-junction-00-gwrlms-1947/ Can I echo the call for more pictures! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernboy Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Hello slowcomo, It's always nice to see another Southern layout, and one on such a grand scale is particularly welcome. Out of interest: You have a timespan of late '30s – late '40s ... but what about location? Do you picture your setting as West Country for eg? Or are you completely abstract in that respect? Like I say, just curious In the middle of the picture of your revised fiddle yard I think I see something like a 2-Bil? If correct does that mean we may see some third rail? Either way, I look forward to further posts and pictures, and wonder whether there's any chance of a track plan (or rough sketch of same) - it's nice to be able to picture in the minds-eye an overview of the layout Finally, good luck with your project of a lifetime! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 5, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) In my initial post I mentioned my target of having at least one model of every loco type that the SR possessed at nationalisation, and that this was my reason for not modelling a prototypical location; I thought that it might be interesting to introduce one or two of the more unusual locos in the collection to illustrate the problem! First is DS 1169, a Ruston Hornsby 48DS shunter acquired by the Southern to work first on sea defences at Folkestone and later at Broad Clyst; this tiny little loco is from a Judith Edge kit and was built for me by Chris Phillips: RMWebbers were very helpful on this one in determining the most likely livery for the date that I am modelling. Next up are a pair of PD&SWJR locos, 'A.S. Harris' and 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe', each from a CSP Agenoria kit by the sadly, very recently, deceased Roger Slade, and again, built for me by Chris Phillips: Next, an ex-LB&SCR E4 tank, this one RTR by OO Works: One of the advantages that I see from modelling the period that I have chosen is that I can run locos, and trains as well, in a number of liveries through from Maunsell olive, via wartime black, to Bulleid malachite. None of my locos is as yet weathered, although all have coal, crew and more recently SR headcode discs added, whether they are RTR or kit built; one day I shall get around t weathering as I am now convinced that it looks far better! Finally, a Hornby RTR ex-LSWR T9, posed next to a kit built ex-LSWR L11, to highlight the similarities and differences; the latter from a Martin Finney kit and again, built by Chris Phillips ( http://www.crphillips-models.co.uk/ ), whose work I greatly admire - no connection other than as a satisfied customer! I am now only a very small number of types away from fulfilling my original aim, but it is fair to say that the last ones will be difficult since no kits exist. I am looking at 'kit bashing' for one, and having a 3D body printed for another, but I am determined to get there! Tony Edited 9.10.16 to add link to Chris Phillips' website. Edited November 3, 2022 by Tony Teague 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 5, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 5, 2016 Hi Southernboy - thanks for your comments; to answer your points: Out of interest: You have a timespan of late '30s – late '40s ... but what about location? Do you picture your setting as West Country for eg? Or are you completely abstract in that respect? Like I say, just curious In the middle of the picture of your revised fiddle yard I think I see something like a 2-Bil? If correct does that mean we may see some third rail? Either way, I look forward to further posts and pictures, and wonder whether there's any chance of a track plan (or rough sketch of same) - it's nice to be able to picture in the minds-eye an overview of the layout --- I think I have partly addressed the location issue in my 2nd post - in that it is almost impossible to tie it down! The way I look at it is that one station (Stowe Magna) is very much an outer suburban location with 3rd rail two electrified terminating platforms where you might see HALs BILs and so on; the main line is also electrified throughout to provide for coastal expresses such as the Brighton Belle etc, conversely neither of the branches is electrified - so the Up branch from Stowe Magna might represent a route around the suburbs to reach locations such as Reading or Feltham for example, whilst the Down branch that includes Churminster might represent a line line to more distant westerley locations. It is deliberately vague but in making it so, I have certainly set myself a problem when it comes to preparing an operating schedule - where are the trains from, where are they going??? I will post a track plan for each of the stations shortly and show how they feed into the various fiddle yards. Best wishes Tony 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 6, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 6, 2016 (edited) OK so here is the best I have in terms of a track plan - it is actually from the Control Panel design (by Elite Baseboards) and shows 1st the Churminster and then the Stowe Magna layouts. The red & blue arrows / labels to the centre of the left side of the Churminster plan and to the top of the Stowe Magna plan lead to the main Up & Down fiddle yards. The pale blue box at the top right of the Churminster plan indicates the two lines leading to & from the lower fiddle yard / reverse loop, whilst the bright pink box near the top of the Stowe Magna plan indicates the two lines leading to & from the top fiddle yard / reverse loop. Because the reverse loops are laid in opposite directions, they can be used to form a figure of 8 continuous run and you will see 6 switches at the top left of the Churminster plan, labelled "Continuous Running" which over-ride the IRDOT detectors which would otherwise stop trains automatically on those lines. Between them, these settings allow continuous running either around the main Up & Down lines or alternately through the figure of 8. To the bottom right of the Churminster plan are the push buttons (red & black) that operate the lower yard, whilst the blue lights are track occupancy indicators; the red buttons are used to select routes via two diode matrices (entry & exit) whilst the black buttons release the trains which are otherwise halted automatically by IRDOT detectors beneath each track. The panels for the two other yards are not shown but sit between the two panels illustrated. I hope this helps, but suspect that it may raise as many questions as it answers...! Tony Edited November 3, 2022 by Tony Teague 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 6, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 6, 2016 Holy Shmoly, what am amazing layout. Now that's what I call a Lifetime Project! Please tell us more. Many thanks, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 DOUBLE WOW Amazing, truly bloomin amazing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 6, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 6, 2016 Now that's what I call a Lifetime Project! --- Thanks for your comments Dave - as it happens I am a long term follower of your thread and I believe that I have one of your loco builds on the layout - an SR Q No.531 built from a Wills kit - and very fine she is too! I will take a picture of her in action and post it soon. Best wishes Tony 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 I like it, a great dea! It looks like a proper "operator's layout", and as Edwardian says above, somewhat in the "older school". Being a track-plan addict, I would really like to see the plan. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 7, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) On 07/10/2016 at 11:56, Nearholmer said: Being a track-plan addict, I would really like to see the plan. Well since you have asked... Here are two images taken from 'AnyRail' which Elite Baseboards used to map the trackwork ahead of building the control panel; the plans are not 100% up to date, especially in the area of Churminster station and yard, but they will give you a good idea when read in conjunction with the Control Panel illustations in post #7 above. The first shows the main and lower levels with Stowe Magna station & yard along the bottom: Churminster station and yard is on the diagonal and everything above the line that runs through it is or will be hidden. The second image shows the top level and how it connects but I have removed the main fiddle yard (which sits below the top one) in this image to avoid confusion: I think you'll agree that there is plenty of room for operational variety! By the way, I have not said, and no-one has asked, but the layout is conventional DC analogue controlled. Tony Edited November 3, 2022 by Tony Teague 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Tony Teague Posted October 9, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 9, 2016 (edited) Never having written any kind of 'blog' before, I am uncertain as to how much background or explanation I should give, but I feel the need to return briefly to the history of how the layout developed; I "completed" the area around Stowe Magna station more than 10 years ago, and the high level shopping street above Churminster station within a year or two thereafter. I think I had got bored with trackwork & wiring, but when I say "completed", what I mean is that I had spent a lot of time building card kits by Metcalfe and many other more obscure providers, and laying out the townscapes that have not really changed much since. Stowe Magna: Churminster High Street: After that, business pressures meant that for a long period I had very little time to work on the railway, so that as I approached retirement I would open the door to the railway room, look around, get depressed by how much there was to be done, walk out and close the door - I think it is called railway modellers block! Until then, almost everything had been undertaken by me personally - trackwork, wiring, controls, woodwork, scenery, buildings from card kits, wagons & coaches from plastic kits - all except loco building as mentioned above, where I felt I neither had the time nor the skill, but I realised that what I had started was so big that unless I now got some help, I was likely to give up and scrap the whole thing, which was going nowhere. The first person I spoke to said, without asking me anything about what I wanted, that I simply needed to convert everything to DCC and all would be well. We did not speak again, and I found this depressing since, whilst I needed help, I still wanted to do things my way. I continued my search and eventually came upon John Freer and Giles Walburn of Elite Baseboards ( http://www.elitebaseboards.net/ )(no connection other than as a satisfied customer!) who listened carefully, made sensitive and constructive suggestions, and as a result have worked with me periodically since then to move things along in my chosen direction. I will cover more of what has been done with Elite in a later post, but I found that getting others involved was highly motivating and since then, around 15 months ago, I have turned to others for specialist help, whilst continuing to undertake the majority of the work myself. One area where I particularly wanted to improve things related to buildings; whilst I felt that I had built numerous card kits as well as they could be built I really wanted to do better - and so I decided to commission one "iconic" Southern Railway building - Churminster Station, and this was built for me by Geoff Taylor of Dewsbury Midland / Gresley Beat fame ( http://www.gtbuildingsmodels.co.uk/ ). This is a truly exquisite model based upon scale plans for the LSWR station at Honiton; I had actually asked for a blend of Axminster & Honiton - both designed by Tite, but when it came to naming the town and station I felt that "Honxminster" did not sound right! Churminster Station: I did, of course, realise that installing such a building might show up some of what had gone before, but was determined to raise my own standards and I am now dealing with the unenviable task of bring the station forecourt and surroundings up to the level of Geoff's building! I will bring you some work in progress pictures in my next post. Tony Edited November 3, 2022 by Tony Teague 24 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Great work Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2016 Lovely stuff Tony, glad to hear you are "up and running" with it. That station looks superb and will certainly define the location dramatically. I hope the Q-Class has been put to good use. All the best, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 17, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) On 09/10/2016 at 21:01, DLT said: Lovely stuff Tony, glad to hear you are "up and running" with it. That station looks superb and will certainly define the location dramatically. I hope the Q-Class has been put to good use. All the best, Dave. Thanks Dave, and here is a picture of No.531 hauling the pick-up goods through Stowe Magna: So far, this is the only train on the layout in which all of the wagons are weathered - another big job for the future... Tony [Edited to correct spelling] Edited November 3, 2022 by Tony Teague 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted October 17, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Thanks Tony, 531 looks really good in a proper layout setting. Cheers, Dave PS Anything else you need? Edited October 17, 2016 by DLT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 17, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 17, 2016 PS Anything else you need? Dave That sounds like a tempting offer...! If I go back to my key aim of having at least one model of every loco type that the Southern Railway had on the books at nationalisation, I reported in an earlier, separate, thread ( http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/111735-missing-southern-locomotives/ ) that I had reached the point where I only had 7 types missing, and in each case there was no obvious solution or kit available. I am continuously on the lookout for potential solutions for those seven, which are: Ex-LSWR - S11, C14 (have been waiting on CSP/Agenoria for some time on this one, but the former proprietor Roger Slade has sadly now passed away) Ex-SECR - B1, F1 (I have a very old Jidenco kit for the latter, although whether it can be made into anything good is open to question!) Ex-LB&SCR - D3X, C3, I1X So my response to your question is that there are two potential needs: (i) finding a solution to one of the above, or (ii) building an additional loco for a class that I already have but which may be under-represented in the fleet (one can NEVER have too many locos, although the better half fails somehow to grasp this point!). I'd be keen to progress something with you, and I am certain that if we bat some ideas back and forth we will come up with a plan! Best wishes Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 18, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) I promised an update on progress made with improving & finishing the area around Churminster Station, so as to bring it closer to the high standard of the station building itself. Well, so far all has not gone well; the platforms are in place, complete with lights and some signage has started to appear; the forecourt area has been laid with granite sets and painting of these has commenced - but what colour should granite be? My first coat in Humbrol 67 dark grey was way out and so now I am going to have to work hard to bring it back to something more sensible! Any suggestions as to the right mix of colours will be greatly appreciated! Alongside the forecourt, attention has been applied to the locoshed & yard which, like most areas, had been started but never completed; it was here that I found that I had made a pretty stupid error! I fitted a Heljan tunrtable a long while back and then laid track up to it, however I was not able to properly test it as I had not completed the wiring. A little later I started to lay some ballast nearby and took the opportunity to lay a ballast / coal / polyfiller mixture into some of the turntable loco sidings - all good so far BUT... When I came to test & program the turntable I quickly realised that it was not correctly installed. Heljan turntables (like some others) have an area where no tracks should be connected, since this is the point at which the table itself changes polarity and so is electrically dead - I had installed the turntable with this area precisely aligned with the three storage roads leading off the table....and of course, these were all very well secured under a thick ballast mix. Following the uttering of loud & copious expletives, I reached for the Dremel and cut through each of the tracks to remove the first 2 - 3 inches, before removing the turntable, rotating it about 90 degrees and re-installing it. Should I ever install a turntable again, I will have learned a difficult lesson, because the additional work involved is considerable! You live and learn, but what the last picture also highlights is the great need to weather the turntable pit as well as anglicising the deck; again, any experiences in dealing with these issues would be most welcome. Tony Edited November 4, 2022 by Tony Teague 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 More excellent photographs. With the granite, I would leave the dark colour as a base and dry brush with enamels or acrylics until an overall lighter appearance is achieved. Personally I am more comfortable with acrylics, but enamels will work just as well. I would suggest being bold; as you are dry brushing, you can afford to use a much, much lighter colour. I might end, or even start with, something like the old Citadel Bleached Bone or Vallejo Bone White. For an idea of how not-white Vallejo's Bone White is, the upper, cream, panels on the coach in post #1818 are painted Bone White; http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107713-castle-aching/page-73. The cream content will yield a better result than a 'pure' grey, i.e. one with black and white only. I suspect that I am attempting to teach you to suck eggs, however, given the excellent weathering tones already achieved, not least on the concrete platforms. Keep up the good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted October 19, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2016 Thanks Edwardian A lot of the effect on the platforms was achieved using powders which I don't think will be so good here, so I shall try a bold approach to dry brushing - I think it is probably needed. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted November 7, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) It is a little while since I posted an update, and although there has been a little progress with the area behind Churminster Station, I thought I would provide a bit more detail about how the layout is controlled. I have mentioned previously that DC / analogue controls are used - I like to think that I am working on the "two wire principle" - two wires to each & everything! I built the original small control panel which can be part seen at bottom centre of the first picture that I posted in #1 above, but by then it was already becoming obvious that something more substantial would be needed. My highest priority in engaging with Elite Baseboards (as before, no connection other than as a satisfied customer!) was to get the Control Panel rebuilt and developed into something more appropriate, but I found the first question that they asked me - "Where's the plan?", a little embarrassing, given that I have a background in project management - because there wasn't one! Ultimately the new panel will have a printed aluminium top, but the guys from Elite persuaded me that starting off with a paper template would be a good idea, as I was likely to change things; we are currently on version 18 which rather proves them right! The near-current Control Panel design is pictured in #7 above, but the two pictures that follow show how the work to transfer connections from the old to the new panel started out. Whilst I am pretty confident with electrics, I feel less so when it comes to electronics, and so I also asked Elite to build several diode matrices to control the entry and exit points to the various fiddle yards; these are quite substantial, in that route setting is done via a single button which may fire up to 5 point solenoids at once - and potentially a number of relays. There are six diode matrices in all, and each is surface mounted in locations close to the points that they control, but where they will not normally be visible. All are fed from a single CDU. Here is an example diode martrix- Installing these taught me an awful lot about the importance of having the right size diodes, the right gauge of cable, the right size CDU, and the right trigger voltage feeding the CDU; any one of these being wrong can render the whole system incapable. Once set up, route selection is exceedingly reliable; most teething troubles were caused by sticking / poorly installed point motors (solenoids) or faulty points. Whist I did not want the layout to be "automatic", my desire to operate the layout sole meant that it was important for trains to stop automatically when returning to the fiddle yard, and equally where a fiddle yard road held two trains, for these to move up automatically. To make this happen I have used infra-red / IRDOT detectors from Heathcote Electronics and at present there are around 70 of various types installed and operational. Teething troubles with these largely related to my installing them too close to the end of a fiddle yard road - so that the train over-ran the points, or in adjusting the sensitivity to deal with all types of loco or train. A lesson that I learned very quickly when installing the second / top layer fiddle yard above the main one beneath was the need to paint the underside of the top deck in a very dark colour to avoid upsetting all the detectors beneath! There is still some fine tuning to be done at a small number of locations, but I have found these detectors very reliable and will be using more of them in conjunction with signals - when installed. For each storage road, the Control Panel has a red "set entry" button, a track occupied LED indicator (or two for double length roads), a red "set exit" button, and finally a black "release" button; the release button over-rides the IRDOT which has caused the train to stop automatically in the correct position. This arrangement can be seen for 3 of the four fiddle yards in the picture below. At present the occupancy LED's are red, but I have found that this can be confusing with other red/green LED's used to indicate point settings elsewhere on the panel, and so when we install the final "Top" to the Panel, the occupancy LED's will be switched to blue. I hope that this will be of interest - I will revert to an update on progress in my next posting. Tony Edited November 4, 2022 by Tony Teague 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted November 16, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2016 (edited) Since my last update I have been working steadily through what was needed to finish off the forecourt and approach to Churminster Station; this does not sound much, but I suspect that it has already absorbed over 25 hours work, and I am still not quite there. Jobs completed include installing painting & weathering pavements, completing fences and filling in odd cracks & joins, as well as getting the colouring of the granite sets in the roadway to a more acceptable colour. I be able to show some shots of this in the next couple of days. At the same time, my good friend Mike Gascoigne who is a local artist who has kindly agreed to help me in painting the backscenes, has been completing the tricky job of decorating the areas between and behind the rows of shops and terraced houses that sit just above Churminster Station. It clearly would have been easier to paint this area before the buildings were installed - but hindsight is a great thing - and so we have, or rather Mike has, had to resort to paint sections of backscene onto card which we have then mounted and affixed to the wall at the rear. Here is a "before" picture: and after (sorry, they don't exactly match!): I am really delighted with what has been achieved, as it really seems to complete the scene and bring things to life; here is a more detailed shot of one section showing the painted buildings in between & behind those along the High Street: Tony Edited November 4, 2022 by Tony Teague 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony Teague Posted November 17, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 17, 2016 (edited) So here now is the long promised update on progress with Churminster Station yard. I have been trying to do justice to Geoff Taylor's excellent model of the station which I pictured in post #13 when it arrived, and then in post #19 once it had been set into the platform edge, however the station forecourt and the area to the right of the station, towards the loco shed had remained incomplete.This could be seen in the 3rd picture in my last post #23. Whilst it is probably not "finished" I have since made enough progress for me to be happy to show what it now looks like; the first picture looks down the entrance road to the station forecourt, with the loco shed yard to the left: The second shot is taken in the same direction but from the loco shed roof! Finally, I climbed one of the tall loco yard lighting gantries to take an aerial shot: The three locos in the yard when these pictures were taken were all ex-LSWR locos: No.472 - a Drummond D15 4-4-0 from a PDK kit No.499 - a Urie S15 4-6-0 from a DJH kit No.522 - a Urie H15 4-6-0, also from a DJH kit All three kits were built by Chris Phillips whom I have mentioned previously. In the background, and across the tracks shunting the goods yard is No.2473, an ex-LBSCR Billinton E4, RTR by OO Works. Whilst these images show significant progress, there are some small areas to be completed, more signage added, and perhaps some street lights to the forecourt. What the pictures also show is that there is now a further significant amount to be done to get the shed and shed yard up to the same level..... Tony Edited to give credit to the loco kit builder! Edited November 4, 2022 by Tony Teague 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 Amazing layout! Wish I had the space for something like this, at least then all the excess stock I have might have a chance of being used! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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