Nether Madder and Green Soudley Rly

[Martin S-C]

I hate to sound like all these great ideas are bouncing off my stubborn hide, but I do very much like my existing plan and would really hate to have to significantly change it. In my mind many trains have already run on it and it feels already built, so to speak. I have a very limited headroom in the conversion as well so multi-levels probably would not be that successful, I think it would begin to get a little claustrophobic in there. I've never visited one of these USA style constructions on multi-levels but having seen fiddle yards below termini on British layouts I find the whole set up awkward and even a bit dark and gloomy. I suppose good under-board lighting on the higher levels will fix that but I still get the impression it would be like peering at the lower level of your layout through a kind of giant letterbox opening. I probably just need to experience a couple of good examples of the multi-level idea to have my views changed but every photo I see of them is taken in a huge American basement with ample aisle room and headroom which I just don't have. I just feel that in such a narrow room as I have it would begin to look like a set of bookshelves.

I suppose you could have a series of helices at each narrow end of the room, with the scenic boards stacked one atop the other along one long wall (the "south" wall in my case) and then you'd enter the room via the existing (NW) door and have quite a lot of unused floor space for storage, workbench and even a comfy chair or two. I still just find it a big mental leap to see myself enjoying a layout that is not "all one scene in and of itself" and where I'd have to sit down to play at the lowest level and stand on a small stool to play with trains on the top level.

 

Bear in mind too, that my design has inspiration in British modelling from the 1930s to the 1960s and bringing to bear more modern solutions to the problem somehow does not feel like I'm being honest to my chosen source of inspiration. P D Hancock had only a smallish bedroom to build his layout but he never contemplated multi-levels as far as I'm aware. A multi-level Madder Valley Railway seems positively alien.

[Martin S-C]

Going OT, wouldn't that CJF original make a cracking layout in O (28' x 14') given the small locos and stock available in that scale?

I agree. A lot of 4mm layouts would just be better in 0, period; its such a great scale where trains have that much more mass and presence and you can really appreciate a quality painting job on a loco or coach. But the "small empire" concept with trains of 2 or 3 4-wheel coaches and freights of 6 wagons hauled by industrial tank engines pottering between hedges and around curves to nowhere in particular would have a lot of charm in the bigger scale.

 

CJF was a skilled draughtsman (some of his loco drawings are beautiful) and he was a prolific planner but some of his work looks a good deal like other bits of it rehashed and he did have a fondness for main line passenger workings and roundy-roundy or outy-and-backy designs neither of which particularly appeal to me. I'm very much an end-to-end type of guy, where trains must go somewhere, do something meaningful while they are there and come back. I am not sure I would even be happy for long with a terminus-fiddle yard arrangement.

[Stubby47]

I love the concept of your layout, and (I might have said before) fully agree with the "trains are going somewhere to do something" premise.  Your plan looks great, in the restricted space you have, looking forwards to seeing this develop.

[lezz01]

A little bit of ######-pile on the underside of the board and it's edges might help! (Just testing the limits of the censor) 

 

Edit.... it's an anagram of "gash"  !   Yep.. a gash bit of carpet fills the bill OK too.

As it happens I do have a bit of gash carpet knocking around taking up space. Now why didn't I think of that.

Regards Lez.

[Martin S-C]

I've seen the grey plastic/foam cladding to put around water pipes used as bonce-protectors on a couple of duck-under designs. Available from B&Q, Wickes or any similar DIY outlet.

 

You slit the foam down one side, uncurl it a little, slice out a 90deg chunk and "wrap" the other 270deg of open tube around the lower edge/corner of baseboard people will be going under. Add quantities of duct tape to hold in place as desired.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Martin S-C

[ianathompson]

Having inadvertently started this mini debate about layout designs I appreciate your point of view Martin.

 

If you, or anyone else, are thinking about double deck construction I have an essay on my website.

 

It is available at https://myafk.net/double-deck-construction

 

Hope you find something of interest if you choose to follow the link.

 

Ian T

Edited November 2, 2018 by ianathompson

[Annie]

I agree. A lot of 4mm layouts would just be better in 0, period; its such a great scale where trains have that much more mass and presence and you can really appreciate a quality painting job on a loco or coach. But the "small empire" concept with trains of 2 or 3 4-wheel coaches and freights of 6 wagons hauled by industrial tank engines pottering between hedges and around curves to nowhere in particular would have a lot of charm in the bigger scale.

 

CJF was a skilled draughtsman (some of his loco drawings are beautiful) and he was a prolific planner but some of his work looks a good deal like other bits of it rehashed and he did have a fondness for main line passenger workings and roundy-roundy or outy-and-backy designs neither of which particularly appeal to me. I'm very much an end-to-end type of guy, where trains must go somewhere, do something meaningful while they are there and come back. I am not sure I would even be happy for long with a terminus-fiddle yard arrangement.

I agree, even with the digital layouts I'm now building I do do this.  Trains must originate from somewhere, go somewhere else with a purpose and come back again also with a purpose.  I'm not especially keep on mainline railways.  The closest I get are backwater secondary routes out in the rural countryside where aging 2-4-0s and 4-4-0s are the largest engines on the line; -  and again 'roundy-roundy' and 'out and back' options are very much avoided.

[Martin S-C]

Day 12 of the actual work getting done. I've suffered another complete week with no-one turning up as the company is committed to other jobs - though when they are here I cannot fault the quality of their work at all. An additional problem has been sourcing an aluminium ridge piece for the 4 feet of extended roof. Such a shape (a very flat pitch) is no longer made as a standard fitting so the builders had to order a custom piece. Today two lads turned up and so the roof is finally and completely finished. A start was made on fitting the cosmetic beading around the holes cut to accept the light fittings and the reveal around one window was all neatly prettied up. A piece of plastic fascia has been added to the long side of the garage that faces into the garden, hiding the rather cruddy old (but sound) timber soffit that runs under that eave. This matches the white UPVC used elsewhere on the building. Such a small item really helps the overall look.

On Monday the second window and door reveals are to be completed and the rest of the light beading, plus the air-con/heating unit will have its input/exhaust hole cut in the wall and a condensate outlet cut as well.

 

And then...

 

FINISHED!

Will then scoot down to the DIY store and grab a few litres of white emulsion and a new roller and paint tray.

After slapping some paint around, probably by next weekend, my brain will switch fully into baseboard mode.

 

[Northroader]

Considering what you started off with, that’s a great improvement. Enjoy!

[chuffinghell]

Very nice job! I have to confess to being a little envious of the space you have

 

Im certainly looking forward to future posts as your layout takes shape

[lezz01]

It's looking fabulous Martin. I wish I had an outbuilding to play with. The bedroom I have is only 10x7.5 foot. I've had to knock a hole in the wall over the stairs and nick a bit of the upstairs landing. It's one of the reasons the layout is so high off the floor.

Regards Lez.

[Martin S-C]

This was what it looked like on 26th September.

[Annie]

Wow! - what a transformation Martin.

[Martin S-C]

I'm going for a trio of loco department coal wagons for the layout. The bogie 25 tonner already finished plus an ex-GW steel 10-tonner with wooden floor and an all-steel ex-GW 20 tonner. The 10T and 20T wagons were super-cheapie e-Bay buys. I think the pair cost me less than six quid. The 10T was only partly built while the 20T was built but had been bashed about a fair bit. I also had to rip out a glued-in load hence all the horrible lumps and bumps inside it. I will give the interior of this one a heavy rust treatment and see if I can make it look very beaten up with some 3D paint effects. It was a bit of a pain to work on as I think its a very old kit as the plastic is extremely brittle. It was also fully painted hence the brownish dirt areas already on it. I only repainted the damaged bits and the areas where I had to scrape the previous lettering off.

 

Yesterday I began work on some removable loads for them and today I got the other pair painted and added the transfers. I have run out of "N"s "M"s and "G"s now so will be editing these letters with my smallest brush and some well diluted white paint. I have to use "H"s and "C"s. I had to do the "N" and "G" on the bogie wagon and they came out okay unless you peer closely.

 

Didn't notice until after I took the pic that the bogie wagon wasn't standing on the bit of track correctly.

 

 

[lezz01]

You are right about the number font looking better than the italic one Martin.

Regards Lez.

[tebee]

You know, reading this is tempting me again. When I get home next week I'm going to root out what I have left of the things I bought when I was going to build a light railway system. Sold quite a bit off a few years ago as I was trying to model on to many scales and gauges, but I think I've still got a fair bit left . Certainly enough to make a small point to point layout.

 

One thing I need to decide though - I originally started my light railway project 30 or 40 years ago using relatively course scale stock(original Triang/Hornby), but later bought a lot of kit built stuff with fine scale wheels. One problem I had was getting these two lots to work happily together .

 

So do I just throw together a quick layout using the older course scale stuff, which would be easy and fun to operate, ot do I rewheel all the older stuff I want to keep and work to more  modern standards ? Or can I work out some sort of compromise .....

[Martin S-C]

I agree you really can't mix them, although both may well run on PECO code 100, you still have the disparity in build/mould/detail quality. I sold all my 70s and 80s stock some years ago when I decided to have a foray into garden G scale so now returning to 00 I have the luxury (I suppose you'd say) of starting from nothing, so all my stock now is of fairly consistently modern standards. A few second hand things I am buying are from the 90s but it truly is amazing how good the Airfix stuff was when it first came out. They had NEM pocket couplers of the same standards that Bachmann are making today and this was over 20 years ago.

 

If you are seeking opinions I would suggest keeping your coarse scale toys for the sake of nostalgia and building a new layout to more modern standards. You will find the end appearance more satisfying I am sure, as well as the running qualities. Old Tri-Ang really looks at its best going round and round on that awesome grey plastic ballasted track they made in the 50s.

[Martin S-C]

Attended the Spalding show today with my daughter who, being an engineer, is really getting into model railways via my enthusiasm. Two layouts really caught my eye. A very pretty little M&GN BLT supposedly set on the north Norfolk coast, called Trowland to S scale:

 

 

And an O gauge BR (WR) steam loco depot layout of magnificent proportions that was set at the end of steam/early diesel era. While I am usually left cold by pure loco=depot layouts this one oozed great character and included so many fascinating and well observed cameos.

[Martin S-C]

Don't you hate it when you set out to do what looks like a small simple job and it then turns into something much bigger and less achievable. I bought this standard Bachmann SR covered van off the talented Dave Clarke at Lineside and Locos weathering because he'd done such a nice job on it. I then needed to back date it to pre-grouping and found the relevant vehicle in Bixley et al "An Illustrated History of Southern Wagons Volume Three: SECR".

 

 

At first I just concentrated on removing the SR lettering, applying the SECR branding and making good with some dry-brushed weathered planks over where the scraped off "S R" had been.

 

 

Then I noticed the rain strip over the doors. No matter, I can add that with some plastic rod suitably curved by hand and rubbed down with wet and dry. Then I saw that the door lock bolt was mounted on the left door while the model has it on the right. Drat. Then I saw that the real wagon carried only a single end vent centrally and the model has a pair of vents.

 

 

Have I even got the correct van here? Any SECR / SR goods stock experts out there?

[Denbridge]

Don't you hate it when you set out to do what looks like a small simple job and it then turns into something much bigger and less achievable. I bought this standard Bachmann SR covered van off the talented Dave Clarke at Lineside and Locos weathering because he'd done such a nice job on it. I then needed to back date it to pre-grouping and found the relevant vehicle in Bixley et al "An Illustrated History of Southern Wagons Volume Three: SECR".

 

Image5.jpg

 

At first I just concentrated on removing the SR lettering, applying the SECR branding and making good with some dry-brushed weathered planks over where the scraped off "S R" had been.

 

Dsc02357.jpg

 

Then I noticed the rain strip over the doors. No matter, I can add that with some plastic rod suitably curved by hand and rubbed down with wet and dry. Then I saw that the door lock bolt was mounted on the left door while the model has it on the right. Drat. Then I saw that the real wagon carried only a single end vent centrally and the model has a pair of vents.

 

Dsc02360.jpg

 

Have I even got the correct van here? Any SECR / SR goods stock experts out there?

Its a different diagram. The prototype in your pic also features a drop down flap below the main doors.

[Martin S-C]

Is the Bachmann model an SR build that was similar to the earlier SECR diagram? I'm not good with the SR and its constituents.

[Nearholmer]

I’ve not got the SECR volume, so find that wagon novel and interesting! The door arrangement is very unusual and hints at careful thought about unloading by sack-barrow.

 

The mere were multiple SR variants on the theme of this wagon, plus some built to the design by other companies at times of acute shortage.

 

Does the SECR book contain any other variants?

[sem34090]

I have done a very basic bash of one of these into the SECR version - But then I only changed the vent arrangement. I'd leave the door alone, add the rainstrip and move the vent. If someone's looking closely enough at your layout to notice a door catch being wrong then they're liable to have their noses run over!!!

[RedGemAlchemist]

Attended the Spalding show today with my daughter who, being an engineer, is really getting into model railways via my enthusiasm. Two layouts really caught my eye. A very pretty little M&GN BLT supposedly set on the north Norfolk coast, called Trowland to S scale:

 

Dsc02316.jpg Dsc02317.jpg Dsc02318.jpg Dsc02319.jpg Dsc02320.jpg Dsc02321.jpg Dsc02322.jpg Dsc02323.jpg Dsc02324.jpg Dsc02325.jpg Dsc02326.jpg Dsc02327.jpg Dsc02328.jpg Dsc02329.jpg

 

And an O gauge BR (WR) steam loco depot layout of magnificent proportions that was set at the end of steam/early diesel era. While I am usually left cold by pure loco=depot layouts this one oozed great character and included so many fascinating and well observed cameos.

 

Dsc02302.jpg Dsc02303.jpg Dsc02304.jpg Dsc02305.jpg Dsc02306.jpg Dsc02307.jpg Dsc02308.jpg Dsc02309.jpg Dsc02310.jpg Dsc02311.jpg Dsc02312.jpg

Did somebody say Norfolk?

[Martin S-C]

Does the SECR book contain any other variants?

No, all the SECR built vans to what became SR Diag. 1426 had the small drop doors at the bottom, a left-side door lock bolt and a single vent. I must assume the Bachmann model is of a later SR build to a similar but different diagram, so not suitable to be backdated to pre-grouping (except, of course, on my layout)...