micro layouts Tommore Bay (change to the project from page 2 onwards)

[andyram]

I finally managed to get some work done on the layout today. Now the track plan has been finalised I have started to pin and glue the track down to the cork underlay. The Peco powered fishplates have been added at the various power points.

Last week's visit to the GC model event saw me purchase the Bonded warehouse which will be located by the siding at the rear of the layout. A station building has also been placed in situ.

[andyram]

With most of the track pinned down I have been playing around with the buildings. I definitely think I want a more industrial type backdrop. Another Bachmann building arrived today and has been placed on the board. At present I am not sure they really work as a combination as all are different brick styles. The warehouse on the right is a keeper as I think that works well alongside that siding. Ideally I would like to have further factory buildings running along the backscene. Still not sure I have the correct combination yet.

[andyram]

I have spent a bit of time playing around with the low relief factory buildings today. Using some off cuts of wood I have built up the rear of the layout to allow the first two buildings to be raised up, reducing the difference in height between them and the warehouse building. It looks better, but I am still not happy yet - I think I need a taller building next to the warehouse. I have one in mind.

In the mean time here are some pictures from today.

[Andrew P]

Hi Andy, have you thought about the Skytrex Low Relief ones for going next to the right hand Grain Warehouse?

[andyram]

I haven't thought of those Andy so I will have a look. Thanks. I have seen some card models on EBay that would be the same height as the warehouse. I will see how the Skytrex ones compare.

[andyram]

Another break from track laying saw a bit of time for test running. This time my Kernow Beattie Well Tank.

[andyram]

Skaleby East has been used for loco servicing today. J94 number 68080 has received some tender loving care in order to bring it back into use after 18 months out of service. Here it is seen on a light engine test.

[Andrew P]

Skaleby East has been used for loco servicing today. J94 number 68080 has received some tender loving care in order to bring it back into use after 18 months out of service. Here it is seen on a light engine test.

image.jpeg

Haven't I seen that somewhere before? hahahha

[andyram]

Haven't I seen that somewhere before? hahahha

Yes. I posted this picture before the ones on Skaleby West's thread.

[andyram]

Progress has stalled on Skaleby East and, as a result, it will not be ready to attend the Weston on Trent show this year. My 2016 task has been a complete failure. Development of the layout is now on hold until after the show. Skaleby West will be making another return outing instead.

[Andrew P]

Progress has stalled on Skaleby East and, as a result, it will not be ready to attend the Weston on Trent show this year. My 2016 task has been a complete failure. Development of the layout is now on hold until after the show. Skaleby West will be making another return outing instead.

ANSWER = Take it to Skool for a Kids Project, and also for the other Teachers to work on in the Lunch Hour, hahahhah

 

All the best mate.

[andyram]

So after four and a half years we have an update! Dr Beeching has finally wielded his axe on Skaleby East and the track and cork has been taken up. Clearly I had done a pretty good job at sticking the cork down considering what a complete and utter b****** it was to remove! Like all former railways, evidence of the track bed still remains but this is as close to a clean baseboard as I could manage.

 

The fact is, I was never very happy with Skaleby East. It never captured the right look and feel that its older brother Skaleby West does (see relevant thread). The track plan was too straight. The sidings too short and the whole thing seemed cramped and unbelievable. For the past couple of years the model has lived on top of the cabinets in my shop and has served as storage for locos under repair and servicing. There has been no desire to do anything with it - until now!

 

 With the shop currently closed for all but click and collect, I have decided to spend some time indulging in railway modelling again. I have taken this week off from my other job as an online adult education assessor and aim to spend some of it on this new / amended / revived project (delete as applicable).

 

So what is the plan? Well at present there is a loose plan. The idea is to make a traditional branch line station with the usual run round loop and goods facilities. My loose idea that the station will be the starting point of the branch line that serves Skaleby West. This is something I have wanted to do for a while.  Hopefully I will post more progress soon. 

[andyram]

After the majority of the old cork base had finally been scraped off the board yesterday, a new layer has promptly replaced it. Unlike previously, where strips of cork were only laid under the  track, I have opted to cover the whole baseboard on this occasion. I have used the cork mat supplied by a company called SPD UK. They sent me a trial of their products a year or so ago and I was very impressed with it. Easy to use, does not break as easily as other cork products I have used and gives a smooth base. I have been stocking their products in the shop ever since. 

 

The layout is now being left to dry in the spare room, with plenty of books from my daughter's room placed on top to make sure the cork stays pressed down whilst it dries.

 

Currently, the baseboard is a layout on a layout. It is a sat on the 6ft x 3ft layout which I am building for a customer. This is currently on hold awaiting a couple of delayed items from Peco. 

 

Once the glue is dry I will begin to have a play about with the track and settle on the track plan. 

[Erichill16]

Hope it’s not a false start and hope it keeps you pleasantly occupied.

Regards

Robert

[andyram]

1 hour ago, Erichill16 said:

Hope it’s not a false start and hope it keeps you pleasantly occupied.

Regards

Robert

Thanks. I hope it is not a false start too. This project has had plenty of them. 

[andyram]

More progress to report today. With the glue dried, and all cork firmly stuck down, I have begun the task of laying out the track. With micro layouts like this, I like to use track pieces to plan out the track so I can get the look of the layout correct - test running to ensure all works, making tweaks as required. 

 

My idea for this layout is for a station, run round loop and goods facility. The entry / exit to the fiddle yard will be definitely be on the left side of the board with the station platform to the rear. The two sidings at the front currently form the goods yard. I may also add a loco storage siding off the loop to the left. This is the current state of play. 

[andyram]

Another day and more playing with track plan and I actually think I have cracked it! As I mentioned in an earlier post, the idea is that the layout will depict the first station on the "Skaleby West" branch. It will represent the starting point of the fictional line that runs through the station depicted by my first layout. 

 

 As the starting point on the line, I had a clear wish list for this model. It needed to have room for the platform, run round loop and a goods yard. I also hoped to include room for some kind of loco stabling point  so that branch loco has somewhere to start from at the beginning of the sequence, and return to at the end of the day's operation. This seems a lot to cram into a 4ft x 1ft scenic section. Looking back at previous attempts at this, and other layouts, it is something I have failed to achieve. Previous incarnations have ended up looking cramped and track heavy. 

 

 Today I have moved a couple of things around and now have the following plan:

 

* The lengths of balsa wood depict where the platform will be located. The station building will be located on the right hand side at the widest point of the platform.

* The goods facility will be the two sidings on the right. The small building will form the goods store, and I will construct a platform around the building which may stretch between the two tracks. Both sidings should accommodate a maximum of three wagons which will be more than enough.

* The siding on the left will provide the loco servicing and I may add a small coaling point and possibly a water tower.

 

I feel quite happy with this, the only possible issue is the three successive points which form part of the loop. 

 

Any thoughts welcomed.

[Erichill16]

Evening, isn’t there actually four points in succession?
Could you use a three way point for the goods sidings? To tell the truth I’ve never used one as I usually model in N and   as they are a relatively new item to the Peco range I’ve not got round to using one. I bought one a couple of years ago but don’t like the look of it so it may get used in the fiddle yard when I get my next project going.

Having rambled on I still think that what you’re designed is going to be the ‘nicest’ looking and I can’t really see an alternative.Pity you’ve not got a bit  mode length but I suppose we always want a bit more.

Regards

Robert

[andyram]

51 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Evening, isn’t there actually four points in succession?
Could you use a three way point for the goods sidings? To tell the truth I’ve never used one as I usually model in N and   as they are a relatively new item to the Peco range I’ve not got round to using one. I bought one a couple of years ago but don’t like the look of it so it may get used in the fiddle yard when I get my next project going.

Having rambled on I still think that what you’re designed is going to be the ‘nicest’ looking and I can’t really see an alternative.Pity you’ve not got a bit  mode length but I suppose we always want a bit more.

Regards

Robert

You are absolutely correct. There are indeed four successive points from loco release and through the loop. I have wondered whether to change the toe to toe points for the goods yard and loco siding to a double slip. I have not tested the plan yet so I will try and have a running session tomorrow. I will need a new left hand point for the loco siding because the current one is very old and is of questionable quality. One may slip into my pocket whilst at the shop for a click and collect customer tomorrow.

[andyram]

Today has seen some test running. I was concerned whether the four successive points, leading from the loco release and through the loop, would cause some running issues. I started off with running one of the new Hornby Terriers over the whole track. It ran with no issues, crossing all of the points with no major issues. There was tightness in the running but, since it was the first time the loco had left the box, I think it was more a loco issue than anything else. 

 

 I then pressed some of regular Skaleby West stock into the use running the various locos over all the track. The Jinty, the smallest of the loco stock, ran over the track with no issues. The paintwork proving no issues with the smoothness of the running. The larger Standard 3 tank also negotiated the points with no problem including running from the loco storage siding through to the nearest siding of the goods yard.

 The goods yard sidings are both, as expected, big enough to take three regular sized wagons. The loco release for the platform loop is large enough for even the largest tank engine. It is slightly too short for the Midland 3F but it is so tight I might be able to buy the extra few millimetres to allow it to be used. Her are some pictures from today. Firstly, the Jinty sits in the loco release. The vent vans sit in the nearest of the two goods sidings.

The second photo shows a more general overview of the model with the standard two coach train comfortably inside the station loop.

[Erichill16]

I thought about using a double slip but thought would it would be a piece of track work that wouldn’t  be found in a small terminus station.  Looks like you’re got the plan sorted now. Time to get it pinned down!

Robert

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by Erichill16
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[andyram]

I would like to fix the track tomorrow. There is one more thing I would like to check first and that is if my planned station building will fit the intended space. I am having some doubts. That may mean pulling the track forward slightly to create the room or choosing a slightly smaller building depending on how it all fits together. Unfortunately, the planned building is currently stored in the back of the shop. It was taken up there with the baseboard when I relocated it for storage and I have forgotten to bring it back. Further progress may have to wait until Monday when I go over for the delivery. Unless, of course, I am required for any click and collect customers tomorrow!

[andyram]

Today has seen some further testing (or should that be playing) on the layout. Although the planned station building is still residing in store at the back of the shop, I found an alternative temporary option. Whilst sorting some things out in the garage my eyes rested on the mothballed first layout which still had a medium sized building in-situ. I therefore "borrowed" it to test the size of the platform. This fits very well in the planned location and actually looks the part. I will test out the intended building once I have been to the shop tomorrow, but if it does not fit I know I have a viable alternative. The building, based on the one at Goathland, can be seen in the photos below placed on the temporary platform formed from scraps of balsa wood:

 

You will note that the motive power on the layout may not be to everybody's taste. This is one of the new Bachmann made 00 gauge Thomas models which I am testing whilst producing a review film for the front page of the shop's website. This demonstration model will also run in the window display once I get to reopen. I have to say I am very impressed with the model. A step forward from the Hornby offering.

 

 Returning to more serious matters, I have been contemplating the name for the layout. This project began as "Skaleby North Yard" many years ago when a simple shunting yard was planned. It became "Skaleby East" when I added a station to that original plan. The latter would still work as a name. However, because I want this to be the starting point of the branch containing Skaleby West, I am not sure I am happy with it sharing the name. A different name will give a feeling of distance between the two locations. In some ways I would like it to represent the current situation and had considered names such as Covidgate (which sounds like a dodgy milk company) or Coronagate (likewise). Anything containing "Lockdown" feels too Scottish for an English branch so that is out. I had also wondered about Mooreton or Tomoore  (in honour of Sir Tom). At the moment I don't think I have the correct one. I will keep thinking.

[andyram]

So just a quick post from me tonight. Thanks to the bumbling buffoon in number 10, I now have an increased break from the shop. Despite hope that I could reopen for the Easter weekend, I will now have to wait until April 12th before I can open for anything but click and collect. Angry? Yes. Frustrated? Completely. I admit that morale was very low earlier today. But tonight I have decided to try and turn it into a positive. Tonight’s announcement means I have another 7 weeks working from home.  That must be enough time to get this layout completed?

 

Challenge set. Challenge accepted.
 

There are now 49 days left.

 

This tape will self destruct in five seconds.

[Erichill16]

It’s not impossible!