Heinz57 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Hi all, After the success of Arena Parkway, and getting it to a near finished state. I have decided to begin work on my next layout... When thinking about the layout I started with a blank canvas with only a few guidelines... like its predecessor the layout will be 12ft by 2ft exhibition layout, will be controlled via DCC and be something a little different. So I set around thinking of ideas, I kicked around a few ideas including diesel depot, a sort of version 2 to Arena Parkway and a section of a large city station. But the idea that stuck out to me most was a freight based layout, and so with help from my friend Simon we milled about with different ideas and scrutinized the lot... container terminal? Not enough space... cement works? Its been done... fuel terminal or gas works? Nice idea but it might get a little boring... Colliery? Not enough space to do it justice in modern image... We then thought about a wagon works which worked really well. Then I had one of those eureka moments and thought about rather than it being a wagon works, what about a coach servicing depot? I currently have I don't know how many Mk3s and they're not getting used. The idea was perfect!... The following day during my break at work I could be spotted sketching out a few ideas in the Staff Room. And so here we have it! The idea is simple, coaches are bought in via a loco which then drops them off and leaves. A shunter intercepts them and moves them around the depot. Serviced coaches are assembled into a short train (of around three coaches) which is then collected via another loco and hauled away, perhaps to the appropriate TOC's depot. It took some time to get to the track plan, the initial sketches I did were... well... rubbish! During a planning session a few days later, Simon and myself were still struggling to come up with something that had the interest. Then we had another of those eureka moments. We took the plan for Simon's Network Rail Depot layout, played about with it and came up with this... The main servicing building is in the bottom left, and coaches are hauled in from the top right. Other points of interest include the small fuel point for depot shunters only and the storage sidings. Then there's the two lines at the top... Simon's NWR depot plan called for a twin track mainline that runs across the back. When developing mine, we decided to keep them there and stick part of a depot building on there. So now the idea is that the coach servicing depot is actually an extension of a much larger HST/DMU depot, and to give this illusion the layout shows the two tracks which are a small portion of this much larger depot. For good measure a HST will be sat in one of the lines whilst power cars an be stabled on the other. The layout uses a 'Frozen Timeline' which will allow me to use any Mk3s from any period at the same time, plus to excuse the usage of coaches from various companies the depot will either A: not belong to a specific TOC or B: belong to a TOC but have such a good reputation that other TOCs send their stock to be serviced here too. It isn't exactly prototypical, but I'm not bothered about that. Its the interest that counts. Having said all of that, the basis of the coach depot being an extension to a larger depot is almost believable anyway. As previously mentioned the layout will be 12x2ft. built from three 4x2ft boards. I will control it via DCC but keep the points analogue DC controlled. As there is a lot of un-coupling on the layout, it seems the perfect opportunity to convert my stock to Kadee couplings (something I've wanted to do for a while) so this will be a sort of 'side project' that I'll be doing at the same time. Construction is scheduled to start in a few weeks time, towards the end of the month. So please stay tuned! Hope you like the layout, Heinz Edited August 5, 2015 by Heinz57 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Good plan Heinz - Look forward to following this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Heinz Although this isn't the type of layout I normally follow, I like the way this is going especially with the story behind it. Looking forward to seeing it develop. Duncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkNewZealand Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I'm really looking forward to following the progress on this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Thanks chaps. I'm really excited about getting this project off the ground. It should be a fun build, and quite a learning curve. Along the way I'll be learning about Kadess and un-couplers, amongst a whole host of other things. It will also be a good one to operate, so I'm looking forward to its completion too so I can sit and 'play trains' Heinz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus 37 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 This sounds like a really good idea. Don't worry about mixing the TOC's up. Just look at Wabtec at Doncaster. Every man and his dog goes in there so there's always different companies coaches and units dotted around they yard. Even wagons as well sometimes. Looking forward to seeing this develop. Cheers Marcus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Thanks for your kind comments on the layout, glad you like it! Due to funds I have pushed back the start date by a few weeks and will be starting construction some time in April. I visited the Nottingham Show last weekend and picked up a few bits for the layout. I got a couple of Knightwing kits that I will find a use for on the layout, as well as a set of three Hornby 'Royal Train' MK3s. Also I picked up a few 2nd hand coaches that I will re-spray. Two are Mk2s that I will make into Network Rail test coaches, and another which I think is a parcels coach, I will turn this into a HST barrier vehicle. Cheers, Heinz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hi all, Long time since I've updated! I'm pleased to say that I have now started construction of Elveden Road! Last week I started building the baseboards with the help of Simon. The baseboards are constructed from 9mm MDF with 70x22mm timber framework. There are fold in legs built from 44x44mm timber with 44x22mm bracing. These legs will be used for when the layout visits shows, whilst at home it sits on a purpose-built bench in the garage.Two of the baseboards were actually re-cycled from Simon's previous layout (ironically its the same layout we used for the track plan inspiration for Elveden Road!) Today Simon came over and we started laying the track. I'm using Peco code 100 rail with Streamline points (mostly large radius but there are two small ones to create a mini run around for shunters only). As part of track laying the inspection pits have been fitted and Kadee uncoupling magnets are being fitted under the track. I also decided today that as I complete a little section of track I will solder the dropper wires for this section; before laying the next section of track, fitting the 'dropper wires', then doing the next section and so on. Although it doesn't make much difference to the work load or whether or not the layout will work. Its just easier on me to do a few of the wires with each little section, rather than laying track and then losing the will to live whilst I try to solder 40 odd sets of feeds in one go! I will continue laying the track over the weekend and into Monday so stay tuned for another update very soon. In the mean time, here are photos from today's progress... Checking position of the first points. Note how I have also painted the baseboard tops The tracks into the main depot have been completed, along with inspection pits. The tin foil covers the holes for the uncouplers and is there to protect the uncouplers themselves from going rusty from glue and liquid, and create a better surface for the glue to adhere to. This section will now have dropper wires fitted before I move on and lay the next section of track. That's all for now. Thanks for taking the time out to read this diary entry and I hope you like the layout so far! Heinz 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Looks brilliant! I look forward to seeing more from this topic! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Thanks Tom, glad you like it so far! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UPDATE - 28/04/2014 A little more progress with the track laying today, I have got almost all of the tracks in the main section of the layout down. Still to do are the head shunt and storage tracks at the other end of the layout and the two stabling roads at the back. I haven't got as much done as I'd have liked to today. This afternoon I noticed a significant bow appearing in the middle board (up to 7mm), I immediately stopped laying track whilst I diagnosed the severity and figured out what to do. All I've done for now is remove some of the legs and wedged some wood below the board to shove the bow back up, this worked and allowed me to continue laying tracks. When that's done, I'll be able to see where the point motors are going to be and look at some permanent cross bracing. Today's bit of progress. Notice the dropper wires have now been installed on the section of track laid on Friday. Quite a quick update today, the next one will show all the track laying and the dropper wires to go with it. Not sure when it will be, hopefully it will be by the weekend. But we'll see what happens. In the mean time, thanks for reading the update and I'll see you in the next one! Heinz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Keep up the work bud! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Thanks Tom, glad you like it! Another update to come very soon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Quick Update - 05/04/2014 (No pics yet) I've finally completed track laying! WooHoo, after a week its finally finished! I must admit though, due to work and other commitments some days no work was completed and others only a couple of hours was done. So really if you do the math adding all the bits together it probably only took three days max to do it. All the dropper wires are in place and the board joins are completed. With a mix of super glue, solder and track pins holding them in place the joins are solid. But the real test will come tomorrow when I cut the tracks! Following that I will fix the kadee magnets in place under the tracks (holes were pre-cut during track laying. On the pics you will notice squares of tin-foil stuck to the baseboard, this is where the magnets are. The foil creates a smooth and seamless fill over the holes for the scenery. As well as protecting the magnets from glue etc) There is still a significant bow, evident on all three boards. This caused a few problems with coaches coming un-coupled as I pushed them around today, looking closely I could see them moving up and down in relevance to each other (the slope of the bow evident here) before one kadee would slip out of the bottom of the other. Due to the bow, the board joins (Which are actually perfect) currently act somewhat like a hump-back bridge. To compact the bow, I will first paint the underside of the board in glue to counteract the bow, which was caused by painting the top side of the baseboard. Then add some cross bracing to support - as previously mentioned, I was un-able to add these yet as I needed to know the clearance and locations of the point motors. Another update will follow soon which will have photos of the finished track laying, as well as showing further work completed. Cheers, Heinz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Sounds good! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Update - 19/05/14 Significant progress has been made on the layout over the last week or so. The first job for me was to counteract the bow on the boards, I did this by first painting the undersides with a coat of PVA glue, I then fitted cross members in the center of each board. I also cut out notches for wiring to pass through, and to allow the legs to still fold in... Above shows these braces fitted, note that I have also fitted the kadee magnets below the track too. The bags contain 'supplies' ready for wiring, from Halfords I got several packs of adhesive cable clips (They don't hold many wires I will admit. But they are very useful for smaller looms), and I also paid a visit to Wilkos where I picked up more terminal blocks than you can shake a stick at! A couple of days later, Simon came round and we gave the layout a 'dry' run to check that the uncoupling magnets work, that I can get the right amount of stock in each siding and the layout generally functions as it should. After a bit of tinkering with the magnets, and ironing out some problems we had everything running smoothly. Of course, at this stage the layout still doesn't have any power, so we used some more coaches to simulate locos... The Virgin Mk3 simulates a normal loco - a Class66 perhaps, whilst the maroon Mk1s simulate Class 08 shunters (I used two because the idea is that the layout will have two of these working in tandem) After this initial test, and all problems were ironed out, the same evening I proceeded to wire the main DCC bus... This photo shows the bus wire in place. All of my points have been 'converted' to pass the power via the frog, meaning that I don't have to rely on the blade making electrical contact to run a loco over, before I can even think about running anything have to install point motors and connect the accessory switch from these to the DCC power bus. A few days later Simon made another visit for an hour or so where we got this completed. The above photos were taken prior to the D connectors being installed, and the point frogs being connected up. I don't have a photo of these being completed... After completing this I was able to run the locos under there own power! The first loco to run on Elveden Road was my Freightliner 66 which I had trundling up and down the layout quite nicely. I wanted to try the reliability under slow speeds, so I started to gradually decrease the speed. The loco impressively runs on 'notch 1' on my Prodigy 2 without even offering to stop. I also had to try a HST on the layout, I just had to. So, I got my Cross Country power cars out and hard the motored one running up and down the stabling tracks at the back. The test being completed. This photo was actually taken just after I'd finished running, hence the pieces of masking tape now stuck to the tracks. These are 'flags' to tell me what problems are where. During one of the tests I accidentally put too much power on. I managed to stop it just in time!... Inevitably there are a few technical issues to fix, I have a couple of dead frogs and no power to a section on one of the rear stabling tracks. Today I had a fault finding session. One look at the layout told me that I'd missed dropper wires from the aforementioned section on the stabling track all together - no wonder it didn't work! After that, I moved onto the dead frogs, about 10 minutes of investigating lead two different dead spots back to the same point, another 10 minutes of investigating told me that there is no power to the frog because the switch on the point motor isn't making contact. This is where everything started to go wrong. I discovered that the issue with the motor switch is due to the hole for the motor arm being a few mil to one side from where it should be. No bother I thought, I can widen the hole by drilling out from underneath the board... shortly after I also discovered that no matter how careful you are it is a good idea to remove the point before drilling. I might have slightly clipped the spring, knocking it out of place and rendering the point useless. I have heard that you can get replacement springs from Peco and that it is possible to repair them yourself, but I've also heard how much of a pain it is. So to avoid any agro I'm just going to get a new point. Its an expense I could do without, but its entirely my fault. I suppose we learn from our stupid mistakes, and never to cut corners! Next week on 'How Not to Fix a Layout' I investigate 'is it possible to fix kadees with a hammer?'! Heinz Edited July 28, 2014 by Heinz57 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Latest Update - 28/07/2014: We're getting there! Its been a long while since I last updated, over a month now. However, significant progress has been made now. There's still a way to go of course, but its now a huge step closer. So the first thing I did was complete all fault finding I mentioned at the end of the last update. This is bar the cross overs that still wouldn't work properly. Here are a few photos of the layout in operation. At this stage I was using the 57 to shunt the coaches around the layout, as apposed to an actual shunting loco. Notice the HSTs stored on the back tracks, this is how the tracks will be used under show conditions. The train on the back most track (so in this case the East Midlands HST) will actually be used as a scenic break so will never move. The track is still powered, but mostly to let me keep lights and sound on. Here is a pic or two of the finished control panel.... Nice and tidy wiring! The indication LEDs are for signals, which are wired in all the way to the layout boards, however the signals themselves will be added at a later date. Look, its a support coach! Testing took place over a week or so were I was able to iron out any problems. The cross overs took a little longer, but since doing the main tests you see above I was able to sort both of these out. The first cross over (on the depot board) was solved by moving the CDU into the control panel. and the other, which is on the far board (or fiddle yard board) was corrected by adding an extra common direct from the control panel to the crossover itself. I was then able to press on with the scenery... The first task was the hard standing. There are two areas on the layout, The depot on the back two tracks will be on hard standing, as will the main four track building at the front. The two will be linked via a pathway. The first section was the back two tracks, I attempted this using filler. Unfortunately, I made a complete pigs ear out of it and it looked a mess. I had to rip it all up, including the tracks and start again. This made a complete mess of the baseboard itself, taking up to 3mm of the surface off in places. The photo above shows the filler method on 'completion', I don't have any photos of the mess that followed! I did the front hard standing from plasticard and it looks awesome! I can't take all the credit for this though, without help from Simon - who practically completed the bottom layer on both sections of hard standing for me - it wouldn't have turned out half as good. The back section was re-done in the same way, along with the connecting pathway. The bridge supports are in place, along with the top. The supports are permanent but the top itself will be removable. I have also made the office building that sits at the front on the far side of the layout. This is loosely based on a building I seen near Pride Park in Derby but with a lot of changes. As you can see its not quite finished yet. I need to add a few exterior details, paint a few bits then finish the interior lighting. Finally, the hard standing has been painted. Note the front where I used filler to 'ramp' it down to the board level. The backscene has also been painted. The next job on the list is to lay cable trunking and other similar details before commencing with ballasting. After this I can press on with the yard area. Also, I will say now that Elveden Road will be appearing at the 'Etches Park Open Day' on 13th September 2013. The open day will take place at the Etches Park depot in Derby and is to commemorate 175 years of railways in the city. Clicky I hope you like the layout so far! Heinz Edited July 29, 2014 by Heinz57 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridangel77 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hi Matt I have only just come across your new thread and I have to say the new project sounds good and is shaping up nicely....if your last project is anything to go by then this one should be top drawer my friend. Looking forwards to seeing how it all comes together mate. Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Looks good now mate, really coming together! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Looking good David 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Thanks chaps, glad you like it. Its only going to get better, I've got quite a few good ideas kicking around that I will add to the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Some very nice work here Heinz57,wil follow this now.. cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Latest Update: 30/08/2014 - We're getting there Hello all! I've made quite some significant progress on the layout this past month, and it now looks like something that resembles a model railway. The biggest leap was probably completing the ballasting. This was started shortly after my last update and took place over multiple sittings spread out over a week or so. I really hate ballasting so I made sure this was the first of the major scenic projects I did. The scenic section of the layout is about 75% ballasted track so it is obviously a major feature of the layout, plus as its a slow speed shunting layout reliability is a key issue. For these two reasons combined I slowed time and really took my time with the ballasting as I wanted it to be spot on. I also decided to add hard standing to the fuel point track, I thought it made sense to have this on concrete, and plus it was a few more inches less of ballasting to do - so every little helps! The first bit of greenery has been added too, adding bushes behind these shunting tracks breaks up the back scene. The original plan was to also add some fence infront of these bushes, but there isn't as much space as I thought there was so I didn't bother. Besides it looks good as it is. Since taking this photo I have added more, and they now reach the height of the coach. The bushes were completed by using a variety of 'underbush' and 'foliage' textures from the Woodland Scenics range. They were stuck in place using PVA glue. After everything was in place I saturated them with either Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement or watered down PVA to help seal it. Once this went off they are solid, there are no loose fibers that could accidentally break off. I did the same method on Arena Parkway (which was also my first layout with major greenery on it) and it seemed to work really well. This was the last of the work to be done at home, a couple of days later myself and Simon shifted the layout up to the club room where the layout will be prepared for its first outing. One of the first jobs that I completed up at the club was the fueling/fuel unload track. The Knightwing kits were constructed and painted direct onto the layout. The tank you see was made from two smaller tanks I found knocking around in the spares box up at the club. They were both on plinths, heavily weathered and looked like they had been through the wars a bit. I bashed them together, tidied them up and repainted them. They now have a new lease on life and look completely different to how they did. Since taking the photo I have also given it a bit of a weather and it looks pretty good now. Note the base coat on the bridge supports in the background. The bridge top has been completed, it was made for me by Simon out of plasticard following a similar construction method he used on his own. As my bridge top is removable (the bridge straddles a board join) it has been made with ridges that 'lock' the bridge into place. The bridge is a few layers thick, it has sides that also help make it rigid. It looks awesome, but I'm afraid you will have to wait until the next update to see it. With all the excitement of photographing the depot buildings and getting said photos on here to show you I went and forgot to take a picture of it! I have also made significant progress on the car park/office area. The road way has been painted, along with the pavement which is also glued into place. The security hut is from the knightwing range. The next update will show (hopefully) the completion of this area. I haven't got much left to do, just a bit of fencing and a few details. Depot Buildings The depot buildings are probably the most important scenic feature of the layout, together they will form the 'center piece' of the whole model. So it was important that they look the part, construction of these was started not long after I posted the last update, on a lazy Saturday afternoon when myself and Simon thought of some ideas what the building could look like. Using Simon's artistic skills and my creative input we came up with something loosely based on the newest building (shed three I think) at Etches Park. I wanted the buildings to look slightly different from each other so what we decided to do was a sort of 'modular' system, the shell of the buildings look almost the same, but by differing the roofs we now have two buildings that look very different from each other. Actual construction of the buildings was started the following Thursday on club night. Another member of the club, Shaun, kindly offered to help me out and make these buildings for me. The shell for both buildings have now been completed, taking about three weeks to do them both. The rear building has been completed and is now fixed in place, the main building is currently in the process of being painted and will be fixed in place after. Both of the buildings await their roofs which will finish them off nicely. * * * * There is a lot of work going off on the layout at present and progress is being made at a fast pace now. There will be more to come from me in the next couple of weeks where I will show or progress on the layout and preparations for the show. Cheers, Heinz Edited August 30, 2014 by Heinz57 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinz57 Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 (edited) Latest Update 14/09/2014 - Preparations for Etches Hi all, So in the short time since the last update, significant progress was made on the layout all in preparations for its visit to Etches Park open day, but of course today is Sunday, the day after the open day! The reason I am so late posting this is because I was hard at work getting the layout ready, every spare minute was spent in the club room preparing the layout for the show. I am pleased to say that it was completed to a showable condition. This update will show what I got up to on all those late evenings in the club room. Another update will follow to talk about Etches.... The first thing to show is the near completion of the fueling area, a paint job and some weathering really brings it to life. As does the greenery. Notice the additional unload tap I added, where road trucks can unload and deliver fuel. Road markings added to the car park. The fence was also started, and completed after the photo was taken (cheers Simon!) I have also painted and weathered the bridge and added road markings. Still got the street lights to do though. Speaking of weathering, the biggest leap in making the layout look nearly finished was weathering the layout itself. I did this with the airbrush using a few weathering colors from Pheonix and then some basic browns and blacks from Humbrol. In these photos you can also see the addition of the yard towers and the progression of the depot buildings. Shaun did a great job of these. The roofs were finished in time for the show, but with all the excitement of getting it ready I never took a photo. Finally, just a few shots to show off the lighting... Many more lights will be added to bring it to life. Since taking the photos, lighting has also been added to the rear depot building. That's about all for now. I'll post an update soon to talk about Etches, and what I plan to do with the layout next. Cheers, Heinz Edited September 15, 2014 by Heinz57 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridangel77 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Looks awesome matt.....i love the new engine shed and the road over bridge also. Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I saw a photo of a layout and I thought it looked like yours! Great progress! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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