mk1gtstu Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Hi all, a few photos of my new layout I've been building over the last couple of months. It's N gauge, 4x2 baseboard, code 55 trackwork. I'm planning on going DCC with this one, other layouts I've built have all been DC so a learning curve with this one. Its going to be a fictional colliery based somewhere in South Wales, but loosely based on places like Maerdy Colliery & various other collieries in South Wales in the 70's & 80's era. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 The layout is basically an oval of track so I can run a train continuously & colliery exchange sidings in the centre 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 A few more photos. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 I'll add a few more photos later on & update this thread for those that are interested. Cheers, Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted January 28, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 28, 2020 Looking like a very interesting project; a South Wales model never offends! 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 A few more photos of the layout. I painted & weathered the road bridge ready for fitting. More plaster & Das clay added around the sidings trackwork & buffer stops added. Also fitted the backscenes in place. Cheers, Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 I bought a small stone type bridge off ebay to fit against the backscene, I think it will look better to have somewhere for the river to disappear under rather than it going straight into the backscene View towards the bridge & backscene, still lots to do here scenery wise to finish things off & hide the joins where the backscene meets the bridge etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 Lastly for now, I've used a photograph of some colliery winding gear which I've stuck onto the backscene. It's the only suitable one I could find for the style of colliery buildings I want & could only use part of it due to there being wagons & track in the photo which I had to cut away. The gaps in between I'm going to infill with some scratchbuild low relief buildings to disguise things as best I can... Finally for now, put some ballast down on the high level section of track. Cheers, Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted January 31, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 31, 2020 Looking good, Stu. I think you've caught that long retaining wall to a tee. Shades of Hafodrynys or Blaenavon, perhaps? Nice work, anyways. Cheers, Ian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 5 hours ago, tomparryharry said: Looking good, Stu. I think you've caught that long retaining wall to a tee. Shades of Hafodrynys or Blaenavon, perhaps? Nice work, anyways. Cheers, Ian. Thank you, Yes elements from those places & also Maerdy Colliery in the Rhondda. Cheers, Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 (edited) Hi all, another update. Bridge sides on the mainline now in place. Girder bridge sides for the sidings in place Road bridge now in place & the road surface made with Das clay And finally for now, some landscaping around the stone bridge done Cheers, Stu Edited February 1, 2020 by mk1gtstu 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Time for another update on the progress of the layout. Some fine sand glued down for the trackway over the bridge The sidings area here then painted matt black Cheers, Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Hi Stu, How do the fan of four sidings (going over the river bridge) work? Once you have a loco on the headshunt there isn't any length on the headshunt to hold any wagons, or am I missing something. Cheers Duncan 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted February 6, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) Yes, that does look like a problem. If the intention is to 'show' a loco shunting those sidings (I'm already calling them 'Dros y Bont' in my head) and returning to the main area when it's work over the bridge is finished, fine, but you will not be able to use the loco to transfer stock from one set of sidings to the other, which seems a bit of an operating opportunity lost. You are constrained by the scenic break and the hidden running line behind it. A solution might be to provide a run around loop between two of the Dros y Bont sidings with a headshunt long enough for the loco, at the buffers end which is out of the frame in the photos. You can then run around the stock and propel a cut of wagons over the bridge, leaving one or two on the headshunt at that end, however many will sqeeze in, and another loco, working the main yard and the washery, can collect it/them when the Dros y Bont loco moves back out of the way. A perfect reason for this could be a weighbridge, which will only take one wagon at a time anyway and is a vital part of colliery operations, on the headshunt. Problem is that in many places the loco was prohibited from crossing the weighbridge, as it must do here because it needs to access the main yard for water and it's shed, but needs must... Edited February 6, 2020 by The Johnster Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) On 06/02/2020 at 10:36, Duncan. said: Hi Stu, How do the fan of four sidings (going over the river bridge) work? Once you have a loco on the headshunt there isn't any length on the headshunt to hold any wagons, or am I missing something. Cheers Duncan Hi, Yes, you are correct, the headshunt is only long enough to hold a class 37 loco unfortunately due to lack of space on a 4x2 baseboard & as Johnster says the hidden running line behind restricts how long the headshunt can be. But there is just enough space to fit a Pannier tank or shunter plus 1 or 2 mineral wagons in the headshunt so I will be able to shunt some wagons into the fan sidings 1 or 2 at a time. Not ideal really but I couldn't see another way of doing it in the space I have. Cheers Stu Edited February 7, 2020 by mk1gtstu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted February 7, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2020 You’ve sort of come up with the solution. A 37 or any BR loco will not in any case penetrate into the NCB’s yard beyond an exchange siding that it can access directly from the BR running line; it will certainly not get anywhere near the Dros y Bont fan. This will be worked by a smaller NCB loco, Austerity in the 70s and possibly early 80s, and industrial diesel after that; s/h 03 or O8 are suitable, not sure what small industrials are available in 2mm. An 08 or pannier are less suitable because of length; every mm will count here! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 3 minutes ago, The Johnster said: You’ve sort of come up with the solution. A 37 or any BR loco will not in any case penetrate into the NCB’s yard beyond an exchange siding that it can access directly from the BR running line; it will certainly not get anywhere near the Dros y Bont fan. This will be worked by a smaller NCB loco, Austerity in the 70s and possibly early 80s, and industrial diesel after that; s/h 03 or O8 are suitable, not sure what small industrials are available in 2mm. An 08 or pannier are less suitable because of length; every mm will count here! Cheers, yes sounds like a plan! I had already planned to put an NCB engine shed in the fan sidings, then the remainder of the sidings there can be used as a storage area for internal user NCB wagons & possibly a few BR empty minerals. The class 37's could then pick up & drop off wagons in the main yard. Ideally I would have liked larger sidings & the exchange sidings separate from the main washery area but again lack of space puts a stop to that unfortunately. As for shunters at the moment I have a heavily weathered Pannier tank, an 04 I did a repaint into NCB colours a while ago for my boxfile layout, also a handful of 08's I could use. I'll have to look into later on once the layout is built what other small industrials I could use as shunters, I think some 3D printed bodyshells are available now which could be used when fitted to a suitable chassis. Cheers, Stu 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted February 7, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) Your pannier is a suitable repaint into 7754, which worked at several collieries including Maerdy and Hafodyrynys already mentioned, as well as Abersychan and Mountain Ash. It carried a mid green NCB livery with red coupling rods. 9600, an 8750 with the Collett cab, worked at Merthyr Vale, retaining BR livery and overhead wire warning flashes. Edited February 7, 2020 by The Johnster 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Hi Stu, Surely your layout is perfect for the N Gauge Society Hunslet 0-6-0 shunter, it is equipped with stay alive capacitors so should run like a dream! Check this link http://newweb.ngaugesociety.com/?page_id=566 Cheers Duncan 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Some more photos of the layout progress so far... A coat of grey paint for the road & pavement A second coat of matt black paint done for the siding areas which has improved the look of them I think 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 The platform walls for the station halt given a top made of card then painted Weathered down the colour of the stone bridge a bit Pleased with how the bridge, track & rails are looking so far Cheers, Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 Hi all, I've had a bit of a disaster with the laptop recently as the hard drive failed & I lost a load of my photographs so haven't posted on here for a little while. All back up & running now though so I thought i'd do an update with some new photos of the colliery building & structures I've been scratchbuilding for the layout. This collection of buildings, tanks etc fixed on a piece of strong card base reinforced with some wooden strips to stop it bending. This I've made to be removable to have access to the hidden mainline behind for track cleaning & derailments etc 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 Here is a view behind the fixed colliery buildings with access to the mainline Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1gtstu Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) I had a slight disaster with the backscene, I accidentally touched the backscene with a paintbrush loaded with some brown paint which left a splodge which I couldn't remove (No photo of this as this was one of the photos lost) On the plus side I managed to carefully cut out a bit of spare backscene with some trees on I had & glue it over the top to disguise it as best I could, It's turned out a lot better than I'd hoped, the extra bit of hillside gives it more of a 3D effect I think. Photo of the result Edited February 21, 2020 by mk1gtstu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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