MarshLane

With your weathering skills I'm sure you could do a good job with buildings . But I agree the chap building that has a wonderful talent, oh to produce something to that standard eh! Really good. I've acquired some brickwork papers that are textured somehow. Its not 3D, but far better than flat 2D, so I shall be interested to see how they come out. I've not looked at the Slaters embossed, although I used South Eastern Finecast (I think) embossed brick for the Depot Building last year. Rich

That looks superb Jinty - what are the bricks done with? Plasticard? Going to look wonderful once its complete and in position on TJ. Rich

Evening all, Bit of a general update today. Firstly, managed to progress a few ideas on how to convert the Ixion Fowler to a centre cab version (as mentioned above) so that is bubbling in the background. Also the etched brass North Eastern ES1 electric Bo-Bo kit from Judith Edge Kits arrived yesterday, so once I've built this Slaters box van here, I think that will be the next thing to be tackled - should be fun! I've had a very productive day off today, managed to spend just about the entire day on the layout baseboards, which are now 85% complete. I've focused on Board 2 - Board 1 you may recall is the left hand one of the pair, which has been used for all of the tracklaying up to press. Board 2, the right hand baseboard, is now equipped with its overhead light box (although I've yet to install the lights!) and I have to say, considering there is no vertical support at one end to allow an uninterrupted view of the layout, it is far more sturdier than I thought and should work fine. The whole of the light box, non-scenic side and the non-scenic part of the back have all been painted a satin black to give a much improved appearance. With the exception of fitting the lights and cutting the hole in the end to lead to the fiddle plate, all the woodwork on this board is now complete. I've got all the Lightbox parts cut for Board 1 too, so hopefully I may get that one sorted out on Sunday morning, as I doubt much will happen tomorrow due to other commitments. I forgot to take a photo once the protective newspaper had been removed, but this was how it looked while the paint was drying! As these are the first portable boards I've made, I think they are on the verge of approaching exhibition quality. Hopefully my thoughts on the lighting will provide a bright and evenly lit scene. A small gap can be seen between the front and top of the light box, the top is currently sitting a little proud on one of the supports that are on the other side, so I need to take the top off, take a little of the triangular support and replace - typically I didn't notice this until after painting, I took the photo and then looked at it on my phone and saw the light gap! The strange colour of the back in the last picture was because the light was fading this evening and the security light was on and reflecting! I've also realised looking at the above picture how bad the garage door is now ... something else that needs painting! More work! Rich

Hi Brian, Thanks for that. Im thinking about both the stone wall the separates the rising road from the railway, behind the workshop building (see Brian's sketch) and the workshop building itself. I was going to do the latter out of laser cut MDF, but I'm thinking may try a different method for this one. I've acquired some brick and stone 3D style sheeting which looks really effective, so may try that for one of them. Im currently thinking that foam board could be a good base for the workshop, but I'm a little concerned about its warping if glue is applied to put the stone sheeting on? Also I think the stuff I've got here is 5mm, and I'm thinking it maybe needs to be thinner? That really does look nice Chris. Im very tempted to try DAS clay for the stone wall at the back of the layout, will have to go have another read of your thread for hints on painting the stones! Thanks for the kind comments Marcus. Yes I'm looking forward to having a go at the Fowler - Im thinking that I'll follow Chris' example with plasticard for the new cab structure, but there are some rather nice quite cheap kits that could be butchered to give the bodyside vents etc, something I think that I'd struggle to recreate satisfactorily in plasticard. Rich

Chris, Thats great thanks - food for thought there. The idea of DAS clay had occurred to me, as I've got some here, but early attempts a few months back were not all that successful. Need to have another go with it I think. Work has progressed today, the Lightbox for Board 2 is about 60% complete, and with any luck will get fitted to the board tomorrow, then just need to repeat for Board 1, at which point the boards will be complete. Just got the fiddle trays to build then, although I've also decided to use the 4ft traverser that I built last year for my Marsh Lane Depot (which hasn't progressed very far!) on Arksey too, so that will be fitted at one end, and allow longer than planned coal trains to run past the workshop. Had a couple of hours tonight with trackwork, and the mainline has gone down on Board 1. Biggest task left there is to complete the first part of the crossover on Board 1, then lay the track on Board 2. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to run out of rail before I can lay the (off scene) yard headshunt, so that may delay the scenics on that board a little bit until I can get down to Slaters in Darley Dale and acquire some more rail. Tonights trackwork looks quite good tho to my eye! The box marked out in black on the right hand side of the main line in the last photo is the future location of one of the ground signals. Once the trackwork has been painted, and the rails weathered, then it will get cut out with the jigsaw and the signal installed. Electrics have all been planned, together with how the boards will connect together, and how the wiring is to be routed. I've also got the control panel drawn out in Illustrator, just need to find some way of laser cutting it, and printing the text on at the same time! Rich

Hi Chris, That Victory tank really does look the business. I am going to add a green one to the stock list of Arksey at the earliest opportunity! For those of you that have heard me talk about the new micro O gauge layout, but haven't seen the thread yet (clear here if you want an overview) then the boards are built, and the trackwork is going down quite nicely now. Also forgot to mention, the North Eastern ES1 etched brass kit arrived from Judith Edge Kits this morning, together with Mashima motors and gearboxes from Branchlines yesterday, so that will be the next big project to be tackled on this thread. Have to say it looks frightening when you first open the box and see all that flat brass! A few hours of reading, re-reading and re-re-reading the instructions will be called for I think. Also need to have a visit up to Shildon and do some pictures of the real thing to help. Having had a quick read through, I'm thinking a good supply of detail images is going to be a big help. Oh,and need to get a decent soldering iron too! Rich

Guys, A question for you all that I forgot to post earlier. The layout will have a couple of stone/brick walls, as well as the workshop building. One thought was to use laser cut MDF like I have done previously, but this is all about experimenting, so I'm tempted to look at alternatives, therefore do any of you have any suggestions on ways to construct buildings or walls? I guess 5mm foamboard could be an option for the building shell? All suggestions/thoughts welcome.... Rich

Hi Martyn, Very nice! Look forward to seeing the rest of it! Rich

Brian, your the generous one taking the time to do it - a copy is now printed out and on the wall to keep giving me incentive!! Talking of which, I've had a couple of hours on the first board, and while I've not done much, the whole has been marked for the first ground signal to go in, and the second rail has been added to the headshunt, allowing the NE brake van to be 'rail tested' ... well pushed up and down a couple of times. And seen as the little Fowler arrived the other day, I felt it only right it should stretch its legs ... so the first movement on Arksey has now happened! Hopefully that will embed the video correctly - if not, just click here to view it (should you be so inclined!) ... ok, ok, I know its not all that exciting, but just wanted to show that progress was being made! That is running on pure DC at this stage, although the final layout will be switchable between DC and DCC to allow full flexibility. Rich

Hi Gareth, Unfortunately, I'm a little too far away to pay you a visit, but that is a superb idea for showing of DCC and de-mystifying it abit for people. Well thought out. Rich

Thanks Andi, Yes, I'm in the same boat which is why my BIG O gauge project is on postpone at the moment, and I'm doing this! Something to occupy me and also to try out different ideas for the bigger project! Managed to get finished at work earlier than expected today, and had a meeting cancelled, so might be a bit of me time tonight and get that point finished! Rich

That looks so smooth and a lovely runner! Do I take it that the standard motor is an 8:1 then now, but that Slaters will supply a 22:1 if asked? Rich

Given that was moving Dave you did very well to capture so many pictures!!! Just how many photographers were stood in that field!! Good job tho, also like the Maskol idea with the Mk2 bodies. Very nice outcome.

Hi Craig, Nice to see your moving forward with things. In one way, I'm finding my little 6'x18" layout a bit restrictive, but in so many other ways, it seems far better, more achievable and easier to detail somehow! Still hankering after getting on with the big layout, but I'm thoroughly enjoying little Arksey at the moment! Having said that, your smaller boards are three times the length of mine, so keen to see what your going to do with it! Rich

Dave, I've said it before, and I'll say it again ... stop posting pictures of the real thing, you make it so unfair for the rest of us!!! Nice work on the loco, and the photography - I presume thats on a photo plank outside? Rich

Evening all, Well a few days of work, but hoping to get back to some modelling on Thursday. Having finished work today, a nice little box was waiting for me courtesy of Postman Pat! Those who are following the thread may recall that I'd mentioned that Chris Klein (of Ixion and Minerva fame) had converted one of the Ixion GWR diesel 0-4-0 shunters into a centre-cab version and that having liked the outcome I was going to seek out a model and attempt something similar. Well thanks to a very kind offer from an rmWebber, the opportunity to purchase such a model at a superb price was grasped with both hands! So this little chappy arrived today... It will be test run on the layout, and then modified. Im thinking that the next plastic model, the Slaters box wagon will get built first, then onto 'butchering' this as it was recently put to me. If I can achieve something akin to the example shown here, then I'll be happy! Then a very kind gesture that has really made my day! Ok, I'm easily pleased, but this is just superb . One of our fellow rmWebbers who is currently building an O Gauge layout based in the West Midlands (Gosty Hill if you've not seen it, go take a look!) is an absolute whizz at drawing - far better than I'll ever be. During a recent exchange of messages, I joked that I should commission him to do a drawing of what I'm aiming for on Arksey. Brian (Tove on here) kindly came back and said, given a bit of time he thought he could come up with something - well that was an under-estimate, and I logged on this evening to post the above pic, and discovered this ... To say I'm over the moon! Thank you goes to Brian for his time and generosity - it captures exactly what I'm looking to achieve with this little layout, and does it far better than my simple track drawing or worded description ever could. Hope you all like it as much, and I hope it gives the readers of this thread a clear flavour of where I'm going with the layout. Rich

Hi Dave, Thanks for the comments. I must admit this last 12 months I've felt like getting more adventurous with the model railway. I've had a OO gauge one since being little, but it's always been RTR models and simple card building kits with newspaper and wallpaper paste paint green for hills! While my move to O gauge a few years back was because OO just no longer held that realism for me, it was still based around RTR locos and wagons and Marcway/Peco track. The past 12 months I've thought I fancy having a go at making a shed building, hence the scratchbuilt, laser cut shed building that got my Marsh Lane Depot thread underway, then I attempted point work, now the plastic and etched brass kits! Really does go to show that it's always worth trying something once! Have to say I've really enjoyed it all too, and being able to share it with others on rmWeb, as well as getting advice on different things has been great. So couldn't agree with your sentiment more! Thanks for the support! Rich

Hi John, I'll go with unfitted in that case I think. Seems to be a good starter for kitbuilding, just wish the detail on the underside was explained a bit better! Thanks for the background on the weathering, thats useful, something I've not attempted yet. Hi Martyn, Thanks of the advice, thats a great tip! To be honest, I don't think its twisted, its more the internal door I haven't got spot on, and I think its resting on the inside cabin roof (which is deeper on the roof section than the veranda's) so it needs a little rub with some sandpaper, which should sort it. It doesn't matter which end you get flat, the other is always sat proud - and looks to be because of the same reason. But if that doesn't work, ill give the soup tin a try! Yes, I need to get hold of some Milliput, thanks for the reminder, thats great. Rich

Forgot to mention on last night's update, the ES1 NER electric loco kit should arrive shortly from Judith Edge Kits, and I've ordered the motor, gearbox and chain drive from Branchlines this morning, so the next instalment in my adventures with kits is on the horizon - although I think this Slaters box van will get built first! Rich

Hi John, Yes I'd agree with that comment entirely! The brake rigging took some sorting out for me too! Im thinking this one may be through piped, but I'm working on the basis that its a former NE van that at some point in the past - the reasons for which appear to have been lost in the midst of time! - has transferred to the NCB for use on the Arksey Colliery Railway, much of which runs unbraked! Well thats my back story anyway! I like the way you've built and painted your van. Its the same as always, two people approach these things from different viewpoints and different aspects or ways of construction come to light. I'm going to do another one or two of these, so will be including a couple of your ways of building along the way! Nice weathered outcome for you tho. Hi Simon, Thanks for that - and for the health warning! - I do need to get a bottle of their Brass Black - do you know where its obtainable from? Rich

Hi Ron, Just thought I'd enquire as to what's happening with your model? Any progress? Rich

Hate to say this Andy, but I think I prefer the LNER/LMS style region to blue diesels!!! (For reference, I've retreated into the bomb shelter out of the way of anything that can be thrown at me hehe ) Nice pictures tho, and looks like your having fun experimenting with the layout? Great to see .. looking forward to seeing more ... 12 down, 87 to go Rich

No, there is at least one bodyshell in Italy for the Devon diesel version - Railway Herald did a full round up of all the current construction and which sets are where a couple of weeks back, might have been last week, I'll have to check, but there was a picture of the first green bodyshell in the Italy factory. Lets hope they do a better job with these than they did with those high speed units for Belgium/Netherlands that got rejected and sent back! EDIT: Oops, sorry got interrupted by a phone call while I was typing that and I see Ron beat me to the reply! Sorry for the duplication.

Hi Rod, Sorry to hear your've not been well, but pleased to see the new tablets are having a positive effect. That signal box looks superb - really enhances the layout and adds to the brilliant quality you've already achieved. Well done mate. Rich

Well no work on the track today. A combination of rain and work 'stopped play' as they say! However I have had an enjoyable two or three hours tonight doing a bit more on my NE Brake Van kit. If you've been following on the Marsh Lane thread over on the 7mm Modelling part (have a wander back to this post in November!) then you'll know that having never built a plastic kit before I acquired a Parkside Dundas NE 20-ton brake van kit, in order to 'have a go'! Its been slow progress, my fault entirely, and tonight has been the first work done on it this year, but its coming together well. This will appear with NCB markings for Arksey. Still some detailing work to do, the roof needs attention to sit properly, and of course it needs painting (and the couplings/hooks blackening) but its coming together nicely! If you want to see any more pics of it, I've documented the build on the Marsh Lane thread (tonights work can be seen here). For reference, the Marsh Lane thread will stay as a 'workbench' style thread documenting builds and detailing etc, keeping this Arksey thread specifically for the layout and shots of the rolling stock operating. EDIT: Forgot to mention Michael Edge, tells me my etched brass kit of ES1 is ready for dispatch, as soon as Royal Mail decide to deliver the cheque, so here goes with another first - never soldered anything other than power connections before, so another adventure approaches! Rich