RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 14, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 14, 2015 Ben Like the "urban art work" Perhaps we should have a model mayor and a model BBC reporter for an official unveiling! Nick Hmm.... I wonder which reporter should be modelled That new tram stop looks excellent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 15, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2015 Did you fix the signal number plaques Ben? Ha - yes! We no longer have one on its side and one upside down! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 20, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hello all, An enjoyable day at the Ely show last weekened was slightly tempered by some electrical problems which impacted on running of the layout. We eventually realised that the mysterious and intermittent faults were caused by track expanding in an unexpectedly warm hall. A couple of photos I snapped during the afternoon - apologies as ever for the quality... Here a Centro Class 150 DMU pulls away from the station. Eagle eyed viewers may spot in the top right that the bus has just crashed into the pavement beside the sculpture. We had some problems with the magnets on the bus "losing" the wire guide below the road surface; the gap is quite important - too close and the magnet attaches and the bus cannot move; too far and it drifts off course. I will raise the wire fractionally in time for the next show, and also realign it to ensure longer vehicles (in particular some of Paul's converted coaches) can make the turn... Here Paul (OnlyMe) and Maurits (Maurits71) are modelling our new and stylish "Horseley Fields" polo shirts. This view shows the (lack of) progress on the scenics of the new board, though we have got the tram and buses working along the rear. The backboard was repainted blue, and as can be seen in the other photos I decided to repaint the remaining backboards to match; this gets rid of the painted sky which John and I did together when we first built the layout but which, TBH, I was never really happy with. I was largely inspired to go "plain blue" by the backscene on Ian (Roundhouse)'s Banbury, which I feel looks more effective because it complements, rather than dominates, the action in the foreground. Others may disagree! Another shot of Paul with group member Nigel, showing more of the backscene. Nigel's shirt is model's own... Finally a general shot of a DBS coal train passing the steel terminal. As part of the layout's extension some scenic refreshments have been added to this area, mainly a little more foliage between the houses and the tracks, and along the back of the steel yard. The new board is now back at my place, and I have made a start on the ballasting: My usual method is to run ballast down the centre of the rails, then dribble scenic cement from a pipette along the side, allowing it to wick below the track and into the ballast. Once that is thoroughly dry I repeat along the outside of the rails, but this time drizzling the glue onto the centre, so it spreads out to the sides. The aim is to avoid dropping liquid onto the ballast and creating holes or runs. I ran cyano along the bottom of the Scalescenes retaining wall, but glue has still seeped in and discoloured the lower section green. I should perhaps have sealed it using Johnson's Klear as per my original plan. Luckily it looks like algae growth, which is plausible because the wall is north facing in our imaginary world... and it can also be camouflaged with more shrubbery if I feel it necessary later... Still plenty to do but we are getting there. Our next outing is at Beaconsfield on July 4th, by which time the new board should be well on the way to completion. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only-Me Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Nice pictures Ben, i need a hair cut!! Ill add it to my list of things to do this week Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ben As far as the photo shows the green on the retaining wall looks like a real wall that has got damp and has moss growing on it so IMHO it looks fine. However if you are not happy with it try dry brushing enamel paint or even weathering powders on it to reduce the green appearance. A warm hall not only affects the layout but also leads to operator fatigue. We carry a couple of clip on fans that can be situated next to the operating positions. The extension is really taking shape nicely now. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 23, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hello all, New signal has arrived to control the crossover on the new board, courtesy of CR Signals. 3-aspect head with position 4 route indicator for the branch, 4 aspect to protect the crossover on the adjacent mainline. Will go at the end of the platform. Now to get it fitted and then wired in and working... Over to you , Paul! Cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only-Me Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Morning! That does look very good Ben!! I see CR came through really quickly then! If you drill a hole in the board and fit it where you want and push the wires thrrough the board, then Maurits and myself will fit all the related parts when we meet up? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 23, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi Paul, Yes, I will get it fitted. Ballasting is almost done... next is ground cover...! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 23, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hello all, As ever very poor quality photography but a quick snap showing the state of the ballasting. Still needs tidying and a little cleaning up, but getting there. The ballast is Green Scene Light Grey (G408) which I had left over from ballasting the original boards and I have always been very happy with the colour, which, while predominantly grey, has tones of red, brown and much darker grey in it too... The new signal is destined to fit at the end of the platform this side of the crossover it controls. Apologies for the detritus in shot - I am sometimes a bit of a messy worker! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Ben That's coming slong very nicely. You are giving me urges to extend Banbury despite it won't fit at home or in the car!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 23, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi Ian, Ha - go on, you know you want to! Hypothetically, which end would be better to extend? cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBE Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Those CR signals look great Im still tempted to 'resignal' Millers Dale with those rather than my planned semiphores. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi Ian, Ha - go on, you know you want to! Hypothetically, which end would be better to extend? cheers Ben A. The South end but the North end would mean being able to add the North box which I would love to model.need a bigger vehicle to fit it and Us (stupid iPad won't let me type 'us' as it changes it to U.S.) operators in though. Add to that the extra time to set up dismantle and all the extra stock to put on the tracks!! One day maybe. I do look forward to seeing the extended Horsley Fields in the flesh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDBLUE17 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi Ben, The extension is coming along nicely and looks very good. Seeing this and Banbury makes me want to model in N again as the quality is so good now. All the best Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted May 23, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi Ian I think the amount of time it now takes us to load the fiddle yard took us by surprise on the first outing...! Apart from allowing you to model the attractive signal box and extra fiddle yard space, are there any other operational reasons for extending Banbury? Our extension allows us to "complete" the station and add a crossover to allow us to hold freights in the loop, as well as shunt the steel terminal. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrysoham Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Morning! That does look very good Ben!! I see CR came through really quickly then! If you drill a hole in the board and fit it where you want and push the wires thrrough the board, then Maurits and myself will fit all the related parts when we meet up?Based on my experience on Neely, you need to ensure those very thin wires are protected from being accidentally pulled out of the signals posts. I soldered 7/.2 equipment wire to mine to get the electrics to the MERG control unit and put the thinner wires in some heat shrink. Only time will tell if this is enough. If you guys come up with another idea please put it on here.Terry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only-Me Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 When i fit these, i use a glue gun after wiring them up and go over the top of the thin wires sealing them to the under side of the board...stops movement and carelessness...Luckily i am able to solder this type of wire relatively easily and make the cr kits from scratch so if an issue occurs it can be fixed relatively easily Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 24, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hi Ian I think the amount of time it now takes us to load the fiddle yard took us by surprise on the first outing...! Apart from allowing you to model the attractive signal box and extra fiddle yard space, are there any other operational reasons for extending Banbury? Our extension allows us to "complete" the station and add a crossover to allow us to hold freights in the loop, as well as shunt the steel terminal. cheers Ben A. If the extension was long enough then we could have the loops to the north hut the only advantage would be more room in the fiddleyard but as you say it would take longer to set up etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted June 2, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hello all, Just a couple of photos to show some scenic progress, but frankly not as much as I'd have liked as I have been working away a bit recently. The products used are a combination of Woodlands Scenics light green underbrush and clump foliage, with seamoss covered in light green coarse turf. Also used are various Auhagen or Greenscene static grass mixes and 4D modelshop texture mats. As the cover moves up towards the cycle track that now covers the former track bed on the overbridge some taller shrubs will be added to disguise the border between the foreground and the backscene. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted June 8, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hello all, A little more progress this weekend. The bushes and trees on the far side are being built up, as is the ground cover around the cycle track that now runs along the disused railway line... It's getting to the point where we need to start working on the buildings.... Cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only-Me Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Looking very smart! You have one building to fit though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pix Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hi Ben Nicely done, looking forward to the buildings. Jez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted June 8, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2015 I think it could pass as finished looking at that photo!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted June 8, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hi Ian Thanks - the additional work I want to do is just to break up the full length of the "hard horizon" between the scenic section and the backscene with bushes,and add a little exta height and thickness to the foliage around the cycle path! cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I actually really like the first photo (pre-foliage) - it looks like land cleared after demolition, or ready for a new structure, which is quite often seen alongside the railway.Don't get me wrong though - the greenery is looking superb! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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