Millers Dale in the 80s - BR Peak Line in N

[Andrew P]

Cav, what wood will you use? thin Ply perhaps? or will you be brave and try Foam Board?

 

I wish I had stared with a fresh LIGHTWEIGHT board as that was one reason for going N Gauge, but I had a board donated and so I used that.

 

Andy

[RBE]

As the layout will be quite big with a very deep valley Im going to go with ply. It will end up heavier than Outon Road was but needs to be more sturdy due to the topography of the site. I dont want any twist on the viaduct boards or it may well end in tears.

 

Cav

[Andrew P]

As the layout will be quite big with a very deep valley Im going to go with ply. It will end up heavier than Outon Road was but needs to be more sturdy due to the topography of the site. I dont want any twist on the viaduct boards or it may well end in tears.

 

Cav

Good thinking and real forward planning.

 

I must try that some day, hhahaaa

 

Andy

[RBE]

There are times when ploughing ahead with no fore thought and letting the juices flow is the best course of action, some of the best work is done that way. However not in this case. With the cost and intricacy of those two viaducts, both being about 200mm off the baseboard below and about 700mm long I don't want to chance the boards flexing when they are being carried and wrecking the bridge decks.

 

Ok opinions please, with a start imminent I'm turning my thoughts to track. The question I have is should I pursue my original idea of using easitrac and handbuilt points for the scenic section with peco in the hiden sections and fiddle yard or would it be too much of a shame to use Peco code 55 instead?

 

Cav

Edited May 9, 2013 by RBE

[Hugh Flynn]

Hi Cav

Its up to you ,but for me I would use Peco and move project on when you take it out to shows you will only

end up with a few people asking if it is hand built or Peco.

Knowing how you model and ballast your track it will look good?

 

You didnt go down p4 route and your layout was a hit at exhibitions with a lot of modellers. 

 

Good luck

 

Hugh

[eldavo]

No surprises but for me the Peco 55 doesn't cut the mustard however you ballast it. The finer code 40 rail section looks so much better. Why compromise unless you are in a rush.

 

Cheers

Dave

[Andrew P]

Hi Cav, I feel that with your other details that you will put on the layout very few people will notice that the track is Standard Peco 55 and also remember it is only for about 10 to 12 days a year i.e 5 or 6 shows, that other people will see it.

Use 55  and you can get on and get that laid and concentrate on the scenics which I know is your first love.

 

Andy

[Armchair Modeller]

Are you thinking of using concrete or wooden sleepers? Concrete sleepers on the main line and wooden on the sidings would look nice.

 

For concrete on plain track, I would be OK with Peco. It is not too bad and can be helped by a bit of deep ballasting. For wooden sleepers, there is no contest for me - Finetrax. 

 

For pointwork, a lot depends on how you have planned the layout. Real FB pointwork should generally look longer than anything PECO produce, so I would personally scratchbuild. If you are using shorter points to fit everything in, you might as well use Peco, but disguise the "concrete" ones with a few cosmetic touches. The Finetrax points should be available sometime for bullhead.

 

The difference between code 55 and code 40 would be almost prototypical, when you see real bullhead next to modern FB rail.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Armchair Modeller

[richierich]

Have you bought an Easitrac sample? I picked one up at York MRS, but yet to assemble it!

 

On Nigel Burkin's Dudley Heath layout he's used Peco Code 55 and I think it looks good, its the ballasting that is important. That said Waton uses code 40 and looks great. I imagine construction will be much slower with code 40. Also do you use a 9mm gauge for S&C, assuming your going to run stock with RP25 wheel profiles (as supplied) rather than fit finescale wheelsets? 

 

Was just thinking on your main line you may well still have sections on wood sleepers. Where renewals have taken place you can see a ballast ramp (variation in colour). On the York - Scarborough I believe there is still some LNER plain line dating from the 1930s. Even wood sleepers during renewals may only be changed on a ratio of 1 in 3, so plenty to think about for your P-way, especially if this is a secondary route in cash strapped 1980s BR times . . . .

Edited May 10, 2013 by richierich

[RBE]

Thanks for the suggestions chaps. I have no issue making the track. I did so on Outon Road and still kept OO standards to allow rtr stock to run. I would be doing the same in N. The issues I have are robustness and the interface between the fine code 40 stuff and the peco that I intend to use for the hidden curves and fiddle yards. Im thinking it will be more reliable to use peco throughout but the look of the code 40 would be better. How much better will dictate the need to do it I suppose. As Andy has said I dont really want to be tied up building track when I can be doing structures and scenics. I will be doing concrete for the main lines and loop with wooden sleepers in the yard and platform 3.

 

Cav

[Crisis Rail]

Yes good news on the job front for you Cavan - excellent.

 

Been out of the loop somewhat  -  so crack on with MD to kickstart some much needed inspiration up here.

 

All looking good also with Mason firing up a new project 

 

Ian

[branchie]

Peco track for me Cav ....... Lets you get on wih the exciting things!

[coachmann]

When it comes to track I find 'looks' are often marginal and deceptive. Initially I laid the whole of my layout with Peco Code 75 and even some in code 100 ready for mating to the Code 100 outside the shed and it looked okay when ballasted. But when I took photos my track didn't measure up to photos of track on other folks RMweb layouts. In otherwords, what the eye accepts and what the camera sees are two different things. I found this with canopy supports that looked perfectly upright to the eye but were clearly not on photos!

 

Only you know how long it will take to handbuild your own track. It's your shout but as you are seeking opinions then it seems to me Peco is convenient on so many fronts.

[Revolution Mike]

Ok opinions please, with a start imminent I'm turning my thoughts to track. The question I have is should I pursue my original idea of using easitrac and handbuilt points for the scenic section with peco in the hiden sections and fiddle yard or would it be too much of a shame to use Peco code 55 instead?

 

Stick with your original idea of Easitrac + 9mm points is my view. It would be a shame to compromise the track when easy alternatives to Peco exist that look so much better.

 

Sleeper spacing alone makes it worthwhile, before even talking about differences between FB and BH rail.

 

Cheers, Mike

[DanielB]

I'd go with Peco Code 55 personally, but then I've never actually hand built any track before.

 

I suppose it boils down to the fact that you have waited this long to start the layout, and whether or not you wish to wait even longer if you are building your own track.

 

On a different note - hopefully this website I found today might help you out in terms of freight stock:

 

http://paul3715.tripod.com/

[RBE]

I have no issue building track. I did it on Outon Road and it was very straight forward. Im still very much thinking easitrac concrete for the mains with handbuilt points and probably fiNetrax for the yard and platform 3. Would be easier with peco 55 but is easier better? As for the link Dan thats great. There is some cracking info on wagons of the area there.

 

Cav

[Orinoco]

Personal experience with track is that it takes far less time to handbuild than almost anything else - unless, of course, you are building a very complex layout with lots of points. Easitrac and Finetrax plain track are very quick and simple to assemble - hardly worth worrying about how little extra time it takes.

[bigdaveadams1]

OO or N mate?

 

Ok so a bit of a dig out if anyone can help. I bought these wagons as they are spanking new and got em for a steal. 10 wagon rake of VTG telescopic hoods. Around plenty of years before the layouts timescale so runnable no worries. What I need is someone to make up suggest a possible working for a rake of these through Millers Dale in 1987. I like them way too much not to use so thinking caps on please chaps!

 

Dapol vtg.jpg

 

Cav

 

Hi Cav,

 

With these wagons being international I'd suggest maybe an Ebange (Thionville in France) to Shotton working. It would have travelled on the Dover Train Ferry. It would have been a 56 or 47. It would have required banking up through Peak Forest for sure!

 

It's looking great, love the peak district.

 

Dave

[richierich]

I know where you coming from because Peco code 55 S&C does look a little chunky depending on the viewing angle. An advantage of handbuilt code 40 is being able to use prototypical geometry if you wish.

[RBE]

I think Im pretty much sold on the code 40 again now rather than peco. Took the chance to look at some peco on a couple of layouts at the weekend and it reinforced my dislike of the nasty pointblades more than anything else. Fine for the fiddles but Im going easitrac and handbuilt for the visual stuff.

 

Cav

[RBE]

Ok exciting news for me if not for you guys but Im off to pick up the wood for the baseboards tomorrow whoo.

 

Cav

[sdw7300]

Ok exciting news for me if not for you guys but Im off to pick up the wood for the baseboards tomorrow whoo.

Cav

That must be a record - 19 pages of a layout thread without before the first baseboard is cut! I bet you're itching to get going. (We are!) looking forward to seeing the construction commence.

 

Cheers

 

Sam

[RBE]

Very much itching to go. I've pretty much had the construction of the whole layout swimming around my head for the last 2 months. At last Im getting going.

 

Cav

[Andrew P]

Hi Cav, remember   measure TWICE and cut ONCE.

 

I am looking forward to seeing the wood from the trees, hahhaa

 

Bodgit

[RBE]

Well Andy Im getting the timber yard to cut the wood for me so its mostly glue and screw so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully wont be long til the trees are going in!

 

Cav