kintbury jon Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Oh my god, what have I bought?!Whilst happy with my roundy roundy layout in the loft, I have had a desire to have French layout. Have been looking at ebay for a while now for anything that might be suitable and this was listed today and I decided to go for it. It's a very simple oval with station, yard and engine shed but I think has a nice charm about it. Whilst a few the buildings have German inscriptions, I do think the layout could be made 'Frenchlike'.Dimensions are 7'9" by 2'.I have no stock to test it so am now on the lookout for some French stock for it. There doesn't seem to be much around so it may take a while to build it up. Am debating whether to electrify the line though I think this may be more trouble than it's worth.Have my eye on getting a Minitrix CC72000 with some Corail coaches for a start. Not much on ebay though apart from Del Prado dummy engines.Ideally i'd like to get this working and be able to attend exhibitions (if i'm invited!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddys-blues Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi Jon, I wouldn't worry about having any stock on it, just exhibit it as a normal working day in French life, they will all be on strike !!!! Nice looking little layout there Friend. Regards Craig. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cheers! Must admit the price of engines is starting to make me wonder whether to change country! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 With all those rocks, you could always go Canadian - they speak French and strike less. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Well first major stumbling block has occured. Whilst I thought that the length of the layout was not an issue (as I was able to get it in the car with no problems, I am struggling to get it in the loft. This is the only location it can go as our garage is too far from the house as well as being damp. I think I will need to cut the layout into two so am looking at various options. The easiest place will split the layout into a 1'6" section and a 6'3" section. Whilst this is not very balnced it only cuts across the main track and no sidings. No detailing parts would get cut either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Not the most enjoyable of experiences but I have cut the layout into two pieces. Located a join between the two boards so only the frame and skyline actually required cutting. Whilst this cuts through the engine shed area, overall I think it's the best solution. Layout is split into a 22 inch section and a 6 foot section. Am relieved by the positive outcome! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddys-blues Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Well first major stumbling block has occured. Whilst I thought that the length of the layout was not an issue (as I was able to get it in the car with no problems, I am struggling to get it in the loft. This is the only location it can go as our garage is too far from the house as well as being damp. I think I will need to cut the layout into two so am looking at various options. The easiest place will split the layout into a 1'6" section and a 6'3" section. Whilst this is not very balnced it only cuts across the main track and no sidings. No detailing parts would get cut either. Doh !!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Disaster averted. Layout is now in the loft. After lots of looking around though, it appears that the price of French n gauge items is huge. Quite how corail coaches can cost around £45! Second hand market seems very small, a search on ebay reveals only a handful of models, most are Del-Prado static models (though i'm sure they could be motorised). Still thinking about catenary, on another thread, a link to a website shows some nice looking 1500vDC catenary but at 5Euros a mast could end up quite expensive. I'm not going to rush into anything (which is usually my style!) and see if anything turns up. Otherwise I may go down the German route as there are plenty of models out there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Hi Jon, Welcome to the world of French N Gauge. I will definitely be watching this one with interest. I have replied to your PM. Just a quick tip about Corail carriages, they do come up on French and British ebay. Some of the older versions are cheaper and still quite good. Locomotives do come up on the second hand market occaissionally but you will need to keep an eye out for one. The SNCF society has a trade section that can be very useful for getting some good quality second hand items. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 And the first purchase has been made. A Tomytec TM-09 motorised chassis has been mated with a Del Prado Picasso body. Much easier job than I envisaged - delighted with the outcome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Good work on getting the railcar motorised. It is amazing how much those plastic bodies go for on ebay. One thing that you can do to improve the accuracy of the body is to switch the buffers around. The way that they come supplied is incorrect and the ones at the cab end need to be at the front and the ones at the front need to be at the back. I have just posted on my blog about how I have just gotten around to painting one of my Del Prado railcar conversions. I really like the layout of the town on the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 The buffers look the same at each end! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Sorry Jon, I meant the buffer beams. On one end the beam drops down a bit further than the other. Since they are glued on it is a simple job to switch the beams from one end to the other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Got the layout running for the first time. Thanks to ebay I have a small fleet but no doubt it will grow! I have invested in some Kato Japanese Grain wagons. I feel that they do not look too different to the Transcereales wagons, often seen in France. They sell for around £8 each which is a lot cheaper than the 20 Euro plus that I have seen them available for. With some paint and suitable transfers I hae a rake of 6 with a couple motre that will be given the same treatment. Have also bought a Minitrix CC6500, a Del Prado BB9300 (that will maintain a static model for the time being) and a couple of Arnold Corail coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 That is a lovelly picture, the town really does look nice and your rake of Transcereales wagons look great! Keep up the good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Right, after almost two years, an update! The layout has changed, mainly it has been shortened. At almost 8 foot it was just too long to fit in the only available space in my loft. I took the drastic action of removing a section in the middle so the layout is now 7 foot long. I am taking it to the SNCF get together in Lenham which is just over two weeks away. I thought i'd better get it out the loft so that I could do some work on it to get it looking more presentable. I was asked for the name of the layout. Not knowing what to call it, it is currently christened as 'Les Montagnes' which is a bit of an unimaginative name so inspiring suggestions welcome! Here are some photos showing it's current state. Overall front view: Rear view 'fiddle yard' (track has been pinned down properly since the photo!) Front views: View of the new station building which has a more French feel to it. Stock is a mixture of diesel and electric though I don't plan to install overhead catenary for now. Points are manual at the moment and will remain so. A couple of buildings will need to have their German names changed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 "Chamie Les Thurs" - that well-known French expression! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nconsistent Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Nice layout, has that wide-open French station look. May I suggest the name of Nimportequoi which roughly translated mean 'Whatever...' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bougez les Fesses.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well the layout had it's first public outing and I must say I was really pleased with it. I had great assistance from SNCF Stephen and also my son Robert. Stock ran well with the only disaster being my Piko Sybic, bouncing off the layout and onto the floor. Fortunately it went back together without any damage! I forgot to take my camera but Stephen fortunately had his and has kindly sent me his shots (and given permission to share them). Ready for the day! (L-R) Sybic on a TER, X2200, Pair of BB8100 on a freight Stephen's shunter that my son couldn't/wouldn't stop using! Fret BB66000, X73500, CC72000 Sybic runs through on a Corail express X2800 passes the departmental Picasso Caravelle in the yard Line up of three CC72000, (1)72060 on silver TER stock, 72073 on USI, 72080 MULHOUSE on Transcereales If anyone would like me to attend a show I'd be happy to bring the layout with me. The points are hand operated though which may be seen as a faux pas! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 It was a great day and the layout performed flawlessly. I think it said a lot when one of the ladies who was coming around relayed a comment saying that it was her favourite layout, it has a lot going on to keep you interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Nothing much to report apart from the achievement of getting the layout safely through the loft hatch and back in its place. This has given me the opportunity to test out my latest purchase, a Fret liveried CC72000. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Looking good! Good to see something a bit different on here and the layout has a nice feel to it. Good stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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