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

[andyram]

6 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

It’s not impossible!

 

It definitely is not impossible. It will be a challenge to fit it in around home commitments, but setting the target date has given me something to focus on. The plan is to use, where possible, off the shelf materials and showcase products I sell in the shop with the aim of possibly displaying it in the shop when I reopen.

[Erichill16]

13 hours ago, andyram said:

It definitely is not impossible. It will be a challenge to fit it in around home commitments, but setting the target date has given me something to focus on. The plan is to use, where possible, off the shelf materials and showcase products I sell in the shop with the aim of possibly displaying it in the shop when I reopen.

Nothing like a deadline to focus the mInd. 
Good idea for the shop display. Items used still belong to the shop and therefore not counted as your drawings on the business!

[andyram]

48 DAYS TO GO!

 

The countdown has begun. Not too much progress to report on the first full day since I set myself the challenge. The one change has been adding the Peco wired rail joiners to the loop so I can add the second power feed to the layout. This will allow me to supply power to all three sidings and also run the loop independently if I so wish. The next task will be to glue the track down. Since the baseboard MDF I think PVA glue, rather than track pins, will be the best option.

 

[southern42]

Coming along nicely, Andy.

About a name. Lockdown could very well be passable in good old England.  For instance, there is Matlock quite near you! Just another step and you could have Matlock Down. I think Lochdoon might suit Scotland. There are lots of names on the map to inspire you! For instance, endings: -ing, ton, dale, etc., Lockdown en le Dale, Coronafield, Covidington, Virustowe. Have fun making a list until you find one you really like or think will best suit. 

Enjoy the layout.
Polly

[andyram]

18 minutes ago, southern42 said:

Coming along nicely, Andy.

About a name. Lockdown could very well be passable in good old England.  For instance, there is Matlock quite near you! Just another step and you could have Matlock Down. I think Lochdoon might suit Scotland. There are lots of names on the map to inspire you! For instance, endings: -ing, ton, dale, etc., Lockdown en le Dale, Coronafield, Covidington, Virustowe. Have fun making a list until you find one you really like or think will best suit. 

Enjoy the layout.
Polly

 

Thanks Polly some very good suggestions. I quite like Coronafield and Matlockdown. I will have a play around with further ideas and see what I can come up with - the other idea I had was to use the initials NHS eg

New Hall South

New Hill South

North Hall Side

 

I did think about honouring Sir Tom for example:

 

Moore Dale

Moore's End (which has the wrong connotations in my opinion)

Moore Down

Lockdown on Moor

[southern42]

They sound great, Andy. So many possibilities. With Sir Tom, you could simply use his name and add Road, Lane, Street, other. I grew up on such a Lane, though it did not become a station name. Maybe,  if you decide to display the layout in the shop, make a shortlist and let ur customers decide.

A year ago or so, I posted a photo on Early Risers of a green covered garden sheep and someone instantly gave it a name. She is called Kate Moss to this day!

Have fun.

Edited February 24, 2021 by southern42

[andyram]

Thanks Polly food for thought. I have now added the following to the list

 

Tommore

Tommore  Road

Tommore Way

Tommore Bay

Tommore Park

Tommore Castle

 

[Andrew D]

I much prefer the Sir Tom names over the C-word names, as Sir Tom represents something positive and will never be forgotten, ‘the other’ is something most of us can’t wait to see the back of and forget. I like  the simple ‘Sir Tom Moore Road/Park/Bay’ etc. It is of the time and a simple tribute. That’s just my opinion, anyway! 

[andyram]

14 minutes ago, Andrew D said:

I much prefer the Sir Tom names over the C-word names, as Sir Tom represents something positive and will never be forgotten, ‘the other’ is something most of us can’t wait to see the back of and forget. I like  the simple ‘Sir Tom Moore Road/Park/Bay’ etc. It is of the time and a simple tribute. That’s just my opinion, anyway! 

 

I agree that referencing Sir Tom is a more positive name. I am leaning towards Tommore Castle or Tommore Bay at present.

[Andrew P]

I like Moore Walk.

Edited February 24, 2021 by Andrew P

[southern42]

Or how about Tom Moore Gardens or even Captain Sir Tom Moore Gardens?

[andyram]

Thanks for the input. I have taken my favourite four options and put it to the vote via a group on the shop's Facebook page (link below)

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2577380512500856

 

[andyram]

47 DAYS TO GO

 

So the four name choices have gone to the vote via the modelling group of the shop's Facebook page. The four choices are:

 

Tommore Bay

Tommore Castle 

 

and two names made up from the initials NHS

 

New Hall South

New Hill South

 

Meanwhile, this evening has seen some further progress. The track has now been glued down with a liberal coat of PVA glue. I decided to try this approach ahead of track pins due to the challenges of getting the pins into the MDF baseboard. I like MDF for this function as it seems to hold its shape well when braced, but it is a pain to get the pins into so if I can avoid it I will. 

 Tonight's activity was carried out whilst consuming a pint of Titanic Plum Porter which was a gift from a customer as a thanks for delivering his order today. I have added a couple of photos below. The second photo shows the track held in place with push pins to hold it in place whilst the glue sets.,

Edited February 24, 2021 by andyram

[andyram]

44 DAYS TO GO

 

And in a blink of an eye a couple of days disappeared with no progress made. The track has held firm after the glue treatment on Wednesday. There is just a small section of the loco storage siding which has lifted and will need more glue. That will be dealt with in due course.

 

Today it was time for track weathering. I decided to test out one the Woodland Scenics track weathering pens, which I have in the shop, as a method of weathering the sleepers. I used the "Weathered Tie" version. This was tested on spare track until I was confident with its use. Then I moved onto the layout.

 

 The pen is so easy to use and creates a pleasing but subtle weathered effect on the sleepers. I feel it looks better than the effect created by my paintwork on Skaleby West. I cannot take full credit for the final look of the weathering because Amber wanted to help, and was able to add the weathering to the sidings. 

 

 

Later in the afternoon I raided the modelling supplies which are currently stored in the garage. Unfortunately the search did not locate the bags of ballast which I thought were stored in there. Nor did I find the intended signal box. They could both be in the shop along with the planned station building! A couple of Skaledale platform pieces were found. These may be used instead of scratch building the platforms. I will test fit them at some point in the near future.

[andyram]

43 DAYS TO GO

 

There is little progress to report today. I have been laid low by the side effects from the vaccine.  However I have taken the opportunity to try out the Hornby Skaledale platform pieces. These match the ones I used on Skaleby West and so would suit the "location". They look ok in the position too although there will need to be some building up of the rear section to allow the station building to be placed where I want it to go. That will be no issue, I can use the balsa wood, or polystyrene for that as I did on Skaleby West.

 

Unfortunately, I have found out that I have made a bit of an amateur error. I am not sure I should really admit it in these pages! When I laid the cork, I left a slight overhang on both sides and also the front intending to trim it later. When I laid the track, I forgot about this and therefore the loco release now slightly overhangs the edge of the board. I noticed this when I put the side screen back in place. What a stupid mistake! The gap can be seen in the photo below:

 

 

There are two ways in which I can fix this without pulling all the track up. I could cut the track and shorten the loco release. However that may further limit the stock I can run on it. The other alternative is the one I will go for. I will cut a hole in the side screen, and use a low relief bridge entrance to mask the hole. I will use brick papers to form the walls either side of the  bridge and make it look like road bridge. It solves the problem of how to scenic the side screen - out of every mistake.....

 

The hole has been marked and will be cut later in the week when I will also fit the side screen permanently.

 

 

The layout has been added as a feature to my latest shop update video. These I produce each month for the front page of the shop's website. I don't confess to them being the greatest videos in the world but I have provided the link below if anyone wants to take a look. You may note that the section on the layout was filmed today, when still feeling below par due to the post vaccine effects. 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by andyram

[andyram]

37 DAYS TO GO

 

Where did the week go?  The last few days have raced by with no further progress and we are almost a month away from the deadline. The belief that I can get the layout done for April 12th is beginning to wane. Today has seen more work on the layout however. In preparation for laying the platform, I have glued down an extra layer of cork to build the platform up to the correct level.

 

I have also located the chosen signal box and have test fitted it into the preferred position. I had originally intended to place the box in the space between the loop and the loco siding. I tried it there, but felt it may look cramped with the coaling stage placed there too.

 

 

This evening I have glued down the back scene. I am using one of the Gaugemaster scenic backscenes.  Hopefully my wife will not mind that this is currently drying on the floor of the spare bedroom with books and magazines weighting it down.

 

 

Meanwhile, I can confirm that the result of the Facebook vote has christened the layout as Tommore Bay.

 

 

[andyram]

36 DAYS TO GO

 

After leaving the back scene to dry last night I have tidied things up with small applications of glue to areas where it had not stuck down. The layout has now been put back in position with pegs attached to ensure that the backscene and glue make contact. The platform pieces and other buildings have been returned to the board and I have experimented with the look of the two different station buildings. The first photo shows the Goathland type building which I had initially used to test how things fitted.

 

The second photo shows the planned building, now liberated from store, being test fitted. Not quite sure which one I prefer. 

 

 

You will note that the Bachmann Thomas continues to be the motive power of choice although this can be attributed to my daughter who likes to run the loco around with a couple of wagons. She is back at school tomorrow so I may get the chance to swap the loco over.

Edited March 7, 2021 by andyram

[Andrew D]

Deffo prefer the lower pic building as the brick matches the houses on the back scene and it all looks way more co-ordinated. 

[southern42]

Looking good, Andy. Your comment re the two station buildings got me thinking. So...

may I suggest that, if the layout is to be on display in the shop, you keep the buildings replaceable rather than permanently fixed in place? That way, you can alternate  buildings and suitably sized new buildings arriving into stock can go on display to show customers how they look in situ! 

Just a thought.

 

Polly

[andyram]

5 hours ago, Andrew D said:

Deffo prefer the lower pic building as the brick matches the houses on the back scene and it all looks way more co-ordinated. 

The lower building is the one I originally planned to use and it definitely matches the houses. I also think it is more in keeping with a terminus station. The brick colour is also similar to the one used on Skaleby West. This allows consistency for the whole branch. I think I became distracted because the other building looked ok in the earlier stages.

 

1 minute ago, southern42 said:

Looking good, Andy. Your comment re the two station buildings got me thinking. So...

may I suggest that, if the layout is to be on display in the shop, you keep the buildings replaceable rather than permanently fixed in place? That way, you can alternate  buildings and suitably sized new buildings arriving into stock can go on display to show customers how they look in situ! 

Just a thought.

 

Polly

That is a very good thought Polly and an interesting concept. I think I warming to the lower option as the main station building but the idea of swapping buildings in the way you describe is definitely worth considering.

[southern42]

I’ve seen quite a few layouts in model shops over the decades. Most of them probably showcased at least some items for sale. It is so much easier to see what something is going to look like out of the box and in context. Benefits both customer and shop.

Anyway, I hope it all goes well whatever you decide. 

[andyram]

29 DAYS TO GO!!

 

Help! A whole week has slipped by with, until today, no further progress. The daughter's return to school did not suddenly present lots of modelling time due to a multitude of distractions. The shop has had a busy week of orders and deliveries which is good news and that has taken up a lot of time. I have not had chance to cut the tunnel and fit the side screen yet. Hopefully that can be tackled this week.

 

Today has seen the station ramps arrive, these are needed to help complete the station platform. Before that can be fitted however, the board needed to be painted. This was completed this evening. I careful application of some brown poster paint. This will provide a base for all scenic work and will hide the bare cork and wood should any ballast or scenery chip off. The board, now painted, can be seen below.

 

 

The remaining platform pieces are due to arrive during the middle of next week. I can then begin to complete the station area. My aim before that is to drill the holes for the power feed and attend to the side screen.

[andyram]

24 DAYS TO GO!!!!

 

And in a blink of an eye a few more days have raced by and the deadline for my self imposed challenge is less than four weeks away. The belief that the layout can be completed in time is ebbing away. The trouble is, with anxiety levels at a high again, it is natural to stay clear of parts of the build that could be considered more challenging. The next stage involved some basic woodworking. Today I have pushed myself to complete the tasks and more progress has been made. Holes have been drilled for the second power feed and the wires have been fed through the hole so connections can be made under the board.

 

The hole for the tunnel mouth on the side screen has now been cut and the clearances have been checked. Now the backscene will need to be glued into this section so that I can begin to build the tunnel entrance. 

[andyram]

23 DAYS TO GO

 

Further progress on the side board today. Last night I glued down the picture, showing the sky. I plan to use a kit bashed Superquick bridge kit to hide the newly cut hole. Construction has begun on this today. I have used some foam board sheets to add relief, before gluing the bridge face to the front. Things are not finished yet, but progress can be seen below.

[andyram]

21 DAYS TO GO

 

Yes there is just three weeks until the date the shop could possibly reopen once again (third waves, New York variants and vaccine shortages permitting).   It is looking unlikely that Tommore Bay will be completed in time, but I will keep trying to find time to work on it.

 

The remaining platform pieces have arrived and I have now set out the full length station. I had hoped to glue it down but I could not find my glue this evening. Overall I think the station and other buildings fit well together. A picture of most of layout can be seen below. The signal box is just off shot to the left next to the lamp hut.

Edited March 23, 2021 by andyram