MrSimon

hi, Thanks for your comments The hydrant is indeed home made, its a short strip of Evergreen Scale Models stripstyrene number 124 0.5x2.0mm strip cut and filed to shape, painted with Humbrol 154. I left about 2mm extra on the thin bit so I could plant it into the pavement... I didn't think I'd ever get a picture of it in focus! I did a tiny bit of work on it this morning, I got the little blocks of plasticard to hold the pointmotors level painted grey - but I didn't take a photo of it. I've been spending the day doing birthdayish things at the Crich Tramway Museum and when I got back I found that my dad had bought me this: They use it for railtours in the week right? I'll maybe do some more tonight! Lots to do Simon

Hi Graham and Carl, Thank you for your comments; I'll certainly look into TPWS for the platforms rather than ATP... if I end up sticking with ATP I'll certainly make sure everything clears them before sticking them down (although I probably won't stick either down until I've ballasted) The dummy point motors are just the Peco SL-347 dummy point motors - I'd had a few suggestions of which to get and then saw these on the wall in Total N gauge in Hucknall. Here they are waiting to be glued down, I've also glued the relay cabinets down and the under-the-track-orange-cable-pipes are drying. It all needs a good weather and some weeds! Today I decided to cancel the repaint of the Yellow Tomytec car after seeing two in Newark Morrisons, but I did paint the rear number plate yellow... then I stuck it down where the rear number plate will probably never be seen! I'm not sure how many different cars I've posed in this spot, but now I've got a car of my own I couldn't really park it anywhere else! I think at the moment its still my favourite viewpoint on the layout. Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! I didn't get much done yesterday, I seem to be flagging after last weeks push to get the bridge done My next little project will be sorting out the trackbed around the station throat, I want to get it ready for ballasting before I have to pack everything away. I've been painting bits ready to be stuck down (maybe today or tomorrow) Relay cabinets (I think these need a second coat and maybe a spot of weathering and some signage) Dummy point motors (I'm going to have to find some pictures of these online and see what detail they should have) AWS ramps - 88p bargain from Grantham show! I'm not entirely sure where these should go, it says 12" from the signal but I don't know how this would apply to signals at the end of terminating platforms I got a bit of non-trackbed work done too, I painted the Tomix couplings on the 158s and ended up picking out the whole underframes in a sort of dirty paint: It doesn't show too well here, but it looks quite good and i think just needs a waft of weathering powders to finish (Then comes weathering the bodysides and roofs but I'll save that for a rainy day) The light red brick paint didn't work too well, its a bit too red and makes the house look like my old studnet house in Preston which isn't the look I'm aiming for! I'm going to have a go at mixing a slightly orangybrowner colour and applying it differently... I'll tidy up around the windows when the walls are painted. So much to do! Simon

Evenin' all! I gave one of the N-Brass relay cabinets a go: Its come out alright, I must admit I'm not a big fan of folding brass, especially as my favourite brass folding pliers are in storage, but I think these cabinets are just the ticket. I never did paint that car... Simon

Hello everybody! Leammington was good yesterday, show in the morning and a mooch round town in the afternoon. The leyland national on the Bachmann stand looked just the ticket for the layout, even if I have to repaint it into a local livery... and I'm going to have to find a home for a rake of the JPAs they had on show! I came out relatively unscathed trade-stand wise, I bought two cars from Japan Model Railways (and I wish I'd bought a truck too) relay cabinets from N Brass (which I reckon I can model with the doors open) and two shades of brick red paint. Who knows, maybe one day I'll exhibit there...? My Dad bought a pack of the Tomix scharfenberg (spelt wrong I think) couplings that fit a normal coupling box - a whole pack and he's only got one 158 and won't be buying more - so it seemed right and proper that I fit them to my 158s too! My Japanese is a little rusty so I used the pictures to guess how they went together. I'm assuming no glue is needed! Here are the couplings fitted to my Transpennine set, I'm not sure why dad bought grey ones so they'll need a spot of black/mucky paint on them - but they look loads better than the rapidos. The main reason for fitting them rather than just normal dummy scharfenburgs was that the Tomix ones couple to the couplings used by Dapol on the 156 and 153 (and hopefully the 142 too) they leave a bit of a gap between the units, and one day I might investigate mounting the coupling a bit closer into the coupling box, but I'm not too worried about it. One thing I did find out was due to the way the close coupler works on the Dapol unit and the absence of a close coupler on a Bachmann unit, the inside wheel on the Bachnamm bogie derails on some tight curves (I tested on some of Dads tight unitrack as an extreme) I think its because there is no 'pivot' in the Bachmann System and the Dapol being body mounted and pivotted required non matching stock to throw furthur than it ordinarily would... if that makes sense? [i could produce a set of better explaining pictures if anyones interested] One thing I've thought of doing for a while was the front valance modification to the 158. It does look loads better, however it doesn't seem to work too well with the coupling still in situ - even a Tomix one - so I'm not sure whether to detach the coupling box and body mount it (in which case I'm not sure how that will affect the performance of the couplings) or file it a bit on the back so everything works well and try it on a gentler radius of track. I'm not going to convert any other units just yet, I'll decide what to do when I've made an extension to the layout and know what the minimum radius curves the units will have to traverse. Seems odd not writing about scenery! I'm off to repaint one of my Japanese cars now, I'm not sure if that particular shade of Japanesey yellow would go down well in north Nottinghamshire! Lots to do! Simon

Hi, Thank you for your comments, its been a bit of a crazy day getting it all fitted! I'm not really a fast modeller - I've been working on the viaduct walls on and off since March and it all sort of came together in the last two weeks. My main problem is prevarication; I'll put off difficult jobs for as long as possible. I couldn't really put off the bridge for much longer because it was starting to hold up other work, like the platform and trackbed There'll be plenty more to keep me busy with over the next few weeks, the layout is 7ft by 12inches and I have finished a 3 inch strip (excluding the trackbed above) and now I'm going to have to do the rest to the same standard! I'll definately keep the pictures coming Thanks again Simon

Hello everybody! Here are a few more pictures of this mornings work - everytime I see pictures I see things I need to fix - like a cross on the pavement between someones legs I think the next packages of work will be the platform edging and booking hall/steps, ballasting and detailing the trackbed, finish off the house, back garden and yard, I'm not sure which to do first... The fire hydrant! Two gauging runs over the bridges. When I last test fit the bridge sides class 66s hit the parapet thing, I've not done anything to them but now they miss by about 5mm... spooky! For some reason the bridge side looks like its leaning back - I'm going to have to check to see if its some sort of fisheye effect on the camera or if it is actually leaning. Leammington tomorrow! Simon

[Fourth hour] Well the line is back open for traffic and now the pavements are furnished and installed. Apart from the bus stop sign post and a tiny bit of touching up the sides of the billboards its done! Wooo! Two Bachman people... she has to stand still to send a text and he wants to get back to the car - the eternal dilemma haha! A Manchester Airport service wais to depart Gresby, on street level the pavement outside the station door is finished, the blond lady is watching a brawl outside the pub accroos the road (to be constructed). I've also put down the last bit of the road surface. The station entrance from the front of the layout. The bus stop (awaiting post) with two people waiting for the bus. Note cable box and fire hydrant. The bus stop again. A spot of weathering and touching up are needed but this section of the street is just about done. I might have a rest this afternoon... Simon

[Third hour] The works foreman took a nap while I double checked the clearances, I then cemented the bridge sides away from the track to ensure they don't warp back over to foul passing trains. I test fit the pavement to check where I wanted things like the hydrant, cable box, bus stop and people. Lots to do! Simon

[second hour] Its been a bit longer than an hour but it seemed best to wait until things were glued and drying before posting... First up, I test fit the road, marked its absolute final position and then glued it. You can sort of see the cant, but its N gauge so it doesn't need to be massive! I didn't get any pictures of wrestling the bridge pieces into place, it went better than I thought it would but was definately a one way trip! Here is the street as soon as it had been fitted, I wasn't sure if the bottom was sticking out or the top was being pushed in. On furthur investigation I found that the girder on the rear bridge was 1mm too long. There was some damage to the side with the fat lady, but they can be easily fixed and weathered away All works were overseen by the works forman. Pushing the station entrance so it stood straight. Repaired side, I've got some posters to go over the line - and a spot of paint! 1mm was taken off the side girder here. Everythings drying at the moment, the next job is double checking that stock is still able to cross the bridge, finish the cable box and finish off the under bridge parts of the pavements so they can be fitted later. Lots to do! Simon

[First hour] Not really an hours work but a lot of progress all the same: I added some card bracing to the back of the station entrance which should hopefully stop it bowing inwards. I layed some strips of card to help form the cant in the road and I unscrewed the trackbed, it raises high enough to hopefully fit the bridges under... hopefully. Lots to do Simon

Ladies and Gentlemen today is bridge fitting day. It'll either be a quick job where everything fits first time or it will take forever with things needing cutting and filing and painting... The obligatory before shot The bits to fit. I've got some people to go under the bridge, but they'll be stuck to the pavement just before its glued down and will be one of the last things to do. Time for breakfast then its go go go. Lots to do Simon

I sat, I looked, I weathered... I messed up. Booo weathering, yay clean clean world! If only I'd modelled somewhere clean... I quite like weathering rolling stock - especially other peoples rolling stock - but I've discovered that my mind freezes when confronted with a piece of scenery and I apply weathering powder like royal icing. I had to repaint one of the bridge piers and start again, but it looks ok now; but I won't be sure until I see it in the cold light of day! In other news I scraped away a bit more of the white lines and I think they look about right now. I also nipped down to Newark Castle and took some photos of the notice boards and printed them out (8mm high) to go with the route maps I found online to make up the boards outside the station: This isn't the side I weathered too much. I've still not been able to get the camera to focus on the hydrant, and the cable box is drying, but I'll get photo's of them both tomorrow when I am ready to install the pavements. Tomorro's going to be a busy day for me! Lots to do! Simon

Hi, Thank you for your replies and the links to Direct Gov (I'd forgotten all the highway code was online!) I'm going to scratch a bit more off the centre lines off but not too much because I still want it to be a hazard line - theres a bus stop, short stay parking, station entrance and a staggered junction. I've never noticed before but on the directgov PDF and on google maps around Newark the length of the white line for the standard centre line is the same length as the length of gap on the hazard warning line, and viceversa... I've had a few weeks spare so I thought I'd cram as much modelling in as possible - I'm not normally this fast at modelling I've still not started the cable box or the weathering but the fire hydrant thing is drying and I finished off half of the bridge pier by the station entrance. Just needs a spot of varnish on the sign and some weathering on the sign (I'll weather when I do the rest of the side) I seem to have nailed my colours to the mast and gone for a Central Trains managed station, at the northern end of the Robin Hood line - but not on the actual line, on the sheffield to Lincoln bit so the line branding might be wrong... Must start weathering! Simon

Hi, Thank you for your kind comments, posting on here has really been spurring me on to model as well as I can I didn't get much done yesterday on account of the "Rodfather" coming to sort out my drains, but work has been continuing on all the bits I need finished before fitting the bridge tomorrow. Everything is drying at the moment so I thought I'd come and post progress! The road! Its thin card, painted in grey primer and sanded smooth (pesky brush marks!) the bus stop and road markings were done by masking them all and dabbing neat humbrol on with a cotton bud. I've got a few more markings to put down (bus stop lettering and double yellow lines for a start) and then I can start patching and weathering the road as detailed in Nspirations2. Close up of the bus stop. I nearly got run over measuring the length of the yellow lines, so I went home and checked my measurements against the google maps view. I'm a bit suspicious of my measurements for the white lines - they were 17ft long with a 3ft gap, so thats what I painted last night and they looked wrong to me so this morning I scraped 1 16th of an inch off each line and they look better but still a bit long - do I shorten them a bit more? As a break from doing the bridge bits I decided to give making window frames a go and dug out the sides of the building next to the station. They turned out better than I expected. I've not done the (ex) shop front yet and I think I'll wait until I get the bridge area sorted out before I start. I can't paint the sides until I've seen Phoenix at Leammington on Saturday but I'm not sure whether to paint before or after I stick it together. I was most pleased with the central arched window because I'd gone slightly wrong opening out the hole for the arch and I was worried I was going to have to replace the whole side but I managed to save it with a few extra bits of plasticard. Before and after. Note the square top to the actual window frame in the arched window just as it is on the original building I copied. I was quite glad about this because I didn't fancy cutting and filing out another arch. Currently drying are a bill board and notice-cases for the wall outside the station and just about to be filed into shape are a cable tv relay box and one of those yellow water hydrant things - I'm doing all the little jobs to put off weathering the bridge sections! Lots to do and thanks again! Simon

Hello everybody! So far today I did a spot of weathering of the bridge sides ready for fitting, I've not taken a photo of them yet because I need to track down the weathering powders and get them looking right before I put them on here. I also added the blue to the Ferodo lettering and it looked absolutely rubbish! The D and second O looked wrong and I didn't like the colour, so rather than re-mask it and try again I waited for it to dry and then attacked it with some wet'n'dry and rusty coloured paint: It looks a bit Cuban but I can tone it down slightly when I do the other sides... Later today I need to paint in the road markings and then I should be ready to fit everything later in the week - which should be fun! Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! I'm back after a right old week getting stock ready for Grantham Model Rail show and not been able to do any of my own modelling - but now the show has passed its full steam ahead on Gresby. I started the day by masking off and painting the first part of the Ferodo sign on the bridge girder. I know they're usually black and white but I'm sure there was a red, blue and yellow one in Manchester (Near the new TPE depot) which seems to have been painted over before the streetview car made it round - but I might be completely wrong! I've just got the blue and all the weathering to go and the bridges and street will be ready to install, but if it looks rubbish when Its done I might paint it over in grey... Tonight I decided I had better give the bridges one final test fit so I don't have any nasty surprises when I come to fit them and before they're finished. Good thing I did because they seem to have warped a touch since I made them and the trackbed required filing away a bit and the bridge needed opening out slighty so I could get stock into the station. I took the picture above while all the adjusted sides were setting in situ. Hopefully the bridge will be installed by the end of this week - I'll keep posting progress up here Lots to do Simon

Hi Ben, Glad you like the work so far - its good to get fresh eyes on it if that makes sense?! I've just been using Phoenix Paints P954 Engineers Blue Brick for the blue, I've not weathered it yet but when I do I'm going to try and do it like P4 New Street on here... cheers Simon

Morning everybody! The end of the bit under the bridge is finally in sight All that remains for me to do is cut out and paint the road, paint the pavement on the station entrance side, finish off the paint on the bridges and touch up the station entrance and it'll all be ready to fit and i can move onto a different part of the layout! I painted the departures monitor which gave my camera something to focus on, I'm pleased with how it came out, especially as despite my earlier post it turns out that it can be seen from the usual viewing angle (I'd forgotten about people looking down on the layout haha) Here is the monitor in situ, I made the light out of two bits of plasticard I filed into shape. I need to touch up the paint where I cemented the entrace bit to the bridge pier and add the station signs and a spot of weathering... but not too much! Lots to do! Simon

Hello everybody! I think I've finally gone insane: The monitor is 3mm x 3mm x 3mm made of three strips of plasticard laminated together and filed to shape, just needs painting now... maybe then I'll be able to get a more in-focus shot of it! Also, I've just realised that only actual N gauge people will be able to see it which sort makes me wonder why I made it that way! Next layout will definately be O Gauge trams haha! Simon

Definately and excuse I'll be using - just need to get me some cabinets! I've done a bit of work this morning, I cut the door to the station - I'm not sure why I'd put it off for so long! I thought the entrance might have been a bit ornate, so I did a bit of research on the disused stations website (Braunston, Finmere and Lutterworth were the closest match to the layout of Gresby) and found the entrances to be quite plain arches... which suited me just fine! This morning I masked and painted bridge piers, so now all needs doing is detailing and weathering. I spent a bit of time last night preparing some posters and signs to use on the entrance, I wasn't sure what size text I'd need so I did a selection - I found network maps on a project mapping website and the BR logo on google images. I'm not sure which network map to put up. In my mind Gresby is mainly served by Central Trains and Northern Rail, but I can't work out in my head which company would manage the station... maybe both maps would be shown but only one company provide the station staff? So much to think about and even more to do! Simon

Hi James, Thanks for posting, I didn't realise that they'd started putting them at right angles - do you know when the change was made at all? Also, would it be feasible to have a mixture of older ones bein parrallel and newer ones being at right angles at the same location? I've not been doing much modelling this week due to spending two days in a farm shed wiring up the fiddle yard to Farndon Road (Bingham MRC available for exhibitions from mid 2011 plug plug) but I made it to the model shop today and got the dummy point motors today, so I'll try and get some pics up when they're fitted... and then I belive I'll be ready to ballast Lots to do! Simon

Hello! I think I've maybe inhaled too much Contacta Proffessional. This afternoon I finished off one of the bridges and the room is sort of spinning... and it still needs painting Time to sit outside for a bit I think! Simon

Hello! I made a start on the false bottoms of the girder bridges yesterday, I was very organised and made paper templates of the trackbed so they could be done away from the baseboard. Its made of plasticard, with [ shaped channel on the edges and then plain plasticard strips in the middle made to look like girders, unfortunately when I test fitted it on the board with the bridge piers it was 5mm too short and the wrong shape - so much for the templates! Here is the second attempt, and the one I'll be using when its finished. I put the cross bracing in after some sort of mental episode, its going to be a pain to paint and I doubt it will ever be seen... but I know its there! I've just got the side girders to make now. Test fit of the bridge bottoms. Lots to do! Simon

Hi Graham, I've been looking for the Liddle End cabinets for a couple weeks now and there seems to be a Nottinghamshire wide shortage of them, I've seen some at N Brass and Langly though so they might come from one of them. I didn't realise Peco did the dummy motors too - I've got a choice of three manufacturers now so I'm going to investigate them all a bit more closely. Just seen Long Meg, it looks really good - 60040 is one of my favourites and I'd love a basement like that Thanks for your help Simon