Heaton Lodge Junction

[sparkey1957]

Can anyone advise me if seating is available to take a break as I'm planning on taking my 93 year old friend. Also are refreshments available. Many thanks.

 

[Patriot87003]

2 hours ago, sparkey1957 said:

Can anyone advise me if seating is available to take a break as I'm planning on taking my 93 year old friend. Also are refreshments available. Many thanks.

 

Yes, the venue has several seats along the side of the layout … also has step free access and toilets. No refreshments though, but as it’s in the town centre there’s several cafes, shops and restaurants close by.

[rob D2]

190 miles away , 3hrs20 in a car , can I convince myself to get my lazy a*se up north ?

I’m working on it !

[PMP]

15 hours ago, Patriot87003 said:

 

 

I wonder how many steps per day Simon walks … do you have a Fitbit or pedometer? Good exercise!

 

As one of the gophers, including 1.5 set up days and a day away I’m up to 39 miles.

[ferret1956]

18 minutes ago, PMP said:

As one of the gophers, including 1.5 set up days and a day away I’m up to 39 miles.

But in 7mm scale thats less than 1 mile... Stop yer moanin'!!!!! 

[bradfordbuffer]

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

190 miles away , 3hrs20 in a car , can I convince myself to get my lazy a*se up north ?

I’m working on it !

You will love it hear.....pissing down!

If you can't see the hills its raining if you can see the hills it's about too!

 

Too be fair dry today but it's going to take weeks to dry out 

[HeatonLodge40]

10 hours ago, sparkey1957 said:

Can anyone advise me if seating is available to take a break as I'm planning on taking my 93 year old friend. Also are refreshments available. Many thanks.

 

Yes there are seats around the perimeter 

[woodenhead]

43 minutes ago, HeatonLodge40 said:

Yes there are seats around the perimeter 

Any truth in the rumour that said perimeter chairs have had to be bolted down as the sheer mass of Heaton Lodge has created a localised gravitational anomaly and the chairs keep edging inwards from the perimeter.

 

Or do the visitors just keep moving them as if they were a platform end trolley

[rob D2]

1 hour ago, bradfordbuffer said:

You will love it hear.....pissing down!

If you can't see the hills its raining if you can see the hills it's about too!

 

Too be fair dry today but it's going to take weeks to dry out 

Just like wiltshire then 

[bradfordbuffer]

59 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

Just like wiltshire then 

 

59 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

Just like wiltshire then 

I thought it was just skipton!  Don't feel so bad now

[HeatonLodge40]

It’s a learning curve having a layout continually run for 2 weeks. So how has it been?

 

Setting up

 

Took 2 full days with 4 of us. This was half the time I’d factored in. Although I way underestimated the time for fitting the 50m backscene, assembling the lighting gantries and attaching the PVC drop down banners. 
 

Operating

 

I was very worried the whole layout would go bang once assembled but …it was running hours after first set up. 
Glitches were track alignments & I also broke a piece of rail in the only 2ft section under the scenery I couldn’t get at. Soldered it together holding the soldering iron like a pen. 

After day 1 we were concerned locos were dropping like flies. Had to make a frantic phone call to a mate to borrow 15 more. Turns out it wasn’t the locos - the decoders were over heating whilst all the locos were idling in the fiddle yard. Switching the lights and sound off once they’d entered the fiddle yard sorted it. 
 

Coupling - keep breaking with long heavy trains. Have to sort this in future. 
 

Track - has held up well. Had one really frustrating episode on Sunday when trains started derailing on switched diamonds onto the dive under. Had a good look at it and couldn’t fathom why the point bladed were levered up splayed against the outer rails. Snipped through the laboriously made stretcher bars before realising that it was the outer main rails which had lost their gauge and sprung from their chairs. Was furious for destroying my detailing! 
So I solved the problem by screwing in two small screws into the ballast to keep the outer rails at the right gauge. Can’t use the down dive under till I’ve properly fixed this

 

Had less and less derailments daily in fact today didn’t have one for a full 3 hours of running all 29 trains. 
I’m still bemused that Thomas the Tank Engine is the most requested loco on the layout !

 

 

 

[Melangoose]

Myself and two friends made the trip from Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire to Wakefield to see this Masterpiece.  Wow absolutely amazing, the attention to detail on such a large project is mind boggling.  Thoroughly recommend it regardless if you model O gauge or not (I don’t).  Especially like the frost effect.

 

 

[suomen]

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing. 

[ferret1956]

6 hours ago, Melangoose said:

Myself and two friends made the trip from Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire to Wakefield to see this Masterpiece.  Wow absolutely amazing, the attention to detail on such a large project is mind boggling.  Thoroughly recommend it regardless if you model O gauge or not (I don’t).  Especially like the frost effect.

 

 

Superb video my friend. 

I have to admit when it started, my first thought was "when did Simon build that massive block of flats"! 

[big jim]

2 minutes ago, ferret1956 said:

Superb video my friend. 

I have to admit when it started, my first thought was "when did Simon build that massive block of flats"! 

not just me then! 

[HeatonLodge40]

7 hours ago, Melangoose said:

Myself and two friends made the trip from Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire to Wakefield to see this Masterpiece.  Wow absolutely amazing, the attention to detail on such a large project is mind boggling.  Thoroughly recommend it regardless if you model O gauge or not (I don’t).  Especially like the frost effect.

 

 

Thanks very much for a great video and for travelling all that way! And for the great comments. 
Must fix the double headed ‘50’s setting off a bit too quickly though 

[Melangoose]

2 hours ago, ferret1956 said:

Superb video my friend. 

I have to admit when it started, my first thought was "when did Simon build that massive block of flats"! 

Sorry about including the block of flats but travelling from the south via London to Wakefield was a large chunk of the day, and we couldn’t believe our luck when we had a celebrity 91 to take us to Wakefield. 

[Kris]

I see that you have even made it onto the BBC's quiz of the week.

[eastwestdivide]

Just visited this morning (Fri).

Can only echo what others have said - what a feat of dedication, time, effort, investment and creativity! 

Also, a tip of the hat to the fact that you're not sitting on your laurels but have plans for developing the non-scenic side with a station and a marshalling yard. 

 

On the venue, it wasn't crowded early on, but by 1130-ish, the barriers along the scenic side were maybe two-thirds occupied by people watching the trains go by. Don't  know what sort of numbers you'd want to make it a financial success, but it looked pretty healthy to me.

Vast majority of visitors wearing masks too, and hand sanitiser available on the way in (the smell of the sanitiser seemed to mask that of the sewage works with the rotating spreader thingies!).

 

Does the chap by the bridge parapet bottom right of this photo remind you of anyone?

 

[That Model Railway Guy]

Another video here (hope this is ok to post, let me know if not) from when I visited the layout a few days ago. I spent a good few hours watching the trains go by so I managed to capture some from a few different angles.

 

I will say my video doesn't do it justice so definitely go and see it in person if you can. Well done to everyone involved! 

 

 

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, That Model Railway Guy said:

Another video here (hope this is ok to post, let me know if not) from when I visited the layout a few days ago. I spent a good few hours watching the trains go by so I managed to capture some from a few different angles.

 

I will say my video doesn't do it justice so definitely go and see it in person if you can. Well done to everyone involved! 

 

 

Brilliant Videoing, but my only comment would be the annoying music drowning out the wonderful sound of the passing Locos etc.  Sorry if this seems negative, its meant to be constructive, as the filming quality is superb.

[That Model Railway Guy]

No I totally understand @Andrew P. I would have preferred there to be no music either but unfortunately the majority of my sound wasn't great. It was quite busy when I went (which was fantastic to see!) so a lot of my audio also features the conversations of those around me who probably didn't realise I was recording. The music is really there just to mask the more dodgy sections where I didn't have useable audio. But glad you enjoyed it for the most part  

[enginelane]

Went today and well worth the £5 entrance fee. Standard of modelling is very good across the whole of the scenic sections. Interesting to see that there is already planned Phase 2 and Phase 3. 

[Jonb82]

Absolutely fantastic layout, I visited yesterday, could’ve stayed all day, having not visited this type of exhibition for many many years what’s worrying is the average age of the people at the event!! Where are all the younger modellers? Doesn’t bode well for the future of the hobby or do people come into it at later stages in life?? 

[sir douglas]

if you went during the week then theyre all at school or college