Brighton Trafalgar - An Edwardian LB&SCR Terminus

[Lacathedrale]

Just trying out something - thoughts?

 

 

[simon b]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

Just trying out something - thoughts?

 

 

 

The split level looks good with the lower area at the front, but I'm not keen on the higher height of loading dock vs the other platforms. May I suggest taking out the underlay from the carriage siding to sink that track a little? Then your end loading dock would be at the correct height, you could also extend it alongside the track a few van lengths for side loading if desired.

[Caley Jim]

Why not have the loading dock at normal platform height with just a ramp up for end loading at the buffer end?

 

Jim

[Lacathedrale]

@Caley Jim @simon b the height of that platform is pretty much the correct height for a side loading dock (i.e. level with the top of the solebars) as far as I understand, and end loading dock is slightly higher again to account for an end-door to clear buffers/etc. ? The plan was always to ramp up at the end. Luckily nothing is glued into place yet, so there's lots of moving around that can be done.

 

I'm fairly happy with how the panorama is looking:

 

 

I've also started to add back in the missing turnout timbers. The equalised timbering of the peco turnouts is a bit rubbish - but I think that's just the track nerd in me and I reckon overall it'll have a nice effect:

 

[Siberian Snooper]

Most of the pregrouping companies used equalized timbering, so not likely to be out of place.

 

 

[Lacathedrale]

Even on a crossover? 

 

Guess where I found some of the psuedo blue-nosed, 19th Century LBSCR platform edging with a straight, non-corbelled platform face?

 

 

Clapham Junction!

 

It may well really be bricks (given the red corners) but it's good enough for me.

 

I'm a little unsure about what to do with the track across the board joints - I've used brass screws to both secure the rail ends and also mount droppers, and cut away fairly significant portions of the foam roadbed underneath too, so it's not so easy to just slide sleepers underneath. My gut feeling is to 'make good' and then cover it with a magnetised, planked barrow crossing - but that may adjust how the platform ends look...

[Lacathedrale]

Very sad to hear TrainTimes are no longer going to be commissioning LBSC 113 - an E1 in the only actually prototypically accurate freight livery for the Marsh period :( I still have Poitiers on preorder so there is at least that, I guess...

[Matloughe]

55 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

Very sad to hear TrainTimes are no longer going to be commissioning LBSC 113 - an E1 in the only actually prototypically accurate freight livery for the Marsh period :( I still have Poitiers on preorder so there is at least that, I guess...

Is that the Goods Black with Red Lining? I have that on pre-order as well.

 

Kind Regards,

Gary

[BlueLightning]

1 hour ago, Matloughe said:

Is that the Goods Black with Red Lining? I have that on pre-order as well.

 

Kind Regards,

Gary

 

Afraid so, gutted to have to cancel, direct contact for refunds will be happening this week, in the meantime you can see the announcement here: https://www.traintimesmodelshop.co.uk/blogs/news/train-times-announces-cancellation-of-our-exclusive-rapido-trains-uk-lb-scr-e1

 

We've got some other bits in the works that may interest both of you though!

 

Gary

[nest]

2 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Very sad to hear TrainTimes are no longer going to be commissioning LBSC 113 - an E1 in the only actually prototypically accurate freight livery for the Marsh period :( I still have Poitiers on preorder so there is at least that, I guess...

Is this all the E1s or just one variant? 
Nestor 

[Lacathedrale]

On 24/09/2023 at 22:04, nest said:

Is this all the E1s or just one variant? 
Nestor 

Just the variant commissioned by TrainTimes

[Lacathedrale]

It feels like there's a big gulf between where it is and where I want it to be before I sit down and play trains - backscene boards, major building carcasses, finishing the fitting of 3-link couplings, and buying a bloody DCC controller and fitting chips to my four or five locos.  All of these are fairly small tasks but in sequence they represent a significant investment of time and money to get to the figurative starting line before the real push of painting and detailing occurs. 

 

 

The layout isn't going anywhere - in both a negative and positive sense. Unlike previous escapades I've no urge to scrap the whole thing and start again (well ... just a little) and so it's in a quiet proving stage. My motivation is pretty low on it right now but I know that'll come back around. For now, my interaction with Brighton Trafalgar (still not sure about that) is limited to 10-20 minutes every few days between workouts (my home gym is opposite my layout). 

[Oldddudders]

Many, many years ago (late 1950s), I recall reading a magazine article about model railways. The magazine was a household/family publication, not a modelling mag. The most important thing I read there was "Get things running as soon as possible." Nothing lifts the spirits and modelling mojo like watching a train move as required. 

 

I see layout builds where rooms are fitted out, baseboards meticulously measured and painstakingly assembled, track is hand-built, loco kits assembled - and the guy never falters. I just wanna run trains. Anything you can do to get some life on the layout will see you through this patch. 

[Lacathedrale]

24 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Nothing lifts the spirits and modelling mojo like watching a train move as required. 

 

Ah, moving locomotives isn't a problem - the layout is wired up for DC control - but since it was built with the Peco Unifrog bullhead turnouts there is no isolation. That said, I may be able to jerry-rig some switches under the layout to isolate the platform road feeds.

 

The other problem is that half of my stock (and all my locos) have tension-lock couplings and the other half has either three links, or nothing at all - and I can't really figure out how to determine if the 3-Link is going to work or whether I need to look at S&W/etc. - the track is 4'6" off the floor so great for viewing but not so great for coupling up on a rear platform!

[burgundy]

20 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

The other problem is that half of my stock (and all my locos) have tension-lock couplings and the other half has either three links, or nothing at all - and I can't really figure out how to determine if the 3-Link is going to work or whether I need to look at S&W/etc. - the track is 4'6" off the floor so great for viewing but not so great for coupling up on a rear platform!

Precisely why you should play trains a bit. 

a. to make sure that everything works and that there are no dodgy bits of track 

b. to help you decide on the preferred couplings

c. to keep the motivation going.

Best wishes 

Eric 

[wainwright1]

28 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

Ah, moving locomotives isn't a problem - the layout is wired up for DC control - but since it was built with the Peco Unifrog bullhead turnouts there is no isolation. That said, I may be able to jerry-rig some switches under the layout to isolate the platform road feeds.

 

The other problem is that half of my stock (and all my locos) have tension-lock couplings and the other half has either three links, or nothing at all - and I can't really figure out how to determine if the 3-Link is going to work or whether I need to look at S&W/etc. - the track is 4'6" off the floor so great for viewing but not so great for coupling up on a rear platform!

Here is a question:

How is your eyesight ?

If it is not good or starting to falter I would not use the 3 links for general shunting. For my Hawkhurst layout, if have arranged my wagons in groups with 3 links coupling the wagons together, but currently retaining the tension locks at the outer ends. I have contemplated fitting magnetically operated couplings in place of the tension locks, probably B & B, but have yet to determine if these can be successfully fitted to all required stock. I think that those on locos could be simplified, but am not sure about fitting them to the Bachmann birdcage coaches with the cam mechanism. Ideally, I would like to be able to reverse the process if possible. 

 

All the best

Ray

Edited October 10, 2023 by wainwright1

[Matloughe]

How you feel is how most of us have felt at some stage I am sure.

I haven't so much as looked at my micro layout for weeks - I've just not felt the urge or desire to interact with it. Try not to get stressed or guilty about having some down time away from your burgeoning masterpiece - try and focus on one problem at a time.
I am in the process of converting from Tension Locks to Kadee's, I know they aren't prototypical but I just dont think I have the patience to work 4mm scale 3-links, when I struggle with 3-links in 7mm scale. At £12 for four couplings, they aren't cheap so I decided to base the conversions on my hierarchy in my head. I needed a Terrier, coach and several wagons converted as part of the initial outlay - then each month I've been buying a pack or two and coverting more stock, another Terrier here, a second coach, some more coal wagons etc to build up the variety - you'll get there.  I know you need a lot more stock than I for operating but a similar approach would work well.

As for wiring - thats your choice; if you plan on converting to DCC entirely as time goes on then I don't think its worth adding lots of seperate section switches - however equally if there is a fault on the layout electrically it does give you the option of turning everything off and switching in sections to find the fault, or isolate something entirely. I stopped my layout right before doing any scenics and re-wired underneath to add in two isolating sections (I wish I had added another one for the run-round loop line but its too late now) - but now I am considering converting to DCC (I really want a sound Terrier, or two) so it was in my case fairly superfluous - I only have a Hornby DCC Select Controller in the box, is it worth rigging that up or buying something else? I don't know but I know I'll have to buy the decoders - so I may pause the Kadee conversion now I have a small pool of stock and locos and then look at doing a Kadee+DCC conversion at the same time.

What I am trying to say is break the problems down into smaller bite-sized chunks and you'll find they start getting resolved.
Kind Regards,

Gary

Edited October 10, 2023 by Matloughe

[Andy_C]

7 minutes ago, Matloughe said:

What I am trying to say is break the problems down into smaller bite-sized chunks and you'll find they start getting resolved.

I follow this layout with interest. Lots of reasons, but none obvious. 
 

I empathise with the mojo issue. I get round it by just tackling what I fancy tackling, and when. I have to be careful, as I have two other hobbies that take up time away from my wife (piano and golf), so it’s important to manage time fairly. 

[Caley Jim]

5 hours ago, Andy_C said:

I empathise with the mojo issue. I get round it by just tackling what I fancy tackling, and when. 

I've done little on my Kirkallanmuir layout itself over the past two years, other than playing trains a bit of maintenance work, however I have added two locos to the fleet along with a set of three 65ft carriages (see link in signature).  I've also been doing some work for our area group layout http://2mmfcag.blogspot.com/ so have not been idle, but doing rather as @Andy_C has said.  Currently almost finished drawing up the artwork for an appropriate loco for the Glasgow and Edinburgh Direct set.

 

Jim

[Schooner]

On 10/10/2023 at 09:38, wainwright1 said:

probably B & B

Sorry, not able to work out this one - which couplings are these?

 

@Lacathedrale, if it helps any - I can only lend a voice to the 'play trains' brigade.

 

Call it research - it is! You can't make a decent decision until you have useful data, you can only get that data through experiment. If it makes any odds, it's exactly how I ended up using 3-links in 4mm which was never the plan! Starting from tension lock, I wanted a remote option - S&W, for which the layout is set up with permanent uncoupling magnets. However, whilst playing  conducting vital research, I uncovered some exciting new information - 3-links were possible, practical and...fun! That is on a glorified Inglenook where everything is in pretty easy reach from a seated central operating position...

 

...anything other than that and I'd go for autocouplers, probably S&W in 4mm and Dinghams in 7mm, without hesitation. 

 

As for how/when to work on it, make a plan. Whilst you're doing your workout or on your commute or whatever, think of a small task - doable in ten mins or so. When you feel like working on the layout, do that task. Then walk away :)

 

I rarely practice what I preach, but know that the above approach can yield surprising results in a short space of time, and seemingly for 'free'. Once that magic is rekindled and momentum regained the hobby looks after itself :)

 

Whatever happens, keep us posted!

[wainwright1]

Schooner.

 

B & B Couplings are etched and can be operated with fixed or electro magnets. Available in 2mm, 3mm, 4mm and 7mm sizes. They are similar to D & G Couplings. The difference being that the B & B are fully etched and you just have to fold them up and add a bit of iron to the paddle to act as the attractor. With the D & G, you have to fold the loop of the coupling from wire using a small jig that they sell.

The B & B ones are mounted with a small screw, and the hole in the coupling is elongated, so you can extend or retract the coupling to vary the distance between the wagons. There is also no need to cut a slot in the buffer beams.

 

All the best

 

Ray

[Lacathedrale]

Admittedly a bit of a nothing sandwich, but have finally replaced the card fascia of my station building with something made out of foam core. A short step before filling in the rest of the buildings on the platforms and encasing the rear of the layout with a low backscene .

[Mikkel]

That helps give a feeling for the structural mass of the planned buildings. It's going to be impressive. 

 

Cecil was a meticulous man and liked to arrive early for his train. Very early.

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Mikkel

[Lacathedrale]

On 03/07/2023 at 06:48, Nick Holliday said:

For my version of Fittleworth in 4mm, I cut 6mm wide strips from a sheet of plastic siding which had grooves at 2mm spacing, with additional plastic strip underneath to give the required 6” depth. I can’t find whose sheet I used, but this is something similar already prepared to give the 18” length of the brick. https://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/46-textured-sheets
Sadly it isn’t embossed with the non-slip pattern, but I don’t think that was always present. Masokits used to do an etching, but that is no longer available.

 

Following up on this, how did you get those strips around curves? I've got a long curved platform end I'll need to manage!

[Nick Holliday]

9 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

Following up on this, how did you get those strips around curves? I've got a long curved platform end I'll need to manage!

Although Fittleworth had a curved platform, my version in 4mm is effectively to scale, so the radius of the curve is considerably larger than normal model railway curves. I was therefore able to get away with gently massaging the strip to follow the curve. I wonder if sharper curves could be dealt with by gluing a strip of plastic under the outer edge, to get the full depth of the edging, and then cutting along each groove, allowing the strip to be curved as required.