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Oak Road - 2013 to present (a fictitious place somewhere in Somerset) - Raising Money for Meningitis Research


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That's another show under my belt and more good experience gained.

 

The New Forest Show (Brockenhurst) went almost without fault and with invaluable help from Dave, Ian and Rich (Rhys was apparently watching some excuse for a football team lose in the Championship play off final so didn't make it  :laugh: ), we had a great time. Shorting out the DCC control is becoming less and less as we start to get used to moving stock around the layout and nearly every point motor behaved itself! To be fair, there were very few running issues and I'm feeling rather proud of myself for managing to build a fairly reliable layout.

 

On Saturday, Ian brought some more of his 80s stock so that we could mix things up a bit from the modern day HSTs, and on Sunday, we had Rich's 90s trains providing a nice distraction from the blue and green snakes. 

 

For me personally, it was a chance to play trains at a very relaxed show, and for the crew to be able to answer questions from visitors on layout building, DCC control, scenery techniques (I'm not sure I'm the best person to be asking) and how we made our trains look weathered. 

 

Lessons learned:

a) Make sure I mark up which boards fit on top of each other for stacking together - it will save time in packing the layout up!

b) Hurry up and get the barrier for the front of the layout to stop people damaging the scenery

c) Remember to charge up the drill during the show so that it doesn't go flat when taking the layout down!

d) Try and allow enough space between the neighbouring layouts so that people don't keep knocking stuff off the track, or opening up board joints due to the layout being rocked.

e) Fix the board joint issue between the Ansford Road Bridge board and the Station Yard board!

 

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and on behalf of myself, Dave, Ian and Rich, would like to thank the New Forest Model Railway Society for inviting us along with Oak Road and making the exhibition very enjoyable. Would we go again, or recommend the show to anyone else? Most definitely!  :good:  :good:

 

Next up, Gaugemaster at the beginning of September.

 

 

I wish I had been in Brockenhurst now! :-(

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Evening all

 

Had a good day on Saturday operating Oak Road with Mike and Dave in Brokenhurst and as he doesn't take pictures I thought I'd add my contribution like Rich earlier.

 

attachicon.gifhsts.jpg

 

The normal wildlife in these parts!

 

attachicon.gifyard.jpg

 

An early morning view of the station and yard again with the normal trains.

 

Then things began to change!

 

attachicon.gif159+205.jpg

 

Back to the '90s pic 1 with the 'Tidworth thumper' in the bay and brand new 159 on test pauses at the platform.

 

attachicon.gif50007+205.jpg

 

'90s pic 2 and 'Sir Ted' stands at the platform with a NSE set as the thumper departs.

 

attachicon.gif50027.jpg

 

'90s pic 3 soon 50027 appears under the bridge for it's booked stop at Oak Road.

 

attachicon.gif50046.jpg

 

'90s pic 4 a few minutes later and 50046 pauses on a down service.

 

Thanks to Mike for letting me play trains and give some of my stock a good run out.

 

More great pictures Ian.......maybe I should change the description of the layout to 'Western Region through the ages"  :laugh:  :laugh:

Edited by scoobyra
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Hi Mike,

 

I'm looking at creating stone / aggregate mounds for the next layout, could I ask how you created yours, as they look very effective?

 

Simon

 

Here you go Simon http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/110962-oak-road-2013-to-present-a-fictitious-place-somewhere-in-devon-somerset/page-18 - post 441 onwards.

 

I covered the mounds in ripped up brown paper and pva as per the rest of my terrain building and then threw a load of ballast at it.

Edited by scoobyra
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More great pictures Ian.......maybe I should change the description of the layout to 'Western Region through the ages"  :laugh:  :laugh:

 

 

If I can find some OO wheels for it, I will bring along a circa 1998 Virgin XC and GWT Merlin HST & loco hauled for a spin at Taunton.  Add in the best post privatization period...

 

I think bringing a King or a Castle on a set of Centenarys circa 1947 might stretch the grounds of plausibility a little too far to get a true Western through the ages

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If I can find some OO wheels for it, I will bring along a circa 1998 Virgin XC and GWT Merlin HST & loco hauled for a spin at Taunton.  Add in the best post privatization period...

 

I think bringing a King or a Castle on a set of Centenarys circa 1947 might stretch the grounds of plausibility a little too far to get a true Western through the ages

 

We've had some Kings but they won't go through the station due to gauging issues Rich!

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Here you go Simon http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/110962-oak-road-2013-to-present-a-fictitious-place-somewhere-in-devon-somerset/page-18 - post 441 onwards.

 

I covered the mounds in ripped up brown paper and pva as per the rest of my terrain building and then threw a load of ballast at it.

 

Thanks mate, I should have gone and looked back through, but I didn't think you'd covered it for some reason!  :fool:

 

Simon

Edited by St. Simon
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I was at Brockenhurst last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed this layout - even when things didnt exactly go to plan :no:

Thanks for showing the layout and I hope I get to see it again soon.

The humour of the VSOE generator van was appreciated :yes:

 

If you'd like to see my footage,here is a link to the video:

 

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I was at Brockenhurst last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed this layout - even when things didnt exactly go to plan :no:

Thanks for showing the layout and I hope I get to see it again soon.

The humour of the VSOE generator van was appreciated :yes:

 

If you'd like to see my footage,here is a link to the video:

 

 

Thank you so much for posting your video. I'll make sure the board joint is fixed next time and hopefully you'll be able to get a better video of the short set!

 

Mike

Edited by scoobyra
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With just 12 weeks until the Gaugemaster show it's all hands to the pump and unfortunately, Nicky's now got two of the layout boards back in the kitchen! :laugh: :laugh:

 

The new palisade fence from Justin is underway, and although it's taking a while to do, it's miles better than the plastic Wills stuff.....although it's a bit more fragile and susceptible to warping if you throw too much paint at it in one go. I've got some intermediate panel angles incoming and this should mean the fence follows the terrain profile perfectly - just like the real thing. Also on the way is some GWR style fence to go in the station car park to represent an old disused fence, minus its wires, and some wooden fence posts to create a 'post and rail' fence around the camp site on top of the tunnel.

 

Rhys and Ian are busy taking their home layouts apart and I'm about to join them - the board joint between the Ansford Road Bridge and the Station boards is going to need some attention as the baord tops have warped creating a lovely ski ramp on either side...it's so bad, we struggled to run the short set over it at Brockenhurst! I have a plan though so watch this space.

 

Photo updates shortly.

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Here's the fence going in....

 

post-18825-0-16655600-1528195334_thumb.jpg

 

Still very much work in progress!

 

It's not fixed in yet so it's a bit twisted, and you can see that some of the panels on the left have started to bow, due to too much paint. They're fairly easy to straighten out, as long as you're not too heavy handed with them. It'll also look a bit better once I've swapped out some of the panels for the ones with the correct angle. 

 

Only another 2.3m to go!

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During my day job, I recruit for the UKs Waste and Recycling Sector......so last night, I thought I'd do some recycling of my own and turn this.....

 

post-18825-0-36377600-1528276870_thumb.jpg

 

.....in to this.....

 

post-18825-0-23833300-1528276879_thumb.jpg

 

....and then in to this....

 

post-18825-0-37075000-1528276886_thumb.jpg

 

....and then ran out of material!  :laugh:  :laugh: All being well, I'll have some more bits and pieces to continue running it parallel to the end backscene by the end of the week. 

 

The whole idea is that the post and rail fence has trees behind it up to the backscene and separates the camping field from the woods.

 

And talking of camp sites......someone sneaked in and parked their bus on it.........

 

post-18825-0-54233200-1528276894_thumb.jpg

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During my day job, I recruit for the UKs Waste and Recycling Sector......so last night, I thought I'd do some recycling of my own and turn this.....

 

attachicon.gifLeft Overs.jpg

 

.....in to this.....

 

attachicon.gifPost and Rail.jpg

 

....and then in to this....

 

attachicon.gifLooks like a paddock.jpg

 

....and then ran out of material!  :laugh:  :laugh: All being well, I'll have some more bits and pieces to continue running it parallel to the end backscene by the end of the week. 

 

The whole idea is that the post and rail fence has trees behind it up to the backscene and separates the camping field from the woods.

 

And talking of camp sites......someone sneaked in and parked their bus on it.........

 

attachicon.gifCamp Site.jpg

 

 

Do they not know that Glastonbury is not on this year??

 

What brand are those spray paints in the last picture...  :scratchhead:

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Hey bud, what's the base for the field with the camper in it, just looks really good and a lot better than anything I can create........lol!!!!!!!

 

It's nothing special Ade, it's brown paint, covered with that awful Javis scatter, and then 2mm static grass on the top. The key to getting it right is using random mixes of straw / lush fibres and making it patchy.

 

Mike

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Apologies for the lack of updates but the World Cup, lovely weather, and some O Gauge trains have been hampering progress!

 

Paul stepped in to help Ian with Tidworth at the weekend so I managed to put my time to good use (in between the football and getting a tan) and crack on with the fence behind the station. 

 

post-18825-0-92630400-1531134519.jpg

 

post-18825-0-76342600-1531134533_thumb.jpg

 

This really is a labour of love and not for people without the ability to remain patient....like me!  :O

 

And here it is complete....

 

post-18825-0-33429200-1531134544_thumb.jpg

 

...all I need to do now is add some static grass and yellow lines before levelling the fence and sticking it all in.

 

As with most things I do, it didn't go without a few dramas. First up, the station building canopy managed to get broken, even though it was rapped up in tissue paper, in a box of its own, and secondly, this happened while I was making the holes for the iron railings at the end of the bay platform!  :ireful:  :ireful:

 

post-18825-0-54917400-1531134555_thumb.jpg

 

Luckily, both things can be sorted fairly easily but its more jobs on the list!

 

With the fence now complete, I can finish off the scenery behind the station and then move on to the other end.....which will be most welcomed.

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