West Canal Sidings - University portable shelf layout.

[The Johnster]

Yes.

 

 

IMHO.

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Well... Baseboard materials purchased, 2 week wait for delivery! 

 

Looks like I have plenty of time to draw up plans for buildings etc. 

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Ive made some progress drawing up the retaining wall and a vague platform. I think the station will  be modelled as more run-down than the yard  and will only be a small halt. 

 

what sort of building would be on the platform, i think a full station building / ticket office might look overbeaaring, perhaps a small hut or shelter? The mainline will be br western region.

 

 

Im now carefully planning building placements so they dont interfere when the layout is flipped. I will probably have to remove anything on top of the retained area but that shouldnt be too much hastle.

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

More progress has been made drawing up the 'main' buildings and seing what fits.

 

Im still not sure what to put above the fiddle yard. either warehouses or the backs of some terraced houses , what do you guys think?  whatever goes there will be removable so the boards can be stacked on eachother. 

one big change is the addition of a canal at the front left of the layout as it helps give a reason for the yard being crammed in this space.

 

I have also added a fence seperating off the mainline from the private yard, this will be on top of a small grass bank or mound between the tracks.

 

The main buildings i have added are:

• A lean to shed / warehouse up against the retaining wall.
• A smaller building by the canal , which i imagine to be alot bigger off the front of the layout.
• a large walled in factory,  again that should extend off the front of the layout. 
• An engine shed

 

This is the 'lean to' i have added. my current intention is for this to be a goods shed, however if i come to dislike the engine shed at the other end of the layout this may end up an engine shed

This is the smaller warehouse end by the canal. I am very happy with this design, obviosly doors and windows will be added on the real thing. It came about by seeing what building fits neatly under the station stairs and road bridge wheen the boards are flipped. I am not sure what industry it could represent . Any ideas?

 

Finally this is the large factory at the other end of the layout. It has a loading platform and a walled off yard , possibly for some sort of hut or small building. This will be  one of the taller buildings and therefore the top half will be removable for when the boards are stacked. any industry suggestions welcome.

 

i am quite happy with the building i have added, having them on the edge of the layout allows me to suggest the rest of the much larger warehouses and the rest of the canal are just off scene.

 

The only building i am not too sure on is the  free standing engine shed. The more  i think about it the more i think that the lean to shed might be more suitible to lock up any valuable goods over night as well as keep the private loco inside. if i keep the shed it will definately need removing to stack the boards aswell. perhaps id be better off with a basic siding or maybe a small crane and possibly some small storage sheds.

 

The final empty space is the gap in the runnaround.  I was thinking of a collection of small buildings. such as toilets and  mess facilities, or maybe a grounded van or two?

 

Thanks,

David

[Nearholmer]

This has got a lot of potential - I feel a lot happier about it now that it’s split into “main” and “industrial”, not that what I think really matters.

 

My reservation is about the row of blind arches hiding the FY. I’m not quite sure they feel right yet. Could you angle the station end of them more, so that they look like a structure supporting a road that then crosses the railway very obliquely?

 

This is a bit like what I have in mind https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2253730

If, instead of putting buildings on top, you then put a parapet wall along the far side, it would suggest a road between two railways. Maybe even have the top of a signal or a telegraph pole poking up beyond the parapet wall, to suggest the presence of the other line.

 

You’d then only have to remove a few road vehicles for storage purposes.

 

K

Edited June 26, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

21 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

If, instead of putting buildings on top, you then put a parapet wall along the far side, it would suggest a road between two railways. Maybe even have the top of a signal or a telegraph pole poking up beyond the parapet wall, to suggest the presence of the other line.

 

Hi there,

Ive had a play with this idea. ive put some of the available warehosue backscene stickers as a place holder for the design to show where some low/ flat releif warehosues could go and then a single road.

 

Ive aded the parapit wall at the back, perhaps i can play with tree tops or telagraph poles making it appear as though the line goes under the road and comes out behind it.

 

 

In other news the full size track plans have arrived ( i had them laser printed a3 as i only have an a4 inkjet printer), as well as a load of bits and bobs from station road baseboards ready for when the ply arrives sometime in july.

[Ben B]

Really intrigued by this project- I like the idea of having a compact under the bed layout for Uni.  Especially as with the proposed restrictions with the Corona virus, you're likely to have a lot more time to yourself and less out socialising/learning... something like this might really help you stay sane!  Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions?  Are you going into Halls?  I'm just wondering if you'll have space to set the layout up (when I was at Uni, an eye-watering 15 years ago, I was in a house for all three years, but my mates in Halls seemed to live in broom cupboards, and there wasn't room to swing a cat).

 

Is the plan to build it before you go to Uni, or take scenic bits to work on whilst you're there?  My landlord was relatively sympathetic to model making (good job too, as I ended up doing a lot of practical work) and my room had a horrible carpet, and a monster of a workbench/desk a previous tenant had jerry-rigged from metal section.  Not all landlords may be sympathetic to glue and paint everywhere, and I cannot imagine most Uni Halls managers would be.

 

As for storage, would you consider putting it in a box?  I know you've built it as a wooden box that bolts together, but is there some mileage to be had from building it so it also goes into, for example, a plastic Really Useful Box or similar?  Would make transporting it easier, and possibly make for more secure storage.  Again, I don't really know about where you're going or what you're doing, but bear in mind you'll be in with strangers... My mates on the course were OK, but I tended to have issues with drama students and Fine Art types who had rather more flexible attitudes towards possessions for example (especially when they'd had a drink), and the wider crowds who were friends with a housemate in First Year tended to treat our house and everything in at as their property.

 

I realise a lot of the above might sound a bit negative, so sorry if it does- I'm not trying to put you off!  I really like the idea.  When I was at Uni, I didn't take any model railway stuff with me in the first term, but quickly realised that alongside the model-making/sculpture I was doing to create props for my photography course work, I needed something relaxing/creative to do.  Carlisle had a nice little model shop, my first visit home I collected a few old N gauge bits to go with whatever second-hand scenics I got at the shop, I raided the scrap-bins at the DIY place and and I ended up creating a really simple little N gauge layout that could store in a toolbox.  Long-gone now of course, and incredibly simple, but it did the job when I just needed to unwind for the odd ten minutes here and there whilst working.  I'd forgotten that it appeared on the Small Layout Scapbook, it's on this page; 

 

https://www.carendt.com/small-layout-scrapbook/page-54-october-2006/

[Nearholmer]

When I undertook post grad studies, I used to build 16mm/ft wood and metal wagons as a relief, and many years before, a friend had a neat little 009 layout that he built while in halls as a undergrad.

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

1 hour ago, Ben B said:

Really intrigued by this project- I like the idea of having a compact under the bed layout for Uni.  Especially as with the proposed restrictions with the Corona virus, you're likely to have a lot more time to yourself and less out socialising/learning... something like this might really help you stay sane!  Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions? 

Hi there, 

Thank you so much for your interest. I have just finished my first year of an engineering degree, going onto my second in October. 

 

I was in a shared house first year and am lucky enough to be staying there again next year, I have a nice landlady and get on well with my housemates so there should be no dramas.

 

I even have a small garden so I can set it up in the sun outside for photographs

 

I shall have a look at that link

Thanks, 

David

[Ben B]

3 hours ago, Horsehay Railway Modeller said:

Hi there, 

Thank you so much for your interest. I have just finished my first year of an engineering degree, going onto my second in October. 

 

I was in a shared house first year and am lucky enough to be staying there again next year, I have a nice landlady and get on well with my housemates so there should be no dramas.

 

I even have a small garden so I can set it up in the sun outside for photographs

 

I shall have a look at that link

Thanks, 

David

 

Apologies then if I seemed a bit patronising, I'd got the wrong end of the stick and got it into my head you were about to start Uni. Sounds good, the situation there- I'd have loved a garden at my Uni digs for photoshoots, we just had a slightly manky overgrown yard

 

Engineering degree too! Proper subject. Are you able to incorporate railway enthusiasm/ model making into the work?

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

1 minute ago, Ben B said:

 

Apologies then if I seemed a bit patronising, I'd got the wrong end of the stick and got it into my head you were about to start Uni. Sounds good, the situation there- I'd have loved a garden at my Uni digs for photoshoots, we just had a slightly manky overgrown yard

 

Engineering degree too! Proper subject. Are you able to incorporate railway enthusiasm/ model making into the work?

 Its fine! I happened to miss out on halls by ending up at a different uni than I expected but I am more than happy with my uni house, certainly after hearing many stories from friends in halls. 

 

 

Thus far I have not had the chance, however I am sure I'll be able to sneak some of the hobby into my course at some point. I may even be able to make use of some of the workshops, I think a freind  mentioned being able to use the laser cutter provided own materials are supplied. 

[Ben B]

10 hours ago, Horsehay Railway Modeller said:

I may even be able to make use of some of the workshops, I think a freind  mentioned being able to use the laser cutter provided own materials are supplied. 

 

Dangerous path to go down that... when I was a DT technician a few years ago, I did a lot of out-of-hours use of our cutters for my own model making, supplying my own MDF and Acrylic sheet.  I got such withdrawal symptoms after leaving the job I ended up saving up for my own laser cutter

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Hi all,

The first cuts have been made! 

 

I won't be back home at my parents house until next week. However I made a socially distanced visit today to accept delivery of plywood for this layout. 

 

I didn't have time to cut all of the framework as I ended up working on the main layout, however I cut the sheet into 3 sections measured from my cutting list. This allowed me to lay them flat on the (sealed) workshop floor with gas canisters on top to hopefully take out the warp before work starts next week. 

 

Whilst home I also opened up my parcels, Including an order from station Road baseboards with alignment dowels and latches etc. And the first electronics order from cpc. 

 

Another delivery I opened was this lovely 04 from a popular auction site that will suit both layouts well. 

 

It's an older Bachmann model and I will be posting on my progress  dcc fitting the split chassis, fitting kadees and weathering. 

 

Thanks, 

David. 

 

 

[croydon junction]

sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but here is another way for you have a station/industry layout. This would actually work for 00 gauge with your baseboard size, but it would be most suited to the southern region as you could use a 2 car EMU/DEMU. Brockley Green (EM gauge) used this setup, but was much larger.

 

Best of luck,

 

Matthew

 

P.s.  your CAD pics look really good, what package did you use?

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

4 hours ago, croydon junction said:

sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but here is another way for you have a station/industry layout. This would actually work for 00 gauge with your baseboard size, but it would be most suited to the southern region as you could use a 2 car EMU/DEMU. Brockley Green (EM gauge) used this setup, but was much larger.

 

Best of luck,

 

Matthew

 

P.s.  your CAD pics look really good, what package did you use?

Hi there

Thanks for the track idea but I'm pretty set in my current plan. I'm just waiting for peco to be back in stock. 

 

All of my CAD is done in Fusion 360 by auto desk. I have a free license through uni however I am entirely self taught so although they look pretty I'm sure none of my drawings are up to spec. 

 

Thanks, 

David

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

I'm back home now and work has begun on the baseboards. 

 

I cut all of the various components out of 9mm ply. 

 

Before making the corner braces out of 18mm ply screwed and glued into square timbers. 

 

After sanding all of the wood and drilling 25mm holes In the centre braces to allow for wiring I screwed and glued the first board together

It's now sat with weight on so the glue can set over night, you can see the components for board 2 in front. 

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Well the second board is now Gluing up, I may even get onto joining them together this evening. 

 

I've added the cutout for the canal/dock

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Well that's it, the boards have been assembled for the first time. 

 

First I set about installing the allingment dowels. 

 

After carefully measuring, clamping, and drilling both boards together, I swore alot and made a second attempt. 

 

The first allingment was out because I couldn't quite fit the drill between the rungs in the board, among other issues. 

 

The second time around I used a very short  drill bit for the pilot hole so I could fit the drill inbetween the rungs and ensure it was square, then seperated the boards and drilled the ends. 

 

I then installed the three clasps as shown in my original plans (one hidden under the front and two on the back). 

 

The hidden latch required a notch with the circular saw and a chisel. 

 

The back scenes were then screwed and glued before the  rear two clasps were added. 

 

This is the result. The join in the centre isn't perfect but by the time I've added cork it will be fine. 

 

Next I need to work on getting it to fit together as a box, as well as adding a hinged flap behind the hidden sidings to allow access. ( you can see the cutout ready for it) 

 

Thanks,

David

[CameronL]

On 26/06/2020 at 18:29, Horsehay Railway Modeller said:

This is the smaller warehouse end by the canal. I am very happy with this design, obviosly doors and windows will be added on the real thing. It came about by seeing what building fits neatly under the station stairs and road bridge wheen the boards are flipped. I am not sure what industry it could represent . Any ideas?

 

Finally this is the large factory at the other end of the layout. It has a loading platform and a walled off yard , possibly for some sort of hut or small building. This will be  one of the taller buildings and therefore the top half will be removable for when the boards are stacked. any industry suggestions welcome.

 

Hi David.

 

Just found this thread. Fabulous little plan and a shunt hog's dream. On your ponderings about suitable industries, may I add a suggestion? The beauty of your two locations is that they are both low-relief and can therefore hint at a much larger installation. The smaller of the two by the canal could be a light engineering works or even a boatyard for the repair of canal boats. This would allow a variety of materials to come in by rail - wood, bulk paint, cast propellors, whole marine diesel engines etc. The small space next to the factory could be filled with such clutter to hint at its use. For the larger "factory" could I suggest a type of industry which makes something absolutely essential to life; without which civilisation as we know it would probably topple.

 

I'm talking, of course, about a brewery. 

 

Breweries are a well-modelled lineside industry. Just search Rmweb for the word "brewery" and see what you get. As a suitable industry they have many advantages - one being the variety of goods stock they require. Coal wagons for the boiler house, grain wagons, vans and cask wagons can all put in an appearance on that one short siding. Also, you can dedicate a large space to a detailed installation or just hint at the site with the company's name on the end of the building. 

 

This is what I suggest you do, although I think one change would help. Keep the footpriint of the site the same, but swap over the building and yard. The yard is then adjacent to the siding and you have room to unload directly in to it. At the far end is a coal bunker, then next to it the loading platform which runs along the front of the building, which I would suggest you model as the grain store. Sacks of brewing materials would be unloaded and hoisted up to the top by a grain hoist running up the outside of the building. The rest of the yard could be taken over as a barrel store.

 

This way that one little siding gets a lot of freight movement.

 

Hope you like the suggestion. Feel free to totally ignore it.

 

Best wishes

 

Cam

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

3 hours ago, CameronL said:

. On your ponderings about suitable industries, may I add a suggestion?.... 

Hi Cam, 

Thank you so much for your advice. I love both suggestions, I may have a look at rearranging the yard and the building, I just have to be careful with what goes where so nothing gets damaged when the layout is flipped on itself. 

 

I just need all of the track to be back in stock and I'll be able to make a start on this layout. 

 

Thanks, 

David 

[Nearholmer]

How many real industrial premises have the company name and purpose displayed above the back loading dock? Relatively few, I would suggest.

[CameronL]

35 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

How many real industrial premises have the company name and purpose displayed above the back loading dock? Relatively few, I would suggest.

It all depends on what's in front of that back loading dock. Off-scene and facing the brewery there could be a major road, so if all the passengers on the buses saw a sign saying "Chumley's Fine Ales" every day it could be some good free advertising for them. There are plenty of old industrial and railway buildings around Trafford Park and Castlefield in Manchester that do exactly that.

 

Of course, their range of beers with names like "Chumley's Wheeltapper" and "Chumley's Sentinel"  might include a "Chumley's Rule One" as well.

Edited July 15, 2020 by CameronL
Shameful grammar

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

Afternoon all, 

I realised its been a while since I posted here, I've been busy with my main layout.

 

 

 

But the uni layout is progressing steadily too. 

 

I've finally tidied an area in the lower workshop of the garage and set up the boards on top of a pasting table. 

 

I have applied a premium Id backscene. Mostly grass and trees as most of the backscene will have retaining wall etc. On anyway. 

 

Track is arriving steadily. I've preordered it all and it is slowly being dispatched my way as bits come into stock. 

 

I've cut out the track plan and and am getting ready to cut and glue cork down. 

 

Finally I have started work on the points control electronics. I've decided to go with arduino servo control as I have everything I need already except a few more servos so all in it will cost me about a tenner to electrify and operate all of the points. 

Not much else to say. 

 

Thanks for looking

David 

[BusDriverMan]

I like the electronics board! I also have Arduino-controlled servo-driven points on a similar layout, but on mine the electronics are mounted directly to the underside of the baseboard - I think your way is better. I don't recognise all the components here - top left is a bluetooth or wifi module, right - will you operate points with your phone? And how did you select the DC converters?

[Horsehay Railway Modeller]

6 hours ago, BusDriverMan said:

I like the electronics board! I also have Arduino-controlled servo-driven points on a similar layout, but on mine the electronics are mounted directly to the underside of the baseboard - I think your way is better. I don't recognise all the components here - top left is a bluetooth or wifi module, right - will you operate points with your phone? And how did you select the DC converters?

Hi there, 

It's all made up of Components I had laying around. 

 

Still working on the board but yes the control panel will be on my phone connected to the layout via Bluetooth.

 

The black box in the middle is a relay allowing me to switch the 12v bus on and off with the arduino. 

 

The top right is an i2c servo board allowing me to wire servos so they only have an i2c bus connected to the arduino. 

 

Finally the dc converters are just cheap ones from amazon. They convert 12v in to a steady 5v for the arduino (I burnt out the one built into the arduino a few years ago) and 6v to run the servos from their own supply. 

 

I decided to build it off of the layout so I can programme and wire it all before installing it on the layout and plugging everything in.