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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/12/16 in all areas

  1. Haroldston East is a layout that lives next to my desk. In fact, the removable fiddle yard runs along the back of the desk while attached to the layout. The layout measures about 6' wide by 1'4" deep and is built on one baseboard 8" high. The height is taken up by shelves for storing rolling stock and road vehicles not in use on the layout. The removable fiddle yard adds about 5' to the layout, giving plenty of room to run trains onto and off of the layout. The track plan is a little extravagant for a small station, featuring a double slip. The passenger platform is unusually situated beyond the loop, as this makes more room for shunting freight wagons. There were a few stations with similar arrangements. A locomotive, having brought a passenger train into the platform, must propel the stock out in order to run round, before propelling the stock back into the platform. Multiple units, which I hope will feature on the layout soon, don't suffer from this problem. Wiring is all DCC. Points are a mix of Peco insulfrog and electrofrog types. They are all animated by servo motors controlled from the DCC controller. At present, the track and basic scenery are complete. I still need to add the coal yard, some more trees and more low-relief buildings near the platform. The fiddle yard currently has just one track, but it has been designed for conversion to a cassette system for lengths up to 3'. The date for the layout isn't set exactly. The year is roughly 1960, but BR blue diesels and a Terrier appear from time to time. Here's a lineup of the regular locomotives on the layout; all Midland Railway or LMS types. Something the layout could do with is some more appropriate rolling stock - I'll keep a look out for some LMS van and open wagon kits. Apart from that, there are plenty of details to add that will keep me busy all Winter. Please let me know what you think of the layout so far in the comments.
    3 points
  2. Before the Parkside kit was announced, I fancied a pair of gunpowder vans via the established route of elderly Ratio Iron Mink kit plus Shirescenes etched brass sides. Unfortunately I cocked up the painting of the first van so it sat in a cupboard gathering dust, until I needed to get the Modelstrip out for another project. Having stripped and resprayed one van, I thought that was as good an incentive as any to do the second one, so another evening was spent with the Ratio and Shirescenes parts. I assembled both vans as per the instructions, except that I also filled in and removed the ventilator from each end of the wagon. Somewhere along the way I'd also managed to lose the etched door locking gear from one of the van sides, so a fair approximation was then botched together from wire and plastic. Incidentally I seem to remember that there are some dimensional issues with the Ratio Mink, but since I'll only be operating this pair of vehicles, they'll at least be consistent with each other. I imagine if the Parkside one is substantially more accurate, it might look a bit odd in the same setting. The transfers were from Fox, and there are enough on the sheet to do three vans. I've yet to add the "GPV" letters to the ends, and it's a good job there are enough for three as I ruined a few of the letters before getting into my stride. I have just enough GPVs to finish them off. In typical Barry Ten fashion, too, I managed to misplace my copy of Beard et al so couldn't track down any prototype lettering info beyond what was available on the internet. From what I can gather, the placement of the GPV's and GWs varied considerably, and some of these wagons also had "gunpowder van" in white lettering. However, in the end I found a photo of a 3mm Iron Mink which was the basis for my lettering for both vehicles. I know it's not really the done thing to model a model, but the 3mm model looks plausible to me. Still a few things to be done, and roofs painted, but nearly there, and I'm pleased with the "different but still GWR" look of them. Now I need to find how these vehicles were marshalled into trains.
    1 point
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