CoombeTown

Well prompted by @Andy Keane’s questions I started painting the point Rodding over the weekend. Just needs finishing off with weathering powders and installing now. I’ve also recovered the Martian yard surface sufficiently to the point where I could add the base layer of static grass on the embankment. The big question now is, should the yard ash surface continue all the way to the ballast, or should there be some sort of grassy area in between? Hopefully not too long until the next instalment…

Not too late Andy that whole section is yet to be set out properly. I'll have a play at somepoint when I get a chance, the current modelling project is to fix the rather Martian like yard surface. Thanks for the input though. I've laid it all out and glued the rollers onto the rodding. The next steps will be to blutack it all to some card, spray with primer and paint with Humbrol Gunmetal (53). Then I'll give them a brush over with rust weathering powder away from the rollers. Then super glue is probably the best friend to get it all stuck down for good. Hope that helps, Dom

Cheers Rob, It means a lot coming from someone with your model-making prowess. It's certainly starting to come together after 3.5 years... a bit of a slow burner but hopefully at least that corner will be mildly finished before the year is out! Dom

Cheers Andy, I guess you've sort of answered my question, it certainly doesn't need to be taller! I think it might be a perspective thing with the SM's house being 10mm higher in the land. Putting them side-by-side looks more like this. Would making it shorter make the 2-storey building too close to the single storey Station Building? Cheers, Dom

Happy New Year all! It's been a productive start to 2023 at Coombe Town. The tracked ballast before Christmas has now dried and is running well. As seen with the Autotrain on a departure. I've installed the micro-led into the Goods Shed, but like the Ground Signal, it needs a 3V adaptor to dim the light. Although a bit of translucent paint has made some improvement. I've also mocked up the Station Master's house and put it in position on the layout. The overall footprint seems about right, but the height seems a little too close to the height of the Station Building. There being only a 5ft difference between the two - does this seem reasonable considering the second floor of the station master's house is supposed to be somewhat in the eaves? However, the presence of the building does seem to be helping the overall feel of the layout. What do others think? Is it alright or should I be returning to the drawing board, literally? Dom

As I'm away for the Christmas period, modelling time is non-existent. However, I have made a decent start on the design of the Station Master's House, based on that at Crowcombe Heathfield. The front: And the back My plan is to create a cardboard mock-up when I return and to start looking at the landscape in that corner. The downside of now operating from by the control panel is that I look at the unfinished end of the layout so I'm trying to make some progress down there.

So after a while away, including a house move, I've found a little bit of modelling time. In between cleaning the old place and unboxing in the new, I managed to sneak in a trip to the Clubhouse. Many thanks to the Holly Junction team who let me give my Gas Turbine and Torbay Express rake a good run around. It's a nice sight to watch a proper length rake that I don't have space for! I've also managed to finish ballasting the small scenic board this morning, which will now be left to dry over the festive period. Images below as they seem to corrupt when inserted into text! Merry Christmas everyone and may 2023 bring you every success and many trains. Dom

Rapido have really caught me off guard here. I recently bought a second 4575 to fulfill my need for an additional freight engine. However, it needs a stay-alive, which I was going to add with sound and a firebox flicker myself. Space inside the Bachmann model is quite cramped so it would be a challenge to retrofit. If Rapido produce this at a reasonable cost I'd definitely be looking to replace one, if not both of my current examples. My one plea is, please Rapido, include a stay-alive, even if it provides just a couple of seconds to get across a dodgy point blade, nothing drives me more insane than a brief break in sound before the auto frog changes!

I guessed an E147, not far off. Fantastic news on both fronts my wallet is terrified! Will definitely be getting an E140 pair with that spec. Tempted by the small prairie, will definitely hold off sound-fitting my two Bachmann examples and look at getting them on a certain auction site to try and get some savings!

@Andy Keane have you looked at the Ambis Engineering range, they seem to include detectors already. l've only seen their pictures and not really considered adding them to Coombe Town. Might be something of interest rather than reinventing the wheel. Dom

Well I was having an enjoyable evening playing trains with the new scenery around, now including a fence, in the right place! Unfortunately, within the mere minutes of each other, 1668 seems to have died completely and 4157 is no longer producing sound. I've had the speaker out of 4157 and put it back in without any improvement, yet the firebox glow still works properly, I've tried factory reset and all. 1668 is proving a challenge. Any hints for fixing either would be appreciated, for now though, I'm calling quits!

The 48xx or the E147? If the latter, ouch my wallet. Will be good to finally have a decent B-Set model for us West Country modellers, the Branch coaching stock has been a low hanging fruit for far too long.

Now we're getting somewhere! Just waiting for a Geoscenics delivery to put the yard surface in before grassing the embankment and adding the other hedge.

I managed to get sculptamold down on the embankment on Sunday, and with a bit of help from a fan heater, we have progress! Earth colour painted on, dirt down for the track to the edge of the baseboard. A BR lorry is posed where a Springside Cattle Lorry shall eventually reside. Down the lane. And across the yard.

The phantom double posting strikes again.

A bit of a Pannier tank change to the fleet. I've always fancied a 64xx in Lined Green, but missed the boat at the first opportunity. Yesterday I spotted a bargain, at least against current RRP, at Model Railways Direct so drove over to Portishead to collect 6421. As a result, 6417 has now been decommissioned, returned back to its analogue state, and will be hitting eBay on Sunday night, unless there is any interest on here. Dom

It's definitely worthwhile Rob. I'd be the first to admit that sometimes I forget it's a hobby. Finding views like the shot through the shed remind me what I'm trying to achieve, and that I am getting there. My trainset growing up never had a completed scene which always gave me a bit of kicking. It may have taken 3 years, but Coombe Town is starting to feel like a true scene, at least in the Goods Yard...

Ended up playing with my phone and 1668 in the yard, finding a few more artistic views.

So it's all in, LED mounted in the ground signal, paint touched up. The disc itself is a bit luminescent which I will look to resolve for the other two. But I'm pleased with how it's turned out. Fully painted, with lenses coloured. Close-up with the signal wire pulleys and cranks for the point in-situ. Finally, I couldn't resist a nighttime shot with the Christmas tree Railcar. Still need to work out how to dim the lights on the output there...

A little bit more progress post band this evening as well. All the cranks, signal pulleys for the ballasted area now painted. Along with the first ground signal I'll add some glue and glaze to the lenses then colour with Tamiya translucent paint, then it's ready to install!

Thanks @Andy Keane @MrWolf, no fence in the yard it is. The plan is to part a hedge along the edge of the track at the top of the embankment and then another hedge along the backscene with a fence in front. I think that creates sufficient boundary to the railway owned land.

This weekend has seen a lot of time spent under the baseboards, putting in a lamp for the ground signal, and wiring for the lamp that will go in the Goods Shed. I have a question for the more knowledgeable though: as my thoughts turn to the Goods Yard. Would a fence have existed between the running line/loop and the yard? I've added two pictures of the yard to try and help those visualise the layout. I envisage a fence that would run from the bridge wing wall, behind the grounded van to pretty much in-line with the V where the two sidings split. Thanks in advance, Dom

Tail lamp added this evening, and coach body placed on until the passengers arrive. i've managed to dim the lights fairly successfully, it doesn't seem too overbearing unlike the Heljan Railcar. And a peak at where a few passengers will eventually sit. Plan is for 4 passengers, then an inspector in the corridor on the opposite side.

It really does make a difference being able to dim the lighting, there is even setting for gas flicker, but I guess they wouldn't work on an analogue layout unfortunately.

A tiny bit more progress this evening, but we have light! I did think I had warm white leds, but obviously not. Ah well. The strip is programmable so I will dim the lights, as well as adding a DCC concepts tail lamp to the coach. Will have to make an emergency Modelu order as well to populate the carriage before I close it all up again...