andi4x4

Spent the last few evenings working on the roof arches and brick stairways - now got something to put together to start getting an impression of what I am trying to do. As you will see from the images below, the curve in the platform presents an interesting challenge !

Two options already discussed are :-

A pair of brick-built stairways, one to each platform, with a link span or concourse type affair connecting the stairways to the station building - 

Or :-

A single, right-angled stairway down from the station building to platform 1 then a footbridge over to platforms 2 & 3 -

Don't mind the thin card strips and wooden blocks - they're just holding everything up for the photos !

There will also be "glass" ( clear plastic ! ) facade on the open end of the roof assembly, and eventually lighting inside.

Your thoughts and deliberations, gents, please !

Nice !  Just a little bigger than the room I have to play in, but mine is an odd shape ! Looking forward to seeing how you progress with this !

If you are seriously considering continuous running with two helix, plan carefully. You will need minimum 2nd radius curves on the inside (forget 1st radius, very little can get around them these days !), but I'd go for the largest radius you can find room for. As a guide, 4th radius curves I have on my layout require an area 4 feet x 4 feet when assembled in a simple circle and that is going eat into your room space significantly. Another thing to consider is the incline of the helix - If I recall correctly, Everard Junction uses 2nd radius inner curves on his helix and reported that some of his steam locos struggle for traction on the incline. The tighter the curves, the steeper the incline will be for a given rise in height, so it make sense to go for the largest radius you can get away with.

Best of luck with your build, and remember to post lots of photies !

Finally I have been able to upload the pictures!

 

Here is my layout in its new loft home

 

My daughters wooden toy layout is bigger

 

Still its better than the damp basement and room to expand (one day)

Looking good in there - you'll have to apply for running rights on the wooden railway or a merger. The junction trackwork could be interesting, though !

Hi....

Why not consider modelling the steps down to the platforms something along the lines of Snow Hill Station, an image here to illustrate the idea? ......

 

Regards

Bob

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Hi Bob,

Been scouring the internet looking at images of 'covered' stations looking for inspiration. I still have a vision of a small concourse in my head though, mainly due to the need to offset the stairways due to the curve of the platforms. I have seen images of ornate steel/iron footbridges (similar to the Hornby Scaledale one) in train sheds, so, that is one possibililty as I have one here, but, it almost seems a shame to hide it under the roof ! I could then just have a single stairway from the station building down to platform level, with the footbridge giving access to the other two platforms.

That pic of Snow Hill gives me confirmation on my Tunnel Mouth or Girder dilemma though !

Once I get the roof frames made up I will take a few pics to show the problem I have regarding the platform curves and roof height. 

"I  was able to get two more micro-switches from Maplins yesterday ( has anyone else found that stock of components in store seem to be very low at present ) "

I gave up on Maplins several years ago - they used to be a really good source of small parts and cheap servos, amongst other things, and they were only a five minute walk from where I lived. But, in recent years, they seem to focus more on ready built stuff than parts and components for the hobbyist, certainly in-store anyway.

I use RS Spares these days, just about everything under the sun and usually next day delivery, even to the Isle of Man !

Right guys. I'm after your opinions on an issue that I've been side-stepping since starting Remagen.

 

The layout is set in Germany, during the war years and while the Nazi party were in power. The Swastika was a common sight during that period and would have been displayed on the E-Boats, the paddle steamer and various mititary vehicles.

 

So, in this day and age, and in the rail fraternity, is this acceptable or liable to cause offence...?

 

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I can't comment on the model railway community at large, but, it does not offend me - it was one of the national flags (and political party motif) of that particular country at that particular point in history. If you were to flick through a modern Isle of Man TT Races programme to the list of previous race winners, you will find the Swastika displayed as the national flag of the competitors listed during the 1930's. I am sure I have seen it as such in other publications too.

I can fully understand some people being uncomfortable with it,  given the events of history, however, I also fully understand your concerns and think it is very considerate of you to ask for guidance.

Rail Gun looks superb, by the way !

Well,

Been playing with cardboard , some sticky stuff and a nasty sharp thing and came up with this as a rough impression of what I am trying to achieve - 

Not sure about exit from the station building - what I have set up at the moment is a set of steps down onto a small concourse/footbridge, then down to platform level via a set of modified steps from the Scalescenes foot bridge.

I have a tunnel mouth under the station building, but, I am also considering the possibility of using a girder instead - I don't think I can get the street level down low enough to match the viaduct that will run across the left hand end of the new goods yard board with the tunnel mouth in place.

I will be reducing the height of the overall roof by 10mm from where it is at the mo, and, the street level needs to come down 20mm to mate up with the goods yard viaduct. The Scalescenes footbridge steps will not have the roof fitted - the sidewalls of the step assemblies will have the walls cut down to just below the bottom of the windows. The span of the footbridge has printed steel sides, so, I'll probably use those to form the sides of the concourse/footbridge - again open, with no roof. The Main station building will be build as per instructions, but, the parcels office will be split into two smaller buildings, one either side of the main building, just to fill up the space.

Also discovered, whilst pushing the Western around, that I need to trim the left platform edge back a little, too !

Looks like some very good and serious planning Andi. I'm looking forward to seeing some more pics, just a thought re the Goods Yard, will you be able to reach it for un-coupling etc.?

Good point, Andy ! 

It will be just under 3 feet wide in all, which I can reach across ok ,on my workbench, anyway. How I will fare on the goods yard will depend how tall the station building and canopy turn out to be !     

The station and town area will be removable for access to the track below, and I have a step-stool just in case !  

I am planning on some form of auto-uncoupling, but haven't decided which as yet, and the majority of the uncoupling will probably be happening on the near side of the goods yard anyhow, as that is where the sheds will be.

So,

One thing I have learned in the last week or so is that I spend FAR too much time thinking and playing around with AnyRail and not enough time making !   As such, the plans have changed !

To this :-

Whilst the previous modular loco depot design is pretty much finalised, I was struggling to get a decent goods yard into the design, mainly due to the length of board I needed to restrict myself to, and partly due to the desire to have running lines through the board as well. 

So the new plan will be a bit of both the original modular project and a semi-permanent shelf/shunting layout.  The red section will remain in situ for most of its life and will have the option of a small (off-scene) fiddle yard for use as a stand alone layout, but, will also have the option to link up with the modular section in some form or another. I have shown a 'Link' track on the plan running from the goods area around to one of the loco spurs on the storage/fiddle boards, but, this is by no means set in stone.

You will notice, also, that the station has been changed. It no longer has 'mirror image' end sections, instead, I have replaced the points on the left hand board with plain double track, installed a trailing crossover further along, and terminated the 'one-way' loop which originally ran across the top of the station plan. I now have a bay platform here instead, which will increase operational interest a little, both when being used as just the double track oval, and when connected to the semi permanent section.

Over the upper left hand curved board and that end of the station will be a partial town scene with the station building directly above and spanning the tracks and it is also planned to have an overall canopy spanning both main lines and platforms from the station building as far along as the end of the bay platform (to try to hide the reverse curves !) and then single canopies over each platform for a further 9-12 inches maybe.

Track and platform mods have already been done on the station boards, although, nothing is fixed down as yet. I am currently considering options for the overall canopy roof (probably a modified Scalescenes jobbie) and figuring out how the passengers are going to get down to platform level from the upper street level ! Station building will be Scalescenes R005 Large Station Building, possibly modified. Building mock ups of the station building, overall canopy and parcels offices at the mo to have a play around with.

Will put up a couple of photos in the next day or so to give you a better idea of the town scene/station, street level and canopy, hopefully !

Good-o ! happy with that too !   Thanks for your help with this, much appreciated ! 

Just gotta try and figure out the goods yard now   

Think I get where you're coming from. I think understand the basic principles and associated problems of facing/trailing points on mainlines.

Two plans below show the modifications I think you were suggesting to the loco depot - I modified the plans in both orientations - to be fair, from a construction point of view, one is no more difficult to produce than the other - the cost would be slightly higher (£10-£15 maybe) on one as it requires a single slip and extra point motor, but that is neither here nor there in the total cost of the module, really.

I think my preference out of the two would be for the first plan - it just seems less cluttered and simpler than the second.

You mean something like this Martin?

THE PLANK.png

I like that idea - 2am here we come ! 

On 13/01/2017 at 07:23, St Enodoc said:

 

 

First, I suggest making the loco shed a mirror image of what you have drawn, and making the double slip a single slip. This will remove the direct facing entry from the (right to left) main line which would not normally be found on the prototype.

 

Secondly, your goods shed will be nigh-on impossible to shunt. I suggest removing the middle of the three sidings on the right and putting the goods shed on one of the two remaining sidings. I think I would also move the two main line crossovers as close as possible to the ends of the board to give you the maximum possible length for running round. This might also let you extend the length of the sidings a little.

Is this what you had in mind for the Loco depot ?  I flipped the main part of the depot, but, left the mainline and crossover arrangement as-is, other than to change the double slip out for a single slip as you suggested. Loco's would now arrive at a staging siding before moving back to the turntable.

As for the goods yard, I am having trouble with that just purely because the board size as it is (5'x1'6") is just too small to accommodate both a reasonable  goods yard and the double main line running through. The initial idea with both the goods yard and the loco depot was to be able to use the main through lines (shown in blue) as sidings/approach/run-around loops when they are not connected up as running lines, but, instead being fed as a spur off the main part of the layout - as below -

I will keep plodding on with it - I am sure I will come up with a solution sooner or later ! Either that or I'll go back to CJF's original goods yard drawings ! I have ideas for other modules, too, but, more on them when they have progressed further.

Hi Willie,

More great info there !  As I said, my general knowledge of the railways is really very limited, I tend to be far more interested in the locos and rolling stock more than the railways themselves which is the reason why I have such a varied mix of stuff ! I said previously that i was only really building somewhere to run my collection, rather than trying to model a particular location, hence the very basic design of the layout ( other than the complex baseboard arrangement ! ) but it is really nice to know that there is someplace, somewhere in time, where it would have been feasible for all my locos to have appeared and not looked out of place ! It will spur me on to think more about the extra parts of the layout I have in mind as later add-ons !

Sounds a bit like the later years of the Great Central London Extension to me, possibly south of Leicester but north of Woodford.  You could even have the occasional rake of green  Southern Region coaches too (representing the York-Bournemouth service), though by the time it got this far not (usually) SR locos.

Hi Willie,

I think you are onto something there - I grabbed a quick look at a map of the BR regions as formed in 1948 ( I assume they remained unchanged until after the period I favor) and I wasn't too far away from your suggestion - I had in mind just a little further north east somewhere in the Coventry-Oxford-Watford triangle !  I hadn't figured on Southern region being a factor as I don't own any SR stock, but, it certainly opens up opportunities for further future acquisitions !

So, I thought it was about time I posted up something about my 00 gauge layout. Its a bit of a ramble, but, bear with me !

I needed somewhere to 'run trains'. I am not so much a railway modeller, I do not really have much more than a passing interest in the prototype railways (although I do my research when neccissary !), but I do enjoy running, modifying and generally 'playing trains' and have done so in gauges N, 00, O, 16mm Scale live steam and even 5" gauge on various occasions over the last 30 years or so.

The initial idea for my current layout was to provide just that – somewhere on which to run my loco and rolling stock collection. At first conception there were no plans for scenery other than a station (trains have to have a reason to run don't they !), so, the plan was to simply lay some track onto baseboards with underlay and track pins and to include a station in the track plan. However, despite having a space 12'x6' to use freely as I see fit, this space is also used by me as a music room, so, any layout would have to take this sharing of space into account. Also in this room, is a 6'x3' workbench (originally built for an N gauge layout that never happened !) which I use for various other modelling projects (slotcars and R/C vehicles) and the occasional guitar related projects also. This room is also, very occasionally, used as a guest room, so everything needs to be packed away on these rare occasions.

So, with all the above in mind, I came up with a list of desired qualities that this layout would need to fullfill -

1. It must be modular to allow it to be packed away when required.

2. It must be quick to assemble and disassemble – overcentre catches and dowels with minimum number of wires across board joints and tressels/legs which can be set up quickly and require the minimum of storage space when not in use.

3. It must provide continuous running – I like to sometimes just sit and watch the trains go by !

4. It must provide scope for expansion – extra or different modules may be desired at a later date should I feel the need to expand with goods and/or loco facilities.

5. It needed to be wired for DCC as I have recently caught the sound bug !

6. It needs to be capable of being set up anywhere, including directly on the floor if needed, so all board connections, fittings and cabling needs to exit the sides of the boards for easy access when on a flat surface.

Having had a 00 layout in this same room before (it was dismantled, partly due to a lack of use, and partly due to the Domestic Dragon insisting that my guitar collection had outgrown the living room. In fact, probably mainly that !) I started reviewing all the layout plans I had made (and saved) in the past in AnyRail with a view to maybe slimlining something I had previously designed. During this, I stumbled across a set of plans I had saved for The Minories by C.J. Freezer. (I am sure most of you are familiar with them, so I won't replicate them again here). These plans got me thinking – CJF designed this layout to be modular in form, allowing the builder to build a model railway up over time, to fit the space available to the builder, by building one scenic board, then adding another, and another, etc, if they so wished. It was also designed such that any board that had two plain tracks at the edge could connect to any of the other boards with two plain tracks at the edge – in any order ! This meant that you could change the layout of the railway, simply by swapping the boards around. Whether, or not, this was intentionally planned into his design, or if it occurred by coincidence, I do not know, but, this was the point at which I had a 'EURIKA' moment ! I thought that, if I designed my railway in this manner, it would be much quicker to assemble/disassemble, and universally modular, meaning that I could set it up almost anywhere in the house by changing the order in which boards were connected, or even ommitting boards to reduce its size where needed.

With all this in mind, I set about planning something, initially using The Minories track plan, and thinking that two station boards (one a mirror image of the other) back to back would provide a three platform through station on one side of what is, basically, a 12x6 double track oval, with a pair of passing loops and crossovers on the opposite side. Anyway, a lot of messing about later I finished up with my current track plan -

On the plan above, each individual board is marked out by the orange lines – the two boards at the centre of the station and storage/passing loops are specific to these locations and the throat boards of each will connect together with its opposite end without the centre boards to provide a shorter station and storage/passing loop area, but, all the other boards with two plain tracks at the connecting edge are interchangeable and can be connected together in any order and any orientation – just like pieces of Set-Track - allowing me to reduce the track plan to nothing more than a simple 4'x4' circle of double track, or any combination of 4'x5'6” , 4'x10' , 4'x12' , 4'x13'6” , 6'x10' or 6'x12' oval, or I can even set them up as an 'end to end' type configuration, either straight, or, in an 'L' , 'U' , or 'S' format. Plus, of course, I can add other boards at a later date – I already have two in the planning stage !

A couple of the 'extra' boards I have in my minds eye at the moment. Where they will go is anyones guess !

Track standards are to Hornby/Peco Set-Track specifications, primarily due to having a large amount of it available (although, the loco depot above uses Streamline points and a double slip off the mainline), and, in order to maximise the space for the station and storage/passing loops, allowed me to use tighter R3 and R4 curves at the corners – with a minimum R2 curve on the points. I am, however, considering a swap to Peco Streamline in the storage area to enable extra tracks to be laid in the existing space.

So where are we at now, then ?

Well, the baseboards are built, temporary legs (and the workbench) are supporting them, track and underlay laid, fully wired for DCC using a single track and accessory bus (may change later to split track and accessory buses), boards are dowelled for alignment, overcentre catches are fitted to the outer sides of each board and the electrical connections are also through the outer sides of each board.

Baseboard construction is of 9mm MDF tops crossbraced with 2”x1” pine with 4mm ply sides which protrude 20mm above the board surface to catch any errant locos or stock before they take a dive off the edge !

Work on the station platforms has commenced, and there is a retaining wall/viaduct/backscene along the back edge of the station boards where the single track sits along the edge of the baseboard. This is made up of a number of Scalescenes kits, joined together, and fixed to 2mm ply for rigidity. It is in three sections, sized to match the three individual station boards so that if the centre board is not used, the centre section of the backscene will also be omitted. I was careful to resize the arches very slightly to ensure that they fitted the centre board without needing any infill, then the two outer boards were made to match, with just a short section of plain walling at the outermost ends. The backscenes are attached to the baseboards with nothing more than bulldog clips at present, but, another means of fixing is needed in the event that the baseboards are sat on a flat surface. The backscene boards currently slide down onto the top of the 20mm sidewall of the baseboards, but, I am considering trimming the baseboard sidewall down flush with the baseboard top as the arches sit too high and don't match up with the bridge. I could always make up a low, 20mm sidewall to attach in the same manner as the retaining wall for those odd occasions that it is needed.

There are plans to build a number of bridges to help provide a means of concealing some of the joints, and provide both a scenic break and add a little scenic interest. One has been built so far (still a little work to do), and is designed to 'slot over' the outer edge of the baseboards at the board joints. Nothing holds the bridges in place other than friction, and the intention is that they can be fitted over any joint, randomly. You may see in the second picture down that the inner wall of the bridge sits on top of and flush with the sidewall of the baseboard, which will be covered with brick paper eventually.

But, it has no name ! Where is it based on ? Who knows ! I guess it's just some forgotten industrial town, somewhere where all the regions cross paths, somewhere approaching the end of steam ! All I can tell you is that it sees a lot of very varied, and often heavy, traffic - there is a plethora of BR Green period steam and diesel locos and rolling stock from mainly Western, Midland and Eastern regions passing through here with both passenger and freight services on a regular basis, and the occasional appearance of the odd couple of locos which seem to have managed to retain their pre-war 'Big Four' liveries ! It's a very run down and neglected line, and, despite the heavy traffic, there have been rumors for many years that the line is to close. However, it continues to plod on regardless, but the staff have lost their pride and enthusiasm, and it shows in the surroundings.

More updates when there's been something done !

Thanks, was curious as to whether it was a kit or scratch built - seems it is both then ! I plan to scratchbuild mine ( I am also a scalescenes fan ! ) as I need about 8 feet, but, will be needing some support columns for them, and wouldn't mind finding some pre-cut valencing for it.

Hello it's the wills kit covered with scalescene paper see my other post if you want one as I have a spare?

 

Sorry to hear about your impending lack of time/space for the layout, been there done that !  Thankfully, I am lucky enough to have a more understanding missus. Hope the move goes well and space (and time) is soon found.

In the meantime....

Could you possibly let me know how you made this short section of platform canopy ? I am looking for something similar for my own station !

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_12_2016/post-22023-0-06814500-1481123161.jpg

Just ordered the Class 52 sound chip from the Chinnor shop on that Well Known Auction Site - says delivery on or before 23rd Dec - 

Hope it's early - I go away for a week early on the 24th so won't get chance to play again till the New Year  

It'll get here when it gets here !

" I wish me a Merry Xmas, I wish me a Merry Xmas........." 

Lol !

I have no lamps fitted to any of my steam stock at present, but, some would be fairly straight forward, judging by all the info in this thread so far, such as the shunting/yard duty locos and dedicated freight locos. It is the mixed traffic types that would cause the biggest headaches. Those with near permanently fitted lamps could easily be made to work, it is those that would need to be removable that would need some ingenuity !  I have a couple of brake vans with a single centre red lamp fitted to one end - I just turn them if needed. As for coaching stock with red tail lamps - were they not, on occasion, a black painted lamp casing ? If so, they certainly would not be so noticeable when hidden between loco and coach if not illuminated.

Hi All...

As you may have guessed, I am not so versed in the daily intricacies of railway life - as much as I like trains, and, dare I say it,  "playing" trains, I am not a railway enthusiast as such, and, therefore, have not spent much time around 1:1 railways or really delved into the ins and outs of railway operation. I should do more research really ! I have been messing about with model railways for the last 35 years, but only really from a modellers point of view, modelling the bits I want to model !

@ The Johnster......

Thank you for your very comprehensive reply, I have ( I think ) always been aware that there were specific lamp locations for certain train types/classes, but I was not aware that it was so complex ! I can see the issue with having too many lamps or the wrong combination fitted - maybe I could get away with claiming that the dirty great 9F pulling 1/2 a mile of coal whilst displaying 4 lamps to the front was delivering coal to the Royal Household !

Modern LED technology is such that both a red and yellow/white LED could be built into one side of a 00 lamp with a white on the other - providing you have the eyesight, steady hand and a soldering iron with a 0.10mm tip !

Maybe a more practical way to produce removable working lamps would be to take a cue from vitalspark's post about small pins in the bottom of the lamps fitting into small holes drilled in the loco body - only you would need two holes (+ve &-ve, obviously) - the issue would be finding suitably small sockets to mount flush into the body, the legs on the LED itself could be used as the pins .

Hmm....... now my brain is ticking - I'll get no sleep tonight pondering this one !

Reading this thread with interest as lights on steam loco are something I have often considered and dismissed due to the small proportions.

But,

Having recently gone DCC, I am now getting a hankering for working lamps on steam stock.  Would I be right in thinking that lamps were only fitted to the irons relevant to the duties being performed ?  i.e. would it be unacceptable to have a pair of buffer beam mounted lamps and a smokebox lamp all constantly fitted, but, only have the lamp(s) appropriate to the current duties illuminated ? Obviously, working lamps would be far more difficult to make removable - it's do-able, but difficult !

I bought one of the class 37 sound units and I'm really pleased with it ! First sound unit I have ever bought and I think I would be disappointed with anything else ! Had to remove the sound chamber from the speak to get it into my Vitrains 37, but, looking to get another with sugar cube speaker for that so I can remove the existing one and refit into the Hornby 37.

Western one on the cards for my Dapol cl52, and a couple of Kings and an 08 also now in need !

Oh for a cl29 sound unit !  

I can see this sound lark is gonna cost me a small fortune !     

Hoping the show went well for you, Al.  I was so gutted that I couldn't be there to see the layout that I had to console myself with a tour around Hereford Model Centre and the purchase of a Dapol Cl52 Western !

This is so annoying - I will be driving right past the NEC on friday, but, will be nowhere near enough to visit saturday or sunday !  Had planned to go this year, and, having found this thread a couple of months ago, had made my mind up that I definately would - till my plans were changed for me !

Hope the show goes well for "The Bridge's" first outing, it's an absolute masterpiece and I am gutted that I will not be able to come see it in person !