It's been 2 years since last we posted an update on the progress of the club layout. Progress is visible although at a moderate pace but then we only have 5 members and we try to meet every Thursday evening so time progressing the layout is limited.
You can visit our early blog Here
So the progress thus far
Trackwork
Painstaking work mainly by Mike has gone into this area to ensure smooth faultless running especially in reverse running out of the bay platforms to the headshunt and the down line bay platform to up line via the crossover. We are now confident with reverse propelling over the entire layout which allows the push-pull movements needed for the timetable. This is obviously hard to show and often taken for granted at exhibitions. The trackbed has now received a covering of the normal dirt and grime.
Monuments have been added to the trackbed in the appropriate places. These were evident on the real location and used to check the alignment of the track.
These were 3D printed as they are incredibly tiny, but their presence definately worth the effort.
Scenery
With the exception of the station road all of the layout topography foundations are in place. Work in covering the foundations with a variety of methods including static grass has been started by Richard and Chris.
In the foreground are another new addition. The railway land was seperated along its entire length by Southern Region style concrete fencing posts with 7 wires between each post. As far as we are aware no one makes this style of fencing so once again this was produced by 3D Printing. Whilst a wide range of 3D printing materials were available for this model , the cheaper variety was chosen for textured surface finish.
Holes were drilled into the landscape and then the posts potted into them. The holes in the post never came out on the printed version we purchased, they were only 0.3mm diameter! However since then and with the use of and alternative material I have had one sucess story with them, although i'm unsure whether the person who purchased them is now certified as insane!
Our preferred if not prototypical approach is to attempt to "string" these using "EZ line" a fine flexible polymer elastic. This in itself may prove very challenging so a dispenser was developed to hopefully assist in achieving this.
My Version
Richards Version
Both along the same lines but Richards is completed and as the picture shows primed ready to go so watch this space .........
Buildings and Structures
3 Arch Bridge
The original bridge was looking somewhat tired and so Mike has constructed a replacement for this. The archways are finer and altogether it makes for a very nice model expertly painted by Richard.
Before :
After :
Girder Bridge
Simon has been busy building all of the bridges across the river most of which are in various stages of painting again by Richards Brushwork. The river has also been completed by Richard and looks stunning.
Station Canopies
Mike has done an excellent at building the station canopy structure from brass. So much so that it seems a shame to roof them. However both Mike and Chris have been busy adding the roof to these and progress is nearly complete.
When the layout is complete the views through the station area will hopefully provide some stunning photograph oppertunities .
Station Bridge
This has been my achillies heal for way too long i'm afraid to say. The original rebuild here Here and Here did not stand the test of time and started to warp. Added to which there construction did not make for having them removable in case of track repairs. Eventually i decided to have them Laser Cut from MDF however due to the shape of the pillars this was not so easy either. However progress has now been made and i'm looking forward to moving on shortly from this build as it is hindering progress on the landscape build in this area.
Some shots of the underside roof of the bridge
Viewed from the station platforms:
Down Line Bay Platform:
Up Line Bay Platform:
Trees
Richard with some assistance from MIke have been starting the new tree collection. A few of which are pictured below in various stages of build. These look fantastic IMHO.
Lighting and Pelments
The lighting is in the form of LED strips that run the length of the layout including the fiddleyards, a combination of warm white and cool white diodes have been used . They are already encased in a rubber sleeve but they were then stuck into som cable trunking cut to straddle the support frames for the lighting. A 1ft gap has been left between each of trunking was left to allow them to be folded up for transportation to exhibitions. The Pelment obscures the viewing public from these lights and is clipped over the support frames.
As can be seen in the last picture , more work is needed on the unsupported sections of this system to keep the LED strips from sagging but overall the setup works.
Well i think that's most of the updates dealt with, i apologise if i have left anything out. There are plenty more projects ongoing that i will post when they come up.
We plan to have another informal open day again this year, not an exhibition more a cuppa and slice of cake, play with the layout and chat. Will post more details when the
dates have been finalised.
Edited by Ark Royal
Re-Link Photos
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