Gopher Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 8 hours ago, MrWolf said: I had similar problems (No, not problems, opportunities to refine the design and actually improve the final outcome.) when laying out the station throat for Aston. It did, as in the case of Dewchurch 3, mean that I ended up with a better version of the admittedly modest facilities, which will make it more enjoyable to operate. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to reuse certain parts salvaged from the old layout. It means that the previous layout isn't dictating the shape of the new one and compromising the improvements that you have decided to make when you decided to demolish Dewchurch 2. Enjoying seeing this layout come to life. Rob Thanks Rob - yes best laid plans and all that. It is interesting but one advantage of running Dewchurch 2 for 12 years - is you get to know how you operate it and where the limitations are i.e. I found there were a couple of sidings I hardly ever used, and at least one was not long enough. So I've tweaked the plan to hopefully remedy this. Onward and upward . -well actually downward back underneath the baseboards today. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) Seemed appropriate: https://youtu.be/L4DdAs0PddQ Edited January 11, 2022 by MrWolf Useless internet 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Another week of track laying/wiring. The trackwork on the station board is nearly complete. Just got to add one more siding in the goods yard (waiting for more insulated rail joiners which should arrive tomorrow). I also thought I'd better check clearances in the goods yard - so started unpacking some of the buildings. I've used DCC Concepts legacy stainless steel track for the goods yard sidings, because as I thought I do not have enough good SMP track. The stainless steel track is a bitch to solder track feeds to, so I cheated by fixing brass rail joiners to the end of each siding and soldered the track feeds to them. It is nice track and very flexible and matches the SMP track and Marcway pointwork quite well. Once the station board trackwork is complete (hopefully by Tuesday). I'm onto the loco yard board, which has less trackwork but two three way points, and the turntable to wire up. So no doubt will require a good supply of profanities. Hopefully another couple of weeks will see all track laid, ready for painting and eventually ballasting once I've tested it by running a combination of trains over it all. Edited April 2, 2022 by Gopher 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Looking good, I like the way you have managed to put in so much trackwork without the layout looking cramped. It all flows nicely and I think that is what gives the illusion of space. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 16, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2022 Definitely looking very good, and all seems to be developing very quickly too. Great stuff! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted January 16, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Gopher said: Another week of track laying/wiring. The trackwork on the station board is nearly complete. Just got to add one more siding in the goods yard (waiting for more insulated rail joiners which should arrive tomorrow). I also thought I'd better check clearances in the goods yard - so started unpacking some of the buildings. I've used DCC Concepts legacy stainless steel track for the goods yard sidings, because as I thought I do not have enough good SMP track. The stainless steel track is a bitch to solder track feeds to, so I cheated by fixing brass rail joiners to the end of each siding and soldered the track feeds to them. It is nice track and very flexible and matches the SMP track and Marcway pointwork quite well. Once the station board trackwork is complete (hopefully by Tuesday). I'm onto the loco yard board, which has less trackwork but two three way points, and the turntable to wire up. So no doubt will require a good supply of profanities. Hopefully another couple of weeks will see all track laid, ready for painting and eventually ballasting once I've tested it by running a combination of trains over it all. That's a very wide baseboard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 18 hours ago, St Enodoc said: That's a very wide baseboard. Yes that one is 6ft by 4ft in old money - and a bit of a stretch to model things at the back. I could do with being 6 inches taller with longer arms 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 19 hours ago, MrWolf said: Looking good, I like the way you have managed to put in so much trackwork without the layout looking cramped. It all flows nicely and I think that is what gives the illusion of space. 18 hours ago, Graham T said: Definitely looking very good, and all seems to be developing very quickly too. Great stuff! Thanks both. I think my phone camera may have exaggerated the space, having said that (compared to Dewchurch 2), I have omitted one siding on the left and the goods yard is bigger. It is a challenge trying to model a town terminus in limited space with an interesting track plan, and not making it all look too cramped. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) Track laying on the station board is complete. I need to be disciplined and complete the trackwork for the loco yard board, (and thus complete all the track laying), and resist the temptation to start adding the scenery, buildings etc., to the station board Edited April 2, 2022 by Gopher 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Know that feeling I prefer adding buildings and people to track layi ng ,doing a job now on the scenic side .Replacing a building with a new one and area around it remodeled and made more scottish ,like your progress . 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 19, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2022 I can resist anything, except temptation... 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 8 hours ago, lmsforever said: Know that feeling I prefer adding buildings and people to track layi ng ,doing a job now on the scenic side .Replacing a building with a new one and area around it remodeled and made more scottish ,like your progress . Sounds good. I'm quite envious as I've spent most of the day installing yet another 3 way point 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Edward Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 15 hours ago, Gopher said: Sounds good. I'm quite envious as I've spent most of the day installing yet another 3 way point Go on, go on! You know you love 'em! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Edward said: Go on, go on! You know you love 'em! I'm trying my best. but love is not one of the words I've uttered when wiring the things. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 27, 2022 Author Share Posted January 27, 2022 (edited) Photos showing latest status of track laying on the loco yard board. The good news is that there is only one more siding with a drop pit to be laid into the engine shed - and that completes all the track on the layout (apart from adding some missing sleepers, and painting and ballasting it all). I had big plans for the track layout on the loco yard board, but it soon became obvious that space was more limited than I envisaged, and planned for (less than on Dewchurch 2 even though the baseboard is the same size). The track geometry has shifted slightly towards the back of the layout. So some of my plans had to be shelved (trade off between having all the track I wanted but no room for many buildings). So some of the track had to go. (Hard to believe when you look at how much track is left). I laid two tracks onto the turntable, but it was a very tight fit, and looked odd. So one of the tracks is now a short stub siding. There is also no room for the diesel refuelling point. So this will now move to the station board. The carriage siding will now be a diesel refuelling siding. The same carriage siding was also present on Dewchurch 2, but it is at the back of the layout, and a stretch to manually uncouple carriages. So I will not miss it. I've been taking a break from track laying and completing another half relief backscene building and some backscene walls and gate (temporarily in place at the back of the engine shed). Once the track is all laid, I'll start cutting out the holes for the working semaphore signals . Most of these are motorised Ratio kits, about 30 years old. I purchased them via an ad in Railway Modeller. They have served with distinction on three previous layouts. Only down side is they need quite big hole to install the operating mechanism. Law of Sod dictates there will be a baseboard cross member directly underneath the preferred location for some of the signals. I actually shed blood over the layout yesterday, managed to stab my finger with something. I had not noticed until red stains started appearing on the track work. Blood sweat and tears, all for a new layout Edited April 2, 2022 by Gopher 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 27, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 27, 2022 All looking very good, and once again I'm impressed by how fast you get things done (have you been taking lessons from Andy P?) I sympathise about the blood letting - I've done the same at Chuffnell R once or twice... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 10 hours ago, Graham T said: All looking very good, and once again I'm impressed by how fast you get things done (have you been taking lessons from Andy P?) I sympathise about the blood letting - I've done the same at Chuffnell R once or twice... Thanks Graham. Being retired helps, and also using items salvaged from the old layout. I also dislike track laying - so just want to get it done. I also think you get a bit of "match fitness" - seemed to take me ages to install the first two Tortoise point motors. The next twenty three were much easier. I think we wear our scars of railway modelling with pride - (I really must stop burning my self with the soldering iron as well) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 28, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 28, 2022 I've been putting off some lifting and re-laying of track that I need to do. Including fitting and wiring a single slip, which is filling me with dread! And let's not talk about soldering please... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) Couple of swans follow a narrow boat down the canal - totally oblivious to the chaos and swearing above them as layout construction continues. Edited May 17, 2022 by Gopher 8 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 29, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 29, 2022 I like those! Are they the Dart Castings ones? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) Break out the bubbly, Boris declare a national holiday - the track laying on the whole layout is complete. Or to put it another way - thank &**%% for that. Hopefully I won't have to rip any of it up when I start testing it properly. At the moment the turntable turns, the points point, all track is live and there are no short circuits. Edited April 2, 2022 by Gopher 5 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 16 hours ago, Graham T said: I like those! Are they the Dart Castings ones? Thanks - I think so Graham. Had them years they have sat on ponds, rivers and canals on previous layouts. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted January 30, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 30, 2022 10 minutes ago, Gopher said: Break out the bubbly, Boris declare a national holiday - the track laying on the whole layout is complete. Or to put it another way - thank &**%% for that. Hopefully I won't have to rip any of it up when I start testing it properly. At the moment the turntable turns, the points point, and there are no short circuits, all track is live and there are no short circuits. Nearly finished then! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted January 30, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, St Enodoc said: Nearly finished then! Absolutely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Now you have a good foundation on which to build. I know that a lot of us prefer the more creative side of building a layout, but without the track, baseboard and electrics being spot on, you're going to struggle. Think of that as trying to paint a replica Rembrandt on a carrier bag. You've cleared the first three hurdles now. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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