RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted July 15, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi Ian The fiddle yard has been considerably altered and extended by John. The original design was for our Ketton layout, but for Horseley Fields we needed considerably more capacity and he's done an amazing job and made it far more operationally effective than it was. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich.B Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 What an EXCELLENT piece of modelling!....and in N scale too, just shows how N has evolved the 5 to 10 years,....but it also takes a keen and dedicated approach to getting that `feel and atmosphere' using the latest products in conjunction with scratchbuilding,painting and weathering. This layout, to me demonstrates this to perfection,..... and as for the location.....I spotted it straightaway, Wolverhampton Steel terminal/ Chillington Wharf, next to the West Coast Mainline just South of Wolves from your first pic. It's really nice to see such interest of late to the Midlands/Black Country area, what with the Black Country Blues, & The Birmingham New Street project on here as well. This is an area with such `rich & interesting' railway and industrial heritage, it is `great' to see at long last the area getting some of the `recognition' it so justly deserves. In my opinion this is the true `picture' of the areas of towns and cities that the real railways ran, or still run through today,.....`Grotty & depressing in places' but really interesting in model form...Well Done. Cheers, Rich.b Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren chpamn Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 hi ben have you got any more pictures or plans of your fiddle yard layout please as im trying to get ideas for mine daz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Mr Pike and family arrive in town ! He was seen recently on the A454 Willenhall Rd and heading this way. No prizes for guessing where he will park for the night. Ref Page2 #36 5th photo down & #46 It has little to do with railways but here is a very cruel picture of the latest addition to HF. Does it bear any relationship to the real thing ? See Google Images Gypsy Caravans.To get some idea of the size the wheels (from P & D Marsh) are 5mm in diameter and it is built to 1;148 scale (approx) Apart from the wheels the van was scratchbuilt from brass for the axles, leaf springs and shafts,plasticard for the chassis and hood framework covered with brown paper and painted by Ben A. Mr Pike was given new arms by cutting off the originals and drilling a small hole through the shoulders through which a piece of brass wire was inserted and this was then coated in thick PVA to build the arms up to the right thickness, Mr Pike and his horse were painted by yours truly which is quite easy to see. Ben was probably at work at the time ! Don't forget that we will be at the N Gauge Show on the 8th & 9th Sept. Please come and say hello and meet us and Mr Pike Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hello All Mr Pike cont'd As suspected and reported above Mr Pike did indeed make his way to the vicinity of Horseley Fields Railway. He is now to be seen even as you read this, making his way across the camping field. One horse seems to have taken fright but the other two don't seem at all bothered by his appearance. Cheers John Footnote No! I am not pulling your legs, there are another three horses in the field,I just failed to notice that one was out of shot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 3, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2012 Looking forward to seeing the layout this weekend at Leamington Spa. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted September 3, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hello Ian, Yes, we're looking forward to seeing Banbury too. John has been working steadily on a lighting pelment based on your own design, which I will paint, however we won't quite have it ready in time for the weekend unfortunately. In the meantime, we had a visit from Model Rail's Chris Nevard today, who photoraphed the layout for a future appearance in the magazine. Very interesting to watch him work, and he took far more shots than will ever appear in print I'm sure! While he snapped away I took a couple of wide shots and close ups myself. EWSi 66191 (Farish renumbered) passes through with a rake of WBB mineral hoppers. These are standard Farish models that have been enhanced with the TPM BIS sand detailing set: In the background DBS 66152 shunts the steel terminal. This is a Dapol model with Easi-shunt couplers. Lots of trains! From left to right - Farish BDAs and SPAs in the outdoor siding of the terminal; a Freightliner train with a rake of scrap wagons waits in the loop as a Farish X-country Voyager passes on the mainline, while coming this way northbound is Freightliner/Shanks 66522 with a Blue Circle cement train which is a mix of Farish metalair PCAs and Farish depressed centre PCAs enhanced with the TPM detailing pack. Mr Nevard lines up an undoubtedly far better version of the above shot: Close up as a rake of ex-RMC JGAs trundles into the freight loop. The grey wagon (and the one to the right) are NGS kits, the orange "Roadstone" wagon is a scratchbuild model of the RFS built hoppers and far left is a resprayed Bachmann RMC JGA. Horseley Fields will be attending the N Gauge International Show this weekend at Leamington - see you there if you're coming! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I will be there on Sunday, very much looking forward to seeing this in the flesh! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Nevard Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Thanks for a great day Ben and John! I've just dumped the 250 or so frames taken onto the pixel grinding machine and I'm 'well pleased'. From a photography aspect I was very taken with the high backscene and shooting in natural light made a nice change from the more usual stuffy loft! That photo; my wife said I'm getting a little thin on top, I see what she means now, maybe I could go for a Lou & Andy special in time or a super-combover Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted September 3, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hi Chris Ha - you only need to worry when you are as thin as I am on top! Thanks for taking the time to visit us today - really looking forward to seeing your shots. After our chat I had a look at Dragonby (ex Acton Mainline) in the current issue of MR and if our pics come out half as good as those I will be well pleased! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 3, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 3, 2012 Some nice photos of the layout Ben. Looking at the weathering on your 66's I need to spend a bit more time on mine! We went past the steelworks at Wolverhampton juat over a week ago and it immediately made me think of Horseley Fields. Ian PS - I must get RM as remember seeing Acton Mainline being built in the clubroom and operating Acton many years ago on a few occassions with Dcik and crew. Its one of the layouts that inspired me to do N scale albeit much more easily than back then with so much more ready to run available now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Thanks for a great day Ben and John! I've just dumped the 250 or so frames taken onto the pixel grinding machine and I'm 'well pleased'. From a photography aspect I was very taken with the high backscene and shooting in natural light made a nice change from the more usual stuffy loft! Hi Chris Very nice to have met you today, glad to hear that you are pleased with the pics,cant wait to see some of them. Backscene ! As you say you speak from a photographers point of view. Ben and I made the big warehouse,lifting doors,inside light,green light for shunting into warehouse and Dapol Easy Shunt uncouplers. Failed to take the backscene into account, too high! its a job to see what is going on. Some you win some you lose ! We do however have an LED fitted at the back to indicate when the doors are in the raised position. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Nice to see Mr Pike has a Skewbald horse - very popular amongst his family they are Hi Mickey Thanks for dropping by,and thanks for the info, I wasn't sure if it was Pie or Skew. The Boss posted a comment about horses (see page 2 #40 ) so I thought that I had better try and get it right, glad you approve. Upon packing up the scenic modules today I took the caravan off so that it didn't fall off,( Mr Pike and his horse are fixed) someone later noticed it was missing, has the caravan been stolen ? they asked, might make a theme for the thread but I thought it might be a bridge too far. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hi Chris Ha - you only need to worry when you are as thin as I am on top! When you reach my age you won't worry at all. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted September 4, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2012 Failed to take the backscene into account, too high! its a job to see what is going on. Some you win some you lose ! We do however have an LED fitted at the back to indicate when the doors are in the raised position. Would a mirror or two (curved?) mounted onto the lighting pelmet help? I'm looking forward to seeing this layout again - I didn't have enough time to look at it properly at this year's AGM. Happy modelling. Steven B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Would a mirror or two (curved?) mounted onto the lighting pelmet help? Hi Steve What a good idea ! Would have to find a way to fix them so that they wouldn't get broken in transit. We did not have a pelmet until recently and that is still under construction! You don't mention if you are driving south this weekend ? Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I see Andy's comment on the Tipton freerange horses - you got the stocky, slightly unkempt look down to a T Piebald is when the white patches are on a black horse.... Hi Mickey Thanks again for the info,just goes to prove one is never too old to learn,not that I intend to buy a horse Mr Pike's horse is a tad too small but he is as you say a stocky little fellow and will do for the present. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hi Folks. Report on the latest HF project which might be of interest to any member contemplating the construction of lighting pelmets. First of all I would like to express my gratitude to Ian of Roundhouse and Bambury fame who has been most helpful to me during the construction of the pelmets and pointing out the pitfalls he encountered,like making it high enough so that tall people don't bang their heads and not to use MDF blocks,he never did say why,perhaps it is cos they split if screws are put in the ends 'Roundhouse' USA HO steam twighlight in the 1950's - USA & Canadian Railroads - RMweb - Page 2 The job is not yet finished since I do not have the lights to hand. Nick our Group Leader, Chief Electrician and Treasurer has been charged for the selection and purchase of said items but we could have a bit of a conflict of interests here. As Treasurer he is loath to spend a penny more out of group funds than necessary (and quite rightly so) and on the other hand as Chief Electrician wants to see a Proper Job done, Will wait and see what the outcome will be. How the four corners that take the most strain were constructed ie dovetailed corners,2 dowels, large hole for the passage of wire and a bolt at the bottom as low down as pos. (as per Ian's instructions) Pieces that remain to be fitted inside once I have the lights. The picture also shows the block , pole (28mm broom handles) and top turned fixing for added strength as fitted in base boards. Those shown are for Nicks new layout under construction. This is the 8' version,it would look better if there was a layout between the end modules. There is a gremlin in the works (file too big to upload) will try 2nd posting. Cheers for now be back soon John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Pelmets cont'd As I said before this is the 8' version. Correction the 8' still wont upload this is the 12' version Will have to seek advice , already clipped a bit off the 8' in the paint department but no luck. It's coming to something when one has to send a picture via Email to a colleague in order to get it uploaded to the thread. Nice one Ben, thanks a lot. If this computing machine was made of wood I might be able to deal with it better. The 8' version is to be seen on the next page,kindly uploaded by Ben Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 4, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 4, 2012 John the MDF spacers tend to bow a little when all bolted together and the whole pelmet is then put on its end poles. I think solid timber or thick ply or block board would tend to be less likely to bend. The MDF doesnt bend a lot but just enough to allow a bit of sag when four pelmet sections are bolted together. If I have to redo the pelmets at some point then will change the spacers but after six years its still in use. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
engage Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 John .If I have to redo the pelmets at some point then will change the spacers but after six years its still in use. Hi Ian If it aint broke why try to fix it ? Your pelmet still looks very nice as depicted on your Roundhouse thread and I am sure that a slight bow will not be that noticeable. One thing that I have already found out is that the pelmets will not take much sideways or upside down strain. I might soon have to start educating my colleagues so that as soon as it is bolted together on the ground it must be turned right way up before lifting or it will break. I have not yet fitted the rear skin but that will make little difference to sideways strain. Regards John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted September 4, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 4, 2012 John yes we do have to turn it over after bolting together carefully then lift with the pelmet in its upright position but once in this position its fine. Sorry but I should have mentioned that. Once thrh are used to it the pelmet should be fine. ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted September 5, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hello all Here is the other configuration of John's pelmets with the centre section removed, that will hopefully be used to frame a baseboard that is just 8', rather than 12', long. The system has been designed for this since we plan to use it across all our club layouts, and the next one looks like being a little bit smaller so we have some flexibility! Now all I have to do is paint it! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 That looks good Ben ,so whats the next layout going to be? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted September 5, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hello The design hasn't been finalised yet, though we have agreed to make it smaller and instead of recycling the fiddle yards (as we did for Horseley Fields) it will have dedicated ones. We're not sure what the actual concept will be yet, though the group members have some ideas. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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