DJTrains

Pretty insane that Fareham MRG aren't advertising who will be there. Best way to put off punters. 🙄

Apologies to all for the complete lack of updates. As we all know its been 'A Funny Old Year' and the combination of everything has meant very little work has been done on the layout I'm afraid, other than preparing some of the rolling stock. I'm stuck in a bit of a 'Chicken & Egg' loop .... I need help to get the mainline track down, and Mike is also having a hard time at the moment (and he's been busy with Hornby Mag too) so hasn't been able to assist.... Pretty much all the scenery will need to be positioned according to the final track position, so that can't happen yet either...... Plus my hotel booking for a trip to Fowey in June was of course cancelled, so getting down to the station to get accurate photos and measurements is also an issue at the moment. There's only so much you can do with Google. So please bear with me, as with the rest of the country 'normal service will be resumed as soon as possible'. It's still going to get finished - if I'd picked a local station it would all be done by now I'm sure. (but who wants to watch Desiros all day long ??) It's just going to have to take a bit longer than I thought....... I'm probably the only one who's actually done LESS modelling during a lockdown Although I do now have a base down for a 100ft O gauge loop in the garden.

Sods law that just when you're ready to start track laying the country gets locked down, and seeing as I've lost my wingman and chief track aligner Mike for a while, I'm cracking on with the bits I can do. The 38 CDA's have now been weathered and sealed after adding the 152 DBS logos and warning flashes ( even tho as Ian pointed out they are a few hundred miles from any overhead lines) I'm just waiting for the last of the 7mm diameter metal disc wheelsets to arrive then I can call them done. If anyone needs a bunch of N gauge peco plastic wheels give me a shout. I've decided the platforms will be solid rather than a hollow core so will be using 12mm MDF cos its so easy to shape and the perfect height. I found on Crofton that hollow plasticard platforms were too liable to buckle & shift, so I think the extra weight will be worth the upgrade. I may still cover the surface in plasticard - but can worry about that later. This can't be finished - ie varnished and painted yet, as this will be fitted around the track rather than the other way round - so any sealing of the mdf would have to be redone if it needs adjusting. but it gives a good idea of how things are going to look. My mini holiday down to Fowey & Par planned for my birthday next month has also now been cancelled, so I'm still relying on Google maps for rough measurements for now, but have made a good start on mocking up the buildings in card. These will either be wrapped or replaced as I get better detailed info but again give an idea of spacing for now. Even the warehouses look tiny on a 15 foot scenic section. In case you're wondering I've just propped up a foamboard backscene break for the moment. so it all looks a bit white.

I think this is my favourite picture of Par - full credit to Nathan S on Flickr. a very talented photographer and well worth looking him up. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nat37670/

Thanks Chris, There's plenty of scenic modelling to come yet. This is a rough outline of the scenic section that will be built. Yellow line is roughly where the backscene will run. Blue line is about where the front of the board will be. so everything between the two will need to be made - as accurately as possible from scratch. I also need to get down there asap to see if I can get any suitable pics for the backscene itself ( so looking north), oh, and do a LOT of measuring. . Things are changing rapidly on and around the station since this pic, such as building works in the ind estate, plus yellow lines and signs on the platforms since the demise of HSTs, So I'll need to chose an 'up until' date period carefully.

Altho its been quiet on here, there has been a fair amount of woodwork completed on Par (and adding to the firewood box) over the last week or two. Mike has been getting on with re-wiring oak Road too, so I've been left unsupervised in the main. - Which rarely goes well. At least I learnt how NOT to use a palm router, and to always check guide wheels are secure. . I do feel a milestone has been reached of sorts though, as the raised fiddle yard base is now all in (temporary screws for now - not brave enough for the gorilla glue till we lay the track out properly.) - including the curved gradients at both ends and the start of the centre slope to bring the branch line back up. So save for a few tweaks and maybe a replacement here and there, we can hopefully finally get to start laying some rails. I've printed the 'current' anyrail plan for reference - but this is just a rough guide really. View here is looking West; View looking East; This is just a guide as the yards will need to be extended as much as possible. It just shows that even in a 15 foot board the fiddle yard looks tiny once all the curves etc are taken into consideration. The pair of curved tracks at the bottom of the pic above are the Newquay branch which runs below the fiddle yard and can either run up a slope to join back to the main, or go straight into a very, very, long siding which will stay on the base level and run along the very back...... the two dark lines are the main coming in from the front scenic side into the f/yard This wasn't in the first plan, but I thought I'd lay out the 38 CDA rake for size.... and it came in a just over 8 feet long !! So there was no way this was ever going to fit in a fiddle yard ! When returning empty from Fowey and going up the branch back to Goonbarrow it will be stored in the straight long siding at the back. Then when returning again full, it will run towards Fowey on the main round the back to a similar siding off the yard, just behind the backscene. Mike's next outing with Oak Road is coming up on the 25th April at Rotarail Fareham, where I guess he's kind of the guest of honour as they have chosen Mikes charity - Meningitis Now, as their chosen charity for this years fundraiser. So there may be a delay with getting the P-way crew into gear, as they are currently racing to get Oak Road rewired ready for April, but I'm hoping we'll start to see some rails laid out so I can start hacking away at the woodwork again to give access for the servos going under the fiddle yard. What Fun.

Also, while I'm here.... thought I'd share my method of bracing the removeable legs for transit. 8mm x 21mm wood struts, held in place by 6mm threaded thumbscrews, which are wound into 6mm d-nuts in the back of the legs. Like this, there's no way I can leave the struts (or bolts) at home - unlike some I could mention brace up ..... Brace Down.... 6mm thumbscrews (ebay china)

I think I may have finally found the gradient I'm happy with to bring the track up and over the branch (0 to 34mm on one board) next job will be to mock it up in foamboard, then if it looks ok, knock it up in 5mm ply. Simples

You missed the bit about that plan being only half the yard - the Western end - its actually a 'mirror double' of that in reality, so plenty of size and through road options..... even for the 38 cda wagons.

Thats great, thank you. so far between me and Mike we have 2 full FGW blue, 2 full GWR Green, and 2 full XC plus numerous spare blue and green coaches for mixed sets.... plus `old oak common' and the `Geraint Thomas' dragon pair in GWR just in case. ..... plus the full banana set..... you can't have too many HST's. !!

Heres another update to the track plan showing the West entrance to the fiddle yard. The keen eyed will spot how the pair of branch lines go through the centre of a split yard... this is so they have time to rise up to meet the yard level before connecting back with the main lines. Again this is not the final version as there may still be a couple of storage dead ends to add, but hopefully it shows how we hope to be able to run the Newquay branch, without needing to have dedicated trains just parked 'round the back' . There may be some spectators that will notice that the HST that left for Newquay has managed to re-appear on the down main - but I'm hoping most will just see 'another green one' . And this way we can have a lot more movement. If you're still struggling to make sense of it...... take the two red lines as an incline leading to 2 separate yards, and the branch line stuff all on the flat beneath it. Simples !!! And of course there will be a mirror version of this at the east end bringing it all back to the 2 main lines.

Hi Rich, No problem, anyone please feel free to ask any questions..... The boards are about 90% 9mm birch ply, which I had pre-cut for me by my local Covers building merchant into the tops and 3 inch strips. I then worked the 3 inch strips into size with a chop saw, router and hole saw. The other 10% is the ends where two boards connect, where I have gone for 18mm ply for super-strength. The holes are indeed cut for weight reduction more than wiring, although will be used for wiring too. I was unsure if the effort would be worth it until I picked up the bag of 'circles' I had at the end !! a few pounds saved for sure. The overall weight wasn't really going to be an issue on this build, because I knew from the off it was always going to need 2 people to move it. (Altho it is quite capable for 1 person to lift each board, because they are 3 ft x 3ft 9 it was never going to be an easy 1 person lift - especially when the elevated track and scenery goes down). For transport, they will be 'crated-up' in pairs, with the scenic sides facing each other , so will be a two man job for the moving & setting up for sure. I could have gone for 6mm tops, but given the size I think it will be worth having the added strength of the boards over saving a few pounds - esp given the 2 man lift size above. Now xmas and New year are out of the way, I'm looking forward to cracking on, although I know Mike has a bit of work to do on Oak Road too.... We have finished the dowels (DCC Concepts alignment dowels), and glued it all up solid, and I have completed the leg braces and given it all a coat of primer undercoat (to help keep out any damp from the ballasting etc). Once I have a tidy up I'll take some update pics. The trouble with baseboards is, until the track is down, they are blooming handy to pile everything on top of.

pre shading - and lots of weathering

Hi Paul, This is about as far as the 'official' track plan got before we ran out of pieces in Anyrail. It's still going through planning and will probably still be as we lay it.... essentially a double oval going through the par station track plan as it is now..... raising off scene (on left) to go over the branch line, when it will split into a 6 lane fiddle yard before coming back together and down to scenic side on right again.... the branch lines will stay on the flat and either run between the pair of 3 yard line sets, as a pair of storage lines or might still come back up to rejoin the mainline before it emerges again. It depends on what we can get away with and what is going to be more interesting to depict the Newquay / Goonbarrow lines...... watch this space. Oh, and of course it will change again - like it does everytime Mike tells me he's got a cracking idea Once we've got the gradients in (starting this week hopefully), the track should be fairly quick to go down (with super-elevation of course) and hopefully things will start to become clear. (to me hopefully anyway ).

Sorry for the lack of updates, but things are progressing. Its been a hectic month with 'life' happening, such as work going on in the house with new doors and kitchen .... plus a busy show month, with the G.E.T. Tings, etc, and Mike taking Oak Road out to Swansea. Tops are now all on and squared up, and bolts fitted to join it all together. Mike has started to draw out the track plan ready for us to hopefully start putting the track down in the next couple of weeks. I'm actually finding the slower pace better as it allows time to properly think through the approach and design fully - plus a chance to test a few theories out before committing to them. One of the challenges is how we raise the mainline track to go over the Newquay branch as it runs behind the scenic section. This basically means having the fiddle yard about 40mm higher than the front scenic section - and of course the yard has to be flat and level for as long as possible before dropping down to the scenic section again on the right hand end. We've done our sums and are planning on adding 5.5mm ply under the track (on top of the baseboards). This can then be cut into smooth gradients without having to cut into the main boards - so keeping the base strong and square. I also happen to have a load of suitable ply left over from crofton's backscene boards that can be reused for the purpose. I've never been a fan of gradients on layouts - nomatter how gentle - but we need to keep this true to life so have no option, and with Mikes great planning, eventually you will hardly even notice that they're there. This may not make much sense for now, but all will become clear as the track appears. Right hand end; sweeping curves towards the bridge & station; the backscene will be about 1/3 of the way from the back - so roughly 2 foot wide scenic at the front / 1 foot wide yard at the back. Approx position of the platforms ; the setrack curve top centre of the pic shows where the Newquay branch will need to curve away (as it does at Par) Don't worry tho - no Setrack will be harmed in the making of this layout