MarshLane

Hi richard, It's all looking good. Glad the initials goes with the timetable are ironing out the bugs, all part of the frustration ... I mean fun! Lol! Layout is looking good too! Rich

Oh and here's me thinking we'd got you into 1980s diesels and you were going to portray the route with some running sessions showing what might have been had it survived!!! Drat ... note to self, must work harder on these persuasion techniques! I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what are you planning for motive power? Great Western with a touch of LMS? Rich

For anyone following the point construction on here, take a look at Post 54 over on Brian's (Tove) Gosty Hill layout - a superb diagram on how the tie-bars might work. I thought, I'll make a note on here otherwise i'll forget it when i need it later this week Work will take precedence for the next few days unfortunately! Rich

Hi, Wow, these are superb! Im just getting into creating OHL from hand, albeit in O gauge, rather than HO, but can I ask how you created these? Rich

Hi Peter, Sounds like you had a good trip, and arrived back safely. Those two Class 25/9s do look rather good together. What's the issue with pairing them up? One running faster than the other? Do they have he same motors/decoders in them? Rich

So Jinty, You have found the Olympic 08! First we have a Gold tram in Manchester to mark the Olympic champions, now we find there is a Gold 08 buried in deepest Wales! And it starts like an Olympic Champion too!!! Sorry, couldn't resist! Looking good - the sound is interesting too - my 08 was one of the first DCC decoders I bought from SWD, and personally I still think its one of the best 08 sounds going, but this one from Legoman comes a close second I must say. Im more of a Zimo chip person this days and I don't think LMB does Zimo sound, just Loksound decoders, but may have to try one of his for the next Class 47 decoder! Anyway, looking good, keep up the progress! Rich

John, Superb model photography. The detail on the loco and surrounding scene, along with the tightness of the composition works really well. Superb! Rich

Thanks Martyn, Yes, already getting that feeling! I must admit, sorting the 'vee' out and filing the blades down was a lot easier than I thought it would be - still need to work out how to easily file just the top of the inner side of the blade, without touching the bottom section, but i'll get there with that! In other news, although not directly related to Marsh Lane - but the bigger loft/shed layout which will be more of a 7/8-road steel/Speedlink shunting yard - thanks to another rmWebber (Matt-B) the next item of rolling stock has arrived today, in the form of a weathered and slightly detailed Skytrex PFA wagon and container. These wagons aren't perfect, the actual wagon chassis is only a little more detailed than a cardboard box! But they do form up into a nice vehicle with a little bit of attention, and Matt has superbly painted and detailed both the container and wagon. Its given me the push to make painting, weathering and detailing my existing PFA a higher priority now! Thanks for the opportunity to acquire it Matt. Can I also take this opportunity, as we approach Post No. 300, to thank everyone who has commented, contributed, provided help/advice, or simply shown an interest by visiting and reading the thread. I was amazed earlier this evening to discover that the number of views was over 10,300! Totally astonished, and somewhat humbled, that it should have that amount of interest when there are far better modellers out there - thank you all. I hope you continue to enjoy the journey! Rich

Minty/Martyn and Stephen, Thanks! I've not had much time today, but have moved the knuckle rails towards the opposite side of the sleepers where you all suggested, and I must say it looks a lot better. The rail is short now of course, so i'll need to make two new ones, but thats fine. I'll hopefully get chance tomorrow to have a look at it properly - and i've found some 1.5mm thick MDF that I can use until I'm able to get the proper shims. Thanks again to all of you, the passing on of knowledge and information is one of the strengths of rmWeb. Cheers Rich

Hi Stephen, Many thanks, yes I see what you mean, the knuckle is on the wrong side of the sleeper. Ok I'll have a look at that. Rich

Guys, Many thanks. Martyn, no I haven't got the shims at the moment, i'd missed those somehow, but i'll drop Debs an email and see if they are available at the moment. I'll redo the wing rails tomorrow or Sunday and repost it, and see where we go - i've got to redo that right hand blade rail anyway, since Simon noticed its upside down!! As for Minty, I'm definitely not a Trebor guy .... prefer Polo's personally I've given the web browser a stern telling off and told Siri (that's Apple's voice assistance on the Mac) that it needs to go an learn what a Jinty locomotive is ... fair enough however, it did search and return the Wikipedia article on Jinty tanks lol!! So may be it does know! lol Thanks again guys, feedback, input and your experience is all invaluable in helping us idiots get to grips with these things! Spent some time tonight, designing the control panel for the layout - getting a little ahead of myself - but I thought it was time well used! The circles represent where the holes for switches will go - the 5.8mm ones are 'on-off-on' DPDT power switches, the 6mm holds being detection LEDs, the PTM circles at the top being Push-To-Make push buttons that will interface with the TrainController software for Semi-Automatic operation (ATO) of the light rail section. The whole of the depot layout will be wired so that each section (indicated by the change of colours) is electronically isolated from the next, and each individual section can be switched from pure DC to Digitrax DCC independently. The self-contained Metro/Light Rail system running above the depot will be pure Digitrax DCC. EDIT: Updated to reflect that the track diagram was drawn back to front! Rich

Jinty/Martin/Stephen, Many thanks for the feedback - i'll take another look at the crossing vee and wing rails, i'll have some plastikard around here that is 1.5mm thick I'm sure. Knowing the size that that gap for the flanges should be helps, i'll take a look tomorrow. Eyes have gone for tonight! Just to confirm, which of these is being suggested? Also Jinty, your going to have to change your name on here - I'm sorry, i know you have have it for a long time, but its just no good - you WILL HAVE to change it, I demand it .... my web browser spell checker keeps changing it to Minty!!! Hehe Rich

Hi Martyn, Ooh no I didn't? What are the metal plates? Didn't know about those! A pic would be handy if you can? Cheers Rich

Oh b**ger! I hadn't noticed that, yes i think it is I did get the chairs the wrong way round on the left switch blade at one point, and had to change them all when I realised! But I'd not noticed that - ill change that this weekend for a new one, and keep that for use as a left hand switch blade, when I do the next point! For future reference btw, are the sleepers right at the far end of the point - second image down on Post 260? I wasn't sure where the long sleepers finished, and the shorter ones started, or how far they should go as one sleeper? To go any further, would seems to be wrong as the chairs would be at a funny angle on the sleeper? Rich

Evening all, Firstly, thanks to everyone who has given help and advice on the trackwork - its all much appreciated and I think I may have missed a name or two off yesterday. Apologies if I did, it was meant to encompass everyone! Progress today - still got the catch rails to go in but I think the basic point is now there! Obviously at the moment, both the sleepers and rails are all stuck with blu-tack, only the 'vee' has been glued down. I did it this way, being the first time, because I wanted to make sure all came together ok, and that the gauge was correct etc, allowing room for movement if not! I'll now take it all apart, stick the sleepers to cardboard and glue it properly. Its certainly been a learning process, but an enjoyable one! The filing of the the point blades was far easier than I expected, although Im not sure if the blades themselves need to be thinner still at the top? I may not have totally filed the upper part of the inside rail down enough yet? Anyone any thoughts or comments? Im also slightly concerned about wheel drop in front of the 'vee'? The gap between the wing rails and the 'vee' nose seems a little large, and having just run a wagon over it, I'm not sure if something is wrong? The rails and 'vee' all match the template perfectly, so am i just worried about nothing? There's a couple of housekeeping bits to do, the check rails to put in, the wing rail on one side needs trimming, the tie bar needs fitted (once I can find them on the JLTRT website! I gave up looking this afternoon and rang them, but no answer, so still need to find and order them). The servo's have been ordered from Hobby King, and i've designed an MDF bracket to hold the servo's and microswitches securely, so its well on its way. All in all, I have to say, an enjoyable experience! 0.5 down (not quite 1 yet!) and only 4.5 to go! Rich

Hi Brian, Imaging it I'm afraid! I have picked up a couple of Heljan VDA vans recently. Rich

Stephen, Many thanks for the detailed answer. I was trying to work out where the four bolt chairs went! The point is a C6 - trying to balance the realism of a larger size with the space available! Rich

Hi Jinty, Many thanks - thats a huge help! I'll bear the card idea that Simon in mind for next time! Brian - thanks for that link, i've been trying to find that article for ages! I came across it a few weeks ago, thought i'd bookmarked it but hadn't and then couldn't find it! Never thought to look on the old forum. Cheers mate. Rich

Hi Simon, Thanks - I went for the blu-tack approach, rather than gluing to the template which I did for the shed track layout, as I want to be able to solder the power feeds out of sight under the rails after, so didn't want the template to remain! Rich

Hi guys, Ok, i'm a little stuck. The 'vee' has gone into place ok, and soldered up well, but I'm stumbling a bit with the subject of chairs on the outer running rail. Im assuming the chairs that I've missed off (on purpose) at the nose end of the point are slide chairs, where the blades slide over them - but how many should there actually be? Also where the check rails are concerned opposite the 'v' what kind of chairs go in here, and how to the chairs work with the check rail? Im assuming there is half of a normal chair to go under sleepers X5 and X6 - but is it right that there's nothing supporting the 'vee' itself? I'm not concerned with power at this point, as i'm going to use microswitches off the servos to change polarity. The outer (long) running rail nearest the camera is only fixed with blue-tack at either end and one chair in the middle at the moment. I note that there a line drawn across the Templot template around half way long the switchblades This where the switchblades need to be cut I presume? They are then reconnected as it were with plastic fishplates on the side of the rail? Or can the switchblades remain as one complete length of rail from the vee area to the blade? Final query, I don't currently have any tie bars - any suggestions? I know JLTRT do some, are they any good, and regardless of which type, does the service connect onto that tie bar? As they say .... Heeellllpppp! Just a reminder should anyone ever be trying to find anything - that i'm keeping the Index on Post 2 up to date! Thanks guys Rich

Afternoon all, Well, i'm pleased to report that track laying on Marsh Lane Depot has commenced! Slow steps to star with, but as it was tea break for the trackwork crew, I thought i'd take the opportunity to post a couple of pics - any comments or criticism or pointing out of early errors are welcome! Sleepers are stuck to the template with blu-tack and I've just filed the 'v' down - must admit, it was easier than I expected! Thanks go to Jinty, Simon and Paul for their helpful advice and comments, and for giving me the push to try it! Rich

Well if you want to keep the Mini, I can take the Rolls off for at a bargain price!! Looks pretty master quality from where I'm standing! Rich

Hi Jinty, Looking good. I do like the Bachmann Brass 08s - very substantial and slow running, well mine is anyway - I'm hoping the Dapol one's will compare as I have a bit of a soft spot for the old '350s', and at £170 i can see a few being allocated to Marsh Lane. Would you possibly do a step-by-step photo guide when you weather it? Its another thing on my 'must try myself soon' list. My 08 needs weathering, as do the two VDA vans i've acquired! So i'd be interested to see what you use and how you do it? Might as well learn from a master as they say! Rich

Hi Brian, Hehe! Thats a good thought actually, could work well either in the short term, or longer-term if the T&W stuff doesn't work out right. I like the idea of the back scene and the left hand corner behind in the light rail being something of a derelict factory/warehouses area environment - but having said that I do like the idea of the small modern workshop style things in the space the front, akin to the extension on Oulton Road. Mind you, a light rail system was suppose to breath regeneration into places, so I suppose both could be valid! Rich

Afternoon all, TTG/Paul/Brian, thanks for your kind comments, it will be nice to do some photographs of locos around the shed, rather than just inside it! Loads more detail to add to the interior however over the coming weeks - including people! I've also finally settled on the track plan for the boards, as the result of an afternoon spent in Templot! So that I can erect the full layout indoors, I'm working on a maximum length of 14' - 8' scenic, with a 4' traverser and 2' reversing siding ( see plan). The aim is to provide an operational depot for the loco fleet, using the shed building that has been under construction for the past five months. In wanting to maximise the operational potential as well, I'm also toying with the idea that a redundant trackbed is located behind the shed, on a higher level (4" up), that has been revitalised and used for a new light rail system, based on the Tyne & Wear Metro. If for any reason, I can't scratch build the light rail vehicles or the overhead line equipment, then the track plan remains the same, with the light rail system remaining and an abandoned route, part lifted in places. The red lines on the plan show the Light Rail/Abandoned railway route, with the blue track being the depot. The BR section will have either a home or ground signal controlling the departure of locos, while the Light Rail will be entirely two aspect colour light, with the exception of the ground signal controlling exit from the turnback siding - the theory here is that when being installed, the siding was only expected to be used for 'out of course' or engineering movements, and hence access is controlled by a ground frame, released electronically from the Signalling Centre, with the main line point, catch point, and both ground signals manually worked from the ground frame. Thereby giving the opportunity to include point rodding as well! In some cases the layout plan is exactly what I wanted, as the blue section only has three points, the red only two, and it therefore is not a huge task for my first attempt at building my own track. On the other side, I was hoping to get another stabling line on the depot, and possibly a fuel shed in as well - which would have been doable by adding an extra board, but then it would only have been usable outside on good days! So the decision was taken to stay within the 14' length. I could have added another point to Depot line 1, feeding back along the front edge of the middle board, but decided this would look fussy and cluttered. The idea is that the depot access and headshunt roads, disappear in a bridge under the light rail system, in reality, both will feed onto the traverser. Again, my aim was to have at least a 20" headhunt but unfortunately that would have minimised the stabling space outside the shed building,and also split the points over the baseboard joint. As it is, I think the light rail system can run with two vehicles, up to a maximum of four - assuming one is stabled in the relief siding, while the depot should be able to hold four locos (anything 18-26" long) and still allow movements - obviously the only thing 26" long is a pair of 20s, which can be accommodate on the backroad, and still have a 20" space before the point - and should there be a number of 08s stabled over the weekend or the like, then being only 8" in length, opens the opportunities further. The other advantage of the simpler track layout is that it hopefully won't look crowded, and will also give space for scenery to be included. Rich