Jump to content
 

Recommended Posts

What have I done.... 

 

To make the baseboard for "DRS Engineering"' I chopped a bit off my original overlong (7 foot long) board. This was the "Dock" section, and I have had the "reverse L" shape knocking about, crying for something to be done on it.

 

Having discovered that the Inglenook on the above layout was compromised (the headshunt only taking a maximum of two wagons) I decided to have a go making a shunting puzzle Inglenook on the remaining board, I pushed track around for a bit, then part-exchanged some medium radius points for some small radius set track points and, together with a couple of curved pieces and some flexible track, here is my new Inglenook...

 

There's no fancy crossing or interlaced points. In fact, it could run off just two wires in the headshunt (top left), but I plan on putting feeds to each piece of track to ensure power. The long siding at the back can be accessed one wagon at a time via the headshunt, so will be used to hold alternative stock or maybe even be used with some "waybilling" puzzles later.

 

There's lots of curves to fit the necessary siding lengths in, and the tightest will be fitted with (rudimentary) check rails.  The five wagon capacity siding at the front can also exit right under the conveyor belt, to allow totally new trains to come on scene from a fiddle stick.

 

Here are a few pics of progress so far (cutting the track) plus the all important stock capacity of sidings, plus a bodged up artists attempt at scenery. Hoping to use wire in tube to operate the points from the end - at least it is a little simpler overall than ‘DRS Engineering’! I might get a little further with this and also try out techniques for my "big" board! 

 

Stock capacities - left to right - long siding (with loco) doesn't matter, curved = 3 wagons, straight = 3 wagons, entry road = 5 wagons. Headshunt bottom left:

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

The all important headshunt = loco + 3 wagons (for the Inglenook shunting puzzle):

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

And access to the "long siding" at the rear = loco + 1 wagon:

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Here's the idea for the scenery - NB it is tight top left and bottom right of the plan to rear and front respectively:

 

MISSING PHOTO

Edited by SteveyDee68
Trying to sort out missing images
  • Like 10
Link to post
Share on other sites

Headshunt = loco (up to an austerity 0-6-0) plus 3 wagons

Front siding (main line) = 5 wagons

Straight yard  siding = 3 wagons

Curved yard siding = 3 wagons

Rear siding = 8 wagons (!) but can only have a single wagon added or removed at a time (intentionally!)


MISSING PHOTO

 

Missing piece of board at the front where the line curves over the corner of the Dock cut out? 

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Obviously the original dock was bigger - a fillet of board will be added to support this track. I did wonder about a small fillet in the corner and then have the line on a short wooden trestle bridge, simply to give me the opportunity to model one! But then I thought to myself ‘why would the railway have justified the cost of building a (curved) bridge when they could simply dump material to build an embankment instead?’

 

The name, incidentally, is for the school I covered lessons for today, Woodhey High School. There was a road (Woodhey Road) but as there is a Dock I thought "Wharf*" sounded right!

 

Hours of fun!!

 

* Obviously I later changed my mind, as the layout is now "Woodhey Quay" !

Edited by SteveyDee68
Corrected name after name change
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Unusually (for me), I am pressing forward quite quickly with my little Inglenook!

 

I tested the track simply by attaching power at the end of the headshunt (left hand end) and running my Dapol Austerity saddle tank through all the pointwork. Even without additional power feeds, it ran fine at slow speed through all the track work, including the PECO settrack dead frog points. 

 

Removing the track, I glued a piece of 5mm mdf cut to shape onto the original baseboard in order to create the river/dock surface level, and as the No More Nails only touches the very edge of the ply sheet for the "water",  I constructed two new "supports" underneath to help support the dock area.

 

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

To keep it flat, this entailed a bit of extra framing under the baseboard - it ain't pretty, but it does the job!

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Next I needed to provide the "fillet" across the corner of the dock - quickly cut with a jigsaw out of (very) thin ply (sadly not the same depth as the rest of the baseboard), I fashioned supports out of a strip of plywood cut to shape. 

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

The "fillet" sitting on top of the supports before glueing, level across the entire board.  So far so good, but then when gluing the top surface to the supports I made the error of using my hot glue gun instead of PVA or my trusty No More Nails...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

By the time I had put glue onto all the supports, the first lot had already "gone off" and become solid - still sticky but not able to squish down like the last.  This meant that I ended up with lumps and bumps due to the hardened hot melt glue! So much for all my careful measuring and cutting of the supports! Of course, once it was in place it was stuck firmly down, and so all I could do to alleviate the problem was to sand down the fillet to get it level! Oh well, I suppose it's all part of the learning curve!

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Having sanded it down and got it all more or less level again, I decided to put the banking supports in place using cardboard formers and my new toy sorry tool, the hot glue gun.

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

At this point, it was time to let all glues harden off etc so a quick tidy up, write this up and bed! Next is to cover the entire baseboard with foam board (as suggested by some of our more seasoned layout builders) and then look to solder drop wires to the track ready for installation. 

 

I have some N scale ballast ready in anticipation of ballasting, but am wondering whether to ballast using sand (as seen on this forum!) to suggest the lighter ballasting found on such industrial sites. Any other recommendations, fellow RMWebbers?

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 9
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Decided to grab the foam board and mark it up ready for cutting. One thing led to another, and after coating board and foam board with heavy duty carpet spray and leaving for a few minutes, the two have been brought together and a strip for the dock wall has also been cut and glued into place. Track was put back into place and marked up, and a photo taken as a progress stage, before everything was removed and the board turned upside down with weights applied, to allow the carpet glue to fully bond overnight!

 

And now to bed! Why I find I get the most done in the wee small hours of the night I will never work out!

 

Photo shows the foam board glued down and the track positioned for marking up.

 

MISSING PHOTO

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 9
Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Why I find I get the most done in the wee small hours of the night I will never work out!

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

 

Your layout looks different, especially with the amount of space *not* used for track; I'm interested to see where it ends up.

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Gordon A said:

In place of the fillet you could have gone for a curved trestle bridge?

 

Gordon A

 

Hi Gordon, I did consider that - would have been attractive and an opportunity to develop yet more modelling skills. I talked myself out of it though, reasoning that such a structure would surely be more expensive for the railway company than simply dumping rock/aggregate/earth etc to form an embankment, and how would they justify that?

 

As it is, the line is perilously close to the banking ... I was thinking of installing a bit of a *brick* retaining wall at that point, possibly with a drain outflow (thank you in advance, ScaleModelScenery!) as a contrast to the dock itself, which will be stone fronted courtesy of Scalescene.

 

18 hours ago, Andrew Cockburn said:

A slightly unusual track configuration, but its looking good so far, and it will be interesting to see how it progresses.:)

 

Ah, it is a "true" Inglenook (5-3-3 with a loco+3 headshunt) which I had to skew and curve to fit the board, as the board itself is the "offcut" of a 7 foot long board I built previously (that was me thinking "Avoid baseboard joints" and not "Hang on, 7 foot long is a b*gg*r to move!"). At that point, I still had a PECO short radius streamline point, a PECO settrack point and a PECO short Y point and tried a few different ideas to try to add a kickback siding to the dock ... I could just squeeze that in, but it compromised the front siding for the 5 wagons for the Inglenook (avoiding parking wagons over points, being "bad practice" I believe). I then tried creating a short spur for an engine shed, but when I realised that the position of the point meant I could shunt a single wagon, I decided to add the long rear siding. Given the curved site, I am hoping that the Scalescenes "industrial buildings" group might well fit the space (as John designed it with unusual angles), but I am thinking that the end of the siding needs to be covered, or pass under an arch (like the Metcalfe gatehouse building).

 

23 hours ago, TechnicArrow said:

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

 

Your layout looks different, especially with the amount of space *not* used for track; I'm interested to see where it ends up.

 

The dock area will give me a chance to model water (another new challenge) as my *eventual* layout is planned to be a mashup of Dover Marine/Southampton Docks/Weymouth, so lots of water required to berth ships alongside! My original dock cut out (before cutting across the corner with the track) would have fitted the Scalescenes coaster but now I am not sure. John also does a model of a Clyde Puffer which would easily fit but would feel wrong for my imaginary setting, and his fishing boat would also fit (as would, obviously, his small fishing boats) which I have the downloadable kits for already (except the Puffer). I also have his canal narrow boats, plus some cast resin lighters from Anyscale Models, so hopefully will be able to ring the changes, vessel wise.

 

I plan a low relief warehouse across the left hand end but want to keep the dock area relatively clear... I did wonder about some embedded track unconnected to the actual layout, either running out of the warehouse to a buffer stop suggesting the yard continues to the left of the layout, or simply overgrown and no longer in use. Would welcome input from anyone as to whether they think this clutters up the plan or not.

 

One unavoidable consequence of squeezing the full Inglenook plan onto the board is that I cannot avoid a corner in the sky at the rear left end of the board, as the track runs right to the edge. (Regrets? I have a few!) Any suggestions as to how to minimise this gratefully considered!

 

Thanks for all the feedback ... it really does spur me on to the next step!

 

Steve S

Edited by SteveyDee68
Typos and grammar errors
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Update

 

Inspiration struck a short while ago...

 

The Inglenook formula requires three sidings, of capacity 5 wagons, 3 wagons and 3 wagons, plus a headshunt for a loco plus 3 wagons. What I had forgotten was that there are not 11 wagons "in play", but just 8 ... which means at the start/end of shunting, one of the 3 wagon capacity sidings can be completely clear of wagons.  

 

Originally I tried to squeeze an extra point onto the board for an engine shed but struggled to do so. However, I realised that if I put the engine shed at the end of one of the 3 wagon capacity sidings, I could model some loco facilities after all!

 

The curved middle siding started with a very short piece of straight track; by moving that to the other end of the siding, I created enough width around that end to put a loco shed (gable end) on the board in low relief. This is when my "Eureka" moment occured...

 

The pictures show a possible two engine sequence, which would work best with a "fiddle stick" attached at the right hand end of the layout.

 

1. The sequence starts with the Works Loco (WL) isolated on the engine shed siding as the train arrives behind the "mainline" loco (ML) on the arrival/sorting line...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

2. ML detaches from train, and then...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

3. ML "parks" on rear siding (not used for wagons  in the Inglenook puzzle) and WL leaves loco siding to shunt the wagons...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

4. Inglenook now in operation - loco siding used as 3 wagon capacity siding as part of Inglenook. Headshunt does take 3 wagons + Loco (clipped on photo!)...


MISSING PHOTO

 

5. WL completes the Inglenook challenge - ML crew have grabbed a brew...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

6. Train now in correct order on "departure" line, and loco siding cleared of remaining stock and reverts back to servicing the WL...

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

7. WL returns to loco siding, and ML comes off rear siding to propel train off onto fiddle stick.

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Using a cassette fiddle stick, a new 5 wagon train can arrive behind another ML (loco) and the sequence starts again! In reality, the train doesn't have to depart, but it does add a level of realism/fun to the proceedings!

 

Apologies to go on at length - this is as much for me to record my ideas for myself as to share, but any feedback or suggestions appreciated!

 

Steve S

 

 

 

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 6
Link to post
Share on other sites

Eureka 2!

 

Hornby magazine some time ago had a free pullout of the Scalescenes small loco shed, across three issues. I just remembered that I have those magazines bar the middle of the three - hopefully I have sufficient parts to create the gable end and a representation of the shed side walls: the water tank will need to be mounted on a new base as there is insufficient depth at the end of the siding for it above the shed entrance.

 

Eureka 3!

 

The Scalescenes industrial boxfile layout has a building built right into the corner which should help hide the "corner" in the backscene: the only alteration needed would be to have the lower part of the rear building run straight along the back edge of the board, and not angled out as per John's original design. The conveyor across the right end may need lengthening to clear the curved tracks - I am thinking of running it to a tower by the dock, similar to that at Millenium Mills in London - see photo for detail...


MISSING REFERENCE PHOTO

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 4
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

No cover work today... 

 

But on the plus side...

 

Finishing off adapting an IKEA £14 bargain "thrust" desk unit into a computer desk for the spare room and ....

 

Foam board, Scalescenes dock wall texture, suitable pill tube and micro strip to create a retaining wall and an outflow drain! Card formers trimmed back to sit it into position in the banking.

 

Firsts for me - wrapping the microstrip around the tube, taping, and immersing in boiling water to form a ring. Old hat for many modellers here, but my first attempt! Still to do - capping stones for the wall, paint the drain tube and hot glue into position.
 

MISSING PHOTO

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 6
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

14 hours later, and it is the wee small hours again! Not that I have spent 14 hours modelling! Although it felt a bit like that cutting out Scalescenes parts!

 

Progress, then, has been simply to develop the dock walls and in doing so changing the shape of the dock basin once again. Not much to see, but steady progress - some of the card I used was too thick and so messed up John's designs, and so I spent a lot of time finding solutions to that issue rather than starting over!

 

Next to do is sort out structures - I will be mocking up basic shapes in foam board and hot glue so as to gauge composition across the layout, before making any decisions.

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out replacing missing images
  • Like 7
Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice layout Steve, I like the wharf idea. Have you seen this website?

 

http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/layout_index.html

 

If not look at Canada Street, it's a superb dockside layout and they've built a tower similar to that in the photo. It's a very inspirational site to go through.

I think part of or a small warehouse would look good on the left as a view blocker if you were  planning a fiddle yard at all and you could have a small section of disused track exiting it. Your idea a siding  going under a gatehouse would look good too.

 

 

 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 21/01/2020 at 06:22, sb67 said:

Nice layout Steve, I like the wharf idea. Have you seen this website?

 

http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/layout_index.html

 

If not look at Canada Street, it's a superb dockside layout and they've built a tower similar to that in the photo. It's a very inspirational site to go through.

I think part of or a small warehouse would look good on the left as a view blocker if you were  planning a fiddle yard at all and you could have a small section of disused track exiting it. Your idea a siding  going under a gatehouse would look good too.

 

 

Oh, Canada (Street), and its predecessor Canada Road!  Massively inspirational, both on this forum and in print in the magazines. I have yet to see Canada Street in the flesh - but then, it has been a long time since I visited a railway exhibition! Last one I went to was in Skipton, and that was before they started using the school to exhibit in! The massive dockside buildings really do set the scene.

 

The "docks" part of my eventual layout aims to have the feel of Canada Street - but then, Canute Road Quay is also massively inspirational, at the opposite end of the scale! If anything, that is what I want to pay homage to with this layout, albeit the track formation etc is totally different! 

 

I am planning a low relief and a full relief warehouse on the left (hence building the quayside out at the left hand end of the basin) to act as view blockers/scenic "frame" at that end of the layout.  I have the original Scalescenes warehouse in brown brick, as below, which I can build in a "P" shape. (See next post)

 

At the rear I plan to use the Scalescenes industrial box file, slightly modified to have the lower storey not angle out!

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

But not sure whether to get the new warehouse in red brick, to match the complex behind it. The new version can also have doors wherever you want them - and is one storey lower in its new form!

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Elsewhere on RMWeb, someone used part of the Scalescenes "High Street Backs" as one of the buildings has a very "Ahern" warehouse look to it (something I previously also thought and downloaded the kit for exactly that reason!).

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

Likewise the stone mill/warehouse, which would totally change the look to this corner!

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

HOURS OF FUN!

Edited by SteveyDee68
Sorting out missing images
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Original Scalescenes Warehouse/Factory

 

In my previous post, I mentioned I already had this kit, which is different from that currently available. However, trying to insert an image at the appropriate point in the text proved nigh impossible! If anyone can tell me why, I'd be grateful for the knowledge.

 

Anyway, here it is now - subtly different from John's new kit.

 

 

IMG_0565.JPG

 

I should perhaps state that I have no connection to John Wiffen or Scalescenes other than an enthusiastic customer!

 

When the fun stops, STOP! (Also applicable to modelling!)

Edited by SteveyDee68
Many typos!!
  • Like 3
  • Funny 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Morning!

 

Gratuitous post warning! Or is it?

 

I realised that I had not given the dimensions of my baseboard off cut! Unfortunately, I once again break the "four square feet" rule of the Micro Layout definition, as it measures 3 feet 3 inches (39") by 1 foot 8 inches (20")

 

As a helpful reference (for me) I marked out the baseboard with 6 inch squares, as below!

 

Hours of fun!

 

PS

If anyone can tell me how to turn the image through 90 degrees I would appreciate it - half an hour in Photos, Pages and trying to use the editing function within the forum has resulted in ... no change whatsoever! 
 

MISSING PHOTO

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Track laid out and edges of ballasting penned in ready for painting grey as a base colour.

 

I think I may have cut the "fillet" back a touch too much, looking at how close the track is to the edge! I already have a retaining wall and pipe at the waterline... would it stretch credibility to have a retaining wall in the bank itself? Or perhaps sleepers stacked to help hold the ballast? Any suggestions out of this dilemma (other than build out with foamboard and reshape the bank?!)

 

Hours of (head scratching) fun!

 

PS

Photo was taken with the iPad in the same orientation as before, and this time it is presented correctly! Go figure!!

 

MISSING iPad PHOTO*

 

HOURS OF FUN!
 

 

* The bad news - the iPad I took the photo on is now shaped like a banana! I don’t think I’ll be retrieving any photos off it… fingers crossed they uploaded to my iCloud account, but I have a nasty feeling …

Edited by SteveyDee68
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Another Progress Update, another Dilemma

 

There has been some progress...

 

Progress

 

I painted under track areas with grey emulsion - "two coats" (little 'The Producers' reference there!!) - so that any gaps in ballasting wouldn't show white.

 

I then spent some time with quayside walls, angling, re-configuring...

 

Then I picked up some free older magazines, and in one of them was the Scalescenes 'country pub', and in another "small buildings" for the Hornby Magazine "Build It" project...

 

Suddenly, the pub replaces the warehouses at the left hand side, the back left corner loses the industrial buildings and gains foliage and an access road to the quayside. And, craziest of all, there is a little straight section long enough for a single bogie coach... inspired by a layout "Little Narrow", I have decided to "go rural" and add a passenger service! Trip to the local model shop has resulted in various scenery making items, including some second hand trees to try my hand at (as they are wrecked, but still have workable trunks).

 

Woodhey Wharf [Quay] is therefore being 'upgraded' to have a halt, a short end of the line affair suitable only for push pull trains! Except ... my lovely Hornby push pull coach doesn't like the curve!! Rethink required ... and lo! as if by magic the Bay of Fleas offers up (a) a Dapol railbus kit and (b) a motorising kit for the same! Pennies have been magically  sent through thin air, and I have a solution to shifting passengers! Fingers crossed the long overhang on either end doesn't end up fouling the platform!!

 

A fiddlestick or cassette system is now definitely required to allow goods and passenger services!

 

Photo shows progress with the quay walls (ignore the random gubbage on top of the board!)

 

MISSING PHOTO

 

 

The Dilemma

 

This morning, I noticed that the foamboard has lifted from the baseboard at the front corner! So much for "Heavy Duty Carpet Glue"!
 

Any suggestions please on the best way to remedy this, without having to lift it all and start again! 

 

 

MISSING PHOTO

Look at that gap!!  Help!!

 

Lastly, how do I change this thread title? I have decided to rename the layout "Woodhey Quay" (removing the illiteration) but cannot find how to do that!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Attempting to sort out missing images
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

The Dilemma

 

This morning, I noticed that the foamboard has lifted from the baseboard at the front corner! So much for "Heavy Duty Carpet Glue"!  Any suggestions please on the best way to remedy this, without having to lift it all and start again! 

 

IMG_0574.JPG

 

Look at that gap!!  Help!!

 

Decent progress and liking the whole layout.

 

I have had a bit of experience with foam core but for mocking up structures mostly which I use a cool glue gun for as to not melt the foam.

 

Copydex glue might be an idea as I use that to glue cork or just bog standard wood glue

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Wood glue it shall be (thank you, SteamingWales) as I have a great ape brand to hand, together with some miniature clamps. I also feel the use of a pipette coming on, to get to where the sun don't shine!

 

Hours of swearing fun! 

 

Update...

 

The thought has just struck me - perhaps my push pull coach didn't like the curve because the track is twisted and far from level! So my earlier knee jerk railcar kit puchase possibly not needed after all!  Who am I kidding?  It may be totally out of region for my interests, but is a quirky vehicle and an excuse for a bit of kit building! Result!! 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Ulrika moment (like Uereka, but Swedish)
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Funny 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
2 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Lastly, how do I change this thread title? I have decided to rename the layout "Woodhey Quay" (removing the illiteration) but cannot find how to do that!

 

If you go to your first post in the thread, and click on 'edit' you should be able to change the thread title from there.

 

Liking the layout!

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 26/01/2020 at 12:40, Moxy said:

 

If you go to your first post in the thread, and click on 'edit' you should be able to change the thread title from there.

 

Liking the layout!

 

Moxy - thank you for the like, but also for the information! I'd done everything I could think of, but hadn't realised that it was as simple as that! Woodhey Wharf has morphed into Woodhey Quay thanks to your input! Thanks again!

 

PS

Just noticed your location - just downth' road! 

Edited by SteveyDee68
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...