Tyneside Steel - revival of a stalled layout

[luke the train spotter]

I built this layout micro inglenook project over the summer but since bringing it back to uni with me progress and interest has significantly stalled. It is operated as a basic 3-2-2 inglenook puzzle with a fiddle stick added to the end to accommodate a loco and a couple of wagons. The baseboard measures 2ft by 1ft which is an ideal size as it lives on a shelf in my room. 

 

I originally planned to sell it to make space and raise funds for a new build but it seems silly to sell off a perfectly good board of track with everything wired and ready to go so instead I plan on scenically revamping it. I plan on changing the setting of the layout from vague random goods yard to part of a small industrial complex with engineering work shops and sidings for wagons inspired by the Trafford Park industrial railway system. Whilst this is not a direct model of that I like the brick and corrugated iron structures and the use of 0-6-0 sentinels, of which I have just picked one up from TMC during their black Friday sale. I quite like the idea of setting the layout around the Newcastle and Gateshead area since that is where I currently live and has a rich industrial history so a small industrial railway could probably fit in. Time frame wise I like the idea of the layout set in the late 70s, early 80s since that isn't a period I've really modelled before and an excuse to get a couple BR blue diesels. 

 

Anyways, here is my updated layout plan with a couple cardboard mock ups. The small loco shed is a fantastic little laser cut kit that will home the sentinel and probably my Ruston with a little modelers license. There will be a large warehouse workshop sorta building in the top left hand corner with an entrance track with a gantry crane for loading flatbed wagons, I would like to cut a hole in the fascia to allow a fiddlestick to be added at some point. I will probably add areas of concrete hard standing closer to the large buildings. The right hand corner will feature a retaining wall with scrubland and maybe a billboard. The entrance to the fiddle yard will be covered with the most imaginative scenic break ever.... a girder bridge! I think that will work quite nicely in adding to the industrial esthetic though. I also plan to add another point in and extend the board slightly to allow this. Then I will have an additional siding for a couple of wagons or maybe a class 20 or something like that. Not sure what to have at the front of the layout but I like the idea of a sort of industrial wasteland, some green to contrast to the hardstanding and industrial buildings. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by luke the train spotter
Title change

[Ian Holmes]

Wow! You’re totally changing the character of the layout. Excellent! Looking forward to seeing the progress 

 

ian

[ColinK]

Looks great.  Instead of the girder bridge you could have a pipe bridge which would be in keeping with the industrial theme.  I made one years ago using an Airfix signal gantry kit with a bit of pipe inside.

[luke the train spotter]

Thanks for the likes and comments guys. I had considered a pipe bridge, I may look into that a bit more, I was thinking that if I did a girder one I could reuse the bridge I built for my micro Finlarig Halt which is slowly in the process of being dismantled. 

 

Here is some progress from last night though. I have previously forgot to say that all trackwork is peco code 75. I have added another point behind the first Y point and wired it up. Testing was very satisfying and it can just about hold a class 24 or a couple of wagons, here a peckett checks the clearances between the tracks. A start has also been made on the retaining wall using some Wills plastic sheeting, I still need to sort out the structural elements behind this and coping stones but it is a start. 

[Kevin Johnson]

Luke I do rate the plastic embossed stone walls from Wills. The layout is taking shape nicely.👍

[moore43grm]

A pipe bridge does not have to be too elaborate...

 

 

[moore43grm]

A pipe bridge does not have to be too elaborate...

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by moore43grm
post deleted duplicate post

[luke the train spotter]

I wonder if some off cuts of sprue could be used with some plastic scraps to bodge one together. I'll have a look what's in my spares box when I get home.

[Kevin Johnson]

Luke I'm certain you could knock up a pipe bridge using spare bits of sprue and some bits of plastic scrap.👍

[luke the train spotter]

Well there has been a fair bit of progress with the industrial buildings. These have been constructed out of plasticard on cardboard and foamboard shells. Still a lot of painting/weathering and detailing to be undertaken but they're a good start I think. Here's a shot with the sentinel in situ. 

 

You may notice that there is a hole cut in the warehouse, I plan to cut a hole in the backscene for a fiddle stick to be able to be attached at some point which a steel roller door than can be pulled down to hide the exit in shots like this. I have also made a start on the hardstanding in the loco shed area, this just requires a but of tidying up then to move onto the next tasks. 

[1722]

Hard to believe it’s the same base layout Luke. Great work and the industrial buildings look the perfect shade of blue. Well done!

[Rich Papper]

A fantastic use of the space available, well done.

Rich

[Ian Holmes]

Looking excellent Luke. As has already been mentioned. It's difficult to believe this is the same layout as before.

 

Ian

[luke the train spotter]

Thank you, I'm surprised the difference myself! I think spraying a lot of the scenery with water and scraping up the static grass has been a key step to try and get everything down to a flat and level baseboard like it is now. I am now home from uni now for Christmas so there won't be any progress on the layout for a few weeks sadly but here are a couple different shots of the hardstanding in the loco shed area. It is just DIY plaster filler smeared on then painted with washes once dry. I personally love the look of the concrete effect between the rails.

[luke the train spotter]

Well it's been a couple weeks and back up at uni now so layout progress can continue! Whilst I was at home I made the most of tools and wood to cut out the fascia for the layout and sort out the lighting. The layout is illuminated with a kitchen under cabinet light, the same type that I use on Distillery Yard and Cronton. I think it gives it a really warm look and should mean that the photos I now take are a lot better. You may notice an 08 in the yard which is coming to the end of a long restoration project with 5 years of procrastination. Looking forward to continuing work on the scenery next! 

[Ian Holmes]

What really stands out in this view is how effective that brick shed is as a view block. It plays with your viewpoint, gives a whole new angle (excuse the pun) on the scene.

Top notch work!

 

Ian

[Kevin Johnson]

Very nice Luke the fascia does add that extra niceness to the layout.

[TechnicArrow]

I'm liking how this scene is evolving developing.

 

Fantastic work with the fascia - it's impressive how much presentation and lighting can benefit a model, especially for someone like me who inevitably leaves it until the end!

[luke the train spotter]

Thanks everyone! Not much more progress to report but been playing around with some different photo angles so here's a shot looking in from the fiddle hard entrance. The track here is still to be properly laid and ballasted but I think it has potential. 

[luke the train spotter]

A quick progress update for today. I've been working on the bridge to hide the fiddle yard entrance. The base of this bridge is the one used on the left side on my old layout Finlarig Halt. To fit this layout it needs extending in both directions and the gap for the track widening to allow loco clearances when traversing the point. This is just done with plasticard and some card scraps as capping stones. I don't want it to sit flat against the baseboard either so playing with some subtle angles, the left hand of the bridge sticks out 1.5cm more than the right hand thanks to some foamboard spacers. Think this should help reduce the boxy look you can often get on small layouts. Here's a picture with the 08 checking the clearances. 

[kevo]

brilliant  work luke  really look ing good 

[luke the train spotter]

Well it's been a productive couple of days with lots of little jobs now completed. First up I have finished painting the bridge and lightly weathered it. Hopefully the brick work looks colour matched enough. One thing is bugging me is the bridge doesn't have a ceiling (probably sure that's not the right word) so you can see white space above the trains which will need to be fixed. 

 

Another little job that I had wanted to get done was finish off the super low relief warehouse building. This needed its brick work painting and toning down as well as a roller door sorting out. A long term goal for this is to have a working roller door and a fiddlestick behind it but currently that's a bit too much. I had tried painting my door but it looked pretty messy so instead I've used a fantastic download from scalescenes.

 

The background of the layout is somewhere around Newcastle & Gateshead in the 1970s so I thought a fantastic way to set that as the location and era is with a billboard. I wanted a billboard that was advertising the soon to open Tyne and Wear metro which is easier said than done but I stumbled across an image file of a promotional booklet cover which I think works well as a billboard advertisement. Printed of, matt varnished and mounted on a frame of weathered coffee stirrers and  match sticks I think it looks the part. I'd love to find a billboard advertising some Newcastle brown ale so if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful. 

 

And I managed to exceed my own expectations of progress on the layout by getting some ballast down. This was just on the extra point and siding I added a while back but it feels good to be getting the base scenery finally sorted. I'll weather the track and ballast once its dry. With the ballast down all the structures also were stuck down with wood glue so it's all coming together now! Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll record a running session and get it up on YouTube. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by luke the train spotter

[Andrew D]

Great progress Luke! I really do like the blue sheds you've built - very inspiring. Looking forward to your running session on YouTube. No pressure but... OK, pressure! ;) 

[Oncomin5torm]

Loving this build on here and Instagram.

Your an inspiration my good man Luke.

 

 

Where did you pickup the loco shed from? 
Your initial post said something about laser cut but I dont remember where you said it was from.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Oncomin5torm

[luke the train spotter]

1 hour ago, Oncomin5torm said:

Loving this build on here and Instagram.

Your an inspiration my good man Luke.

 

 

Where did you pickup the loco shed from? 
Your initial post said something about laser cut but I dont remember where you said it was from.

Thank you! The loco shed is a kit from Stoneybridge Structures who attend a lot of exhibitions in the North East but also sell online through their website. I'd highly recommend their kits, they just go together like Lego.