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Fordley - Present Day Ballast Loader/Station/WRD...


Jack374
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Cheers Jules and yes Neil I’m saving progress reports until I’ve got something substantial to show! :senile:

 

Today I put both boards together, to show progress so far:


AD26D93E-250A-4A0D-B773-554152C5C7FF.jpeg.e020fe33deb33f4ee576f4435aaefdd9.jpeg

Since last time, I’ve added some cable trunking from styrene 'U' channel, which was painted grey and had the section lines added from permanent marker to portray that they’re separate sections. These were glued down along with the electrical boxes, which again were scratchbuilt from styrene - although I know you can buy kits but I’d started them already! Board 2 was then ballasted fully, meaning all the main ballasting is done now:

 

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Some more orange piping was added too which will be for signal cables going to the boxes.

 

I've also recently decided to use JMRI and the WiThrottle Lite app (both available free from MS Store/App Store) to control the layout. This allows fully remote control from my iPad and shows all the function button names that are saved in the DecoderPro application in my roster. I’ve recently finished DRS 57307 fully, so I described each function button which is transferred to the throttle on-screen:

83ACE49F-7575-4434-8345-52872186F80E.png.19dac6c6a91546494d08f2dfb8131567.png

You can scroll to access all the functions. I’m very impressed with it and it’s all free! Granted you need a control source (NCE PowerCab & DCC Concepts Alpha Box for me), but I had those so you can just add an NCE USB interface and connect it all up. Signals will be controlled like this too, but more on this later when I’ve (hopefully successfully!) implemented it.

 

And some shots for fun of 57307 arriving on shed, and 68002 passing by with 20308 and 20303 for further storage...

 

655B09FF-BE7C-4AC6-8BF6-7F54018DBF51.jpeg.a35c99ac2c315fff757334f6d2f55b01.jpeg

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D162BD58-DFCA-4100-9F0D-E2A85FFFC83A.jpeg.71be5be2ded7bdc522232e4a918e6c04.jpeg

 

I hope we’re all staying well! :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for the comments chaps! :drinks:

 

Progress has slowed somewhat, mainly because I find it hard to stump up motivation for scenery or buildings! :no: I should receive a delivery of lots of things to help the project next week, so should be able to crack on.

 

In the meantime, since the last update I've added some greenery. Woodland Scenics scatter of 3 forms was used: coarse turf in burnt grass and yellow grass shades, and also fine turn in burnt grass colour. I mixed some diluted PVA and applied it with a spray bottle - the viscosity was just thin enough to allow it to be sprayed but still with enough glue in there to stick stuff. Before this, a base layer of dried teabag leaves painted green (seriously!) was applied, which looked almost luminous when applied and dried, but looks much better when other scatter shades were put on top. I had a go at applying some spots of static grass fibres, by adding a drop of viscous PVA out the bottle, then rolling the grass between fingers to align it before placing it upright in the glue. This worked well, but has since been lost slightly due to the scatter applied on top, so this will be done again when all scatter is applied. I've also started to add platform edging and stone sheeting, but I'll show this when it's done. Some progress shots below, mainly taken for the stock in the sun!

 

IMG_0224PSs.jpg.a1c8b25c90bf866b6f7919f04b1656e6.jpg

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IMG_0263PSs.jpg.cb9e0de860e842a83a538ffe01aac6b7.jpg

 

Lastly for now, I've finished 4 of the 6 signals needed, with one in the post and an ambitious one yet to make but in progress. They were created with copperclad, tiny 0603 SMD LEDs and brass for the mounts. The lenses were filed from 2mm fibre-optic. The lit PL is mounted on a CR Signals 3-aspect, another of which is in the post currently.

 

IMG_0291PSs.jpg.c00a734fb324fe89d9be85ec2d761871.jpg

 

Some switches for these are also on their way, so I'll be able to hook them all up soon.

 

That's it for now! Progress on some larger tasks like backscenes and trestles will be shown next, as will further scenic/platform work if I can get some done!

 

Thanks for looking, and I hope you're well and can do some modelling! :yes:

 

Thanks,

Jack.

 

 

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Lovely, looking superb so far Jack!

 

Haha, the scenery and buildings are surely the most fun part no?! That’s the reward for getting that fiddly track, signalling and electronics part out the way! :jester::lol:

 

Looking forward to the next updates!
 

Cheers,

James

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  • 1 month later...

Evening all...thanks for the likes and comments Pete and James! I don’t know why I don’t particularly like scenery...possibly because it’s something you can’t be precise over whereas stock and track etc I can. My better half has said she’ll help with buildings and scenery so I’m on to a winner! ;)

 

A small update tonight to show the state of play. Absolutely no more progress has been made on the middle two (ballasted) boards, but the signals for them are now complete. If you’ve seen my workbench thread (in signature) you’ll know I had to make the post-mounted PL three times...but thankfully it works...currently. The fifth and now final signal is a CR Signals 3-aspect with safety ring (not full 'cage' like the other), which was cut down to be platform mounted and I added a no-climb board and sign printed from a photo:

 

B19F9323-9460-4B32-A7A3-D8C0650FC792.jpeg.f321c16ee45d6533a8428a03dd0afcb2.jpeg

21F320C7-0F74-4907-A160-1DA3B4098C75.jpeg.e4a59a71a0582047bbfdae9202ee2398.jpeg

 

These have now been safely stored away ready for later when scenery is done and they can be mounted. The fact I’ve finished the signals before most of the scenery shows my preference! :nono:

 

The other update is that finally, after 6 (!) years, I got round to finishing the last two boards. I had been putting it off, but I bought a pair of Stanley trestles recently and added some wooden supports with notches for the board to sit in. These are for the middle board, and the other 4 will piggyback off this with one wooden leg each (shiver me timber(s)! :D) . It was actually enjoyable to glue the boards together, and all that was needed was masking tape, clamps and wood glue since I’d pre-cut them on the laser cutter at high school just before leaving. A length of inch by half timber was glued diagonally in each half to give flexural strength as the boards twist without it. The board 'kit':

 

8FEF8694-BD1B-43F1-BEEA-9B0A32EA96CC.jpeg.5b2e6d8ffa29a36747529439df4e541d.jpeg
 

...And completed:

 

B3E1F91B-D045-44B2-BE47-171B0F92DEA0.jpeg.ec7bb4f4ce0a7c0bc7ff7ab62c7366e2.jpeg
 

I’m planning on getting the last two points this week...I’ve chickened out of hand-building and don’t fancy paying for the Peco bullhead ones, so I’ll just get a couple more medium rad wooden sleeper ‘standard' code 75s.

 

At some point I’ll draw a new track plan with updated scenics/buildings as I’ve changed my mind a bit and even I could do with a refresh as to what the whole thing will look like! Besides track laying on the final end boards, I’ll make the 4 legs when we get a good day for wood butchering, and once I’ve sorted inter-board fastenings (more on this next time) I’ll string the whole layout together...exciting! :yes:

 

I hope you’re well and thanks for sticking with the layout :good:

 

Jack.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks Pete!

 

On 28/06/2020 at 22:42, Jack374 said:

I’m planning on getting the last two points this week...I’ve chickened out of hand-building and don’t fancy paying for the Peco bullhead ones, so I’ll just get a couple more medium rad wooden sleeper ‘standard' code 75s.


After buying the points, I decided against a run around due to siding space (max. 4ft train length) and the need for a shunter if no run round exists, thus more operational interest to shunt the train back into the quarry. If I had installed a run round, the Dingham couplings wouldn’t have worked automatically either, with a shuffle required to uncouple, whereas every possible sequence will uncouple/couple up automatically now.

 

So to the progress. All track has now been laid, using 6mm foam which started as a camping roll mat and was cut up. Track was glued down with standard wood glue/PVA like the other boards. The standard flat bottom track at the top below will be covered with hardstanding leaving the bullhead track to be ballasted. The motley collection of track on the right hand side is the shed road and will be completely hidden in the wagon repair depot (WRD).

 

B792099E-8234-4313-BE3F-0357C19BD035.jpeg.05c7261e7413904210cb2013cfce0f5e.jpeg
 

And the final board, the end of the quarry line:


BBEB7E6D-5356-4DF9-B8C2-CF61F4C947D2.jpeg.454e551ab5a4f2774eefabbafeeaf3ac.jpeg
 

Track was wired using chocolate blocks and copper tape (marketed as 'slug tape' as it’s meant to deter them), all soldered together. These will be fed by inter-board connections from the middle board. The wiring isn’t the prettiest but it works! Tested with a digital multimeter for shorts and continuity...

 

2C49B5C2-12CF-4BA7-BF2B-AF1E10584C6E.jpeg.5ea4141b476a40726c44f52a82333f01.jpeg

AD105903-62B6-4D39-904E-BD53765C94D4.jpeg.9e9d9bd0197f8a7a921b750d7d5e41b1.jpeg

 

Next job was adding the alignment discs, which were saved when the boards were laser cut. Laser cutting takes a small sliver of material away, meaning the discs were a snug but easy fit in the holes - cut for weight saving and alignment. When the boards were aligned with bolts (checking track alignment is bob on), 3 discs per join were simply screwed in. This creates pretty accurate alignment which can still be adjusted a tad if required.

 

B5330264-7D8A-458A-8B9A-D5746E601148.jpeg.310dda54121194f0a6b1b9832f390c32.jpeg

 

Finally for now, the backscenes have been added to the two middle (no fiddleyard) boards, with 5mm ply and 21mm square softwood. The other boards will have backscenes added too, either closer to the front or with backscenes on the sides also.

 

8BA37DBA-AA95-4EE6-93FB-A420E9B19C67.jpeg.cb770683eabb0a80f26e45d5baf6d4f3.jpeg

B2BD693A-04E3-47D0-A031-C456629B6E9C.jpeg.dd2467061a043fd69c61e1592450f752.jpeg

 

Apart from another (final) pair of legs, that’s all the progress I’ve made. Two more board joins need adding, but with the wiring done and the rest of the joins done, theoretically I can now run trains! Hopefully I’ll be able to set it all up shortly and run something from one end to another.

 

I've been beavering away but may well go back to work on stock soon, as I need some wagons and units to run! :senile:

 

Thanks for popping in, and I hope you’re well and can get some modelling done.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

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On 26/08/2020 at 22:10, Jack374 said:

Thanks Pete!

 


After buying the points, I decided against a run around due to siding space (max. 4ft train length) and the need for a shunter if no run round exists, thus more operational interest to shunt the train back into the quarry. If I had installed a run round, the Dingham couplings wouldn’t have worked automatically either, with a shuffle required to uncouple, whereas every possible sequence will uncouple/couple up automatically now.

 

So to the progress. All track has now been laid, using 6mm foam which started as a camping roll mat and was cut up. Track was glued down with standard wood glue/PVA like the other boards. The standard flat bottom track at the top below will be covered with hardstanding leaving the bullhead track to be ballasted. The motley collection of track on the right hand side is the shed road and will be completely hidden in the wagon repair depot (WRD).

 

B792099E-8234-4313-BE3F-0357C19BD035.jpeg.05c7261e7413904210cb2013cfce0f5e.jpeg
 

And the final board, the end of the quarry line:


BBEB7E6D-5356-4DF9-B8C2-CF61F4C947D2.jpeg.454e551ab5a4f2774eefabbafeeaf3ac.jpeg
 

Track was wired using chocolate blocks and copper tape (marketed as 'slug tape' as it’s meant to deter them), all soldered together. These will be fed by inter-board connections from the middle board. The wiring isn’t the prettiest but it works! Tested with a digital multimeter for shorts and continuity...

 

2C49B5C2-12CF-4BA7-BF2B-AF1E10584C6E.jpeg.5ea4141b476a40726c44f52a82333f01.jpeg

AD105903-62B6-4D39-904E-BD53765C94D4.jpeg.9e9d9bd0197f8a7a921b750d7d5e41b1.jpeg

 

Next job was adding the alignment discs, which were saved when the boards were laser cut. Laser cutting takes a small sliver of material away, meaning the discs were a snug but easy fit in the holes - cut for weight saving and alignment. When the boards were aligned with bolts (checking track alignment is bob on), 3 discs per join were simply screwed in. This creates pretty accurate alignment which can still be adjusted a tad if required.

 

B5330264-7D8A-458A-8B9A-D5746E601148.jpeg.310dda54121194f0a6b1b9832f390c32.jpeg

 

Finally for now, the backscenes have been added to the two middle (no fiddleyard) boards, with 5mm ply and 21mm square softwood. The other boards will have backscenes added too, either closer to the front or with backscenes on the sides also.

 

8BA37DBA-AA95-4EE6-93FB-A420E9B19C67.jpeg.cb770683eabb0a80f26e45d5baf6d4f3.jpeg

B2BD693A-04E3-47D0-A031-C456629B6E9C.jpeg.dd2467061a043fd69c61e1592450f752.jpeg

 

Apart from another (final) pair of legs, that’s all the progress I’ve made. Two more board joins need adding, but with the wiring done and the rest of the joins done, theoretically I can now run trains! Hopefully I’ll be able to set it all up shortly and run something from one end to another.

 

I've been beavering away but may well go back to work on stock soon, as I need some wagons and units to run! :senile:

 

Thanks for popping in, and I hope you’re well and can get some modelling done.

 

Thanks,

Jack.

 

Hi, Jack, it's great that you're finding time for the layout and I'm liking the idea of lots of shunting!!!:senile:You'll probably never get bored of it!!

 

As always, good luck mate and I look forward to completion....

 

Jules

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  • 1 month later...

Many thanks Jules...I look forward to seeing it done too!! :senile:

 

With apologies for the gap between updates...this has mostly been due to numerous little tasks being completed. To start, I re-did the manual point rods by drilling circular 25mm holes with a spade drill into the rear (operating) side of the boards. The ends of the rods (3mm brazing rod) were bent at right angles and a small stub left, enough to get finger purchase to pull...no euphemism intended...

 

6FA68656-6365-4B79-9046-3C4B9CBFEB88.jpeg.77086bc39de86f4aba5eb30a22e847b0.jpeg

 

To connect to the point tie bar, some 1mm steel wire was bent at a right angle   at one end and passed through a chocolate block then the other end was formed into a shape which could throw a simple switch, used for frog switching. The switch was mounted in 3mm plastic sheet and glued with UHU and hot glue to make sure it won’t move. I originally (naively) didn’t think I needed to switch the frogs separately and could rely on the point blades to make contact - how wrong I was!
 

6145297C-961F-4B13-A4D0-9771F9D6065A.jpeg.4defb075e865c19f2855682db93ecce5.jpeg
 

Now for cassettes. Not those with music on. For the 'fiddle yards', I’ll be using cassettes made from half-square down pipe with track lengths hot glued in place. To provide power, a strip of phosphor bronze was soldered to each rail and a 6mm hole drilled beneath. On the board(s), some 6mm brass bolts were used which were soldered into the track bus by soldering straight to some brass washers. The screw ends poking through have since been sorted...

 

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Finally for now, this afternoon I set up the 4 'main' boards to have the longest run yet and test everything - all worked first time! Unfortunately, I only ran locos as there wasn’t enough room to put up the 5th board (upstairs...), I haven’t made any long cassettes yet, and I haven’t got any wagons ready! The 2-wheelers in the shot below will be the first set to be 'done proper' on my workbench very soon...

 

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That’s it for now. Next I’ll make longer cassettes, add the remaining backscenes and carry on with detailing as well as stock. Signals and the auxiliary (18V DC) bus are also high on the agenda.

 

Ta for sticking with the layout! :good:

 

Jack.

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  • 2 months later...

Since the last update, further work has been done on the backscenes, in the same manner as the previous ones. The quarry loader board has a 100mm square hole cut in it which will allow actual loading of wagons - the mechanism for which I’m currently working on. Also half of this board has been ballasted...

 

8631485F-0EB4-4F5D-954F-F2D5DFBA33ED.jpeg.dd36b070c2e9226f94f047dbadf486bc.jpeg

 

And below is a photo taken on my other layout, Tighte End Yard...

 

A827CE34-CEF9-43F2-82AA-FBA83E1F6807.jpeg.79e8a97e4b0f43c47d036cf819576b21.jpeg

 

Season's Greetings to all my RMweb friends, and anyone who has viewed, rated, commented or followed my work in 2020. I wish you and your family a peaceful Christmas and all the best for 2021. Hopefully a better year is in store and we can get some quality modelling done!

 

Once again thanks for all the support, I really do appreciate it. Cheers!! :good:

 

Jack.

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  • 2 months later...
On 10/02/2021 at 17:37, Powerhaul 70 Pey said:

Very innovative Jack!  Soon fills a section of that wagon.  Get it finished and at an exhibition, keep people mesmerized for hours watching that!


Cheers Pete, that is the plan! I remember seeing one many years ago and I wished they’d just run a loop of wagons and fill them all the time, I was pondering how it worked but never asked as I was young...that’s kind of where the inspiration came from. It’s been fun trialling it even with one or two wagons (that’s all the ballast and track space I’ve got currently!), so I look forward to having a good play with it set up in summer.

 

With exams now done for this year (thank goodness), progress should resume on the layout. I’ve been doing small bits in the last few months, mainly on the wagon repair depot (WRD) board, which hides the smaller 3ft fiddleyard. The backscene structure was made before I left my previous tenancy in November, and track was laid as per the last time I set it all up near the back end of last year. First job was to ballast, leaving the first foot or so clear for some hardstanding to continue from the adjacent board. This was created using the grey card from A4 rigid envelopes, cut to size and glued using PVA, weighed down with some of my best milling/turning training pieces!

 

EA0ED7CC-9BEB-4F13-B731-082B59C70C00.jpeg.f1f3c05cbfc282c9f96fc43603a284cb.jpeg
 

As can be seen above by the supports, the WRD structure was created from 5mm ply, with supports glued to the backscene. The main wall was clad with some embossed stone plasticard, painted all over acrylic black (cheapo supermarket poster paints) then rubbed off to leave a grimy look. This has since been tidied further. Once the roof has been sorted, it will be glued together permanently. This is the state of play so far:

 

05CA6BFB-2260-4D50-A52F-FE2E016A6419.jpeg.e7bd88958ecd29cc778813463018918c.jpeg

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The backscene structures are having the screw holes filled ready for painting this summer - a task I’ve managed to delegate to the other half! :D

The next job will be to finish this board structurally, then ballast the final board at the opposite end of the layout to the WRD. Then I suppose I’d better tackle the scenery properly...

 

Thanks for taking the time to read, hopefully I’ll get more done now as the weather improves and I’ve got more free time! :dance:

 

Jack.

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  • 3 months later...
On 01/05/2021 at 16:12, Jack374 said:

It’s been fun trialling it even with one or two wagons (that’s all the ballast and track space I’ve got currently!), so I look forward to having a good play with it set up in summer.


Well, summer is upon us, and yesterday I finally set the whole layout up for the first time, and had a good running session, with the help of Cal.

 

After taping some thick card down in the fiddleyard, to raise the cassettes to the correct height, operations commenced, with the first train to traverse the whole layout being my trusty DRS 20:

 

C102EEB6-F405-4D59-8D52-ED967772A782.jpeg.284f7637f49ec63d7e4bd1ea7ba22522.jpeg

 

A couple of board joins needed wiggling to improve alignment, but on the whole there were no real issues. I need to look into the track joints again at some point to get them perfect now I can set it all up.

 

Then, the first train was loaded by the loader. This was a rake of autoballasters with my Hattons EWS 66 as train loco, and 08892 as shunter. Because there’s no run round (deliberately), there has to be two locos to perform a full shunt from an empty train arriving to a full one departing. This means I can either have a resident shunter(s) or multiple main line locos, both of which can’t be bad!

 

F179EDA1-6D87-44FA-9927-36A844DBF86A.jpeg.68433730c8689892ce9e9ba392b09f40.jpeg

 

And a video of the loader, not very long or different to the previous vid. I’ll take some more videos next time I set it up:

 

 

For the rest of the day we just ran trains. Multiple rakes were loaded (at least 6) and the loader was refined slightly - I’ll detail the loader in a subsequent post as I’m considering changing the set up to make it more reliable. The funnel clogged up a few times but this was a combination of the conveyor going too fast and the nozzle being slightly too small. Also the controller became very temperamental this morning so I need to investigate that.

 

Scenic-wise, I’ve begun the buildings with a warehouse/shop made from 5mm foam board and corrugated styrene sheet, and some terraces in the same vein but with red brick sheet. Both are works in progress but give a good indication of the backscene on the main boards. The board with the warehouse has had scatter added as per the first board I did this on, but some more refinement and blending will happen between these two, as they’re slightly different.

 

C108D5D8-F9CA-48DD-A83C-6FC10013F552.jpeg.d3e98bb57b9d9dfefaee3704ac7cb8c9.jpeg
2EAF024E-CE02-4FC9-9BDD-35757AC29C14.jpeg.e4b1d839ca8a4072a74034c10c81929e.jpeg

3624A622-26B9-4594-9196-73FCFE236F15.jpeg.8e7719e7d94d1b0b67042ed946e367f6.jpeg

 

Another vid, of my 68 departing with a loaded rake of 'Falcons'…

 

 

Finally, here’s a shot of the whole layout. At 15', it’s a good size but I slightly underestimated how long it was!

 

0ADC9B94-8EAC-4EA1-8222-ECD85B444532.jpeg.798b68d48eed70a62b34130017ab283e.jpeg

 

Lots to be done following this session so I’ll plod along, but hopefully now I know it fits in the house I can set it up more often!

 

Thanks for sticking with this…it might be exhibitable some time this decade… :dontknow: :senile:

 

Jack.

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  • Jack374 changed the title to Fordley - Present Day Ballast Loader/Station/WRD...
22 hours ago, Jack374 said:


Well, summer is upon us, and yesterday I finally set the whole layout up for the first time, and had a good running session, with the help of Cal.

 

After taping some thick card down in the fiddleyard, to raise the cassettes to the correct height, operations commenced, with the first train to traverse the whole layout being my trusty DRS 20:

 

C102EEB6-F405-4D59-8D52-ED967772A782.jpeg.284f7637f49ec63d7e4bd1ea7ba22522.jpeg

 

A couple of board joins needed wiggling to improve alignment, but on the whole there were no real issues. I need to look into the track joints again at some point to get them perfect now I can set it all up.

 

Then, the first train was loaded by the loader. This was a rake of autoballasters with my Hattons EWS 66 as train loco, and 08892 as shunter. Because there’s no run round (deliberately), there has to be two locos to perform a full shunt from an empty train arriving to a full one departing. This means I can either have a resident shunter(s) or multiple main line locos, both of which can’t be bad!

 

F179EDA1-6D87-44FA-9927-36A844DBF86A.jpeg.68433730c8689892ce9e9ba392b09f40.jpeg

 

And a video of the loader, not very long or different to the previous vid. I’ll take some more videos next time I set it up:

 

 

For the rest of the day we just ran trains. Multiple rakes were loaded (at least 6) and the loader was refined slightly - I’ll detail the loader in a subsequent post as I’m considering changing the set up to make it more reliable. The funnel clogged up a few times but this was a combination of the conveyor going too fast and the nozzle being slightly too small. Also the controller became very temperamental this morning so I need to investigate that.

 

Scenic-wise, I’ve begun the buildings with a warehouse/shop made from 5mm foam board and corrugated styrene sheet, and some terraces in the same vein but with red brick sheet. Both are works in progress but give a good indication of the backscene on the main boards. The board with the warehouse has had scatter added as per the first board I did this on, but some more refinement and blending will happen between these two, as they’re slightly different.

 

C108D5D8-F9CA-48DD-A83C-6FC10013F552.jpeg.d3e98bb57b9d9dfefaee3704ac7cb8c9.jpeg
2EAF024E-CE02-4FC9-9BDD-35757AC29C14.jpeg.e4b1d839ca8a4072a74034c10c81929e.jpeg

3624A622-26B9-4594-9196-73FCFE236F15.jpeg.8e7719e7d94d1b0b67042ed946e367f6.jpeg

 

Another vid, of my 68 departing with a loaded rake of 'Falcons'…

 

 

Finally, here’s a shot of the whole layout. At 15', it’s a good size but I slightly underestimated how long it was!

 

0ADC9B94-8EAC-4EA1-8222-ECD85B444532.jpeg.798b68d48eed70a62b34130017ab283e.jpeg

 

Lots to be done following this session so I’ll plod along, but hopefully now I know it fits in the house I can set it up more often!

 

Thanks for sticking with this…it might be exhibitable some time this decade… :dontknow: :senile:

 

Jack.

 

Very nice work Jack! Very intriguing how Fordley has gotten on and doubtless you'll be having endless fun with the shunting!:senile:

 

Also the loader is very impressive, it's the first working loader I've ever seen in model form, although beware of the flying ballast! A few warning notices may be neccesary....

 

And I can understand the length issue, 15' on paper and 15' IRL can seem like two different things! My layout is only 8' long but it takes up half the room!

 

Good luck with the rest Jack, look forward to seeing some more progress

 

Jules

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  • 3 months later...
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On 08/08/2021 at 21:36, Jack374 said:


Well, summer is upon us, and yesterday I finally set the whole layout up for the first time, and had a good running session, with the help of Cal.

 

After taping some thick card down in the fiddleyard, to raise the cassettes to the correct height, operations commenced, with the first train to traverse the whole layout being my trusty DRS 20:

 

C102EEB6-F405-4D59-8D52-ED967772A782.jpeg.284f7637f49ec63d7e4bd1ea7ba22522.jpeg

 

A couple of board joins needed wiggling to improve alignment, but on the whole there were no real issues. I need to look into the track joints again at some point to get them perfect now I can set it all up.

 

Then, the first train was loaded by the loader. This was a rake of autoballasters with my Hattons EWS 66 as train loco, and 08892 as shunter. Because there’s no run round (deliberately), there has to be two locos to perform a full shunt from an empty train arriving to a full one departing. This means I can either have a resident shunter(s) or multiple main line locos, both of which can’t be bad!

 

F179EDA1-6D87-44FA-9927-36A844DBF86A.jpeg.68433730c8689892ce9e9ba392b09f40.jpeg

 

And a video of the loader, not very long or different to the previous vid. I’ll take some more videos next time I set it up:

 

 

For the rest of the day we just ran trains. Multiple rakes were loaded (at least 6) and the loader was refined slightly - I’ll detail the loader in a subsequent post as I’m considering changing the set up to make it more reliable. The funnel clogged up a few times but this was a combination of the conveyor going too fast and the nozzle being slightly too small. Also the controller became very temperamental this morning so I need to investigate that.

 

Scenic-wise, I’ve begun the buildings with a warehouse/shop made from 5mm foam board and corrugated styrene sheet, and some terraces in the same vein but with red brick sheet. Both are works in progress but give a good indication of the backscene on the main boards. The board with the warehouse has had scatter added as per the first board I did this on, but some more refinement and blending will happen between these two, as they’re slightly different.

 

C108D5D8-F9CA-48DD-A83C-6FC10013F552.jpeg.d3e98bb57b9d9dfefaee3704ac7cb8c9.jpeg
2EAF024E-CE02-4FC9-9BDD-35757AC29C14.jpeg.e4b1d839ca8a4072a74034c10c81929e.jpeg

3624A622-26B9-4594-9196-73FCFE236F15.jpeg.8e7719e7d94d1b0b67042ed946e367f6.jpeg

 

Another vid, of my 68 departing with a loaded rake of 'Falcons'…

 

 

Finally, here’s a shot of the whole layout. At 15', it’s a good size but I slightly underestimated how long it was!

 

0ADC9B94-8EAC-4EA1-8222-ECD85B444532.jpeg.798b68d48eed70a62b34130017ab283e.jpeg

 

Lots to be done following this session so I’ll plod along, but hopefully now I know it fits in the house I can set it up more often!

 

Thanks for sticking with this…it might be exhibitable some time this decade… :dontknow: :senile:

 

Jack.

Love the loader. The idea is sheer genius. Keep up the great modelling

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