That Model Railway Guy Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Hi folks! After several years away from the hobby I’m finally getting back into it now that I find myself with a bit more time. I’ve spent the last few months lurking on the forum gathering plenty of inspiration from all the fantastic layouts I’ve seen on here and I’ve finally decided to get started on something of my own. I’ve no shortage of huge and over ambitious layout ideas that I’d love to build someday but right now I’ve decided to start off small, mainly so that I can get something up and running in a very short amount of time that looks halfway decent. I recently rediscovered an old shunting layout I had started years ago but never got round to finishing and thought that this would provide a good starting point. Originally I’d got as far as laying down some track on top of a ballast mat as seen below. It’s held up fairly well considering it’s been under a bed for over ten years. After dusting down the layout and cleaning the track, I ran a loco over it just to make sure everything worked. I envisioned this layout to be a small yard that perhaps serves a factory of some sort but to be honest I’m not going for anything super realistic and I don’t have a specific time or place in mind. Despite not having had a layout for many years I have a load of completed Metcalfe kits in a drawer, so I had a look to see if anything fitted what I had in mind. I discovered a couple of old factory kits and a signal box which were quickly placed on the layout to make it feel like I’d done something! I don’t know if a yard of this size would have actually had a signal box but I like how it looks so it’s staying. So that’s where I’m up to at the moment. I’m currently working on making a small fiddle yard so that trains can actually come from somewhere - hopefully I’ll be able to update fairly soon once that’s complete. Like I said, this isn’t going to be the most realistic layout the world has ever seen. I just want to have somewhere to run trains fairly quickly that will keep me satisfied until I can start working on something larger. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Good start 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhOh Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 A classic "Here's one I made earlier" Looks like it'll give you plenty of shunting fun and a chance to try things out before embarking on a bigger project. Enjoy! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_J Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 That's a good start for a return to the hobby. You'll find lots of support here, and plenty of inspiration. Regards Bill 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted August 26, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 26, 2019 A great start. I like your layout plan, plenty of fun shunting. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Thanks for all the kind words guys! I've now finished building the small fiddle yard using some spare wood and track I had lying around. (It's also got built in controllers which makes setup very easy too) Both lines are long enough to take four wagons plus a tank engine and overall it's made operating the layout a lot more fun. I'm now halfway through building a Low Relief Factory kit from Scale Model Scenery which will eventually stand alongside the existing Metcalfe models. I also have some of their backscene elements too which I'll be using along the back of the layout. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted August 28, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 28, 2019 Looking good - the fiddle yard size sounds / looks like it's in good proportion to the scenic part of the layout, which makes for good operating potential. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhOh Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 I'm intrigued by the built-in controllers, they look as if they may be home-made? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 15 hours ago, OhOh said: I'm intrigued by the built-in controllers, they look as if they may be home-made? The electrical components for the controllers are the same ones that the Budget Model Railways guys use. So far they've been performing incredibly well, or at least much better than my old knackered Hornby controller from the 80s! 4 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyModelRailway Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 A great video for making your own controller, thanks for sharing very useful. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 No problem, I highly recommend Budget Model Railways for anyone wanting to build a layout without spending too much. They also seem to advocate just getting on with it and building something straight away with whatever you have, which is definitely a mentality I can get behind! 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul80 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 A quick heads up regarding the Budget Model Railways DC Controller. Although it does work well I have found one big issue with it. All my locos are DCC fitted and all the decoders have run on DC enabled. I found that when one of these locos is put on track, as soon as the knob is turned the controller goes pop, so only use it with a DC only loco. I have been through 3 of them now as I keep forgetting to only use it with a new loco for running in before I fit the decoder. Good job they are as cheap as chips Paul 1 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Thanks for sharing that! I'm DC only (at least for the moment) so was unlikely to find out for myself but good information for anyone who does have a mixture of DC and DCC. To be honest they were a bit of a experiment for this layout but if I do anything bigger in the future I'll imagine I'll upgrade to a Gaugemaster controller or similar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budget Model Railways Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 That is why it is a DC only controller 2 4 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff P Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 On 29/08/2019 at 16:45, That Model Railway Guy said: No problem, I highly recommend Budget Model Railways for anyone wanting to build a layout without spending too much. They also seem to advocate just getting on with it and building something straight away with whatever you have, which is definitely a mentality I can get behind! I'll second that 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Hi all, Despite not posting for a while I have made a bit of progress on the layout and now have a backscene in place! Sticking to my plan of using stuff I had lying around, the backscene is made up of two unused laminate floorboards glued together - they’re a little bit shorter than the layout but only by a few centimetres. They were painted pale blue with a few white and grey streaks to give the impression of whispy clouds before I stuck down some of the Scale Model Scenery backscene elements. These match the low relief factory kit that I’m building quite nicely so it ties the whole thing together. Next up will be to finish the factory kit and then I'll have a go at making a bridge for the entrance to the hidden siding! 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 I’m pleased to say more progress has been made on the layout. The low relief factory building is now complete and in position. I’ve decided to continue using part of the Metcalfe factory but to hide the back line a bit better I’ve used some of the remaining backscene factory sheets I had left to bring the roof level up. I stuck these to some spare wood I’d cut to size which simply slot together to form a corner at the end of the baseboard as seen below. Although it’s rather simple I think it’s quite effective and gives a nice bit of depth to the layout. While there’s still quite a bit to do (mainly the bridge which I’ve already started constructing) I thought it was about time I got some trains running! 14 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff P Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Wow! Those buildings really make the scene come to life. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Yes. Always thought the SMS warehouse was a good one. Depth of layers detail and shades are very convincing. Ian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Thanks guys. I agree, it's starting to look more like more like a model railway now and less like a train set! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Those warehouses look great, you've really used them well Steve. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 Thanks Steve, I agree they do look rather good. Since my last post I’ve now finished work on the bridge. For my very first attempt at scratch building anything I don’t think it’s too bad - though the corners need some work as I didn't think about them until after I'd put it together! I'll probably cover them up with some of the Quoins that Wills do at some point. That said I’ve certainly learned a lot for the future. Here’s a couple of shots of it in position. As you can see I've put the two remaining factory buildings on top of the bridge partly because I hadn't used them anywhere else but also to hide trains in the hidden siding a bit better for anyone looking at the layout from a more side on view. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 21, 2019 Author Share Posted September 21, 2019 Something that I felt could be improved was joint between the baseboard and backscene. Enthused by my moderate success with making the bridge, I decided to have a shot at making a fence to go along the back of the layout. You can see my results below. The fence is mostly made from cut down sandwich bag ties with thin horizontal strips of plasticard which also give it a bit of extra strength. The whole thing was painted brown and then dry brushed with a few different shades of brown and grey that I had lying around (though it doesn't really show up on camera). Finally I added some green foam to the bottom for weeds. That said, I don’t feel I can take full credit for this idea as I feel like I’ve seen someone else do something similar in the past. Who/where that was though I cannot remember, despite searching! They do look a bit dodgy on their own but I’m my opinion they look much better actually in place. You might see that I’ve also added a few extra bits and bobs around the layout - a couple of small huts that were going spare along with some signals that once belonged to my late Grandad as well as a grounded van that I think he constructed too. I’m pretty happy with how it’s all starting to look now! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 I took this quick snap on my phone earlier as a test while I had Pickwick Yard under some decent lights. When I say quick I mean quick, I didn’t even look at the screen! Surprisingly it’s turned out rather well… although I think that’s less to do with my modelling skill and more to do with the Peckett! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Model Railway Guy Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 I did a bit of filming while making/assembling the layout so I've edited together a little video for anyone who might be interested. There’s also some nice shots of trains running towards the end so you can see Pickwick Yard in action! 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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