David Bell Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Tony, That handbuilt pointwork looks superb. My other half presented me with the attached t shirt the other day. She seems to have captured the sentiment well.I think it probably sums up the mood for most of us just now. Keep well and stay safe everyone 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Thanks Richard - I still like to party... no chance of that at the moment... I like it David! A good friend of mine has kindly been designing the control panel, here is the first pass which seems to get me more motivated in getting on with the track laying. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium t-b-g Posted May 17, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 17, 2020 38 minutes ago, dibateg said: Thanks Richard - I still like to party... no chance of that at the moment... I like it David! A good friend of mine has kindly been designing the control panel, here is the first pass which seems to get me more motivated in getting on with the track laying. That looks like a proper model railway to operate! Is the change from Leen to Zeen Valley deliberate or a cock up? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Maybe I should make it Zen valley Tony - my bad writing I'm afraid! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Slow - but steady progress, the junction for Bulwell Common is complete, ready to be installed. The weather continues to be too good! and in context I've been plotting the course of the backscene - its going to be tricky, but possible. Plans are fine, but once it starts to get on the ground, aspects and visual compromises become more apparent. I was determined to have a junction - that in itself had resulted in a lot of thinking time! 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 I was experimenting today with my camera and tried some low level shots to see what they would look like. This would be the view looking up from Vernon Road although the down platform would be in the way of the wagons on the right... I originally designed the layout to come to pieces, but for certain parts it is just not practicable to do so as several turnouts will straddle board joins and I've been agonising over various solutions.. I had to call on the expertise and highly regarded opinion of 'er indoors. 'Why would you ever need to take it to pieces? - Don't over think it and just do it!' I can think of many layouts that are not designed to come to pieces.. looks like I am joining them... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 I've been out in the garden a lot, but I've completed the next assembly, an outside single slip. Getting the electrical breaks in was a challenge as some short sections of rail needed section breaks, so I've had to resort to nickel silver baseplates at strategic places to maintain integrity. This also allows the use of flux cored solder as N/S will solder nicely with that without having to resort to flux. 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 And the single slip is now in situ:- 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Meanwhile I'm working in the other direction, whilst I agonise over some more decisions on the scenic side. The fan into the storage yard. I needed some long curved turnouts and unfortunately, the Peco curved point is 6foot on the outside radius, so that would not do. At least the ones I made on copper clad can be knocked up quickly in a couple of hours. They just need packing with some cork to match the height of the plain track. Slow progress 'cos 'er indoors keeps putting me on outside jobs. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 She keeps finding jobs for you to do, but it never goes down so well when one suggests a list of jobs they might like to do! Well certainly not with mine. railway is coming along nicely there. richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 I made a mistake with part of my original design of the Eastern approach to the station, so Jim kindly re-worked it for me. It's simpler. The local printers are still closed, so I've resorted to A4 prints. Which with care are manageable. This re-work also means that the Bulwell Common line can be hidden behind a retaining wall. The straight sections can be seen just at the bottom. The fan takes shape, and I'm going to approach it from the other end now. Does anyone know where I can get bullhead rail joiners? I'm nearly out of the very nice SMP O gauge ones ( Markits are out of stock ) and the Peco SL-10s don't seem to fit C&L rail very well. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted June 13, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 13, 2020 1 hour ago, dibateg said: Does anyone know where I can get bullhead rail joiners? I'm nearly out of the very nice SMP O gauge ones ( Markits are out of stock ) and the Peco SL-10s don't seem to fit C&L rail very well. Rail joiners Tony??, it's not a train set, you'll be using set track next!! Mike. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Ha Ha - I've got posh cast brass fishplates on the scenic section! No such luxury for the non-scenic area though! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Tony Gee found this - proper track laying:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=vwHKOMq5WzI&feature=emb_logo 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium t-b-g Posted June 14, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 14, 2020 12 minutes ago, dibateg said: Tony Gee found this - proper track laying:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=vwHKOMq5WzI&feature=emb_logo No skimping after watching that. I will be checking! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share Posted July 30, 2020 An update, there is a complete circuit now, and I've lashed up a temporary DC feed to the down line. Excuse the ropey video, from my iPhone. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium t-b-g Posted July 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 30, 2020 18 minutes ago, dibateg said: An update, there is a complete circuit now, and I've lashed up a temporary DC feed to the down line. Excuse the ropey video, from my iPhone. Nice one Tony. Worth celebrating. Just a few little finishing off jobs now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted July 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 30, 2020 At speed, backwards through the crossover would be more interesting Tony, very Jacksonesque! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Very nice. Enjoy Paul 34F Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted August 10, 2020 Author Share Posted August 10, 2020 I've been chugging away making turnouts, there is a whole group together beyond the photo. in the meantime I've put a DCC decoder in a friends Finescale brass Brit: 70021 Morning Star. It runs a treat, but I must get round to oiling the axles of the tipplers... Here it is coming off the link to Bulwell Common. It's nice to be able to test locos at home now, but I miss a cuppa and a chat with mates whilst we run a few trains. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Point production continues, but I've run out of point blades for the moment.. Track laying progresses further East, I guess there would have been room just to add the 'rat hole' to Bagthorpe Jn, but the complication of having a line underneath the layout and how to return it was more work than I wanted to commit to. I have to be realistic what I can achieve as a solo effort for the moment. L-R Headshunt, Down from Bagthorpe Jn, Down from Leen Valley Jn, Up to Leen Valley/Bagthorpe Jn. The Bulwell Common line to the right will be offscene. I'm wiring as I go along. For some reason the short circuit buzzer didn't go off when I created one. Took half an hour to find it... Three bus's here, Up, Down and Goods Yard. Gaugemaster auto frogs for the diamond crossings and Tortoises in evidence. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 I'm doing some preliminary work with the backscene. It will be mounted on the wall rather than the layout. It will be painted a basic sky colour. I have ideas on how to create the background. I have read and re-read Paul Bambrick's book several times..... Meanwhile, its fun to try different loco's on the layout, the shape of things to come, 92069 and 63770:- A rainy afternoon and I thought it would be a good idea to mock up the up line platform buildings, to see how they fit in with the back scene. First one is the clerks office, which wasn't actually on the platform, although the floor level seems to be set at platform height. With these in place I can examine the viewing angles. I've no drawings, so I've worked out the dimensions from some photographs. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 So it was out with the paint rollers to create a graduated sky, from darker at the top to a whiter at the bottom. It was recommended to put the whole lot in a line to get consistency ( Mr Bambrick's book ). I used two rollers , one for each mix. What I'm trying to get is a hazy summer sky. It is a bit washed out in these photos, but there are actually vague areas of white in the sky. I'm no artist though! I think I will make up a composite background, but I've not been able to find views of many backs of 1930s council houses and the ones in Brayton Crescent are quite individual. However, for proof of concept I've trawled the internet and come up with this Photoshopped test piece between the two railway buildings. In the 60s of course they would all have had those metal window frames - I remember them well! There is a fence all the way along the back of the station ( represented by a redundant venetian blind slat ) , so that make makes a convenient break between the layout and the back scene. The image is also reduced to force the perspective. The waiting room is approximately at platform level. I want quite a low viewing angle - more a natural viewpoint, than having the background towering over the layout. There will be a couple of council houses down on the left and the ground level will gradually rise up to that notch in the backscene. The next task is to create some mock up's of the bridges over the line, whilst I consider the backscene... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 It looks to my eye as a decent sky colour. You could manipulate the photos to change the windows in an editing programme. Then get it printed as one long role. Just depends on how far you want to guild the Lilly. richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibateg Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Thanks Richard - my intention is to create the houses separately and attach them to the back scene. I shall have a play around with Photoshop and see what I can do with the Critall windows. The backscene progresses, and upstands support it with ( for the moment ) clips at the top and stops at the bottom - most of which will be below ground level in any case. The main compromise is where it has to bend around the internal corner of the building. If only I'd extended the building 6 feet.... and another 6 feet............. The Bulwell common line passes under the mock up GC built bridge and goes offstage through the backscene. That exit will be hidden by the road embankment. The pieces of cork are where I'm trying to work out the position of the Park Lane road bridge to create a convincing layout of the roads. Some lighting additions will hopefully improve the scene. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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