Leigham Junction - N gauge first layout

[Trev218]

For years I've steadily been accumulating a rather lovely collection of N gauge rolling stock and always promised myself I'd one day build a layout to run some of it on.

Years ago I remember seeing a layout at a show - Eastgate TMD I think the layout was called - something like that anyway. It had a modern depot, OHL and some superbly weathered stock and it still sticks in my mind now. More recently, layouts on here e.g. Dallam Sidings and the like, are just superb and are along the lines of what I'd like to create for myself - especially now the collection includes Revolution Pendolinos, class 92s etc! 

 

Having virtually no experience, I felt that maybe trying to achieve the heights of  those layouts to start with might be a bit ambitious - so to coincide with the arrival of our first grandson (by the time it's finished he'll be well old enough!) I thought I'd try something a lot smaller. The idea was that I'd learn all the various techniques, hopefully learn by any mistakes that inevitably I'll make and end up with something fairly small but neat and fun for him and me to operate. Then I could apply what I'd sussed out to build something more spectacular to run all the gorgeous full length trains that are achievable in 'N'.

 

So, armed with the Peco N track plans book I had a look to see what took my fancy and fairly near the beginning was the little gem in the first pic. It's a 4' x 2' plan and very compact. Inevitably I started playing around with it in AnyRail and it expanded to 6' x 2 and a bit'

 

I wanted to make it in 2 sections - to get the hang of baseboard joins; I wanted to make it DCC, again to get the hang of that; I wanted to motorise all the points and the turntable; I wanted to play around with Woodland Scenic's stuff...and inevitably it got a bit out of hand as the thing grew.

 

It's probably going to look a bit trainset-like when it's done but it's going to be fun as well. As for era - whatever takes my fancy and I happen to get out of the stock cabinet on any given day!

 

I made a start a few months ago and it's coming along as time allows - I keep getting sidetracked and play around with different bits of it just for the hell of it - hence the cutting in some of the pics later on...and I found an oldish set of N gauge society Seacow kits and have spent a chunk of time building those on the dining table - luckily I have a very tolerant wife - the other end of the dining table is usually taken up by her building her collection of Lego modular buildings...I just need to convince her to try some Metcalfe kits. As for Metcalfe kits, they're another part of the story - I bought a couple to see how they went together and promptly got hooked on them - when the layout is finished it's going to end up like an advert for them!

 

Hopefully not bored you all to tears with that diatribe - over the next few days I'll put some more pics on with how things are evolving

 

 

  

[BlackRat]

I’ve been lucky enough to follow the layouts progress ‘in the flesh’…..

 

I can tell you that RM Web is in for a bit of a treat.

[njee20]

Pendolinos and 92s are always good. That gradient must be brutally steep to climb to an upper level in about 2’?

[Trev218]

Once I'd printed the plan out I could start on the frames etc. 

 

The gradients don't work out tooooo steep as the front area is effectively at mid-height - at each end the track beds drop down a bit to go under the high level section. 

 

I just about managed to allow for point motor positions when it came to the frames - a couple end up being a bit of a squeeze though. Once the basic bits were put together i bunged some some cork sheet.

 

[Trev218]

Then it was first change of direction time - I thought I'd be clever and have the scenic areas open framed - at which point i realised that the bulk of those bits would be flat! So it was a case of filling in the gaps and slapping some more cork sheet down...by this time we had a very bemused mutt!

[Paul H Vigor]

1 hour ago, Trev218 said:

Then it was first change of direction time - I thought I'd be clever and have the scenic areas open framed - at which point i realised that the bulk of those bits would be flat! So it was a case of filling in the gaps and slapping some more cork sheet down...by this time we had a very bemused mutt!

Just for a fleeting second I thought I was looking at MasterChef!  Who raided all the tinned food from SWMBO's cupboards??

[Trev218]

12 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

Just for a fleeting second I thought I was looking at MasterChef!  Who raided all the tinned food from SWMBO's cupboards??

Needs must - the flippin cork kept rolling up! 

[Trev218]

Moved it all out to the man-cave (one end of the garage that we haven't put a car in for probably over 20 years now!) to start on some of the interesting stuff.

First couple of bits of track laid - was quite satisfying laying it across the join then slicing through it. The soldering is a bit heavy handed here but it's out of site and certainly the ends of the rails aren't going anywhere now!

[Trev218]

Was starting to enjoy getting some track down...I was reasonably optimistic I'd be able to disguise the base board joins once the track was ballasted...inevitably though once there was some sort of loop laid I couldn't resist doing some semi-permanent-temporary wiring to see locos moving 

 

 

[5BarVT]

21 hours ago, Trev218 said:

Having virtually no experience,

Oh yes?  Claim to be a beginner eh?

Very nice, I’m on v5 and not achieving your standards.

 

21 hours ago, Trev218 said:

hopefully learn by any mistakes that inevitably I'll make

You need to make some first!

 

21 hours ago, BlackRat said:

I’ve been lucky enough to follow the layouts progress ‘in the flesh’…..

 

I can tell you that RM Web is in for a bit of a treat.

I can see why you said that.
Paul.

[Trev218]

Next up was one of those tangents I was saying about 

 

I'd been itching to play around with the Woodland Scenics stuff that had arrived, so I made a start on the right hand side cutting to see how it was going to turn out. I used one of the Peco double track portals for the tunnel entrance, with a bit of extra paint dabbed on it and molded it into the cutting. Got in a right mess, but again was all very satisfying! 

[Trev218]

It started looking nice when I got some colour on it and a bit of the scatter material. I carried on with the landscaping a bit further up the incline to the higher level and then ballasted that area, so I would end up with a little corner of it looking half decent to act as encouragement.

 

 

[stivesnick]

You have made a great start to the layout. Well done!

 

Nick 

 

[jpendle]

Well the speed you're going is impressive!

 

I do have one question, and maybe I'm being thick, but you don't appear to haver any isolation gaps between the rails in the conductive strips you've used to solder the track down.

 

Did I miss something?

 

Regards,

 

John P

[Trev218]

23 hours ago, jpendle said:

Well the speed you're going is impressive!

 

I do have one question, and maybe I'm being thick, but you don't appear to haver any isolation gaps between the rails in the conductive strips you've used to solder the track down.

 

Did I miss something?

 

Regards,

 

John P

Hi, it appears speedy, but it's actually taken place over the last few months, I've just got a lot of pics of progress! In fact, it's slowed quite a bit recently for various unsavory reasons - work etc!

 

After the pics were taken of the joins and before it got wired I cut the isolation slots

Edited December 23, 2021 by Trev218

[Trev218]

Then the Metcalfe bug bit! I started off with the engine shed and what was going to be a small station just to help sort out track positioning...as usual it grew!

[Trev218]

I put together the Peco turntable kit and dry-brushed some colours over a dark grey basecoat - Neil's suggestion (BlackRat - lives just across the water and has been on at me for years to get my finger out and start building something!)

 

I'd modified the depot area from what I originally intended - added an extra track or two off the turntable. I made up another Metcalfe engine shed and hacked the two around to join them together, quite pleased with how the turned out. As you can see the upper baseboard now needs an extension!

[shanks522]

Hi, 

 

A very impressive build, look forward to more. 
 

Graham 

[woodenhead]

Looking very good, I've also got some Metcalfe kits to build and looking how your station has turned out I am glad I went with them as they do look good once constructed as can be seen here on your layout.

[Trev218]

I'd got hold of enough station kits to build the 'mainline' station as well...there's something very therapeutic about putting together all those canopies - I reckon so anyway, perhaps I'm strange!

 

Next thing was to get it all wired and tested. I made up a panel unit using a print out from anyrail and protecting it with clear sticky backed plastic. Each point is switched either way with the single-pole-double-throw-centre-off (quite a mouthful) switches with the oomph coming from a CDU built into the panel. Not in the pic at this stage is the switch for the turntable, I got round to doing that later. Any future layout I'll look into DCC points to hopefully reduce the complexity of any wiring.

 

When I put it all together, it worked a treat, what I hadn't allowed for is how rigid the two wiring looms are from the panel to the two halves of the layout. I think a lot of that comes from the shrink wrap I put round it. When I get a chance I'll remove it from one loom and just cable tie the bundle together every couple of inches and see if that helps

 

What I also didn't allow for was to be able to easily operate it from the rear not just the front...doh! The DCC handheld is on a long enough bit of wire but the panel to baseboard connections aren't...I'll get round it somehow when the time comes!

  

[Cowley 47521]

This looks amazing. Well done.

[Trev218]

Wiring done and time for a bit of testing 

 

 

 

[1977joey]

Really liking this layout, can't beat a bit of BR blue either 

 

I'm following with interest. 

 

Happy New Year,

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Trev218]

4 hours ago, 1977joey said:

Really liking this layout, can't beat a bit of BR blue either 

 

I'm following with interest. 

 

Happy New Year,

 

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks for that Mark...blue was the era of my youth, same as a lot of folks on here I'd imagine...and I do like it. Mind you, various eras since then have been interesting too and now the collection covers all sorts! Most of these are going to need a bigger layout lol

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by Trev218

[Trev218]

The next tangent was some wagon kit building

It's not something I'd done before and I'd always wanted some Seacow ballast hoppers - it was obvious I'd never get my hands on any rtr ones without parting with large amounts of money so I got hold of some of the N Gauge Society kits and gave them a go.

 

I'd also had a compressor as a pressie xmas 2020 - wanted to start using that so I knocked up a spray booth out of a couple of extractor fans and some tumble dryer hose - seems to work fairly well   

 

The plastic parts of the kit went together nicely and once they were done, sprayed the body shells while it was easy, before all the fiddly bits