David41283

One more thing (forgot about this picture on my phone!) I sat down to solder a wire onto the frogs of the points this evening, and while I was doing this, realised that as I wasn't using Peco motors, I could get rid of a bit of the extra plastic around the point. I also took the opportunity of getting rid of the little pip which stands up on the end of the tie-bar, which is a real niggle with N gauge points. Not rocket science, and I expect many do this as standard anyway, but here is the before and after of about 10 mins with a razor saw and craft knife. Cheers David

Evening all, Thanks for the comments. Re: the lid / backscene - I thought long and hard about abandoning the original box (which was mostly built when I got it) and turning it into a more traditional looking layout, but I decided that if I wanted to do that, I should have just purchased wood and built my own design, which would have been bigger! The box design was part of the appeal of buying this "job lot" and it feels like a bit more of a challenge to complete something which has some set parameters, laid down by someone else. It is amazing how quickly you can make progress with 30 mins one night and 45 the next etc.. I have now stuck down 1/8th cork onto the scenic area, then after final tweaks, I printed out the track plan full-size, from Anyrail, and glued this down too. I have got most of the tubes in place for the point control. I originally left the cork out form under the docks branch as I thought it would look good if it went down a slight incline, and was visibly a few mm lower than that main line, however now the red tubes have had to go under it, I may have to raise it up a bit. I treated myself to a "Rotary Tool" (Dremel) after Christmas, I got Maplin's version for £25 which came with loads of accessories. I cannot believe how I ever managed to cut track or copper clad, or wire etc before buying this! It was also really useful for "routing" the channels for the point control tubes through the cork. I have also made probably the worlds crudest traverser, it simply moves about in a small well just a bit larger that the sector plate itself. Since taking this photo I have now soldered the tracks and some brass tube to the veroboard. I really can't decide on how I want to proceed scenically. I am certain this is somewhere in rural Devon/Cornwall, close enough to the sea to have a vague "docks" branch . But I am lurching from watching Prairie tanks on eBay (just missed one for £35 tonight!) and buying modern branchline stations from Scalescenes. Thanks for your interest, David

Hi everyone, In the last fortnight, since this package has come into my possession, I have been working on the baseboard/box. I have filled in the huge hole in the scenic area, intended for the control panel, and moved this (slightly reconfigured) into the fiddle yard area. Everything has been well sanded, undercoated and painted with good quality emulsion. I would have gone for Brunswick Green, but not wanting painting the outside of the box to become a significant or expensive part of the project, I went with this rather nice dark blue which was at hand. I rather like the design of this, I reckon this is pretty much the intent of the chap who started the layout given the kit of bits he'd assembled. Clearly this is going to limit the height of any buildings as I've only got around 2.5" headroom - but most N gauge structures will just about fit. However I do appreciate the fact that this really will be a layout you can carry under one arm! You can just about see on the picture above, the shallow well cut for a 12" traverser. The three holes in the fiddle yard are for (L-R) the controller, a small track plan with the switches for the isolating sections and finally the slide DPDT switches for the WIT points. There is a slot cut at the bottom of the scenic break for the WIT to go through. The more I get into this I am getting tempted by ex-GWR panniers and prairies and the Kernow China Clay wagons to run on this cornish BLT! One final question - I have painted the surfaces with a couple of coats of good quality emulsion, as I understand most people paint the fascias of their layouts. Can anyone recommend a good varnish to protect emulsion painted wood? Cheers David

Ha ha - yes, absolutely! This is my reason for extending the siding into a branch, gives a little justification for the infrastructure not having been severely rationalised!

Yes, I believe that was the plan - an extremely condensed Ashburton. The numbers on the original sketch refer to the length of each section in inches. I have tried to extend it a bit, as a 3" loco-release excludes pretty much everything except 14xx and pannier tanks! The plan also doesn't quite work in it's original guise as the Code 55 track that he purchased doesn't quite allow the geometry as per the plan. I am a modern-image modeller, but I intend to stick fairly close to the original idea and try and make the layout 'timeless', so that in future it could be operated with Steam, early diesels or 1980's blue and grey. There are plenty of modern branch-lines in Cornwall that are painted in the traditional GWR colour scheme and have semaphore signals today!

Morning Everyone, I have spent the evening tweaking the track plan in Anyrail5. Here is my version of the original plan. I am going to extend one of the kick-back sidings into a branch disappearing under the scenic break. Could be leading to a factory complex, the docks, a cement works etc depending on your mood at the time! Having gone through everything I've got I discovered that the "wires" supposedly purchased for the wire in tube points are actually 0.8m Carbon Fibre rods which snap if bent. Unless anyone can suggest otherwise I have to assume this is a simple mistake on the part of the original purchaser. Luckily I have plenty of 1mm piano wire in my cupboard. Thanks for the comments so far. David

Evening Everyone, I've been thinking of ideas for my 2015 layout after pretty much finishing Exchange Square. I keep getting tempted with a large layout and full-length trains, but had pretty much decided to stick to my M.O. of a single board which can be put away in a cupboard. Today my next project sort of emerged fully formed, however there is a sad story involved. I have purchased the started layout of a deceased gentleman, who had begun a project, accumulated most of the parts, but sadly passed away before making much progress. His widow had sold his collection to Chris' Crafts and Model Railways in Plymouth, from where I have purchased the start of the layout as a job lot. For £100 I received: A nicely made 46" x 11" baseboard, with a lid for storage. All the hinges, catches, screws etc to complete the baseboards. A complete control panel, with all the switches, wires and screws etc to wire it up. A Gaugemaster Combi All the code 55 track for the design (which was nicely illustrated with measurements in a sheaf of photos and bits of research) Plenty of buffer stops Rail joiners Peco Electromagnetic Couplers Ratio Signals A bag of ballast 2 rolls of cork Wires and Tubes for point control Various pots of Railmatch paints I have promised to document my work on the layout and the final result to show the chap's widow. My first thoughts at this stage, having evaluated what I've got, are to pretty much stick with the original design, as it's pretty good, and it feels like the appropriate thing to do. I also feel this gives me a nice challenge with some fixed parameters to work within. I think I am going to move the control panel, which takes up far too much room in the scenic section to the spare area of fiddle yard. I am going to re-align the track plan to go diagonally across the board to maximise space. I wonder if anyone on RMweb in the Plymouth area may recognise this story or know of the chap who did such a nice job of making the baseboards and planning the layout. I am sticking with the name he'd come up with - Poldeen. I hope I can do his excellent work so far justice with my effort in the next few months. Cheers David

Takes me right back to 1988 at the end of platform 12!

Hi Steve, you're making me wish I'd persevered with the ITtrunking cassettes now. I never thought of trimming off the top lip. One of issues with my layout is the amount of handling of stock you have to do. APA Park seems to have gone from strength to strength. Love the new stock. Did I read somewhere that you're exhibiting at TINGS? I will have to try and get there and say hello.

Hi Steve, The videos look good. Just a couple of tips from my own experimentation... Purchase a generic digital camera mini-tripod, mine cost £7 from Argos. This means that the camera is absolutely static and then you can edit knowing that the frames will fit together and the viewer won't be able to tell where you've cut and spliced the clips. The generic video editing tools on a PC or Mac are actually pretty good and self-explanatory! I've got quite into making videos - planning a few more now! Cheers David

Wow - congratulations Steve. I would love to have made it to Westbury, but was at Legoland with the kids. (clearly some of the modelmakers there like railways - surprisingly good renditions of locos!) Congratulations on the well deserved trophy!

Hi Steve - looking good. I think pallets get everywhere! Modern ones are often painted too green, blue, yellow etc.. I think drums and sacks are a bit 'steam era', but it hasn't stopped me using them!! I think some of the peco/ratio bikes can look good. Sleepers are also pretty much everywhere too. David

That water is amazing! Having tried and failed to do water, that is impressive!