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cutting42

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  1. cutting42

    Northgate Trackplans

    By cutting42,

    Hi Di Hi Campers
     
    Well today's update is bringing us closer to the current status. As I explained before Newark Northgate was chosen as it fitted a number of criteria. Major features for me was a full length station but a little yard for shunting and leaving interesting items of stock was also an important feature for me. Newark has some somewhat overgrown sidings that I have decided to revive as an enterprise yard using a little licence. I don't really have enough space for all 5 sidings and am debating including 2 or 3 sidings. 3 looks more prototypical but more or less fills the board with track. 2 sidings allows a bit of space for container loading/unloading using a reach stacker which is what I am thinking of doing. I could use some advice on this so may be posting in the help section as well.
     
    So anyway, some pictures:
     
    3 siding option
     

     
    2 siding option
     

     
    I have also started planning the tracklaying, starting with the two fast lines. I havecut out some of the webs from the code 55 track and soldered the drop wires to the bottom of the rail which will be hidden by the ballast:
     

     
    I have also bee experimenting with methods for securing the track on the baseboard joins. I used copper clad PCB and this seems to work very well although I have not glued and soldered down yet.
     

     

     
    Plan will be to glue up the track, when it has set I will solder the track onto the PCB and then slit with my Dremel and the should result in perfectly aligned tracks.
     
    Thanks for watching - be safe out there!
  2. cutting42
    Hi and thanks for tuning in again!
     
    These pics and designs have been taken/drawn over a few months (said it would be slow).
    This is the design of the boards and how they will all connect up:
     

     
    As you can see there will be 6 boards, the scenic side will be 8' by 18" with the run round and fiddle yard a bit bigger. I have built just the 2 scenic boards so far and will not build the rest until I have figured out where to store all the boards.
     

     
    First few cuts, using a slotting blade called a stacked dado in my table saw to rip out an exact 9mm half depth slot for the boards to slot together for maximum strength. You can do this with a router and a 9mm cutter as well.
     

     

     
    Then painted them and topped with B&Q cork tiles
     

     

     
    Did a bit more painting on the backscene (a bit early but I had some match pots and fancied a go.
     

     

     
    Thanks for looking
  3. cutting42

    Newark Northgate

    By cutting42,

    Hi Chaps and Chapesses
     
    This will be my BLOG for Newark Northgate, an exhibition layout of the ECML in the GNER era. It will be N gauge and DCC controlled from Traincotroller via Lenz 100 set. I have been planning this for years really and progress will be glacial like as I have an active family and a job with a lot of travelling.
     
    I am also a hobby woodworker and build baseboards on occasion (I did some of Tim Easters Auchin thingy boards for him to match up to the previous boards) and I was an electronics engineer way back as well so love doing many of the things that some other modellers find boring ie woodwork and electrickery. The scenery stuff will be more of a challenge but I am determined to come up with something reasonable.
     
    I have always been drawn to the ECML from the early stories of Mallard and the speed competition with the LMS in the past. However being a child of the 60's it was Diesel and Electric not Steam that appealed so the choice was Deltics or Electric. Farish were taken over by Bachmann and one of the first items to be re released was the GNER liveried HST which caught my eye, such a nice grown up livery I have always thought! So it was decided! A modern era of mid 90's to mid naughties was settled upon and stock acquisition started.
     
    I will be trying to keep relatively honest to the period and region but as always reserve the right to a "Rule 1" train. Stock is mostly complete with 2 x 225 sets,2 x Eurostar (one GNER and one white), 2 x HST for the fast stuff. Central Trains 170'2, 158's will be joined by 153's and 156's when I get round to it. I am also looking forward to the Hull Trains 222 if it ever appears.
     
    Freight will be much less well defined but dominated by container traffic, a few car transporters and lost coal trains. A smattering of infrastructure stuff is/will be built as the mood strikes, all to be hauled by 92's 86's (when available),a shed load of sheds and 67's. Guest apperances by my railhead train of 2 x Loadhaul 37's and scratch built wagons (yet to be done).
     
    So thats the plan and progress is, as I mentioned before, very slow.
     
    In forthcoming posts, a trackplan, fiddleyard, baseboard progress and a bit of tracklaying.
     
    Thanks for your attention!
     
    Gareth
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