Wenlock's Blog

There's a great sense of spaciousness there, Dave, which would look good even in 4mm, for 7mm this will be something special I think. At least for myself I can't remember seeing a 7mm layout with anything like the depth you have planned for.

BIG pat on the back for this one so far, I'm enjoying watching your progress.

Like the name too, it should place it for anyone who wonders about its location.

Keep up the good work, something to be proud of.

( mind you I'm biased towards early GWR so it pleases me even more!)

Thanks Al!  Although 4 foot deep base boards are a bit of a stretch even with my long arms, I'm hoping that the extra depth will really help when it comes to the scenery.  So many layouts seem to rigidly adhere to 2 foot deep base boards regardless of the scale and this to my eye lends to too many compromises aesthetically.  I remember being very impressed when I first saw "Barry Normans Petherick" many years ago, which I think was about 5 feet deep.  The railway really sat in the landscape and had a great sense of perspective which I'd never seen before on a model.  I guess to get the spaciousness that Barry achieved in 4mm, I would need 9 foot deep baseboards in 7mm, which might prove a bit of a challenge! 

 

Dave

Hi Dave,

 

Funnily enough I have also been racking my brains regarding the naming of my layout, although I am still making baseboards at present ( 3 down and 11 to go !! )  I did name the layout Selborne after a beautiful village on the Sussex/Hampshire border.

 

Well all was fine for a while, but for some unknown reason I decided that the name was a bit shall we say " dull ".

 

So I have now decided to go down the " double barrel naming route " with " Church Norton ", I think it sounds a bit GWR- ish, although Church Norton is a quiet little hamlet just along the coast from where I live. Still modellers licence so who cares !

 

I have made a start on my fiddle yard and have used copper paxolin sleeper construction for the pointwork, but I will be doing the same as yourself on the scenic side using ply sleepers and C & L parts. I am still undecided regarding the point control, I have whittled it down to either the Tortoise motors or go down the servo route, but whatever I finally decide I want to operate the points through use of a lever frame.

 

Your trackwork looks great, you have managed to capture that natural flow which you cannot achieve with the R-T-R equivalent. Regarding the video clips I'm afraid I cannot help you there, I find it hard enough wiring up the points !

 

Keep up the good work, it's coming on a treat.

 

Martyn.

Wow, nice! Totally agree with Al - the feeling of spaciousness already gives it a very special ambience. The 517 shunting in the last 2 photos is nigh on perfect.

 

If your scenery is to the standard you've applied to everything else so far I think this could be one of the defining layouts of its time, certainly as much as Petherick, Faringdon or Hursley were benchmarks in the 80s and 90s, and perhaps more so.

 

Between you and Mikkel I have to exercise self-control or I could end up thinking a little too much about the attraction ad feasibility of Edwardian GW BLTs.

Hi Dave,

 

Really lovely work. I follow with interest, but that track work is spot on.

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick.

The general layout and the trackwork look really good. I can recommend the tortoise for for the turnouts. The stall feature makes them self adjusting once roughly set they should not need altering and hot exhibitions are not a problem.

Don

Very nice indeed!

BIG pat on the back for this one so far, I'm enjoying watching your progress.

Like the name too, it should place it for anyone who wonders about its location.

Keep up the good work, something to be proud of.

( mind you I'm biased towards early GWR so it pleases me even more!)

Glad you're enjoying the progress so far and good to hear from a fellow polished brass and copper fan!

 

Hi Dave,

 

Funnily enough I have also been racking my brains regarding the naming of my layout, although I am still making baseboards at present ( 3 down and 11 to go !! )  I did name the layout Selborne after a beautiful village on the Sussex/Hampshire border.

 

Well all was fine for a while, but for some unknown reason I decided that the name was a bit shall we say " dull ".

 

So I have now decided to go down the " double barrel naming route " with " Church Norton ", I think it sounds a bit GWR- ish, although Church Norton is a quiet little hamlet just along the coast from where I live. Still modellers licence so who cares !

 

I have made a start on my fiddle yard and have used copper paxolin sleeper construction for the pointwork, but I will be doing the same as yourself on the scenic side using ply sleepers and C & L parts. I am still undecided regarding the point control, I have whittled it down to either the Tortoise motors or go down the servo route, but whatever I finally decide I want to operate the points through use of a lever frame.

 

Your trackwork looks great, you have managed to capture that natural flow which you cannot achieve with the R-T-R equivalent. Regarding the video clips I'm afraid I cannot help you there, I find it hard enough wiring up the points !

 

Keep up the good work, it's coming on a treat.

 

Martyn.

Thanks Martin, I've been following your progress on the forum and am looking forward to the next update! It's funny how some names sound Great Western, I think "Church Norton" sounds very evocative. I also like the idea of point levers, have you got any candidates in mind?

Thanks again for your positive comments.

 

Wow, nice! Totally agree with Al - the feeling of spaciousness already gives it a very special ambience. The 517 shunting in the last 2 photos is nigh on perfect.

 

If your scenery is to the standard you've applied to everything else so far I think this could be one of the defining layouts of its time, certainly as much as Petherick, Faringdon or Hursley were benchmarks in the 80s and 90s, and perhaps more so.

 

Between you and Mikkel I have to exercise self-control or I could end up thinking a little too much about the attraction ad feasibility of Edwardian GW BLTs.

Thanks Adrian, being compared with those particular three layouts is praise indeed! I've only ever done scenic modelling in 4mm scale, we'll have to wait and see how I get on in 7mm scale!

 

As to you coming over to the "Dark Side" and dabbling in Edwardian GWR, I for one can't wait!

 

 

The general layout and the trackwork look really good. I can recommend the tortoise for for the turnouts. The stall feature makes them self adjusting once roughly set they should not need altering and hot exhibitions are not a problem.

Don

Thanks Don, I'm looking forward to experimenting with the tortoise point motor, the self adjusting feature was one of the main reasons that I decided to give them a go.

 

 

Hi Dave,

 

Really lovely work. I follow with interest, but that track work is spot on.

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick.

Thanks Nick!

 

Very nice indeed!

Thanks ullypug!

Terrific layout - really captures the 'space' element beautifully.  As to a name 'Nempnett Thrubwell' comes to mind...  It sounds very 'Emmet-ish' - but it is actually a village in North Somerset - and has never had a railway connection.  It's signposted from the crossing at 'Didcot Halt' at DRC (courtesy of the ex-Highways Officer from Somerset CC!

 

Regs

 

Ian

Hi Dave, what a result! As others have said, the spaciousness is becoming more and more apparent, and I like how the layout accommodates both distance views along the rails, and close-ups. The trick with the private siding is a nice one.

 

I didn't mean to critisize the name Uffley, or are you planning a Danish tour with the layout? :-) If so it would be a showstopper like no other. Well, it will be a showstopper anywhere!

 

Sherton Abbas is a very good name though. It has a lot of character to it, and stands out a bit. The Swedes will like it too :-)  

Hi Dave, regarding the point/signal levers I will probably go for the MSE  one's and operate them through a micro switch to the Servo/Tortoise. Although years ago I saw one of these lever frames being used mechanically on an EM layout and even the Facing point locks were operational, amazing.

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

Nemptnett Thrubwell's a great name, indeed, but it has been used on a model railway before - vague recollection of seeing it in MRC, probably early 80s.

Dave,

 

Can really only echo what everyone else has said.  For a 7mm layout it looks really spacious.  Love the name too!

 

Look forward to seeing the next installment - I'm going to have a play with memory wire to see whether it will be suitable for operating my turnouts and signals.  I understand that power consumption might be an issue, but with only 6 turnouts and a similar number of signals (not all of which will be thrown at the same time) I hope that it might prove to be a goer.

 

Ian

Terrific layout - really captures the 'space' element beautifully.  As to a name 'Nempnett Thrubwell' comes to mind...  It sounds very 'Emmet-ish' - but it is actually a village in North Somerset - and has never had a railway connection.  It's signposted from the crossing at 'Didcot Halt' at DRC (courtesy of the ex-Highways Officer from Somerset CC!

 

Regs

 

Ian

Thanks Ian! Nempnett Thrubwell is a fabulous name, Nick(buffalo) also mentioned it as a possible candidate.

 

Hi Dave, what a result! As others have said, the spaciousness is becoming more and more apparent, and I like how the layout accommodates both distance views along the rails, and close-ups. The trick with the private siding is a nice one.

 

I didn't mean to critisize the name Uffley, or are you planning a Danish tour with the layout? :-) If so it would be a showstopper like no other. Well, it will be a showstopper anywhere!

 

Sherton Abbas is a very good name though. It has a lot of character to it, and stands out a bit. The Swedes will like it too :-)

 

Hi Mikkel, glad you like the name, I think it has got a certain charm to it! I don't think Nick was overly impressed by the name Uffley either! Now a Danish tour sounds great fun :-), I took one of my 4mm layouts to Utrecht a number of years ago, so watch this space! I'm looking forward to the next report from Farthing, l hope the next phase is progressing well.

 

Hi Dave, regarding the point/signal levers I will probably go for the MSE  one's and operate them through a micro switch to the Servo/Tortoise. Although years ago I saw one of these lever frames being used mechanically on an EM layout and even the Facing point locks were operational, amazing.

 

Regards,

 

Martyn.

That MSE lever frame is a really lovely looking thing! I think trying to operate the points mechanically might tip me over the edge even in 7mm scale :-)

 

Nemptnett Thrubwell's a great name, indeed, but it has been used on a model railway before - vague recollection of seeing it in MRC, probably early 80s.

I wonder if the layout is still in existence, It's not one I remember at all. Still it's such a good name I reckon it could be used twice!

 

Dave,

 

Can really only echo what everyone else has said.  For a 7mm layout it looks really spacious.  Love the name too!

 

Look forward to seeing the next installment - I'm going to have a play with memory wire to see whether it will be suitable for operating my turnouts and signals.  I understand that power consumption might be an issue, but with only 6 turnouts and a similar number of signals (not all of which will be thrown at the same time) I hope that it might prove to be a goer.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian! I bought a pack of memory wire and bell cranks from C&L years ago and have never got round to experimenting with them. I'll be interested to read about your findings!

 

Best wishes to all

 

Dave

I toyed with the idea of using one of the place names from Trollope's Barsetshire for a while and was quite taken by the name Uffley until Mikkel pointed out that in Danish it sounds like an expression of disgust!

 

 

 I suppose a nearby GNR station, Cuffley, is downright censorable in Danish

Way back I mentioned the type of device they use in the US to reach over wide baseboards could you see yourself using something like this

http://modeltrains.about.com/b/2010/09/04/topside-creeper.htm

 

might save keep taking the boards apart to add details or fix things.  Wouldn't be much use to me in a loft conversion my head would go through the roof!

Don

Way back I mentioned the type of device they use in the US to reach over wide baseboards could you see yourself using something like this

http://modeltrains.about.com/b/2010/09/04/topside-creeper.htm

 

might save keep taking the boards apart to add details or fix things.  Wouldn't be much use to me in a loft conversion my head would go through the roof!

Don

Hi Don, I've checked out the creeper website! Perhaps not the most elegant modelling position I've ever seen, the kind of thing you allegedly see on "other adult interest sites!" I think I'll probably stick with just peering over the back scene when I need to get to the back of the layout! :-) You'd certainly have some interesting comments from the fire brigade if they found you in that position with your head stuck out of the roof!

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

What's really nice is the curve it gives the layout that something so different from the straight track in and straight track out that we usually see

What's really nice is the curve it gives the layout that something so different from the straight track in and straight track out that we usually see

Thanks John, glad you like the curve through the layout.  I always feel that curves make a layout flow better and if you are building your own points then its really no more difficult than building straight ones!

 

Dave