Walton on the hill 27E Liverpool, EM gauge.

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, Jack P said:

Michael, This layout is extremely impressive in both size and scope - Not to mention the quality of modelling is superb! I can certainly appreciate and respect the amount of research that's gone into getting it here, and make your vision a reality. Looking forward to seeing more updates.

 

 

Oh, also, I've been very tempted to go EM recently, and this isn't helping! 

 

Go on, you know you want to!

 

Mike.

[Michael Delamar]

Update on buildings and scenery by Chris Hewitt. 

 

The water tower under construction.

 

 

The structure is MDF the brickwork with its distinctive CLC style of 4 rows of brick headers and a stretcher was done by Chris on his laser cutter machine on to thin mounting card and glued on in strips in the same style as building model buildings from brick plasticard.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Michael Delamar

[Michael Delamar]

The Westminster bank, first we cut a hole to give better access for track cleaning.

 

 

The bank under construction by Chris in his usual method of plasticard.

 

A more recent shot with laser cut windows done by Chris.

 

A shot of the now demolished bank and the shops which will be built next.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by Michael Delamar

[30368]

Just discovered this topic. Some truly great work achieved but what ambition! My model railway interest is centred on engine shed although 70D is much smaller so I plan to follow this brilliant project.

 

Good luck!

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[beast66606]

Looking good Michael and great work by Chris too.

[Michael Delamar]

At the other end of the layout, sleeper fencing has started to be put in, again done on the laser cutter from card, there will be quite a lot of this on the layout.

[Michael Delamar]

 

 

4 clean locos which are about to be sent off to Tom Foster for weathering.

 

All have recently been converted to EM by myself.

 

The DJH J10 I acquired already built but was OO gauge. The loco was easy to convert with new axles and spacer washers. The tender was a little bit more work as it has needed quite a bit of whitemetal  material removing so the wider gauge wheels would fit. Ideally this needs a new inside frame for its tender. Ive renumbered it to 65177 a Walton one.

 

The Bachmann 04s have Markits wheels, EM gauge 3mm axles, Markits hex crankpins which enable the Bachmann coupling rods to be used unmodified. Although the 1st and 3rd axles crankpins needed a bit of work for them to fit due to tight clearances.

Both I have renumbered to Gorton locos and ones that I have photos of on Walton shed, 63713 and 63743.

 

The Bachmann J11 another Gorton one which didn't need renumbering I just changed the tender crest for a smaller one.

The J11 was quite an easy loco to convert to EM, 3mm axles, spacer washers,Markits insulated wheels, Markits hex crankpin nuts again which I like and again no need to alter the coupling rods.

 

Bachmann tenders are Markits wheels put on to Bachmann axles.

 

The 3 Bachmann locos have Zimo decoders and stay alive capacitors.

 

All have had the wheel balance weights glued on and the wheels and motion painted black before they sent off to Tom for weathering. 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Michael Delamar

[MartinWales]

On 26/05/2019 at 22:16, Michael Delamar said:

Autumn sorry. I’m not even sure of the date yet.

Provisionally, 12/13th September 2020

[saxokid]

More nice modelling here Michael

 

 

 

thanks neil..

[Tom F]

The first two O4s are finished for Walton on the Hill! The 0-6-0s will be completed on Monday.

 

 

The layout is really coming along Mike!

Edited October 11, 2019 by Tom F

[Tom F]

The J10 and J11 are now finished. Depicted at the end of their working lives.

 

 

Thanks for the custom Mike. It’s very much appreciated and I’m glad you are pleased with them!

[Michael Delamar]

Im more than pleased with them Tom, there will be more in the future too.

 

 

Shot of Chris Hewitt starting on the front of Walton swimming baths last night. His usual method of Slaters English bond plasticard and counting the bricks on the photo. The prototype building was demolished a few years ago. This will be just the front of the building low relief up against the backscene.

 

[Barry O]

I thought I had seen 63713 before...

Mike Edge has one on Herculaneum..of course it is a OO one

 

 and has light weatherng

 

Baz

 

PS I have sent you a PM Mike for Chris Hewitt...

[Jesse Sim]

Excellent stuff as always mate, Tom’s weathering is awesome, in a mind to send over a few of mine to get some well needed treatment. The locos look wonderful, look tough as hell! 

[Michael Delamar]

Chris’s Swimming baths under construction.

 

The decorative stonework, the coins, are cut into the Slaters brickwork rather than laid on top.

 

Windows are next which Chris has laser cut, the steps were laser cut too.

 

 

Placed on the layout..

 

The real thing back in 1967...

 

 

[90164]

Didn't know Queens Drive Baths had been demolished. Used to go there quite often as a kid.

[Michael Delamar]

4 hours ago, 90164 said:

Didn't know Queens Drive Baths had been demolished. Used to go there quite often as a kid.

I think it went about 10 years ago.

 

 

[manna]

G'day Folks

 

That's sad, nice looking building. Love the layout.

 

manna

[AdeMoore]

Cracking modelling here Mike brilliant stuff shown in this thread,

just had the pleasure of reading through all 25 pages over the last few weeks.

Looking forward to more.

 Cheers 

Ade

[Michael Delamar]

For the 2 central boards that house the layout when being transported in a bread tray fashion. The plan was always to build 2 trolleys. The only slight downside to that idea is storing these large trolleys when the layout is set up. Ive therefore come up with an idea to mount the wheels on the boards and that they hinge out of the way when the layout is set up and fold under when being transported. With a bracing piece that is bolted on underneath before the boards are slid in.

 

Here are some shots. First one with the wheels folded up..

 

 

With the wheels folded under and bracing piece bolted in place, ready to accept the other boards.

 

 

Here is the fiddle yard board with its wheels folded under and all the fiddle yard and lighting pelmets slid in.

 

 

Chris Hewitt’s swimming baths under construction and making progress, he has also made a turned aluminium column which he is in the process of casting in resin for the 8 on the model.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Michael Delamar

[Michael Delamar]

Time for an update I think, ill do this in a few posts because of photo size limits.

The fiddle yard. 
 

The fiddle yard will act as a storage box for stock on the move so that most of  the stock does not have to be removed at shows. Enabling faster set up and end of show times. 

 

The 3 fiddle yard boards will have lids on with sponge underneath. The stock is separated by 1 inch strips on 2mm plywood.

 

First we cut grooves for the strips to sit in..

 

 

Testing strips before gluing in...

 

All done on the centre board..

 

 

And on another, some of these roads arent as long, to secure the stock on each siding a square piece of sponge will be used, it can be moved about depending on stock lengths.

 

First coat of paint..

 

One of the reasons for this is that all of the stock is freight and a lot of the stock will have 3 link, instanter and screw link couplings and they take a lot of time to couple up at shows.

Im not concerned if stock jumps off the rails in transit as it inevitably will, the dividers are there to stop them all ending up all over the place, it will be just a simple matter of rerailing a wagon rather than coupling them all up.

 

Some will be long trains such as the empty Clarence dock power station workings which I have recently been told were 21 loaded hoppers and the returning empties were 42. 
42 hoppers an O4 2-8-0 and A brake van will fit in the longest sidings, we already have a rake of 21 loaded and I am in the middle of finishing off the 42 nearly all of which all Hornby at the moment some are the older Airfix Hornby types, a few Accurascale,  renumbered using fox and Cambridge Custom transfers, Markits EM wheels and Smiths Instanters. Id like a few of the Cammel Laird of Nottingham Liverpool power station hoppers in the future to include in the rake but I wont be doing a full train load.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michael Delamar]

Roadworks..

 

I must stress that all the work here is by Chris Hewitt.

 

All I do is lock him away until he has done enough to deserve a pie and a pint, occasionally he gets access to a computer and looks at this thread and asks why am I getting all the praise when its all his work.

 

So here is Chris’s work..

 

The roads in this area are not flat, and the buildings need to match this, the buildings were built as per the photographs such as the shops which are on an incline. Then the roads have to match this. The highest part is in the centre of the crossroads junction so this was built up with various strips of wood and then a sheet of hardboard was glued on top. The strips were cut with the camber of the road in them and have expanded foam in places under the hardboard.

 

Then the hardboard was cut where the buildings would sink into, then it was covered in DAS modelling clay up to the buildings to avoid any joins, smoothed off and the various paving slabs scribed in...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking a bit snowy with the DAS modelling clay..

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Michael Delamar

[Michael Delamar]

Some more..

The roads are not quite finished yet.

 

All the signs on the shops. And billboards which will be added later have been bespoke made by Alan from Sankey scenics, who has been a great help and offers these in his range.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Michael Delamar

[Barry O]

Just drip feed Chris beer..chain him to the workbench ...

 

Excellent work there Mr Hewitt!

Baz

[Michael Delamar]

Chris Hewitt has been working on a model of Fazakerley west junction box. 
 

It has a Modelu signalman inside, 2  Severn models lever frames being a 60 lever frame and Alan at Sankey scenics did the sign. Anthony Graham who photographed nearly all Liverpool boxes has been very helpful with regards its features.

 

 

My original idea was to have the backscene curving around so that the layout can only be viewed from the front...

 

 

 

 

However after seeing the signal box model and the layout being a roundy roundy I think its best to have a flat backscene which would enable the ends of the layout to be viewable to the public. It also means the box can be placed closer to the position that the prototype was. One of the reasons I wanted the box on is it gives something next to the backscene letter box. Ive never liked holes in backscenes but it is was it is.

 

 

 

Chris working on the other end, painting the kerbstones.  Having the backscene flat would enable the public to see the buildings from this viewpoint at this end also. 
This means the lighting pelmets need some conversion.

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Michael Delamar