Big jim’s Garage conversion and layout thread

[big jim]

I was going to message you about the paint you used, I asked mick but as it wasn’t yellow he wasn’t interested!! 
 

(he actually told me to ask you as you had done some before)

[Crisis Rail]

 

Courtesy: Ian Edmondson

[big jim]

Tidied up around the bridge area earlier in readyness to try and do a bit more over the next few weeks and months

 

picked up a used faller bridge from footplate models in Kidderminster yesterday for a few quid to see how it looked at the rear of the layout behind the ‘ironbridge’ 

 

However Once it was in place I thought it looked a bit too overkill with the other 2 bridges so took it back off 

 

I then remembered I had 4 laser cut bridges which are low profile, i put two of them side by side and they sit nicely behind the ironbridge and they don’t overshadow it or the Stone bridge 

I think when I get round to it I’ll go the low profile bridge route

 

 

[big jim]

Being as my job was cut short yesterday I had an evening to do a bit on the layout, finally got round to fixing down the track in the station area.

 

I’m going to concentrate on getting the track on the lower part of the layout done next including getting the bridges and lifting section track secured and wired up before moving on to the branch line and narrow gauge bit, the plain line parts of the layout are live from the lifting section to the top of the incline but it’s a case of piggy backing the wiring beyond the various points to get the rest up and running (I hope)

 

I’m also not going to bother with powered points on this layout, had a think about it and have loads of point motors and accessory decoders in stock to do them from previous layouts but all points are easily accessible and for the hassle of having to drill holes and secure them, wire them up etc i don’t think it’s worth it as it’s taken me a few years to get to this point and I’ve still not got the circuit complete so adding that to to the list will make having a working layout take even longer! 

 

Cleared everything out of the way and lined up the tracks 

 

And secured down, from left to right, heritage line platform with a loop to allow a short train to be sat in the station and have another one pass to enter the curved platform behind it (a bit like dovey junction) the line will then continue round to the left, once trains are up and running I’ll also put a small ‘guard wall’ along the edge of the board as the loop tracks are very close to it!

mainline platforms, crossover the end to allow trains to come to and from the heritage line via the link at 3 way point connection at the bottom, also a short unit could be sat in the platform and have a train pass it through the opposite platform via the crossovers 

 

The tracks to the right are the ones heading along the incline, the white foam riser is where the narrow gauge line will run from the high level part to the castle 

 

the other job I’m going to do is extend the board along the rear wall, only by about 6-8 inches but it will give me just that little bit of extra room along the back for scenics and a small shed area for the heritage and narrow gauge lines while still being able to lean over and reach the back of the layout and display cabinets 

 

using a scrap piece of wood I can see roughly how much more room I will get 

 

In the above picture I’ve also got to trim back the wooden block at the end of the platform piece to allow me to fit one more curved platform section in 

and with some trains placed on the tracks 

 

DRS push pull set and 66720 with points carrier and lobster wagons 

 

USA tank waiting for the 33 to enter the loop with a demonstration freight on the heritage line 

 

66720 and Dutch 33 

 

Hopefully now the nights are about to draw in I should be able to crack on with it a bit as being out on my bike instead of playing trains will no doubt happen a bit less! 

[GWRPhil]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

Being as my job was cut short yesterday I had an evening to do a bit on the layout, finally got round to fixing down the track in the station area.

 

I’m going to concentrate on getting the track on the lower part of the layout done next including getting the bridges and lifting section track secured and wired up before moving on to the branch line and narrow gauge bit, the plain line parts of the layout are live from the lifting section to the top of the incline but it’s a case of piggy backing the wiring beyond the various points to get the rest up and running (I hope)

 

I’m also not going to bother with powered points on this layout, had a think about it and have loads of point motors and accessory decoders in stock to do them from previous layouts but all points are easily accessible and for the hassle of having to drill holes and secure them, wire them up etc i don’t think it’s worth it as it’s taken me a few years to get to this point and I’ve still not got the circuit complete so adding that to to the list will make having a working layout take even longer! 

 

Cleared everything out of the way and lined up the tracks 

 

And secured down, from left to right, heritage line platform with a loop to allow a short train to be sat in the station and have another one pass to enter the curved platform behind it (a bit like dovey junction) the line will then continue round to the left, once trains are up and running I’ll also put a small ‘guard wall’ along the edge of the board as the loop tracks are very close to it!

mainline platforms, crossover the end to allow trains to come to and from the heritage line via the link at 3 way point connection at the bottom, also a short unit could be sat in the platform and have a train pass it through the opposite platform via the crossovers 

 

The tracks to the right are the ones heading along the incline, the white foam riser is where the narrow gauge line will run from the high level part to the castle 

 

the other job I’m going to do is extend the board along the rear wall, only by about 6-8 inches but it will give me just that little bit of extra room along the back for scenics and a small shed area for the heritage and narrow gauge lines while still being able to lean over and reach the back of the layout and display cabinets 

 

using a scrap piece of wood I can see roughly how much more room I will get 

 

In the above picture I’ve also got to trim back the wooden block at the end of the platform piece to allow me to fit one more curved platform section in 

and with some trains placed on the tracks 

 

DRS push pull set and 66720 with points carrier and lobster wagons 

 

USA tank waiting for the 33 to enter the loop with a demonstration freight on the heritage line 

 

66720 and Dutch 33 

 

Hopefully now the nights are about to draw in I should be able to crack on with it a bit as being out on my bike instead of playing trains will no doubt happen a bit less! 

Nice update. Really good to see the trains in the station. The point carriers and lobster wagons looking really good too

[saxokid]

Nice update Jim,ive too been updating my latest modelling skills on here

[big jim]

Just 10 minutes in the garage before work, cleared the corner of junk ready to lay the tracks across the bridges, the black bride is pretty much in place and I’ll have to build the scenics up from below it when the time comes, similarly the lines across the laser cut bridges I’ll lay them ‘in the sky’ and put the bridges in from below properly when the time comes

 

The track across the bridges will be wooden sleepers and either side concrete 

 

the inner mainline curve is a 3rd radius so not too tight

 

once those bits are in place and joined to the parts already laid at the back of the layout it’s a case of securing the tracks on one edge of the lifting door section and that will be the whole loop laid, then it’s the wiring and hoping I’ve got the insulated fishplates in the right places! 

 

[big jim]

Yet another change of job tonight so a bit more time spent in the garage on a T3 possession

 

Back to the corner of the layout to lay the first 2 bits of track across the ironbridge

 

I’ve laid them on some tillig canted foam bases which as the name suggests puts a slight cant to the tracks, you can see how it’s wedge shaped 

 

And in place 

 

And the 2nd track fixed down too

 

Over the bridge, I’m going to secure the track with pva to the cork as I can’t use pins 

the rear bridge tracks need fixing down around the curve and over the bridge and that bit is done too

 

So then all that stands between the whole circuit running round now is to secure and split the tracks across the outer edge of the lifting section 

 

i also fitted the diverging track point to the lifting section ready for the narrow gauge line to head up the spiral below the castle

 

Away with work for a few days now but hopefully I may get a bit more done later in the week in the evenings as I’ve got a couple of short jobs (so far unless they get changed as usual!) 

 

 

 

[big jim]

A quick T3 before work, found my tracksetta 4th radius curve tool and peco track spacers so revisited the inside line to smooth it out a bit and also realigned the adjacent track 

 

also laid the inner track of the outer curve, again 4th radius, just need to secure the outer line on its cant base and that bit should be done

 

After that it’s the track over the rear bridges and into the lifting section, busy in work all weekend though so will have to wait until next week now 

 

[big jim]

Laid the final track on the cant strip

 

and over the gap, all track secured in place either side of the chasm

 

I then joined up 2 of the 3D printed bridges to make it a single structure 

 

 

I then Made up a bridge box section piece for the dual track bridge part of the layout 

 

PVAd the separate legs to the viaduct arches 

 

And with the box section in the middle to complete the bridge, it’s not in its exact final position, just placed there while the pva dries, it’s 3 separate structures at rhe moment until it’s in its final position and then I’ll glue it all together, it’s not far off where it needs to be but the right hand side needs to be moved back a bit 

 

So all that missing now is the 3-4 inches just past the lifting section and we’re all the way round, away with work now until Saturday so hopefully I will get something done then 

 

 

[big jim]

And the final pieces of track fitted 

 

A bit awkward on the narrow gauge bit as the edge of the board was curved from a previous incarnation of the lifting section

 

Filled the gap with a piece of board and built it uk with a piece of poly riser covered with card

 

Looking a bit rough and ready until the pva dries (I hope), I’ll have to cut through the board as well as the track once it’s all secured

 

I then mixed up some epoxy resin and poured it around the track at the joint where the track will be cut

 

leaving it until tomorrow evening now until it I cut the track, hopefully if all goes well then I can start to wire it up and run a train or two right round! 

Edited November 13, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

Here we go, rails cut on the lifting section 

 

not the prettiest of sights but works fine 

 

ive tidied up the edges a bit since this picture, filed them back a bit so it drops down nice and flush 

 

I’ve got to add a piece of ply to extend the base board a touch below the narrow gauge part to strengthen it up but other than that it seems to work ok 

 

 

so that’s the whole mainline circuit complete right round the layout now, again busy in work this week but hopefully I can make a start on some wiring if I get a chance while I’m home 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

This evening I wired up the tracks, the main feed is at the lifting section end of the station, drilled through the baseboard and joined all the wires up into a chocolate block and put the feed from the controller into it 

 

I then did similar at the other end of the crossover set up so that the feed passed beyond the insulating fishplates 

 

the result being I now have a fully working crossover matrix with a live feed either end, I’ve various tried locos across all the crossovers and straight on and have no dead spots (that I can tell anyway!) 

 

This may not look like much but 5 locos all live sat beyond the crossover is a huge step forward

 

ive now got to add live feeds beyond the 2 sets of points at the opposite ends of the station and that should make the whole mainline circuit live (apart from the lifting section which will be easy enough to do anyway, hopefully do that sometime tomorrow if I get a chance 

[big jim]

Here we go, wired in the jumper leads, then the lifting section and we now have trains running on the mainline 

 

excuse the mess, I had to move various buildings and wood I had in place for the branchline section to clear the tracks for running 

 

apart from a couple of bits of the resin on the rail top near the lifting section that I had to scrape off trains run perfectly over the joints without derailing which quite frankly I’m amazed at given its rough and ready construction! 

Edited November 24, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

Not much done today, Secured part of the town board as well as measuring up the height of the castle board ready to secure 

 

I got myself a Metcalfe arched wall instead of the gatehouse I built

 

The gatehouse can move around the wall a bit though so it won’t go to waste 

 

 

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

The castle looks great Jim.  Looking forward to seeing it develop.

[big jim]

Got some wood earlier to extend the back board a touch, got B&Q to cut the sheet down the middle to give me 33cm if board but putting it in place it was just slightly too wide, meant I’d struggle to reach over the layout to the display cabinets 

 

 I decided to reduce the width by 10 cm or so down to 20cm wide which I cut back with my circular saw, as the boards are above the cabinet doors I need to keep the supporting boards thin so have used 9mm timber at the back and a length of 9mm skirting along the front as it’s wider so hopefully be able to be secured better

 

I’ve just got to pop to Screwfix to get some small wood screws and hopefully I can secure it later as well as the other bit of the town area 

 

as for the skirting as that’s the same width as the baseboard I think I’m going to get another length of it and run it along the edge of the layout on the station side to widen that bit a touch (65mm) so the passing loop isn’t on the edge of the board but that’s for another day 

 

[big jim]

And the boards all screwed to the cross members, nice and solid with no real flexing 

 

and to get an idea of what i can fit in the space ive placed some of the mill buildings in place as well as an engine shed 

 

Looking along the back, the narrow gauge line dropping down the incline and crossing the heritage line on the level 

 

Set of points into the heritage shed 

 

Mill buildings can be linked up to make one big building I recon 

 

Gatehouse entrance and boiler room end of the mill

 

Adding some skirting to the other edge of the boards means I can maybe continue the narrow gauge around a touch more to a terminal station alongside the run round loop, I may week add an extra 20cm to that edge too 

 

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

Jim, at the rate it's expending it looks like the narrow gauge empire will take over everywhere.

[big jim]

2 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Jim, at the rate it's expending it looks like the narrow gauge empire will take over everywhere.

I blame Bachmann and the double fairlie! 

[big jim]

Extended the edge of the layout along the long side and around the lifting section 

 

used the offcuts from the rear part I’d extended 

 

they are basically sat in outriggers screwed to the existing baseboards, curved in the edge to allow the track to continue around 

 

the other end is a similar construction to widen it enough to allow me to run another 009 track from the existing ramp 

 

 

used my profile tools to mark up the curve I needed to cut 

 

 

I’ll fit a point and have a line to drop down toward the new extension piece I added along the edge so I can basically have 2 joined 009 loops, one spiralling under the castle etc and the other running though the mill area

 

Again it’s a bit rough and ready but once the scenics are added it won’t be noticeable, to be honest the extra piece of baton I’ve added below the castle corner has made it a bit stronger! 

 

[big jim]

When i tried the peckett over the points the other day  it kept stopping as there were dead sections across the frogs, normally I’d wire the frog to the polarity switch on the point motor to switch the polarity however on this layout I’m not going to be fitting motors so I needed a different solution to the problem 

 

I called in dagfields to trident trains this afternoon to pick up my double fairlie and while there picked up a 3 pack of gaugemaster DCC-80 polarity switches, I wired them above layout level just to see if they do the job which they do, basically you solder two of the tabs to the track bus and the third to the wire that comes from the point frog

 

 

the result is the peckett and all other short wheel base locos such as my Ruston and terrier run beautifully over the points without stalling, you can hear the switch click as the loco passes over the frog

 

However I’ve noticed after running through the points from the toe end then returning From the facing direction down a different route the loco does sometimes stop and you have to push it past the frog to make it click the polarity of that particular frog switch back the opposite (correct) way but once it’s done it once the loco runs perfectly through it, only really effects the short wheelbase locos as with a bogied loco the rear end is still on a live correct polarity bit of track as the front hits rhe switch, nothing I can really do about it and it’s not the end of the world 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Fixed down the castle board this evening as well as making up a few more bits of wall ready to carry on with it across the back wall 

 

The castle in place 

 

And the new arch wall and additional tower, the original gateway house has moved to the back, I’ve added the card ramp between the risers and top board so that’s ready to take some track soon 

 

Boxed in the tunnel mouth with some card, when I get round to it it will most likely have a retaining type wall above the tracks but the sides behind the platform will be a Rocky cliff face

 

 

The extra 009 line will run along the front of the board, next to the heritage line, ‘Rood Ashton hall’ sits in the heritage station, northern belle and drs set on the mainline 

 

Double fairlie climbing up the spiral under the castle 

 

Into the tunnel below the archway 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Looking good Jim, keep up the great work.  Really like the idea of the narrow gauge, heritage platform and station all dominated by that castle that looks fantastic.

[big jim]

The first bit of my job was cancelled tonight so I in took the opportunity to do a bit in the garage, secured the town board in place and built a few more walls and another arch 

 

The 2nd arch I’ve kept as 2 separate pieces so one can go over the narrow gauge line between the castle and slightly higher walled town bit 

 

Main castle 

 

The whole lot

 

just had a call to say the 2nd part of my job has just been cancelled so tempted to go back in there and do a bit more! 

Edited December 16, 2021 by big jim