leeadavo

An Evening running around the Slate Balloon Loop. First day of passenger trains around the slate hill, special trips for members. Until the Bluebell line completes a complete loop, trains will run from Porthmelling, clockwise around the balloon loop to Aughtonside, where trains run round before returning to Porthmelling. With the last train of the day running anticlockwise around the line.

Hi Rob, Yes Derek has been in contact on facebook, would be good to go to some meet ups and possibly hosting one once the worlds getting back to normal.

Current track layout (dashed lines are future expansion). Sefton & West Lancs Light Railway A SM32 garden railway. The story so far. Constructed on foundations of brick and paving slabs (which were found in the garden when we moved in) at ground level. Track is all Peco SM32, due to space Peco setrack R2 curves and R2 points have been used throughout (with a very small number of R1 curves used on the inside the passing loop at Porthmelling). The garden had been on my to do list for the last couple of years but I never really got the chance to start it properly (a small seating area, path and Strawberry patch were constructed and much earth had be moved where originally I planned a pond), so with lockdown came the perfect opportunity to spend time building the railway. Porthmelling: Island platform with two sidings. One road leads to a wharf, while a goods shed is planned on the second road. Strawberry Corner: The first section of line from Porthmelling to Aughtonside runs alongside my Strawberry patch, thus takes the name Strawberry Corner. Aughtonside: Junction station. Two platforms, with platform 1 for the northside of the Slate Balloon loop to Sefton station, both routes to Porthmelling and to the slate sidings. A middle road has access to the slate sidings and Strawberry Corner section to Porthmelling, also allowing run round from platform 1. Platform 2 allows access from the Strawberry Corner section to the south end of the Slate balloon loop. Slate Balloon Loop & Slate Sidings: A hill (made of of grass sods) forms the centrepiece of the western end of the layout. A ballon loop runs west from Aughtonside, the north end of which runs to Sefton station. In the middle of the south end of the loop is a set of slate sidings. Sefton: Sefton will be the main terminus of the railway. As yet to be constructed exact track layout keeps changing but is likely to include two outside platforms with central run round and a couple of carriage sidings. The station leads south off the balloon loop, while heading north off the balloon loop is the MPD, formed of two sidings with Locomotive Shed on one of the roads. Bluebell Line: Completing the circuit and eastern balloon loop from Aughtonside to Porthmelling. Phase One: Porthmelling - Aughtonside Work start with construction of a short section around the edge of Strawberry Patch, with station at either end with run round loop. A fortnights work saw foundations down at either end and an Opening Day was held on Easter Monday. Aughtonside Prince at Aughtonside with the Grand Opening Train - 13/04/2020 Start of day for a slate train gala held on the 25th April, following the completion of a remake of slate kits made up by my wife. Phase Two: Slate Ballon Loop Moving into May, work started in earnest on the western balloon loop. Foundations were down by the end of the month, although some pointing remains outstanding. Plants in the ground make a big difference, Prince and a Ruston shunter pose in evening sunlight on Strawberry Corner Prince stands at Aughtonside with a rake of slate wagons and Tallylyn/Corris freight stock ahead of running a test train around the Ballon Loop. A running day to test the section was ran as a 'Phase Two Supporters Day', with passenger trains from Porthmelling to Aughtonside for supporters to view goods trains running around the slate ballon loop. Final track layout at Aughtonside, run round moves from platform 2 to platform 1, giving access to the slate sidings to both routes to Porthmelling. As things stand on 2nd June 2020, after a delivery of slate chipings and red granite and the majority of the western balloon loop now being pointed, aesthetically the garden looks so much better. Rolling Stock: No. 1 - Ruston diesel shunter, RC. Second hand No. 2 Prince - Slaters Prince which I had built by Cromford Designs. RC. No. 3 Rufford Hall - Roy Wood Models Salem II, RC. Second hand. Carriages and wagons are mainly second hand at the moment, with 7 slate wagons kits my wife has made up and painted (mixture of Binnie and Phil Sharples).

https://www.Bachmann.co.uk/category/model-railway/thomas_and_friends/oo-scale

When I queried release of the good shed on the Oxford Rail stand at Warley in November, I was informed that the models where in a container, waiting for the container to be full enough of other items before shipping. If this was the case it could mean branding is still Oxford Rail (unless repackaged), although it depends at what stage last year the models moved over into the Skaledale range.

Enjoyed my visit to the show yesterday, was nice and busy and some lovely layouts, particularly enjoyed the OO9 layouts upstairs.

Some video from a very enjoyable visit on Sunday. While busy, didn't struggle to get a good look at any of the layouts from a few different vantage points. Some excellent layouts Tarrant Valley and the Stodden Hundred Light Railway being two of my favourites.

I thought it was time to post an update on my layout. It is interesting look back on my plans from two years ago and seeing changes made. All boards and track work is now in place, with wiring being my main focus at the moment. Overview Inkley Colliery Quorthley station, now has an up and down siding with crossover and goods yard on the down side. At Penbell Midland, originally there was an industrial siding this has now been replaced by a TMD. With the the low relief warehouse moved to the lower level at Castletonbridge. Here a set of private owner sidings are operated by a former SECR P Class.. The Western Region lower level is completely separate from the upper levels. As with the upper level it has complete up and down loops on the main line with two branch lines. Castletonrbidge is the main section of the lower level is at the chimney end and focused on a large MPD and good yard. The MPD has shown above features the Kernow Cornish Roundhouse around a Peco turntable, Scenecraft GW Coaling Stage and a Scenic Engine Shed at the opposite end to the roundhouse. Up a gradient from Penbell Midland is Claire Bay. An island station, with carriage sidings on one side and goods yard on the other including a siding onto the Quayside. A small MPD is home to my Southern region fleet. Local passenger trains run to Penbell and Inkley, while a branch runs up a grade to Hazelstow (which is situated above Claire Bay station). The line to Hazelstow is steeply graded and in the middle of the branch is Burnscar Junction, here starts a tight China Clay branch to the dries at Henfordbridge. Beattie Well Tank 30585 reforms her train at Burnscar Jct. The 0-4-2WT shunts wagons at the Henfordbridge China Clay Dries.

Hi Chris, Would the J70 be suitable down to 1st radius curves, got some quite tight curves on my China Clay branch were I could image 'a J70 fitting in nicely following a transfer at the closure of Wishech'. Regards, Lee

As predicted earlier in the thread, today Kernow's exclusive O2, 1361 and selection of wagons/brake vans have appeared on sale from Hattons.

Any news on when the Goods Shed is due for release?

Since moving into our first house in September, one of my main priorities was to get started on one of the big selling points in the house, the already converted loft space. Having spent the first half of the decade at uni and then working in London, there was no room for a layout, but now back up north and in our own home the time for somewhere to run my 70+ locomotives has finally come. Penbellshire is this place and my aim is a multi-level layout with lots of operational fun to be had. Two main levels are planned with a higher level London Midland Region and lower level Western Region. The current track plan is as follows: This outlines the current layout of the track laid out for the LMR mainline and branch (red track), plus the line branching off this to a colliery (yellow track right). It also outlines the start of the roughly laid out narrow gauge line (pink) and WR branch terminus (brown) and the planned track work on the raised Southern terminus/branch layout (yellow middle). While the left hand side of the diagram is an indication of the space around the chimney for the WR main station (far left side has been cropped off). My aim is to give the impression of realism with scenes, rather than a fully detailed. For that end I am opted for rolls of ballast sheets for underlay, for me the effect looks good and I want to get going with running trains as quickly as possible, rather than spending time ballasting. For this reason my plan once boards are down and layout finalised, is to get the underlay down, wiring in place and track fixed in place so trains are ready to go, coming back to scenery in the longer term. Buildings are Scenecraft and Skaledale. Costs mean DC operation, with manually operated points. station area My main station is Penbell Midland; a three track station with goods yard, carriage sidings, MPD and factory siding. Two branch lines come off the station, one will go to the future high level Southern section, while the other branch runs to Inkley. This is a former NER terminus, with a locomotive shed and goods shed, along with exchange sidings for the colliery. Colliery locomotives collect wagons from Inkley yard pulling the wagons up the 1 in 4 to the colliery, with lots of opportunities for shunting at the colliery. The LMR main line loops round, from Penbell Midland, under the colliery to an as yet unnamed station on the opposite side (GC station), with goods siding on up side, before looping back round under the SR section into the station. narrow gauge For now a small amount of western region lower level boards have been laid and track placed out for planning purposes. This is for a branch terminus station. The main services along the branch will be auto trains to the bay platform at Penbell Hall Road (so operation stays within this operating well). Two sidings feed off the station, one serves as an exchange siding for coal deliveries to the narrow gauge railway. Again detail isn't key for me and my 009 line is using Kato N gauge unitrack. The line is being run as a preserved railway to give me a good excuse to run anything along it (awaiting Yeo to take up pride of place). The LMR level having been laid out for testing of operation has been favourable and following a nice big tidy up, my plan is to start the laying of the ballast underlay sheets and finishing off the wiring on the remainder of the scenic sections and construction of control plans.