Toftwood Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I have been loath to start another thread after my previous attempts having fallen by the way. I have been working for the past couple of years slowly converting one end of my garage into a railway room and apart from a few bits like a little roof insulation its done. I'll post some pics later. My previous plan, Longhartley, got as far as the planning stage but it did not hit the spot, not what I wanted. This new plan, taken from a Peco plans book was for a roundy layout 11' x 7' if my memory serves. As I had 9' x 9' I squashed the length and pulled out the width to get it in. Its on three levels with the inclines not appearing to be too severe, climbs of 1.5" over 8 or so feet. The plan gives me a main line run with through station and a Terminus. I know trains will not be long, 4 coaches at most. I have added a colliery as I want to run coal trains, and there is ample room to add extra as we go along. Set generically in the North East, Cullerbay is a seaside resort so plenty of passenger/holiday traffic. All sizes of Loco's can her accommodated in the servicing area with turntable. A small shed for the small allocation, most Loco's turn, service and go. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 I forgot to add that it will be DCC, using NCE handset. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 Managed to get into the Shed today through the sleet and rain. Spent an hour a so finishing off the painting of the back scene. I am trying to build this in a 'proper' manner, i.e. not in a rush to get tracks down and trains running before all else, as I have done in the past. Its kind of like project managing, so have been slowly working away from back to front! My next problems will be working out the complex ramps where three levels cross over, directly in front in the photo below and along the bottom of the plan. I am trying to do this as open plan as possible, we shall see. This will not be an instant layout as I have to split my availability with other interests and not much spare cash. Nevertheless I hope for reasonably regular updates and I have a few threads that I follow with similar themes e.g. Deneside. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 Set generically in the North East, Cullerbay is a seaside resort . I know the place, , , , through Tynecoates, and just past Whitleymouth! John 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 Set generically in the North East, Cullerbay is a seaside resort . I know the place, , , , through Tynecoates, and just past Whitleymouth! John So you know the place, John! pretty as a picture lovely long beaches and small bays. I'd love to model Tynemouth station, if the space was available, bridges and sharp curves at either end and an interesting 'S' track formation on the through lines not forgetting two lots of double bay platforms, a small goods sidings, a sharp curved branch up to a Coal Merchant and if you had the additional space build in the old Terminus/coal depot beyond the bridge leading to North Shields. 9'x9' in OO it aint going to happen. Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Hi again, and so to an update on work recently carried out on Cullerbay. With the other half working this weekend and the weather set fair to allow outside working (converting wood into sawdust) I have been able to crack on abit with some benchwork. Friday with a bit of help I managed to cut down a sheet of 9mm ply into a more manageable size to gauge how much then needs to be trimmed off with the jigsaw (when I can drag it out of the depths of the garage) This sits to the left of the door under the main station of Cullerbay. Thats for another day. Today I have been cutting timber into blocks to raise the trackbed under the secondary station to 3" above base height. Tedious but necessary. The width of the baseboard here is 2'6", I have mounted the blocks as can be seen intending to join opposite blocks with a 1" square crosspiece. Do you think this will be strong enough to carry the weight or should I add more blocks down the centre as at the top end of these photos? As I said at the beginning of this post this will be a slow build as other things get in the way, but little spurts like this weekend certainly keep the spirits up. Regards Pete 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 Good Afternoon all, We had a lovely +6 deg C and some sun today here in Suffolk, even though the breeze was a bit brisk so I was able to get stuck in to more sawdust making. I dragged out my old jigsaw (that had been consigned to the back of the garage because I could not cut a straight line with it) to cut out the trackbed under the main station. This included the curve down to the reverse curve and the start of the climb to the secondary station. I am using a pair of Hornby 4th radius curves as a minimum radius template I had time to cut out and attach the rear height blocks for the upper station. As can be seen a temporary placing of track shows somewhat how thing will be later. Moving to the smaller station area, I have fixed the cross pieces to the correct height now. Have to wait a couple of weeks now for a free weekend. Jobs to do next I think will be to build the hatchway in front of the door. Regards Pete 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 I must learn how to post photo's properly! Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Progress is halted at the moment as I prepare Thetford and District MRS layout 'Fen Lane' for its first show of the year at Poringland, Norfolk, next weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted March 4, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2018 I have been loath to start another thread after my previous attempts having fallen by the way. I have been working for the past couple of years slowly converting one end of my garage into a railway room and apart from a few bits like a little roof insulation its done. I'll post some pics later. My previous plan, Longhartley, got as far as the planning stage but it did not hit the spot, not what I wanted. This new plan, taken from a Peco plans book was for a roundy layout 11' x 7' if my memory serves. As I had 9' x 9' I squashed the length and pulled out the width to get it in. Its on three levels with the inclines not appearing to be too severe, climbs of 1.5" over 8 or so feet. The plan gives me a main line run with through station and a Terminus. I know trains will not be long, 4 coaches at most. I have added a colliery as I want to run coal trains, and there is ample room to add extra as we go along. Set generically in the North East, Cullerbay is a seaside resort so plenty of passenger/holiday traffic. All sizes of Loco's can her accommodated in the servicing area with turntable. A small shed for the small allocation, most Loco's turn, service and go. Sorry to learn that Longhartlley did not work out. I thought that looked rather good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Sorry to learn that Longhartlley did not work out. I thought that looked rather good. Hi, yeah....I have to work with the room I have (don't we all) and I could not have fitted in a reasonable fiddle yard. To be honest I shied away from different levels as I did not want to be scrabbling around underneath with hidden sidings. I know a lot of people do just felt the gradients would have been too steep. Yet here I am with a multi layer plan which is quite complex especially of one who has not 'completed' a layout yet, but I am enjoying the challenge when I can get into the shed of working out where the gradient start etc. With this plan the gradients are not severe, a rise of 1.5"over 6 to 8ft is not excessive??? We shall see. Regards Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 (edited) Hello again, Its been a lovely day here in Suffolk, so I have managed to spend bit of time creating more sawdust. Basically what I have done today is put together the bridging piece which goes across the door. It was quite difficult trying to work out the gradients but I think I have it sorted. Slow progress I know but Rome wasn't built in a day I may have to rebuild it as it has twisted slightly in the making. It was supposed to be hinged at the right, lower end but I may just have it as a lift out section. Regards Pete Edited April 22, 2018 by Toftwood 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 Good afternoon on this fine and sunny Sunday afternoon, of which we seem to be having quite a few lately! Well Cullerbay has seen further work carried out as I can work in and out of the shed. I have continued to work on the lifting bridge across the doorway. In my previous ramblings I indicated that I might just leave it as a lift in/out. I did however recently invite one of our longer standing club members (Thetford and District MRS) over to the house for his advice. With his advice ringing in my ears I continued on. One of his suggestions was to add some end stiffening which can be seen here. At the other end of the bridge it need some fettling sand the under support replacing with something more substantial. Also I have fitted an sheet of ply under the hinge end which give it rigidity and provides a base for scenic work at a later date. In the last photo, I have rough cut the board for the intermediate station, and as can be seen will need some trimming. Its great to see some progress, can start to see the outline taking shape, which in turn gives impetus to continue on. Continuing to enjoy! Pete. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 Hello again, The long hot summer (shed temps!) other things that have taken my time away, operating Thetford & District MRS Exhibition layout 'Fen Lane' at several shows with two more to come has meant not very much time spent at Cullerbay. However after running in a couple of Locos that had spent time at the bottom of the storage box, I set too and spent today, or at least a good couple of hours working on the layout. Here I have trimmed the running board on the lifting flap to fit. Had to do some work with a surform to bring everything level. The running surface is now temporarily screwed to the Lifting section. A quick laying of track to see how it would look The hinge end of the lifting section. the track on the right will be where the two exchange sidings for the adjacent colliery. the lowered section will be a road with under bridge, the intention being to have a seedy Pub and maybe a large half relief Industrial building either side of the road. The bus is there to check clearances. Slowly slowly but beginning to look like a layout! Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share Posted September 30, 2018 (edited) With a new batch of 2 x 1 purchased and a couple of sheets of 9mm ply being delivered later this week, I decided to convert more Pine into sawdust this afternoon. This was after spending the morning planting Daffodil bulbs and weeding. So this afternoon was spent on a tedious but necessary job of producing more supports. These sit around the edge and will provide the support for the different levels. The next stage is a tricky one where three different levels cross each other, one at base level, two tracks after having crossed the lower level, dropping down from medium (3" above base) level to base level and then double track climbing from medium level up to high level (5" above base) and into the high level terminus. Pete. Edited September 30, 2018 by Toftwood 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 I wish you'd get these photo's sorted, lad, , , , I'm getting a stiff neck!!!!! John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 I wish you'd get these photo's sorted, lad, , , , I'm getting a stiff neck!!!!! John Believe it! :scratchhead:Me too! Sorry ....They are taken on a Mb and it seems either way they are taken they come out like this. I'll use 'a proper camera' next time se if that makes a difference. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 Here is a salutary lesson in measuring!!! The weather has been lovely this weekend so I cut to size plywood needed for the complicated corner. No problems so far. To fit in this corner, I need to cut this board into an 'L' shape 44"wide, just short of the full 48" width of the board. So out came the rulers, pencil and square and duly set too measuring and marking the intended cuts. Now remember I said it was to be cut to 44" (and a bit) well for some unknown reason I had 41" stuck in my brain. Said board was duly marked and carefully cut..... yes you've guessed cut to 41" rather than 44" The.....realisation of what a numpty I was when the board was placed in position can be well imagined! obviously 3" matters! The cuts were perfect, just 3" short! Still at least the clearance is fine. I can resuse the board elsewhere fortunately bury really! what was that old saying.......measure twice, cut once. Ah well, it might make you chuckle, there by the grace of God etc etc... Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 Well, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.....?? I have had some time off over the Holiday period, fortunately for me (!) the better half has had very little time off (Christmas Day!) over the same period so I have been able to get on with various Railway related projects. The first few days the weather was not conducive to working i.e.; cutting wood, outside. So I have been doing some refurbishment of some older coaches, Mk1 and Mk2s. I have 5 old Hornby Mk2As and a Lima Mk2B BFK. A friend of mine who runs the 'Riverside Works' repainted the Hornby Mk2s and I am in the process of replacing the glazing with Flushglaze and painting the interiors to finnish off with some passengers. These are the MK2s having been repainted and Decals added. According to my research, Mk2As had 'Leaf Green' end doors. I have found that these are not the easiest things to fit! Once I got the hang of it though, they do look a lot better. I started the Mk1 first, I stripped it down, repainted it Maroon, re-wheeled the bogies, and repainted the interior. The roof requires painting, lining needs to be applied and passengers settled. Then I had a go at the Lima MK2B Basically complete now, flush glazed, interior painted, waiting for roof to be painted and passengers added. This last few days I have been in the shed working on Cullerbay. I recut the another piece of Ply and fitted in place. I thought I would start laying out track to gauge clearances at the smaller station using some old Hornby platforms. Then I started on the complicated area which had all the different gradients.. So as you can see lots of progress, but as always plenty more to do. Not sure when I will be able to get more done as a lot of it is weather dependent but one can hope for a few nicer weekends. Thanks for looking Pete. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 Today was a day off from railway modelling, Madam wanted to go shopping in Bury St Edmunds. I did get to pop into Model Junction for a brief visit though. She did stump up for Lunch which as nice as was the pint of Broadside that accompanied lunch. Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 Happy New Year to you all (those that are following this thread occasionally ) Normally we are away for New Year celebrations with friends in our Motorhomes, but this year t'other half has not been able to wangle any time off other than Christmas day. So were in bed by 11pm, fireworks woke me up at midnight then she had to be up for work at 7am. So I managed a little more time in the shed. Until I snapped my last two drill bits. The Battery of the Drill Driver packed in also (got very hot ) It was 14 years old so I suppose I'm due a new one... I did do a bit of checking clearances with a pair of Mk4 coaches, This is on the lowest level return loop. I did not realise that shops would be open today, so we ended up at Argos after visiting B&Q for some drill bits, and came home with a new Bosch drill/driver which is about half the size of the old one, but of the same power. Progress. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 So today is my last day of my 'Christmas' holidays, back to work (sorry for swearing!) 7am start tomorrow morning The weather looked good so I managed to get back into the shed for a bit more wood bashing. The next four pics show the completion of the lowest level return loop boards This working out of gradients is quite hit and miss. I think I am going to have to make this centre part mostly lift outable (!) because there are three level crossing each other in a relatively short space even though the gradients are not steep. Looks awful at the moment, I will probably have to raise the top level by half an inch to give clearance for the middle far track to clear the low track where the coach is. This shows how the different levels split, the outer two downward and the centre two heading up to the upper level. As we all do, we lay track to see how it fits as usually there will be something that does not fit. Anyway thats it for now, it started to rain and madam needed picking up from work. Getting there and seeing light at the end of the figurative tunnel! It keeps the brain active Pete 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danstercivicman Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Nice work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Nice work! Thank you for your kind words. I am pleased with the latest progress over the holiday period. It look quite complex but the gradients are not severe, just have to make sure there is sufficient clearances for the different levels. Came down with a cold yesterday and spent an almost sleepless night snuffling away to have to get up at stupid 'o clock to go to work (apologies) today, consequently I am wilting at the moment. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 Hello again, I see its six months since I last posted here. A fair bit has gone on, I have finished the refurb of my Hornby Mk2s, continued to work on and exhibit the Thetford & DMRS Layout 'Fen Lane' and in amongst being away in our Motorhome, doing a little here and a little there on Cullerbay. (How do you insert photos then write underneath like you used to?? ) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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