MattWallace

It's been over a year since I started to attempt a layout based on Monmouth Troy station. COVID-19 meant I had to close the hackspace I was using to build it, and work got in the way of everything else. As a result, I've decided to start a new, modular layout that I can build up bit by bit, module by module, as an when I get time. The name is a play on "Given Up", because I've long since given up on the idea that I might get more than 20 minutes at a time to do modelling, so updates here are almost certainly going to be sporadic. The layout will be DCC and controlled via JMRI and MERG kits. Signals are the KytesLights models, and points are servo-operated giving a really smooth slide from open to closed and back again. Module 1 - City marshalling yards The first module is a city marshalling yard, the location of which is unspecific. Floodlights will illuminate the yard itself (B), whilst the mainline runs down a gradient towards (A). Both (A) and (B) will connect to the neighbouring module at the appropriate level, and I'm hoping that at some point (A) will pass under (B) similar to the way the Overground passes under the GWR main line not far from London Paddington. Construction is my first attempt at an open-frame base board in an attempt to avoid significant amounts of weight. The frame is made from 12mm ply with corner braces made from pine offcuts, the top is made from 6mm ply: Timber cut to size and glued using impact glue: The pine support is glued into place and then clamped until the glue is dry Measure the depth of the screw so we don't end up screwing through the top and into the joinery screws Mark out the holes and drill a pilot: Screw the braces into place for strength: I'll post some pictures of the top in place when I get a chance!

Oh wow, a quick good search of that number reveals she's still running on the South Devon Railway after a stint on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway: https://www.southdevonrailwayassociation.org/Loco-Summary.html It turns out she's also quite the celebrity... https://www.chinnorrailway.co.uk/article.php/125/6412-was-at-chinnor-from-mar-2017-until-jan-2018

Some photos from today of how the site now looks.

Heh, we've gone down there and walked the dog a couple of times. There are still a few of the old buildings lying derelict and I've been told by locals that the pits for the weighbridges are still under the trees. Monmouth has been my home for the past 11 years, so doing something that's in the local area and being able to talk to people who remember it is going to be good fun!

hmmm, those aren't autocoaches! Mk 1's in Maroon?

So it does! I'm assuming that this is therefore BR Black with the BR roundel on it, and a lined maroon autocoach?

This is fantastic thanks. The only photos I've seen so far have been black and white, so if you know of a source of colour photos from around the time the line closed (late 50's) then I'd appreciate knowing about it!

Yeah, I've yet to make it over there to see it, but I'm hopeful that I'll get to see it soon! In the mean-time, I've been inundated with links to old photos of the station when it was in operation! The only thing I'm struggling to work out is which of the GWR liveries would have been on the loco/autocoach - I *think* it was green without the stripes, but there appear to be so many around the 1950's that I can't be sure, so any help anyone can shed on that would be great!

Heh, I was previously going to attempt something based in the present day on either Cardiff or Newport, but that requires a lot more space than I've got available! I live in Monmouth, so I'll take a wander down to what's left of the site in the coming days and try to get a few photos of whatever remains as well.

Thanks. I made some progress with the station and track last night at the makerspace, I'm waiting on some parts from Hattons and MERG before I can really get going though: First I fixed the 1:1 plan over the top of the cork using drawing pins and sellotape Next, I measured out 7mm from the rails to get a bit of a shoulder on the track side Finally, I cut around the 1:1 plan and removed the cork shape, before gluing a second 1:1 print-out to the base boards so I know where to affix the cork Unfortunately, at the moment the only traction I have is a GRBf 66, so most of the test running will be done using that, however I plan to purchase a Pannier Tank and an Autocoach in the near future to get it closer to the prototype!

How many of these have I started now? Who knows, but I've never had a hackspace environment in which to build a layout before, so I know I'm going to get at least 4 hours a fortnight to dedicate to this, which is four hours more than I've ever had in the past! My new layout is a complete departure (no pun intended!) for me from my usual fayre - gone are the modern locos and long rakes of trucks that I've dreamt about for so long, and in come the pannier tanks and auto-coaches of the late GWR. Based on my current home town of Monmouth, South Wales, I'm going to attempt to model Monmouth Troy railway station in N-Gauge. Those of you who have followed my attempts in the past will know that updates will be few and far between, however from the track and maps at http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/monmouth_troy/index.shtml I've come up with the following trackplan that I hope meets approval! I'm not going to go quite as far as modelling the viaduct and the river, but I may well end up adding this as "additional" boards in the future. I've not even cut out the cork track base yet (that's a job for tonight!), but the layout will be DCC and operated using MERG CBUS, with servos for the points rather than my usual solenoid-based attempts of the past. Full block detection will also be in place (that's a lot of wires folks!), and the base is 5.5mm ply with a (yet to be built!) timber frame for the legs.

Badly... So many other things have had to take precedence, and I was living away in London for most of last year. I'm hoping to pick it up again at some point this year, but in order to do that, I need to sort out the garage/workbench, and get a load of things to do with the business I started out the way because that's what's taking up all the time at the moment!

Hey all, I spotted 60056 just now at Cardiff, but it's headlights were flashing. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this is? There's a video at https://www.facebook.com/lunchtimetrains/videos/1818545418367082/ - apologies for the FB link but I can't get this one on YouTube just now Cheers, Matt

Another 2.5 months have passed and I'm now officially one point short of a layout... I've ordered the missing one from Hattons and it should arrive next week, then I can finish the trackwork and get started on the scenery.

Another three months have passed and I've managed to find some more time in the garage to work on the layout - this time, I've started work on the upper layer that is to form the base for the commuter line. The first step was to ensure that I could remove the upper layer if required to re-rail any stalled loco's on the lower layer or fix up the electronics. In order to achieve this, I settled on a dowel-based construction, with holes drilled in the shelf to enable a "push-fit" process of installing/removing the new upper deck. The first step was to cut some uprights using 1" square PSE pine and screwed them to some 45mm x 6mm PSE boards (possibly meant to be for skirting boards?). I then drilled the holes in the base shelf and tested the fit: The risers are 42mm in height giving space for the 3mm ply used for the top layer to sit flush with the top of the boards. I cut a 35mm gap into the facing boards long enough to span the track that will run underneath the upper layer and then drilled holes for some dowels to be used for the track bed to lie on. Finally, I clamped and glued the whole assembly together before testing it out... and placing it on top of the mounting brackets above my workbench The next steps will be to add the second half of the top-deck and then to build up the rock-face that will cover the support pillars and dowels on the front face of the deck with Plaster of Paris. Once that is done, I can start getting on with adding the track to the upper deck and wiring up the points!

The lower level track is down! I've run both my 66 and a DC 158 DMU over the pointwork operating them via "The Hand of God" and it seems to run very smoothly, which is nice Video of my 66 traversing the layout via manual control to follow, now I need to get the MERG stuff up and running again so I can control it from my phone!

Morning all! After a pretty decent night in the garage last night, an image-heavy update of my progress! I've decided to experiment with using Copper tape as the DCC bus on this layout, but the version used by builders is fairly expensive, so I'm using Slug Tape from my local garden centre instead. Having drilled the holes in the baseboard to feed the dropper wires through, I then proceeded to add two strips of the tape to the underside of the shelf: I then wrote next to each strip which was +ve and which was -ve (I know that in DCC there isn't strictly a +ve/-ve divide, but it helps when soldering the droppers!). The next step was to feed the wire through the holes in preparation for the soldering: before prepping the track soldering the wires and cutting the excess wire down to size Then repeat with the "+ve" side of the wires Finally, I used a grinding/polishing bit on a mini-tool to grinds down the solder that was still above the bulkhead To attach the rails to the bus, I created a pool of solder on each of the strips of copper and soldered the droppers on to it. I then did the same for the feed wires that will eventually go to the MERG CanCMD, again marking which was +ve and -ve before hooking up my eZ-Command via some 5-amp terminal blocks Finally, I put my freshly chipped 66 on the tracks and the results speak for themselves Next step, work out how I'm going to do the points, then soldering down all the other track etc.

OK, I'm really starting to like this N Gauge lark (except for the fishplates - they're an absolute sod... ) 90 minutes in the garage and I've got the cork down for the track bed and the track laid on top The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I've altered the angle of the right-hand spur slightly, this is to allow for an extension or cassette fiddle yard in future if I am able to. Now all I need to do is solder the droppers, drill the holes and fix the track!

The birthday fairies paid a visit yesterday and I landed a few goodies including a class 66 and the matching decoder: Further consolidation of the space available to me for my layout has seen it reduced to a shelf from B&Q that is 1190mm x 195mm and results in a split-level track plan with a commuter terminus above: and a freight section below: Giving a rather misleading complete track plan that looks like this: Thanks to the birthday fairies, I also have the track plan to lay the whole of the lower section, so that's my challenge for the next few weeks as and when I get the time!

And so it begins.... A quick trip to Lord and Butler at lunchtime got me three lengths of flexi-track, the WYE point that will form the station mouth and a Farish 2-car 158 all for £80! The DMU is one of the older DC models and it's in the wrong livery, but it's the right class and I reckon I an convert it to DCC once I get a magnifying glass! Next up, the start of the baseboards...

Just to let you all know that I've not disappeared - I move house tomorrow so with a fair wind I should be in a place to start modelling again somewhere around mid August

And I've added even more curves now... Now I just need to find the £185 that XTrckcad is telling me I need for the layout... I think I'll build this one in stages. Matt

Someone mentioned on another thread that the curve going from the freight section to the FiddleYard was possibly a bit too steep. I've printed it out in 1:1 it looks pretty bad, so I've angled the Freight Yard (something I learnt from Marshfield Junction!) and now the curves are a lot less pronounced (even if they are hidden from view! Now I just need to make the baseboards, buy the track, buy some trains... looks like I'll be spending money soon then!

Hi all, Following some excellent help from various people over on N Gauge Forum and elsewhere on here, I've come up with a layout design that I'm fairly happy with to make my first foray into N. My modelling background is OO, however various house moves etc. over the past couple of years have made me realise that if I downsize to N, I can take the layout with me if we need to move again! Here's the all-important track plan: Don't let the title fool you, this is actually a 5ft x 1ft layout with a 3ft x 6in detachable fiddle yard, I just forgot to change the title in XTrckcad when I did the export! The layout will be based somewhere on the English/Welsh border (that's where I live so I know there are quite a few different liveries) and the yard will probably be based (very) losely on Alexandra Dock Junction giving me the opportunity to run pretty much what ever I want from logs with Colas 56's through to GBRf HTA's (currently seen in that location as part of the GWML upgrade) and EWS Steel/Coal traffic. The "Surburban" line will run a number of DMUs including (I hope!) 142s, 150s, 158s and even the odd 170 in the various liveries that frequent this part of the world (FGW, ATW and XC). This layout will be DCC and computer controlled using a combination of MERG hardware and JMRI running from a Banana Pi computer (a chinese copy of the RaspberryPi but with more processing power). The "driving" will be done via the excellent EngineDriver software via various Android devices and I hope to eventually build a mimic panel that can go above the layout should I manage to get this to a state in which it can be exhibited. As most of you know by now, my day job is working in IT, so I'm also hoping to be able to take advantage of the Jython support in JMRI to fully automate the surburban line including using block detection to run multiple trains on a shuttle service. It's going to take a long time to build this but stick with me and we'll see where we end up! Cheers, Matt

This looks amazing! Any chance you can post some more info on your curve maker? I'd love to know how to make them so I can either keep it in N if I decide to change scale or scale up if I decide to stick with OO. Cheers, Matt