Tom 71B

Heavily weathered 24-ton Iron Ore Hopper Wagon, with 3-links fitted. Track could do with an airbrush though... Cheers, Tom

Not sure if this has been mentioned before. and this one isn't actually listed in Kernow's bargain section, but their DJ Models 1361 Class models (K2201-4) are at £69.99 (a 48% discount)

Thank you, Philip. The 'stretch test' is a very important methodology ! I will need to move the lever-boxes at some point, as these have indeed been nudged from time to time, but more often they snag on my jumper. The widest part of the layout is ~4 foot (at the station building) but this part is accessible from both sides thanks to the door going into the house (where picture no.3 was taken from). Cheers, Tom

Hi all, I hope everyone is well during these crazy & unprecidented times. If lockdown has taught me one thing over the last year, it's that we have the world's greatest hobby. Nothing comes close. And being an avid follower of layout topics in RMweb over the years, I thought it about time that I commit to detailing my 00 layout's progress. To date (March 2021) I have built the majority of the woodwork, and have laid & wired 70% of the track. My first foray into building my own, scenic layout (a small BLT) utilised code 100 Peco trackwork, with insulfrog points, and manual point operation, for the path of least resistance. But this layout will take a different, more realistic and altogether better approach - Peco's (newish) Code 75 Bullhead track will be used for the entire scenic section, with DCC Concepts Cobalt iP motors, and Cobalt S-Levers. Operation is to be DCC (Gaugemaster Prodigy), with provision in the wiring for one of the main-lines (inner loop) to be switchable to DC allowing my non-DCC locos an opportunity to run whilst I am still chipping them up. Every piece of track will have it's own dropper wires soldered to the bottom of the rail (not the side) to negate the need to rely on the conduction of the tiny bullhead fishplates Peco. The fiddle yard will use Code 100, with insulfrog points, and no motors, which will both reduce cost and complexity. 90% of my locomotives are steam, with the others being steam-era diesels. Some are BR late crest, the rest are grouping liveries. And pretty much all of them are either Southern or Western in origin. With no specific region or era, but a heavy preference for preserved locos (what I have grown up with) i think it's fair to say this is likley to turn out to be a preserved layout. Although, having said that, I do like the idea of switching just a few buildings around (station building, goods shed, signal box etc.) between operating sessions, and turning it from LBSCR into SDJR or GWR, for example. THE PLAN: Even before buying my first house last June, I had drawn up a track plan with dimensions resembling the size of a standard UK garage. This may have been somewhat presumptive, but once the ideal house was found, permission was granted by Domestic Authorities for me to move into the garage. This layout isn't intended to model a particular location, but instead take the feel of a typical junction through station, with suitable amenities, giving me the ability to just 'run trains', but also allow for shunting and branch-line operations. A number of layout features were on my 'want' list, but I have tried to be careful not to 'over-crowd' the trackplan, and leave substantial space for scenery. The final design encompassed a double track main-line station allowing for 'roundy-roundy' operation, with a branch line spurring off from the station's bay platform. The trackplan also had provisions for an M.P.D. & goods yard. Moreover, with a growing market of 00-9 items, I also found myself justifying a simple station/yard being incorporated into the plan, with the potential for an interchange between standard gauge & narrow gauge. Scenic features also played a part in the decision making process, as I felt that in order to make the railway as realistic as possible, I needed the scenery to feel like it was there first, and the railway was built around it. The main-line itself was to be positioned atop a man-made embankment (I've always loved the effect this gives) with the branch-line dropping down-grade as it leaves the junction. Bridges are another favourite feature of mine, with a road-under bridge planned just past the end of the platforms at both ends of the station, and a 3-arch vidauct on the branch line. My personal preference was to 'hide' the tighter curves on the mainline so as not to detract from the realism of the trackwork. I am using 3rd & 4th radius for this purpose, and these curves are tucked well into the corners of the garage to maximise space. The scenic section is one large, sweeping curve, which does not look 'too tight', and by pushing the tight corners of the circluar main-line into the corners of the garage allows this sweeping curve to be as long as possible. The result is a somewhat Jelly-Bean type shape when you look at the mainline track exclusively. Further thought into the plan left me thinking that the branch line doesn't neccesarily need to 'disappear' into the fiddle yard (like the main-line will), but instead could work it's way to the operating-well-side of the fiddle yard and allow for more scenic work, with a short backscene separting the fiddle yard and the branch line, maximising the space available. This scenic section is only 20cm or so wide, and so reaching into the fiddle yard, over the short backscene, is not too much of a chore. The baseboards were always planned to be wide, 3 foot plus in some places. Pendon is to blame for this i think... So, i'm going to have to be clever about where I start my scenery (i.e. in the furthest corners) and leave holes in the basebaords open-frame to allow access here. Lift out sections have also been planned, some in corners, and another by the main garage door (to allow access to those not able to climb underneath from inside the house). Below are some of the initial drawings, to give a feel for what is to come in future posts. Next up is baseboard construction... Also below, a photo from just the other day, giving an idea of where I am up to now.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I may find a colour in between the two shades. Think you're right about the lighter shade looking more cloudy. Cheers, Tom

Comparing the two boards, with the 2 backscene colours, allows for easy comparison. I think the lighter one is much more pleasing on the eye and realistic, the bright blue is too cartoon-like, but would welcome feedback. Scenery, at this point, is cracking on nicely now that the basic structures have been built and positioned. These structures include: Ratio kit barrow crossing was installed across the track at the ends of the platform, suitably weathered with Railmatch acrylics Platforms were created with the Peco platform edging, topped with thin balsa sheet, painted black for now Station building (Skaledale) is GWR in design Back of the station there are some scratch-built steps leading down to the car park, which itself is made from a sheet of Noch cobblestones. A bicycle shelter (Scenecraft) also exists here Water crane and fire devil built from a Ratio kit, painted in GWR colours, and positioned at the end of the platform Engine shed positioned (Hornby Skaledale item) Coal merchants (Skaledale) & Coal Staithes (Ratio) positioned next to the Goods Shed (Skaledale) Lineside fencing (Ratio) started along the front edge of the baseboard Yard lamps (new Modelscene) will be installed around the, you guessed it, yard area The 2 bridges are both Ratio kits, the girder bridge and cattle creep versions A small footbridge over the stream was built from a laser-cut wooden kit from Scale Model Scenery Some rocks have been cast using Woodland Scenics embankment molds, and cast with WS Hydrocal plaster. These have been suitable painted in a variety of grey paints, starting dark, moving lighter, with dry-brushing being the preferred method here, finishing with a very, very, light dust of white

It can make colour selection quite the lottery. Bushes have been known to turn out red before... Most paints I have are labelled, but even this doesn't help all of the time ! My other half seems not to mind though, when I inevitably run to her, clutching 5 or so colours of paint or scenery product, asking which would be best to replicate X, Y & Z. Cheers, Tom

Landscaping was the next task, starting with the embankment. Formers were made with foamboard, and glued into position with gorilla glue. A lattice was then created atop these formers using strips of card, glued with a glue gun. Then, plaster cloth was wetted and draped across the contours, with around 3/4 layers applied, before being left to dry, creating a rock-hard shell. Where harsh edges existed, this was smoothed over with a cottage cheese like substance called Sculptamold. This was then painted with a base paint (Greenscenes Light Earth), followed by Static Grass. A stream was then created flowing through the small bridge under the railway line, and towards the imaginary Atlantic Ocean... As you can see, a small footbridge was also installed, as well as a wishing well. These are added before the scenery to allow the scene to be built up around these items, making their placement easier once grass etc. is placed down.

For those of you who have a better sense of colour than me (pretty much everyone, I'm colour-blind…) you may be shocked by the bright sky that I've got on that first section of layout. Fear not, however, as this has been dulled down now with a more 'natural' sky blue. P.S. the idea behind the backscene being mainly sky was to give the illusion of the station being on a cliff. More to come on this in due course...

The next tasks involved creating the road surfaces around the goods shed & the back of the station building. The narrow road from the goods shed to the coal merchants was achieved with Woodland Scenics gravel road dust, highlighted with some weathering powders. Eventually, this road will continue past the coal merchants and I'm thinking of creating a classic car workshop scene (in line with the preserved theme). The back of the station (effectively the station car park) utilised Noch's cobblestone sheets. These have a sort of 3d texture printed onto them, ready coloured, but look even better with a spot of weathering via the usual powders. I also have a go at creating some of the first bushes and shrubbery on the layout, around the buffer stops and behind the goods shed. These were done using the WS Corse Turf, with a selection of Olive Green, Light Green, Medium Green & Dark Green creating the necessary variety to add to the realism. In time, fine, coloured foam (flowers) will be added to the tops of these bushes in a random fashion.

Thanks Scott, much appreciated, more to follow shortly...

Hi all, Once the trackwork had been laid, and ballasting & static grass application had been sufficiently practiced, it was time to start on the actual layout. I used Greenscene's light earth textured paint for a base layer on top of the bare baseboard, followed by a layer of mod podge matt medium, and then the static grass. Ballasting was completed for the 1st board, being careful not to ballast the inside of the platform tracks. These parts were avoided to prevent the platform installation requiring the time-consuming task of excess ballast removal. A small point lever for the loop was also installed. The base being made from balsa scraps, and the point lever from Springside. Thanks, Tom

TRACKWORK The track is all Peco Code 100, chosen primarily to assist in getting track laid quick, and give me little to worry about regarding electronics. DC control is all that is required for normal operation, pointwork is laid in such a way that I can isolate At the time, I did not feel the need to install point motors on the layout. I’d never had them on my childhood layout, nor did my Dad. So, the skills and knowledge required to install just did not exist at the time of track laying. Furthermore, the layout is small, and so operation could be achieved with manual operation of points, all whilst sitting down on a bar stool, or standing. Having operated for 2 years now, I do regret this choice, and my haste to get the trackwork laid and have trains running prevented more time being spent on this decision. I believe, having assessed the situation, that there is the scope to install point motors post-construction. More to come on this when I can be bothered… BALLASTING Preserved railways tend to have rather clean ballast, rather than the dirty colours seen with layouts set in the heyday of steam. With this in mind, I opted for the Woodland Scenics Light Grey. The fine grade was chosen to represent the correct stone size, medium seems way too large for 00 gauge. A test piece of track was laid on a block of scrap wood, track was painted with Railmatch Sleeper Grime paint, tops of the rails cleaned, and once dry, ballast was spread into position, being careful not to add too much at once. From various topics I’d read on the forum, it seemed that the best way to glue the ballast down was first to drop isopropyl alcohol onto the ballast to wet it, and then drop a mixture of 50:50 Mod Podge Matt and water (with a drop of washing up liquid) until sufficiently coated. Once I was happy with the process, and practiced until confident to do the same to the actual layout, ballasting commenced, but I was careful to avoid the inside rail where the platform would meet the track, as I was unsure how platforms would be made at this point. The goods yard area track was filled in with polyfiller, to ‘sink’ the track into the roadbed, and create a more realistic scene. STATIC GRASS I made a visit to the Taunton RailEx in October 2017 (I think) and came across the Greenscene stand. It was here that I was first introduced to the concept of static grass. Up until this point, I had seen it on layouts at exhibitions, but had never understood how these static grass machines were used. Following a quick demonstration, I made the purchase and have never looked back since. What this creates, in terms of realism, is next level. Here’s what the test track piece looked like after ballasting and flocking:

TWO BRIDGES I knew from the very start that there was one particular scenic feature I wanted to include in this layout: an embankment at the mouth of the station, with a small stream running under the railway track via one bridge, and a dirt road running under using another bridge. The embankment, I imagined, would act as a sort of pedestal for locomotives as they came and went from the station, and become a feature-point for photography. Inspiration for this sort of scene came from Somerset MRC's Oake layout, picture below: RAISING THE TRACKBED In order to achieve this, I raised the trackbed on the second board to around 8cm higher than the base, using small blocks of wood to provide the elevation. Something which proved rather tricky during this process was cutting the trackbed wood to a curved shaped (I had no vice, workbench or jigsaw at this time, my collection of DIY items only had the essentials at that point in time). My impatience got the better of me one evening, and a coping saw was purchased to complete the job, along with several saw blades… FASCIA & BACKSCENE I suspect, given the task again, baseboard construction would have been much prettier, but considering the tools, space & £££ available I am generally satisfied. Moreover, a front fascia painted in black chalkboard paint (very matt) seems to hide any unsightly joins rather well, and the 6mm MDF backscene provides another clean line to provide the illusion of a well put together piece of woodwork. Trackwork, ballasting & static grass to follow shortly...