Woolleysh33p

Any chance of an update?

A week off taking it easy after a Hernia Op has given me the opportunity to take a few pics of progress on the layout.

 

Its a good job the first exhibition deadline is September 2013 ( The N Gauge Show ) as, working on the layout as an individual enterprise means progress is somewhat slower than desired. I am amazed at the progress others on the forum achieve in the time available.

 

Over the last week I have been painting some buildings and doing a bit on base scenery. Most importantly I have been taking it easy and playing trains to relax. Thankfully no running faults to get worked up about.

 

Warship on cement.jpg

The Warship and Presflo Cement train was weathered by CF loco's. A favourite train of mine as I have a pic of a similar cement train at Exeter being haulled by a green Warship.

 

Goods Shed.jpg

The Standard pattern good shed still needs glazing, gutters and downpipes plus a little more weathering / tidying. It will sit across a baseboard join so will be removable.

 

Loco Shed.jpg

Loco Shed ( Based on kingham ) also needs glazing, gutters etc.

 

Dairy.jpg

Dairy is the Mark 2 building with now just a single siding ( the first was too big ). Its based on Wallingford Creamery, in the paint shop the weekend.

 

Hall.jpg

The Dapol Hall has been renamed to Blakesley Hall and weathered. Another favourite as I have a trasured photo of my Grandfather driving this loco in 1962!

 

DSC_6665.jpg

Last up a view of the scenery on the left end board, the ripe wheat field at the back was done using a mix of 2mm fibres and Greenscene fine ground scatter. I have been searching for the right colour tones for a few years and am finally happy with the outcome.

Regards

Carl.

Can I ask, where did you get the coach from in the first photo? Is it kit made? Where can I get it?

If you get time can you upload more pictures?

Oh and why not start a thread on the n gauge forum?

Thank you for the positive feedback on the layout,  the team of operators  ( Mike Berman, Nick Moon, Ged Lee & Dave Jones ) and I had a great weekend and we had decent crowds right up until close of play at 4 on sunday. 

 

The layout behaved very well, with only a few problems;operator error on the slips causing teh odd short; 2 sticky points in the fiddle yard and 2 Dapol signal failures. We had more issues with some of the DCC loco's failing but thankfully I had a large enough stock to not to affect the presentation of different trains.

 

3 trains seemed to get the most comment

- The You choos sound 37 on the Limestone train

-  38xx pulling 26 coal wagons, I have been challenged to make the later a proper train and increase the rake to 45+. 

-  Hall on the milk train with a collect full brake from a TPM etch.

 

I overheard a comment form one viewer who thought a Passenger train was a bit short ( Western Enterprise with 3 Collets ) he was absolutely right as I forgot my stock box of coaches for the weekend. I mustered a few pennies to buy a few new coaches from CMC and Dapol! Later Bachman loaned me a Blue pullman and the chaps from Billingham loaned a rake of Maroon Mark 1's . Next exhibition I must do a checklist and re-read the Exhibition tips thread!!

 

The post show surgery has firmed up a list of improvements to make operation more comfortable and straightforward, for example numbering the fiddle yard lines on the control panel , having just one operator control the points and signals and the 3 drivers call the trains on, more Ports for the DCC controllers and another line in the fiddle yard is a must to squeeze in as well.

 

The scenic side still has a fair bit of work to do, to answer qu's from Steve, the hedges in part come from  Hedgerow scenic products, These I feel are more suitable for oo gauge so they were adapted but chopped in half width  and enhanced by myself on the chopped side! I have then replicated Rob's technique across about 70% of the hedges using Rubberised horsehair , scrubbing pad, woodland scenic foliage and scatter. The roads are in need of decent painting and weathering to blend in; as you surmise its on the list of jobs.

 

The weathered stock is done by Tom Hardwick  of CF loco's, he also came to the show to see the layout for the first time. I am a very satisfied customer of his; he can be contacted at cflocos@hotmail.co.uk

 

Next outing for the layout is the Hornby Show at Gaydon on 12th Oct. Fingers crossed there will be a couple more sound loco's including a Hymek.

 

I had some great chats with Exhibition managers scouting layouts at the show and was stunned  to get 10 invites to other shows over the coming years. When they are confirmed and  prioritised I will publish a list.

 

Again it was a pleasure to meet many fellow RM webbers.

 

 

 

Carl

Was really good to see the layout through my own eyes rather than pictures. Can I ask. What wood did you use to lay the track on as I am building an n gauge layout which will be raised from the baseboard, andi am unsure what wood to use?

Thanks

They layout was looking great at TINGS today!

Hi

I'm an n gauge modeller and I want to use alternate couplings instead of rapido's. What couplings do you use as they blend in, and look more realistic.

Also, would they fit on an n gauge shassis

Thanks

Annie work. Keep up the good standards

Do you use an airbrush to weather your loco's?

What did you use to get the network rail livery on your stock?