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Ellerby - 4mm/OO gauge - All photos working, hotlinked.


Jamiel
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Ellerby Thread Index.

There are things dotted around the thread, and I do have a habit of starting one thing before finishing another so there is a lot of overlap of topics. These are the main things I have built for the layout with links to the start of the process for each, and sometimes even to the end of some builds. Listed chronologically.

Buildings.

Water Tower
Tower29.jpg

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/&do=findComment&comment=630723

Plans and building the Water Tower.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-2&do=findComment&comment=982515

Tunnel Entrance and Cutting Walls.
Tunnel16.jpg

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/&do=findComment&comment=702169

Goods Building:
Goods80.jpg

Plan (front only) and making the model.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-2&do=findComment&comment=1030811

Brick painting and weathering:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-4&do=findComment&comment=1070034

Signal Box.
SignalBox57.jpg
Plan:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-5&do=findComment&comment=1073894

Building:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-6&do=findComment&comment=1107717

Signal box finishing.
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3171144

Main Station Building.
Station building in progress 2016, scratch built following plans seen at the National Rail Museum

StnMain231.jpg



Plans:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-11&do=findComment&comment=2148779

Building the Main Station Building:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-14&do=findComment&comment=2396724

Continued, lighting and building the footbridge steps and the outside areas.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-back-to-the-station-building-others-buildings-rolling-stock-index/page-19&do=findComment&comment=2765103

Newsagent building.
ShopA42.jpg

Kibri corner shop kit bashed and anglicised.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-loco-detailing-making-buildings-index/page-17&do=findComment&comment=2642745

 


Department Store (Walthers Argossy Bookstore x2)
Weaver's Department Store, adapted from two Walther's Bookstore kits.

DeptStore182.jpg

Kit bashing two Walther's kits and anglicising them to make a large town department store.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-comet-black-5-kit-buildings-rolling-stock-injuries/page-22&do=findComment&comment=3024955


continued.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3419149

 

Arcade Shops
Work in progress.
Arcade_57.jpg
Based on the Kibri Cornerhouse kit, some sections cast off in resin and a hint of Vicar Lane buildings in Leeds.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3560895



Rolling Stock.

*These projects are either in progress or waiting to be picked up again.
Some not marked with this may still need a few little things ading to them, but are more or less finished.


Catfish & Dogfish.
Dogfish10.jpg

Cambrian kits, detailed.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-7&do=findComment&comment=1377584

Presflo's *
Presflo31.jpg

Dapol kit detailed (mostly):
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-8&do=findComment&comment=1861494

Crosti 9F.
Hornby Crosti 9F, detailed and weathered.

Crosti34.jpg

Detailing the Hornby Railroad model:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-10&do=findComment&comment=2049838

Posts on the 'Railroad Crosti 9F' thread:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/80314-railroad-crosti-9f/page-32&do=findComment&comment=2042444

 

Dapol/Airfix Class B tankers and Slaters Rectangular Tank Wagons.
Tanker15.jpg

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=2199436

 

Second batch, and scroll up for Cambrian Sturgeon.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3625253

 

Rectangular Tank Wagons, other wagon kits and Bachmann Class 47 minor detailing. Over a couple of pages.
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=2211452

Class 29 Diesel.
Class2919.jpg

Hornby body detailed, Bachmann class 25 chassis:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-12&do=findComment&comment=2284198

Bulleid Diesel 10202
Bullied66.jpg

Silverfox body kit, Hornby Railroad Class 40 chassis:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-13&do=findComment&comment=2331005

Class 129 Parcels DMU.
Class129_69.jpg

Craftsman conversion kit, DC Kits cabs, Comet parts on a Replica Railways chassis.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-loco-detailing-making-buildings-index/page-18&do=findComment&comment=2690318

LMS Inspection Saloon.*
Saloon10.jpg

Comet brass kit with additional parts from the box of bits.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-back-to-the-station-building-others-buildings-rolling-stock-index/page-20&do=findComment&comment=2818720

Caprotti Black 5 *
Black5_35.jpg

Another Comet brass kit of Ivatt's wonderfully brutal take on the Black 5. Not quite the final version he did on the last two built, maybe that is for later build.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-lms-inspection-saloon-comet-station-buildings-rolling-stock-index/page-20&do=findComment&comment=2864658
 

 

Dummy Class 25
Bachmann spare body and parts made into a dummy for double heading.
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3005252

Class 120 DMU *
Build of a Class 120 DMU based on the Craftsman conversion kits with lots of other parts added.
Class120_48.jpg
Craftsman conversion kit/etches plus lots of other bits.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-comet-black-5-kit-buildings-rolling-stock/page-23&do=findComment&comment=3239911

Lancashire and Yorkshire Class 23 Sadle Tank.
Build of a Class23 from a London Road Models brass kit, to be a BR LMR loco.
Class23_069.jpg


https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-4mm-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=4200041

 

Class 124 Transpennine.
CL124TP_58.jpg

 

Initial start, just the cabs and a first stab at the driving car bodies using Replica Railways Mk1 coach bodies.
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-4mm-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=2967688

 

 

Work with the Worsley Works etches.
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-4mm-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=4416834
 

 

Other Things.

Weathering

LMS Twins
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=2282268

Co-Bo Class 28
Class28_13.jpg

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-buildings-rolling-stock-scratch-kit-building/&do=findComment&comment=3201055


Shed:
Building and insulating the garden shed for the layout (not a loco shed).
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/53110-ellerby-layout-and-loco-detailing-back-to-making-buildings-for-a-while/page-8&do=findComment&comment=170884


For hacking back Peco points just scroll down this page.

Points2.jpg



A rare shot of stock actually on the layout, hopefully this sort of shot will become more frequent in time.
LocoAtLast2.jpg



Initial post.

I hope this layout is not at a too early stage to start a topic about it here.

Although there are two places in Yorkshire called Ellerby, this model is not based on either of them, it was originally going to be called Ouse-Gate but the name was changed after the birth of my daughter Ella Beatrice, hence 'Ella B'.

It is my first layout after coming back to the hobby after a break of thirty years or so, and I am quite aware that is is ambitious, but it is what I want to build. It did have a false start and a change of room. It was originally in the room that became the nursery, then moved to a garage extension, it agained few feet in length. For its third move to a shed when we moved to York several feet more were added, and when we move again the layout will increase again (2019).

Principally it is is a British Rail Midland region station, but does have some Eastern region traffic, especially expresses travelling towards Leeds and Harrogate (a bit like Wakefiled). It is set mostly in the early sixties, but I will cover from the late fifties up to around nineteen eighty. Having been a spotter in the 70's I could not ignore some blue diesels, but I have become drawn more towards steam as I have started collecting rolling stock. There are also a few locomotives that do not belong in Northern England, but since I like them they will get the odd outing on the rails, some as specials, and some just for the heck of it.

I have made the baseboards from 9mm ply, and although a couple of sections are not up to the standard of the later sections, it is all movable and lockable.

There are many influences on the layout, which I would bes describe as being a 'mongrel'. The central four tracks, with bay platforms either side reflect stations I knew as a boy, Selby, Doncaster and York. I have decided to set station and shed in a valley setting, so that all the tracks are in a cutting, or sided by warehouses and other central town buildings, thus removing the need for a 'back scene'. The station building sits on a road bridge, like Keighley and some of the Great Central Railway stations. This also makes 7 coach trains look longer as they will disappear under the road bridge and station building. The track disappears into two tunnels at the north end of the station.

It is a circular layout, with a fiddle yard (when built at some point) opposite the modelled area. There are two main passenger lines running through the centre of the station. Two goods lines run at the side of the station, which to the North also supply a bay platform for local services. At the South they follow the cutting through the town. There are two bay platforms running to the South of the station. There is a four lane engine shed tucked away behind the station, with a turntable and coaler/water tower.

The first building I built is definitely an interloper, being the arched water tower from Plaistow/West Ham. I discovered it in Volume 3 of the LMS Engine Sheds series by Chris Hawkins and George Reeve, and thought it was just so beautiful I could not resist modelling it. Plans and various stages of progress are on my website, but needs more updating to catch up with where I have got to now. http://www.jamieloch...WaterTower.html EDIT, and now on teh first couple of pages of this thread.

I was planing to scratch build all the buildings, but using bought etches and mouldings whereever possible. Kit bashing has added to the buildings as time has progressed.

Rolling stock is mostly ready to run, my first conversion was a class 128 DMU from the Craftsman kit, after that more kit building and bashing has happened. A lot of the goods stock will be kits, Dapol, Parkside Dundas & Cambrian.

I know some people are very dedicated to following a specific prototype location, but for this layout I wanted to make something which I could play with, but retain a sensible working for the tracks.

Track is Peco Code 75. Finescale would have been lovely, but as a starter layout, I would never have got under-way. I have been taking a 'Dremmel' to some points in order to make them fit better, and also the short 'X' to make a scissors that doesn't force the tracks into a wide and un-natural spacing. This was only done after a first attempt, which will be shown in some photos soon, so the track at the 'South' end of the station has been taken up, and redone, now I have more experience. I am also removing every tenth sleeper from the sections of flexible track, separating the sleepers, and spacing them a little wider to make the track look less factory/American. I plan to heavily balast the shed, and some of the station, to disguise some of the unspaced aras of track. The scissors crossing will also be heavily balasted, and cutting together all the different Peco tracks left some poorly matched sleepers. Peco Bullhead track is also being added ehre and there, I wish it had been around when I started, but too late for much of the layout now.

Control is DCC, which I am pretty pleased with, but am aware you do have to watch out for shorts, especially if you have live frogs, and can shunt up to them. Control of points in through simple throw switches, I didn't want to go all the way to computer control, I wanted to feel a bit hands on with track settings.

I should also say that I was a member of the Leeds Model Railway Society, the members of which have given me a great deal of advice and help.

I have also been inspired by many of the threads on this forum, and a few of the well known independant modellers websites.

Plan of the station and depot from 2014, this is changing a little as I now have the layout in a shed and have more space. The facing points at the 'North end' are being re-laid.

PlanJun13.jpg


I look forward to hearing advice and comment from the many experienced modellers on the forum.

This post is updated from time to time, latest July 2019.

Jamie

Edited by Jamiel
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Guest bri.s

i like the plan youve made good use of space ,wouldnt mind a layout like that myself keep the up dates coming im watching with intrest

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Thanks Bri S

 

Here are three views of the water tower, it is obviously not finished. More layers of painting are needed, the roof, ladders, etc. I also have to get the mortar into the edges around the pillar details. The inside has had to be detailed before finishing the whole thing because of the access needed, which is why it looks a bit 'half and half' at the moment.

Tower1.jpg

 

Tower2.jpg

 

Tower3.jpg

 

Here are some of the stages of the 'point butchery' I did to get the main lines to stay parallel using the Peco track. Mostly done with a Dremmel, Stanley knife and scalpel. In the third you can see the last of the points from the 'Peco' spacing to the right, which has not been taken up yet, the tracks are now around 35mm closer.

Points1.jpg

 

Points2.jpg

 

Points3.jpg

 

Here is an old photo from when the layout was in what is now the nursery, you can see how using the full Peco 'X' skews the central tracks.

EllerbyTrack1.jpg

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The entrance to the engine shed has been amended (and the track laid, no photo yet), after some discussion at the Leeds club the other night. It now allows access to the shed area from both the up and down passenger main lines, and also leaves the engine shed as a sort of circle which gives a lot of scope for loco movements independently of the rest of the layout. I am told that it does correspond with LMS practice for stock movements, which is good, as accuracy to real practices always gives a more pleasing end result.

EllerbyPlan2012a.jpg

Here is a photo of the sleeper spacing which has been done the lower of the three lines in view. Not as wide as finescale tracks, but I feel it does improve the look of the Peco track. It does take a lot of time, but I feel it is time well spent improving the look of the station tracks. There will be a little last minute tweaking before ballasting no doubt.

 

The engine shed has a lot of points, and many photos of engine sheds show the tracks well buried by ballast, easier to walk on, and not fast train moments, so that area will need much less of this time consuming sleeper work.

Sleepers1.jpg

 

And finally another photo of the water tower under construction, a few months ago. The lights on the corners work, as do two lights in the centre between the girders, hence the wiring visible in the water tank section.

Tower4.jpg

Edited by Jamiel
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  • 1 month later...

Tidy1.jpg

Apologies to anyone waiting for me to update on this topic as it has been a while.

 

Above is a before (left) and after (right) on tidying the layout of the points at the 'North' end of the station. The points to the left of the signal box have stayed the same, but those to the right have been tidied to keep th main lines equidistant through this end of the station. Some of the points had the ends twisted and soldered to circuit board sleepers to add a little start to the curves beyond.

 

There wasn't anything I could see to do with the double slip, and the matching point next to it, to make an even curve through this section. Making fine-scale track would have given something much better I know, but this layout is based on Peco Code 75, so it is a compromise I will have to accept.

 

I have done quite a bit of running of stock around the layout, especially some pacifics as the leading bogie is a great give-away of any little kinks in the track.

Despite all that a great improvement I think, certainly stock is running much better without little kicks in the movement.

 

There has also been quite a lot of wiring, soldering, and reinforcing under the base boards, which does not lend itself to photographs and updates. I also dropped the soldering iron, and very stupidly caught it, and spend the rest of the evening swapping to ice packs from the freezer to numb the pain. Two very fine blisters to show for my efforts.

I have also been starting to mock up the fiddle yard, and experimenting with the off scene track beyond the tunnel, with I have managed to get a 24" radius on the inner line (of four). Plans for the fiddle yard will follow, as it draw them up in more detail.

 

Still now I have the track down through 90% of the area to be modelled (just a bit of good line and siding at the 'South' end to tweak), I can now make a start on the scenery around the track. I will start with the 'North' end tunnel entrance, and the retaining walls, up to and including the bridge with the station building on it. Hopefully more frequent and interesting up dates to follow.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here are a few stills showing the construction of the tunnel at the 'North' end of the station. Nice to get back to modelling after the slog of track laying and wiring.

 

The tunnel entrance is very loosely based on Catesby tunnel, but doubled up, and with a bit of retaining wall on the left side.

 

I made some templates in cardboard to check stock would not catch, and tested with BR MK3 coaches to be safe, then after a couple of attempts I got one that worked, so the templates were made of 9mm plywood. A word of warning B&Q Chinese 9mm plywood (I am pretty sure that is what I bought) has spaces inside some oft he inner layers, so when I cut the shape of the tunnel mouth I was left with a surface hanging without support. I slipped in a little balsa strip and glued it together.

 

Tunnel1.jpg

 

I taped the cardboard templte to give extra support when adding the brick sheet, Flemish bond, solid brick, slater I think.

 

Tunnel2.jpg

 

Once the two tunnel inners were in place, making the brick frontage. Below at the top are the unaltered pieces. Using the largest, I cut out the inner of the three semi circles of brick, then cut out a tiny sliver from every third of the outer semi circle, then nicked the very inner of the middle semi circle, which gave me what you see at the bottom, a piece flexible to fit double tunnel radius. I then nicked the strip I had removed from the inner, every brick half way in the same way, and added those on the outside. Time consuming, but worth it I felt.

 

Tunnel3.jpg

 

The triple strips of brick glued to the front, and the brick above cut to shape. The join will be covered with the strip below.

 

Tunnel4.jpg

 

Evergreen 2.5mm half round, scored every 5mm, and then the outside nicked to give the curve.

 

Tunnel5.jpg

 

The arch in the side retaining wall being made. One layer again cut from the Wills arch, and more plasticard, backed by balsa strip.

 

Tunnel6.jpg

 

With some 2mm plasticard, scored to make the stone top to the wall, and some 4 and 2 brick detail added to the front.

Wire holders were cut from Evergreen plastic strip, two holes drilled in each, and round strip pieces stuck through.

 

Tunnel7.jpg

 

I have started to paint this, but will post photos later. Time to watch some TV with my partner now our lovely daughter is asleep in her cot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for the replies and encouragement.

 

A little more to update.

The tunnels have had he first couple of layers of paint inside, and the wiring added, made from 1mm Plastic strut, and the fine wire from the sprue of a Dapol kit softened over a candle then pulled out to give a thin wire (old model tank technique for radio masts, although I am sure railway modellers will know it well from other sources). I did twist the wires a bit between the wall mounts to give a little bit of 'hang', brushing a littel Mek Pac on also helped soften the plastic as they were glued on, which helped as well.

Tunnel8.jpg

 

Tunnel9.jpg

 

The wires painted a mix of black (Railmatch) and gun metal (Humbrol Met 53). Th brickwork is Humbrol Brick Red (Matt 70), a day later Stone (Matt 121) painted on and wiped off, then various colour dry brushed. All as in Geoff Taylor's excellent book on scratch building buildings. A bit of Humbrol model filler brushed on as residue from leaks. More painting still to be done.

Tunnel10.jpg

 

Tunnel11.jpg

 

More work on the water tower. The side that I had wrongly though of as being able to be put against the raised track, has been 'Dremeled' off, and bricks put in to match the other side. I realised that one of the purposes of the tower was give shelter to those loading and unloading the coal, so the raised track has to be in the middle. More photos to come as some more painting has been done.

Tower8.jpg

 

Tower9.jpg

 

Some photos showing the start of the 'production line for the retaining walls. Based on 'Five Ways' and 'Leicester Midland' station's cuttings. I wanted something a little different from the mouldings available. Must rush, so I will post about the making of these soon.

 

Walls1.jpg

 

Walls2.jpg

 

Walls3.jpg

 

Walls4.jpg

 

Walls5.jpg

Edited by Jamiel
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  • 2 weeks later...

A few more pics of the progress of the retaining walls. Placing them in to see how it will look, and to work out some measurements.

A Yorkshire CCC hat in the background in one pic, as well as some fine Greek Kalamata olives tins now finding use a brush holders.

Walls6.jpg

 

Walls7.jpg

 

Walls8.jpg

 

The first section is now attached to the tunnel, ready for painting, and finishing the join.

Walls9.jpg

 

Walls10.jpg

 

Walls11.jpg

 

Making (faking) a catch point using some switch rails from a broken point. You can also see that I have started painting the tracks, chocolate (Humbrol 98 I think) for the sleepers, and some Rail Match rust for the rail sides and track chairs. Slow and laborious, but starting to look better, my first ballasting to come soon.

Catch1.jpg

 

Catch2.jpg

 

Catch3.jpg

Edited by Jamiel
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Echoing the comments of others, but great work on the tunnels, walls and pointwork. Just the slight modification of the standard geometry has really lifted it. Have you noticed any effect on running through the points you've changed? (for better or worse)

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First time I've seen this, and I like it, you have gone to some lengths to make it an interesting and detailed layout.

 

Comments: I'd amend the engine SHED area to have a two-, or three-road shed. Large sheds LOOK nice but hide the locos, plus are a bind to drive locos in and out of, as you are blind, so to speak.

If it were me, I'd model the shed in later BR days, where it's been changed from a four, to a two road shed, the old pits, brick floor and wall bases still showing, but roof gone. It happened to a lot of steam sheds.

 

Secondly, on your last photos, your soldering: you seem to be having problems. There are obvious blobs of solder and what look like poor joints.

Make sure that BOTH parts to be soldered are CLEAN: this can be done with fine emery, wet and dry or a scratch-brush. ( If using fibreglass, keep it over the bench and vacuum up any bits).

Second, use a decent flux, Carrs do some, but I like this one:http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1&category_id=1&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=52, it's water based so not as much need to clean up.

When you've done a joint, the solder shouldn't be in much of a blob and should have FLOWED onto both parts.

 

This is NOT criticism, and I hope kit helps.

I shall bookmark your model..........but NOT expect many updates as your daughter gets older, LOL.

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I have to say that the twin tunnels and the retaining walls are very impressive, will look forward to seeing more of this in the future.

 

Colin

Couldn't agree more. The retaining walls in particular will add a genuine urban feel to the layout and are for more realistic that what is available from the trade IMHO. Keep up the good wiork.

Regards,

Brian.

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Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

Richard:

With the butchered points the only thing I have found, is that when I cut each side of the points down, there was a bit of give when I held them, but not when set in. This means the inner (left below) side has a slight kink. Sorry about the quality of the photo.

 

If you know the kink is there you can spot it when stock runs over it, but it is pretty slight, and not worth re-laying and re-cutting things for. I haven't had any problem with electrical contact though when crossing in any direction.

Kink1.jpg

 

All in all I am happy with it, to get a better result I think I would have to go to finescale track (C&L , or others) and as this is a first layout for many years, that was not a realistic option. I did mock up where to cut and join in Photoshop with scans of the points, I can post a colour coded image that will print out the right size if anyone would find it of use. I would recommend trying it to anyone using Peco track if they want to put a scissors in, but you definitely need a good cutter like a Dremmel, and a bit of patience.

 

Jeff:

I appreciate your comments, I know soldering is a weak point of my modelling, and this was the first time I had soldered in a few weeks. The last time being when I dropped the soldering iron, and very stupidly caught it, but it had fallen a few inches and I caught the hot end, very bad blisters for a few weeks. I was a little tentative using it this time.

 

I have got some Carrs but didn't use it here, and you are right I should have done so. Would you just rub a little of it on the surfaces using a cotton bud immediately before soldering?

 

Any tips on soldering would be greatly appreciated, or books and DVDs to look at. I have a Comet coach kit to build when I get around to starting seriousy on the rolling stock, and do want to progress into building brass rolling stock and locomotives in the long run. I hope that working at the bench instead of leaning over the track will make me work better with the iron as well.

 

Now the catch point is painted up, it does look a lot better though, and throughout the layout I intend to have deep ballast, rather like Leeds Central in the 60's.

Catch4.jpg

I am open to ideas about the shed. I have a couple of the Reeves and Hawking LMS Engine Sheds books, and Shoeburyness (in Vol.4) might give some ideas to follow. I know a fixed roof would cause problems. I will have a look at more references before I get to that. One of the walls of the engine shed will be a back wall to the station, so only the inner facing side gives me opportunity to have fun modelling the building. A missing or under repair roof sounds a very good idea.

 

I have also been painting the track sides with more rust, and I find the results do make a huge improvement to Peco track. The signal boxes that are in the photos are just temporary, sadly inherited from clearing a layout from a friends late fathers house. Once I build my own, I will donate them to the younger members of the Leeds MRS club.

 

Track1.jpg

 

Finally a picture of the walls and tunnel with the first coat of brick red, ready for the mortar coat. I think that I have become a little addicted to the packs of Wills Arches with all the buildings I have done so far, but they do are giving a sense of common design to the layout for the rail buildings at least.

Walls12.jpg

 

There is one thing that I am thinking about, which is although the walls, bridge and buildings I am planning give that urban feel, I do need to make sure there are some track level viewing positions. Perhaps some removable factory fronts.

 

I will try and post links to some of the reference material I have drawn upon soon too.

 

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement.

Edited by Jamiel
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As far as soldering is concerned, there is no substitute for practise.

 

Get the two parts to be joined as clean as possible, this may include all, or some of the following:

Degrease, file, emery cloth, wet-or-dry, small wire brush, scraper blade, fibreglass brush.

 

I use a child's paintbrush with NYLON bristles to apply flux, the brush being kept with the bottle of flux, the bottle of flux being held down with a large lump of Blu-tack when in use;)

 

If you use acidic fluxes, you do have to keep other stuff away and clean up well to avoid corrosion.

that stuff I showe you in my last post only needs cleaned up at the end of each session.

 

Alsp practise tinning each piece, then joining them with a hot iron with hardly any solder on it and a dab of flux.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Like the retaining walls and tunnel mouths too, great work. Also neat cabling on the insides of the tunnel, with good tones on the roof too. Liked the build pictures too, showed off the techniques used really well.

How well does stock travel through the modified scissors point work?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Devondynosoar

 

No problems with the stock running over the butchered points, and I don't notice the very slight kink there now.

 

More on the tunnel and retaining walls. I have bolted the tunnel down after starting with some ballasting, and the retaining walls to the right of the tunnel are now in place, waiting for a couple more coats of paint and weathering.

 

Tunnel12.jpg

 

Tunnel13.jpg

 

A platorm of wood, which is removable has been added behind the tunnels so as little light as possible ca be seen down the tunnel. I might add some further back tunnel brickwork, just at the sides which would be illuminated by the rolling stock lights, so that derailments can be got at, but I will leave that for now.

 

The brickwork was painted as suggested in Geoff Taylor's book, Humbrol 70 red brick over all, left 1 day, Humbrol 121 stone painted on and wiped off for the mortar, then Humbrol 98 chocolate and the 70, plus some other colours dry brushed on a day later. This looked OK, but the mortar remained too prominent for such an area of what is pretty much the 'background' so I lightly airbrushed the Humbrol 70 over to make it a bit more even. Some black airbrushed on the tunnel roof (not that it will ever be seen, but it is there anyway), and over the tunnel mouth.

 

Still to do, there will be more weathering on the retaining walls, perhaps some white lime deposits streaked down, and in the end some bits of greenery encroaching.

 

Here is a still of the ballasting in progress.

Ballast1.jpg

 

I have been experimenting with Chris Nevard's technique of using Das (or Humbrol) clay to get that ash ballast look. I have a way to go before I attain the excellent work he has done, but I will keep trying. Some areas will be 2mm light grey Carrs, as together with almost everyone else here I find 4mm ballast too big. I am also experimenting using the 4mm to fill the depth of Peco sleepers, then using the 2mm over the top. I did try the Carrs 4mm ash, but found to way too dark, again that may be used as a base. More paint and fine layers of 2mm have been added since this photo. It is getting there, but I think I will have to be less ambitious in some areas, and make the ballasting less clogged up. The loco yard will be done the Das way though.

http://www.rmweb.co....__fromsearch__1

 

I also bought a couple of tubs of powder paint at the suggestion of a friend, but I can say that powder paint only ever looks like powder paint, and I would not recommend it for painting ballast.

 

Plans for the next building are under way. The arch behind the small end building will just be butressed behind, not arched.

Plat3bdg1.jpg

 

GT Buildings etches are here, and sitting on the scanner to be added to the plan so that the scale is exact before printing out the plan and making a card mock-up.

Etches1.jpg

 

Here are a couple of images from the Warwickshire railways website of Birmingham New Street Station in the 1950's which I have used as a source of reference and inspiration. A great resource - http://www.warwicksh...eet_brlocos.htm

 

lnwrbns_br1795.jpg

 

lnwrbns_br341.jpg

 

I like the hollow girdered section at the end of the building in the above photo, and plan to have that with a removable back to make a platfrom level viewing position.

 

Hope to have more updates soon.

 

Jamie

Edited by Jamiel
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Here is the image I made in Photoshop to work out where to cut the points for the scissors, and then printed out as a template to guide me, it is reduced in size here.

PointsCut1.jpg

 

And here is a photo of what the track looked like when I first laid it using the Peco geometry of the uncut track, the 'X' is just off the right of the image, but it clearly shows how it distorts the track spacing. I have seen track skewed like that in marshalling yards though, but it just didn't work for the station I had in mind.

 

OldTrack1.jpg

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An evening of working out which positions on the layout are the positions where trains will be directed to, held, or passed through, so that I can work out what signalling is needed. A diagram that is more or less what would be split in half and in each of the two signal boxes. The legend for the diagram is below as text.

 

Signalling1.jpg

 

Ellerby - Signalling Legend

 

The majority of passenger traffic is to the South using both Midland and Eastern lines (Sheffield & ECML).

The goods lines to the East of the station become a passenger branch line served by platform 5, as they pass the North signal box.

 

Passenger lines are shown in green.

Goods lines are shown in black.

Numbers refer to the line immediately below them, except 19 & 21 which refer to the line to their side.

The numbers in the grey circles represent semaphore signal positions/gantries.

Note. Position 6 is shown, but will not be part of the layout, as it would be unsighted by the tunnel mouth, so would in reality be situated at the entrance to the tunnel.

 

1. Main line up (North bound), arrival

2. Holding point for entry to engine shed.

2a. Holding position for loco releasing from 7, change ends to 10, via 11.

3. Engine shed (ground signals only beyond here)

4. Platform 1(bay), exit to South.

5. Platform 1(bay), loco arrival, and to allow release via, 6.

6. Platform 2(bay),

7. Platform 3, release to South.

8. Platform 3, release to North.

9. Platform 3, headshunt.

10. Main line up, holding position, to release North.

11. main line up, holding position to reverse South.

12. Main line up, North, exit.

 

13. Main line down, South.

14. Main line down, holding position for engine shed entry.

14a. Main line down, holding position for entry to 6 & 7.

15. Main Line down, holding position, release to South.

16. Main Line down, holding position for locos from 8 & 10, to go South.

17. Main Line Down (South bound), arrival

18. Platform 4 (NB, no use of this platform Northbound, trains would arrive at Platform 3 for terminating services, returning in that direction).

 

19. Loco holding point.

20. Platform 5 (bay)

21. Loco holding point.

22. Goods up (North bound), arrival.

23. Goods up, holding point.

24. Goods up, reverse traffic holding point (to allow 19 & 1,2,13,14 to be cleared).

25. Goods up, holding point & platform 5 avoiding link.

26. Goods up, north branch, exit.

27. Goods down, South bound), exit.

28. Goods yard, ground signals only beyond here).

29. Goods down, yard entry holding. (Do I need this?)

30. Goods down, holding point.

31. Goods down/north branch arrival.

 

 

Signal positions (provisional).

1. Main up gantry

2. Single exit signal from yard

3. Exit signal from platform 1.

4. Gantry covering exit from platforms 2 & 3.

5. Gantry covering platform 3 and main up. (mounted on footbridge).

6. Gantry before tunnel entrance for down main - will be off modelled area.

7. Gantry covering main line down and platform 4, could also signal holding point 19.

8. Small gantry at exit of platform 5.

9. Gantry covering up and down goods lines.

10. Gantry covering goods/branch down only.

 

All else will be covered by ground signals, probably lots of them.

 

Something to sleep on now I think.

 

Jamie

Edited by Jamiel
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  • 3 weeks later...

Rising damp, mistakes and additions.

 

First the rising damp. When I added a layer of ballast and set it with a PVA, water, washing up liquid mix, when I came back the next day, I discovered that the glue had climbed the retaining walls.

Tunnel14.jpg

 

I worked in the Das clay, and have now put a base coat of grey on that. Then I painted the bottom of the walls to get rid of the rising damp. On the other sections, I will stop the ballast short of the wall, and push the Das into the space to avoid the capillary action of the glue.

Tunnel15.jpg

 

Still a little more painting for the walls, some lime and streaks. The Das needs stippling into, and some white for the lime deposits in the tunnel.

Tunnel16.jpg

 

The next sections of the retaining wall have been lightly airbrushed with Humbrol 70, red brick to soften the mortar course and brush strokes. Again more dry brushing to work on, and then a little streaking. The top stonework, thin ply backing, and reverse brick work has yet to be added.

 

Tunnel17.jpg

 

Looking into the tunnel entrance, where the ballast and Das has been worked into the right tunnel, and first coat of paint added. The left just has the ballast ready to add the clay to. Not the easiest place to paint once the clay is down. Obviously the back cover is off for this stage.

 

Tunnel18.jpg

 

On to the mistakes.

EllerbyPlan2012b.jpg

2 is the one that cannot be solved, or is too much hassle to solve. I should have laid this crossing the other way so that it is not facing the main lines. Ideally this should be a scissors, and the one at the other end of the station is not really needed. Had it been laid according to BR rules, it would have allowed both the platforms on the bottom part of the station (4&5) to release to the 'North' on the main line. As it is I can run terminating trains into platform 3 at the top, and then back up the main line, and the bay platform 5 was always intended for use on local services on the branch/goods lines. The branch could always have a junction the other side of the tunnel.

 

I will not allow trains to run into the tunnel against the traffic.

 

To be honest, I am happy with the scissors at the other end of the station, as the end I am working on is partially hidden by the bridge and retaining walls, and there is enough to work with with such a large layout that it will not hamper running. Still, a warning to those planning their layouts, follow the rules, and the layout will work better.

 

As a friend at the Leeds club commented, it is when you start to signal the layout, that you find out if you have made such mistakes, and so I did.

 

1. is an addition that makes sense, again this came to light when signalling. If I wanted to run trains, light engines, etc. from the branch line through to the main line, or the engine shed, they would have to run against the up goods line, which would be dangerous, so the addition of two points to cross the track, on a section that has to be re-laid to space the sleepers will go ahead when I get to that section of the layout.

 

The signalling plan now looks like this:

 

Signalling2.jpg

 

I bought a copy of 'Constructing and Operating Semaphore Signals' by Mick Nicholson, as recommended in the semaphore signalling thread:

http://www.rmweb.co....uge-semaphores/

 

and am borrowing a few other books to learn the details of what is needed.

 

One other model rail related thing this week, I did some updating of the Leeds MRS annual exhibition page for the end of October, more images and a little more info to add.

http://www.leedsmrs.org/exhib1.html

 

(there a little plug for the club)

 

Right, off to watch some very fast men running for under ten seconds.

 

All the best.

 

Jamie

Edited by Jamiel
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  • 1 month later...

Etch1.jpg

From Alan Gibson, etches to build a LNER/BR welded bracket signal, to go on the down goods just south of the tunnel (position 10) in my signalling plan above.

 

It will be a three doll signal bracket, with working signals (I hope). Although my layout is BR Midland, on the edge of Eastern, this type of bracketed signals were very common around the West Riding, or as it now is South Yorkshire in the 1950's (Castleford - where I am basing my signals boxes and signalling on, Wath, Wakefield all had this type of signals, as well as a few others).

 

Acid flux to clean, remembering to tin the joints, then quickly make them, and hoping this first foray in brass modelling goes OK.

 

Having grown up on Airfix exploded diagrams, and after that Ikea assembly instructions, I am finding the mostly written instructions interesting, but think I have sussed out pretty much all the parts, plus having a look at some builds in books and on the forum.

 

I have also progressed with the plan for the building to go on the end of the platform opposite this signal, but the camera is playing up, so I will have to wait to post images of the plans printed out and sitting in position. Soon I hope.

Edited by Jamiel
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My first attempt at brass modelling, the signal welded base from the Alan Gibson kit.

 

Signal1.jpg

 

According to a couple of the members at the Leeds club, not the easiest thing to start with brass modelling. I thought it would be much easier than a small shunter, but apparently it is full of small fiddly parts to solder. Still it is what I need to build next for the layout, so it is where I am starting, and I am really enjoying it.

 

A word of thanks to JeffP for his advice on soldering, cleaned with Carrs Acidip, and each piece tinned before being positioned and heated.

 

A word of caution about the Alan Gibson kit, it gets a lot of the way there, but you do need to buy some 1mm L brass angle, the kit includes some 3mm angle which is way too big for the supporting struts, and I think a few other bits will have to be improvised along the way. Just doing some measurements before continuing.

 

That said, I would still reccomend the Alan Gibson kit, but just expect to add a bit of your own materials and bits to complete it, after all it isn't Airfix.

 

Hopefully some more photos soon.

Edited by Jamiel
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