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So... some photos of the recent work done. Here... the backboards are being painted into sky blue to match the other ones being done. Yes... I now have blue grass. 

 

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Here, (below) the lights on one board are under test - with the wiring for the point motors having been changed and the new ones installed. 

 

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Will post this now given file sizes and send more over soon. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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One of the scenic focal points is taking shape. The bridge over the River 'Brig'. Originally I did plan to spray the bridge but doing so killed the rivet detail for the parts that I did fit. So, it was given a light dusting and then forced to be painted by hand. The colour of the bridge is now going provincial dark blue, due the aforementioned paint pot being ready, spare and starting to dry out. 

 

Plastic girders have been fitted to the structure to join the two parts. Rivet details being applied to where these would meet the main bridge structure. The fencing that was on the bridge sides has been removed and will be replaced with something more detailed, mainly as it was in the way for painting. 


20210316_113717.jpg.491c300603d3232788a61f7746bf45a7.jpg 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello all, 

More of an update as to how the layout is progressing. A lot more work has been done so time to add to what's been happening. 

20210316_113720.jpg.2e9f23ad028cb203bd8c19620bfb345c.jpg

 

So... all the lovely wiring that was put in for the point motors and accessory decoders for the main junction into the yard have all been swapped over. The motors and accessory decoders are to be sold. 

ECoS is seen during the stage where they are all being programmed. The new DCC Concept Cobalt units work very nicely and will be great as they are quieter overall but more subtle. To these are done and the rest of the station yard will follow when that board is in for scenic work to be done.  

 

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Meanwhile a lot of attention is being focused on the river scene that has been added to the layout. The bridges are being sighted around the board and the viaduct off the previous layout has been demolished back to parts and then reformed and cut into the landscaping for where the scenic break will be. The mainline bridge over the 'River Brig' is seen for the first time here in its provincial blue as that paint pot needed using! Boards on the back have been painted and added so that the landscaping can be added to the section. Also started is scenic work and landscaping off this board and onto the next with the lines running past two areas that have had some groundwork done - more photos on this later - with this being seen in the lower left of the picture. 

More to follow soon. 

 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - The Bridge goes Blue

Now for a part that is a cunning plan so much that even Baldrick would be pleased. 

With the backboards in place for the scenic boards that are being worked on, I have been able to measure and fit the feet that have been cut and fixed to the far side. 4 scenic boards of the town scene and the river side with the yard are left uncreated - namely because the fiddle yard is only so big. Its planned that only boards with no ballast and fittings are the ones that are flipped - so nothing then drops off. That, however, means that these scenic boards wont have the backboard of the fiddle yard on the other side to form the box. Each of the crates has the struts that form the backboard longer than side so that there ends up with 4 'feet' per crate and thus smaller ones have been added to the scenic boards. All of this is designed so that when the boards are lifted for transport people moving the boards can get hands underneath to help with manual handling and easy lifting rather than struggle when bending over to lift a box that's flat to the ground.

 

So... it might be a small detail - but here's photos of the feet of one scenic board being measured.  I have seen first hand bulky boards being lifted awkwardly to move them around venues and for transport. This should make the boards straight forwards to lift, move and then assemble the layout quickly. 

 

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Above is a smaller foot attached to the scenic board. 

 

Below is the foot being seen with the whole backboard attached. 

 

20210405_152619.jpg.aa7849046e2ec0dd01bf85680f8cd18f.jpg

 

Hope thats interesting - feedback and comments on progress always welcome. 

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Hello all, 

 

Some more updates on progress. The former bridge (a wills viaduct kit) that stood at the preserved end of the last Bishop Auckland layout has been ripped apart and then used to form the tunnel exits onto the layout. Retaining walls have all been painted, then blackened for scenic detail. The photos below show the tunnels, with slaters sheeting attached for the inside being put into place on the layout. The wooden struts used to fix the backboard scenic break are all seen before then being covered full of polystyrene and polly-filler. 

 

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With the shops re-opening from shutdown I have been out and board the turf scatters and paints needed to start landscaping this area. More to follow soon. 

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Meanwhile, other developments are seeing a focus on buildings. These are being looked at slowly as the rest of the layout takes shape. One of the buildings that has been started was the main station building. As my layout will be stored in the garage all the buildings need to be either plastic or resin - so a Faller kit has been bought to be the impressive station entrance building. While the station is based on Darlington the impressive frontage that this building has still was missing something - one feature that I really love - the clock tower. 

Sketches of the design were made and the whole thing broken down into a kit of parts to be then cut and made before being then painted and assembled. The design of the clock tower was then sent to York Model making who have been fantastic in the communication and the dispatch of the items made. A link to their website is here: https://yorkmodelrail.com/ 

Here, in the next three photos. The parts are being painted and checked ready for putting together to test the structure. 

 

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Finally, the next photograph shows the tower being balanced on top of the central hall in the station building. A lot of this is not glued together so the tower and building dont fully match up. 

 

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Various parts of this are all still to be fitted - with some needing to be redone following some checks. One error has been that the clock (as seen above) is onto the board that will form the part in-front of the clock face - so these have been filed out. 

At the moment, the lower base of the tower has been worked on while the rest is waiting for me to just update an order for more parts. This might need to wait a few weeks as I am working on other boards. 

 

Just so people have an idea, this is a photograph of the tower at Darlington that it will eventually look similar to: 

 

darlington-bank-top-7.jpg.275fe37beb46f9b88c8b2311321adeff.jpg


Hope thats of interest. 

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This layout seems to be progressing very rapidly, but owing to the size, its going to be a mission. When do you hope to finish it? And can you operate it at home when its all connected, or would it be garden only on a sunny day :sungum:

 

Unusually among hobbyists who will be exhibiting you seem to be Setrack only, apart from streamline points or have I mised something?

 

Also, what level of control are you aiming for at the end, will it be simply Cab control or will it be automatic, at least in part?

 

 

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On 16/04/2021 at 10:25, RobinofLoxley said:

This layout seems to be progressing very rapidly, but owing to the size, its going to be a mission. When do you hope to finish it? And can you operate it at home when its all connected, or would it be garden only on a sunny day :sungum:

 

Unusually among hobbyists who will be exhibiting you seem to be Setrack only, apart from streamline points or have I mised something?

 

Also, what level of control are you aiming for at the end, will it be simply Cab control or will it be automatic, at least in part?

 

 


Hello Robin... 

Glad your liking the size of the layout. Yes its a mission and a half, but will end up being operated with my friends who will help move it as well. Yes it pretty much only goes into the garden on a sunny day when its connected. The other chance might be down at the club room where the layout can be put up - but that is pending on developments there. 

 

The layout features some set track - namely as it provides a lot stronger hold of the track on parts where the boards will join. So rather than have to put strips on board ends the settrack will hold it all and the size of the boards means the joins should allow expansion. The layout is being built where that happens anyway, so that should mean track work is all fine. Some streamline points are in there as well as they can avoid serious radius points being used. There is some flexi-track used in areas of the layout, where the bends are gentle (the mainline opposite the freight yard is an example of this and the main past the depot towards the station looks like set track but isnt as its following the main junction round. 

Yes its quite a build and yes should be interesting to see it all come together. There is a chance that it might make an exhibition in autumn even if not 100% finished - but the buildings and boards are there ready for the town scene to follow after these boards are worked on and tested this weekend. 
 

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hello, 

 

Work continues on the layout lately with most of the work focusing on the scenic details of the landscaping around the bridge area and the works needed for these to fit into place. 

 

Each side of the embankment has had the groundwork done to take the bridge as it slots into place. The area is supported by a foundation for the bridge to be placed upon, all done with nice brickwork from a retaining wall idea that was bought for the station sides but then found to be miles too big. So its being cut to size here and will most likely end up being used for the retaining wall for the town embankment (all of that is to come). 

 

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Above can be seen the entrances to the tunnel, which will then form the back scene. The placement of the bridges is drawn onto the river bed and the areas where the bridges will be placed has been aligned to be central to the track bed that forms the tunnel. The hill sides are now all covered with loads of polly-filler. 

 

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On the other side of the river the groundworks have been done for the bridge area and also for the additional landscaping nearby. The main line features a retaining wall for the nearby earthworks but the branch will just have a nice close embankment. I was thinking of a retaining wall there too but gauging is likely to become an issue so will stay as is. 

 

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Then next is an overview of the area with the bridges sitting in place. At the moment they are being lifted clear as the ground and earthworks are all being done. then when the trackwork and ballast is needed they will be fixed into place.  

 

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And finally, one photo showing the layout cleared of the rubbish, tools, polystyrene, etc showing back up towards the front of the layout. Some tiles of cement rendering are being placed to get a first impression of what this area can be done with. 37558 is sat on the headshunt looking pretty. 

This photo also shows well the blend between the areas where there has been use of set track and where other flexitrack has been laid down. The set track is mainly at board ends or where the measuring has needed to be tighter given the complex nature of the trackwork and some radius curves were better to lay with set track so as to ensure a better consistency rather than put down flexi track that can get a tighter curve based on the need for it to make a location, rather than the trackwork itself dictating what is better to have and thus not be too tight. The improvement of the track geometry. 

Hope thats all interesting. Comments and feedback welcome. 

 

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20210405_144802.jpg

Edited by The Black Hat
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Another post on the progress over the last few days. The river board has seen most of the progress made. There has been plenty of painting. Starting with brown for the river it would have looked good but in full flood given the colour. A mid darkish blue was tried next, but then when painted looked too blue - almost similar to the bridge. I switched paint range to the Timiya sets and went with sea blue. It looks much better and should be nice for a slow moving river banked by brickwork either side. 

 

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Meanwhile, grasswork has started. I bought the Woodland scenics blended turf and mixed this with PVA and water to form a paste. It was then placed and spread onto the hill-sides so that the turf went over the sides and edges of the poly-filler. It gives a steady smooth green hillside, with the occasional line where batches of the turf have been mixed and applied. All these can soon be covered by foliage. I am next interested in starting to use static grass for areas that will be more open. Most of the areas done so far will all be covered with trees so the grass would not grow as much - but other areas that get more open as the lines converge will need static grass and for me this is a new skill to develop. 

 

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Areas seen in the background and to the side are yet to cover with turf or some rock ballast. 

More photographs soon on forming the boards together for practice and seeing the whole junction start to take shape. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - Start of the scenic work

Hello again, 

 

More photos from last weekend when the boards were put together outside on a nice sunny day to test the trackwork. Power was recorded as working through the wiring but then I hit a problem in that I was unable to check points due to not wiring up the links ready between boards. Time was against me and by brother who was there to help - so we did what we could and then packed away for more work. 

The delay to this was caused by being unable to wire in the decoders for the main junction board. This will be done this week. However, the photos show the main junction in its totality on the layout, being the focal point of the lines approaching the station. 

 

Some of the set track points can be seen here, but then also is some flexi-track to give it a better profile, such as the main line that curves around the junction. 

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The photo above is one of the first ones taken, showing the main junction but also the activity that will be seen with the loading area modelled onto the inside curve. 66780 is standing just past the ground signal that is wired in and is working. The siding, which Andrew insists on being dubbed the 'nike tick' given the shape of the track layout for the yard if you look at it from this perspective. The headshunt for the yard will extend round towards the station and could include a point for an engine or wagon to end up being dumped there. 

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In this view, the approach to the small depot can be seen more clearly. Access for this being from one of the two side bay platforms that will be come platforms 5 and 6. 

 

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And finally, the whole station junction approach photo - showing the lines converge from the branch and mainlines to the south. The station, which will start just past where the class 37 is on the left and the depot is at the front corner. On the far side again the whole yard is seen with the siding to be extended. Across this area, most of the trains on the layout will pass. The time table has been roughly worked out long in advance, so that the trackwork can accommodate the various moves. All tracks have deliberately been given access to all platforms into the station and the through line, turning the station from the junction on this approach to the one that will be made at the far end into a full bi-directional operation. 

Hope thats of interest. Comments and feedback is welcome. 

 

20210425_152433 - Copy.jpg

Edited by The Black Hat
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, 

 

Work is continuing on the layout with a lot of the track having been painted this week. Sleepers are done and rails are to be painted soon. Yet, as the trackwork is being looked at on this end of the layout - I have a question I hope some can help with. 

The two river bridges, seen in the photo below - are both about to get their trackwork placed. However, I am wondering if really the track would be ballasted at all given the way the bridges are built. I know some have the track fixed and others have shallow ballast where as others would have a full bed of ballast and structure. 

The large blue bridge has a box structure as the base of the bridge, while the grey one has a smaller metal box but then have a larger platform across the top. 


20210425_152422.jpg.186ba00395afc5aaa70e645e3bf25d73.jpg

 

Some advice on this would be helpful. Looking at the Wearmouth bridge at Sunderland I think there's some ballast - so expect that's the option to take, but opinions of others would be welcome here. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Answering my own question but the bridges will not be getting ballast. Taking a view on Youtube gave the answer that the track is fixed in place. 

A picture here shows Wearmouth brdige with the track held down. While it means that some scenic work will be needed, my plan is to have boards either side of the track, so that the sleepers underneath still give the track structure strength. As seen here the track on the right has cover in the centre, so that is the look I am aiming for. 

 

wearmouth.jpg.d0e089d95f3bd97f81c933b55069b84b.jpg

 

Meanwhile, there has been work done on scenic areas. The bridge scene is coming along nicely and there has been a purchase made with a scatter grass machine. I will try to get photos of the work done so that progress can be shown. Hopefully scenic work on the layout goes well on this side, then its the town scene!

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Well... 

A start has been made on the scenic grass areas. The first results ended up pretty much being an utter disaster. I tried with the 9V battery approach first before finding that this seemed to be fruitless and needed more umph. Using PVA glue also had the grass landing pretty flat. So was mopped up with copious kitchen roll before then being attempted again. A power source and proper scenic glue later to just get things started saw much better results. 

 

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The photo above shows the first areas grassed over, between the branch and the goods yard. Track and rails here has all been painted ready for the forthcoming ballast work. 

With the static grass starting - areas where done concurrently with other grass scatters. For areas where the contours were different - what I had done was mix PVA glue, with mixed green turf scatter and some water to form a paste. It was then spread and put onto the layout giving the short grass effect or soft ground. Going over this as it was done at the time allowed a blending of static grass to be put in place before then giving way to the turf. Perfect for areas where grass grows very short under tree canopies. 

That then saw tree planting done on the side with the tunnels. My brother, Andrew came to help and gave a go, while I later did some more. The other side of the river scene has also been grassed and has had its trees planted. Wills kit for the palisade fencing has been put in around here, as the network now has much more protection from being left open. Some of these trees need to be placed and secured more, but in areas the plaster here has dried very hard. 

 

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Meanwhile, 

 

One large step forwards, has been the pouring in of the resin - but this in turn has also been trouble. Pouring it in seemed to go ok before then trying to take the specs off it. I tried sealing this with some left over resin but this never spread fully. Cue massive charge through to a local model shop and bought the two packs they had in stock. Back through home and the resin is in place setting. Now just need to hope that it sets all ok. 

 

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Here are photos of some of the progress. 

 

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More photos and updates soon.. 

Comments and feedback welcome. 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - The Ballasting begins

Hello, 

 

Time for a bit more of an update. Ballasting has begun, as the thread title change suggests. Most of this has been fine although one area has needed to be redone as the trackwork seems to have slightly been altered following a check on one point. This has seen some track work replaced and painted to allow more reliability. Overall the ballasting is looking good and a stronger mix of pva and water is holding it all in place nicely. 

 

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Other works have seen signals wired in and tested with a numbering sequence that means independant control is now no longer an issue. These are controlled from ECoS and will need to be changed manually as needed (cue signal box operator role). 

 

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I am impressed with the results of the signals, especially at night, but the ballasting is bringing the layout to life. Adding static grass to areas alongside where ballast is done freshly also allows for blends between the two and the sidings into the holding yard are starting to look a tad overgrown. This is giving me a chance to really add more detail compared to the last layout, and with extra details around things nearby, such as crash barriers for the loading area, the view is looking very good. 

I have no doubt that the place were 37424 is currently photographed on test will be one of the regular locations for freight engines viewed on the layout. 

 

20210526_082500.jpg.0348d0da8bd56b4c14a98fe94f887916.jpg

 

Hope thats all interesting. 

More soon. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, 

 

Over the last few days there has been a lot more work done on the scenery of the layout on the two boards that make up the loading area. The one with the river scene has been put into the garage as the conservatory that I have made my modelling room in might have had the resin stained by the direct sunlight through windows. It was looking great but the first day of hot weather started to show signs of this and so I tried to remove it as best I could. 

 

Photos below show the start of the depot being done. The larger full concrete boards are actually the top of the viaduct section from whats left of the Wills viaduct kit, that was made on the old layout and has now been separated and made into the tunnel entrances on the river board. Other concrete has been cut using concrete render sheets and the joins between these have been cut to both sides so that the gaps where the concerete is poured all mirror each side of the track. Rather than have concrete in the track itself I have left these open and ballasted.

 

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Also seen in the photo above is the start of the gate building for depot access and the fuelling point cover. You can make out wired wrapt around one pole so that the light onto the depot floor works. This will end up with a further pole around it to hide the wires. 

 

Oil tanks have been built and fitted, but will need to be filled via pump if they were actually used. Plastic palacade fencing now surrounds the area and I shall get more photos of this in place. Static grass is everywhere with the land next to the depot having just been done and given its first coating. 

 

 

Hopefully, should have more photographs soon, featuring the work done on the loading area building and shed - which will feature another area of the layout that is bound to become a popular loco positioning point for photographs. 

 

Comments and feedback are welcome. Thanks. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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Hello all, 

 

Some more photographs of the layout being constructed. This time focusing on the area around where the depot / stabling point is going in. This is going to be built around use for a freight company, but might then be used be a one that can have tours running to the station. My brother is liking the latter idea as then engines (that are known to be popular) can be parked up in view. With it having a fueling point, steam is photographed here on the adjacent siding, although could be put into the main depot building. Fencing has gone up around the fuel tanks compound and ballasting is being done between the concrete. The portacabins are being built but still need some attention. 

 

 

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Hope thats all of interest... more soon. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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Hello all, 

 

More photos taken yesterday of the work done on the loading area. Here we can see the new building being placed on test to site where it will go on the layout. The building will be removed for transit as it needs to be separate and then placed over a board join, thus hiding it. 

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In the photo above you can see the view from what will mainly be the internal side of the area. There is to be another building placed on the left where the wood still shows next to the blinds. More scenic work is to be done so that the grass and ballast can reach areas upto where the buildings are placed. The White one is an American Walthers kit, that will become part of the distribution centre. The Pikestuff kit alongside has been cut and shaped so that this then becomes the rail loading area for onwards road transport and distribution. A ratio carrage platform has been placed inside for access to the stock larger holes will be cut into the white building for anyone that ends up looking inside when a train is not present. 

20210608_082125.jpg.62e16bff5d578f91b9e335ad71ef0f0f.jpg

 

Another test shot of the distribution building from the side with the main road access. The bays for this are all easily visible. More steps and details will be fitted. The blue loading shed for rail is off-set for the main building as there is a need to allow for gauging clearance for long bodied stock. 


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A photograph of the main loading area road access coming together nicely. Bits and pieces of construction litter the front, including evidence of the sandpaper that has been sprayed with halfords primer and then glued down to make the grey concrete apron. An older portakabin and new welfare kit are placed on the layout to the side for welfare for crews using the run round area. 
 

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Meanwhile 37424 which seems to be the test engine of choice at the moment, is parked up in front of the working DCC ground signal next to the loading area. Here engines will be able to move to, ready to access the station for running back to the yard. I am sure this location will end up being one of the popular and repeated photographic locations, when the layout is completed. 

Hope thats all interesting... 

Edited by The Black Hat
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Hello all, 

 

A few more pictures of the layout with some more work having been done last night. The grass and ballasting has been done upto where the warehouse and loading bay are. While this was drying more yellow crash barriers have been painted and fixed in place. Some more (yes more) palisade fencing to go up around the depot and the side of the yard so as to deter trespass. 

 

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There are a few areas that need more static grass to be added and some grass between the tracks so as to be overgrown. But the junction is now starting to look more towards what will be the finished end result. 

 

 

More soon. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, 

 

A small update here. The board with the far end of the holding yard has been removed into storage. This has seen the main junction board return and be joined together so that once again the full junction is attached. The track for this will now be painted, as over the weekend I have been wiring in lights needed for the signal box, the road next to the yard headshunt and put in lamp posts for the depot access road, that will use the old Heljan system recycled from the previous layout.

 

The siding for the headshunt is now attached and nailed down, with the idea of a point being placed at the end of this for shunting abandoned due to space it would take up and how really it would just be superfluous. Instead, the headshunt will be plain line and allow for scenery around where the distribution factories all are.

A minor change has seen the ground signal moved from the front of the depot (that the eagle eyed observer might have noticed) to the front of the access line so it will protect the junction and access into platforms 5 and 6. The station headshunt / area for thunderbird / steam loco servicing, has also had its ground signal installed. 

Tonight I am checking if any more lights need installing for where the factory buildings will be going for the distribution warehouse and putting in dropper wires for the signals that will protect the main junction - then its onto the scenery. 

Will take photos of this soon. 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - First view at night

So, following the last update time for some more photographs. These photographs were taken last night, showing the layout for the first time at night. Please be aware that some of the lights are not quite fixed into place, so the light coming from some of them is from the ground up and thus looks like the light is coming from the wrong area or direction. Most of them are in place where it matters. The photos are also taken on my phone so apologies if these are are not quite to standard due to being taken in the dark. 

 

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The first photo shows the main junction, lit up from the end where the station will be. The signals for platforms 2 to 6 and the centre loop are all in place. The signal for platform 3, which has the 144 coach placed there for gauging has its signal off-set to the other side so that it is on the same side as the platform. This is similar practice to Darlington at the south end of the station, where the signal previously was for platform 1 and remains there for platform 3. All the signals have been checked and programmed so that they are controlled using ECoS. Given the issues I had previously with ECoS then controlling the next signal in sequence automatically these are all numbered with 10 numbers apart, so the whole junction can display red as photographed. 

On the left of the photo, the yard lights for the road out are lighting up clearly, but there are only three attached to this system (being the one powered by 3v) so I think these will get dimmer as more lights are attached. 

 

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The photo above shows the signals and junction from closer to where the station will be at slightly higher than platform level. The lights on the left are from the yard and might need to be controlled with deflectors if they are not dimmed with more lights attached onto their system, so that they don't detract from a drivers point of view for sighting. 

 

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Again, the signals are in place, but not fixed down. This shows them all showing red but some are more pointing at camera as they are not totally in place and thus, brighter. In the background on the right, the access onto the depot and signal box are all visible. 

 

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Speaking of the depot area, this can now be seen here in this photograph. The light for the signal box has been fixed as this needed to have the wiring checked. An additional lamp post has been installed near the front of where the box, but the light passes downwards. Additional lights are in the portacabins and the shed but these now need fixing in place so they don't light up the sky or need to have the buildings insulated so the buildings don't glow.

 

 

 

The lampposts above are recycled off the last layout, being the Heljan 12v series. These have been attached and are a good bit of kit, so long as they don't get the tops damaged - such as what happened at an exhibition once. I sighed but it was a small child... they are a bit pricey but now I have bought many for the new high street that will also feed onto the 3v system. Yet, for the road approach here to the depot these are perfect for a road put where track once was. 71000 Duke of Gloucester stands in the head-shunt to get an idea of what operation will be when its all running. 

 

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Finally, the view from the operators side showing the signal box and the light in front which will then not detract from the view of the junction. 37424 stands (yet again being the photo op engine of choice) on the depot approach road. The ground signal in front is controlled and working. I have to give Bachmann credit as the box itself is a very nice structure that will look great when the scenery is added. The light from the depot is one thats on the floor pointing up - hence its brightness. The rest of the lights over the depot are again from the last layout, being ones from CR signals. These cover the depot area very nicely and give it a slightly older feel - as in the depot has been built after the area was remodelled but then rebuilt again and these have remained in place. 

Hope these photos are ok and all of interest. More soon as the scenery across the junction is the goal for the next few days. 

Edited by The Black Hat
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Hello, 

 

A few more photographs of the progress on the layout with the junction area seeing yet more attention. In the last few days, rails and sleepers have been painted and ballasting for the area started. There have been some problems with the signals loosing connection, requiring attention and repair. This has now all been done. The road ways around from the depot alongside the head-shunt and the road round from the distribution yard to the side have both been placed down. 

 

 

 

Thanks to the ballast that was purchased and having static grass to hand, there has been a lot of ballasting done on the main open areas between the pointwork. Some points have been started to be covered.  The board is about half done with some areas of the ballast to be given darker shades away from the main running lines and some to have grass growing throughout. Scenic details such as fences, barriers and bushes are all still to add. 
 

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71000 Duke of Gloucester is seen in the yard head-shunt trialling where engines could go to take on water. Having looked at this I think that area won't be used, with the main areas to be where 37424 is seen in the photo and the siding at the end of the loading area loop. 

 

 

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GBRf celeb 66 is getting in on the action to be seen standing in front of the through line signal rather than everything being 37424. Platforms are placed to get a general idea of where these will be sited, but those noticing detail will already see that the platform has been cut and placed around the signal for platform 5. 

 

 

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And finally, 37424 / 558 is seen parked up on the head-shunt at the end of platform 6. Grass and ballast is all down for this with the barriers and fencing still be to be fitted. 

Hope that's of interest. Comments and feedback is welcome. Next updates might be a while as I am at Goodwood Festival of Speed!

 

Edited by The Black Hat
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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - The junction gets attention.
  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, 

 

Some more photos of the junction board getting attention. More grass has been applied down between the tracks and the ballasting has continued into the station. With this being done, extra details are being applied to the board so that the scenery comes together. 

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Here, engines are being placed on the layout for a view of how it could look in the end. There are still some areas to go over with ballast and the building that will go over the corner is yet to be built. 

 

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The A2, Thunderchild stands on platform 2 to gauge how close the signal is and its very tight between line access into platform 1 but remains in gauge. Charters will be using platform 1 when they are on the layout so in the end there should not be any issues. 
 

 

 

The photo above shows the main junction painted and ballasted. More is being done to add details. Extra ballast has been placed on an approach line as the grass I thought ended up too close. The fencing for the yard is starting to be fitted. More photos of this soon. 
 

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37424 is caught (yet again) posing for the camera on the exit of the depot. Signage and gates and fencing is all still to be placed here. The white mark next to the ground signal is filler that is covering a hole from when it was moved. Signal trunking has been added to the area. Track on the junction and approach is yet to be cleaned. 
 

 

 

Finally for this update, a photograph of the junction board as the viewer will see the layout. There are more details to be added to this which should happen over the weekend. 

Comments and feedback, as always are most welcome. 

 

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Edited by The Black Hat
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