ess1uk Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Looks good. Wish I had the space you have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 The layout's still going, but havn't done anything to it in a while. Been too busy playing trains On holiday next week, so I made a promise to myself that when I get back I would stop buying new stuff, and buy things I need to get more on the layout done. The stock and locos also need some things, eg. wheels, detailing, new pick ups etc, so that's the plan anyway. I have made a few small alterations. I hated the curves on the 'north' end, they had a straight bit where they follow the loco depot layout This really grated, so I relayed the whole end and made a much smoother curve I also really need to learn to take decent photos. Either way, I'm much happier with how it looks, it's only moved the tracks a couple of mil, but it makes a huge difference to how it looks with a train running over it and not jolting side to side 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Looking good better to change it now and make sure your happy with it than after ballasting David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Finally made a start on the scenic side of things. Scenery isn't my thing, so it'll be quite basic, certainly no where near as good as some of the master pieces on here. First up is a small town scene, well, more just a road really. I was given some Metcalf buildings for Christmas. Normally, I wouldn't use card stuff, but they actually came out quite well, so they'll stay for the time being Still plenty to do as you can see, but thought some pics would prove it hasn't all been playing trains! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 I'm pretty lousey at this update thing, anyways, a little more Finally got the depot roof finished, had to buy a whole new one, but it's another thing done. Can fit the lights to it now Also fitted dummy point motors. On reflection, should have ballasted first as they're kinda 'floating' in mid air. Still need to get the orange conduit down along with some trunking Also got a bit more done on the 'town' side. For such a small area, it seems to take forever to get done. I STILL can't seem to get good pics of this area Still need to tidy up the retaining wall and the bridge spans. The pavements are here now, so once they're down, it can all be finally placed and stuck down. Thinking of fitting lights in the buildings too 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 The layout is still going, just don't have much time on it really. Been fitting lights to a few things. Sorry about the rubbish pics, not got a very steady hand at the min. Eventually I'd like some buffer stop lights and some tower lights for the depot. The station will be lit too if I ever get that far 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Looking good to me David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozstlouis Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Nice lighting. I see another atmospheric light out of the window as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) Silent Hill has been up for a year now, and there was some things really bugging me. Mainly it was the geometry of the station entrance To get the layout I wanted in, I took a normal straight right hand point, cut the webbing and twisted it slightly, as seen on the down main, going into platform 1. It was ok at first, but with heat and time, the ting took on a really pronounced kink, which made the trains jolt through it, leading to some interesting derailments. Also, they were all dead frog points. Something had to be done as I hated it, so the whole section came up and was relaid properly It flows much better now and I can trust my WCML rakes to go through it full tilt in push pull mode (although in reality, this is the north end so the loco would be leading). Electrofrog points mean much smoother running for the station pilot too The other end of the layout bugged me too, the cross over between the up main and the freight line. The point on the freight line was a curved point, which is a 3ft radius. Not bad, but the curves really open out on this part of the layout, so the point created a 'tightness' in the geometry. Again, they were dead frog points. So, 2 electrofrogs purchased and some repositioning, and it flows much, much smoother This is probably as far as I will go with this layout. We may be moving in a years time, and everything is reusable at the min. It does give me a chance to try things out and get stuff running, so I can't complain! Edited April 27, 2015 by Marcyg 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 Well, it took a bit more than a year, but we are finally moving, so Silent Hill is no more. Had great fun with the layout, and learnt quite a lot, so it served its purpose well. Silent Hill will be back, bigger and better, but I have no idea when, so for now that's it. Thanks for all your comments about the layout. BYE! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 British Rail have advised that due to ongoing engineering works at Silent Hill, services are temporarily suspended 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted March 24, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 24, 2017 There's a lot of tempting space there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Wow that's an impressive space David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 It is a large area. 45x12. It's a dream come true, and I feel very lucky. Nothing will be happening too quickly, I need to remove the wall which is poking into the space, fill the hole, as its a stairwell - fire regs and all that, then it'll need redecorating. The plan on the floor is a general 'will it work' as I've never had the space to set it up all in one. Some bits will need tweeking, I think the depot needs to be closer to the junction, and the junction itself will be a Y point rather than a normal one. The station throat will be made from Shinohara points as I feel the longer No8 point will give a better streamline feel to it. The 2 concrete sleeper tracks running through the station are the fast through lines, and will be signalled for 110mph, so the number 8s will work quite nicely. And it will be DC control, not DCC, so plenty of buttons and switches Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub39h Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Wow what an amazing space! Look forward to seeing this project develop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danstercivicman Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Wow that is an amazing space! I'm no expert but it should allow you to spread things out and create some amazing stuff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Starting to progress with board building now. About a third of them done. All made quite hefty from 4"x1" frames with 12mm chipboard. Maybe a bit over kill, but im hoping this will be around for the rest of my days, im 35 now so quite a while I hope! The large frames on the left are the fiddle yard boards. They're 8'x4' so pretty large. I can reach the back as im 6'5", so no problems there. They're going to swallow an awful lot of track, but it was my ambition that if I ever had the chance to build my dream layout, I'd want a fiddle yard big enough to home everything I have rather than keep swapping it over. Even at this size, it will be a push. I'm looking at about 60 full trains, from a Sprinter to a 32 waggon MGR and everything in between! I've no idea how long it will take to get things running, but as before, I'm in no rush, so it takes as long as it takes. This weekend the tops will be delivered, so I may actually get a bit of track down as I'm still waiting for a wall to be plastered before I can build the boards that will sit next to it 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted April 20, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 20, 2017 Glory days! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Finished the fiddle yard frames today 45ft of prime model railway real estate. Off to the funny farm now, I must be mad 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted May 2, 2017 Author Share Posted May 2, 2017 Been a bit slow with my updates recently, I don't seem to get time at the min. The layout is progressing quite nicely now. All the fiddle yard boards are built, they're massive! The plan for the station was then laid out on the other side so I could see what goes where. Again, it's the first time ever in the flesh, so everything is still a bit 'fluid' with regards to positioning. Then a flurry of track laying. It's quite scary just how quick a layout this size eats track. From the pictures, it looks like there isn't much room for the platforms. There is, I've used larger spacing on the through lines as the layout will be signalled for 110mph. When planning it, I noticed stations with fast through lines e.g. Peterborough have wider spacing around their fast lines. Yesterday was a bit of a mission. I have the first track laid through the fiddle yard This will be part of the down main. The loop now extends about 2/3 of the way round. The plasterer is currently in making good the wall, so by the time I get back from abroad in 2 weeks, it should be dry, so I can paint and crack on with the rest of the boards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wigan Wallgate OO Gauge Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 This has to be one of the largest personal layouts I've seen! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Bit more done. The station is pretty much there, to the point where it goes 'off stage' The through lines are now laid right through to the fiddle yard site The sidings here are for loco swaps to be carried out. A lot of the trains from this era, especially the push pull ones, are the same, so a quick loco change and the same set of coaches can be 2 or 3 different trains. Also started laying some of the fiddle yard. Most of the track here is reused from the last layout. I knew that one would never stay, so I laid the track with a view of reusing as much as possible. Something which has paid off as this thing is going to swallow a lot. That's pretty much it for a while. I've run out of track, baseboards and cork. Better get the credit card out! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 I'm rubbish at updates, fact. Still building the layout, slowly. Some times I forget this isn't the 16ft layout I had before and I cant have it up and running super quick. Still, progress is being made. Only 2 small boards to be made now. Unfortunalty, 1 is the end of the layout, so until that's complete I cant run anything in anger. This is the length of the scenic side, I'm down to the end of the loft, just the fill in board to go now. This photo also highlights that an iPhone camera really isn't up to the job This view shows the bend in the running lines where the junction will be. The junction is the reason the layout was designed the way it is. I had designed this bend long before we found the house it was going to live in. Spooky! Down main fiddle yard. 8 tracks, will be mirrored by one on the Up side. Should give plenty of variety Also started to sort out the stock that will be run. This in itself is a huge task. I just kept collecting without thought of how to run it all. I think some thinning out will be in order. Well, that's another update. Maybe one tomorrow as I'll bring a drill home from work (my home drill chuck literally exploded from over use!) so I can do the point motor holes and track laying can continue. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 OK, a day late, but another update. Bit more track laying. The scenic side is really starting to take shape now. My wife, who 'humours' me was even resorting to colourful language when she saw it! All good though, she was impressed. Really, I'm just adding on what I had achived in the last post. I'm using up my supply of points from the last layout, which when they're gone, will really hamper progress. I'm hoping to have at least 1 full loop by next weekend, but after that, I think progress will be slow, points are flippin' expensive!!! The shed is double ended, I'm just using the space currently as a work bench! That's it. Will get very little done this weekend as my wife and myself have plans to enjoy a rare few moments together without work or house or garden or other people or cars or anything else getting in the way! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcyg Posted June 23, 2017 Author Share Posted June 23, 2017 Haven't given up on the layout, just been rather busy. A major update coming soon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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