Big jim’s Garage conversion and layout thread

[5BarVT]

There is light at the end of the tunnel! ! !

That first picture is somewhat old - look at the arms on the distants.

Paul.

[big jim]

Benign as I’m putting an electric drop down projector screen in front of the display cabinets I can make the town area longer along the back wall as I don’t need to worry about it impeding on the screen area so hopefully it will look better

 

regards an island platform I did consider that but I have 2 sets of Metcalfe station buildings that I am going to put as per the pictures, however the Bachmann tunnel mouth I have is a double track individual bore  type, I may have a look at putting a bay platform in though 

 

I’ve decided to ditch the heritage line as a loop and make the mainline twice as long by having it dual level dropping/rising up and down between levels like the old shed layout for a bit more operational interest, I may look at either adding a short end to end heritage line operated by Shunter’s such as my NSE 08, Janus, 07 and sentinel with a couple of mk1 coaches 

 

basically other than the town which I really want to do bit it’s back to the drawing board for the rest as I work out how and where to put the transitions between levels, and I thinking 3 maybe 4 ever so slightly different levels all round 

 

 

[big jim]

I’ve put 2 long ‘picture pride’ display cases up on the side wall, they are long enough for 4 coach trains, I’ve put most of my yellow stuff in one of them

 

 

 

one more to put up that’s just the right size for 2 car units 

[DRS Crewe On A Mission]

They look good Jim. Love all of the yellow stock too. 

 

I'm looking forward to the Hornby Network Rail yellow MK2Fs arriving in a few months. 

[big jim]

Had a play about with the layout set up again this evening 
 

 

started along the non window wall, I’ve decided to go with a dual level set up after all, looking along the layout the left hand tracks will disappear under the high level boards but will run in a cutting along the rear wall so I can get to them to clean or if there is a derailment etc (or possibly put removable scenic panels above them whee the industrial units are) 

 

The tracks raising up the on poly risers will go to the high level bit which will have a small yard on the back wall (see further on) and also an oil terminal, access to the terminal will be via a chord that will also serve as a short branch line.........

 

 

the branch will go to an old mill area served by a small single platform station (the board will be cut back to suit as as and when i fix things down properly) I plan to have the mill as a ‘heritage centre/museum’ type of thing, maybe with a nice little 009 line 

 

back to the rear wall and the yard, only a small one, 3 or 4 long roads all dead ends, one reception line with a shunt neck to back the trains in 

 

A few shorter roads to the right for individual wagons, locos etc, I also plan for the metal sleepered line you can see in the picture below to curve round to the left and into a small shed and fuelling point 

 

Still planning on having the town on a hill but not having the railway cut immediately below it, you can see roughly where the shed may end up too, the high level track will have to drop down along that wall but I’m not going to drop it all the way down to baseboard level I’m going to drop it by about 1.5 inch and raise the low level track up to the same level so it can still cross the ‘ravine’ on a nice high bridge (or two) the town will no longer have a slope down to track level so the low relief buildings can just run along the wall on the level

 

 

not looked at it yet but I’m still thinking some sort of castle on the Small corner baseboard with the railway running through the walls like Conway 

 

[LongRail]

Jim

Some good ideas in there liking the way you are mocking it al up before jumping in to quickly.

With a shallower angle for the town board you can step the buildings down a little at a time to keep them vertical and adjust the pavement to suit the door positions.

You could try and mock this up with thin foamboard  to adjust the building levels and then use a thick card for the pavement level if that makes sense

Edited November 4, 2019 by LongRail

[big jim]

Had a quick play about with the layout earlier, I’m going to widen the board below the wall cabinet so I can run 4 tracks along it as well as an embankment for a 009 track!

 

 

This board was up against the wall originally but I’ll cut a completely new piece Out 

 

and Hopefully that piece will move across to another corner of the layout to allow me to add a heritage line 

 

mocking it up I recon I could have a 2 coach run round, when I build the layout properly the platform will curve round toward the tunnel entrance, the line will then go under the shed and pop back out toward the centre of the rear wall before terminating on the opposite side of the layout in a ‘wharf’ type area 

 

The station can then have a double slip at one end to release the loco and also allow access to and from the main line 

 

Then as a bit of a motivation pic to spur me on, this is what I’d like to achieve, Harry needle 07 on the heritage line, my big pink one heading light engine through the station while GBRf 60095 returns RHTT wagons, Arriva wales 121 waits in the bay to depart for the high level mill terminus, colas 56 on the BP tanks in the terminal while the northern belle waits in the loop on the high level side 

[big jim]

I decided today was going to be the day to lay the first bit of track, I knew which bit it was going to be, the bit along the back of the layout that will be below the High level boards, I’ve put it at the back of the board so I can cut access holes In the boards against the back wall in case of derailments etc 

 

once that was in place I put some boards on top to try and arrange some tracks again, mainline at the back, small yard and depot in the middle and wagon repair shop at the front 

 

here is the clever bit, the steel sleepered line in the middle Of the yard is a reception/arrival line

 

The reason it’s not a siding is so I don’t store any stock there because when the projector screen drops down it will drop down right onto that line!

 

now it’s imagination time again, the reception line will join in from the mainline on the left of the picture, the line at the rear is the path of the mainline, inbetween those 2 lines will be a void where the low level line will pop out of a tunnel mouth for a short distance before going back into another and running below the town

 

over rhe other side of the layout I’ve moved things back a bit so the top is narrower but it means the heritage line can fit on the existing board without needing to add a filler as per the last post 

 

back to the other side, the low level tracks will run near the wall and the high level tracks will win run on a plinth about 1.5 inch high (you can see the point leading to the goods line) 

 

This is the town area, imagine the bottom board being cut similar but slightly wider, and the top cut back slightly for the goods line 

 

board placed across the rear for buildings to be placed on 

 

the bottom area will be where the heritage line comes in but also where a 009 line will terminate

 

heritage line 

 

narrow gauge line

 

 

and another motivation picture to spur me on, Cemex 66 and 37025 on the mid level mainline, NSE thumper in the heritage platform and L&B narrow gauge loco arriving into the station, there will be a run round loop for the narrow gauge as well as a small engine shed

 

 

Where the brick retaining wall ends a tall river bridge will start so may make a small wharf line under it with inlayed tracks, all part of the heritage site 

 

[big jim]

A bit more playing tonight 
 

I’ve used the bit I removed from the other side of the layout to fill the gap to the goods line and cut the top town board to fit  around it 

 

 

imagination time again, cut back the high level bits to where the bridge will start

 

Then had a look at the river bed/valley area which heads off to the corner of the layout, the orange line is where I’m thinking of cutting the top board, the river bed will be about 6 inches lower, the rear lines will run out in the open across there in the board but scenically I will make it look like it’s on a bridge across the valley 

 

again, just a mock up, the bridge will be a good 3 times as long as the one in the picture, I’ve not decided which way the narrow gauge line should go, should it horseshoe (along the same route as the orange line) or 

 

final mock up, castle Bachmann! The rear tracks will disappear again round the back of the layout, the middle height lines will run past a castle and through the town walls as per Conway, similarly the narrow gauge line can run through the walls, it may well start to climb from here toward the removable section ready to finish up higher than the main lines in the mill area! 

[big jim]

A bit of woodwork today, filled the gap in for the valley, going to have it quite deep with steep sides

 

mock up time again, i was thinking of having a stone bridge with legs into the valley but looking at the mock up with a steel bridge with parapets either end I think it would look good and not obscure the valley 
 

the lower bridge behind can be a stone

 

looking from the side, the 009 can run at the front on a wooden tressle bridge 

 

I then mocked up the castle using cardboard and loo rolls, again I think it should look good once I do things properly 

[big jim]

Made a removable section this evening, a nice simple set up 

 

cut the top to fit between the boards

2 batons along the bottom

 

2 locating pieces on the boards 

which means the removable section slides down into place between the guides

 

Still got to add some extra strengtheners to it at some point 

 

also put some more cork down and laid track on the lower level, it’s pretty much all laid in the bits where the high level boards will be fitted above 

 

and cork over the bridge 

 

And back to the castle area, lines in front dropping down slightly toward the removable section

 

tracks at the back on the level, front ones dropping down, 009 at the front 

 

 

the 009 line will start to climb on the removable section, and eventually cross over the mainline to the mill area, the board will be a lot bigger along the back wall as per the mock up pictures a from a few months back, the rear line can disappear into a tunnel for a short distance before it begins to climb up to the higher level again 

 

the next thing I need to do is clear all the boxes off the top of the final side of the layout so I can get that bit mocked up and track laid then start to think about getting top boards fitted 

[7APT7]

Hi BigJim

 

It's looking good and making progress... I look forward to seeing more of your lift out section into the room...!?! and how you choose to do it.

I also noticed your Loco Cabinets on the walls to, they look nice and good to look at, where did you get those from and do you have the details of those that sell them...?

 

Regards

Jamie

[big jim]

I bought the cabinets As a bulk lot from eBay, I actually bought a load of them at a bargain price and was selling them on via the classifieds and eBay, made a nice little profit on them but surprisingly took a quite a while to sell 

[LongRail]

The glass fronted cabinets look like the ones from picture pride displays I have several of them and they are excellent 

[big jim]

Yes the long ones are picture pride, as I say bought them as a bulk lot for the princely sum of £30 each, if you have bought picture pride then you will know the big ones cost 10 times that hence why I just bought all the seller had (20 in total), chose the ones I wanted to use and sold the rest on at a fraction of the price of new ones but more than enough to pay for the ones I kept (and put a few new locos in them too!)

The only downside with the long picture pride cabinets is if I want some stock out of them is I have to lift the front off, the smaller cabinets with the locos in have hinged fronts so are much easier to access 

 

 

 

[big jim]

A bit more mocking up this evening....

 

I had the idea last week to put a set of crossovers on the back wall where the figure of 8 is on the same level, doing that means I can run trains just on the lower level if I want, I can then play shunting on the high level

 

 

Round to the station side, thought I’d try an island platform this time and move the run round loop for the heritage line (read on for further changes to that idea)

 

Track placed on the high level, mainline, shunt neck, crossovers to the mill branch line and oil terminal

 

2 double slips to allow traffic in and out in all directions and to and from the branch!

 

Motivation pics, 37099 passing through the station with the UTU and SGT train, pair of DRS 37s on a snow plough test run and the loadhaul 121 on the heritage line

 

 

 

 

I Then looked at changing the run round loop, changed it into a release road with a link to the main line

 

Enough room for 2 coaches and loco in the neck, I can then move a different loco from the siding/shed into the station and set the coaches back 

 

if I replace one of the plain crossovers in the set up in the first lot of pics above With a single slip I can have trains depart the heritage line and cross over to the correct line when they reach it 

 

And on to the Narrow gauge line

over the mainline and into the mill

 

 

The Main line branch line will end at the mill next to the narrow gauge line, the narrow gauge line which will have a run round loop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Yet more mocking up this evening and a few changes of ideas to make things more interesting 

 

first up was having a look at this beast, got it off eBay, not cheap but looks the dogs! 
 

 

a laser cut “ironbridge”

 

the main part clips together and there are cross members below deck to glue in place but even without it looks impressive, will look superb once finished and painted up 

 

 

I’ve got to put 2 sides down the lower section with a small plenty for the bridge to stand on then the ‘modelled’ valley sides will be where the wood is in this picture with the bridge embedded in the valley side 

 

I got a nice offcut of wood from B&Q earlier that is ideal for the high level on the town side, I was thinking about the layout the other night and I thought I’ve got this nice multi level town going in and no station whereas the other side of the layout has a station and no visible town so I’ve made a bit more room with provision for a small station as mocked up by the wood batons 

 

Instead of the retaining walls I’m going to have a natural rocky outcrop up to the town and down to the low level 

I Amy even have a go at my original idea of Having the road behind the station on an incline, as shown here with Bachmann risers below the ply 

 

Quite near the bottom on the left

 

and a lot higher up at the other end!

 

I then went back to the narrow gauge and mill area, again I was thinking about it the other day and came up with a different idea, basically a balloon loop

 

The upper baseboard Will sit on risers and the track can head off on that to the right over a bridge and into the mill, continue round in a big circle and come back down the hill over the mainline (which will most likely be in a short tunnel) and through the Set of points (with a reverse loop module) 

 

a bit easier to picture on this shot if you fill the gaps in!

 

where the 2 lines run parallel I could put an island platform between them and points at the top so trains can run either way round the loop to and from the mill 

 

I may once I cut the board have room for a small loco shed and sidings

Edited February 6, 2020 by big jim

[7APT7]

7 hours ago, big jim said:

Yet more mocking up this evening and a few changes of ideas to make things more interesting 

 

first up was having a look at this beast, got it off eBay, not cheap but looks the dogs! 
 

 

a laser cut “ironbridge”

 

the main part clips together and there are cross members below deck to glue in place but even without it looks impressive, will look superb once finished and painted up 

 

 

I’ve got to put 2 sides down the lower section with a small plenty for the bridge to stand on then the ‘modelled’ valley sides will be where the wood is in this picture with the bridge embedded in the valley side 

 

I got a nice offcut of wood from B&Q earlier that is ideal for the high level on the town side, I was thinking about the layout the other night and I thought I’ve got this nice multi level town going in and no station whereas the other side of the layout has a station and no visible town so I’ve made a bit more room with provision for a small station as mocked up by the wood batons 

 

Instead of the retaining walls I’m going to have a natural rocky outcrop up to the town and down to the low level 

I Amy even have a go at my original idea of Having the road behind the station on an incline, as shown here with Bachmann risers below the ply 

 

Quite near the bottom on the left

 

and a lot higher up at the other end!

 

I then went back to the narrow gauge and mill area, again I was thinking about it the other day and came up with a different idea, basically a balloon loop

 

The upper baseboard Will sit on risers and the track can head off on that to the right over a bridge and into the mill, continue round in a big circle and come back down the hill over the mainline (which will most likely be in a short tunnel) and through the Set of points (with a reverse loop module) 

 

a bit easier to picture on this shot if you fill the gaps in!

 

where the 2 lines run parallel I could put an island platform between them and points at the top so trains can run either way round the loop to and from the mill 

 

I may once I cut the board have room for a small loco shed and sidings

 

Hi Big Jim

 

That BRIDGE is looking smart, that will look good once you have it all Painted, Flocked and Scenic all completed.

Look forward to seeing your progress bud...

 

I still getting side tracked by your cabinets and you seem to run the same type stock... I'm looking at your cabinets stock and I'm saying, Got, Got, Got, Need, Got, Got, Need, Need, Got, Would Love, the Would Loves are to Coaching stock not yet available other than through scratch built lol haha You have a great running stock and your photos of progress updates is brilliant.

 

Regards

Jamie

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by 7APT7

[big jim]

Back to the shed after a couple of months hiatus, I decided to crack on with bit more woodwork before hopefully fixing down the remaining low level tracks later in the week Enabling me to fix the high level bits I place 

 

first up was the mill area with its narrow gauge line, it was going to be a return loop but I’ve had another idea which means the line can run round as a complete loop 

 

I’m not sure whether to raise the back (Lighter piece of wood) higher up, only about 2-3cm to make the mill split level, I’m thinking it may give me a bit more work though

 

The bit I’m going to add is a triangle on one edge of the loop (going to be fun to wire up)

 

 

2 separate lines dropping down to a single lead to the low level 

 

I’m going to extend the baseboard out along the rear wall, so the narrow gauge line can run down on a curve alongside the ‘heritage line’ 

 

couple of mock up pics, YEO waits for the road toward the mill as Bridget heads light engine the opposite way

 

Bridget heads down the incline as Yeo heads into the mill

 

and then the fun bit, using tillig dual gauge track I’m going to get the 2 gauges to join together across the rear wall

 

 

it can then split back apart on the opposite side of the layout where the narrow gauge line can continue round in a loop and the standard gauge line can stop at a dead end 

 

The other week I picked up these Noch viaducts from Bryan (howes models) when I called round to see him

 

Which fit nicely in the cut away bit in front of the iron bridge without obscuring it 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by big jim

[saxokid]

Hey Jim hows things,

layout has come on real treat just had good catch up here!!

 

 

cheers neil..

[big jim]

Fixed the track down below the mill area so I can once I decide upon the height I can fix it in place 

 

 

As for the wood, I’ve cut the wall piece back so it’s the same level as the outer piece at the back to make the loop easier to lay but I’m going to bring the front of the wood down to the level of the block under the front (it’s currently sat higher than it should be so the gap will reduce anyway)

 

And shorten the right hand side piece to the pencil mark to clear the crossovers

 

I’ll also slightly widen the cut away where the incline drops under the mill 

 

might try and do that over the weekend 

 

 

[big jim]

Did a bit more earlier in the week but got increasingly frustrated by the corner and viaduct area, ran a few ideas around in my head then earlier went in with a fresh head and reconstructed the area to give me a lot more room (without losing too much floor space to walk past)

 

First up I thought of widening the top board that originally I cut back narrower

 

same on the opposite side to make the castle area slightly wider 

 

I then hit upon the idea of making the castle area a lot bigger using the wood I was going to put the other side of the viaduct drop

 

And with a board placed roughly at the right height you can see how much more room I have for the various bridges over the valley, I may well order another ‘ironbridge’ to make it double width 

 

I have ordered a noch curved viaduct section so the existing stone viaduct can have a radius 1 curved section at the centre or one end 

 

the other thing I’m hoping is Now the tracks that will eventually cross the doorway are all on the same level I may be able to fit a hinged section rather than a removable one in the doorway 

 

 

[big jim]

Fixed a some more of the top boards down this morning as well as thinking about exactly how I want to set things up when it comes to scenery, as I’ve mentioned before i thought having a town one side and the station the other looks odd so I thought, how about moving the town over to the other side, I’ve just laid the low relief buildings out to get the feel for it 

 

How about replacing the mill

area with the castle and moving the mill to the new wider bit I have fitted where the castle mock up was, the narrow gauge line could skirt the outer walls? 

 

Along the back wall I’ve opened out the hidden lines into a cutting , the high level line also drops down to ground level, I have looked at putting the yard on the high level but there is only one way in to it from the right hand side of the layout so I think I’m going to drop it onto the lower level board where I can get an entrance/exit each end, I have put the fuel terminal on the high level which I’ll most likely keep there as well as branch line running past it that will start from the current mill area and finish where I mocked up a station on that side a few months back

[saxokid]

On ‎05‎/‎04‎/‎2020 at 17:04, big jim said:

Fixed a some more of the top boards down this morning as well as thinking about exactly how I want to set things up when it comes to scenery, as I’ve mentioned before i thought having a town one side and the station the other looks odd so I thought, how about moving the town over to the other side, I’ve just laid the low relief buildings out to get the feel for it 

 

How about replacing the mill

area with the castle and moving the mill to the new wider bit I have fitted where the castle mock up was, the narrow gauge line could skirt the outer walls? 

 

Along the back wall I’ve opened out the hidden lines into a cutting , the high level line also drops down to ground level, I have looked at putting the yard on the high level but there is only one way in to it from the right hand side of the layout so I think I’m going to drop it onto the lower level board where I can get an entrance/exit each end, I have put the fuel terminal on the high level which I’ll most likely keep there as well as branch line running past it that will start from the current mill area and finish where I mocked up a station on that side a few months back

Looking forward to some videos soon from your layout Jim...

[big jim]

Laid the track along the rear wall of the layout ready for when I fix the high level boards down on that side of the layout 

 

 

The middle line is going to be raised slightly  to differentiate it from the heritage line that will run in the inside 

 

Remade the dropped section for the long stone viaduct to span

 

 

Imagination time again, dual gauge track over the viaduct

 

 

Standard gauge heading over the viaduct while the narrow gauge waits

 

 

And over the other side

 

And the narrow gauge heads over the viaduct