Glenshiel - West Highland Line.

[Mike140]

Thank you, Colin.

Do not worry, Steam buffs welcome! The Jacobite is VERY high up on my wish list and will definitely be making plenty of appearances. I may be a diesel guy, but even I have to hold my hands up and admit that you simply cannot beat a big old Black 5 snorting its way over the Glenfinnan Viaduct - what a sound that is! It's a journey I hope to make myself one day.

 

I've been mucking about with couplings tonight. All of my coaches are fitted with Dapol knuckle couplings - long on one end and short on the other - bringing their gangways together to the point of contact, while still being able to navigate medium radius streamline turnout with no hassle. I've a couple of 108 DMUs (i call them the old married couple) that have always run together with a big ugly gap between each coach...

 

The gap between the coaches of one unit.

 

and the gap between each unit.

 

So the knuckle couplings went on...

 

The coaches went over a second radius streamline turnout just fine with the buffers just about making contact...

 

but the buffers at the front of the units push just enough to lift the bogie ever so slightly. Sprung buffers in N scale please!

 

Luckily when run over a large radius streamline turnout there is plenty of space and they run flawlessly.

 

With the knuckles fitted the Cargowaggons run with their buffers literally touching at all times. Because they have the same mechanism as the coaches they can run over the medium radius turnout without any problems. Even without the knuckles they couple very close to each other right out of the box.

That blue is driving me mad, though. It's too light! 

[Mike140]

More planning!

 

So I've been trying to figure out how to get an entire model railway through a trap door if it were to ever need moving. A part of me does hope to one day exhibit locally and of course having a layout capable of being broken down in to pieces provides some future proofing. The layout was always intended to be modular, and today I've broken down my plan in to baseboard pieces.

 

(Some measurements might be slightly off in the plan)

 

There are eighteen boards in total, including an extra one to cover the hatch that isn't shown here. The frame will be permanently fixed in the loft, with the exception of two pieces that will need to move about a bit, which the layout will simply rest on top of.

The only way to get the boards up and down to/from the loft will be by sliding them on the ladder - heart wrenching stuff!

I have come up with a plan to make this less painful. I'll have what I've nicknamed a "catch board" that will sit in front of the ladder and allow me to gently lever the boards on to it when pushing them up. From there I can go in to the loft and put the board in place. The baseboards will need to be over engineered to avoid any stress, bending, flexing etc etc. They'll be made up of two lengths of chipboard sheet sandwiching supports of 1 1/4" x 3/4". The underside being completely smooth to allow me to 'ski' the whole thing up and down the ladder. Luckily I already have plenty of 6' x 4' chipboard sheets to pull it off. The longest board will be 100cm long by 60cm wide, so not that big really. That does mean those two sections of frame will have to be moved out of the way when getting the boards up and down. The legs for them sit right in front of the ladder.

This whole ordeal will of course be a very rare move, but all needs to be planned for! Plus, the back garden is more than large enough to house the layout for summer runnings!

The one massive benefit of going through all this hassle is the fact that I could bring any one single piece downstairs to work on. Having built my first layout mostly outside in the garden, I'd much prefer doing that to thumping around the loft!

[Mike140]

So much dust!

Today I went up to the loft again and managed to get quite a bit done. I was pleasantly surprised as my past self had done much more last time than I'd remembered he had.

 

This is what I went up to...

 

Imagine a 12 road fiddle yard here!  These boards are 60cm so are the exact width of what the layout will be, to give an idea.

 

The drill came out and I managed to get the boards and frame down all around.

 

Support beams for the frame are already in place on both sides along the outer edge. This piece will go along the wider end wall and the chimney end needs some fixing, too.

 

I'm getting there! Now I can get around to start cleaning and filling in the odd hole in ceiling.

 

But there's still this...

Still clearing out junk!

 

After lifting up one 8x2' length of chipboard I quickly aborted the idea of building the baseboards out if it. Much too heavy! Ply it is then.

[Marly51]

You have my sympathy - just cleared my workshop a fortnight ago, which was being used as an alternative store by the family. Built a few shelves and now got enough room to set up the three baseboard modular units, at last! Good luck with your space - looking forward to reading about your layout. Marlyn

[scottystitch]

A great space you have there, similar to my 17.5ft by 9.5ft garage (pending) conversion for Glasgow North.

 

I would agree to ditch the chipboard idea (does anyone still call it Particle Board, anymore, like my dad??)

 

Good luck with the gutting and refurb of the room. Time and work now will pay dividends when it comes to building the layout in a nice clean environment.

 

Keep us posted and thanks for sharing.

[scottystitch]

You might find this video interesting:

 

[Mike140]

Cheers, Scotty. That clip of '606 at 14:05 is exactly what I'm looking for in the layout. What was it hauling - I'm guess either steel or aluminium?

[scottystitch]

You're welcome, Mike. 

 

No idea with regards the load, but I suppose I'd guess at Aluminium. That is based purely on the Aluminium plant at Fort William. But it's hard to see if they are billets or material or maybe boxes of something?...

 

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along to help us out.

[Mike140]

Looks like aluminium is the safe bet as it was mentioned on page 1, something I could stick on my BAA's. A bit naughty running them on the WHL but that's what Rule 1 is for. They'll look great along side the 25 HAA's and class 108's   

I'm hoping to get the frame up in the loft tomorrow. All I really need to do is cut the 2x1 down a bit, but the miter saw I was planning on using for quickness has gone AWOL! How do you lose a miter saw?! The hard way it is then!

[Mike140]

Okay, so I feel bad about not putting up an update yesterday! I went up to the attic but was so tired from work the day before that I did virtually nothing. I think I put up one piece of wood to stop the trap door falling back and then undid some screws and that was it... So, to make up for it, I'll tell the story of how I decided to throw the layout in to the attic and the changes it's seen before even being built...

 

It all started with Banks Hill, a simple A-B-A shelf layout. I got bored with it as it had very limited running capabilities and wanted to build a roundy-roundy, so I could watch the trains go by. Originally I was going to get rid of the fiddle yard and end scenic breaks on Banks Hill and make a second layout of the same size and connect them up with 180* bends at each end. Both layouts were the ideal size to take downstairs, Banks Hill was actually built in the back garden, and the entire thing would sit nicely in the kitchen / dining room extension - a massive space as there was once a purpose-build bedroom down there for a disabled relative, sadly no longer with us.

 

 

The plans for a station - what is now Bridge of Glenfinnoch - were drawn up and printed out. Banks Hill would sit on the opposite side. The plan allowed a decent sized fiddle yard, and Banks Hill would receive passenger trains from one line and goods from another, bypassing the station via the (up to now) derelict loop to the side of the station.

 

 

The station plan allowed six coach trains to sit in both platforms and a 18-wagon coal train in the loop nicely.

 

 

I started building the layout at this point, made from long shelves from B&Q at (I think) £9 a go - two for the base and one for the back scene.

 

 

Then realization set in - The two layouts were an absolute pain to get down the stairs and, once down there, would take up most of the space in the most popular room in the house. The idea of having to 'build' the layout every time I wanted to run a few trains was also a turn off.

 

So now what? Shed?! Too expensive. Attic? That'll do! That would allow me to have a much larger layout out of the way of human traffic. The plans for Glenfinnoch were drawn up. The station could be extended and widened and the fiddle yard can be much larger. The station plan saw some minor changes. I wasn't happy with the way the coaches passed over the 3-way point at one end, and the two wye points together made them twitch around all over the place.

It just didn't look right. I did have pictures comparing the points but they've gone missing. I'll edit them in later if I can find them.

Luckily, the extra space allowed me to change out every point for large radius, which look much better.

 

And why not show the stock I have so far? I'm guilty of collecting trains even when not having anything to run them on... I can't stop!

 

 

I have a few new-comers since the pictures were taken but they should all be in the topic somewhere.

 

Update wise - The attic looks like a bomb has just gone off... again! 8ft long sheets of chipboard and 2x1 everywhere. After clearing the space once that space quickly disappeared once I dragged out more junk from around the edges of the attic. How the ceilings haven't come through with all that stuff up there for so long is beyond me. Anyhow, still more cleaning to do ... HI-HO HI-HO!

Most importantly - The old fish tank has been replaced with a brand new 4ft-er I bought myself for my birthday! 

[richierich]

If a Class 104 was produced, you could do the Mexican Bean DMU.

[Mike140]

If a Class 104 was produced, you could do the Mexican Bean DMU.

 

I had to Google it but I like it!

[rob D2]

You're welcome, Mike. 

 

No idea with regards the load, but I suppose I'd guess at Aluminium. That is based purely on the Aluminium plant at Fort William. But it's hard to see if they are billets or material or maybe boxes of something?...

 

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along to help us out.

Solid aluminium ingots from locahber smelter as you guessed.

Freightliner had the contract at this time, but of course their 47/57s were too heavy for the line, so they had to hire in 37/6s from EPS.

This used to run round in the station,saw it there once.

[scottystitch]

Thanks Rob, seemed like a logical conclusion, but having never seen the product from Lochaber, I couldn't be sure.

 

Where would this traffic have been heading to then, do you know?

[rob D2]

I’ve got a feeling it was either Birmingham or South Wales

[Mike140]

 

 

 

[Mike140]

Uh-oh, guys! I've just noticed that the name of this layout is very similar to that of an existing one already on here, so the renaming process begins!

 

I think I've got it already. Glenfinnan Viaduct, the muse to this layout, sits just North of Loch Shiel, so I'll use that name. What do you all think of either Glenshiel or Invershiel?

 

To comply with my operator's well Loch approach I've come up with my own version of the area that I'll be basing the layout on. Imagining that Loch Shiel stretches a bit further North, the WHL and the A830 swap places at a point, and the A830 wraps around the Loch, this is what I've come up with...

 

Edit - The original map for comparison.

 

The A830 will be reduced to a B-road on the layout, to give it a nice quiet country lane appearance.

The river to the North will be named River Shiel.

The river to the East will be named Callop Waters.

 

Unfortunately, the Glenfinnan monument has done an Atlantis... Sorry! 

 

Thoughts and opinions welcome as usual!

Edited February 9, 2018 by Mike140

[Andrew P]

Morning Mike, I've just had a quick scan through your pics and some nice ideas coming through, I'll be back later to have a proper read through. Good luck with it and enjoy. I do LIKE the Name BTW.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Hello all.

 

This is my plan for my attic layout, which has been in the planning phase for well over a year by now, Glenfinnoch! (I hope that doesn't translate to anything naughty!)

Glenfinnoch is the name of the layout as a whole, the station being named Bridge of Finnoch.

The name is a mash-up of various stations and locations that led to the design of this layout - Bridge of Orchy, Glenfinnan and Rannoch.

It's based on and is inspired by the West Highland Railway and I aim to capture the absolute remoteness that comes with it, but I also want to capture the stunning surrounding landscapes. 

I have combined parts of several landscapes in the plan, including Glenfinnan viaduct, which will definitely be a center piece.

The viaduct scene will be modeled both vertically as well as horizontally. I plan on having the back scene rise far above the track bed and have a massive valley dropping below.

 

Much like the real thing, the layout will have a single bi-directional line running throughout.

It also has a large 8-road fiddle yard. The lines are more than long enough to house an 8-coach HST - Rule 1!

 

Following the line clockwise will take you through the different scenes! (excuse the horrible colour!)

AtticLayoutFinal.png

Edit - Station name changed to Bridge of Finnoch.

 

 

The space I have to work with is roughly 490 x 280cm / 192 x 110", give or take - had a big fight with the tape measure!

 

The two main baseboards, either side, will be 60cm / 23.6" wide, just a nice size for a single line and some scenery!

One will house a simple, yet probably over-complicated by WHR standards, station that will feature an island platform to allow two trains to stop, a large passing loop for goods or none-stopping services and a branch line from Pl.2 served by a DMU service.

Horriblestationplan.png

 

 

The station area takes up about 1/3 of the total running area.

The 60cm wide boards allow me a large operating well of around 160cm / 63", where I hope to set up a number of 'photo spots', where I can move a chair to and enjoy the layout from a number of different angles.

 

My goal is to have trains undergoing a long, uninterrupted run through the entire landscape.

The track plan may seem barren to some, especially when it comes to N gauge, but that is the point!

I want the main focus of the layout to be the vast landscape and scenery with trains cutting through that. Remember, the landscape was there first and the trains came later!

Bridges, lots of bridges, will be included through the line. I find bridges add such a nice sense of dimension to a layout.

The track bed will be elevated by four inches above the baseboards to allow plenty of contours in the landscape.

 

After growing up watching eight trains chasing their tails all at once, I am very much looking forward to seeing one single train travel through a large landscape and navigate some iconic scenes!

The running of the trains will be automatic!

Another goal of the layout is to have everything automated, from trains to signals, and being able to sit and watch a railway operate itself.

While only one train can travel through the majority of the space, the station allows a second train to slip away in to the fiddle yard and there is always the possibility of a DMU appearing as another train makes its way through the valleys.

I am a big fan of simplicity, and it's these simple movements that will keep me entertained!

I also want it to be transportable - You never know!   

 

 

That's all for now!

Let me know what you think and any ideas are more than welcome!

Mike. (Formerly MKR140)

 

This should be truly sensational. Less is more.

 

I would question if you need boards as deep as 23". It may well look better on narrower boards (which will help you a lot if you need to take it downstairs).

Edited February 9, 2018 by Joseph_Pestell

[cal.n]

Looking good. I am doing the WHL on the sleeper tonight, let me know if you want any specific photos of anything.

 

Keep up to good work.

[Signaller69]

Looking good Mike, WHL is always an interesting subject for me too, watching progress with interest.

 

Martyn.

[Joseph_Pestell]

This should be truly sensational. Less is more.

 

I would question if you need boards as deep as 23". It may well look better on narrower boards (which will help you a lot if you need to take it downstairs).

 

Do you need the space in the centre of the loft for anything?

 

I would be tempted by narrower boards around the edges and a peninsular down the middle to increase the length of running track.

[Mike140]

Thank you all!

 

This should be truly sensational. Less is more.

 

I would question if you need boards as deep as 23". It may well look better on narrower boards (which will help you a lot if you need to take it downstairs).

 

It was originally going to be just 12" but after thinking that the track bed will be raised by 4-5" I'd need some frontal space to 'drop' the land toward the front, especially after the Loch came in to existence and I like the idea of having a shoreline. The boards just about fit through the hatch of 62cm as they are. The hatch itself was another concern, a ruddy big hole in the floor! The 23" boards only cover about 1/3 of the hatch, so I brought in that extra scenic board to cover it, which can be moved out of the way when getting up and down. Before all that was in mind, it all came down to me measuring an already existing board, muttering "That'll do" and sticking with it    A quick measure up on my plan tells me that I'd need only 10" to comfortably house the station at the widest point. The rest is nothing but land!

 

Looking good. I am doing the WHL on the sleeper tonight, let me know if you want any specific photos of anything.

Keep up to good work.

 

 Any of station areas and scenery would be much appreciated. Feel free to share anything. I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

Do you need the space in the centre of the loft for anything?

 

I would be tempted by narrower boards around the edges and a peninsular down the middle to increase the length of running track.

 

My head!  At 6'2 I need all of the 7' I can get! I'm hoping to have a work bench or desk in the center.

[Andrew P]

Hi Mike, Now had a proper read though and the Traffic flow sounds very good. One of my favourite Layouts on the Exhibition Circuit is Porthchullen, a Scottish single Track line with a passing Station, and run with Blue 26 and 37's, awesome stuff.

 

All the best with the project.

[Mike140]

Hi Mike, Now had a proper read though and the Traffic flow sounds very good. One of my favourite Layouts on the Exhibition Circuit is Porthchullen, a Scottish single Track line with a passing Station, and run with Blue 26 and 37's, awesome stuff.

 

All the best with the project.

 

Thanks, Andy. I'm familiar with Portchullin. Seen a few videos of it on YouTube and follow their thread here. Beautiful layout.