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16 minutes ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

That looks superb👍. Like you say it's a shame that the amazing internal detail isn't directly visible. Is the plywood at the 'front' removable in anyway? Or is this holding up the roof? 

 

All the best,

Dave


The plywood on the side is holding up the roof as otherwise there would be nothing to keep it all in place. But you will be able to see into/under the roof... 

This will be from a series of cameras that will be mounted into the buildings, from part of the roof that is lifted out and from part of the side that you can see into. 


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Holes in the side of the wall are cut into place. These can actually be back filled with a blanking, pieces so the whole wall can be left intact. 

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The holes then allow a gap through the wall into the station...

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Meaning that if you peer down you get to see areas such as the ends of platforms 5 and 6... 

 

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Or through into the station in the main train shed. 

At least thats the plan. Personally, I am looking forwards to seeing people able to walk up and peer into the station through one of the three gaps in the wall. I also think youngsters should like the chance to view this too, or bring out the childish elements of adults. 

So hope that helps show one element of looking in so far. 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Some more of an update as to how things have been going on behind the scenes. With the station roof having had more work done and with the top of the tiles painted so that it all match, the big moment of flipping the layout through 90 degrees onto its side has come about and the station wiring underneath has been connected. With the wiring all in place it was time there was a massive moment of truth as the wiring needed to be connected to power for the first time. Would it all work? Given that the wires were rather small and I had taken the precaution of soldering them to the contact wires there was still the matter of has the build of the station damaged any. The station is glued down so there is little chance of getting to some in the centre for repairs. Once the boards are on really the station should be safe from damage as the board under the wiring turns it all into a massive box and is protected. 

Thankfully it all worked and the station all lit up (I shall get some photos). I was really pleased with the way it all looked as I was concerned that with so many lights into the building it would be far too bright and end up looking overpowered. Again, it was all looking fine, with the lights looking much like the real thing at Darlington and adding to the atmosphere. 

Rather than wait the second board was started and now the challenge is to complete the wiring here as well as add other areas where the webcams will go as well as some lights for around the station - such as street lights - as well as other areas into the main station buildings, which should include the clock tower too. 

While all this has been going on, the other locomotive project, being the creation of a BR Standard 9MT has been going well too. 79001 has been outshopped into BR green late crest and will probably end up being named Monarch the idea being that the class would take their names from some battleships. I was tempted with BR Black but given how close the model comes to a Brit the green will help it blend in amongst other classmates and that is part of the success that makes the ruse look real. Personally, I quite like the engine so don't doubt it will get plenty of comments when the time comes for exhibition. 

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146. Thats how many bulbs are under the trainshed. Last night the roof was put into place and lit up so that the full roof was seen together for the first time. I was really pleased with the look of the whole structure. The lighting adds another dimension to the reality of the model, but also serves to show how gorgeous the original station designs actually are. 

 

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Above the full station can be seen put together for the first time. 

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Looking into the station down the main platforms with the view here of the station looking south. 

 

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This view here from the other end of the station looking north. Lights can be seen on the right being higher than they are over areas where they are over platforms, rather than columns where they go between. 

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The view above is at the top of platforms 5 and 6. The hole in the board to the front is where the webcam will go and then sit within a station building. 

Hope they are of interest. Comments and feedback are welcome. Will try to post more soon. 

 

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Some more photo's of the layout under test for the lighting last night, this time with room lights on, area lit and the lights in the station off as the roof is checked for how close it matches and how it looks prior to the lights being turned on. 

 

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Roof structure in place without the station buildings. 

 

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With two other views of the main roads under the roof through the station. 
 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - Lights in the station!
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On 09/03/2023 at 13:53, The Black Hat said:

Looking into the station down the main platforms with the view here of the station looking south.

 

I suppose the second photo could also go into another thread - 'show us yours-Realistic modelling'.

Looks great, like the real thing!

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  • 1 month later...

Hello all, 

 

Another bit of an update for the station. The roof has been repainted (again) as the colour did not quite seem right on a trip through to Darlington. Extra fittings have been one for the front of the canopies, where the white boarding has been added. 

 

 

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Roof above showing the repaint:

 

 

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Roof showing the boardings on the end being added. 

 

 

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The main station end being finished with the extra columns seen below the roof. It is similar in set up to Darlington although the centre one is further back at Bank Top. Also, I have decided against any extra glass panelling at the end of the station, as that would then go too far across the platform and start to block the view into the station. 

 

Should be more photos and update soon. 

 

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Hello all, 


Start of some photos for putting the full station together. This was the first time this has been done. 

Firstly, the station building board (as it will be come to be known) is lifted out for checks and photos. The work done shows the station with the main part of the roof pretty much finished. There are some slight tweaks and touching up from the builds and moves but its looking a lot better and starting to show what it will end up like. 

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Here, the station is lifted out onto the legs. 

 

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In this photo, the station building is seen at the end of the roof structure. At this point most the building is glued down by adding large L shape struts inside the structure to then secure it into position. The roof are still loose and some out buildings but these will be done soon although some roof will be loose to allow access to cameras that will show the inside of the station.  

 

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Another view of the station at the end of the roof. The tiles are down in front of the building for a pedestrian area. I was looking at lamp-posts in front of the building and at the side but getting the wiring through is likely be difficult so the building will light the area. It should be possible to put some down the side. 

 

 

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Taken from outside this photo shows the inside of the station. Again there are a few touching up tweaks to be done but its one of the first taken in pure daylight outdoors. The eagle eyed observers can see the holes cut into the buildings where the cameras will point through to show the inside of the station, or more importantly how much further there is to drive before hitting the buffers. 

 

Will post more soon of the station being put together. 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - The station in daylight.

Hello all, 

 

The start of some photos showing the full station put together for the first time. This is quite a milestone for the development of the layout - as finally the main focal and interest point of the layout is seen together. Photos here show the station approach, rather than the full junction seen together as well - meaning theres still more to look forwards to when it all gets put together. It has mainly been done because one end of the roof is now pretty much complete, save for some minor alterations. This end is the main canopy section, with the slots for the viewing into the station still needing to be fixed to the wall, as well as the platform ends needing to be finished on the end of platform 1 where it took a bashing and the end of platform 6, which has not been added yet. 

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The view above shows the station roof together with the junction for the first time. Id like to think  you can really start to see the character of the area coming together just from this photo. Thankfully, the design can allow the layout to be run in a few different periods, pretty much from the 90's onwards but the 2005-15 period will be the main one for the layout. 

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Looking from further down this shows the view from the entrance to the depot looking across with the station in the background. 

 

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Above sees the first time the station roof meets the ends of the platform. Trackwork also shows how all lines arriving into the station get access to all platforms allowing for plenty of changes and operation to keep those watching interested. In the main, the layout will run on a timetable that lasts an hour - the clockface idea mirroring how the real railway works. Yet, as ever there will be changes when things dont go right or when things fail. 

In the foreground is the headshunt for where its expected some steam engines will be taking on water from a road tanker. The main platforms for charter access are 1 and 3, on the far side, showing how there will be activity every time one arrives and needs an engine change or terminates at Briganton. 

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Drivers eye view: this is the approach shot for arriving into the station. The arrival is bi-directional as trains from the branch will arrive on the right and on the main from the left. Platform 3 is offset from the main to the right, essentially forming a loop. This allows charters, specials and others to be put here and passed as needed. It also shows how design of the layout featuring operation of the layout was planned from the beginning, meaning there is the scope to have interest and keep people watching happy for a while. 

 

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View from the right. This is the view from the head-shunt (dubbed 'the Nike tick' because of its shape on the layout) where the end of the train into the loading area can be pushed as wagons are unloaded. On the right should be the building which forms the corner of the warehouse for the logistics company, while on the left is a view across the junction to the station and head-shunt. 

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A photo here of the station looking north from the head-shunt. It wont be long before some spotters and photographers need adding to the end of platform 5/6 for the shot over towards the head-shunt and things passing through the main line through the station. 

 209954068.jpg.gallery.jpg.587614be8b15c3220d1c6deb7dea23be.jpg

 

Finally, two photographs of the station roof of Darlington, the inspiration for the layout. From this end you will only really see one span in its entirety as both sides will have buildings but its showing the roof to great effect and is a mirror for that at the other end. 

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A shot of the real thing from the end that you see the full 3 spans, with the view down into the station hopefully looking like some of the shots above. 

I am quite pleased with the layout, even the station looks impressive and Andrew is impressed too which is high praise indeed. Although the layout is quite a monster in size hopefully it should not be too bad to move thanks to the way that it is crated up and now as boards get complete this will be something that is looked into more so that lessons are learned from having moved layouts in the past. 

There is so much more to do and now the finishing touches are being done for the station building and then onwards onto the town scene. I do hope its all of interest, comments and feedback mean a great deal as the whole point of this is that it does get interest and enjoyment to others that then watch it at work. 

No doubt will be more to follow. Hope its of interest.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Hello all, 

 

With half of the station remove and to storage, the time was finally here to move onto another board and this has really kickstarted the mo-jo back into the project. With the station having sat there for ages being built, it was becoming quite a task to progress with it, despite the fact that I am really proud of it but also because the build was massive and there was always something more to do. 

In any case, the station is still needed in place so that the next board can be worked on. Several parts of the track and scenery will flow onto this next board, the first one of three for the main town scene. As a result, track layouts and combinations have been tried and I thought I was getting somewhere with one version before platforms were placed and thus caused another gauging problem. 

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Here above you can see the start of the board and the raised trackwork being tested in place. The final diagram is actually different to the one shown here but not by too much. It also shows how the boxes used for the town scene have a lower profile as the town will be deliberately built to be lower compared with the track height. This means that during the build, the track areas are built into a slot that means that should the worst be needed it can be lifted out and allow repairs. Also, the bracing of the board itself means that it creates a 'false floor' over the board allowing for strengthening but also gives a cap into which all the towns electrics and connecting blocks can go. This also allows for the entire layout to be flat on the same height, so that legs needed for the layout can be placed and not need to be adjusted per board. The difference in height between track level and board is the 3 by 1 around the edge but also enough to fit the point motors inside. 

 

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One of the issues soon discovered was how to build the roads around the town and under the railway. To do this, its necessary to lower the road to the board and then raise it, much like old bridges used to do in some areas. The height difference for the main road under the railway is literally just enough to get a double decker bus through. So this - with some nice scenic modelling should be an interesting thing to include. To cope with this, parts of the boards around it are being cut away and the 'road' will be lowered down onto the different level. 

 

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A photo of the board being worked on and buildings being tested for siting. Looking at this - I am changing a few buildings. So the large hotel building will move to where the pub is on the right. The bus taking a nose dive is there testing gradients needed to get it under the bridge. Finally, on the far side will be a road down from the access to the station and a McDonalds drive through - just to have more scenery and adding in more urban scenes. 

The track layout is also interesting allowing the approach lines (2 main and 1 branch) to merge into 2 tracks over to the side and then onto the three roads through the station. This again is deliberate so that there are bottle necks on the station approach and means that trains just cant hammer round one after the other - round and round - which drives me crazy. There will be a need to discuss the bi-directional working of this end too which again should massively vary the activity for anyone looking at the layout from this end. Finally, those eagled eyed might notice some points marked off on the side of the board next to the Dremel as these areas here are where people will need to view through the station with unhindered access. From here you should be albe to see a train come round the corner of the layout next to the depot and then cross the junction and through the station before arriving here. I don't doubt that there will be a few people enjoying that viewpoint when its all done. 

Hope thats of interest. More soon... 

 

 

 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - Onto the next board

Hello all, 

 

Here you can see the wiring thats been put into the layout but has gone under the track. This entire piece them lifts out and slots back into place. Point motors and track wiring is all attached to this board with the slots for the parts of this forming how the sides seen in the photos get lowered into place. 

 

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Above can be seen the point decoders being wired into place. The wires are all fixed and attached to the board the track is on. 

 

 

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In order to allow the board to be lifted out at one end there is a significant amount of slack in the cable so that it can remain attached for power from the rest of the layout electrics. The yellow and red wires showing through are for track. Green and Blue are for point motor supply even though it will come from ECoS at the controller. The main reasoning for this is that previously points had a separate transformer, but since moving to a track supply system keeping the wiring for them seperate means that they can have fault finding traced much more quickly. 

 

Comments and Feedback welcome. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

A bit more of an update showing the boards now level and attached. Also there has been work done on the track layout and this photo here shows where the holes for the point deocder arms are being cut. The area has had the track re-allinged a few times and so the points have moved. One area looks a bit like a swiss cheese, but covering the holes should make it all ok. 

 

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Here though, you can see where the wood bracing for the board for the track meets the wood bracing from the floor of the board. This allows the entire track board to fit into the hole for the wiring and then should mean there is less chance of damage should it ever need to be removed. The chances are that it should not. Point decoders are fitted and these are very reliable - the wiring has been soldered on. Signals are fed from the top so should be no issue in case of needing to be replaced. 


While work on the layout continues - other projects in the background have included changing over 2 spare coaches to become barrier coaches to go with a class 20 that has also been repainted and had the side tanks off a spare DRS body fitted. Another spare coach body has arrived off ebay being a RES mail coach with the shutters so I have started cutting these out to go and fit them to coaches to make 2 WCRC support coaches. 

I will try and post photos of these soon. Hope thats of interest.  

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Just discovered this and, as you might guess from my username, it has been hugely nostalgic. It's close to 50 years since I left Darlington but this amazing layout certainly matches my memories - plenty of journeys to and from Newcastle to see bands at the City Hall, a year's worth of short trips to visit a girlfriend who lived in Yarm, summer day trips to Saltburn. I didn't learn to drive until after I'd moved away so a lot of my life revolved around Darlington station.

 

I'm now following the thread and looking forward to see further developments.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 08/08/2023 at 14:21, Darlington_Shed said:

Just discovered this and, as you might guess from my username, it has been hugely nostalgic. It's close to 50 years since I left Darlington but this amazing layout certainly matches my memories - plenty of journeys to and from Newcastle to see bands at the City Hall, a year's worth of short trips to visit a girlfriend who lived in Yarm, summer day trips to Saltburn. I didn't learn to drive until after I'd moved away so a lot of my life revolved around Darlington station.

 

I'm now following the thread and looking forward to see further developments.

 

 

 

Really pleased that you like the station and think that its similar to the prototype. Its great to hear that you think I have captured the spirit and feel of the place. Darlington has always been somewhere that's mattered to me as I've changed here and started many journeys or seen the branch line units serving mainline connections.  

I'd like to think that Briganton will capture a lot of this activity - although with it being an exhibition layout you can bet there will be several charters and test trains passing through on the same day, not long after each other as well... 

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More work has been going on during the recent weeks on the first town board of the three that will make up the far side of the layout. 

 

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There have been several tests done on the layout of the pointwork so that both the bridge under the railway can be included as well as the access to all lines and routes into the station from all lines arriving. This will be 2 main and 1 branch at this end (I am still musing over a headshunt off the branch!)
 

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As part of the main trackwork is done over the layout - the scenic work starts on part of the townscape. In order to build in the electrics under the layout, the floor for the streets are raised slightly off the baseboard and then have the wires in between. This allows the streets to be built and have the wiring protected. 

 

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Part of the build also needs for the street next to the station for the entrance on the far side to then drop down to street level. The problem here was it not to take up much space and be able to be built in a way that could be taken apart and put back in as wiring and parts were done. Eventually this has been completed, but pretty much not exactly finesse in terms of boards and woodwork. Still there is a frame so that the wiring is protected, but once some parts such as pollyfiller goes down I cant now see the boards coming back up easily despiting trying to design them as such. Still... hopefully its never needed anyway... 

 

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Finally, for this update a photo of the bridge under the layout under construction. Half the problem with the townscene has been that to build the roads and scenery it needs to be done so that wiring and things are placed and done, but sometimes this means some scenery is started, such as roads. Here under the bridge the trackwork above could be lifted out, while some extra features, such as lighting were added. Also, this part of the road, descends to full baseboard depth so that double decker buses can pass underneath. More on this as it comes along. 

 

Hope its of interest. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

As the station gets more work done on it, parts of what were ideas have finally come to fruition. 

 

Cameras have been installed into the station buildings so that those watching can see the full station interior on a screen mounted onto the backboard, while also a screen will allow the operator to run the layout and know where to stop. 

 

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Some of the test shots here showing the view from the laptop give an idea of where the cameras would be looking towards. Here the view is down into the station for platform 5 and 6 but able to see over to trains arriving for platform 4. 

 

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This next view has part of the wall into shot. Its looking down platforms 1 and 2, with monitors getting in the way / or adding to realism. Again this can be used so that trains can arrive and be stopped easily. 

 

layoutcamera3.jpg.53d91ad983206a6d6199e4998651aace.jpg

 

This next view is saved as wonky, showing the third camera looking out over the front of the 'north' end of the station. The camera needs to be straightened up and right now the class 66 is blocking the view. 

 

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Once clear you can see across the station and this is the view that is needed. Here the steam engine should be stopped with the end of the tender over the magnets under the track so that the kaydee couplings, once fitted can move and allow the stock to be detached. This camera view, past the obvious column should be really useful for operators working the layout, even if to the public it might not have the complete visual vista of the station. 

 

More updates on the town scene soon. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

As work continues on the town scene board some photos over how the work is progressing. 

 

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Ballasting work has been done to the track area. The trunking is in for this to go down alongside the track work but the dummy point motors for scenery need to be redone as stock was catching on them. 

Some planting of trees has been started as well with the grass having had the scatter mix with pva down first and then allowing the static grass to take hold. 

 

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Buildings placed in town will see some older ones amongst modern. Here the McDonalds drive through is in place with the lining down for the car park area. Lampposts have been sighted and wired in so that they can light up, as to the buildings. The hotel to the side, has been taken apart because of light bleed through the plastic but the card inserts for windows not allowing much out. 

 

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This view here from slightly lower gives a view of the station approach and pointwork. I am thinking that a clear plastic screen might be needed to go on the side of the board to protect stock that's passing close to where the public would be. 

More on this area soon and the station building thats had some work done. 

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Hi all, 

 

A few more of the town scene board being done. 

 

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Another view of the end of the layout. With some parts being done here there are the beginnings of more classic view points that the layout can become well known for. The shot from the right of the bridge with trains coming towards it does give a town feel and I hope would look better with more townscape behind it. 

 

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One area that has been managed is the area of woodland thats next to the track. Here there are a few trees in an area of land away from the main road into town. However, to give a classic look and one that can be much fun for kids - old and young alike - the trees have been planted so that you get a clear view down through the station, past the junction and then onto the curves at the other end. This will give those watching the layout a full view from end to end and be able to track the progress of any train passing through the station on the front. 

 

More to follow soon. 

 

Edited by The Black Hat
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  • 3 months later...

Hello all, 

 

Time for another update as work has been going on over the last few months and theres a fair bit to catch up on. 

 

With one board of the town scene starting to come together it was time to move onto the next. This saw buildings made for the next board done and then put roughly in place. Due to the scenic items on the layout, such as the bridge the track here snakes over towards the middle. This was just to add more interest as to be honest I have not planned this whole area in great detail. Its just been something that has evolved overall. 

 

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Here the track can be seen showing where the new routes will go. 60201 The Eleventh Earl of Mar is deliberately placed onto the up line as this area will be bi-directional over one line. 

 

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A view of the raised parts of the trackbed being done and worked out. This has the need for the board to also have a false floor built in so that electrics can be placed under buildings. 

 

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Another view of the basic town extension taking place. With the idea of the road down the centre forming the main part of the high street. 

 

More soon. 

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The false floor idea is a good way for me to be able to build strength into the boards but also keep the boards in position and secure. It leaves the flat surface of the main board underneath allowing the board to be moved around and not risk damage to wiring, scenery or other items that can be exposed. 

 

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Here the frame of this board starts to come together. Struts across the board allow the scenic deck to be built on. 

 

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Here as well as struts the boards for frames for the raised track level is going in. The bridge also has to be placed so that the levels for track can be worked out. 

 

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Then buildings start to be placed and the scene starts to build. Trackwork was placed to work out how things would look and lighting went in. Just as things were starting to come together.... disaster strikes... 

 

More on that soon!

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  • 2 weeks later...

So - it wasn't my best move. Plugging in the connecting blocks to test the track saw me plug in the blocks 2 further to one side than they should have been. There was a short snap sound as all the 3v LEDs got fried at once. I looked around, realised what had happened. Checked the power over to proper supply. Nothing. It would all have to be done again. 

Thankfully, the way the layout is made has paid off. Taking up the boards allowed relatively easy access to the wiring the lampposts that needed swapping out. Some scenery needed to be given some persuasion to let go, but this can and has been fixed once its back down again. 

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The buildings on the next board are now getting built and put into place. The kits are a range but give the town scene a decent feel to it. There is one that will become the 'North Eastern Hotel' with another to become an office/ council building that deliberately doesn't fit in with the buildings around it. 

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Another view of the buildings into the town scene. The road is made from sandpaper that was bought as a roll and then sprayed with a can from Halfords. This gives it a nice realistic look. Pavements are made from thin wood board with slaters sheeting placed ontop. Most of the buildings here are actually HO scale but given the difference and realism I think all look fine. The aim here is to build a decent scene overall to give depth and interest rather than the fairly simple town buildings you can get at the moment in 00 scale. 

 

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In this view here you can see the main high street as well as another bridge under the railway. From one end of the town scene to the other is supposed to also be a gentle gradient, meaning that its lower at the station and higher for where the backboard and break scene will be. 

The two tracks here show the lines away from the station, although the one on the left will be bi-directional so that access can be gained to the branch line point that will be on the final board. 

Will update more soon. Hope its all of interest.  

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello all, 

 

Time for a bit of an update with the build of the layout and the plans for the future. Apologies here but there won't be too many photos jut yet. 

The layout has been moved so that it can be assembled and tested in place. That saw a need for a van to be hired in order to get it to the venue. When doing this it was realised that even with a few people and the crates concept working properly that the layout overall was going to be too big to move easily. While this is very disappointing I felt that it was better to scale back the layout now rather than continue on and build the layout which would then be taxing for having to need more people to help whenever it was wanted. 

As such, 4 boards are being removed from the overall plan - shrinking down the total space the layout would take up but then also making it much easier for venues to accommodate should they want to host the layout.

The main area of boards being removed will focus on the townscene area, turning departures that that end into a full mainline departure as it snakes it way around the corner. The idea now is that the next board down features the curves into the fiddle yard and can have a townscene built over it for extra scenery. While this is a compromise it allows some scenery to be retained even if the town area will pretty much have a cliff running through the area to get from the lower bottom of the baseboards here up to where the town is over the height level needed for trains to pass underneath. 

At the far end the loading area looks to have been saved, with the operation of this flipping in terms of direction. This will see the area built on a board so that the line curves round towards the back of the layout. The branch line will still remain between the main and loading area before joining with the double track on the next board. It will also serve as the arrival line for trains to the loading area that will propel stock into this scene. Here it will pass onto the river scene which was always popular with those that have seen it and so has been kept. It makes the fiddle yard a bit smaller but this should still allow a nice amount of stock to be shown and for some to be able to be swapped out when running exhibitions. 

Despite this, there has been some work done this last week where the plans have started to come together. The boards for the yard and station have been made and crated. Other areas because of the reduced size have started to be matched and the boards that have been made and are now spare will form the basis of a smaller depot layout that can be made and exhibited just on my own. So in many ways it can and has been made to work out. The change still allows the layout to function even if the whole focus now is pretty much on just the station and the traffic passing through. While some boards have gone the compromise on the curves at the end of the layout means that its unlikely high speed running can or should take place and the lack of the extra length will mean that engines running on sound are not seen accelerating as much off scene. Still, it manages to hold onto a lot of the original idea - the station, depot, loading area, branch and north exits all remain. So there should be a lot of activity for those watching to enjoy. 

Will try and post some updates and photos as time allows, but this is after what has been a change of plans... 

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  • The Black Hat changed the title to Briganton - Change of plans...

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