MattWallace

A few months have passed, and I've been "time poor" so haven't been able to do much on this, however I've taken a detour into DIY Baseboard frames that are strong, lightweight, and can be easily stored.

The results seem to be pretty good.

I've got a 3D-printed panel at each end with slots for 2-pin (track power) and 4-pin (MERG CBus) magnetic connectors, and I'm using 3mm ply for the top.

One of the biggest issues that I have is storage space, and I've always intended this to be a modular layout, so I'm taking that to the extremes here.

Each module is 10cm high  to fit any electronics/point servos/etc. underneath, and the size of an A4 sheet of paper on top.

This presents its own challenges, as it means I can just about fit a cross-over junction onto a board but not much else, however it also means I've got a tiny part of the layout to build each time and I can treat each board as a diorama.

I've realised with this first set of panels that I should have also placed holes for location dowels, and I need to decide on a way to hold the boards together, but this is hopefully going to mean I can store everything easily on my shelves in the garage and get more than just track laid.

The panel itself looks like this, with tabs at each side for gluing/bolting things in place, and the two slots for the magnetic connectors:

I've purchased some A4 sheets of 3mm ply from Amazon and I've cut them into two 10cm-high strips for the sides, then glued a second full sheet on top, before printing out the layout from XTrkcad in 1:1 scale and laying it on top:

As you can see from the final picture, a matching set of PECO Streamline Medium points takes up the entire module, but now that I know that, I can play around with it!

Hey all,

I'm wondering if anyone has any 3D printed incline piers for N Gauge kicking around anywhere they'd be willing to share?

I've tried the usual suspects on Thingiverse, Cults3d, and Printables but can only find the elevated sections, not the bits that get you there!

For the nature of my layout, the wodland scenics incline foam blocks won't look right.

I'm basically after https://uk.Hornby.com/products/inclined-piers-r658 but in N Gauge.

If all else fails then I'll work out the angles and build them myself, but I'd rather not if I can avoid it!

Thanks in advance!

For the few of you who are watching this, I've started another layout based in the future with a solar punk aesthetic.

Gienup Jct. will still be developed, but the new layout gives me a chance to play around a lot more with my 3D printer.

I'll continue to post updates here as I go, because being able to switch between the various modules I'm working on probably has more chance of me getting stuff done on both!

More progress and a slight modification to the base so that I can feed the power wires as well as making sure that the track fits properly:

I've then printed out two of these (just over 7hrs each!) and used some wooden blocks from my kid's old BRIO set to mock up the pillars:

I'll try and get to painting these soon, then work out what I need to build next!

First test print of the elevated track sections.

The "branches" are part of the "organic supports" generated by the 3D printer software, but they tie in quite nicely with the aesthetic, so I may keep some of them!

Obviously the track needs a slight adjustment to fit, but that's easily sorted!

9 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

So are these things 'accessible' for me to view or ride, or some extortionate 'travel fees' involved, or necessary ticketing rules involved?

Absolutely no idea, they just came up on my search results when I was looking for "cars of the future" or something along those lines!

£7 per person per journey according to a quick search: https://www.thistle.com/heathrow-terminal-5/heathrow-pods

Nice to have as a prototype though!

I love having AuDHD - it really hyperfocuses you on a topic to the detriment of the dinner that is currently burning in the oven, but I've found these pods at Heathrow T5 and now I want to integrate something similar into the layout!

Probably rail-based in my situation rather than the road stuff, although it could be interesting to try and model this using a Faller system!

And here's the first look at what the elevated track section will look like:

The slots on the roof will hold solar panels, with the holes in the sides holding wind turbines to generate energy from the passing train like the ones in this article.

The holes at the bottom are to allow water-runoff, that will over spill into channels to take it away to a grey-water processing plant.

The whole thing will be raised 80mm above the baseboards, with plenty of room underneath for scenics etc.

Yup, it's that time of my life again where stuff starts to calm down so I decide to start yet another model railway that is almost certain never to be completed.

This time around, I've been challenged by one of my kids to build a cityscape based on Solarpunk aesthetics and ideals.

"But what is Solar Punk?" I hear you ask, and rightly so - the best way to describe it is like this

Quote

A world in which existing technologies are deployed for the greater good of both people and the planet.

 - BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57761297

So instead of the desolate wastelands and Victorian technology of Steampunk, or the soaring cities and high-tech of Cyberpunk (Bladerunner etc), Solar punk is about using what we have to improve the planet for everyone, not just self-gain.

It also has an amazing Aesthetic, and lends itself really nicely to model railways as it's fairly anti-car and pro-mass transportation.

My favourite example that I've found so far is this one from Batagilab85:

My plan at the moment is to get a basic elevated track running, then start to add in buildings etc.

The track and supports will all be 3D printed based on my own designs, and I'll eventually scratch-build the trains and rolling stock, but for now the only N-gauge loco I have is a very much not solarpunk GRBf cl. 66, so that will have to do! 

Wish me luck...

OK, here's the plan...

You've already seen the first module:

Here's the module that goes to the right of the first one:

And here are the designs for the two modules to the left...

The line runs to the back of the layout and then loops round to a fiddle yard...

More progress last night - put together a couple of the MERG Servo Point Motor Mounts and started to play around with the arches for the retaining wall.

Only 5 more servo mounts and the entire back wall to go... 

The MERG Servo Mount - only available to MERG Members (I highly recommend it!) but with the ability to control the points via a standard 9g RC servo and with two switches - one to throw the frog polarity and the other to feed back to JMRI the position of the point to prove it really has been thrown.

The initial dummy test of the retaining wall - it's the Metcalf kit for those who are interested!

1 hour ago, CKPR said:

Check out the oil terminal at Dalston station (the one near Carlisle, not the London one) for a long established small (two siding) yard that has survived into the present day  - shunting Dalston involves using the mainline to  run round  wagons.

53 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

There has been an article on the operation of this terminal; not sure if it was in Rail Express, or the DEMU magazine.

Thanks both, I've managed to find some photos of this working, looks like another "point" (sorry ) to take into consideration

6 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

Another possibility might be to have trains pulled out of the yard onto the mainline by an 08 shunter with the train loco on the rear until clear of the crossover. The 08 is then detached, the train departs and the 08 follows it along to a shunt signal and then back into the yard. I don’t know if this practice still exists (my involvement with railway operation ended twenty years ago) but it was certainly a frequent occurrence at Didcot Yard at both the Didcot East junction and Didcot North junction ends. It would add a bit of operational interest too.

Thanks, that does sound like a nice way to add some more interest to the layout, especially as the next module to the right of the yard throat is going to be a viaduct over a canal!

5 hours ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

Another similar version that might be useful is 'Eccles Road' in Norfolk that shows how 'modern' freight sidings could be worked. There is a loco release and run-round, and shunting into the adjacent station is required for entrance/exit of the site. Only 2 sidings/a loop off the mainline, but it does feed an extra couple of sidings for the actual loading/unloading, or the design could be adapted with extra tracks.

 

Lots of pictures in this thread:  

 

That's fantastic, thanks!

2 hours ago, black and decker boy said:

If you search for Oxford Parkway on google maps, you can see the aggregate sidings and entry point work and run round. The two through lines are the Oxford to Bicester line. 

 

This may work for other live yards

 

Nice, that's almost exactly what I was thinking of, I may have to steal some of that layout for my own!

9 hours ago, iands said:

I don't think it is acceptable to "shunt" on to the main line, I think you would need a "shunt neck". Also, I think you would need trap points on the sidings to the main line(s). Sorry for being negative, but I think you'll need to rethink your layout if you want it to be  modern/prototypical.

Hey, no worries, if I wasn't thinking about reworking some of the track then I wouldn't be asking for advice, this is really useful, thank you!

9 hours ago, 101 said:

 

There aren't many places where you will find points at the end of sidings to form run rounds - the only place I can think of one is on the down side at Westbury (11&12 rds iirc)

There was a headhunt at Stoke Gifford until recently but it wasn't very long and trains were indeed shunted via the main line - normally towards Filton. Trains to head in the Up direction were shunted out of the yard usually onto the Down reception or down loop where they then ran round, they could also be shunted across onto to the up loop to run round though not normally onto the up reception (pre Royal Mail depot) as that required opening a GF at the east end to run round/depart the train.

*this was before the two loops became platform roads

ok, thanks so let's say a 66 pulls a service in to one of the sidings, would there then be a second loco to pull the wagons out to release the 66 for other duties, or would the 66 just stay there on the service until it was time to move on?

9 hours ago, SM42 said:

Don't they do just that at Kingsbury for north bound services?

 

About 3m 50s

 

 

 

Andy

This video is a goldmine, thank you!

4 hours ago, DavidCBroad said:

I  think this is a more likely scenario.   The trouble is with OO tension lock couplers you can't really reverse a long train over reverse curves .  Ths leads to a need to run round stock rather than propel it.  It's OK with Kadees or Peco & H/D Couplers and likely to be OK with the N gauge coupers the OP is probably using, but  it has influenced many model track plans over the past 50 years.

I would suggest the arrangement in my pic. 4 trailing sidings a crossover, and a short shunt spur, mainly for extracting cripples from rakes.

Thanks, I'm going to give this a bit of a rework and I'll come back with some suggestions if that's ok?

Hey all,

I'm working on an N-Gauge modular layout and part of it will be a large yard with four sidings.

Very loosely modelled on the FLHH Depot at Bristol Parkway, I'm hoping to have reasonably proto-typical length trains stabled there, however I'm struggling to understand how it might operate.

(There is a second module to be build which will extend the above by another 3ft to the left)

The approach to the yard is from the right heading left along the image via the "UP MAIN", and exiting the yard would take you on to the "DOWN MAIN" heading back out to the right of the module.

All four sidings are terminated, and I'm planning to add a couple of "run-round" loops at the end of each pair to allow a loco to run in to the sidings, decouple, and then run around the service to re-attach or to  leave the yard.

My questions are as follows:

1. Is a "round around" like this something that you would find in such a yard?
2. If the only way out of the yard is via the DOWN MAIN, how would I go about getting the service on to the "UP MAIN" so it can proceed to the left of the picture?

Is shunting an entire service out of a yard onto a main line so it can then be pulled in the right direction even a thing?

Thanks in advance!

Usually I'd just make it up as I go with this kind of thing, but I want to plan things properly this time, especially given that the layout is modular so all the modules need to "work" together.

As a result, here's a rough sketch I've done of the first module.

I've already got the metcalf kit for the retaining wall, and I'm hoping to give that a go whilst I wait for the final point to arrive!

Rather frustrating morning this morning - I was doing really well getting all the track laid out on the baseboard, only to discover that I've cut one bit of track about 10mm too short, and I'm missing a point!

Still pleased with the progress though, front two tracks are now secured to the baseboard with glue at the joiner end, really starting to come together!

The first set of rail aligners were soldered on at the weekend, and the results are pretty decent!

A new purchase, not used these before - they should make lining up the various modules a lot easier!

https://www.modeltech.uk/product-page/n-protrack-rail-aligner-standard

Just now, Kris said:

The gap area sounds like it needs a small slope either going down to the lower level or possibly more aesthetically pleasing, reaching down to a small stub wall. 

Thanks, someone elsewhere suggested a retaining wall for the first bit of the drop followed by a modrock "hill side" strewn with shopping trolleys and other debris - you ideas would work quite well mixed in with that I think!

OK, this is the plan for the signalling - does it make sense?

The module has a 2-track mainline at the front of the layout that slopes away from the join with the goods yard (see photo), so I know that I need a signal on the next module to the right to control access to the yard, but is the signalling correct for the rest of the layout?

I'm assuming that the signals within the yard would all be ground-signals, with gantry signals on the mainline, so hopefully what I've done makes sense!

As I understand it, the signals go to the left of the track in the direction of travel?

Well, I did say it would be sporadic... 

The lengths of flexitrack have been cut to size ready for laying (and numbered so that I can store them and not worry about what goes where when I get it out again!).

I've also ordered a set of Model Tech rail aligners so that everything is ready for when I build the next module (in 10 years time!) 

The track in place

A side-on view of the main line as it descends the hill

An end-on view of the height difference between the tracks - if anyone has ideas on how to fill this gap nicely, please let me know!

One more for today:

The track isn't pinned down (or even cut to size!) But it gives you an idea of what it will look like!

More time spent on this today, cork trackbed is down, and I've been playing around with the various height levels to get an idea of what it might look like.

Managed to get another 10 minutes to screw the top on - more pilot holes drilled to avoid splitting the wood, and the incline looks about right.

I've left the front off for now so I can get to the wiring etc, but at some point I'll cut another bit of ply to support the incline.