Lofthouse Bridge

[inside crank]

So here is my train set currently under construction. It has been a work in progress for a number of years, but now that I have retired, I am hoping that progress will be a bit more rapid. It is based on a fictional location that only exists in my imagination. It is  a double loop in 00 gauge based on a mixture of Peco set track and streamline code 100. Presently it is DC operation to be converted to DCC sometime in the future. It occupies a footprint of about  6 ft X 6 ft (or 1.8m in real money). 

For those of you with a prototypical leaning, you may wish to look away now................

 

 

 

 

 

       

[RobinofLoxley]

I sympathise with anyone who builds platforms to go on a 6' square. There are some nice buildings on there.

[inside crank]

With the benefit of hindsight would I do it like this if I was starting out again? Maybe not, but I did want to keep the layout a manageable size so I had a chance of getting it to somewhere near completion.

[Phil Parker]

6 minutes ago, inside crank said:

With the benefit of hindsight would I do it like this if I was starting out again? Maybe not, but I did want to keep the layout a manageable size so I had a chance of getting it to somewhere near completion.

 

Getting it near completion is the key. And we all learn each time we build a layout!

 

As @RobinofLoxley says, you'v some nice looking buildings on there. I look forward to more posts.

[inside crank]

Yes, during my time of following people's experiences with layout building I have noticed plenty of occasions where they never got finished because they were too ambitious or unfortunately something got in the way......like death.

 

A few more pics if you're interested......................   

[inside crank]

Since I last posted I have put some more structures onto the layout including the modified Walters Cornerstone warehouse and a kit bashed boiler house.

 

 

I have also added a low profile factory unit made from the Fordhampton locomotive depot............

 

And added a fuelling point and oil depot. The fuelling point and oil depot are the ubiquitous Knightwing and Ratio kits respectively. (I should have brushed the dirt off the fuelling point before photographing it)

 

 

 

 

I think in the future I might just use the mobile phone to take photos as it seems to do a much better job than the compact camera. Pics 1,2 and 4 were taken with the phone.

I'm not sure about the placement of the boiler house relative to the warehouse either

[inside crank]

So I seem to have inadvertently created two new topics, when I tried to update this thread on Saturday. (I have to admit that I haven't really got a clue when it comes to this posting malarky - as you no doubt will have gathered by now).

 

Anyway, to keep everything together in the original thread I am re-publishing the latest update here. I hope.

 

 

 

 

 

[inside crank]

And here are the rest of them.................................

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by inside crank

[jamest]

Hi,

 

I think you have struck a great balance between doing what you can in the space available and creating some really realistic scenes.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Regards,

James

[Ben B]

I really like this; the close-up shots show some really atmospheric and characterful scenes, like the lorry on the curving ramp. Looking forward to seeing this progress!

[inside crank]

Thanks gents for your interest.

I had a look at some of your layouts James, and they are mighty impressive. Your latest 0 gauge and 00 gauge are looking really good. The canal in 'Haxton Lane' is splendid. I did have a list of desirable elements to try and include in 'Lofthouse Bridge' and one of them was a water feature. Unfortunately I don't have the space, even for a culvert.

I don't know how you can be so prolific in building layouts. Mine seems to progress at snail's pace. I remember being told once that amateurs can either lay bricks quickly or well. You must be one of those rare people who can do both.

[inside crank]

Hello again. I recently shot a short video for my grandson so I thought I'd post a link here. Apart from anything else it proves trains can actually run on the layout unlike the posed photos I have posted so far.

It will cost you about 3 minutes of your life, never to be regained and being a 'tailchaser' it is somewhat repetitive.

 

https://youtu.be/8gmrbOZXAcA

[inside crank]

Well it's been a while. Progress has been limited, but I have added another back scene to the back of the layout appropriately enough. It has also gained a signal box, water tower, low relief north light factory and footbridge. As shown below................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inside crank]

I have also been trying to improve the quality of the photos that I post . I have moved the overhead LED strip light. so that it's no longer overhead as it was casting very dark shadows and I've brought in a adjustable reading lamp to light the specific areas that I'm trying to photograph. i think that it has worked to some extent and gives me an excuse for some more gratuitous shots. Apologies for the Class 15 and Derby Lightweight appearing so often in the pics. I do possess other rolling stock, but not having any sort of storage yard means that I have to manually place them on the layout which is a bit of a faff.

 

 

 

 

 

[inside crank]

All the photos posted so far have been taken on my camera phone, which has demonstrated itself to be idiot proof. (Very useful in my case). However I have had a go at using a 35mm digital camera, although it's much harder to set up and has poorer accessibility due to its bulk. Are the pictures of a higher quality? The colour reproduction is possibly more accurate and maybe they are less grainy.

 

 

 

[SteveyDee68]

As others have already said, you have created many interesting and realistic cameos in the space you have available. I must say that I am particularly taken by your large industrial buildings - there’s something about suchlike towering over trains that simply looks “right”

 

Steve S

[inside crank]

Thanks. I wanted to create an industrial landscape that has a somewhat claustrophobic quality. I have always been very admiring of layouts where a continuous back drop of factories and high retaining walls have been built from scratch and which serve to dominate the railway in the foreground. Unfortunately my own scratch building skills are somewhat limited, so I have to rely on using individual kits which I personally don't think are quite so effective in that respect.

[simon b]

Just stumbled across this topic, I think you should be proud of what  you've created there. You've done a fantastic job at capturing the atmosphere of an urban scene, and that's the part that matters. The pics of trains appearing from the gloom under the station are my favourite.

 

Is that a modified "Dunster station" on the bridge? Following  with interest.

[inside crank]

Your comments are much appreciated. So far it's going as well as I had hoped it might. For me, it's knowing my limitations. And yes, it is a modified Dunster station (strictly speaking it's the later Fordhampton version). I turned it through 180 degrees, clad it in plasticard and left off the roof extension.