Jump to content
 

Fenny Boy Dave

Members
  • Posts

    71
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Fenny Boy Dave

  1. View Advert Fenny Stratford Layout For Sale Gauge: OO gauge Finescale. Layout Description: The layout is an accurate representation of Fenny Stratford station on the Bletchley to Bedford line in the 1950’s. The layout replicates the line from the Stag road bridge which carried the busy A5 over the Railway to where the Railway crosses the Grand Union Canal. It is based on the period when it was twin track all the way from Bletchley to Bedford and incorporates a busy goods yard serving Rowland’s timber yard, a small coal business and a livestock/loading dock. It is modelled during the British Railways period and all of the stock used on the layout is LMS as prototype. The layout has appeared in both the BRM and Hornby magazines which are available on line. In addition if you search for Fenny Stratford model railway there are dozens of videos for you to see the layout in all its detail. Layout History: Work commenced on the layout in 2017 with the goal of having it ready to exhibit at the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society 50th Anniversary exhibition in February 2019. This goal was achieved, since then the layout has been featured in the BRM and the Hornby magazines and has appeared at the Festival of Railway Modelling at Doncaster and also at the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes. In addition, it has been exhibited at number of other exhibitions. Size: The overall physical size of the layout, including the fiddle yards at each end, is 7.8 metres (25.6 feet) x 0.8 metres (2.7 feet). At least 1metre operating space will be required on all four sides. The layout height is 1.1 metres (3.6 feet) and the layout has its own lighting rig. Layout Control: The layout is DCC controlled employing an NCE Powercab system. Digitally controlled slow action point motors and micro servos are used to operate the signals and level crossing gates. For operational reasons JMRI Panel Pro is used to control the layout in lieu of a conventional control panel. Routes settings are employed to control all the points, signals and the level crossing gates as logical entities to suit traffic movements. The control of the locomotives and routes utilises the JMRI wireless application with Kindle Fire handheld tablets (any type of phone or tablet can be used, that will run JRMI Engine Driver app). This set up allows us to operate the layout from the front and engage with the general public as and where appropriate. All of the control equipment including laptop, wireless hub, NCE Powercab, table and all cabling required to connect the layout and the lighting rig are included in the sale. Electrical Requirements: One 13-amp electrical socket. What is Included: Everything on the layout with the exception of the rolling stock is included in the sale. Help will be provided to demonstrate how to operate the layout using the routes, the Kindles, how to assemble the layout and also how to disassemble it. Price: The layout cost a total of £3,610 to build not including our time. We are more than willing to discuss any reasonable offer in the region of £2,500. Collection: The layout will need to be collected from Milton Keynes and a Transit size van will be required for transportation. Advertiser Fenny Boy Dave Date 27/10/23 Price Category OO / 4mm scale  
  2. As one of the builders of the Fenny Stratford layout both Peter and I are extremely pleased you enjoyed the layout, we are both very proud of it. It is with a lot of regret that Peter and I have decided to sell the layout. As we both get older we are finding it too hard take the layout out to exhibitions. If any of the readers are interested in purchasing this COMPLETE exhibition layout (with future bookings) please check out the advert section in RMWEB for details.
  3. View Advert FOR SALE - Fenny Stratford Exhibition Layout Gauge: OO gauge Finescale. Layout Description: The layout is an accurate representation of Fenny Stratford station on the Bletchley to Bedford line in the 1950’s. The layout replicates the line from the Stag road bridge which carried the busy A5 over the Railway to where the Railway crosses the Grand Union Canal. It is based on the period when it was twin track all the way from Bletchley to Bedford and incorporates a busy goods yard serving Rowland’s timber yard, a small coal business and a livestock/loading dock. It is modelled during the British Railways period and all of the stock used on the layout is LMS as prototype. Layout History: Work commenced on the layout in 2017 with the goal of having it ready to exhibit at the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society 50th Anniversary exhibition in February 2019. This goal was achieved, since then the layout has been featured in the BRM and the Hornby magazines and has appeared at the Festival of Railway Modelling at Doncaster and also at the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes. In addition, it has been exhibited at number of other exhibitions. Size: The overall physical size of the layout, including the fiddle yards at each end, is 7.8 metres (25.6 feet) x 0.8 metres (2.7 feet). At least 1metre operating space will be required on all four sides. The layout height is 1.1 metres (3.6 feet) and the layout has its own lighting rig. Layout Control: The layout is DCC controlled employing an NCE Powercab system. Digitally controlled slow action point motors and micro servos are used to operate the signals and level crossing gates. For operational reasons JMRI Panel Pro is used to control the layout in lieu of a conventional control panel. Routes settings are employed to control all the points, signals and the level crossing gates as logical entities to suit traffic movements. The control of the locomotives and routes utilises the JMRI wireless application with Kindle Fire handheld tablets. This set up allows us to operate the layout from the front and engage with the general public as and where appropriate. All of the control equipment including laptop, wireless hub, 4 Kindles and charger leads, NCE Powercab, table and all cabling required to connect the layout are included in the sale. Electrical Requirements: One 13-amp electrical socket. What is Included: Everything on the layout with the exception of the rolling stock is included in the sale even all the transportation boxes. Help will be provided to demonstrate how to assemble the layout and also disassemble it. Price: The layout cost a total of £3,610 to build not including our time. We are more than willing to discuss any reasonable offer. Contact Details: David Court or Peter Ellis Email: FennyStratford@Outlook.com Phone Numbers: David Court - 07527 679164 Peter Ellis - 07983 532821 Advertiser Fenny Boy Dave Date 23/08/22 Price Category OO / 4mm scale  
  4. Fenny Boy Dave

    Fenny Stratford

    The Fenny Stratford layout had a very strange birth. At the time my wife was undertaking research for our local heritage group, on how the railways affected our area of Milton Keynes. As part of her research, she found a track plan of Fenny Stratford from the late 1940’s and my first thought was that it would be a good Exhibition layout. Fenny Stratford is located just east of Bletchley and was part of the Varsity Line running between Oxford and Cambridge operated by the LMS. During the 1950’s Fenny Stratford was a double track station and it had a number of sidings and a large active timber yard. During this period the timetable was comprehensive with a mixture of passenger and freight services. In the future Fenny Stratford will again be part of the new East West Rail link. However, even this new plan will see Fenny Stratford remain as a single track. I suggested to our model railway club that it could be built as a club exhibition layout, but this was not possible due lack of room. It was at that point that a fellow club member Peter Ellis and I decide to build it as a joint venture in my garage. Peter converted the 1946 track plan into an AnyRail track plan. We had to move the Grand Union Canal about 150 yards nearer the station, this was to keep the overall length of the layout within the restrictions set by the length of the garage. Construction Once we had the detailed track plan we, could start work on the baseboards. For this we turned to a friend at the club, Wayne Webb. He had built a number of baseboards for a few of different layouts (including Brinklow BRM February 2018 and Dentdale BRM April 2014). He designed the individual boards and even cut all of the plywood pieces required. This, for Peter and I was great as it was just like putting together a piece of Ikea furniture. The major benefit of these boards is that they are both lightweight but unbelievably strong. The layout consists of 5 scenic boards. The length of these is 1 at 1.2 metres, 2 at 1.0 metres and 2 at 0.9 metres, making a scenic length of 5 metres. - Each board is constructed from 12mm plywood for the sides and 9mm plywood for the top. - The legs are 44 x 20mm softwood with steel corner braces. - The layout is held together with 5mm bolts and wing nuts. - At the outset we decided that the layout would be DCC controlled, have working signals and working level crossing gates. These would be controlled using servos with a MegaPoint Controller. - The track is Peco code 75 bullhead rail. All points have been modified for DCC use and to improve their appearance we removed all of the excess sleepers. The result of this work was extremely pleasing. - All of the points are operated using Cobalt Digital slow action point motors. - The signals are hand built using kits from Wizard Models as the base, these are operated by mini digital servos controlled by MegaPoint controller. - At each end of the layout there is an addition 1.2 metre fiddle yard board. For the fiddle yard we have used a twin track cassette system with 4 cassettes at each end. These locate with brass rod and tubing that both locates them and also provides the electrical connection. Layout Control Once the track had been laid the task of wiring the layout started. Each board was wired as a single unit, with a DCC bus, a 12volt bus and wiring for signals and level crossing servos. The boards are connected using Tamiya connectors for the DCC bus and 12 pin D connectors for everything else. Each board was individually tested by connecting it to the master board. Once all of the boards where completed the whole layout was connected and the first trains ran on Fenny Stratford. This was great as we could play trains for a while. The layout is controlled using an NCE Powercab system. We decided very early on that we did not want to control the points using a mimic panel, so we decided to use JMRI PanelPro and use the Routes functionality it provides. The actual operation of the layout is performed using wireless tablets again connected using JMRI. These allow the operators freedom of movement and also easy access to the throttles and the routes. During our testing phase we refined the setup and we are now very happy with its operation. Buildings All of the buildings on the layout are a true representation as they were in the 1950’s. Some of the buildings still exist today, such as the station building, police station and the canal cottages. All of the others we had to find photographs on the Internet. These included the crossing keepers house, signal box, Rowlands Timber Yard building and Rowlands house on Simpson Road. Fortunately, Peter is a retired architect and was able to produce accurate plans that we could use to build them from. The station building has some very complex fittings, such as the bargeboards and the supports for the sidewalk cover. Once again Peter’s skill with his CAD system came to the rescue when he produced 3D drawings which we then had 3D printed with excellent results. The vast majority of the buildings are scratch built on plain PlastiKard carcasses covered with brick embossed PlastiKard then painted and weathered. Most of the buildings are fitted with lights for even more effect. We have used a few kit buildings for such things as the coal office, platelayers’ huts and goods shed. However, all have been modified in some way to fit our requirements. Scenery The lengthy process of bringing the layout to life was started by the adding of the scenery. The first task was to replicate the ‘Stag Road’ bridge that carried the A5 road over the railway. Once this was in place the remaining contours for the rest of the layout could be set out. The main embankments were constructed using the tried and tested method of lacing card strips over forms and then covering this with paper soaked in PVA glue. These were then covered with various Woodland Scenics scatters and static grass, to build the look we wanted. Simpson Road crosses the railway controlled by level crossing gates. The gates were constructed by modifying a Willis kit. These are operated by mini digital servos. After our first exhibition these gates needed to be strengthened as a couple of the gates got knocked off. The Grand Union canal at Fenny Stratford includes a set of locks that have the smallest rise of any lock on the Grand Union canal network of just 12 inches. Unfortunately, we only have room for one of the sets of gates, but this one is an accurate representation of the real thing. The canal was built using a plywood base that was sanded and then painted a mixed green colour which was blended to give that canal colour. This was then covered with two coats of Deluxe Solid Water. A tip when using this product is to make sure ALL holes in the sides and base are filled, we missed a tiny pin hole and finished up with a puddle on my cabin carpet...!! During the work on the scenery, we began to realise that we needed in excess of 50 trees on the layout. We decided that we simply did not have enough hours to build these ourselves, so we subcontracted these to another of our friends at our model railway club, Jacqui who runs Ceynix. We are so glad we made this decision as the trees Jacqui produced for us are just brilliant. The backscenes for the layout could not be obtained from any commercial source. To produce what we wanted it was decided that these would need to be hand painted. Peter took on this challenge and produced them using Acrylic paint. The perspective is just right, so you can look down Simpson Road and see it disappearing into the distance. All of the point rodding has been added using the Willis point rodding kits which bring the track alive. Rolling Stock The rolling stock is mainly Bachmann with a scattering of Hornby items. We found on the Internet a copy of a timetable for the 1950’s which we could then use to determine the rolling stock required. The majority of the movements are using steam locomotives with a DMU serving the local passenger service. We use a mixture of MK1 corridor coaches as well as suburban coaches for the passenger services. In addition, there are a number of goods trains used to keep the interest going. Finally Both Peter and I are very pleased and proud with what we have achieved, both in terms of realism, interest and quality. Our biggest accolade was when one of my neighbours came to see the layout. She explained that as a child she would catch a train from Fenny Stratford to school in Bedford. In her words it brought back many memories and was exactly as she remembered it. We started work on the layout in September 2016. Our target was to complete the layout for the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society 50thanniversary exhibition. This was to take place on the 16thFebruary 2019, which was to be the layouts first outing. We are pleased to say we made it. Fenny Stratford will be at the National Festival of British Railway Modelling, Doncaster Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, Doncaster, DN2 6BB on the 8th– 9thFebruary 2020. Please come along and see us. If you would like to see Fenny Stratford at your exhibition please refer to the attached 'Fenny Stratford Exhibition Specification' documentFenny Stratford Exhibition Specification.pdf Factfile Layout name: Fenny Stratford Scale/gauge: 1:176 / OO gauge Size: 7.4 metres x 0.8 metres (24ft x 32in) Era/region: BR (LMS) 1950 – 1965 Location: Buckinghamshire Layout type: DCC Words: David Court Photography: Adrian Court, David Court and Peter Ellis
  5. Peter Ellis and myself over the last 30 months have built an OO gauge exhibition layout of Fenny Stratford (near Bletchley), which is located on the Oxford to Cambridge line and is based in the 1950's.  The layouts first outing was to the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society two day exhibition at Stantonbury.

     

    If you are interested in the layout at any of your forthcoming exhibitions please read the attached specification.

    Fenny Stratford Exhibition Specification.pdf

×
×
  • Create New...