Every model railway needs a back story, whether it is a real location or a fictitious one. My micro layout has simply been known as the 300 inch challenge up to now. It really needs a name by which it…
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The 300 inch challenge micro layout now has its top level baseboard (or benchwork for our American cousins) in place. Unfortunately this happened with only a week to go to the Bassetlaw (North Notts) Railway Society annual exhibition the layout wasn’t part of the 300 inch competition. lets hope it makes it in time for […]
The post Upper Level Baseboard Completed appeared first on Rede Valley Railway.
The 300 inch challenge micro layout now has its top level baseboard (or benchwork for our American cousins) in place. Unfortunately this happened with only a week to go to the Bassetlaw (North Notts) Railway Society annual exhibition the layout wasn’t part of the 300 inch competition. lets hope it makes it in time for […]
The post Upper Level Baseboard Completed appeared first on Rede Valley Railway.
The 300 inch challenge micro layout now has its top level baseboard (or benchwork for our American cousins) in place. Unfortunately this happened with only a week to go to the Bassetlaw (North Notts) Railway Society annual exhibition the layout wasn’t part of the 300 inch competition. lets hope it makes it in time for […]
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My micro layout is intended to have two levels. The upper level will allow a single carriage and tank engine emerge from behind a back scene to service a platform and then return to where it started. This could be automated so that the service runs while shunting takes place in the yard below. I […]
The post Designing the upper level appeared first on Rede Valley Railway.
My micro layout is intended to have two levels. The upper level will allow a single carriage and tank engine emerge from behind a back scene to service a platform and then return to where it started. This could be automated so that the service runs while shunting takes place in the yard below. […]
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Recently I wrote about the idea of hiding an MP3 player within a building to supply a micro layout with sound. While technically this is a great solution it does raise one very obvious question. Where do I actually get the sound effects from? Fortunately I think there is quite an easy solution to this. […]
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One of my initial objectives for my micro layout was to incorporate sound. The intention is to operate with small tank engines and this gives the issue of very little room to install DCC sound decoders in the loco. My initial idea was to install a speaker somewhere under the layout and connect it up […]
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What is a bootlace ferrule? Answer, it’s a very convenient fitting to attach to the end of a wire that will then fit very snugly into a screw terminal. The DCC world is full of equipment that is supplied with rows of screw terminals. I find that connecting bare wire into these a very hit […]
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More and more downloadable building kits are becoming available and there are now several manufacturers supplying these items. Some of the producers are quite well known, but I’ve been a fan of some of the items produced by a lesser known supplier, modelrailwayscenery.com, for some time. I particularly like the ranges of signs and some […]
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Paul A. Lunn has penned an excellent article on model railway design in this month’s Model Rail (November 2013) entitled “Breaking the Mould”. He is challenging the basic exhibition concept of an oval layout that is scenic on the front boards and fiddle yard at the back with the operators in the middle. Paul’s idea […]
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The 300 inch challenge layout is going to exploit DCC as much as possible, so electrifying the turnouts is an important job. I’m using SEEP point motors, though I was tempted to experiment for the first time with something more sophisticated. SEEP produce 3 slight variations of point motor: PM1 – Non Latching with built […]
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Last night Bassetlaw (North Notts) Railway Society had their annual outing to Roy Jackson’s Home t0 see the progress on Roy’s Retford layout. I must say. on behalf of my fellow club members, it was a very enjoyable trip. This layout simply gets better and better. Roy Jackson was in great form to entertain us [...]
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The bottom level track is in place and I’ve nearly got an operational railway in 300 square inches! Making the most of the restricted space is the biggest challenge, and a key part of the design is having the front track as close to the baseboard edge as possible. Using an off cut of baseboard [...]
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The bottom level track is in place and I’ve nearly got an operational railway in 300 square inches! Making the most of the restricted space is the biggest challenge, and a key part of the design is having the front track as close to the baseboard edge as possible. Using an off cut of baseboard [...]
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There is a great DCC myth that you need to modify all your turnouts to work with DCC. This really isn’t true, and my Rede Valley layout has been operational for some time using PECO turnouts straight out of the box, mainly because most of the track was already laid before I converted to DCC. [...]
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A trip into my favourite local bookshop yesterday revealed a Waverley Route title I’d so far been unaware of, and have now been reading avidly for the last 24 hours. Quite simply a brilliant book. Waverley route – Death and Rebirth of a Borders Railway Unlike other histories of the line this one starts where [...]
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The build has actually started! We have a baseboard. I decided that the size of the layout would make no difference to baseboard construction technique, so my materials of choice are 9mm plywood baseboard top: thick enough to be rigid and not flex too much and also able to take screws on the underside to [...]
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York has become a regular Easter outing, and while Wife and daughter explore the shops I watch the trains. The exhibition seemed to have a huge Welsh theme this year but typically I stayed true to my roots and modelling interests and managed to fill most of my time watching fine exampes of North East England. [...]
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Making the 300 square inch challenge look convincing is not going to be easy. How do I make such a confined space realistic? My most recent idea….add some height. Lots of layouts in my view are too flat, with nearly … <a href="http://www.railwayblog.kevinappleby.co.uk/adding-some-height-693/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">?</span></a>
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When developing a micro layout every millimetre matters. The initial placement of track onto the plan looked ok, and I tried items of rolling stock to check siding lengths and clearances. Then I looked at a Seep point motor and … <a href="http://www.railwayblog.kevinappleby.co.uk/baseboards-are-going-to-be-a-challenge-690/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">?</span></a>
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One of the latest titles in Middleton Press’ Scottish Main Lines series covers the Waverley between Hawick & Galashields. Needless to say it has just arrived on my bookshelf and makes a great companion to the Carlisle to Hawick volume … <a href="http://www.railwayblog.kevinappleby.co.uk/another-great-waverley-route-book-697/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">?</span></a>
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Never mind how much you plan on paper there is no substitute for trying things out full size. I’ve finally had a chance to do this for the 300 square inch challenge and a few things are changing. To simulate … <a href="http://www.railwayblog.kevinappleby.co.uk/best-laid-plans-620/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">?</span></a>
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My club Bassetlaw has just launched a competition for members. The challenge is simple; build a diorama in no more than 300 square inches using RTR equipment. The entry would have no further constraints; any scale gauge shape and can … <a href="http://www.railwayblog.kevinappleby.co.uk/300-square-inch-layout-challenge-590/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">?</span></a>
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Progress on the Rede Valley has been slow. The 2012 project to complete the viaduct diorama is well behind schedule and work commitments have continued to keep me in Nottinghamshire during the week and well away from a railway room … Continue reading →
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