RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 8, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) Hi there We are back home again for another winter thankfully without as much going on as last year which didn't see much progress on the layout I've just completed my first (and only) white metal kit - langley models wharf crane - nothing wrong with the kit at all but way too fiddly for my eyesight and hands! Reasonably happy with the result though this may not be the final position but it is so fragile I wanted to see it "fitted" This winter I intend to have a real go at weathering (not airbrushing) ...……...already bought various kit and some cheap <£2 wagons to play with. For those of you who have shown an interest in my boating activity - we had a great summer (500+ locks in 6 months) and even changed boats on impulse in late August (the front of "Zulu" is my new profile picture) BFN Edited October 8, 2018 by halsey 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chimer Posted October 9, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2018 Welcome back, looking forward to whatever happens next …… Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 28, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 28, 2018 (edited) My first scratch-build (coal bunker) and some weathering in the background Edited October 28, 2018 by halsey Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 28, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 28, 2018 I think this achieves the consensus we've arrived at .. Halsey2.jpg It's now 5 sections, with additional belt and braces feeds in a couple of places - the two shown next to one another on the branch should be immediately after the junction and immediately before the station throat So you need 5 double-pole double-throw centre-off switches. Isolating rail joiners needed on both rails wherever the colour changes. The only differences between this and David's last plan are that (1) he also split the goods yard into 2 sections - I haven't and (2) I've not risked wiring direct to the double slip, but put two feeds to the right of it. Good luck Chris I think it a credit to all concerned that only today have I found the need to alter this - and all I have done is provided an additional feed to area 3 (the branch station upper layer) and this is simply to allow it to be operated when the bridge is up - so well done all - 3 years later it still stands up - where did the time go! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted March 4, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2019 All now dismantled including baseboards/framing - we might be moving house so that was the trigger but even if we don't it was a good thing to do as what I was building wasn't "futureproof"...………………... First layout main lessons learned …………………. All the Baseboards were set too high especially the raised section The bridge across doorway was a bad idea The baseboards were too deep especially in the shed/layout corners as access was poor If I build another indoor OO layout here again next time DCC for sure - but if the house move happens a garden layout beckons Note to self - all these things were suggested to me during the build process...……………………. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdvle Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Thank you for the update, and I suspect the lessons learned section could be useful to others who are contemplating their first big layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chimer Posted March 19, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2019 Looking forward to a new thread in due course - really enjoyed the journey! Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 20, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 20, 2019 Well that was quite a year!! We did move house 2 weeks ago and the new railway environment is a 5m * 3m log cabin (very posh) in the garden app 3m square area available for layout use with the rest for "manufacturing" Sadly my Mum was very poorly from June so we stopped boating and she passed away in August with the dreaded big "C" and now SWMBO's Mum challenges us much more with her dementia - comes to us all of a certain age I'm sure but its tough all in one year including the house move on top so looking forward to a quieter winter. Likely layout to be based on one main modelled area with a very simple 2 "opposing" tracks on a narrow shelf running round 2 sides of the space the 3rd side is as yet undecided - probably DCC and possibly a change to diesel based stock - a lot more research needed and no rush. I'm looking for comments on DCC - my uninformed motivation is less time wiring less time on my knees under baseboards during construction and less strain on my hip. What height for baseboards?? No boating now until May so lots of time to make a good start probably another month before I actually get going with this one...………. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 Taking the baseboard height question first:- I suggest there are no right or wrong answers to this, you just have to think through what suits you, so factors I think you should take account of are:- 1) Your height and reach. 2) How long will you operate the layout for at a time?- If you intend to run it for long sessions , sitting down will be more comfortable, so the layout can be lower than for standing to operate for short periods. 3) What view of layouts do you like? -I prefer near eye level so I pretend I am standing at the line side. Others are ok with the "helicopter" view! 4) How deep will your baseboards be and how often will you need to access the rear 3 inches? 5) Might others of different height e.g. grandchildren want to view or operate the layout? There might be other considerations such as:- Will you be reaching over the layout to operate points by hand or electrically, the same for signals, uncoupling and turntable operation. You have already mentioned that DCC seems to offer an easier life under the base boards, and the higher the boards, the easier this access is! Re DCC, I think you should, as I did 9 months ago, take the plunge, provided you do not have a large fleet of pre year 2000 manufacture locos that may be difficult or impossible to chip! However, you do need to think hard and long about whether you want to go for sound? This will increase the cost and sound in small locos can be difficult to install. I suggest you look carefully at the above factors on height and DCC when you are next at an exhibition and go and ask lots of questions of both exhibitors and sales stands. Hope the above thoughts help? Cheers Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 21, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 21, 2019 15 hours ago, Tallpaul69 said: Taking the baseboard height question first:- I suggest there are no right or wrong answers to this, you just have to think through what suits you, so factors I think you should take account of are:- 1) Your height and reach. 2) How long will you operate the layout for at a time?- If you intend to run it for long sessions , sitting down will be more comfortable, so the layout can be lower than for standing to operate for short periods. 3) What view of layouts do you like? -I prefer near eye level so I pretend I am standing at the line side. Others are ok with the "helicopter" view! 4) How deep will your baseboards be and how often will you need to access the rear 3 inches? 5) Might others of different height e.g. grandchildren want to view or operate the layout? There might be other considerations such as:- Will you be reaching over the layout to operate points by hand or electrically, the same for signals, uncoupling and turntable operation. You have already mentioned that DCC seems to offer an easier life under the base boards, and the higher the boards, the easier this access is! Re DCC, I think you should, as I did 9 months ago, take the plunge, provided you do not have a large fleet of pre year 2000 manufacture locos that may be difficult or impossible to chip! However, you do need to think hard and long about whether you want to go for sound? This will increase the cost and sound in small locos can be difficult to install. I suggest you look carefully at the above factors on height and DCC when you are next at an exhibition and go and ask lots of questions of both exhibitors and sales stands. Hope the above thoughts help? Cheers Paul VERY helpful thanks - I don't have a large fleet of locos so that's not an issue and I do want to do something different - I enjoy the creative stages rather than the running and the last layout was (for me) a great success but I almost want to start again and do it differently for its own sake I am thinking much more about a steam to diesel transition era with a bit of poetic licence and a branch line flavour modelled very loosely on the line I can see from my new house which is the one coming out of Leominster station heading from Hereford to Shrewsbury. Not that this bothers me particularly but was there ever a legitimate period when diesels pulled private owner wagons and DMUs were operating as that's where my mind is heading - if this has to be purely fictitious so be it but it would be nice to know 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Flying Pig Posted October 21, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 21, 2019 3 hours ago, halsey said: Not that this bothers me particularly but was there ever a legitimate period when diesels pulled private owner wagons and DMUs were operating as that's where my mind is heading - if this has to be purely fictitious so be it but it would be nice to know Yes, but the wagons wouldn't have been repainted since before 1940 so would be looking very worn indeed by the late 50s (the models on this page give an idea of their probable condition). Characterful in their way but possibly not what you were after. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 21, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 21, 2019 Thanks that's very useful - as you may easily know this - what diesels would be appropriate to run with tatty ex P/O wagons midlands/welsh borders - I suppose they would now be BR. What I'm trying to do is maintain my stable of wagons when I convert my layout (and move away from Era3) to 60's and DCC - happy to move on my LMS carriages and/or sell/display old locos "derelict" on the layout. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 4 hours ago, halsey said: VERY helpful thanks - I don't have a large fleet of locos so that's not an issue and I do want to do something different - I enjoy the creative stages rather than the running and the last layout was (for me) a great success but I almost want to start again and do it differently for its own sake I am thinking much more about a steam to diesel transition era with a bit of poetic licence and a branch line flavour modelled very loosely on the line I can see from my new house which is the one coming out of Leominster station heading from Hereford to Shrewsbury. Not that this bothers me particularly but was there ever a legitimate period when diesels pulled private owner wagons and DMUs were operating as that's where my mind is heading - if this has to be purely fictitious so be it but it would be nice to know When you say DMUs I guess you mean first generation? So if we say Diesels and DMUs started to be around in numbers c1958, and the last steam on the WR in any numbers was c1964, that gives you a six year window for the possibility of Diesels pulling private owners wagons? Around 1958 there would not be any private owners open wagons in brightly coloured liveries, but there were probably a few around in well worn dull remains of their former livery with lots of plain unpainted plank repairs. Vans might be a better bet, and of course there were the cement wagons. The above is just off the top of my head. I am a GWR and WR modeler, but my knowledge of the Leominster area is sketchy! I will come back to you again after consulting some of my reference books. Like the basic idea though. Regards Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted October 21, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) With DCC you will need to do similar amounts of wiring as DC, possibly more, depending on how you want to go about things. It's typical to keep all parts of the track powered up at all times rather than switch them on and off manually and that can mean more wires if you were used to allowing the points to switch power to sections. With all sections powered up all the time you just choose a loco on your controller and start driving . (You still have to set the points correctly of course!) That also means that locos with sound and lights keep working while they are standing in sidings or whatever. For instance, you want to hear your shunter to continue idling while it waits for a passenger train to pass by rather than artificially going silent. Maybe you could make some of your boards movable so that they could be hinged up to give you comfortable access to the underside for wiring...? Edited October 21, 2019 by Harlequin 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 My view on DCC is that it offers sufficient additional functionality over DC that it would be a bit daft to start a modelling "career" from scratch and use DC. If you've got a load of DC kit that you want to use then that's a different matter as conversion isn't cheap. There's probably no less wiring, but if you understand electrical design you'll appreciate how much simpler the wiring scheme design is. There is definitely less requirement for other components, as electrical switching requirements are vastly reduced by what the chips do. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 22, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) On 30/11/2015 at 10:19, jon_1066 said: Hi, For those of you who may still be interested …………...having moved house and dismantled completely the above layout I am thinking of rebuilding it pretty much the same because I liked it but wanting the following mods to achieve some simplicity and better access. NO upper level branch at all Two tracks going around the room Possibly using DCC instead If you computer experts here who were involved before esp Jon David are able to tweak this track layout to achieve my thoughts and then overlay wiring/isolation needs (for both analogue and DCC??) that would be fantastic. I am beginning to think I don't want to reinvent the wheel just build this time that which I would have built initially if I had known more...……….. Thanks Edited October 22, 2019 by halsey 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted October 25, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2019 Moving this thread to a dedicated thread covering just the ongoing revisions to the layout above...…………. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) On 21/10/2019 at 12:21, Tallpaul69 said: When you say DMUs I guess you mean first generation? So if we say Diesels and DMUs started to be around in numbers c1958, and the last steam on the WR in any numbers was c1964, that gives you a six year window for the possibility of Diesels pulling private owners wagons? Around 1958 there would not be any private owners open wagons in brightly coloured liveries, but there were probably a few around in well worn dull remains of their former livery with lots of plain unpainted plank repairs. Vans might be a better bet, and of course there were the cement wagons. The above is just off the top of my head. I am a GWR and WR modeler, but my knowledge of the Leominster area is sketchy! I will come back to you again after consulting some of my reference books. Like the basic idea though. Regards Paul Apologies it has taken a few days to get back on this:- It seems there were a few open wagons in well worn private owner livery around mid 1950s as the first diesels were coming out. However I suggest your best bet for colour lies in the following:- Private owners tankers Peak roof salt wagons Cement wagons (both vans and Presflows ICI wagons (opens, salts, vans, tankers etc.). Not all of these were dark green. St. Ivel (the brightest!) and other milk tankers. Non of these would have been particularly bright as they would all be well weathered but you could have the occasional lightly weathered and therefore quite bright items (just not a whole train of them!) Hope this gives you some ideas and provokes others to throw in their two pennyworth of ideas? Happy modelling cheers Paul Edited October 26, 2019 by Tallpaul69 forgotten item 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted January 20, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 20, 2020 On 26/10/2019 at 12:27, Tallpaul69 said: Apologies it has taken a few days to get back on this:- It seems there were a few open wagons in well worn private owner livery around mid 1950s as the first diesels were coming out. However I suggest your best bet for colour lies in the following:- Private owners tankers Peak roof salt wagons Cement wagons (both vans and Presflows ICI wagons (opens, salts, vans, tankers etc.). Not all of these were dark green. St. Ivel (the brightest!) and other milk tankers. Non of these would have been particularly bright as they would all be well weathered but you could have the occasional lightly weathered and therefore quite bright items (just not a whole train of them!) Hope this gives you some ideas and provokes others to throw in their two pennyworth of ideas? Happy modelling cheers Paul I don't think I ever replied to this - I decided to model my birthday era 1955 as it fits all the requirements - means got lots of weathering to do and some carriages to move on! I bought a Bachmann model of the first LMS diesel "10000"and I am now looking for a W&M railbus which just fits the timing - not sure about Heljan though or that particular model as the reviews esp those involving DCC conversion/fitting are poor 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 On 20/01/2020 at 16:38, halsey said: I don't think I ever replied to this - I decided to model my birthday era 1955 as it fits all the requirements - means got lots of weathering to do and some carriages to move on! I bought a Bachmann model of the first LMS diesel "10000"and I am now looking for a W&M railbus which just fits the timing - not sure about Heljan though or that particular model as the reviews esp those involving DCC conversion/fitting are poor Fair enough! I don't get upset if folks don't reply to my postings, I am afraid I sometimes forget or get sidetracked myself. Its your layout so Rule 1 applies. Sorry, can't help with the W&M Railbus, not my era or railway line. Your other thread suggests the layout is developing well so good on you. Cheers Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted December 13, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) Sorry 2 postings posted in the wrong place.............. Edited December 15, 2021 by halsey 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold halsey Posted December 15, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 15, 2021 (edited) ditto - my apologies Edited December 15, 2021 by halsey 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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