Mark 37 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Thanks very much Paul, itching to get started on some actual modelling. Best regards , Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 After nearly 2 months with very little being achieved except for trying to fiddle with DCC chip settings and run a few locos in, I finally made a modest step forward with a bit more ballasting, track painting and screwing down the bases of a couple of platforms. I have also bought a seemingly endless supply of Peco platform edging (lesson No. 22 - don't have lots of long platforms). I did also wire up some more point motors to Lenz LS150s (10 done and about the same to go). Ark Royal (my biggest loco) checking the platform fit. Scalescenes retaining wall along the back will have station name boards, posters and some weathering added in due course. 33012 nestling in the loco shed. The shed will have a hidden track out the back to the fiddle area, hidden by a small footbridge (or rail bridge) between it and the scenic break 4 CEP rounding the corner from the terminus platforms and about to rejoin the mainline. There will be an over bridge here when I get round to it. My 4 CEP desperately needs a good dusting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Another few weeks have passed by and what with work and, ok, a family holiday too only a few hours spent on the railway. However, at last the three platforms are in place for the main station. My aim was to make these from strips of scrap wood with Peco platform edging, to give it a bit of a Southern feel, and grey card as the platform surfaces. Time will tell whether this looks quite right or not. So the wood painted grey and some of the edging being installed - with PVA glue - makes it worth a picture with a dusty Bachmann CEP and an equally dusty Hornby VEP. A bit more woodwork and Scalescenes walls and the cutting approaching the station is also taking a bit more shape Finally to the "fiddle yard". It is always hard finding fiddling space on a circular layout whilst still being able to get to the track. I have a couple of hidden sidings on the back edge of the layout but these won't be accessible for swapping rolling stock. So I had always intended to have a small non scenic fiddle yard element with a couple of sidings (unfortunately only from the outer loop) where I hope to collect or despatch trains by way of cassettes (and probably some big hand in the sky type interventions too). Never being satisfied with operability options I have decided to cover the fiddle yard and above will be a short branch line station that rejoins the mainline just before main station. Access to the main line will have to be via a reversing move in the dead end platforms (think Shrewsbury ?). Still a long way to go on this it though - haven't even made the ramp up from the mainline yet. The standalone track at the front of the lower section is the programming track. PS - obviously the piece of wood at the left of the picture will need a hole cut in for the trains at some point :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Managed to find time to put together a staircase (Dapol C004) to give the passengers a route down to the platforms from the (yet to be built) ticket office. See the background of the first pic which also shows the EMU stabling sidings occupied for the first time I think. A rarity on my layout at the moment. A freight working (there isn't anywhere for it to go apart from round and round) with Heljan 47 759 and a few Bachmann intermodals. 33012 tries out the fuelling point. Question : Should the fuelling point go right by the buffer stop or would it normally go where it is - allowing for a stabled loco on the buffer stop behind a fuelling loco ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl43068 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Question : Should the fuelling point go right by the buffer stop or would it normally go where it is - allowing for a stabled loco on the buffer stop behind a fuelling loco ? Hi Paul, Personally I would put it next to the buffer stop, allowing a loco to be released from your shed onto the main line. Cheers Daryl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jools39 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 33012 tries out the fuelling point. Question : Should the fuelling point go right by the buffer stop or would it normally go where it is - allowing for a stabled loco on the buffer stop behind a fuelling loco ? Prototypically it would be where it is at present, so that a pair of locos could be fueled without the need to split them, and then shunt them around so that the second one could reach the fuel point. Also it is often like this so a dead loco can be left on the blocks whilst still having access to the fuel point for others. Having said that there is always a case for something different. Hope that makes sense and helps! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilkko Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 i agree with jools, you need space for a pair to be fueled or you could put a second fuel pump next to the other one by the buffers, depends on the size of the depot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Thanks for the responses. It feels better where it is and I hadn't thought about the need to fuel a pair of locos so I think that settles it. One more decision made, thousands to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 Another quick update. Dapol footbridge in place (but unpainted) and first bit of proper platform surface laid. I have gone with grey card on this occasion - looks ok at the moment and will be somewhat obscured with platform furniture and passengers in due course. At the other end of the station the elevated area containing a low relief bus garage (Kingsway Models) and a low relief warehouse (ebay purchase) is taking shape. A passenger's eye view from the centre platform of the same area with 47059 passing through with some Bachmann intermodals. The big problem with digital photography is how many flaws it shows up in the layout - time for a tidy up around the track and maybe reinstall that retaining wall that is leaning out alarmingly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 At last the main platform area is nearly complete scenery wise. Ballast is down apart from the last couple of sets of points, platforms are covered and the rails have been cleaned up and tested at low speed for smooth arrivals. 4 CEP reverses in one of the two bay roads. What buffer stops should I have in the bay roads. I'm guessing it needs to be something more substantial than the Peco rail built buffers but something less horrible than the Hornby hydraulic buffers ? 4 VEP stabled in one of the EMU sidings. For now the cleaning platform is part of a converted Heljan sanding depot but maybe will be replaced in time. This road would once have been against a platform face but this is now bricked off. Looking down from the bridge by the ticket office (yet to be built Manyways kit) as the 4 CEP slides into the through platforms. Question - I bought some hanging basket liner but even having read a couple of the threads here I can't see how to turn what I have into convincing grass. Did I buy the wrong stuff (it doesn't seem to have layers that can be ripped off as is suggested elsewhere). I want to create a rough embankment - as loosely illustrated below - so I'm not looking for bright green grass. Ideas welcome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Hello Paul, The basket liner you have looks normal to me. Try cutting a few small sections off (say about 2 inches square) as test pieces and teasing those out; you might have to pull quite hard until the fibres start to give and spread out. Once you've achieved that spread some PVA glue onto the area you want to cover as rough grass and place the newly teased out piece of liner into the glue. Don't use too much glue or push the liner into the glue too hard. Once the glue has dried you can rough up the fibres a bit more (with a small wire brush, for example) and then lightly paint them with thinned out enamel paints in various shades of greens and browns. One trick is to sprinkle very finely sieved dried soil over the fibres in the fresh PVA glue which covers up excess bits of glue and adds a realistic natural base layer to the vegetation. You build up the rest of your embankment like this with successive clumps of basket liner. Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Thanks Simon. I'll give that a go tomorrow. I assume at some point the fibres need a good old trim - I did a small test piece and the grass ended up about 15 scale feet tall ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hello Paul, Yes it will need trimming once the glue has set; a small pair of nail scissors will do the trick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 MPD getting some more attention this week. Most of the ballasting done and some base layer card on which will go the "concrete" finish layer. Also put some hanging basket liner down to act as grass. I am gradually teasing out and trimming but I'm nervous of leaving a bare patch so taking it slowly - never done this before. First pic 47059 (Heljan) and 33012 (also Heljan) on the fuel island, And 47059 nosing out of the (Bachmann) shed I'm definitely going to need a safety fence alongside the shed - rather too close to the running line for my staff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 One more. Bit of "concrete" laid courtesy of Scalescenes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Couple more pics of progress. Station area is gradually getting better. Still need to do the platform furniture. Hornby VEP, Hornby Brighton Belle (short formation for now!) and Bachmann CEP in shot. The Hornby VEP runs much better now I have replaced the Sapphire chip with a TCS one (though oddly the CEP runs fine with a Sapphire) Road bridge is nearly complete with bus garage (a Kingsway model of my local one) and industrial unit Finally made a start on the embankment around the bridge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Working late shifts on Olympic related stuff means I have had a few spare hours in the mornings so making gradual progress. Yesterday was spent (wasted?) fiddling with some loco decoder settings via Decoder Pro (Question : does a two function decoder mean I should be able to do headlights/tail lights and saloon lights or just headlights/tail lights on/off? If the former then my TCS DP2X certainly wasn't doing it) The previous day I made some more progress on the embankment. I think I still have to tease out the fibres quite a lot more then trim them. Also need to finish off the walls with some capping (and then probably drop some scale size rubbish over the grass). The area in front of the embankment will be a small depot area with some portacabins and the like - either for the staff working on the carriage sidings or maybe a small NR team. For now some miscellaneous cars and vans provide some detail. Also started on the retaining wall at the other end of the station. The two inside corner sections will be removable so that I can clean the track under the raised section and recover any derailments (I haven't had one yet but sods law will prove that as soon as I make some area inaccessible it will suddenly become essential to access). The station building on the overhead section is taped together whilst I work out how I want it to look. What's there now is a Manyways Kit that I saw successfully used in a Model Rail project. I have another kit to extend the length and depth a little bit too. Two Hong Kong buses stand in for the more local models that I will need to dig out of storage at some point. I do envy those people that can seemingly work for hours at a stretch and make huge improvements to their layout in a single session Feedback on progress / questions / comments all welcome - I am clearly not a talented model maker but I hope to end up with something recognisable as a working model railway with some nods to prototype (though I can't face third rail and working signals just yet). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40 058 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 This is great. Looks fantastic to me! Youre scenics look very good too, the basket liner and embankment are looking the part. I feel the same too, I seem to spend hours doing something on my layout but seem to accomplish very little at the end!? still, keep going and it all comes together in the end! Dont be too quick to put yourself down though, your layout is excellent and your progress with it is definatly not from someone with no talent! I thought the same when I put my layout on here but it seems to have gone down fairly well so obviously doing something right!! Keep the updates coming Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Layout looks great David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Thanks for the comments chaps. Another gap in progress but I spent a few hours pottering today. I made a start on the incline to the short upper level section which will end in a small branch line type terminal with a single island platform. I know that the incline is pretty steep but I don't have a lot more room to make it shallower. It has been tested with a loco and a couple of wagons, my MLV and a coach and the Bachmann 4 CEP all of which make it up there (although the Bachmann does struggle a bit). As expected the Hornby VEP gives up the ghost part way. First a quick shot of the incline - needs the first section filled in and levelled. Then a shot back from what will become the terminus Also from a couple of weeks back I completed the grass embankment (or at least, I glued it down). Still needs trimmining, finishing and fencing added. A Heljan 33 passes by (Hmm, clearance on the tunnel roof looks a bit tighter than planned). First time I've ever used the hanging basket liner so whilst it doesn't look that great compared to the experts' layouts it isn't bad for a first attempt. Finally made a start on the station area. Car park with some paving and cars. Needs the white lines added and some parking payment machines (sorry this one is a bit blurry; was a low shutter speed) . Hopefully time for a bit more tomorrow and also the points I have ordered to lay on the upper level will hopefully pop through the letter box. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 A brief opportunity to do a few bits meant I could give a spray coat of grey primer then sleeper grime to the section of track with the new incline (the short section still in grey primer is the last bit of concrete track to be painted). Bachmann 4 CEP tries out the new upper level platform area. A strip of cork stands in for the platform for now. I am briefly entertaining the idea of making this partially a station served by a preserved line but there isn't really enough space to shift a loco and rolling stock off stage (except for the short section in the opposite corner to the station that would only take a loco and a couple of coaches). Whilst not rebuilding sections of the layout I have made a start on a Peco Manyways kit. The main part of the kit (actually 2 kits) will form the station building. You can see a taped together version of this in earlier pics. The remaining sections will make up the office for the carriage sidings. Starter for 10 in the photo below with a mixed heritage of railway vans in the picture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Nice work Paul; your grass looks very good after all! I also like the weathering on the wall capstones with the green mildew/moss effect. Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 Nice work Paul; your grass looks very good after all! I also like the weathering on the wall capstones with the green mildew/moss effect. Cheers Simon Thanks (and thanks for your earlier advice). I can't claim the credit for the moss effect - comes as standard on the Scalescenes walls I used Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 One quick photo update. An addition to the station forecourt area with the installation of a Tesco Metro store courtesy of Kingsway Models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold McC Posted September 29, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 29, 2012 That looks really well ! A great modern addition to the layout, and one seldom seen! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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