halsey

Also ..............can those of you with more knowledge point me in the direction of a good source of 1950's goods yard "paraphernalia" - wagon loads, workers, equipment, trolleys etc etc. Looks like as we have at least another 3 months until we can feel reasonably "free" that the railway will continue to be very important to my sanity even though my normal winter modelling period will be a distant memory Thanks

HELP wanted - please My lack of prototypical knowledge of actual railways means I'm getting stuck as to what two "open" areas of the layout could/should look like so I really would like some ideas please ....... The plans below show the areas I'm talking about ................"Home Goods" and the area to the right of the now revised "Goods Headshunt" - Themes, Building types etc all thoughts will help me........... .......and the photos help with reminding you what is there now/already. Thanks in anticipation................. Cheers J

Spent a little bit of time over the last day or so just using up old backdrops and card kit bits to "wake up" the lift out section - it does tend to stay in place for 75% of the time so a few easily removable "accessories" seemed worth a try just to include it in a better viewing experience

Thats sort of what I expected to be told...............cheers J

Question............ Which way round should a DMU/Railcar "sit" is the motor unit at the front "pulling" or at the back "pushing" - my controller is set up to "pull" forward direction so I am assuming that's right?? Cheers................ J

Busy yesterday and today - I decided to completely re-do the track and joint on one of the lift out section tracks - it has always worked OK but wasn't as good as it should have been - 3 joints are on the straight but this one is on a curve and was a bit more of a challenge to get it right. I used a new section of set-track and "spliced" it in and then generally fettled a number of aspects of the bridge and the joint and I am pleased to report that it now all runs very well - and that therefore the layout is fully back in use with my hip managing reasonably well with the inevitable ducking under the lift out. After an extensive clean up of the two main lines (have I said how much I love my Dapol cleaning wagon ) I've had a DMU and early LMS Passenger Diesel (rule 1 applies) running with all lights on (incl carriages) Note to self - I need to get a proper blackout blind/curtain on the window so I can take "dark" shots These shots are taken to the left of the station between the station mouth and the hidden tracks/tunnel entrance

Feeling very virtuous today, as I still can't duck under the lift out section, I have spent 3 days re-organising my work area AND my screw/bolt/nail storage bins/area which was long overdue Very pleased with the work area - I've gained double the worktop area re-purposed some of my spare MDF and had a serious general tidy up and hoover. Far too tidy now but it needed doing.............

First run around with new Dapol cleaning wagon Quite a difference for 20 mins running around app 50% of the track - goods yard, wharf areas and station platforms - new and used pads shown. This was on track that truly looked clean and had been "cleaned" (pre Nov) with a track rubber. The tank shunter used for the push/pull job runs noticeably better on "push" ie when following the cleaning wagon

Can you fit a decoder in a cat??

Just a couple of early observations - your lift out section is pretty busy to get all those tracks lined up and working well your top LH corner will present significant "reach" issues

IF you do decide to introduce a gradient can I put in a plug for Woodland Scenics polystyrene gradients/inclines - they are incredibly easy to use and so flexible - even on my first ever layout this was a g'teed success even with a lift out section followed by an immediate 90 degree curve

My very first layout in my "Hawkesbury" thread had an upper level BLT and the gradient was built in to the lift out section - neither of which worked for me - the BLT was hard to access and the lift out was difficult to get to hinge well

Hi Paul, Good to be in touch again - I remember filling lockdown with the railway last year caused me some issues with over exposure to what for me needs to be a winter pastime so hopefully this year we will be allowed a bit more freedom from say mid April onwards (start of the school summer term) so I can properly divert/revert to summer boating winter modelling which is a great retirement balance. I've got my first jab on Saturday (65-70s) so that's progress but I guess as SWMBO is in the 55-60 group that will be a while away yet for us both to feel protected. I have found your thread so will start to catch up......... J

Hmmmm..........? I know someone who is very good at proposing designs and prioritising compromises - just realised - its you!! No complaints about "our" final design still enjoying it Cheers........ Back to the OP - the "Achilles Heel" for me is and probably always will be a "lift out" section - I like running trains whilst modelling and would see this as too much of a compromise not to be able to do this but the last few weeks have reminded me what a barrier a "lift out" section can be as we all get either more infirm or simply older - the good thing with the "Hawkesbury" design is the 2 connected internal areas (goods and docks) do still allow for some limited "operation" but that style of operation still doesn't quite hit the spot for me - compromise

Just a thought which occurred to me whilst reading this - how hot does your sunspace get - is it going to present an issue with expansion?

If the layout is going to dominate such a "nice" space as much as it seems to in your current thoughts I would say it also needs to happily be a very large part of your life to make the intrusion worth it - I would find it too much of a "faff" to be bothered with - better to have something that fits that you can go back to at a moment's notice - IMHO you will use it and enjoy it more.

I'm back on the railway - my hip is progressing very well (12 weeks this Thursday since the op - walking dogs, general life, driving, stairs etc all OK ) but standing is still hard on my back muscles as is ducking under the lift out section so railway time is limited. Whilst modelling from my chair I bought a couple of old Wills kits kits from a forum member and one is well underway - lots of detailing to do but not too bad for the first plastic kit I've built for 40+ years - I think the the last one was a Tamiya Formula One Renault Turbo when I was about 20 - my hands were definitely more agile then My trouble is it has come out as a larger structure than I envisaged and I cant work out to where to put it that is "correct" - I sort of feel I want to hide it or cut the back 1/3 out of it to reduce its impact. I haven't got a crossing - is it OK to locate it in a goods yard setting?? Good to be back even though progress will be limited for a while...... I've even been contemplating another "lockdown" project...... involving an "end to end" O gauge layout with 2 stations and a loop around some of the garden - probably just a dream but I do enjoy building more than operating.....................dare I try my luck with SWMBO for another railway space just to try it out - O gauge (garden based) does appeal (apart from the cost!) On a different subject - I'm not sure if any of you reading this will live in the wider Leominster area BUT I have a large quantity of clean/dry MDF going begging as I am dismantling a large set of wardrobes incl 3 app 7ft x 2.5ft doors and 2 shorter ones (see picture in classifieds) - I'm happy to donate these to a fellow enthusiast as they would make great boards with some additional framing. PM me if they are of interest - sorry I won't split these, they must all go together to be worth it.

Hip now done and all successful - it will be a while before I can get to the railway (literally) but all good NHS fantastic - in Thursday at 7am op 2.00 same day out of bed Friday midday discharged Sat midday - precautions were excellent just "Joe public" continuing to amaze with app 10% refusing to wear masks once through all the checks people were literally taking them off! Good to get the first week out of the way a couple more and the worst will be behind me, its my second so I know what to expect - its the lack of sleep (duration and comfort) which is the real challenge for me. Back to watching what others are up to for now.................... Cheers all

Hopefully "Bumping" just one last time............. Look like I'll have to buy another pack of 10 - not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things! J

Thanks - that's high praise coming from you ..................... its obviously just a natural talent of mine

Here you are ..........

Thanks. Always interesting to understand another perspective - yes the wall is stuck on to the back scene and is made from app 5mm thick foam board - I will gladly take the photo for you tomorrow. J

Hi all, Just an update - not a lot going on on the railway due to - boat changes - now done - recent passing of Mother in Law and all that involves - funeral 3rd Nov - my now confirmed long awaited Hip operation (19th Nov - with full isolation required 14 days before!) So lots of planning going on and prioritising all the stuff I was giving myself until Christmas to get done BUT I have managed to get lots of weathering materials together so I should be able to do a bit of that soon after the op and I bought a new loco Bachmann Stanier Mogul 2-6-0 which is now DCC fitted and very successful and a Dapol track cleaning wagon which is a great investment - stock is running better than ever I'm going to paint it satin black and weather it in due course.........might be my first pre hip lockdown project! And ........I took the easy way out with lighting and fitted train Tech to all Stanier coaches - very good and very easy to fit but a bit pricey Is it just us - we always seem to get stuff happening all in one go - its never nicely spread out!

Just "bumping" this one - I still need these wheels if anyone has any of them collecting dust somewhere J

The Proxxon set has arrived and I'm very pleased - a good range and 4 head types across 15 items - looks and feels well made Thanks for the tip. J