Liam2987

The cost mostly. We all know that prices have skyrocketed needlessly. It's one of the reasons that most of the engines I run on the model railway I run for the public belong to me. It's easier for me to just buy what I want second hand (engine wise and older stuff that you can actually service) than the newer stuff which can fail out of the box. As for running prototypical length trains, it's something I strive for but can't always do because I don't have the rolling stock unless I buy it myself.

We're still here!

Evening all, Apologies for the lack of updates of late- I haven't had much of a chance to work on the layout during the busy Easter holiday! But now the children have returned to school, peace has once again returned to the western front. Much of the work I have been doing is mostly behind the scenes stuff; Maintaining the locos, stock and working on various other things. However since I have had a couple quieter days I thought I would post a small update and include some extra pictures I took this afternoon I think you may appreciate. Work has now progressed with the initial street scene I was working on, and I have now managed to paint the rest of the road and blend it in with the new road surface I built to replace the ageing cobbles. Now all I need to do is add some road markings and dreaded yellows lines. I decided against painting them on directly given that I have awkward access and have decided to purchase some of the pre cut, stick on variety. On the street itself, I have been carrying on painting the pavements, adding ironwork and making new shop signs for some of the buildings. Don't ask for the 'special stuff'! At the station end of the street, a skale dale petrol station has been added. I must say I was quite pleased to find one already on the layout as I initially intended to scratch build it myself. Overall, I am extremely happy with the progress of the street. I do need to build the new street lamps and wire them in, but that will be a job for next week along with road markings. Speaking of roads I have also repainted the road surface of the large bridge across the Central Station throat and added plasticard pavements. Initially I painted the new pavements an extremely dark grey with separate lighter grey kerb edging in attempt to portray an asphalt surface. After a few days I realised I wasn't happy at all with the result, so the last couple days have been spent repainting and I am now much happier with the result. I have also added a plastic girder to the top of the road tunnel which I think creates a more pleasing bridge effect. Road markings will also need to be added, and the zebra crossing reinstated- With a new addition of four Liverpudlians! As I am now nearing completion of the street, bridge and roads, my thoughts are now turning to the next stage- Overhauling Central Station. One idea I have at the moment is scratch building a custom station building as part of an art deco high street in front of the station. Whilst I do like the Anglicised Faller 'Bonn Station', I feel the time has come for something new and exciting. I need to gather pictures of different examples and get to the drawing board. Lastly, I thought I would also include some pictures of the layout 'at night', with the layout illuminated by its own building and street lights. The photos do not do it justice really- It really is a pretty sight. One of my plans is to sort the wiring out so I can have the street lights on a timer, so that every 20 minutes or so the layout lights will come on and the main lights dim out. But that's a project for another day!

Evening all, Today marks two weeks since I took over the running of the layout, so I thought I would post a little update of what has been going on. Other than sorting out stuff behind the scenes (It's a modellers treasure trove!) and working out how to run two trains at a time on each track, my main area of focus has been the street scene immediately as you enter. Firstly, given the size of the layout it's the most obvious place to start, and secondly it is the first thing people see as they first view the layout. I've decided that the layout will be updated to portray a rough approximation of the 1980's. I reasoned that such a setting will look modern enough for non modellers to identify with (and possibly invoke a bit of nostalgia!), whilst at the same time allow for the running of steam locos or some of the post privatisation stock without things looking too odd. Modellers license is a wonderful thing. I would also add that my decision is in no way my excuse to run more classic diesel traction such as class 20's and 50's when I book stock out onto the layout... With that in mind- The street scene. Or Cowley Road as it is now known. The original depiction had been of a Victorian/Edwardian street, complete with etched brass iron railings and cobblestones. When it was installed thirty years ago, and indeed when I was a boy it looked fantastic. Sadly time had taken its toll. The cobble stones I can only assume were some sort of sticky backed sheet which you trimmed into your road shape and stuck down in situ. They were also rather spongy to the touch and after many years had become marked, gouged and a magnet for dust as can be seen in the post picture. It was time for them to come up. Armed with a scraper I began at the road tunnel end. Initially only the top layer of cobbles came off leaving a sticky, black and uneven mess. With a little more work I managed to get down to the board and the job became a little bit easier. The next step was make a template for the new road surface which I made out of A4 paper cut lengthwise into strips and stuck together with tape. I then laid the now one long strip onto the road and marked out the shape using the pavement edges as a guide. With the road shape and width now marked out, I cut out the template and then split it back into smaller strips ready to be marked onto the A4 plasticard. It was then just a case of cutting out the road surface, checking the fit, labelling and painting with acrylic paint mixed to a suitable shade. Voila- One half of a new tarmacked road surface ready to be placed on the layout. Before I laid the new road surface, I wanted to turn my attention to the houses. The etched brass ironwork was removed as well as any figures, plant pots and bins and duly placed on my 'current project shelf'. The state of most of the houses was really very good considering their age and only one- Yes one downpipe needed replacing! A couple of the houses however did need a lick of paint. I would like to add that these buildings are VERY firmly fixed in place, so rather than risk breaking them trying to get them up, I repainted them in situ. With most of the trains still running. I don't think my back has quite forgiven me yet! I also took the opportunity to paint the pavements before the road went in, which was finally stuck down onto the board using PVA and touched in after drying. Hedges were then added to the front walls of the houses to replace the ironwork, which I had to pilfer from other parts of the layout. Lastly, a couple signs were added to the Methodist chapel and a 'For Sale' board put up on one of the houses. In-between all of the house painting and road building, I have also begun to construct some modern day street lights. So far only the main poles have been assembled out of plastic tubing, and the holes drilled into the pavements to take them. Next week I will be tackling the other half of the street, replacing the cobbled road surface in the same manner, modernising some of the shops and continuing with the modern street light construction. But that's not before a well earned two days off after seven days on! Incidentally if you are in the area over the weekend, why not pop in, take a look for yourself and say hello!

Evening all, Last week I began my new job at the well known South West retail outlet in Newton Abbot looking after the model railway. It's all a bit of a dream come true really as I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be left in charge of a layout I have long admired since I was a small boy, let alone get paid for the privilege! For those who may not have heard of the huge layout, it is located at the above mentioned retail park in South Devon, just outside of Newton Abbot as part of the leisure complex. I'm unsure of the dimensions, but it has eight loops and five shuttle lines, is DC controlled and was constructed in the late 1980's. As such, certain parts are really beginning to show their age. Therefore, I am creating this blog to keep track of and document all the work I intend to undertake to refresh the layout and bring it up to date. It's not going to be an easy task especially given the limited (non existent) budget, but it is a challenge I am very much looking forward to getting stuck into. My first focus of attention will be towards the scenery which I intend to tackle methodically, one section at a time. Most of the buildings on the layout are of extremely high quality and need only a clean up, minor repairs and a lick of paint. Other parts such as the harbour (complete with real water!) need completely remodelling. I also want to re introduce a working colour light signal system as the layout had many years ago, but sadly has fallen into disrepair. At some point a complete rewiring of the track will also be in order, but as the layout is open to the public as part of the leisure park it is a job which will have to be undertaken out of season to ensure the trains continue to run. It is the beginning of a long and interesting journey. I hope you find it interesting too!