RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted September 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2015 Also, if your trains have toilets, don't forget the small clumps of white and brown in the four-foot... I don't think that I have ever seen that on a model...and I don't think that I want to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted September 21, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 21, 2015 My vote is for pic 3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 (edited) Hi all, Thanks for your thoughts on those test pieces. Sorry, forgot to mention that the ballast is the same on all three, as I quite like it. Its 'Porphyr Dunkelgrau' from Spuren Welten. I hadn't thought of using the rail colour of pic 3 (Railmatch Sleeper Grime) and sleeper colour of pic a (Railmatch Weathered Black), so made another test piece. I added some extra greasy grime as well in between the tracks. Probably overdid a little, but I quite like the look of it. Sorry for the poor pic, light has changed completely. and all 4: Edited September 21, 2015 by Jesse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTrice Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 You have made a really neat job of the ballasting so I am looking forward to hearing how you went about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hi all! Nearly finished tracklaying, so I'm trying out some different colours for track and ballast to use. I'll tell about the paints and ballast used later, but for now I'm just curious: which one do you like the best? IMG_3984.JPG IMG_3985.JPG IMG_3986.JPG Hi all! Nearly finished tracklaying, so I'm trying out some different colours for track and ballast to use. I'll tell about the paints and ballast used later, but for now I'm just curious: which one do you like the best? IMG_3984.JPG IMG_3985.JPG IMG_3986.JPG I'd say pic three but, at the risk of stating the obvious, take a look at the real thing because it does vary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjr78 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 and all 4: IMG_3999.JPG The second one from the left looks best to me. Werner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted September 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hi all, Thanks for your thoughts on those test pieces. Sorry, forgot to mention that the ballast is the same on all three, as I quite like it. Its 'Porphyr Dunkelgrau' from Spuren Welten. I hadn't thought of using the rail colour of pic 3 (Railmatch Sleeper Grime) and sleeper colour of pic a (Railmatch Weathered Black), so made another test piece. I added some extra greasy grime as well in between the tracks. Probably overdid a little, but I quite like the look of it. Sorry for the poor pic, light has changed completely. IMG_3995.JPG and all 4: IMG_3999.JPG No, not overdone at all. It could look a lot more greasy than that, particularly with 1st generation DMUs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 (edited) Any updates, Jesse? Definately! I finished track laying. Very happy with the results so far, especially the transition between the two baseboard parts. Trains do not seem to have any problems with the 1mm gaps in mostly curved tracks. Tests showed that the longest platform is just long enough for a 5-car DMU. As my longest trains will only be 3 cars (plus perhaps an occasional loco), they should fit comfortably. Now adding the missing sleepers to the track. Also found another inspiring real-life prototype: Liverpool Central (high level) in its last days had the exact atmosphere I'm aiming for! I find the combination of dirty stone walls, the old signal box, the colours of track, platforms and roof structure, and the surrounding buildings very inspiring. And on top of that the first-gen DMUs in between, beautiful! Oh, and I finished another project that had been waiting for a while: changed the tone of the far too cold-white marker lights of my class 101. It matches the 108 nicely now! Edited September 28, 2015 by Jesse 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Moxy Posted September 28, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 28, 2015 Also found another inspiring real-life prototype: Liverpool Central (high level) in its last days had the exact atmosphere I'm aiming for! I find the combination of dirty stone walls, the old signal box, the colours of track, platforms and roof structure, and the surrounding buildings very inspiring. And on top of that the first-gen DMUs in between, beautiful! I agree Liverpool Central High Level is very inspiring, here's some more pictures of it from the disused stations website. Some steam, but quite a few DMU shots, plus some demolition shots showing details of the inside of the trainshed. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/liverpool_central_hl/index100.shtml http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/liverpool_central_hl/index20.shtml HTH Moxy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigP Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 (edited) -- Edited January 30, 2021 by bigP Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 (edited) Hi Paul, I painted Tamiya X-26 Clear Orange over the LEDs. 3 coats are needed for a yellowish light, one less if you want a warm white. Edited September 28, 2015 by Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Hi Jesse That's already looking very good.The extra length of points in N does make a difference. BTW I travelled to Paddington and back today from Greenford and noticed that all of the trap points I could see had the same relative rail lengths as yours with the outside rail shorter than the inside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted September 28, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 28, 2015 Hi Jesse It is looking good. I hope you have as much fun driving it as I am having with Sheffield Exchange. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggesford box Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Photo 3 looks best to me - as Pete 75C said, well-used trackwork does have more of a blended uniform colour than we often appreciate. And Reminds me of getting off the sleeper at Gare de Bercy. No chemical retention toilets and what do most people tend to first thing when they get up?! All this and low level platforms to further get up close and personal! Truly the Gaullic ambience, welcome to Paris! This! Definitely this. Also, if your trains have toilets, don't forget the small clumps of white and brown in the four-foot... And discarded newspapers, cigarette packets (fag ends would be too small to see in N Gauge!), pop cans and other commuter detritus scattered liberally along the platform roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Filling the gaps, bit by bit... quite a tedious job. It's easy to get distracted and wanting to see how things will look later on... Edited October 6, 2015 by Jesse 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) Waiting for some extra sleepers to arrive, I thought I'd start motorizing the points, using Conrad point motors. I've used these particular ones for several layouts and find them very robust and reliable. Unfortunately, production of them seem to has ceased. So let's hope they keep working for one more project. One of the point rails seems to have come loose during the process. It also has bended a little, causing shorts during testing. I'm hesitating to glue it back in place as I'm afraid that it will come off or start to cause problems again in the future, when the ballasted point will be much harder te replace. So getting a new point now is the smartest thing to do, I suppose. Edited October 14, 2015 by Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 (edited) Well, I managed to get two new points in (another one was damaged while drilling a hole for the point motor) without damaging the rest too much. To slide in the fishplates I had to bend the adjacent points a little too much to be comfortable with, but they've held.. pfew. Just some cosmetic work to do now to, but that's the easy bit. Just from now on no more loose point rails please...! Edited October 20, 2015 by Jesse 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 (edited) Moving on... I'm trying to design the control panel for points and signals to be as compact as possible. This one should be OK, with just enough room for switches and small 3 mm LED indicators without being to predominant on the layout. Love my new 'Railway' font! Meanwhile, the other side of the board is getting more and more crowded. My wiring tends to be a little messy, but it's actually more organised than it looks. The control panel will be situated on the lower right. Let's just hope there'll be enough room left to fit the signals in there as well... Edited October 27, 2015 by Jesse 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 I'm chuffed! Quite surprised to find everything works without a hitch! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aac Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Well, I managed to get two new points in (another one was damaged while drilling a hole for the point motor) without damaging the rest too much. To slide in the fishplates I had to bend the adjacent points a little too much to be comfortable with, but they've held.. pfew. Just some cosmetic work to do now to, but that's the easy bit. Just from now on no more loose point rails please...! IMG_4063.JPG I have had two blade failures like that and had to replace the points in amongst painted, ballasted track. If it is useful to others, here is how I got around it as I could see the looming nightmare of bending fishplates mentioned by Jesse. 1. Disconnect any power wires and point motor. 2. About two sleepers in on each of the three tracks on the failed point, cut clean through both rails. 3. Slide a long thin blade like a fine kitchen knife or painters palette knife underneath the point if glued and ballasted down and slowly ease it up and away. 4. Take out the remaining end pieces of the failed point's rails where they are still attached to the rest of the trackwork. Also take out the fishplates. Make sure you do this horizontally - don't allow any upwards direction while pulling out of the remains of the rails and fishplates. 5. Remove any ballast and clean up the track base where the point was. Lightly sand if necessary. 6. Lower the new point into position (Being PECO, the precision of the manufacture will give a perfect fit in the available space). 7. Mark where you have a space between two sleepers near the end of each rail on each of the three tracks on the new point. 8. Screw in a small brass screw in each position. Lay the point down again and check height of screw relative to height of the underside of the rails. Adjust height of screws to get perfect touch. 9. Lay the point down and align with the rails of the other trackwork. When happy by running a finger tip over the rails to check no "jump", solder the new point's rails finely to each screw. You can also file a very small chamfer to the rail ends which always helps where two rail ends meet. Note that you don't need fishplates as the soldered joints to the screws provide the alignment vertically and laterally. 10. Solder power wires as necessary to the point and set up any point motor as required. Paint and ballast as required. You're back in business. This is quite a quick process and has not let me down since installation so I hope you find it useful. Nice layout which I am following with interest. Good luck. aac . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CloggyDog Posted October 30, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 30, 2015 Very neat job with the panel! I reckon just 4 switches are required?? 1 for the initial cross-over, 1 for the parcels road (which should also throw the trap), 1 for the 2nd cross-over and finally 1 for the pfm 2/3 point. minoriestrpl.jpg Moving on... I'm trying to design the control panel for points and signals to be as compact as possible. This one should be OK, with just enough room for switches and small 3 mm LED indicators without being to predominant on the layout. Love my new 'Railway' font! IMG_4066.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 (edited) aac, Thanks for sharing your method, which is actually quite similar to what I've done (apart for the rail bending thing ). You're absolutely right, soldering the rails to brass screws will hold them in place just as well, probably even better. By the way, the straight rail of my two new Peco points appears to be a little bit shorter than the ones of the replaced points, causing a noticable gap. It looks like Peco changed the tooling of the points; the tip of the point rail, which used to be straight, is also slightly bent now. Hi Alan, Thanks! Yup only 4 switches are needed for point operation. Plus some for the signals, which will be manually operated individually. Perhaps I'll build a diode matrix in the future (haven't done that before) to automatically operate points and signals for a set route, but for now this'll be just fine. Oh and by the way: trying to make the platforms as long as possible, I'm looking for ways to get rid of the planned 'concourse' on the far left of the layout. Are there any real life examples of rails ending against a wall, while doors or gates directly at the end of the platforms lead to the rest of the station? Such a solution would really safe some inches. Edited October 30, 2015 by Jesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigP Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) -- Edited January 30, 2021 by bigP Deleted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted October 31, 2015 Author Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) Thanks Paul, in the meanwhile I also found that Morecambe Promenade had the same kind of layout (https://youtu.be/MnyrVhctEI8?t=55s). So I recon this space saving solution wouldn't be entirely beyond the realms of possibility. Edited October 31, 2015 by Jesse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aac Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 aac, Thanks for sharing your method, which is actually quite similar to what I've done (apart for the rail bending thing ). You're absolutely right, soldering the rails to brass screws will hold them in place just as well, probably even better. By the way, the straight rail of my two new Peco points appears to be a little bit shorter than the ones of the replaced points, causing a noticable gap. It looks like Peco changed the tooling of the points; the tip of the point rail, which used to be straight, is also slightly bent now. Hi Alan, Thanks! Yup only 4 switches are needed for point operation. Plus some for the signals, which will be manually operated individually. Perhaps I'll build a diode matrix in the future (haven't done that before) to automatically operate points and signals for a set route, but for now this'll be just fine. Oh and by the way: trying to make the platforms as long as possible, I'm looking for ways to get rid of the planned 'concourse' on the far left of the layout. Are there any real life examples of rails ending against a wall, while doors or gates directly at the end of the platforms lead to the rest of the station? Such a solution would really safe some inches. Not a problem, Jesse. While you still have the point out of position during the replacement process, you can cut away some of the track approaching the point and insert a slightly longer piece of (let's call it) approach track to make up shortfall in length. Just go with a good chunk like a couple of inches if you have space, and then it's not a matter of fiddling with a few milimetres. Again, go in with brass screws to locate it. Anything's possible with a few good tools and an idea or two. aac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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