Bomp

Updated photo: This shows the new junction for access to the lower sidings with a signal that looked more or less appropriate stuck on for aesthetics. Not sure there's much more to report on the track front, but I have been playing with my wagons: It's my first go at making wagons manky, and it was all done with acrylics. Apart from the bits that were meant to look a bit like metal. They're done with 3B pencil rubbed on sandpaper and brushed on.

I have quite a range of eras - starting (so far) with the Midland Compound, currently ending with Strathclyde PTE 156, but I'm planning on getting a couple of London Midland EMUs. Soonish I hope to have more progress pictures to share.

I thoroughly enjoyed being at St Pancras last week for the first time in 13 years, and seeing trains on the departure board for Sheffield, Luton, Bedford, Paris, Nottingham, and Brussels. I may even have that list you've put as a sign above the entrance to the station.

I've found the name! Dragon Junction, page 21 C3 of the Sectional Maps of the British Railways as at December 1947. It's in/near Harrogate, but in this version of history, it has been moved to somewhere further south and further west. To keep a little of the LNER flavour, I've got the ubiquitous J72 by Mainline and I'm looking to start a fleet of GCR locos. Geographically, I think Oxford is about the right area for my mix of (ex)GWR and (ex) LMS with, at the moment, a tiny hint of Southern (Terrier), and scope for more Southern, now I've realised there's more to the Southern than Bulleid. I can see a King Arthur or a Lord Nelson in my mind's eye, with a nice shiny rake of Pullmen behind on my layout. Without the need for "justifying" Southern, Birkenhead would be a good bet, LMS/GWR and LNER, but I'd prefer to move it all North of the river. In the end, though, it's my railway, and they're all going to have to run at some stage with overhead and third rail, though I may have the electrics on one circuit and steam on another. All that remains is to get building again, once I've got more points and more underlay. And more track. At the moment I have a converter section on the incline which is troublesome, so I think I'll spend a little extra and have Code 75 on all the scenic section and change to Code 100 on the way into the sidings.

After finding that my locos struggled even on what I thought was a shallow slope (turns out to be a drop of 5" over 10' - 1 in 24?) I have done a new one which is twice as long (it still only drops the 5"...). The underlay is down. When it's dry, I'll lay some track and see how the trains cope.I'm still wondering about the curve at the end opposite the sidings. I planned originally to have the town over that and an illusory station that looks straight but the tracks curve away when you can't see. Now I'm wondering whether to leave it visible and have a whole station modelled. Three night shifts coming up, so, all things being equal, and if the population behaves, I'll have some time to think early in the morning.

I have been very carefully watching it on the high bit over the big gap. And only having them go slowly until I am sure they stay on!

At last, I have a circuit! It's sort of a rough sketch so far, but is in mainly the final alignment. Just got another circuit to put down on the inner loop of the top circuit. So far I have had a 37 wagon freight and an 8 coach passenger train going. I am waiting for the glued couplings to dry so I can have 10 coaches on the passenger train. Pictures follow.

Today, I have finally finished the circuit!!!!!!!! I just have to wait for the underlay to dry, and tomorrow I can have a full circuit of track. I may even go to bed early so tomorrow comes quicker.

Today, after putting in a concrete floor (or at least assisting while my father in law did most of the work), I have taken the offending wall down and made up my curve. As soon as I get chance, I'll connect it all up and lay the track. Pictures as soon as I can.

Storming along today. Got the trackbed and underlay down to link the running lines with the sidings. Just got to wait for it to dry and then I can lay track. Assuming I can find the converters for 75-100, that is.

This is what I've been getting up to in the last couple of days. Ten sidings should do me for now, and since it's all at the back, it should be easy enough to add to the front. Must remember to leave a set of points spare...

Just been looking at the ex-Dapol Lanky pug. Looks like it could make a basis for a scratchbuilt Bass No 9...

It's looking like the top circuit will be a plain oval at the outermost extremes of the footprint. I'd like to think that this would be disguised by numerous bits and bobs in front, such as one end will be mainly/entirely hidden under a town, the other end will be semi scenic going over the storage sidings, and there will be some sort of tall industrial buildings on the lower circuit obscuring the view from time to time. The plan is, in the end, to have long trains going round and round on the top while I play on the lower level with such things as stopping trains and shunting. It's not going to be too straightforward getting to and from the storage sidings which will add some participation to the whole affair. Now to start working out what I've got or need to make four trains for the same era... steam isn't too bad, but modern stuff will have to be a bit flexible to start with as I gather the stuff. Lusting after bogie tank wagons at the moment, a nice long line behind a 47 would be great. Pictures will follow when I've got something to show. And when I've found the camera.

Some pics to show progress. And finally, the new coupling loop I made yesterday. Just need to find my paint to do the blackening properly. Permanent pen doesn't quite do it!

Long time no progress. Well... now I have 36 feet of track down, single line only, and it works nicely. Got my Manor with two Hawksworth bogie vans, a Gresley third, two Collet composites and a Collet brake third testing it. Once I have a circuit down, I'll pile on the coaches to see how much the Manor can take on level track. Photos will follow once I've found a camera with a full battery and a card. It's getting very exciting. I may soon have to wire it up for DCC so I can use my newer locos. The lower circuit can be DC for now, appropriately isolated. That will be an incentive to pluck up courage to chip the latest whitemetal locos I've brought from my mum's house - 4709, 2818, 7823 and some others. I'd like to see what the whitemetal 28xx can haul. I've "only" got 15 feet of siding space, though... Two halves of a train, perhaps?

I do tend to over engineer things. Maybe that's why I don't do portable layouts. I can sit/lie on it to reach the back bits, which is handy.

A couple of pictures of my Ben laying underlay for me, which also show the latest trackbed progress. Not much to say that the pictures don't say, really.

Just worked eight days on. Got tomorrow off for my boy's 10th birthday, then three night shifts, and on Thursday I'm on the boat to the mainland for a trip to the Midlands, and straight back on the following Monday into three late shifts. So, nothing more done recently, and nothing more in the near future, but plenty of thinking time and enthusiasm has built up. I reckon that given a couple of decent stints in the basement, I could even get a circuit down by the time I go on holiday in August (UK or France, to be decided when we compare the boat prices).

Will do, for sure. Off to Alderney for a few days with work, and when I get back, I should have my pack of supplies from Hattons, so there should be plenty of progress to show. From past efforts, though, I suspect things may slow down once I have a circuit, as I do like playing with my trains. However, the second circuit is quite separated from the first, so I should be able to build and play at the same time.