Tetleys Mills 3

[lmsforever]

You must have upset the Yorkshire God Earnshaw ,sorry about all your happenings ,hope your bruising is not to painful .I always used to ride a fixed wheel bike in the winter it gave more control on dodgy road surfaces and kept me warm on a cold day,the layout is looking awsome.

[tetleys]

When photographing the layout, just have a portable backscene to put into the shot each time?

 

Better still, a set of bookcases on wheels painted pale blue?

Don't mention 'bookcases', Great Northern has spent hours and hours avoiding his bookcases when photographing but I am a little while from the point of photgraphing actual scenery and trains. I spent a spare hour this morning doing the odd mock up with the track bed already installed with my existing bridges, buildings etc and it is becoming more apparent that the new layout will require a LOT of new buildings so my schedule has just gone out of the window but I'll not compromise the finished product.

 

I'm taking delivery of some more timber tomorrow but unfortunately for the railway, also a load of sand to build a pillar at the front of the drive and I've ordered the name /house number stone from the monumental masons. I'm not normally into naming houses but after all the 'help and support' we received from Grantham Planning Dept and certain neighbours. The house name is to be..... Polished black granite with gold leaf lettering............Wii One... Subtle or what?

[artizen]

A long time ago when I still lived at home, I came home with a piece of art I had made in metalwork class. So my mother made me put a sign into it which read "Nuf Sed" after all the "help" we had received from the neighbours when we constructed the house!

[jukebox]

A reasonably subtle response compared to this one, Dave.

[CUTLER2579]

A reasonably subtle response compare to this one, Dave.

 

Don't you just love that !!!

 

I am inclined to think our Dave is to polite to do that ???

[tetleys]

Timber arrived as promised and I've already employed the table saw in cutting more manageable pieces so I can add a bit more to the baseboards tomorrow afternoon and maybe over the weekend, Friday is a busy day with a visit during the morning from an RMWeb associate and then a trip into Nottinghamshire for some DCC advice and check out progress on Great Northern's train set and I'm sure I'll return home raring to get stuck into Upper Batley.

[tetleys]

Thursday afternoon was spent adding some more track base in 9mm ply, I've had to reduce my lower level reverse loop radius to 26" and generally I have to compromise quite a lot from my original two dimensional paper plans but my previous layouts have always evolved rather than be slavishly true to plans. I have no doubt that it will all end up looking OK but I still have no idea what the station track plans will be,

 

A visit on Friday morning by a friend and RMWeb member produced some DCC kit and an operational manual so I might actually learn something before embarking on wiring the layout.

 

Depending on the weather I'm bricklaying this weekend but I hope to post some progress images shortly.

 

Dave S

[GWRLMSLNER]

Well its raining here this weekend in not so sunny Witham St Hughs so bricklaying is out and you need to press on old friend. Waiting for more pictures to inspire improvements to my village scene.

[Andrew P]

A break from modeling can inspire other ideas, so a bit of brickwork may inspire some more of your marvelous buildings and viaducts. keep the pics coming as even just the woodwork can give others ideas for future projects. All the best Andy.

[tetleys]

I resisted the lure of the cement mixer although Mrs.S. grabbed me by the ear kicking and screaming out to her garden shed to fix some shelving after which I had the day to myself whilst she sorted her various potions and fertilizers for next year's veggie patch.

 

I have started to fix the base for the return loop on the lower level, I cut a 26" radius profile and marked out the route which helps to formulate the other track paths.

 

I now have the whole circuit of the loop marked in felt tip so that helps with all the other track planning, I'm not clever enough to understand Templot let alone apply it so it's down to cutting various radii templates in 6mm ply, drawing in pencil and when satisfied confirming them in felt tip pen.

The site of the 12-13' viaduct and the second station, (I really must go public on this station name soon).

A mock up of what I intend to add to this part of the layout. I will probably cut out the 9mm ply beneath the wider arch to represent a canal basin although my chosen area of the West Riding did not have any canals but as they say in the world of journalism "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story", it will be photogenic and look good so it will probably be included. if i were modelling a prototype I couldn't consider this feature and so it would look bland.

amother shot of the viaduct and a taster of things to come.

The final shot of the day as I sit with a pint of cider (home brew barrel is empty) and plan the next day's work, I can already see the finished article in my mind's eye.

Tomorrow promises sunshine so I really must get bricklaying.

[Andrew P]

Hi Dave, I think the canal is a great idea, I can see it now with a pub alongside and a model of you sitting with your pint of best looking up at the trains passing above you .

[class"66"]

Realy like those bridges!!

[RJS1977]

Wouldn't it have been easier to have laid the tracks on the lower boards before putting the higher ones over the top? (Or are these just "sat" in position?) :-)

[tetleys]

Phew!

 

I couldn't resist the lovely weather and seductive lure of the cement mixer 'dizzy' on Sunday and we've half filled the railway room with furniture awaiting the carpet fitters, after which I'll be back baseboard building.

 

However, in the meantime a good friend very kindly gave me his surplus NCE Powercab DCC controller in readiness for powering up the layout so I thought I'd read up on the instruction book.

 

I now wish during my school days I'd paid less attention to rugby and girls and more attention to allegbra, geometry, pure maths, physics, spoken Lithuanian, and A level gobbledy-######!

 

I was completely lost after page 3 with a further 63 pages on various addresses! I've witnessed Great Northern operating his Peterborough North layout without difficulty so his seven years legal training and a career reading meaningless legal documents hasn't been wasted, I bet he can even operate a VCR!

 

Is it me? I think I'll invite my 7 year old grandson to explain it all to me. Or maybe a trip to Digitrains at Digby and hope they have an interpreter present.

 

Confused (again) of Ancaster

[Jason T]

I found the same with my digitrax; the manual is just bonkers and there is no hope in hell of me ever understanding it all (and I work in IT). However, the basics are easy enough and all you will ever need to be able to operate your layout and provide the flexibility that is the main advantage to DCC. Basically, it's 'Select Loco', 'Go', 'Stop', 'Reverse' and repeat until fade

[Oldddudders]

I'm with Jason. Hopelessly non-technical, but having started with very basic DCC in 1997, the principles soon became second-nature. The clever thing about DCC is that it offers so much more potential, much of which many of us never get round to tapping, because we are simply satisfied with the basics as Jason lists them. But if you want to go on to more sophisticated stuff - you probably already have the capability in the kit you own.

 

I recommend a simple length of track on a board, plug in the NCE and see what you can achieve.

[Andrew P]

If you get a chance Dave try a Gaugemaster Prodigy, I find them so quick and easy to understand, all the basic instructions are on the back of the hand set, thats how easy they are. I was on the phone to Bachmann this morning as I had a jerly 3f and the lady asked if I could change 2 CV which was just a case of pressing the Program button twice and then the enter button, scolled through to CV, entered 54 and then data 10, job done. It is also 5 amp so will cope with lots of trains running with sound without having to upgrade.

 

I DO NOT WORK FOR GAUGEMASTER, just a very happy customer, When I had Deesdale Road at shows we had 3 hand sets pluged in so 3 opperatrs on one small layout.

 

All the best Andy.

[tetleys]

Thanks for the support guys, I know it all works because I've witnessed it in use and been convinced by Gilbert's Peterborough North layout and he uses the same equipment plus he uses macro to operate his points which want to do as well, but I thought I'd mention the user's manual to explain the rope burns round my neck!

 

Heartened of Ancaster.

[great northern]

As you say Dave, If I can get it to work, anyone can! I've actually been looking for some web sites that I could recommend to you to help with wiring etc, but I had a feeling that they might cause you to lose heart, so I left it alone for now. There is a great deal that you don't need to know, but the basics are easy really. I'll see if I can find some of the most useful stuff and scan it over to you to save you wading through page after page of stuff that is only going to confuse and demoralise you. I know it would, because that is what it did to me.

[tetleys]

As you say Dave, If I can get it to work, anyone can! I've actually been looking for some web sites that I could recommend to you to help with wiring etc, but I had a feeling that they might cause you to lose heart, so I left it alone for now. There is a great deal that you don't need to know, but the basics are easy really. I'll see if I can find some of the most useful stuff and scan it over to you to save you wading through page after page of stuff that is only going to confuse and demoralise you. I know it would, because that is what it did to me.

 

Gilbert,

 

I've prepared an up to date track plan and I'll try and make my way across to Digitrax at Digby for some initial advice on the first stages of wiring before I start laying track sans turnouts. It's pouring with rain so "I'm going upstairs and I may be a little while" the layout room becons. I received a note from those very nice people at Customs and Excise, they've processed my VAT claim in less than two weeks rather than the six week target set by Government so I'll soon be in a better position to purchase DCC bits, now I need to get EBaying.

 

By the end of today I hope to be posting some progress images.

 

Dave

[chris p bacon]

I have to give a thumbs up for Digitrains, I had a day out a couple of years ago and called in to try out the various systems they had and after loads of helpful info from them chose the NCE Powerpro plus.

They'll explain it clearly for you with as much help as you require.

 

I'm glad I went DCC, as a lone operator it makes it really easy, you won't regret it.

[Brian D]

Dear Tetleys,

I've not been on here for a while so I have just caught up with your news. Sorry to hear that you fell off your bike - you joined some fantastic company in Wiggins, Cavendish et al though. It goes without saying that you have my commiserations and I hope you are fully recovered. It seems that the accident hasn't affected your modelling skills though - keep up the great work.

Regards,

Brian.

[tetleys]

Wouldn't it have been easier to have laid the tracks on the lower boards before putting the higher ones over the top? (Or are these just "sat" in position?) :-)

RJS1977

Sorry for the delay in replying. You are absolutely right and although it appears that there are sheets of ply above the lower level they have not yet been fixed and are only sitting there for storage. I will lay all the lower storage including point motors etc before fixing the boards for the upper storage.

 

I would also normally use an open grid arrangement and only use 9mm ply for the track bed but since the layout will not need to be portable so once built there will be no flexing issues I have used 75mm deep side and cross rails and kept the cross rails to a minimum so a full covering of 9mm ply virtually everywhere will give the strength sacrificed elsewhere. I also have not yet decided on actual track formations in the stations, the second station and low level line has to fit beneath my lengthy viaduct which will take presidence, another bonus of less cross bracing is that I should have less difficulty in locating under-board point motors.

 

 

Dave S

[tetleys]

I've managed a few more hours on the baseboards and I can now begin to visualise the scenic side of the layout, at Upper Batley station area I mocked up the back drop to the lower station using the cast plaster retaining walls described in an earlier post, these are early efforts using the remnants of a bag of very hard plaster and I expect later versions will have a sharper reproduction. When I use these castings I will fettle them and add any missing detail and blend them all together, you can see my original made from ply and faced in Slaters 7mm stone but plasticard is an expensive item these days especially in the quantity that I shall need so casting is the answer and it takes paint better.

 

 

This is the first airing of my new Hornby Gresley none corridor coaches and I'm awaiting new production of the over popular brake third to complete my rake.

 

 

These coaches are superb and I'll be buying Hornby's Thompson coaches when they become available. I know there will be some that complain about the relative high cost but believe me they are an absolute bargain, I've built a rake from brass kits and apart from the work involved the finished article isn't anywhere near as convincing as Hornby's RTR AND they cost a lot more than Hornby are asking.

The original retaining wall has two butress's but when I made the mould I excluded one to make it easier to link them together, they have fibre glass plaster scrim mesh incorporated to give more strength but they end up being quite heavy and I'm not sure I could recommend this method for portable layouts.

 

Now that I have the ply boards in place including the link from the station area and the curved approach board I can play with track layouts. I have browsed my railway books and the lesser Great Northern stations were not over complicated having only rudimentry goods facilities so I have mocked up an island platform with a run round loop but I need to decide what facilities are required before I lay out the sidings. I'm toying with having visible pointwork professionally made so I need to be economical and not just fill vacant space with loads of sidings, in fact that's probably the approach by The Great Northern Railway bean counters.

 

So that is today's work, tomorrow I really must get my head into gear and start Ebaying, now I can begin to visualise the new layout I am realising I should have a change of scenery including the majority of the buildings and structures I've been looking at for the passed 15 years. All extra work but I know second best just will not give long term satisfaction.

[tetleys]

OK, a lovely sunny day but I resisted the lure of the south facing railway room and knuckled down to some long over due admin, I resumed my activity on Ebay and am offering several Bachmann locos that are difficult to convert to DCC or are no longer needed on the new layout. I know I'll not get what they cost but I cannot see the point in owning loads of locos if they are not going to be in regular use. Good God, people will tarnish me with the dreaded 'Collector' label!

 

When I locate the rest of my locos and buildings hidden amongst a mountain of boxes in the spare bedroom I'll be back on Ebay it isn't difficult but like many 'non sexy' jobs it's getting motivated.

 

I'd better buy some brown wrapping paper for posting.

 

Del Boy of Ancaster