Flacky Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) Hello all, My name is Matt and after spending hours of looking at other layout topics, I have decided to try and document mine on here. I have started on a few layouts before but never really got past ballasting before deciding it was too complex or not running well, with this layout i will try and make it relatively simple with plenty of room for scenic detail. As i am sitting my A levels, the amount of work done on the layout will vary but i will hopefully keep you updated. Here is the small amount of progress so far: Edited December 20, 2020 by Flacky Layout name change 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Hello all, My name is Matt and after spending hours of looking at other layout topics, I have decided to try and document mine on here. I have started on a few layouts before but never really got past ballasting before deciding it was too complex or not running well, with this layout i will try and make it relatively simple with plenty of room for scenic detail. As i am sitting my A levels, the amount of work done on the layout will vary but i will hopefully keep you updated. Here is the small amount of progress so far: IMG_20181024_151409.jpg IMG_20181024_151423.jpg IMG_20181024_151432.jpg Hi Matt..... Good luck with both the layout and the A levels.....will watch the development on here with interest....... All the best.... Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan product fan Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Great space matt looking forward to you progress . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 Thank you for the kind words. Bit more progress this evening i have now got the west side tracks connected up to the point work at the station throat. there are a few small kinks as the flexitrack has not been properly pinned down yet in future i will try and use my proper camera rather than my phone. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Can I suggest that you put some cork (or balsa, or foamcore, or whatever) to raise up the area under the tracks? It doesn't have to be perfect, something like this (vertical axis is exagerrated for effect): 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) Can I suggest that you put some cork (or balsa, or foamcore, or whatever) to raise up the area under the tracks? It doesn't have to be perfect, something like this (vertical axis is exagerrated for effect): Yes I was playing with the idea of doing this. I have ordered the Cork and should be able to do it on Saturday Edited October 30, 2018 by Flacky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Now putting down the Cork. Pictures to follow soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Can I suggest that you put some cork (or balsa, or foamcore, or whatever) to raise up the area under the tracks? It doesn't have to be perfect, something like this (vertical axis is exagerrated for effect): Not sure where this diagram comes from but it is not UK gauge. Inner face of rails in uk are 1432 apart although it is often referred to as 1435 now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Hi Gary, I literally just googled 'ballast profile' - it was to illustrate that on running lines generally speaking the rails sit on timbers, which sit on track ballast, which sit on a cess. The 'Track' book from the 2FS gives specific UK dimensions to the various layers, but my salient point was not to provide specific gauge recommendations and was to show that laying track directly onto a baseboard misses quite a signature component of most railway lines, i.e. the verticality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) Evening all after a few evenings i have finally got the cork and track for the main lines and run round loop for the branch line laid. on the mainline i have also included some super-elevation in the form of card and matchsticks and i'm pleased with the result. next i will be moving onto laying the goods yard and making the main raised sections like the town and suburb out of wood which should be a quicker process here are some pictures of my progress. p.s the track plan did change again in order for a more simple reliable mainline which i feel looks much better Edited November 15, 2018 by Flacky 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 Sorry for the lack of updates. Progress is pretty slow at the moment. Hope to add some more pictures by the end of the week. Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 just a small update for today and a description of the station area As you can see the sheds a bit of a mess at the moment (oops) but on the far left hand side where the small piece of track is behind the class 91 i will put a DMU platform for the mainlines then i will have the 2 through tracks for the mainline then in the centre i will have 2 dead end platforms for longer trains which i can do some shunting of carriages etc then on the right im still not too sure what i want to do. i have mocked up a small loco storage yard with a single track fuel point and a shed for the shunters, however i do like the idea of a larger TMD but i would still like room to model a station car park and other scenics. i will have a jiggle about with this area and keep you updated, any suggestions would be great. Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Matt, looking back at the earlier photos I wonder what supports you have for the boards and I am not sure how the boards will react once you get into balladring and start using glue and paint on one side. They may warp I know this subject has been discussed previously on here somewhere it might be worth researching this a bit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 Matt, looking back at the earlier photos I wonder what supports you have for the boards and I am not sure how the boards will react once you get into balladring and start using glue and paint on one side. They may warp I know this subject has been discussed previously on here somewhere it might be worth researching this a bit Hi long rail. I have used a large amount of cross bracing and the boards are well secured to the wall. There is a small section which doesn't have a piece a piece of timber going along it but that's because it was a small 12 inch extension to make the board 3ft wide. The 2ft wide board behind it does have a timber running along the length of it. I just need to add a few more legs along the length of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 Hello all unfortunately not too much progress over Christmas i did have the layout wired up and running however the mainlines were just not as smooth as id of hoped for and there was not a lot of room for buildings and scenery going in front and behind the running lines. This has led me to start again and i will hopefully be creating a rural countryside mainline with a few exchange sidings to lead on to a large exchange sidings and MOD depot which will be off scene and will have a branch line to get to them or i will have a small electrified branch line which will have a few exchange sidings, engineers yard or even a small goods yards and then there will be a track which will lead to an off scene exchange sidings hence the electrification hopefully these 2 options would let me put lots more buildings in at a ground level so it looks more like the railway is deeper into the scenery and the buildings are not crammed into small corners Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 unfortunatly due to the recent cold weather progress has been limited, but i have now put in 2 running lines and the junction which leads off to the branch line/ off scene exchange sidings. However in the warmth of the house i have started to convert my old Lima ring field motors to CD drive motors and i am really impressed with the outcome. slow speed performance is really good even with the minimal pickups of which i will be adding all wheel pickup eventually, but for now it is more than adequate. having a 3D printer meant that i wouldnt have to fix in the motor with hot glue or epoxy resin and i could design a mount which could easily detach from the bogie if the motor failed. Then with the purchase of a 8 pin dcc i simply wired up the motor and the pickups and placed the decoder in. initially i wired in some diodes for the motor to lower the voltage, however i found that this gave quite jerky running at lower speed so i cut them out and lowered the maximum voltage on JMRI and found the running to be drastically improved even with a £10 laisdcc decoder which are very good value for the money Here is the finished result 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 As the weather has become somewhat warmer i have managed to get back down the shed and complete laying the track and fully wiring it up. i'm quite pleased with how the track flows and that i haven't had a single derailment yet (touch wood) i will hopefully be wiring in the scenic side points over the weekend and possibly making a start on the platforms. The sidings on the right here will have a heavily weathered look and will be for branch line exchange and for engineering trains Matt 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted February 17, 2019 Author Share Posted February 17, 2019 More progress has been made over the week. I have now installed the point motors on the scenic side and make a control panel. Hopefully I will be wiring these up today after work. I have also started to test fit the Dapol catenary masts. I used a peco jig to mark out the holes in the place I wanted to. It is a very simple process and I am happy with the result. I will be taking them out again once I start working on the scenics. I also left a gap over the junction as I will be making my own caternery portals which clear all the lines Matt 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 although i have not posted on here for a few months i have been very busy with the layout. I started off by creating the large hillside which will run along the back of the layout. cardboard former's were stuck in place along the length of the hillside and newspaper scrunched up between them to give the shape of the landscape i was looking for. After this i used multiple layers of plaster bandage to build up the hillside and left to dry which took about 3 days. overall i'm very happy with how this came out and i will be experimenting with using chicken wire over the top of the tunnels which means i wont need a large piece of wood to support the cardboard and newspaper. i have also been adding in the Ten commandments cable trunking along the mainline and branch line along with the orange tubes which run underneath the track and relay boxes as well in preparation for ballasting the mainlines. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 i have also been making a start on the TMD which i have decided to build along the front edge of the baseboard. using 2mm card i have built up the hard-standing around the depot building, ballasted some of the lines in a much darker ballast than i will be using for the mainlines which will be heavily weathered to show how it has been neglected over many years Matt 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CottesmoreRail Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Just found this thread, following with interest! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted May 29, 2019 Author Share Posted May 29, 2019 23 hours ago, CottesmoreRail said: Just found this thread, following with interest! Thank you very much! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 Finished painting the cable trunking today using precision new concrete colour. Now I can start ballasting the main lines 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 Now started the ballasting. I have used woodland scenics medium grey blend and I'm really happy with how it looks 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacky Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 Only a bit more progress this month. Now got the mainlines ballasted up to where the level crossing will be and I have started work on the landform which will be the scenic break. I will be using chicken wire and plaster bandage to build up the structure before applying the scenery. Matt 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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