Heinz57

Great, thanks chaps thats all I need to know for now, Cheers, Matt

Hi all, I was wondering if somebody could give me the dimensions of the Lenz LRC120 Railcom device? I am after the dimensions of both the circuit board and display, preferably in millimeters. Thanks in advance, Matt

Squirrels Karate club

Onwards and backwards! Dear friends and followers, once again it has been a while since we 'last spoke' I hope you all are staying safe and well. Since the last update I started to gain a lot more time and motivation to work on the layout. The first thing I have done is spent a bit of time scratch building. Firstly we have the new stores building constructed and painted. I just need to add the skylight windows in the roof. Unfortunately the only photo I have is prior to masking tape being removed so you don't get the full effect... I have also built the 'Malcolm’s Motorhomes' and 'Top Hand Car Wash' establishments which share the same brick building on Gresty Road opposite the depot. Unfortunatly I don't have any photos of this. And now the layout itself, hmmm, yeah about that... In my last update I mentioned about probably not being happy with the grass/wasteland, indeed I wasn't. So one day I went into the garage and had a good long look at it and thought about how I can make it better... Then this happened!... I was very unhappy with the layout, everywhere I looked I could find something I wasn't particularly happy with, and there were a few parts that weren't as accurate as I wanted them to be. The pointwork wasn't quite right, the car park, wasteland, driveway, road and bank; all key areas were not 100% as good as I wanted them to be. So I decided to scrap the layout and rebuild it. I have reworked the plan and taken an accurate (or as accurate as Google Earth can be) satellite image of the area from (you guessed it) Google Earth, scaled it to size using anyrail and a bit of mathematics that made my brain hurt and had it printed out 1:1 scale. From here I've been able to work everything out a bit better. Last weekend the new boards were constructed and Gresty Bridge version 2 was born... For this version I will be using handmade SMP track from Marcway Models of Sheffield as it is the only way to get my track design 100% accurate. This change to fine scale will be a journey into the unknown for me as to date I have only ever used code 100 readymade track! I am still awaiting on the custom pointwork to arrive, so for now progress on the rebuild might be rather slow. I will of course update with any major progress. In the meantime, thanks for your continued interest and support in my project! Matt

Perfect, awesome, thanks for that! To be fair that wiring on that doesn't look that complicated As you say though some sort of experiment would have to happen to try it out. Cheers BTW, don't worry about the colours of your diagram not matching mine. You were kind enough to post the diagram so thats all what matters. I can cross reference that from the written infomation you provided with it. Thats enough for me to figure it out!

Relays plus one rotary switch, to read four sections please Cheers M

Thanks for your help. Do you have any infomation on the extra componentry I might need and perhaps a wiring diagram so I can understand what you mean? Thanks

Thanks chaps, I was thinking of using the Lenz LRC120 display. Obviously this has a single display. So I'm wondering if there is a posibility to use a rotary switch or something to switch between track sections. So say its currently reading and displaying section 1, I then move the switch and its now reading and displaying section 2 and so on. Is this possible? Cheers

Hi all, I'm considering the use of Railcom for the tracks within the main shed on my Gresty Bridge layout. The shed is around four feet long with two tracks and can hold up to eight locos. I'd like to use Railcom to display the DCC addresses of each loco in the shed. But I'd like to avoid purchasing eight of these devices. My question is, would it be possible to use a single railcom device for four sections, but still retain power so lighting and sound doesn't cut out? Here is a diagram to sort of describe what I mean... As I say, when the display is on one section I'd still like to retain power to the other three so sound and lights will stay on. This may require some sort of clever eletronics. Has anyone got any thoughts? Cheers, Matt

Small Update 27/05/2020 Dear friends and followers, my apologies for the quiet time over the past few months. How time has flown since December! I have done a small amount of work on the layout over the past couple of months, sadly nothing worthy of an interesting update for you guys and certainly nowhere near as much work as I'd have liked to. By and large work on the layout dried up over the winter and festive period as it normally does at that time of year. As we approached February/March time I was hoping to resume work, however the COVID-19 pandemic soon seen to that! I'm a HGV driver delivering to supermarkets so work started to get busy and lockdown has prevented me from getting supplies. I haven't got any photographs to share what I have done, as I say there's nothing really worthy of an interesting update. I have completed all the road markings around the car park, access drive and of course Gresty Road itself. I have started work on the grass/wasteland area too (but on reflection I don't think I'm truly happy with it so far, I'm having a think on this but might take it up and try again). I have also made some good progress on the stores building. By and large work on the layout is currently on hold for personal commitments. However I am hoping to resume work as soon as I can, get the above tasks completed and of course post an update. As always thank you all for your continued interest in this project and I'm sorry there hasn't been much to report over the past few months. Stay safe, Matt

21/12/2019 - Sir, you're making a (back)scene! Dear friends and followers, Once again it has been a while since we last spoke; I've just not found the time to update this blog. However I have been hard at work on the layout and Gresty Bridge is starting to take shape now! I finished the last blog talking about how I will be painting the basecoats on the ground. This is where we pick up the story.... The first basecoats for the ground colours have been completed. This actually took a little longer than anticipated because I just couldn't get the colours right. Originally, I planned to airbrush it. However, this would have used loads of tinlets of paint and wasted time and resources I don't have. Instead, I opted to use a concrete effect spray paint from B&Q, I found this completely by accident when I was in there purchasing something completely unrelated to the layout or paints for that matter! After spraying this on, I liked the texture it gave but I wasn't happy with the colour. I then painted it by hand, using a colour tester pot from B&Q. I used custom colours I had colour matched. Note the different shades of gray in different areas of the layout. Ignore the black bit, that’s a failed attempt at something else. After painting I then ballasted the layout. I hate this task with a passion so I completed it over three or four short sittings. After this I then started work on the back scenes, I have isolated the fiddle yard from the viewing public, but created a fold down section so I can access it at home... I have also started work on buildings. First up comes Gresty Bridge itself, scratch built using plasticard and embossed sheet.... It was then painted... And weathered, I experimented with new techniques and I'm very happy with the results... Next up came the office building. Built, painted and fitted with tinted windows but awaiting exterior details... I have also started the new stores building; this is my current project on the work bench. Here you see it very much unfinished... And finally we save the best bit until last! The back scene!... The Mornflake factory overlooks the depot and the layout simply wouldn't look right without it so it had to be included! I took the photos a few years ago at the Gresty Open day I mentioned in my first post. They were 'stitched' together into one image over summer by a friend of mine. It wasn't easy as the photos didn't line up properly, however she is a complete wizard with Photoshop and it looks absolutely amazing, I couldn't be more happy with it!... Sorry about the long post, I have tried to keep it as brief as possible but quite a bit of work has taken place! As we approach the holiday season work on Gresty Bridge will slow down due to other commitments. However I will continue working on the layout as and when time permits, I'll mostly be working on the buildings in the warmth of the house! I will be back in the New Year with more updates. In the mean time, please have a very Happy Christmas and a safe New Year! Thanks for reading, Matt

11/09/2019 - Put a cork in it! After a several month 'hiatus' away from the layout, the past couple of weeks or so I've been back into the layout full swing! In the last update I shared with you the embankment created from polystyrene and mod-rock, this was the first step of the 'ground work', the next step after this was to create all the concrete, hard standing, car park, road and other landscaped areas. I did this by using a mixture of cork, mounting board, filler, plasticard and anything else I could lay my mits on. Completing this was an intensive task and it took me a lot longer than it should have done. Keeping as honest as I like to in these blogs I'll admit it's getting bored of this task that partly led to my break away from the layout. Anyway, it's all completed now. The first couple of photos show the completed cork layers blended together with filler. It looks an absolute mess here. Isn't it amazing what a single coat of paint can do? After giving it a quick 'once over' with grey paint it looks ten times better. The gap between the rails was filled with filler and plasticard, shown here is actually my second go at this, the first was awful so I pulled it up and had another go - hence why here it is the white plastic rather than the grey paint. After completed all of that I had a little experiment with creating a bit of 'crud' ground between the tracks and in other key areas. I did this using a plaster mix (Woodland Scenics Smooth-It to be precise, I had some in the cupboard so decided to use it up) and very fine ballast. Once this was laid I then sprinkled a little more of the fine ballast into it whilst it was still wet, when semi-dry I then sprayed it with glue to hold the gravel in. Now its dried I'm happy enough with it and after its been painted and additional layers and detail built up it'll be fine. I'm currently working on the ground colour, which will be detailed in my next post. Which should hopefuly be in a week or so rather than six months! Anyhoo, the paints probably dry now so back into the garage I go... Matt

Here But Not Here Hi followers. Just a quick update to say I've not forgotten about the layout! It's just on hold whilst I focus on other things. I am 'bitting and bobbing' on the layout when I can. Below is the small amount of work I have completed over the past few months... The main driveway into the depot was created using 3mm ply, and the bank was created using an interesting mixture of polystyrene cut and moulded to shape, no more nails, polyfiller to fill some smaller areas and all covered in plaster sheet or 'mod-rock' (I do love messy modeling!) Its all untidy and a bit of a mess at the moment so it just needs 'polishing up' and it'll look good. See you next time, Cheers, Matt

07/03/2019 Latest Additions Like this one Paul? 68019 in Trans Pennine livery is the latest addition to my DRS stock, purchased on Sunday at the Mansfield Show, when I was operating Shaun's (Scooby71) Drabford. It is pictured here having a quick test at the show on the Kirkby Stephens layout, it caused quite a stir having one of the most modern locos running around on a steam era layout! I'm not sure if any of those guys are lurking on here but thanks again for testing the loco on your layout, most appreciated! Thanks to all for your kind comments on the layout, glad you like it! Matt

05/03/2019 - Locos and Coaches! Thanks Paul, I'm determined to stay positive in the face of any adversity during this project. I've learnt the hard way what getting frustrated can do to a project! * * * * * * * Hi all, After completing wiring and first tests on the layout last week, I gave the track a good clean and had a couple of running sessions. I filled the layout with all my DCC chipped DRS locos and coaches and had a few enjoyable hours in the garage 'playing trains'. As promised here are a few photos from last week's running sessions... 57007 and classmate 57309 sit side by side in what will be the main shed building. Note the inspection pit below '007' Further back in the shed tracks is 66407. Again this track has an inspection pit, which - if my photo research is correct - is slightly smaller than the pit on the neighbouring track. Both of these pits are fitted with lights. The Beast! 37402 is on 'track 4' which is what will be the fuel point track... 68008 sits first in a line of three 68s on 'track 2'. An overview of the layout. Note the coaches in tracks 1 and 2. My research suggests that in reality coaches probably would not be shunted into these tracks, they seem to always be on two sidings 'line side' the other side of the shed (which are omitted on my model for space reasons). However, I'm using a bit of modellers licence and will shunt them around the main depot for a bit more operational interest. By the way, that is a Class 25 at the back!... ...Which leads me onto my next photo. I've always worked on the principle of 'I built the layout so I'll run whatever I want (within reason)'. So, as a special treat for all the rivet counters out there, here is a set of East Midlands Trains power cars on track 1! My 'modelling mojo' has well and truly returned now, I'm starting to press on with the layout. I have started work on the first of the buildings (no photos yet) and will soon be 'attacking' the layout with the first scenic work. I can't wait to see this project progress! Cheers, Matt

The layouts looking awesome Shaun, the buildings are fantastic! Liking and commenting!

Thanks for your kind comments chaps. Glad you like it! Constructive criticism is more than welcome, I want to make the layout as accurate as possible! Hi Rob, I used these self adhesive cable mounts from ScrewFix, they come in packs of 100 and the sticky is very strong. The cables are held in place with 4.5mm wide cable ties. https://www.screwfix.com/p/2-way-adhesive-base-black-19-x-19mm-pack-of-100/93380?_requestid=280258 Cheers, Matt

26/02/2019 - Start Your Engines! Thanks for your comments chaps, I'm looking forward to seeing this project progress. Its going to pose a significant challenge to me as it is the first time I've ever attempted to model a real location. * * * * Since my last post I've finally managed to get track laying done. Progress was a little slow due to fitting it around work and other commitments, but there's no rush anyway! I was then able to get the layout wired up. Now, normally I'd wire the DCC bus, give it all a test and then move onto fitting and wiring point motors etc. However, this time I had to do it a bit different. I'm using Cobalt motors (first time using slow action points), therefore requiring the springs to be removed from the points, so I wouldn't be able to test the layout without having the motors fitted. I am also using the 'built-in' polarity switches for the points which would require them to be fully operational before testing. But there's only five of them on the layout so it's no biggy! Below you can see an example of my nice and tidy wiring! After wiring I was then able to have the layout finally running under its own power! For Gresty Bridge, the honour of 'First Loco to Run on the Layout' fell to one of my DRS 37s (37402). Here is the solitary loco trundling around... I'm pleased to say it all worked SPOT on first time too! I had to do some minor mechanical tweaks to a couple of the point motors to get them to throw perfectly, but that's nothing to write home about. They were soon sorted, so it's all perfect now! After the delays I detailed in my first post it feels like a huge milestone has been reached now the layouts up and running, and to work perfectly first time is an achievement for me personally too! The one loco on bare track looks kind of lost doesn't it? I think I might have to put a few more locos on to keep it company, it would be rude not to! I'm going to give the track a good clean before this running session and I'll be back soon with an update. Now, where did I put my track rubber?... Matt

It is with great excitement that I share my latest project with you, Gresty Bridge Depot in 00 scale! Gresty Bridge is located in Crewe, Cheshire. The depot originally opened around 1905 as a GWR wagon works, DRS moved in to the depot in 2007 and it serves as one of two main servicing depots for the company (the other being Carlisle Kingmoor). The idea for me to build this model was originally conceived in 2016, during that time I had my previous layout Elveden Road and regular followers of mine may recall I was getting fed up with it. I was already looking for a replacement. The idea was bought to me by my friend Simon (Psiborg VIP of this parish), he was come up with a 12ft 'Grestyish' track plan called 'Greasy Bridge' but unfortunately had nowhere to put it, I however did have the space and because I looking to replace Eleveden Road and expanding my collection of DRS Locos it seemed perfect. One thing that stood out to me was how simple but interesting the track plan would be, and another was that I haven't seen it done before. I had to build it! Once settled on the idea I kept it a secret from most people in the modeling community, only telling a few people about the idea. To keep it under wraps we actually referred to it as 'Project X'! I took the plan and compared it with the actual depot on Google Earth, I played about with it a bit and noticed it wasn't far off and I could probably get a proper scaled version of it in the space I had. During a visit to the 2016 DRS open day at the site I went 'camera mad' and took a photo of every detail I could around the depot to aid planning. I was soon ready to start construction, but in early 2017 I fell back in love with Elveden Road so the idea was shelved. However, that new love affair was not meant to be and in December 2017 I scrapped Elevden Road and was once again looking for a replacement. I toyed with a few ideas however Gresty Bridge once again stood out to me. I went back to planning and soon came up with a plan scaled plan that measures 13ft x 31inches. The plan is of the depot itself, I did play with the idea of adding the sidings and running lines next to the depot but I couldn't fit it in the space I had. The plan is accurately scaled (or as accurate as you can be with the measuring tool on Google Earth) right down to correct track lengths, building sizes and spacing. April 2018 - February 2019, Slow Starts Construction of the layout actually started in April last year, and over a period of two weeks I built three of the four boards. However due to other hobbies, work and personal life the layout and indeed my model railway hobby was put onto the back-burner. Fast forward to the end of January 2019 and I was back on the layout, I soon finished the baseboards and started track laying. The baseboards all ready to go. I built them using the 'ply framed' method by creating a sandwich of plywood sheets with a timber filling - Mmmmm, sounds quite tasty. Track laying has started, here you see the fiddle yard or single track for loco lifts feeding into the five points of the depot. Thats all for now, I'll be back soon after I have completed track laying and wiring! Cheers, Matt

21/12/2017 - Elveden Road Hi guys, It's been over six months since I have last posted an update on here. There is a reason behind this, and I think I owe it to the regular followers of the layout to tell you why. So, shortly after posting the last update all work on the layout came to a complete stop, and I have since taken the decision to not continue with the project. I am currently in the process of dismantling the layout. Why have I decided to scrap the layout? Well as you can gather from the previous posts (and lack thereof) I have no motivation to work on Elveden Road and I just want to start on something new. I will admit, I have kicked around loads of ideas over the past nine months (including the scrapped Peak Cement which appeared on here in May), obviously none have came to fruition yet because I don't want to rush anything. When thinking about a new project, the more I think about it the more I think I want to build Elveden Road. That sounds stupid, why not just continue with Elveden Road? Firstly I have no motivation with the current layout, I do not want the layout that is currently sat in my garage anymore. There are also too many flaws in the current layout, not just in the build quality and the functionality of the layout. Now I could of course 'correct' these and continue, however doing so would mean complete scrappage and rebuilding of two of the boards and redesigning of some of the track work. Plus rebuilding half of the buildings (including that damned shed). So taking these into account I may as well just scrap it and start again. I am currently contemplating and designing a completely new version of Elveden Road with a revised track plan and a new name (fresh start, new name!). However, this is not a formal announcement of the project, I haven't finalised anything yet and I may decide on something completely different (although considering my stock collection the redesign is probably the best option). All I can and will say is that I will be starting A New Layout in 2018. Once again sorry to the regular viewers about the lack of posting on here, and to the fans of the layout sorry about this decision, however I'm sure you can appreciate my reasons behind it. Keep an eye out for a new project of mine appearing in 2018 which I promise you will be much better than Elveden Road and indeed anything else I have built before! Merry Christmas, Heinz

10/08/2017 - Fifty Sheds of Grey Famous last words! Just shy of three months since I last posted an update, and promised to return quickly! Unfortunatly, the last three months haven't exactly been a non-stop modeling fest. Instead, any motivation I had gained in May to do any modeling didn't last, and that coupled with other stuff going off outside of my modelling life meant that again not a lot has been done since the last update. But I return with a progress update on the shed... To recap, last time we spoke I had completed the main structure of the shed and painted and weatherd the cladding and brickwork. The first job to do after that was paint the doors and fit a few external details. I then added lighting, the exterior lights are 'N' gauge building wall lights from the Layouts4U range, the interior lighting is warm white LED strip lights again from Layouts4U. I ran all wiring for the lights along the roof beams, using plastic 'U' channel to create cable trunking... I then moved onto the 'warehouse' section on the side of the building. This section was originaly constructed with a flat roof at the height of the slope. It didn't look right so I did some surgery and replaced the flat roof with the new sloping roof. Exterior details were then added and the whole lot painted up. It is currerntly awaiting lighting to be fitted inside, the inside details such as racking will be added at the later date along with details in the main shed when the whole lot is fixed down. The speed I'm going that will be sometime in summer 2019! The next job is the 'office' type extension on the other side of the shed which houses offices, restrooms and that sort of thing. This section as you can see on the photo is about half done. It still needs to have its roof finished, be painted up and have glazing added to the windows. As this section will not be on the public viewing side I'll only add lighting and not add interior details. Its hidden away enough for me to get away with it... Finaly, an overal view of the shed as it is today. Note the cable trunking I mentioned earlier... The shed is still far from completed but I am getting there. I'll admit I still don't have any motivation to do any modeling at the moment but I'm doing a few bits and bobs when I can be botherd and the shed edges ever to closer to being completed! Cheers, Heinz

I take my bow! Ha de ha! You just wait!

Congratulations! I wish you many years of happiness together!

Planning Sessions! So I've been having a look at planning the layout. As I mentioned in my previous post, I looked at Westbury Cement and Cement Quay for insperation. I also looked at many other cement work layout that I don't know the name of, both British and American outline, to get some ideas. Each and every layout is differant, and some have more features of the cement works than others do. This got me thinking, what are the key features of a cement works? How is it laid out? And what features can I include? I worked out these are the main features of a cement works that are seen on most layouts... - Main factory building - Silos - Stone unloading area - Stone processing building - Bagged cement loading - Bulk cement loading Other features that are seen on the cement works but not on every layout - Stone mounds - Coal in - Used fly-ash out Idealy I'd like to include as many of these features as possible, if not all of them. I then did these first doodles to get some ideas on paper... I then thought it would probably be better to lay out the key features and buildings of the cement works and create a track plan to suit them. With some initial ideas on paper and my mind spinning with ideas I 'got serious' and went on AnyRail and came up with this... Unnamed Cement Works Version 1 Clockwise from left to right... Stone unloading, stone processing building, main factory and bulk cement loading, silos, bagged cement loading and finaly coal in. I have also included two separate run around loops which means I can potentialy have two trains running at the same time. Great stuff!.... But we never go with the first plan! I studied the plan and had another think. Its a good idea, but not perfect. I kept the buildings in the same place but jiggled a few of the tracks around an came up with this... Unnamed Cement Works Version 2 Which quickly became this... Peak Cement Version 2.1 Version 2.1 is the current version of the plan. But not the final one. Some after thoughts I have had since creating plan 2.1 is what about including the used fly ash trains leaving? Where will they load? Also, more importantly, what about actualy unloading the wagons? I have two ideas here, firstly the stone unloading point will be moved to the scenic break, and then I will run unloaded wagons through and make it look like they have been unloaded. Or run a loaded train in, run around and shunt back through the unloader into the fiddle yard. The second is my favorite as it adds more operational interest and it means I have loaded stone wagons to use in the future. As for the coal, because the unloading building is against the back scene I can theoreticaly use removable loafs with magnets and lift them out of the wagons. Those are just my thoughts but I'd be very interested to hear what your opinions are on the plans I have done so far. Cheers, Heinz

Thanks for your kind comments chaps, your kind words help me a lot. Steve, I'm glad to liked seeing the layout in BRM. Sure looks a lot differant now to what it does in the magazine! I've got many more ideas stored in my mind of what I can do to realy detail the layout and bring it to life, I'm sure you'll like them! Heinz