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Par - N gauge Modern day Exhibition Layout


DJTrains
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Will be watching this with interest, for obvious reasons. Par is probably my favourite station, period. Many, many fond memories of that spot and St Blazey, evenings well rounded off with a stop in one of the many local pubs.

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11 hours ago, DJTrains said:

 

Thats great,  thank you.    so far between me and Mike we have 2 full FGW blue,  2 full GWR Green,  and 2 full XC  plus numerous spare blue and green coaches for mixed sets....   plus `old oak common'  and the `Geraint Thomas' dragon pair in GWR just in case. ..... plus the full banana set.....    you can't have too many HST's. !!

I was nearly right!

Forgot about the yellow test train.

But, if that was going up and down my layout all day long , I would be questioning my track laying abilities! 

I do not think that would be the cause here!

Maybe it is being berthed, maintained at Long Rock (Penzance) so would have to pass Par on its journey to hunt out troublesome track!

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On 02/01/2020 at 14:31, woodenhead said:

Well that takes up most of the Fiddleyard , throw in your Pacers, 150s and 158's and there is no room for the infrastructure and China Clay traffic.

 

Looking at the design I think also most of the Fiddleyard is single ended sidings suggesting there is a lack of space for a whole fleet of HST.

 

 

You missed the bit about that plan being only half the yard - the Western end -   its actually a 'mirror double' of that in reality,  so plenty of size and through road options.....  even for the 38 cda wagons.:good:

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I think I may have finally found the gradient I'm happy with to bring the track up and over the branch (0 to 34mm on one board)   next job will be to mock it up in foamboard,  then if it looks ok,  knock it up in 5mm ply.  Simples :imsohappy:

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1193037914_levels2.jpg.6f63d77b55ab4eb0add01c1471c375b8.jpg

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Also,  while I'm here....   thought I'd share my method of bracing the removeable legs for transit.   8mm x 21mm  wood struts,   held in place by 6mm threaded thumbscrews, which are wound into 6mm d-nuts in the back of the legs.

Like this,  there's no way I can leave the struts (or bolts) at home -    unlike some I could mention :blush_mini: :punish:

 

brace up .....2004674148_legbraceup.jpg.4b1708436ea6ab2ab01349b596b48da9.jpg

 

Brace Down....911490469_legbracedown.jpg.eb98c182517409db774c834cf634f491.jpg

 

 

6mm thumbscrews (ebay china)   thumbscrew.jpg.e8f6325db9bf20e349c845fd43a1febd.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Altho its been quiet on here,  there has been a fair amount of woodwork  completed on Par (and adding to the firewood box) over the last week or two.    Mike has been getting on with re-wiring oak Road too,  so I've been left unsupervised in the main.   - Which rarely goes well.      At least I learnt how NOT to use a palm router, and to always check guide wheels are secure.  :jester:.

 

I do feel a milestone has been reached of sorts though,  as the raised fiddle yard base is now all in (temporary screws for now - not brave enough for the gorilla glue till we lay the track out properly.:D)  - including the curved gradients at both ends and the start of the centre slope to bring the branch line back up.

 

So save for a few tweaks and maybe a replacement here and there,  we can hopefully finally get to start laying some rails.     I've printed the 'current'  anyrail plan for reference - but this is just a rough guide really. 

845110342_fyardtop.jpg.aaaffbf858511f73ec5aa8ed7f5d7969.jpg

 

 

View here is looking West;

 

1756025353_planovercutout.jpg.c3d8dce84e31ca5653119c3f0ee84751.jpg

 

View looking East; 1511227828_fiddleyardtop.jpg.b4d49e45bbfe91e46aa4cfb8d5e0ae3e.jpg

 

This is just a guide as the yards will need to be extended as much as possible.   It just shows that even in a 15 foot board the fiddle yard looks tiny once all the curves etc are taken into consideration.

 

The pair of curved tracks at the bottom  of the pic above are the Newquay branch  which runs below the fiddle yard and  can either run up a slope to join back to the main,  or go straight into a very, very, long siding which will stay on the base level and run along the very back......   the two dark lines are the main coming in from the front scenic side into the f/yard

 

This wasn't in the first plan,  but I thought I'd lay out the 38 CDA rake for size.... and it came in a just over 8 feet long :notme: !!  

  

1289773362_CDArake.jpg.659a925a7152e077907ed35366f438cf.jpg

 

So there was no way this was ever going to fit in a fiddle yard ! 

When returning empty from Fowey and going up the branch back to Goonbarrow it will be stored in the straight long siding at the back.     Then when returning again full,  it will run towards Fowey on the main round the back to a similar siding off the yard,  just behind the backscene.

 

Mike's next outing with Oak Road is coming up on the 25th April at Rotarail Fareham,   where I guess he's kind of the guest of honour as they have chosen  Mikes charity -  Meningitis Now,  as their chosen  charity for this years fundraiser.   

 

So there may be a delay with getting the P-way crew into gear,  as they are currently racing to get Oak Road rewired ready for April,  but I'm hoping we'll start to see some rails laid out so I can start hacking away at the woodwork again to give access for the servos going under the fiddle yard.

 

What Fun.

 

 

 

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Good to see the project is progressing. Sometimes progress is slow then it all starts to come together. 

 

I also print out the Anyrail plan full size and use it to check the layout will look right and then as a template for cutting the boards.

 

Have you given thought to the railway surroundings? What will be just backscene and what will be modelled? I found that I spent a lot of time getting the railway side of things just right but didn't spend enough time planning for the non railway scenics. Even in N gauge its surprising how much space non railway stuff takes up.

 

Keep up the good work!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 20/02/2020 at 06:17, Chris M said:

Good to see the project is progressing. Sometimes progress is slow then it all starts to come together. 

 

I also print out the Anyrail plan full size and use it to check the layout will look right and then as a template for cutting the boards.

 

Have you given thought to the railway surroundings? What will be just backscene and what will be modelled? I found that I spent a lot of time getting the railway side of things just right but didn't spend enough time planning for the non railway scenics. Even in N gauge its surprising how much space non railway stuff takes up.

 

Keep up the good work!

Thanks Chris,   

 

There's plenty of scenic modelling to come yet.     This is a rough outline of the scenic section that will be built.   Yellow line is roughly where the backscene will run.   Blue line is about where the front of the board will be.   so everything between the two will need to be made - as accurately as possible from scratch. :O  I also need to get down there asap to see if I can get any suitable pics for the backscene itself  ( so looking north),  oh,  and do a LOT of measuring. :good:.   Things are changing rapidly on and around the station since this pic,  such as building works in the ind estate,  plus  yellow lines and signs on the platforms since the demise of HSTs,     So I'll need to chose an 'up until' date period carefully.  1166803687_Parsection.jpg.643053daf73e9f44cfb9c5e236e0d3b7.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sods law that just when you're ready to start track laying the country gets locked down,  and seeing as I've lost my wingman and chief track aligner Mike for a while,   I'm cracking on with the bits I can do.

 

The 38 CDA's have now been weathered and sealed after adding the 152 DBS logos and warning flashes ( even tho as Ian pointed out they are a few hundred miles from any overhead lines) :pardon:

I'm just waiting for the last of the 7mm diameter metal disc wheelsets to arrive then I can call them done.  If anyone needs a bunch of N gauge peco plastic wheels give me a shout.:taunt:

 

I've decided the platforms will be solid rather than a hollow core so will be using 12mm MDF  cos its so easy to shape and the perfect height.   I found on Crofton that  hollow plasticard platforms were too liable to buckle & shift,  so I think the extra weight will be worth the upgrade. 

 

I may still cover the surface in plasticard - but can worry about that later.    

 

This can't be finished - ie varnished and painted yet,  as this will be fitted around the track rather than the other way round - so any sealing of the mdf would have to be redone if it needs adjusting.  but it gives a good idea of how things are going to look.

1618796135_cardtown2.jpg.ef644459a65e998ac1df035057de42c4.jpg

 

My mini holiday  down to Fowey & Par planned  for my birthday next month has also now been cancelled,  so I'm still relying on Google maps for rough measurements for now,  but have made a good start on mocking up the buildings in card.  These will either be wrapped or replaced as I get better detailed info but again give an idea of spacing for now. 

Even the warehouses look tiny on a 15 foot scenic section.:laugh_mini:

 

1000798666_cardtown1.jpg.7621c1e847e065a360a9974bd84dd2b0.jpg

 

In case you're wondering I've just propped up a foamboard backscene break for the moment.  so it all looks a bit white.

 

1240237812_cardtown3.jpg.5f96b2db929adfd24fcdaeae81b371a0.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

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Thanks for sharing, Its coming along nicely albeit slowly. I look forward to seeing Par develop over the coming months/years. Absolutely nobody could have predicted that you wouldn't be able to go to Par even three weeks ago. I feel your frustration as I was going to pop down to take another view of the prototype for my project next month. Luckily have the scenic materials and photos to keep me going.

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  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Apologies to all for the complete lack of updates.    As we all know its been 'A Funny Old Year'   and the combination of everything has meant very little work has been done on the layout I'm afraid,   other than preparing some of the rolling stock.

I'm stuck in a bit of a 'Chicken & Egg' loop ....     I need help to get the mainline track down,  and  Mike is also having a hard time at the moment (and he's been busy with Hornby Mag too) so hasn't been able to assist....

Pretty much all the scenery will need to be positioned according to the final track position,  so that can't happen yet either......   Plus my hotel booking for  a trip to Fowey in June was of course cancelled,  so getting down to the station to get accurate photos and measurements is also an issue at the moment.  There's only so much you can do with Google.  

So please bear with me,  as with the rest of the country 'normal service will be resumed as soon as possible'.

It's still going to get finished - if I'd picked a local station it would all be done by now I'm sure. (but who wants to watch Desiros all day long ??:pardon:

It's just going to have to take a bit longer than I thought.......     

I'm probably the only one who's actually done LESS modelling during a lockdown     :D:O:D  Although I do now have a base down for a 100ft O gauge loop in the garden. 

 

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