Modelling Martin

Hello all, The layout has been progressing well recently which I will show in a further post. Meanwhile I couldn't resist the temptation to run a WSR santa special hauled by 'Kinlet Hall', here it can be seen pulling into the station on a cold winter's evening: Wishing everyone a merry christmas and happy new year- 2016 will see bigger improvements on the layout as the electrics are now nearly finished so I may be able to start covering that cork! Kind regards, Gary

I must admit I've never seen the 'Oops cut my finger with a knife and the blood's gone all over my locomotive' weathering technique before until stumbling across this Copyright Rails of Sheffield I know it's nearly Halloween but I thought it was people made to look frightening not your trains, Apologies if mentioned before, Gary

Hi Blacksheep, apologies for the late reply, thank you for your opinion i do intend to try and recreate realistic operations from the WSR but will not go as far to timetables or to realtime as it will be exhibited where keeping the audience interested is my primary objective. As a compromise i will most likely use a steam gala timetable to justify such regular operations in the station, Regarding the layout some progress has been made, most notably the pin striping that has appeared on the control panel some of it done two or three times (annoyingly!) so it was as straight as possible: In order to increase the quality of some of the pictures I have been testing using a different camera, its my first time using it so go easy on me! Here are a few test shots: D832 'ONSLAUGHT' Leaving the carriage siding D1233 Shunting wagons in the sidings near the station approach Visiting guest 'Union Of South Africa' is resting after bringing in a railtour in the headshunt Hope everyone is well, half term next week so should hopefully be able to install all the magnets and point servos Happy modelling, Gary

Such a shame regarding the colour as everything else on the model looks excellent and they got it so right on the Britannias, I've got a 28xx and agree it is much too light and washed out especially compared to its Bachmann counterparts. Unlike a rivet that may be out a couple of mm out the paint is something noticeable and can't really be fixed properly without a full respray. I'm annoyed for Hornby not at them for putting in so much work and then slapping that shade of green on, seriously did no one buy a tin of Railmatch / Phoenix Precision paint for comparison? I know people say 'vote with your money' but if Hornby loose sales we ultimately pay for it when the price of the next locomotive goes up to cover their losses, Must admit however the locomotion model looks outstanding, Gary

Thanks Andy I think preservation can be seen by some on the forum as being synonymous with run anything anywhere whilst i am (at least trying!) to attempt to change some of these opinions. Just because a model is set in preservation that does not mean it should be seen as less quality than some of the layouts set in other eras, Kind regards, Gary

Hi everyone, In light of the recent steam gala at the West Somerset Railway i felt it was necessary to recreate my own even though none of my layout is working but ah well this hobby isn't all about electrics and wood working. I only have one of the visiting locomotives in the form of 2857 from the Severn Valley Railway as can been seen below pulling out of the station The photographer then walks across the level crossing catching a shot at the front (rather dangerous) The locomotive fleet is still coming along nicely although if a manufacturer decided to produce a Manor class that would be great. Anyway a rare diesel was seen during the gala (who let that happen?) in the form of D832 carrying another warship to Minehead presumably for light repairs Thanks everybody for taking the time in reading the thread, the layout will get there eventually! Gary

Hello folks time for an update, I have started work on the control panel for the layout which will house the servo controller, wiring, NCE interface etc out of scraps of birch ply from the layout build as can be seen below: Fortunately the box part went together pretty quickly and thought that fitting the hinges would be a 10 minute job. Well i was wrong and so three hours later and a lot of sanding the hinges are finally in the right place allowing the top to hinge: However despite my best attempts the lid would not close fully on one corner. to sort it out i had to put a latch on the side which I will just tell people its meant to be there to stop the lid from lifting up in transport to disguise it: Now i realise that control panels won't win any awards for most interesting picture so in the meantime I have been gradually selling off locomotives which do not fit in with the layout with ones that are currently based on the layout (finding a particular Bachmann hall from 4 years ago was a fun challenge) Here the locomotives can be seen in Minehead shed area with D7017 in the centre and D832 'Onslaught' on the right joined by 7F 53808 on the left fresh from overhaul. Current task is fitting sleepers in the gaps of the track but I hope I will get all the wiring done by christmas in readiness for scenic work next year, Thanks for looking its quite amazing how many people look at my topic even though it is far off being the biggest, Gary

The problem is that interior design is subjective. One person likes a fully white box for a house with hardly anything in and windows for walls meanwhile someone loves the style of a Manor house with an object in every nook and cranny. Consequently there is no such definition of 'style' so what you may perceive as hideous someone may find tasteful. I have my personal views on design but would not force them upon anyone, Anyway lets get back to talking about the interior of the engine shed rather than Andy's house, Kind regards, Gary

Hi Andy, Layout looks really good especially the water puddles (I've only just caught up with the thread). Interesting choice of stone walling on the bridge considering your urban theme but whatever floats your boat, Kind regards, Gary Ps I quite like the curtains gives the room some character (I didn't think curtains could provoke such strong reactions!)

Thanks Ducky good idea about them sleepers although i've got loads of copper clad ones left over from the track ends which i may use on the frog parts which seem to be a weak point (pun intended!), i will also do the rounds with the superglue too, its nerve-racking spending so much time and money on track which you can't properly test if it works until the point motors are installed when its too late to make any changes, Gary

Hello, The excitement continues on this thread with the start of the wiring but as boring as it is to some I actually find it therapeutic turning a load of messy wires into something orderly and neat (unless I'm just weird). I quite like seeing how other people do it so I will include (a brief!) description of what i have done. Classic DCC Bus with soldered wires to the rail trying not to melt too much of the sleepers especially on SMP which seems to be really soft for some reason. As you can see I went for the uninspiring solution of putting wires onto the stock and switch rails on my points to provide power and not rely on the contact of the blades. Underneath the boards went from this: To this: I have seen people use this copper tape before so bought a 20m roll of ebay to try it out. For the layout the copper strip provides the connections between the bus and the droppers crossing the board width-ways with the thicker bus wiring going the traditional length-ways. I'm mostly pleased with how all the wires are flat which should hopefully mean (fingers crossed) that they won't be damaged. Finally the bus will be connected to a power outlet on the board via connector blocks: Not done so much work today as its been GCSE results day but my results are good my mood helped by the wiring coming out better than expected, Kind regards, Gary

Thanks for the link Shaun I will certainly look into them as I've never heard of them before. Oh the joys of modelling preservation with all of my research photos! I presume you have visited http://www.wsr.org.uk/ there are some decent shots of Minehead in the early years (some pre 1971 I think?) which I found interesting albeit still no pictures of that illusive box, Kind regards, Gary

Hi Jock, No need to apologise about the ratings it is nice to know I'm doing stuff right (unlike some of my previous layout attempts!). I have simulated stock going through them (all finer flanges) and everything goes through fine but i will do more testing once they're actually connected up. The 3 hour round trip to Minehead station was quite far away from our holiday destination but I was kicking myself all the way there because last year I spent two weeks in Watchet- 10 Minutes away and only took 3 pictures! Good luck on your future layout it took me a few attempts to get to a layout that seems to suit me operationally, Regards, Gary

Thanks Shaun interesting pictures there as well I wonder what those window cover things are in the second photo? Perhaps one day we will have to join Dunster and Minehead together haha. One final question (no more i promise) is what signs you have used for your station building e.g. the way out ones with the pointy hand, Gary

Hi Shaun, Really like the whole atmosphere of the layout created by the different lighting and cameos. Can I ask what goods shed you used? The sides look pretty perfect for my own project. 53808 looks good on your layout too, when she is overhauled she will be out-shopped in BR Black (in a couple of years I think?). I look forward to your extension of Minehead to steal some more ideas off you , Kind regards, Gary

Hello everyone, Back from holiday now after going to the exhibition and taking over 1500 pics of Minehead station (you get some very funny looks off people when you take a picture of a bin!) I have managed to start putting more track down. Throughout doing this I have been installing magnets in the hope of adopting the Brian Kirby uncoupling method. And finally a comparison shot of what the track is like today (both on model and real railway) All the best, Gary

Thanks James and Dave I've previously used cassettes and 'fan of points' fiddle yard systems in the past but found that i was still touching the stock too often. Must admit i wouldn't mind making a sector plate though but it wouldn't be able to rotate much as the layout is against a wall unfortunately, I look forward to to the exhibition, Gary

Hi James, Thank you very much for the kind comments, the traverser gave me quite a battle to get there let me assure you e.g. the two types of ply in it because the first tops warped. Had a quick look with regards to the exhibition and would be good to tie it in with my visit as I don't really want to travel 1 1/2 hours just for a station (even Minehead station!). Kind regards, Gary

Hello all, With exams and school now over I have had a lot of time to work on the layout in particular the traverser. As you can see below i have now added all the track which has all been bussed underneath although I'm pondering how to connect the power between the baseboard and sliding bit. XLR cables perhaps? Anyway i know this is the boring end of the layout which I am glad is out of the way now allowing me to lay some track more complex and interesting than one long straight on the scenic bit. When laying the Hornby code 100 (i had it left over from another layout) it made me realise how much difference the SMP track makes and all those hours doing points wasn't entirely for nothing! Yes i know the track at the back isn't straight it is for alignment over looks, Off to Devon in a couple of weeks which should give me a chance to take some pictures of the actual Minehead- prepare for the bonbardment of images on the thread in the upcoming weeks, Kind regards and hope everyone is having a good summer, Gary

I think you've done a good job on that kit especially the fact that you matched the stone on the chimney to that on the walls of the buildings. Good luck on it although judging by the current standards of the building i don't think you need it as it looks so good, Regards, Gary

Hi Chris i have done just that and won one on Ebay a few weeks ago (its lurking in the far background of my picture if you've got a magnifying glass!) i am pretty pleased with it too, seems very Minehead-esque with that canopy and fancy door. I'm sure its prototypical but the brick of the chimney and stone of the wall don't look right to me so i will paint the chimneys a stoney (is that a word?) colour in the future. Paid £20 for it as well which i believe is less than the Gaugemaster kit when you factor in paint and glue etc. Thanks for the kind words, Gary

Thanks i think it will look a lot better with a signal box interior and i will use a proper camera next time (not my phone!)

Hello everyone, I was hoping to get all the points finished and then realised i had not ordered enough... (yes very annoying!). Anyway tired at staring at track i have recently received a new addition to the fleet: The main reason for the purchase is it will one day represent D7017, one of the WSR home fleet. I liked the look of the hymeks before Minehead was built but it was only now where i could really justify getting one. Interestingly, the zimo sound chip its fitted with uses the recordings taken from D7017 on the WSR (although someone at an exhibition will still say it doesn't sound right!). This one was taken 'through the signalman's view' although I can't decide whether it looks good or absolutely awful ( i'm just seeing if i can recreate the sense of length of Minehead station in 8 foot). Thanks everyone for their continued support, Kind regards, Gary

Building an SMP Plastic Point Kit Part 2 Continuing on from the previous post lets move on to the next job- the frog. Here half of the frog is is in position. As the rail is fed into the point at an angle it means it needs filing so that stock runs smoothly either direction through the point. Again i don't have (or know what it is) a Oberg metal cutting file, as recommended in the instructions, so out came the Dremel again which, in my eyes, seemed to do a pretty good job. For this frog i just fed an overly long piece in which i cut down later after the frog was in position to allow for adjustment Out comes the soldering iron! I don't use flux just clean the rails with a fibreglass pen and apply my cheapo 30W soldering iron for a few seconds to allow for the solder to creep between the rails for a strong join. To be honest i put a little bit too much on in the photo. Now onto the wing rails. My preferred method is clamping the track with one set of pliers (my vice left an imprint on the track) and with the other pair as close as possible to the clamping set bend the rail to give quite a sharp bend in the track which is what you want. This is probably the trickiest bit as you have to feed the pre-kinked rail through the chairs, prime time for destroying chairs. To avoid this i have found pressing quite hard on the first chair the rail feeds through prevents them from being destroyed as the plastic is rather soft. The small 6mm bends at the end of the wing rail have to be done after the rail is in position using fine nose pliers and a finger pushing on the track so it doesn't pop out of the chair. Check rails after that again pressing on the rail as you feed it through the chairs to preserve them afterwards doing the 'flicks' at the end again with fine nosed pliers. Now the point is looking more complete after the addition of the switch rails. These are tapered at the tie-bar end again using the Dremel to get the smoothest stock to switch rail transition as possible. constant checking and removing material bit by bit is important here so you don't take off too much or leave too much on. Finally these are then soldered to the (now flat) rivets on the tie-bar again using the soldering iron quickly- excuse the rogue piece of solder! Heres an overview of the tools i used ( a wooden skewer and super glue was also used too). After this the instructions suggest using the metal strip for electrical connection of the switch points although i think i will do these differently when i come to fix the track down. Any questions about the points or advice is welcomed as always, Kind regards, Gary

Building an SMP Plastic Point Kit Part 1 In this guide i will show you how i made the points for my layout. This is by no means the best way to build them just my way using the tools i have available to me. So lets get on with it... Here is the kit in its packaging from Marcway models. Included is: plastic sprue, 4 lengths of bullhead rail, plastic tie-bar, metal strip, point template and instruction manual. The first job is to cut the flash between the chair tops. This is imperative otherwise the track will destroy the chair when you try to feed it through as well as make it difficult to feed the track too. First stage after clipping the two plastic sprues together is feeding in the stock rail (two outer rails), this is relatively easy especially with thin nosed pliers. Make sure however that you curve the curved stock rail slightly before feeding through the chairs otherwise it may distort the point. After they are fed through they can be snipped off at the end (I use Xuron track cutters although a Dremel would work fine too with a cutting disk). Also note the thick part of the rail is the top whilst the thin part is the bottom of the bullhead rail. After this i use a skewer and superglue to secure the sprues tightly; you have to pull them apart gently apply glue then push them back together. I have found this easier to do after the stock rails have been put on as they keep it relatively flat during gluing. At this point i will slide the plastic tie-bar between the sleeper webbing and the rail into position. It is important to file down the tie-bar so they are flat as from Marcway the rivets protrude from the plastic resulting in a jerky movement and switch rails being above the stock ones. For this i used a Dremel with sanding attachment but wearing goggles ( mine are from Pound land!) as there is a large amount of debris as you are removing quite a lot of material That is all for part one, hope you have found it interesting / informative, Kind regards, Gary