GEMLKEL

Very pleased with the undecorated 321. Now to decide if I tackle the Greater Anglia livery myself or outsource to a professional.

Many thanks for the reply Bernard. I see from your website a customer has created a Cl.48 from the old Farish mold which does show it is worth a bit of effort to update to model.

I have an old style GraFar 57 (57011 in Freightliner Green Livery) that I am due to repaint into DRS livery which fits more with my layout time period. It was picked up off eBay several years ago relatively cheaply and so I am using it is a learning tool for modifying my stock. I have already undertaken the DCC conversion. I appreciate it is quite a simple body and so will never match modern versions, but I think I can make a few improvements. The bogies however appear to be a bigger issue as they are very simplistic. I have searched the internet and RMWeb but cannot see that anyone else has attempted to modify one of these models? If anyone has any experience, or has seen someone else undertake this, I would be grateful for links to any posts etc... Thanks.

Embarrassed to post this but does anyone else have a layout looking like this! The frame was put together over a year ago but since then has become a storage for shelf for all manor of detritus. You can at least see why the layout is limited to 4m, that being the width of the room. As a result the track plan is not a true model of Ipswich which needs nearer 5 meters in length and more depth to create a true scale replica. I have needed to compress the track plan to fit the space available but hope Gippeswky Road will still be a pretty close facsimile.

Very useful information, thanks, and I note that the exact RAL colours can be ordered pre thinned from Zero Paints. But, does anyone know the RAL paint code for the red doors? I have 10 MK3's, a 156 and a 321 to repaint. Nothing appearing on a google search.

Thanks for the replies. It will be kept as close to reality as possible with stock based around actual movements in the mid 2010's, although the occasional fictional steamy might make a visit. I have a collection of location appropriate stock, quite a few 66's, 70, 86, 90s, 92, 156, and a 350 that will be converted to 360. I also have a 321 on order from Revolution Trains. The passenger stock will be repainted to the white/red Abellio Greater Anglia livery accept the 360 which will be in the blue with white stripe. The first stock was acquired 5 years ago but as always work and life commitments kept me busy, but I am now, finally, in a position to actually build something!

After much delay I am now pleased to present the start of Gippeswky Road, an N Gauge layout based on Ipswich station and Freightliner depot and set around 2015. The layout is a 4m by 1m tail chaser with the fiddle yard hidden under a scenic hillside replicating the landscape of the real location. DCC Train control and accessory electronics are with MERG modules (https://www.merg.org.uk/) and the layout is intended to be fully automated via JMRI on a PC. Sound will be provided by external room speakers using JMRI Virtual Sound Decoder. I will update here as the build progress and if I film anything that might be interesting I'll upload to Youtube. The track plan: The real location:

Re-opening a old tread but though it best to keep everything JMRI VSD related together. I am building a new N Gauge layout based in East Anglia set around 2000 to 2010 and heavily influenced by Ipswich. I will be using the JMRI virtual sound decoder system to provide sound for the 15 or so locomotives as it is impractical to fit sound to each of them. Very early days but I have started to learn how to create new sound files, the first being a Class 66 using samples taken from various YouTube videos - results so far here -

I have tried to place a pre-order but it is telling me "Warning: Payment method required!", but there is no payment option?

A change in the plan today regarding the construction of the baseboard. Minutes after arriving at Wickes and starting to load up on timber I realised that my planned method of a CLS stud frame with ply rises and a 12mm ply base was going to be far too heavy and immovable. This design is fine for my office layout which doesn't move more than a few feet (it is on casters so that I can roll it away from the wall when I need to access the rear of the layout) but would not work in the playroom where it will have to be moved on more regular occasion. So, instead, I have decided to opt for the 'airframe' method of baseboard construction using ply sheets slotted together to form a honeycomb structure. This should cut down on the weight, be more rigid and allow for the height difference needed for the bridge/viaduct at one end. An 8x4 board cuts down nicely into 4 300mm strips so that will be the maximum depth of the layout, with a shallower 150mm section to the bridge end allowing a 150mm gap between track bed and baseboard. Looks like another trip to the builders' merchant.

My son has been badgering me all week to move this layout forward so today we commandeered the dining room table and began laying out the track in preparation for cutting out the operating well and bridge/viaduct areas. Quite pleased with the track plan having now seen it in the flesh. Should offer plenty of operational and scenic interest. I have decided to lay the track on 2mm cork to allow space for the wire-in-tube without cutting into the ply.

Yes, it will be wired up with droppers on every track, overkill maybe but not overly time-consuming. Even after with switch to DCC the isolating sections will have a use, particularly in sidings where we can isolate the power to switch off the carriage lighting which would otherwise be permanently on under DCC.

Thanks for the reply Jaggzuk, yes this is going to be an OO gauge layout. I have a collection of old Lima and Hornby stock from my youth and my son has a number of new stock from the Hornby 'Railroad' collection. I have my own 13x3 N gauge layout but these are a bit too small and delicate for 7 yr old hands. My 3 yr old daughter is also showing an interest in trains so this layout needs to be relatively robust! The plan is for the layout to be built on a lattice of CLS stud timber with the track bed being 12mm ply supported on 100mm risers. This will provide the depth for the bridge and also provide space within the operating well for the controls etc... Initially, the layout will be DC with isolating sections but potentially converted to DCC later. I am a member of MERG and my N gauge layout is designed to be fully automated but this one will be kept as simple as possible with manual 'wire in tube' turnout control. Regarding the scenics, yes, I would like to see how realistic is get this 'train set'. Chris Nevard is my inspiration but if I come a fraction as close I will be very happy,

Firstly a caveat, I appreciate that the use of Hornby set track is controversial and there are much better and probably cheaper ways to build this layout but, and bear with me on this, I am doing this as an exercise in how close I can get a 'train set' to a 'model railway'. There is also the issue that my son has been brought a Hornby set and a number of extension packs as presents from family and I did not want these to go to waste. Why 8x4? I have an unused sheet of 2.4m x 1.2m hardwood backed ply left over from another project and this layout needs to be relatively mobile. So to the layout, the following SCARM diagram is my plan for the layout, a roundy roundy with an inglenook style siding for added playability. The centre section is a cut out operating well based on a 'Train Line Model Shop' layout I came across whilst searching the internet for inspiration. The oval format with centre cut out allows me to visually segment the layout into 4 distinct scenic areas and, in my view, helps to mask the obvious 'train set' feel of many small continuous loop layouts. The grey track to the right is a bridge/viaduct. R2 & R3 curves and express points are used on the loop, R1 curves and standard points on the inglenook. I have revised this design numerous times but am now happy with the format and have the missing track on order just in time for the good weather.