stivesnick

Once the new bi-mode trains are in service, there will be the question of what to do the current Class 222 units. Will they go to open access operators or will the Government use them to strengthen Cross Country services? A 7 coach Class 222 would have a lot more seats than a 4 coach Class 220 unit, especially if one of the first class coaches is converted to standard class seating. Nick

The aim of the design is not to model Morecambe exactly but to use it as a starting point for a layout. I imagine that the two independent lines on the prototype was an attempt to save a crossover and some signalling at the station. Not sure that it is something I would want to follow. I must try to visit Morecambe to get a better feal for the place - there is only so much you can get from google maps. Nick

Thanks for the feedback. The original Morecambe station if it still existed would be several feet off the end of the layout. I could perhaps include a picture of it on the backscene. The current station is rather more modest as shown in the screen shot from google maps and is a little way from the actual platform . Regards Nick

My American N gauge exhibition layout is gradually being taken apart to provide buildings for my new home fixed layout. This results in 2 spare 1200 x 450mm baseboards for a new exhibition layout. Here is my idea for a N Gauge modern terminus station, very loosely based on Morecambe but can be anywhere around the country depending on what stock I use. Like many seaside towns, Morecambe once had a large multi-platform station capable of handing a variety of regular and summer special trains, with associated carriage sidings and goods yard. This has now been cut back to a more modest station with the adjacent areas partily redeveloped. Morecambe still retains a largely freight only branch to power station at Heysham, which also sees a daily passenger train to the ferry terminal (often replaced by a bus). Having made comments on other people's plans, I thought it only fair to show my own layout ideas for people to comment on. The outline plan is shown below: Regular passenger trains would be second generation DMUs with the bay platform being able to take a 4 coach train. The main platform could take a 5 car LNER Azuma or similar depending on where the layout is based. I have changed the track plan slightly so it is no no longer possible to run the passenger train directly onto the branch. At an exhibition, the "daily passenger" would end up running evry 10 minutes or so the special working impact would be less. Although the branch could still handle nuclear waste trains, it could be used for any type of traffic. So if the layout moved to the West Country, it could be china clay trains. I have added another siding for freight traffic in the station area and a short siding for wagon repairs. Although it adds extra traffic to the model, I don't think it is totally convincing. It might be better as a storage track for wagons serving the branch. What do people think? When developing the scenery, I started by defining the area of the former station and yards. Areas of old track are shown dotted. These areas would have more modern buildings or still be unused (the old goods shed remains, still looking for a new owner. The bridge over the tracks in the middle of the layout would have space showing where extra tracks existing in the past. The bridge next to the fiddle yard indicates that once there was a third line that has now been converted to a cycle track (like Morecambe). Comments on the layout plan and scenery concept welcome. I have not yet deceided in which part of the country the layout will be based. The final decision will be based on how much existing West Country stock I coukld reused or do I sell that off and go for a new rolling stock for a different location. Regards Nick

I have been working on a draft schedule for Brandon. I started with the original 1950s schedule for the Willmar to Sioux City line. I have added a second passenger train and a couple of extras. The result is shown below: A total of 10 trains per day. Once this is working I will need to add in the interurban schedule so that interchange cars can flow smoothly between railways. I have enough cars for this schedule, but could do with some more CB&Q cars as that was the major interchange at Sioux City. Nick

A bit of a golden spike day today (or perhaps golden track pin). Having sorted out the river the best I could, the hair dryer was not hot enough, you need a blow torch to melt the resin, I put the bridge back and then liad the track over the lift out section to complete the circuit around the room. The connector blocks used on the lift out section do give a bit a movement so I may need to think of extra measurers to get the track to line up properly. Have been running a few trains around the room to check that it all works. Progress photos enclosed. The next step to get move more stock out of its boxes to see how a typical daily train operation works. It will also act as a check to see how much more stock I can justify buying. Regards Nick

Hi Andy A few thoughts on the bridge and hedge. 1) The brown powders look good to represent mud on the road. Perhaps some grey powder for general weathering. 2) Worth thinking about the line of the railway fence as this could affect the extent of the hedge. 3) For the hedge: Most hedges are a mix of different species so a mix of colours and shapes would be realistic. Many hedges also contain taller trees from time to time to break up the hedge. The layout is looking good, keep up the good work. Nick

There is a ground signal (#35 on the signaling diagram) which would allow movement over the crossover onto the correct running line. I don't know enough about signalling rules to determine if this would OK for a passenger train or for shunting moves only. Nick

Hi You may have already worked this out about how the station was used with terminating trains.... Looking at photos in the Middleton Press book Chesterfield to Lincoln to see if any pictures of cattle docks at other stations to help with your question about fancy brick edges - picture 20 shows a coal siding at Shirebrook North with plain brick walls but not much else. Anyway, photo 40 taken at Edwinstowe shows 7.55 pm departure to Mansfield and Nottingham departing from the Lincoln bound platform. Photo 39 shows another train appearing to work wrong line, but doesn't say which train it is. These photos suggests that terminating trains did not shunt to the other platform for departure, but that the loco simply ran round its train and departed from the arrival platform. Hope this is useful, but it may confuse you even more! Nick

Hi - a great day out and a delightful return to the Chatham dockyard for the show. I agree with the previous comments about the quality of the layouts and pleased that there were several I had not seen before. I did catch the bus from the station (it was waiting and left after a few minutes) and it was a single decker and full, with many people visiting the show. A couple of observations: 1. For next year, a large(ish) OO gauge tail chaser would be a useful addition - the MRC layout Minories had some through traffic but most was terminating at the station. 2. The queue for food was excessive. I gave up after 40 minutes and hardly any movement, I was told by others they waited over 90 minutes. This could be due to memeory loss as the event has not been held for several years, so the caterers not knowing what to expect. The situation was made worse by the exhibitors and stewards being in the same queue to get their food. Another outlet or perhaps dedicated catering for the exhibitors would help. It is worth noting that visitors could access the Dockyard cafe without paying the entrance fee, and it was only a few yards away. Thanks to the oragnisers for a great day out. Nick

Great article in CM and some stunning pictures. Nick

Hi Looking at photos of the real footbridge and then at your model it looks about right. As you say, you can always add a few more bits and pieces to improve it but the basic shape is right. Nick

Thanks for the information on distance travelled that is most helpful. Nick

My understanding is that the original Minories layout was based on the Great Northern platforms at Moorgate. These are below street level with the station entrance above beyond the buffer stops. However some other small London termini such as the former Broad Street station and Fenchurch Street stations, the track is on a viaduct with the entrance below at street level. For the goods yard, you would have a ramp to connect it with the street above or below depending on the arrangement and space for lorries to turn around. For your plan, a road coming off the right hand end of the goods platform would work at the expense of the middle siding (although it would be difficult to load/unload goods from this location if the siding remains). Ideally the goods platform would be a bit wider to allow for a roadway down the middle. Nick

I agree that the passenger services would not need a loco release and that another loco would back onto the train. For the goods train, a loop might be useful. You could extend the headshunt to join the incoming line just before the curve into the fiddle yard. The track could run in front of or behind the signal box. Don't forget that mail and newspapers were are big part of many London stations. What is the basic scenery concept? For a London station, the tracks would normally be in a cutting or up on a viaduct. So the space in front of the headshunt would be at ground level and different to the track level - so city buildings or space for the control panel behind some buildings as suggested previously. Hope this is useful. Nick

Second attempt at the river this week. Results are better but still not right. I picked up some plaster cloths at the Buxton Show last weekend for a good price. Not used these before but found them quick and easy to use to create the new river bed. Having painted the river bed brown, I then added some Woodland Scenics fine talus is various colours onto the base. For the "water" I used Woodland Scenics Easy Water. Two packs were required given the area to be covered and to achieve a suitable depth. The Easy Water hardens up very quickly so there was hardly any time to add the reeds and smooth out any defects on the surface. The results were a bit of a mixed bag. Some parts turned out all right and the end result looked quite good. In other areas the "water" did not level out properly so there is a bit of a strange edge to the water that does not look right. In one area there was a lot of air bubbles and the effect was very odd. According to the instructions, it is possible to reheat the resin with hot air, so I will give the water the hair dryer treatment so see if that makes any difference. (not sure how long it would take to liquify the resin again) I am not sure what I did wrong, perhaps I should have heated the resin up for longer to increase the temperature so it would stay liquid for longer. Any suggestions welcome. If the hair dryer does not work, I may be able to use some filler to re-profile the river bank so sort out the water's edge. Not sure about the air bubbles - I amy have to put an overhanging tree or two over that bit of the river. Overall not impressed by the WS Easy Water although it was over a large area. I would be tempted back to using artists pouring medium if I can get hold of the right stuff. It is around the same price, pours better and allows you to pour in stages and gives much more time to sort out any issues. Nick

I think it is never a good idea to start designing a layout using Anyrail or other software for that matter. I would always start by developing a block plan, using squares on a piece of paper to represent the main elements of the layout. For example you may decide that you want: A - a main through station B- a depot C - fiddle yard (s) depicting a terminus station and the rest of the country. D - A freight terminal. E - branch line with station Then work out what operations you want to achieve. For example at the start of the session, a train leave the depot and runs to the terminus . It then runs out on the main line to the rest of the country. This can either be another fiddle yard or if you have a continious the train becomes anther train leaving the terminus and you have trains running in both directions with the odd journey to and from the depot. Equally work out what happens to the branch line and possibly the freight traffic. Decide what train lengths you want. In N Gauge, a 9 car HST set is over 5 feet long, freight trains could be a similar length or even longer for say container trains. Draw the blocks on a sheet of paper with the lines in between then run through your operating ideas to work out the actual track that you need. Hope that makes sense. Nick

I use Peco track pins and they generally work OK. You do need to be careful that you don't push them in too far. A pin pusher tool from Squires helps. The sleepers for Peco points are much harder so will need to be pre- drilled. You are likely to bend many pins. Many N gauge modellers use Kato N gauge track which is widely available from a number of shops in the UK and comes complete with ballast. Regards Nick

Thanks for the room plan. Does the bedroom have to contain a bed? Nick

Here is a block diagram showing how you could achieve the same layout concept in OO using a around the walls type layout, based on a 10 x 8 feet room. You can copy the actual track plan of each element into the different parts of the layout. The branch line starts to rise up once it leaves the junction station so the intermediate branch station is higher than the storage tracks and the branch terminus is higher than the junction station. To access the operating space there would need to be a lift out section that lined up with the room door, hopefully the door is somewhere on the short side of the room away from the the stations. As the operating space could be reduced to say 2 foot 6 inches, the room could be made a bit narrower. The other dimension helps determine the maximum length of train that can be run. As shown the branch line platform at the junction station could take a 2 coach possibly 3 coach train. You could length the various loops in the plan by using curved points and starting the pointwork on the curves. Hope this is useful. Nick

The 3 feet width would give you access problems for the N Gauge plan. This plan assumes that there is access all the way around the layout. Looking at the plan, there is a basic double track line with a junction station serving a branch and some storage loops to allow you to run more than one train. The 3 feet width is needed as the branch cuts back across the middle of the layout with an intermediate station. If the branch line was kept running around the outside of the layout, it might be possible to reduce the width of an OO version to say 4.5 to 5 feet wide, but you would need access all the way around the edge. The other question to ask yourself is what length and what type of trains do you want to run? The loops on the track plan are quite short so you would be limited in train length. The branch terminus does not have a run round loop so would only be suitable for multiple units. Finally, do you know what size space you have available? If for example you had a room say 10 x 8 feet, then an around the walls type layout with an operating space in the middle would allow you achieve something similar in OO, assuming you did not want to run very long trains. Nick

All My new fake American diesel has arrived and as you would expect from a Kato model it ran well straight out of the box. Being part of the Kato European range it is not obvious how to fit a knuckle coupler as a spare coupler was not included in the box. As I have a few coaches and wagons fitted with normal N gauge couplers, I will likely use the loco on the day passenger train which does not involve any shunting. Oddly the loco does not have a number and the roof is GN green rather than grey. Photo shows line up of locos with contrasting nose styles, new loco at the front. The fiddle yard track is now laid and will be wired up over the next few days. The "river" showed no sign of becoming clear so has been ripped up. The bridge and track over the river was removed to avoid damage. This means I can not complete the track until the river is "flowing" and the track restored. Regards Nick

Hi They are generally used to show different routes from the main timetable. So in your example the main route is between Chesterfield and Lincoln as indicated in the milage figures. The lines to Mansfield (both LNE and LMS) are branches on the main route. Nick

I could be heading for a possible scenic disaster. Whilst waiting for some more points to arrive to complete the fiddle yard tracks - I did some work on the river at the other end of the layout. On a previous layout I used Pouring Medium from an art shop to create the water with some depth to it. The advantage of this material is that you can include underwater rocks and vegitation within the river. Having not much of the bottle left I purchased what looked like a similar produce from Hobbycraft - but I am now not convinced it is the same stuff. This is the "river" after pouring. It is meant to go clear in around 24 hours. However after 2 days it is looking like this and there are cracks in the surface which it is not meant to do. : It may be that as the "water" is deeper than on the previous layout it is taking a bit longer to dry out. At present it looks good as a frozen river. I will leave it a few more days and then I may have to dig the whole lot out if it still has not set. A bit fustrating as I can not lay the track across the lift out section if there is a risk that the track and bridge will have to be removed to remove the existing river. In more positive news, the Danish/GN diesel is on it's way. Good work from Rainbow Railways for getting it ordered and delivered in a few days. Hopefully the next photos will show a clear river and the contrast in front ends of the Danish/American diesels. Nick

In the early days of container trains, the wagons used to be in fixed rakes of 5 wagons so this may well be the minimum length you could have at that time. Nick