RMweb Premium GWRPhil Posted January 5, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 5, 2022 1 hour ago, JSModels said: I've just uploaded a short(ish) video, if anyone wants a closer look at the building Regards, Jonathan JSModels Great video and really nice building too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Smashing video Jonathan! Thanks for showing off my fine commission. Gets the viewers drooling 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Whilst the forums go into meltdown over who's making themselves look like a tit(field), I thought I'd make a small post about what the new Hornby 2022 announcements may see light of day in North Wales... The retooled HST is a welcome announcement, more so the liveries that are being produced. I've already got an EMT HST, albeit with two TS vehicles subbing in for the rare TF model. However, thanks to the new EMT toolings announced, I'm hoping cheaper TF models will come available allowing me to complete my rake. Given the nature of my Accurascale TPE Mk5A order, and already delivered 68019, it'd be rude not to welcome the Hornby TPE 802. After all, it's always nice to have a model of a train I've worked. A big surprise in the announcements is the Stadler Class 755 'Flirt' which I managed to sample in real life only a month or two ago. Superb looking things, with a cracking 'European' design and something I said to myself that I'd love a model of. Well I guess my opportunity has arisen. I mean, TfW have similar things on order, so that counts right? Which one I go for is another question. Ideally I'd like to go for the 4-car version, and it should fit in the bay platform I have. A 350 fits, and they're essentially the same length even allowing for the 755's power pack. When Cavalex announced their 91 and Mk4 models, I was overjoyed and told myself to sort out a full rake. However, Hornby did what Hornby does best and announced their own model of it. As a result, Cavalex pulled their 00 gauge model. Wet fart I say! I've however since pre-ordered a full TfW Mk4 rake, and now have no need for Mk4s. But a 91, with sound? I'd love it. 91110 would be my choice... Light engine moves down the NWCoast are okay I'm sure. So there we have it. Not much, and some 'maybe, maybe not' models for me. I'm pleased Hornby are finally producing liveries of older models that the hobby has been crying out for, and even going for new models all together. But I do genuinely feel sorry for Rapido and Studio Canal. I'll grab some popcorn... 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) Had a couple of mates over today for a decent 6-hour layout running session. A f-tonne of models were brought over, so I'll stop typing and let the photos do the talking. This could be a long one (oo err)... 43185, a respray bought online, leads a fully blue FGW HST into Conwy Network Rail 97304 and 303 get ready to leave the depot Resident Freightliner 70006 sits alongside guest Colas 70805 with a rake of brand new Revolution Trains IWA timber carriers. Still waiting for my Cargowaggon ones! 43017 passes 43002, in an unlikely scene to be found in North Wales... Colas 70805 passes through Llandudno Junction platform 4 with empty log carriers Recreating the WB64 farewell railtour that ran several years ago, DRS 37610 and 37405 (in place of 682 and 419) leads the Virgin Pretendolino, plus bonus DRS mk2 brake van, through the walls of Conwy An Arriva Trains Wales 158, a respray by the talented @CazRail, stops at Conwy to pick up passengers. The unit will be staying with me for a bit, so expect more pictures! Bit of a HST fest then started to occur at Llandudno Junction... Lots more videos and pictures taken, so will upload them another time. Big thanks to Eamonn and Geraint for an excellent day. Not had that much variety of stock run on the layout before! Most enjoyable. Now means I've got very dirty track again Enjoy! Edited September 14, 2023 by JackB95 14 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 The photo with 66711 coming through the arch bang road looks superb! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 3 minutes ago, CazRail said: The photo with 66711 coming through the arch bang road looks superb! Thanks matey! Today was a day of finding track defects too. Quite a few things had issues, mostly where I've witnessed issues before, but I'm feeling a bit more determined to iron them out. And yet again, the double slip by the fiddle yard is causing me annoyance. I think it might be time to redesign that area... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Using different/new stock will always find defects as the way they ride the rail is different according to size and weight. But, every fault eradicated makes the trackwork better! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) The Postie has delivered goods this morning... The box for the models screams quality. Always a good start! I ordered two of the Cargowaggon twin packs, and an unbranded pack so that all the wagons out-of-the-box have different running numbers. Using the ESU loco cradle (very good quality for servicing stock if you're after one!), all the wagons received Hunt Elite ultra-close couplings, back to backs checked, and bogie screws loosened to allow for my super-elevated track through Conwy arch. It's obvious from the word go that these are supreme models. They felt solid, yet hold a wealth of detail as per the real thing. I've so far tested them going round the inside circuit anti-clockwise. My only concern is the flanges on the wheels - they seem a bit too shallow for my liking. Shallow enough to throw the odd wheelset off over some of my dodgy trackwork. Nothing unusual given it's my first attempt at a decently-sized layout with super-elevation, but I have a feeling a set of new wheels with deeper flanges would fix the problem. But hey, here's to more testing of which I shall do prior to attending employment in a bit. Cheers! Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 they are great looking wagons 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy14 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 On 17/01/2022 at 19:37, JackB95 said: Thanks matey! Today was a day of finding track defects too. Quite a few things had issues, mostly where I've witnessed issues before, but I'm feeling a bit more determined to iron them out. And yet again, the double slip by the fiddle yard is causing me annoyance. I think it might be time to redesign that area... I feel your pain Jack! I am still fettling track and sorting out issues on Dale Junction... It seems each time I get a new locomotive, it reveals another track defect that no other locomotive has problems with. Of course, sorting them out improves the overall reliability of the layout, so it's no bad thing, just seems like a bit of a never-ending task sometimes It's cracking to see such good progress on your layout; the station building in particular is very eye-catching. Looking forwards to seeing the scenery progress 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, benjy14 said: I feel your pain Jack! I am still fettling track and sorting out issues on Dale Junction... It seems each time I get a new locomotive, it reveals another track defect that no other locomotive has problems with. Of course, sorting them out improves the overall reliability of the layout, so it's no bad thing, just seems like a bit of a never-ending task sometimes It's cracking to see such good progress on your layout; the station building in particular is very eye-catching. Looking forwards to seeing the scenery progress It's typical isn't it! I guess this is where plain set-track comes trums with its more durable design. Flexitrack code 75 and posh curves is always a recipe for disaster. Certainly a learning curve though! And testing all stock in all directions before ballasting is critical. Many thanks for your kind words Ben! You'll have to find a reason to come to York at some point Edited January 19, 2022 by JackB95 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy14 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 5 minutes ago, JackB95 said: It's typical isn't it! I guess this is where plain set-track comes trums with its more durable design. Flexitrack code 75 and posh curves is always a recipe for disaster. Certainly a learning curve though! And testing all stock in all directions before ballasting is critical. Many thanks for your kind words Ben! You'll have to find a reason to come to York at some point Well worth the extra time in using Code 70, as it looks so much better than Code 100 but I obviously don't need to tell that Always love visiting York as it's where I went to university and we have family who live there, so never need much of an excuse to visit but it's always nice to have one, so thanks for the invite! Likewise, you'll need to come and see some Big Boy action (phwoar!)... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 1 hour ago, benjy14 said: Well worth the extra time in using Code 70, as it looks so much better than Code 100 but I obviously don't need to tell that Always love visiting York as it's where I went to university and we have family who live there, so never need much of an excuse to visit but it's always nice to have one, so thanks for the invite! Likewise, you'll need to come and see some Big Boy action (phwoar!)... Ahh yes of course! Well, code 70 is that foreign stuff, but I get the idea. Well you have my number ;-) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxokid Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Realy coming along treat now jack 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 (edited) Time for a chunky update from the loft. First up, I finally bit the bullet and made a start on painting my station building. A mix of spray cans, along with some white primer, Tamiya tape and patience, has resulted in this fine beauty. Windows and doors will be fitted once glazing has been sourced and glued in. Various designs of doors are also provided, as per the real thing. The canopy pieces are part-way through painting and will eventually be all put back together. Next, recent running sessions with various people has resulted in it being clear a facing set of points on the mainline between Conwy and the main junction would be highly beneficial. Some second-hand pointwork was sourced at a perfect time online, and arrived yesterday afternoon. This has since been installed and will be partly wired up before Sunday. Finally, the troublesome trackwork around the double slip in the fiddle yard has finally been resolved. I knew having 4 curved tracks into an already fiddly piece of pointwork was going to prove interesting when I designed the layout. This proved true and has been the bugbear since. Alas, I finally pulled a finger out and sorted it. Fiddle yard roads 4-6 have been shortened by approximately 7 inches, and the addition of 'new' points and plain line track has given me a much better set up. The new space created has also allowed me to put a new loco siding in, comfortably able to hold 3 '23m' vehicles. As per the mainline crossover, the droppers and connections will be sorted out over the coming 24 hours or so. Time to mess about with point motors to remove some of the dead sections, get trains running, and see if it all works okay! If it doesn't, then, err.... yeah! Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 That station building, Jack… lovely! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 (edited) Small rolling stock update this morning. A mate of mine recently picked up his new Bachmann NRM exclusive V2 Green Arrow in its 60800 guise. The model looked gorgeous, and yes I said that about a teapot. Back in April 2008, I happened to be on one of the real thing's last trips given its sudden major cracks and withdrawal from service. So yeah, bit of a special engine to me somewhat! And enroute home yesterday, I accidentally handed over my card... A number of the separate details have been fitted/modified to allow for a reliable-running engine. A suitable NRM-esque chocolate cream mk1 BSK was sourced from Anoraks Anonymous last week in readiness for the big day. Today's postman brought a box full of yellow goodies. Chesborough North's recent backdating to the BR era had resulted in a mass-sale of modern image stuff. Whilst I did fancy quite a lot of it, it wasn't practical for my wallet's sake at least. Alas, a rake of 7 professionally-weathered Network Rail coaches was available... Demonstrated by Colas 37421 and 37099 top and tailing, 4 of the 7 new additions were captured going through Conwy shortly after arriving. I now in turn have 10 coaches given I received 3 others last month. Time to work out any that are surplus to requirement and move them. Cheers Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 (edited) The past 24hrs have been rather productive. Decided to crack on with the scenic break at the other end of the layout - Rosemary Lane Bridge over Conwy Station. A simple template was made using 1.25mm card, then strengthening pieces added and eventually a road deck on top. Clearances for OHLE were catered for too. A similar situation took place in the opposite corner where the small bank was. Queens Road bridge, just beyond the eastern end of Junction Station in real life, was the inspiration for this. The Pendolino driving car was used for clearance checks, before making the template and eventually the whole bridge. Both bridges will receive paper textures from Scalemodelscenery (yellow ashlar for Conwy, light ashlar for Junction) to complete them, along with a Wills vari-girder section for the Conwy bridge too as per real life. A wooden board will be cut and mounted against the back of Rosemary Lane to help secure it in place. I was going to do it today, but the weather had other plans. Cheers! Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
branchie Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Just stumbled across the thread. Layout looks good - it screams of the NW main line. Da iawn! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 2 hours ago, branchie said: Just stumbled across the thread. Layout looks good - it screams of the NW main line. Da iawn! Diolch! That's the plan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 (edited) A few little updates on some projects around the layout. Firstly, I placed an order for some ultra low relief warehouse backs on eBay from a shop called Fair Price Models. They sell quite a variety of things, including various designs of these... I can't knock them. They're definitely fair price! About £5-6 each unit, and available in a variety of designs and configurations. They've been painted grey/green for my layout, and are awaiting on some SMS photo texture sheets to arrive to do the bottom brickwork. I've chosen engineering grey/blue bricks for this. The come with door and window kits, and a small sheet of glazing! There'll be black backing to these given they're low relief and I'm sure nobody would have a Welsh farm in their office haha! Some Wills vari-girders arrived in the post too, which have since been painted and stuck together ready to go onto the bridge in Conwy... T'was fiddly to say the least doing the brown lining. Had to patch up a few cream bits here and there, but I guess that's natural weathering too somewhat. I may've mentioned previously in this thread that my Revolution IWA wagons were being sent to Andy Wills for some professional weathering. I received these pictures yesterday, and I'm overwhelmed by the quality of the finish. I'll let the photos do the talking It really is difficult to see at first that this isn't the real thing - this is a 00 gauge model. I can't thank Andy enough for his services, of which I'll be using again, and am excited to receive the wagons back. Another update will follow once the bridges are textured, and the wagons are back! Edited September 14, 2023 by JackB95 Fixing broken pictures 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewEWS Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Looking great Jack! I particularly like the low relief warehouses. I’m in the market for some myself so will definitely be checking that seller out. Looking forward to the next update! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) Evening all! The other day I took delivery of some Scalemodelscenery textures for my warehouses and bridges. The main layers are on, and just need tidying up with some edging strips around the arches and whatnot, more so on Queens Road bridge (the arched one), but I'm liking where this is going! And in the early hours on Thursday morning, Parcel Force dropped off some filth! Took a while for me to work out the combination of wagons to avoid it derailing (still a bit of a mystery!), but we got there eventually... ish. Big thanks to Andy Wills for his amazing craftsmanship with the wagons. They look spot on, and as per the real thing! Delicious. Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Time to use up some leftover insulation again... Decided to make a small bank to help blend in the surroundings and give Queen's Road bridge a purpose. As a result, the small bank that was already there has been replaced with a higher bank. Steep-sided faces will have a retaining wall, whilst the more gradual ones will be grassy slopes. Took a bit of adjustment to get the shape and size of the big front-end bank to look right. The first version was way too big and heavily restricted views of the junction. I feel the size of them now is much better. They'll eventually get some Everard-famous sculptmould prior to painting and vegetation. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Splendid work, Jack. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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