I have, at last, laid the track and wired it (almost all) up. I seem to have managed to get the live frogs working properly, just need to wire the point motors to throw the blades.
I might even manage a photo later. A trip to B&Q is planned for some 'fiddlestick' inspiration.
After a good few weeks of inactivity (work; christmas; real life, etc) I've actually done a small amount of modelling today. The two turnouts were modified to allow proper live frog operation, and the track was cut to fit, using a shiny new pair of Xuron cutters. It might not sound much, but psychologically it feels important: for some reason I'd been putting off the point modifications for far too long, as I just couldn't get my head around them. This explanation helped a lot.
Next I need
As mentioned previously on the last incarnation of RMweb, the things that have led to this plan are:
Neil Rushby's fantasticShell Island
A holiday spent walking around the Forest of Dean
A longstanding interest in the colliery branchlines of County Durham and Northumberland
This Youtube footage of a Northumberland branch line at the end of its days
Mines a Pint's Deadwater Burn
I'm seriously constrained by space, and am happy to with the idea if simple shuntin
Part of the plan for this new layout is to keep it as simple (both in terms of scenery and trackwork) as possible in order to reasonably move region according to whatever stock I have at hand to run.
Currently I don't have a great deal, and what I do have is mainly Southern in origin (BR liveried Q1 and M7, plus a green 08 shunter, a selection of green Mk1s). I have just acquired a Darlington-based Standard 4mt 2-6-0, though, and have a long term plan to build something based properly in Cou
The plan:
Re-use an existing 4'x1' baseboard to create a simple micro-layout that:
can be stored on its end under my stairs
allows some simple shuffling of wagons around
doesn't look too cluttered.
Where I am so far:
Baseboard exists from previous layout
Track has arrrived (Peco Code 75)
New Xuron track-cutters have been delivered
Track-plan exists in my head
Stock exists but needs weathering a 3-link coupling-ing.
Some
