nhdesigns

I should've mentioned that I'm looking around the West Midlands region and South West parts of the WCML mainly. My layout is purely fictional but I still want to have some accurate running trains of the time(s) and not just mixed up sets of coaches that don't look prototypical and the like. Apart from just one or two heritage trains and loco hauled trains, using a bit of modellers license to be replacements for DMU stock.

I just know one thing I'd like is to see the MK3 sleepers make a comeback. Especially now there's suitable trains for them in the form of the Class 47, 86, 87 and 90. Along with the MK2f's and DVT. I got two but need two more to make things even on my layout.

The demise of the MK1 sleeper was down to the fire at Taunton. The cause was mainly down to poor housekeeping by cleaners. They had left some of the dirty bed linen next to one of the train heaters onboard which overheated as the train headed up through Devon past Exeter. I'm not sure if it was the Riviera service that came off the track though. It might have been but I do know some of them did come off the track after a derailment somewhere when the driver, who was intoxicated, failed to slow down towards a sharp curve which caused the coaches to derail.

I guess this is something that's been discussed a lot but here goes. I'm modelling the West Coast Mainline around the mid 1980s and 1990s sectorisation and intercity swallow era (era 7 - 9) and wondering what sort of train formations would be used for passenger workings, both for mainline express and possibly some of the smaller commuter services. I say commuter services because I'm sure there were times when the DMU's of the 80s and 90s were probably not up to the job. Though that's a thought of mine. I'm currently running the newer electrics in the form of the class 86, 87, and new class 90 with a class 82 DVT as well as a 7+2 HST train, that is only run on cross country runs from the south to the north and Scotland. The only thing I don't have any idea about is the loco hauled services that ran. Did many run with older MK1 coaches and MK2 coaches? If so what formations were they operated under. I understand some of the 86s and 87s ran with MK3a coaches and a DVT at the end. Can anyone help or give some idea as to what some of the passenger services were formed of.

I saw this video as well and the sound was more defined than that of the zimo speakers Hornby used in its review of them. I'll take a look at them and might get them to go with the sound chips. I've seen how easy it is to replace the existing speakers that come with the TTS sound chips and also seen how tricky the original ones with fitting without having to clip part of them in order to get them to fit properly.

Basically I'm looking at buying the new Hornby Paxman Valenta Twin Track Sound decoders for one of my executive livery HST pack and basically would like to know a bit more about speakers. I've seen in the review of them that a set of Zimo 40mm by 20mm speakers were used instead of the original speakers to enhance the sound, although I heard it and wasn't sure if there was much difference. Would they be better than the original speakers that come with the decoders? Or is there any other speakers that would be suitable in giving better sound.

I've probably mentioned this before but I'm rebuilding the top scene for my layout, following the dismantling and removal of my previous one. I've gone for making a long street with one or two side road junctions to break things up. So far I've made some shops that are already fitted and wired up with lighting but I'm kinda wondering what else there is I could add that's a little different. The image below shows the scenic section that I'm working on now as well as a shot or two of the street scene I've already completed. I don't know whether to have some industrial type buildings in the form of warehouses or factories further along. I should mention that my layout is loosely based around the West Midlands region(s) and set in the mid 1980s to the '00s period ( from 2000 to 2010) if this would be of help. I should also mention that this is all based in a fictional urban sort of setting as well.

I don't think I might be much help with this but when it comes to homemade/custom signage for 1:76, I've designed my own personal ones using design software like Adobe Photoshop, though that's my personal choice. There is other free design software out there that could be of use. I've also come across a site called logopedia which is great resource for those looking for logos of specific brands or shop fronts. My own way of making signs was to use one of the shop kits available from Scalescenes and the like as a template and then with a bit of work in Photoshop managed to make my own custom signs. Here's some of the signs I've made for some shops I made for my layout. All the signs apart from the branded ones and the Chinese are all custom ones I made. Here's the link to the site I mentioned regarding shop fronts and logos: https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Category:United_Kingdom

I've never really used LibreOffice or Inkscape before but might give them a try myself. My own personal choice and one I use is Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign. Again this is my own personally preferred option in a way because I have them and got experience in using them. I've used it to create some custom things such as walls for derelict buildings and other items but not really used it for doing building design.

Any ideas of when these Does anyone know when these will be available? I've seen previews in some online shops but no mention of when they'll be available.

So a while ago I talked about doing a full rebuild of my high street on my layout, following a dismantling of it for redecoration. In that time I have gone back to using scalesscenes high street kit for some of the shops. Yet along the way I decided not to just follow the flow again and have shops that were static or similar to others. So in a way I took to the internet and after some in depth research looked at shops that would represent the look and feel of the 1980s and 1990s. So here's what I've come up with. The shop signs and displays are ones I have created using my graphic design skills. There are of course more photos and details of how I went about the rebuild which will be on my website when it's up and running. This here is pretty much how the first half of the street is going to look with two custom made shops and a builders yard. All of which has been toned down and weathered lightly. There is still more work to be done of course.

Wow that's quite a lot of freight traffic indeed. Thanks ever so much for this. I'll be sure to look at having some china clay tanks and waggons, as I can easily get them from Kernow Models since I live in Conrwall! I do have some railfreight BDA waggons with steel girders as their load and some others. BOC tanks are certainly something I do like the sound of having. I never really thought of coal traffic being around the West Midlands unless it was diverted or coming from Wales and the south.

Wow I forgot all about youtube. Thanks for the videos. I'll be sure to take a look at them.

I am looking for some prototype help. I'm modelling a freelance layout set in the West Midlands. I only know that intermodal/container traffic is often seen, as well as departmental stock from Bescot yard, if I'm right. But I'm sure there's more than that operated on the WCML, but what else? I'm modelling the 1980s BR blue and sector eras up to the present day operating companies if that would be of help.

Does anyone know how or where I can get some items for specific shops? Things like DIY shops and bakery shops. Things like that are what I'm looking for to go into my shops. I got the scalescenes interiors kit and have put it to good use.

Hey thanks. I managed to do a lot of searching around on the web and managed to find fonts often used for high street signs among things like logos for brands such as the Midland Electric Board and so on. The next thing to look at doing is adding some details to the shops. I've been able to find printable things like fridges, video machines and so on, but only as 1:12 scale/dollhouse size(s). I might see about scaling them down to OO gauge if possible. Only because I'm looking to have more than just washing machines, ovens and televisions sitting in a shop window.

Thanks everyone for the great advice and discussion on the subject. I have to say that there's a lot of good advice being given here. I have begun to work on making my high street. So far I have mainly done some kitbashing, if that sounds right, by using the scalescenes High Street kit. Nothing much done, apart from taking a floor or two out of the buildings to make them more in line with what I have seen are standard heights for things like local shops with flats above them. I have also been doing some work too on some shop signs that tie in with the era I mostly model in. The last image is one of a building in Wolverhampton I stumbled across on google street view that I've managed to bring down to size and will be low relief along with the rest of the buildings on the street.

By heck that's some craftmanship there. I especially like the advertising billboards there with things like cigarette adverts and beer. Where did you find them? If you don't mind me asking. I've been looking around everywhere for some but only closest I find are watermarked by the advertising agency.

Thanks for the helpful advice there. I can happily say that my elite is now back up and running again. It was a very close one with it, as I thought I would have to get a replacement at such short notice.

So I've followed the guide by Hornby to update the elite controller and now have a problem with my controller. I pressed and held the stop button for 15 seconds before plugging it into my computer. My computer picked it up but as I went to update the firmware and drivers for it, it came up and said update failed. I unplugged my controller and plugged it back in and now have the loco light flashing and a near blank screen with no way of resetting the controller or anything like that. I don't know what's gone on or what to do. Can anyone help please.

Well fortunately I'm not modelling anywhere in particular and am using modellers license in a way for a fictional layout based loosely in the west midlands. It mostly consists of two tracks splitting into four that have slower speeds because of the proximity to a nearby mainline station. I think I've seen shops and houses close to railway lines before, but couldn't quite remember when and where.

I do agree with that. The only possible thing I can do is to perhaps make the signage removable and interchangable as time permits. So in a way I would go from running 1980s stock with shops like C&A and woolworths and then swap the signs around when running more modern era stock, e.g. poundland and the like.

I might look into that. I have seen the work on Newbryford and was very impressed with how it looked. That is something I might look into as I have done it before. Though I did this when I was still a novice and the whole thing looked more like a cereal box with windows! But I got the high street kit from scalescenes that I can kitbash along with the new CLASP modular buildings that I might turn into a series of shops with offices on top. One I have in mind is perhaps a small supermarket like Netto or Quicksave or the like for it would blend in with the urban housing I have on the corner of my layout. The corner is still in place but the main street itself got damaged badly during a move around and was dismantled. Hence the reason why I'm looking for something more unique and not like a set of ready made buildings and kits glued onto wood.

Well I'm mostly modelling the 1980s through to the present day. The width is around 1 - 2ft by 6ft in length

So after a year out of action, I have finally got my layout back up and running. So far I have a corner scene consisting of two terraced houses and the backs of them and a long space to fill again. I am going to be rebuilding a top level street with a number of shops and other buildings as I had done previously, but will be using MDF for the top/road instead of hardboard like I had done previously. I only have some issue with buildings. I intend to have them low relief again but don't know whether or not to go down the same route as before and use commercial available buildings and kits from scalescenes, Hornby and Bachmann scenecraft. I am wondering if having some low relief buildings and a larger low relief structure, like a shopping center would work. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.