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muddys-blues

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  1. muddys-blues

    Newton Ridley

    By muddys-blues,

    Hi, this is the start on my very first blog, this has come about during my time studying & admiring other peoples great efforts on the RM web, I have decided to stop sitting there and become more constructive with my time and join the ranks of the RM beavers who like to share their skills & woes with other like minded people.
     
    Having had a number of baseboards ready for my layout, I have had too many false starts & change of mind whilst lying awake at night thinking about this and that for my proposed layout, the false starts have come around due to my over complicated track plans, and a definate lack of planning and over ambition on my behalf.
     
    I have finally come up with my desired choice, which is more or less drawn out, this has been set to oneside, whilst I get the basic baseboard construction set up completed, this will hopefully stop any waining or distractions on my part. Also the spare bedroom is full of the household items that live in my layout room, so having promised my Wife that once I just get the 2 corner baseboards together, I can put all that junk... "sorry" stuff back in "MY" room, this has to been done as we have Family Friends coming on Thursday, a bit of pressure makes you perform better in my eyes.
     
    Anyway I shall learn how to take pics and upload them onto the blog this week to give you an idea of what I hope to create in my 22.5' x 8' loft area.
     
    Craig.
  2. muddys-blues
    Hi, this an update on my blog that I have not updated since my first and last entry, I am taking a little break form building up my baseboards to give the details of what this layout is to be about, it will be set around a distance of some 2 to 3 miles from the outskirts of Manchester City Centre, based on a line running down into Manchester Victoria Station, the era will be the 1980's decade which will be allowed to time overlap into the very early 1990's, going no later than 1993.
     
    My influences for this layout, are a mixture of Queens Road DMU stabling point, Newton Heath DMU depot, and Manchester Victoria train services, in the 1980's, which I still have fond memories of, as I am originally from Bury "East Lancs Railway fame", my many journeys down into Manchester Victoria on the class 504 EMU's involved them passing over the line that ran into Victoria via the Red Bank, which also was next to the DMU stabling point at Queens Road, this is now the site of the Metrolink depot line. The Bury trains ran into the bay platforms at Victoria, which were next to other bay platforms these would be filled with many types of 1st generation DMU's, 101s, 104s, 105s, 108s, 128s and so on, the rasping sound of exhausts and the heavy smell of diesel fumes ever present in that area of the station.
     
    The name for my layout is "Newton Ridley", now I did choose this name because I am a Coronation Street fan, far from it, but I do admit to taking the name from a mix of the infamous Brewery name "Newton and Ridley" and "Newton Heath" DMU depot, I was pondering on a name for the layout by making sure it had a North West slant on it, so this is how I came up with the name, but it so happens that both names have Newton in them...............I am trying very hard to justify that my choices where a more complicated thought process than they really are, but at the sometime just proving the fact that I really am simple in my head sometimes !!!
     
    As I stated in my first blog, the layout dimensions are 22.5' long by 8' width at one end and a 6' length at the other end, the layout scenic area will be of a U-shape, it will definitely incorporate a DMU servicing depot and stabling point, there will also be a junction which will involve a double track branch line climbing a gradient then going over the double track main line before the both go off stage, I am still tinkering around with getting a suburban station into the layout, this will hopefully act as the other scenic break, the layout will also incorporate 2 fiddle yards, one will have 3 stabling roads and a through line, and the other fiddle yard will have 4 stabling roads and a through line.
     
    I hope to have the track plan uploaded onto the blog this weekend.
  3. muddys-blues
    A couple of months ago I had an ebay bidding frenzy on a pair of Geoffrey Allison nameplates, these nameplates went up to £16.52, so I didn't win then, I should have left it alone !!! but low and behold a week later another set appeared on ebay, I stuck on a bid of £11.00, but too my surprise I won them for £3.64, I duly paid my Paypal payment and a couple of days later in the post arrived the nameplates.
     

     
    37 711 "Tremorfa Steelworks" and 37 712 "The Cardiff Rod Mill", One cheap 37514 form Hattons, and a similar body purchased from a RMWeb member, I set about making up the 37's into their new guises, a good snoop around on the web images, and these renumbers would be relatively simple and interesting, 37 711 seemed easy enough, just put on some ploughs to the chassis a renumber and hey ho no problem.
     

     
    37 712 "The Cardiff Rod Mill" a quick cursory glance don't see any problem in that one either..........but !!!! upon further inspection, that No:2 looks different ? and it was, so I had to set about doing some "PROPER MODELLING !!!!" The differences noted where the lamp brackets are in a different position, should be easy enough too do, the bottom lip if the nose end is completely flush and does not have the corner curves that then rise in the centre of the nose, and the welded up communication doors are almost flush on the nose end, which is less pronounced than the model which has quite a pronounced welded plate moulded onto it.
     

     
    So I have made a start on these 2 x 37's, they have had the numbers removed, I will get the number 2 nose end painted up this week to see how the sanding has gone on and what the effect looks like, my last picture shows the differences of the bottom edges between to the 2 nose end designs.
     

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