'Wyreford'

[Houndog1372]

Hello all! 

 

Thought I would start a thread on here to run alongside my YouTube channel! My layout is called 'Wyreford' and is based on the WCML, roughly between Weaver Junction and Stafford. The layout will be set between 1995 and 2010, an era which I fondly remember from when I used to go for days out with my Dad and latterly, my friends. 

 

I previously owned Bala, a Liverpool Model Railway Society layout that my Dad bought for me back in 2009. The layout served me well for ten years, before slowly starting to fail in places (Dead sections, warping ect). Bala, was housed within my garage, which was uninsulated and rather dusty (As well as being absolutely freezing in the winter), all of which didn't help! 

 

 

[Houndog1372]

Therefore, earlier this year I decided to take down 'Bala' and start the long process of building my first proper layout (All my previous layouts have been bought)! One thing that I decided, was that I wanted to sort the garage out before starting to build the layout. I could just about cope with the cold temperatures in my teens, but them days are long gone! 

After months of saving up and getting the RDW/Sundays in, I had enough to start convert the garage into a room, were I could happily play trains all year around. 

Come February 2020, we contacted a firm to begin the conversion. They looks brilliant online (Flash website, great reviews ect) and we gave them the job. The next day, they start getting to work. They suggested that I fit a Lantern into the roof to add light, and they had it fitted two days after starting the work. Overall, I was very impressed with the quality work and the speediness..

However, just before lockdown things started to change. They asked for money up front, and then more money and then they would go missing for a week, then the excuses started. The quality of the work nosedived, and I came from work one evening to find second hand bricks, and doors which they wanted to fit onto the garage. 

To cut a very long story short, they took all the money and ran, leaving me with a shell of a garage which was leaking and rubble left all around the house. The insulation and plasterboard was left on the grass, eventually getting soaked in the rain. Then lockdown came, and that gave them the perfect excuse to run. The business was closed due to the pandemic and our money was 'gone'.

It turns out the gent running the business is known for ripping people off, closing the business down and starting another. We have tried to chase the money back, but we have been told 'we will get nothing'. 

 

Here are some photos of the 'handy-work'

[Houndog1372]

Once we came out of lockdown, I finally managed to contact another (Much better) builder and the work was done within two weeks!

Now I had the garage sorted, myself and my friend began to construct the baseboards. There were constructed over August and September, and measure 22ft by 8 ft. The tops of the baseboard is made from 9mm Plywood, and is braced by 2x1 softwood.  The legs are made from 3x1.5.

They have just been painted grey to protect the plywood from the glue and any other material we end up placing down. 

The cork used is 4mm, and so far this has been placed on the fiddle yard, and under the town scene. The scenic side of the layout will have the cork placed just under the tracks at a later date.

 

One issue I am finding so far (and I know I'm not alone!), is peco track. The layout will be all code 75, and I have managed to get two boxes of flexi-track, and 8 curved points for the entrance to the fiddle yard. 

Hopefully I can start laying track properly at the end of this week (Only thing I'm waiting for is wire for the droppers). 

That is were I'm at currently! The layout will be DCC, although I'm still deciding on what the best controller is) 

 

Thanks for reading, my YouTube channel is - https://www.youtube.com/user/houndog1372

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Houndog1372

[Lowlander]

Hi

 

That looks like you are going to have a cracking modelling room. I look forward to following the progress.

 

Stephen 

Edited November 10, 2020 by ayrmrg

[Houndog1372]

More progress has taken place since my previous post! 
The fiddle yard is 95% complete, and only requires droppers to be installed near the points, and the point motors need installing themselves. 
The idea with the entire layout, is that every piece of track has its own power source, so we aren’t relying on fishplates to conduct electricity. 
As for the controller, I have been looking at the Gaugemaster Prodigy unit. Still to be decided what I actually go for! 
Each road within the Fiddle yard can accommodate 12 coach trains, meaning all my HST sets fit comfortably. 

 

It is now turned into a waiting game for track, I have managed to source a full box of Peco Code 75 Concrete Sleeper track to start the scenic side of the layout. I’m hoping that the one box should be enough, but we shall see.