37114 Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 Hi Rob, we meet at about sevenish every other thursday. Its a group aimed very much at beginers but they are a good bunch and there are some interesting projects starting to emerge - see the website for details http://www.gascupboa...o.uk/-i-10.html We have a free mini-exhibition on December 12, I will have Highbury colliery there, the Bentley boys will be bringing Hedges Hill cutting along and Steve Jones has his very nice little O gauge BLT there. Must get round to putting a notice in exhibitions about it. Jerry Cheers Jerry, I will try and make it down on eve, if not I will try and manage the 12th. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 Hi Rob, I do like the Loriot wagon,B) I have been thinking of getting one to go with a few old Airfix LOWMACs, I used a couple of Matchbox Hymacs on my wagons but I like the look of your kit, please keep us posted on how you go with it. Cheers Peter. Thanks Peter, I wasn't aware of the matchbox Hymac, but am enjoying building the kit. The arm can be posed fixed in any postition and the instructions are pretty good. The castings require a fair bit of fettling and cleaning up but otherwise it is going together well. Hopefully when it and the Loriot are finished I will be able to cobble together a nice engineers rake with the other wagons currently on the bench. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Hi Rob, I am pretty sure your kit will look better than my Matchbox ones, look forwards to seeing it finished. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Thanks Peter, I did some more work on it last night, the MK1 is there as I had concerns about it being out of gauge, but looks ok. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 Well its been a month since the last update, probably because I have spent a number of evenings at the modelling desk and not on the PC browsing RM Web! Consequently I have some progress to show, albeit on stock for the layout as opposed to the layout itself. The progress has been driven by making an inventory of the unmade and half finished kits I had in the cupboard and remaining jobs to do on the layout, resulting in a lengthy list of jobs.. First off the Hymac and Loriot: The loriot is finished and weathered and I am very pleased with the end result, especially as I don't find cambrian kits the easiest and the instruction weren't great the actual, kit went together well and is very detailed. The Hymac as of 30 minutes ago is complete exept the hydraulic pipes, and a start has been made on the weathering with more to come. The Hymac kit isn't a beginners kit but goes together with care, my only real niggle being the cab fit is a bit poor, although mine is not aided by having been dropped. The completed model is very heavy, and I am concerned about the long term effects on the loriot from such a weighty machine, I do have a woodland scenics bulldozer in build so may end up using that instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 Sticking with Cambrian wagons, these 2 have been in build for longer than I can remember being partially built while demonstrating at a show some years ago. I have finally finished the dogfish and mermaid, with the insides being weighted and filled with ballast. They will run with the Loriot as a short engineering rake on the layout, providing an alternative to the current van train. Another project started a while ago and not finished is this burnt out brake van, which started life as an airifx kit, and has basically had the superstructure built from scratch. It will become a semi permanent fixture by the cement terminal although is fully moveable and has Bachmann wheels fitted. Something completely different and unlikely to run on Pallet Lane is this Bachmann Deltic. Originally 55020 Nimbus, it has been renumbered to 55019 Royal Highland Fusillier, as well as having ETH added and some light weathering. Although not suitable, I have a soft spot for Deltics and my next layout will probably utilise it. No pics but A 117 centre car is also in build which has been hanging around for nearly 8 years! Part of the reason why I have never finished it is because a 3 car DMU won't fit in the fiddle yards, but as the DMU can be run on a couple of club layouts it made sense to finish it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 It is nearly 2 months since I posted any updates on Pallet lane, mainly because a lot of the work that has been going on is either rolling stock or odd little details for the layout and getting it ready for Trainwest in April My wife made the observation when she saw the extension set up that it didn't have any litter bins on it. I am aware there are a number of proprietory litter bins available, but these either seem too modern or too old. I ideally wanted the yellow lamp post mounted ones which I remember quite clearly in my youth, so ended up scratchbulding a couple from plastic square section, filed to shape. One has been put outside the supermarket and the other near the park The biggest project I have been working on recently concerns the road vehicles, of which there are circa 50 on the layout, and 75% of these are on the new board. Firstly a number of vehicles have had drivers and passengers added, a task not made easy by a number of manufacturers rivetting cars together, although top marks to Oxford for using screws. For people I use peco figures cut down. Secondly I have been securing vehicles to the layout. The time taken to set the vehicles out at the last show wasn't significant but it took time none the less, and many of the vehicles have mirrors now meaning they are susceptible to handling damage. I experimented firstly on the vehicles on the new road bridge with gluing a 10ba nut to the bottom of a couple of cars then securing underneath with a bolt through the board. This would allow them to be removed if necessary and should be pretty secure. However the mod was time consuming and was tricky not to get glue on the thread of the nut, it was also difficult to access the bolt to screw it up on the new board. The bolt was also visible on vehicle with larger ground clearance. The second approach was the one I proceeded with for anything larger than a Land Rover. I removed the wire from 2 freezer tags for each vehicle, one for each axle. The wire was wrapped around the axle just inside the wheel. This therefore left 2 wires sticking downwards on each axle. 2 sets of holes were then drilled in the baseboard and the wire then threaded through (see pic) The wires were then knotted together underneath. I found this method quick to do when I had completed the first model and it also gave some adjustment to allow me to position the vehicles correctly on the road. For anything smaller than a Land Rover, I superglued the vehicle to the tarmac, as this was infinitely quicker and the lightweight vehicles won't really test the strength of the glue. Here is the complete scene albeit without buildings in place. I had the use of a feedback controller the other day and was impressed at how much better the slow running was even though most of my locos are modern(ish) spec, so now have a Gaugemaster HH on order and look forward to trying it out at Trainwest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Just a reminder, Pallet Lane's one and only exhibition outing this year is to Trainwest in Melksham this weekend (9th/10th April), say hi if your passing, I don't bite! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted April 7, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi Rob, Looking forward to seeing Pallet Lane again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Great to see everybody who said hi over the weekend, thanks to Steve, Matt, Jo and Dave who did sterling service tustling with the much detested 3 links, I managed to get some decent time looking round the show. Matt brought his 75tonne crane down which had a run out on the layout, EwsJo has put a picture of the impressive beast on the Trainwest thread. Such is the length of the crane that the fiddle yard cannot accomodate the tool van that comes with it! Here are some pictures I took of 2 of the 37's at the show: 37009 shunts the fuel train: The 37 runs past the industrial units 37009 prepares to shunt back into the siding. The bare backscene is due to receive some attention, probably an extension of the wall. The next day centre box 37240 is on the fuel train: 240 backs under the bridge 240 in the distance from under the bridge. It is only from this angle I have noticed the wonky signal, another job to do. As an aside the Layout is twisted along the length a consequence of my dodgy carpentry. Pallet Lane is next due to appear at Cheltenham in April 2012 to kick off what will be the first of 3 shows next year, the others being Chippenham in September and Thornbury in November. With the development of Pallet Lane virtually complete, thoughts are turning to the next layout. The new Layout is due to appear in 2015 at Cheltenham and other than being 12 foot long and being BR Blue I have no idea what it will look like. Its going to be a fun 4 years! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemoon-jon Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 hi, Absolutely love the blue diesels here, they look nice and grimy! this has to be one of my favourite layouts. please keep us updated with your new layout, if its anything like pallet lane, it'll be a stunner! cheers, Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 hi, Absolutely love the blue diesels here, they look nice and grimy! this has to be one of my favourite layouts. please keep us updated with your new layout, if its anything like pallet lane, it'll be a stunner! cheers, Jon Thanks for the comment Jon, track plan for new layout now complete so in due course I will start an appropriate thread when I have some "real" progress to show. Suffice to say it will be very different to Pallet Lane although will be set in 1977 so I can use the locos at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Very interesting thread like the layout rolling stock is exceedingly brilliant ,like the the Nationals a much maligned vehicle ,look forward to your next creation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemoon-jon Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 track plan for new layout now complete so in due course I will start an appropriate thread This, to me, is already VERY tempting haha! cheers Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Very interesting thread like the layout rolling stock is exceedingly brilliant ,like the the Nationals a much maligned vehicle ,look forward to your next creation. Thanks I have a soft spot for Nationals too, long term plan is to do a 2 door Bristol VR to go in the depot as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Hi Rob, Just been catching up on your thread, not sure how I missed the pics of your finished hymac, but it looks good.B) The other shots of the layout are looking good too. I do like the burnt out brake van. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Hi Rob, Just been catching up on your thread, not sure how I missed the pics of your finished hymac, but it looks good.B) The other shots of the layout are looking good too. I do like the burnt out brake van. Cheers Peter. Thanks Peter, The Hymac is too heavy for the Loriot unfortunately so sits in part of the cement yard, I tried running it on the Loriot during Trainwest and had a number of problems with such a heavy wagon being propelled into the sidings, thankfully the Woodlands scenics Bull dozer is much lighter. I am very impressed with your own layout, it is one of the ones that has given me inspiration and ideas for the next one, also reminded me I must get on with the point rodding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Hi Rob, Sorry to hear about the hymak, though I would think it looks alright sat on the layout. Thanks Re Llanbourne, the point rodding is a pain to do but well worth it, if you need any extra info on point rodding let me know. Though you shouldn't have to much trouble as you haven't got a heap of points. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks Peter, like you say rodding Pallet Lane shouldn't be too difficult with only 5 to do! The Hymac does look good in the yard, certainly attracted a number of comments during Trainwest, a number along the lines of "where can I get one?" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 EWSJo came round to take some more photos this morning for the follow up Railway Modeller article which focusses on the new extension. Despite the heavy overnight rain and dark clouds we braved the outdoors to get the photos. While Jo took the "official" photos I took a few of my own: 37 on the fuel train with Bubblecar disappearing off into the distance Looking over the tunnel mouth and on to the tracks below, this takes me back to my youth trying to lookover the bridge by clifton down to see if I could see a train passing underneath while my mother dragged me to Sainsburys. The "gap" at Clifton down has since been filled in and now has shop units on it. Newest (and almost certainly the final) road vehicle for the layout is this Gateway MAN lorry. It started life as Base Toys 1950'S flatbed, the trailer is scratchbuilt except the wheels and chassis, while the tractor unit uses a modified Corgi cab. General view of the station and town area: 08623 is recessed in the station with the short engineers train. As previously mentioned the Hymac is too heavy for the wagon but looks great on the Loriot wagon. The 117 is a Lima one repsrayed with Silver Fox sides for the DMS with replacement couplings and new corridor connections. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemoon-jon Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 looks really good now! i especially love the shot looking down on the bubble car, good work! cheers Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mason Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 this layout always looks better and better every photo i see, what are the plans for it this year??? Neil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 this layout always looks better and better every photo i see, what are the plans for it this year??? Neil Thanks Neil, It's a quiet year on shows, with none planned until April 2012, some minor touching up on the scenery is planned, I remarked to Jo yesterday when reviewing the photos how you see things on the camera that you never notice when assembled. My main focus at the moment is scratchbuilding/kit bashing some Motorail flats for the new layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hi Rob, Nice pics, I do like the one looking over the bridge at the bubblecar. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 Its over 5 months since I posted an update mainly due to having moved house and all of the associated hassle. Now having settled in a bit I decided to make some progress on some of the scenery, and have attached some photos of recent progress. It was constructively pointed out to me at Trainwest the area of the backscene between the road bridge and cement silo looked bare, especillay with the wall and buildings behind the cement silo. I decided to extend the wall to the road bridge and then scoured the internet for suitable pictures of industrial buildigns of the right age to extend fromt he original pictures. A few scenic bits have been added with help from Dave Spencer. Dave has the glorious Penrhos layout and had been helping me with the backlog of weathering on my coaching stock for the new layout (more of that later) but also has been showing me how to add longer grass for the edges of the wall. Dave recommended some hemp and luckily had some to hand, the hemp is glued down in clumps then trimmed with scissors. In the move some of the bars between the buffers that stop buffer lockign came adrift so have been fixed and while the board was out I put 20059 and some presflos in front of the wall. 20059 is one of the less modified locos on the fleet, having been weathered and renumbered. The extension increased the length of the head shunt on the station so 20059 occasionally doubleheads with 20214, nose to nose of course! Other progress not photographed has seen some improvements to the class 37 fleet as I took the opportunity of a weekend demo-ing at Cheltenham to cut the corners out of the fuel tank and detail accordingly. A nice improvement although a lot of effort! A western region 47 is in the spray shop, having had the boiler roof port replaced with the Clayton type and will emerge as 47077 "North Star" and will have the honour of being Pallet Lane's first named loco and also the only one to have "0O00" headcode which it carried throughout 1977. 47077 was planned to work mainly on the new layout which is going to be based around a carriage sidings, so it was decided to add another boiler fitted loco to the fleet. I made the decision quite a while ago to use some different (to me) concepts with the new layout particularly in the areas of baseboard design and track which will be Marcway or similar. As it is likely to be some years from completion (new house requires an extension to be built) I am contemplating building a smaller "Pallet Lane but different" style layout which will be something around 5' x 1' which will be less labour intensive and will mean I can see how feasible some of my ideas are before building the carriage sidings layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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