Collingwood - A Privatisation Era Southern Region Layout

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Not much modelling done lately, so only a small update.

 

During the SWAG Members day a few weeks back, @Graham_Muz delivered the island station buildings to me, and what a superb job he has done on them (again, a huge thank you to him!):

 

 

These are freelance rather than based specifically on the ones at Fareham (mostly because I could get good pictures or details of them, but also so I didn't burden Muz with too much as I was being a bit cheeky asking if he could make these!). The buildings contain a waiting room and a toilet, with Muz even going to the length that one toilet (in the R/H block) as the correct sized partitions for a PRM facility! I will be detailing the interiors and adding lights to them as per the other buildings on the layout.

 

Along with the island buildings, Muz also delivered a distinctive wall to fill the gap between the Station Building and Footbridge which i had built, and he had rebuilt and painted:

 

 

Fareham has a similar wall, but the smaller windows have been extended to either side to make large rectangular openings, I thought the openings here were more characterful and I could make use of a Wills kit to make them without modifying it!

 

The modelling I have done is to add the canopies:

 

 

These are Wills models, I had intended to use (and actually built) LCUT creative kits, but I found these were too tall with the roof angle being too steep, so used these Wills kits instead.

 

The front canopy has to be extended to the end of the wall and then the final ridge line added, then both have to have lighting added and then stuck down. I know that the front canopy looks slightly odd not running the full length of the station building, but I think that it adds character and suggests that the canopy and brick built bits are a later addition to the stone portion of the station building.

 

The next big step is to get the signalling transferred from my laptop on to the Raspberry Pi that will control the layout and then get all the stock modified for use on the layout (everything needs resistive wheelsets and some stuff needs converting to DCC).

 

Simon

[5BarVT]

23 minutes ago, St. Simon said:

everything needs resistive wheelsets

That’s a task that awaits me too.  I wouldn’t mind an account of how you do it once you get that far.

TIA!

Paul.

[St. Simon]

Just now, 5BarVT said:

That’s a task that awaits me too.  I wouldn’t mind an account of how you do it once you get that far.

TIA!

Paul.

 

Hi Paul,

 

Yes, I've been putting it off for a while, I think I have a couple of hundred of axles to do!

 

I know a lot of people use SMD resistors and paint, but it is quite fiddley for a lot of axles, but I will see how I get on. Some of my Dapol wagons seems to have plastic axles, so I might switch them out for resistive sets from DCC concepts, but I'll see about that when I get there!

 

Simon 

[5BarVT]

23 minutes ago, St. Simon said:

resistive sets from DCC concepts

Oooh!  Didn’t know about those.  Being lazy, I can see me throwing money at the problem.

Think I’ll have to try a set and see.

Just have to hope that the RP25 profile can cope with my dodgy tracklaying!

Paul.

Edited May 22, 2022 by 5BarVT
RP25 comment.

[St. Simon]

3 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Oooh!  Didn’t know about those.  Being lazy, I can see me throwing money at the problem.

Think I’ll have to try a set and see.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

 

I only stumbled across them a few days ago when searching for methods of creating resistive wheel sets:

 

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/quality-resistive-wheelsets-oo-16-5mm-track-8x-12mm/

 

(They also do different diameters)

 

They are quite expensive, £25 for two wagons!

 

Simon

Edited May 22, 2022 by St. Simon

[5BarVT]

27 minutes ago, St. Simon said:

They are quite expensive, £25 for two wagons!

£30 for resistive, £25 is for pickups.

I was hoping to do outer wheels only and make it £30 for four coaches.  Halves the current losses too.

Paul.

[Swifty11]

Looks brilliant Simon, very nice! 

[St. Simon]

13 hours ago, Swifty11 said:

Looks brilliant Simon, very nice! 

Thanks Tom, I’m really looking forward to getting the whole layout together and seeing the finished article!

 

Simon

[ModRXsouth]

On 22/05/2022 at 21:23, St. Simon said:

distinctive wall to fill the gap between the Station Building and Footbridge

Catching up on the thread and great news about the layout appearing at the 2023 Basingstoke show - or possibly at an earlier show. You must surely also be on course for a magazine feature, with perhaps a follow up summary article on modern signalling equipment to link with your book.

In the meantime, that is indeed a fine wall, but is the fencing contractor returning to fit a gate to access those commercial wheelie bins?!?!

[St. Simon]

7 hours ago, ModRXsouth said:

Catching up on the thread and great news about the layout appearing at the 2023 Basingstoke show - or possibly at an earlier show. You must surely also be on course for a magazine feature, with perhaps a follow up summary article on modern signalling equipment to link with your book.

In the meantime, that is indeed a fine wall, but is the fencing contractor returning to fit a gate to access those commercial wheelie bins?!?!

 

Hi,

 

I'm ahead of you, the layout is provisionally lined up for a photoshoot with a magazine next month sometime and possibly a couple of articles!

 

Yes, I know there should be a gate in that fence for the bins, but hoping no one would notice! 🤣 I may just leave for people to ponder when looking at the layout!

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Right, panic is starting to set in at Collingwood!

 

Last week, I arranged a photo and video shoot with Mike Wild for Hornby Magazine for the 12th July. This suddenly meant that I have to actually finish the layout in the next 3 weeks and I realised I still have a list as long as your arm of stuff to do. I'm not going to get the layout to a state of exhibition readiness (mostly because of the the fact that I won't have any fiddle yards!), but the layout will be 99% scenically complete and I'll be able to run trains.

 

There several major jobs to complete in the next 3 weeks though:

 

1. Finish the Canopies and complete the station - This is very close, I just need some additional 3D Printed items before this is complete
2. Fit rolling stock with new couplings Tail Lamps and Resistive Wheelsets - I've started this, I'm using small standard resistors and conductive paint, I've completed one rake of ballast wagons this evening and it all works, however I will need to find a way to clean the wagon wheels (I'm thinking track magic or something on paper). I'm also using the DCC Concepts Tail Lamps which seem to work well, as long as I clean the wagons. As for couplings, I'm going for Kadees between loco and train and then hunt couplings within the train.
3. Convert Locos to Sound - I'm not going to convert everything to the 12th as I simply can't afford it, but so far converted 3 of my 66s to Hornby TTS decoders and my 450s to Loksound Decoders, I intend to convert my new XC voyager before the 12th, and possibly my 07 for shunting.
4. Figures and Detailing......

The last one is the biggest job, I had intended to only to this once the layout was fully set up, but I want have time on the day of the shoot, so I'm going to go through board by board. I think it'll take a couple of evenings per board. As part of this, I've had to do some more CAD to get stuff 3D Printed:

 

As someone had asked further up the thread, here are the 'Request' Units for the MCB-OC Crossing:

 

 

Moving onto the Harbour, I suddenly realised I need some buoys to cover up sins in the water and some life buoys around the harbour wall:

 

 

I've also decided to add on some lineside technical equipment which I had left off, first some FSPs (Function Supply Point):

 

 

And some Object Controllers for the Axle Counters:

 

 

I've also purchased some track disconnection boxes from West Will Wagon Works (simply because I couldn't be bothered to CAD up something so small!). Talking of lineside detailing, I have decided to also model all the tail and feed cables that would be lying about the place, I do need some advice on which glue to use to glue the cable (various thicknesses of electrical wire) onto the ballast.

 

The biggest change to the layout is to the stone terminal around the Wagon discharge hopper and stone conveyor. I've thought for a long time that what I had was simply rubbish:

 

 

I built in too much of a hurry and to a poor standard, plus I hadn't really thought through what the conveyor would do and where the stone would go. So I've designed one to be 3D Printed:

 

 

With this, the stone will now be taken from the wagons up to a longitudinal conveyor that would direct the stone into different bins, which also hints at a bigger facility. As part of this change, I'm also going to add some signals at the entrances to the discharge facility to add some interest as well as some flashing lights etc. I'm still debating whether to add a basic cover over the discharge hopper and the conveyors, as it would slightly block the view of the junction, but might make a nice frame for photos. I think this will be a last minute decision.

 

So, I'll try and keep you informed with photos, but I can't guarantee anything as I might be busy!

 

Simon

[Siberian Snooper]

Your best bet, for wheel cleaning is to PM IAK  https://www.rmweb.co.uk/profile/7135-iak/

somewhere he wrote on how they clean the rolling stock wheels on Mostyn and boy do those boys have wheels to clean.

 

[ess1uk]

A visit to Basingstoke ROC on the cards?

[Ian Morgan]

Been there, done that 🙂

 

[St. Simon]

15 hours ago, ess1uk said:

A visit to Basingstoke ROC on the cards?

 

Hi,

 

Possibly, although only for test purposes ahead of an exhibition, I'll do a post later on the developments over the past week!

 

Simon

[The Stationmaster]

Simon,

 

Apart from other colours for special purposes shipping buoys (the lateral buoys marking channels) are either red or green - the colour means that vessels have to pass on a particular side of the buoy.  So if you have a buoy which is both red and green you will have some very confused people in charge of ships etc.

[St. Simon]

Hi All,

 

As promised (albeit slightly delayed) is the big Collingwood update!

 

If followed the last update, Collingwood was due to be photographed by Mike Wild of Hornby Magazine last Tuesday and I'm glad to say he did!

 

 

I was a little nervous as this was to be the first time that the layout had been set up in it's entirety so I really had no idea about how it would look and whether it would match! I'm very pleased to say (and I'm trying not to be big headed here!) that it looks fantastic, here is another shot looking the other way down the layout:

 

 

As you can see it only just fits in the living room at my parents (we had to do the shoot when mum was at work!). We had intended to do some video, but in the end I had one of the points on the junction not work (although I think this was just that it had become stuck after being stored), so we didn't although I don't think we would have had time in the end anyway. Other than that, the layout did generally work, although I had a couple of track circuits which were reporting clear when occupied, so that needs some investigating and we also found a part of the layout which on initial inspection appeared unconnected to the DCC bus, but I have since discovered a loose wire, so all in all, the concept works and more importantly the signalling worked perfectly!

 

I'm afraid to say that as I was rushing around helping Mike, I didn't get as many photos of the layout as I wanted to! 😮 But I know that Mikes shots will make up for that and look stunning! I did take pictures of all the stuff was unfinished in the last couple of posts.

 

To start of with I finished off the P-Way depot:

 

 

Next, the 3D Prints arrived:

 

 

Here you can also see that I've added all the tail cables the 3rd Rail feed cables to the layout which was a pain in the backside! 

 

Amongst the 3D Prints were the Marker Buoys and Leftbelts:

 

 

On 20/07/2022 at 13:59, The Stationmaster said:

Simon,

 

Apart from other colours for special purposes shipping buoys (the lateral buoys marking channels) are either red or green - the colour means that vessels have to pass on a particular side of the buoy.  So if you have a buoy which is both red and green you will have some very confused people in charge of ships etc.

 

I did do a fair bit of research and I know that these marker buoys mark a preferred channel and red with green centre strip means that 'pass to port side of buoy', but I will admit that they might not be the most correct for a harbour entrance, however, they seem to the closest match for my situation where I needed a large buoy to cover up some imperfections!

 

You can also see from this image that I add some surface texture to the harbour using Woodland Scenics 'Water Ripples' which has made a huge difference!

 

Now for the 'biggest' change to the layout prior to the shoot. The change in the conveyor system and unloading pit:

 

 

I'm so please with the way that this has come out and glad I spent the money and time drawing up the new conveyor and getting it printed it. But you will also notice another few changes:

 

 

I have added a roof over the unloading pit. I hadn't done this before because I thought it would block the views of trains coming over the junction and it does, but actually, it makes the whole area look so much better and really produces some fantastically framed views!

 

You'll see that I have added not only a control cabin, but also some more signals (typical I hear you say!). Now that I had a conveyor belt that actually needed controlling, I had to have a control cabin. In this case, I took the cabin from the Model scene 'Station Modernisation' kit  and painted it in the house colours of Ocean Aggregates. I've also added a very basic interior with a shunter and interior light. The signals are for added play value for someone shunting stone trains around the yard as well as visual interest for the audience and come from DCC Concepts. I would normally tell everyone to stay clear of the DCC concepts ground signals, as their 'BR' ones are 4 times the size they should be, however in this case, their simple red / green dwarf signals were perfect for this application. In the photo they are running off a 9v Battery as I didn't have time to integrate them fully, but in time they'll be mounted into a proper control panel. I also plan to add flashing orange lights to the conveyor for even more fun!

 

That's really it for the construction update, but I will put up some more photos in a follow up post.

 

On 19/07/2022 at 20:52, ess1uk said:

A visit to Basingstoke ROC on the cards?

 

This post refers to something rather strange has happened over the past couple of days. I posted a couple of overview photos of the layout on LinkedIn as some of my professional network had asked about the layout before, and I have had an amazing response to them, with lots of very nice comments from lots of people. As part of the post I asked for help in finding a suitable venue for testing the layout prior to a show (news in a second!) and a colleague offered the potential of a room at Baskingstoke ROC, but this will be a private event used simply for testing the layout.

 

Now, for the exhibition news!

 

Whilst Mike was photographing the layout, we arranged for the layout to appear at Hornby Magazines next show. So the layouts exhibition debut will be at:

 

The Great Electric Train Show - Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th October 2022 - The Marshal Area Milton Keynes.

 

I'm really excited that GETS is the debut show, I think it is one of the best exhibitions around and I wanted a largish show to debut the layout. 

 

As part of this, Collingwood will appear in the October 2022 issue of Hornby Magazine which publishes just before the show.

 

So, between now and then, there will be some preparations to get the layout ready (most pressingly, building the fiddle yard boards!), but I'm very confident that everything will be ready and the layout will work. As part of the run up to the show, I have put some thought about turning my thread about the signalling here into a small booklet to be professionally printed and sold for a small fee (although I don't know what that'll be) at GETS and other shows. If people are interested in this, then please let me know!

 

Now for some pretty pictures!

 

Simon

 

 

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Now for some pretty pictures

 

South West Trains Class 450 No. 450127 stops at Collingwood with a Southampton Central Local Stopper whilst Class 450 No. 450073 waits in the bay for a rescue after failing on an inbound service earlier in the day:

 

 

The rescue loco for 450073, South West Trains Class 73 No. 73235 gets the call-on into the Bay Platform after arriving from Northam Depot:

 

 

In the meantime Network Rail and Stobart Rail staff gather for a weekend possession:

 

 

After the failed Desiro is removed, Cross Country Voyager No. 220017 arrives into the bay from Eastleigh with a diverted Bournemouth service, which is to turnback at Collingwood:

 

 

Some of the passengers from the Voyager have to await the replacement bus service to Southampton Airport Parkway:

 

 

The Voyager driver has changed ends and now waits for the road to Southampton Airport Parkway:

 

 

Could be a while though judging from the signals:

 

 

Simon

Edited July 21, 2022 by St. Simon

[5BarVT]

10 hours ago, St. Simon said:

I'm very pleased to say . . . that it looks fantastic,

And pleased is what you should be.  It looks excellent seeing it all in one shot.  And the detail closeups look excellent too.

Well done young man.

 

GETS is not one of my usual shows, that may have to change this year.

 

Paul.

[Mike Storey]

Simon - brilliant layout, thank you for sharing it with us. Just a quickie - the signal in the second photo, with the calling on and route describer, how do you control it please? (I have something similar for my eventual Queenborough layout, and can only think of using a rotary switch, but combining that with the possibility of three routes for the main or the calling on signal is driving me nuts....).

 

[St. Simon]

2 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

Simon - brilliant layout, thank you for sharing it with us. Just a quickie - the signal in the second photo, with the calling on and route describer, how do you control it please? (I have something similar for my eventual Queenborough layout, and can only think of using a rotary switch, but combining that with the possibility of three routes for the main or the calling on signal is driving me nuts....).

 

Hi Mike,

 

See here for all the info:

 

I know that that might be a little complex, so you could use a rotary switch to choose the route and then either choose between main and call-on with a separate switch or use a train detection section to decide.

 

Simon

[Guy13]

Simon, 

Great to see the full layout. Definitely has the feel of Fareham.

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

A slight surprise is that the October Issue of Hornby Magazine featuring Collingwood (and the second in my series of articles on lineside details) is out now!

 

The layout looks great on it, a big thanks to Mike Wild for the photos!

 

Meanwhile preparations continue for the Great Electric Train Show in October!

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

The Preparations are now complete-ish for Collingwood Exhibition Debut at the Great Electric Train Show

 

We might not have all systems completely go at the weekend, but the ones we are missing are minor and shouldn’t cause an issue!

 

Also at the show, I’ll be selling my very limited stock of my book, £19.99 cash only :)

 

If you are at the show, please come by and say hello!

 

Simon 

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

My apologies for the silent treatment, I will be posting very soon on the events of GETS and its aftermath!

 

In the meantime, I just wanted to let people know that tomorrow evening at 19:30 I'll be giving a talk on Modern & Model Signalling Systems at the Model Railway Club, which will include some details on Collingwood including some exclusive videos! It is a hybrid in person / zoom talk and you can find more info here:

 

Modern & model signalling systems - The Model Railway Club

 

***Please be kind if you do tune in, I only have 45 minutes to talk through a signalling system!***

 

Simon