Leaderboard

Although still October, the December 2013 issue (Number 189) of Model Rail Magazine hits the newsagent shelves today and features an article about Fisherton Sarum. The article is written around a completely new stunning set of photographs by Chris Nevard. As well as the obvious details about the layout the article focuses through some of the text and the great photography on my kit built rather than Ready-To-Run rolling stock. Those using the iPad app will also be able to view a gallery containing ten additional pictures not used in print along with a short video clip of the layout in action. I apologise in advance for the dodgy baseboard joint in the video clip as I wasn’t expecting to have to actually run the layout during the photoshoot! I hope you enjoy both the photography and the article and I welcome any feedback. For further information see my blog at www.grahammuz.com

I've been busy making a model of St Fagan's Forge, which is going to be located near the bridge over the road featured in these photos. The forge is going to be squeezed in front of the embankment on the left of the bridge. The layout is set in 1947, so I am having some fun figuring out how the forge would be used by that time. I'm leaning towards the idea that its owner is doing some repairs to motor vehicles, as I fancy having a rusty old tractor or lorry parked outside.

Hi I've been working hard since the last post, and the pictures below will show you the fruits of my labours. I have cut the baseboard into two parts, on with the scenic area and the other the fiddleyard. This makes the area of the layout for transport smaller, but of course makes the depth larger. Another advantage in transit the electrical wiring is now inside and not exposed. This means that when I am transporting it on a train, I am not breaking National Carriage Conditions. See previous posting about this problem. See the following link for details http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1394/entry-12678-trefeglwvs-road-cambrian-railways-16/ The blocks you can see on the bottom picture are there because it is very difficult to cut a straight line through an existing baseboard, particularly a circular one. They mean that when the over centre catches are engaged the whole baseboard is rigid. The rebates are for the hinges to be located, then the two boards are not kept apart by the width of the hinges. There is a cover which goes over the scenic section to protect it in transit of course. Julie PS I must now get on a restore the track into the fiddleyard, across the new baseboard join. and complete the proper wiring, the layout still has only a few connections, the minimum to allow trains to run.

Onwards and upwards – well I guess it depends on the direction of travel. The Branch Terminus and the Branch Junction described in my last posts are actually the highest parts of the layout being 158 mm higher than the original Main Terminus. Continuing our journey from the Branch Junction the title of this Post should probably read ‘Downhill all the way’ – I think not! The Main Junction –wide angle The Main Junction –panoramic There are two single track lines from the Branch Junction, one supposedly being of GWR origin and the other having LNWR roots. The later circles round and down in true train set style to emerge at a lower level station immediately beneath the Branch Junction. I refer to this lower level station as the Main Junction. The track layout for the Main Junction is shown below diagrammatically. The station and the adjoining curves occupy a length of some 12 feet. The Main Junction – not to scale The majority of my stations tend to be an amalgamation of ideas gleaned from CJ Freezer and the Railway Modeller. In the case of the Main Junction the basic form of the station was taken from the high level through station in the track plan shown below out of the Railway Modeller dated October 1961. I like the idea of a station with three running lines where the centre track can be used for both running in two directions and for terminating trains. I also like the visual feature where engines or coaches can be stored in a spur between the two other running lines. Track plan courtesy of CJ Freezer October 1961 To turn the Station into a junction I have added an additional platform face dedicated to branch traffic, with a crossover on the main line at the ‘southern’ end of the station. The crossover at the ‘south’ end of the Station with a Bachmann Jubilee The layout is designed to accommodate as many trains as possible. Where there is a single track it is important to provide passing places. As well as enabling trains to pass each other these loops can be used to provide temporary storage for whole trains. The Main Junction is no exception. Trains coming off the single track from the Branch Junction are filtered onto the mainline at the ‘north’ end of the station thus enabling a train coming off the single track to pass a train traveling in the opposite direction waiting in the dedicated branch platform. Coming off the single track at the ’north’ end of the Station Bachmann Crab coming off the single tack, Bachmann Jubilee waiting to depart form the dedicated branch platform When I was sketching out the plans for the layout it became obvious that there was space for carriage sidings alongside the dedicated branch platform. In fact there was also space for yet another platform. This would be a ‘relief’ platform of the type constructed in the 1950s to accommodate football or holiday specials. The Relief Platform with a Bachmann Class 108 To differentiate the Relief Platform from the rest of the station I scribed the paved surface in large bays to represent a newer concrete surfacing rather than the smaller rectangles I used for old flag stones. The ‘north’ end looking across to the branch platform I will take a break here and come back next time with some more details of other parts of the Main Junction Station.

I had to find a solution for my the lighting and background of my APA-box diorama. Due my multiple chemical sensitivity I’m not able to do any soldering. So I have to search for other possibilities. I find this one of the most difficult jobs for my diorama’s. I use a led strips from IKEA with the following description: light temperature 2700 K / 30 lumen. This is enough for a APA-box. I have used them also for Nice Street (Urban Scene). This time the led strip is adjusted at the front of the box. Using some aluminium foil and transparent paper I created a diffused lightning. If have made additional strip of wood in front of the strip I think I can improve the lighting by using aluminium foil at the underside of the lid. I like to create some light inside my warehouse. Luckily Christmas is coming and I saw some small led strips on battery I maybe can use. I will buy some and try this out when I’m building the final warehouse. May also try to use a led strip from my Ikea lightning. The result of my lighting efforts I will publish in a later entry. First of all the choice of a background is I believe is personal and will depend on your personal preference. I have seen a lot of beautiful backgrounds in the RMweb. For the background I used two options in the past: A photographic background from Scalescenes – Bridge Street Painting the inside of the APA-box – Nice Street (Urban Scene) When I put the painted background in Diorama forum on the RM-web one of the replies pointed at the visible corners. I saw the same with I glued background in another APA micro layout. Then I remembered that someone used a background made of fabric. Because I like an one colour background I decided to try this out on Northall Dock. I used a blue-grey fitted sheet we normally use for the spare bed to create the background (advice: first consult the lady of the house). The fabric background is cut in size and fitted with two strokes of double sided tape. The fabric is just the try out. I first have to paint the APA-box. I wanted to do that this week , but I decided to wait with that until my wife is more recovered from a seriously concussion. Luckily she is improving step by step. Before I can use it as a definite background, I have to iron the fabric first. In this way I hope to capture an overcast sky. The cottage is placed were the warehouse of Roope & Voss is designed, to show the effect of the fabric background. The corner of the APA-Box is photographed. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading, greetings Job

Had a couple of GWR ground signals turn up from an outstanding order a few months back so I thought I'd do a bit more work on Cheslyn. Also started installing some Spratt and Winkle couplings on some more coach stock. One day I was playing with a Vi Trains class 37 whilst working on the couplings at the same time - never a good idea. After the session I picked up the 37 and found a dirty great superglue blemish and a bit of finger tip hanging off the bodywork. This was quite a shock and I didn't know quite what to do at first, but out came the glass fibre pen. Unfortunately this fetched the original paint off right down to the white plastic shell. The situation was quickly getting dire. So out came the paint brushes and some rail blue acrylic. Unfortunately, the paint and body shell colour didn't match so out came some watered down black acrylic in a vain attempt to use a bit of weathering to hide the repair. After many hours messing about I decided to consult fellow Rmweb member Sandhill's magnificent blog and his easy to understand weathering method. The result is a follows and I'm quite pleased with the result. So a big thanks to Sandhill's. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42150-a-diorama-or-two-by-sandhills/ Other traction which are RTR. Note the Heljan 33 - you might ask what this is doing on a GWR branchline - but it is my favorite model and it's my trainset after all! I'm not happy now with the Vi Trains windows on the 37 and I don't have the confidence to put in a Shawplan's etched window front - any ideas out there on what I can do to improve the look without too much hacking about with the model? Suggestions will be gratefully received.