deepfat

Ha, I see you have met her! however she did let me buy a Rapido APT-e , the Rails SECR D class an ADM turntable so it's not all bad in the loft

yep agreed but we are really close and as ours is opposite our local Tesco's. mrs Deepfat is my courier and they treat her very well when she tries to remembr the thingy I want

@rapidoandy thanks for sharing, I pre-ordered the whole DCC set based on your reputation and my APT-e. My Question is can we get into the coaches and passengers without damaging the detail - for example I wondered about adding some "regulars to Valentine's bar ( I didn't really read the spec for what I ordered and it was a long time ago).

Note this post has been updated following the loss of photos on RMWeb Converting a loft for a model rail layout The only internal timbers in my loft are three ties at roughly chest height you can just see all three in this shot of the loft as it was insulated: It seemed logical to use this to support my layout. Timber in 1946 was clearly of better quality as these are just 50x100mm in section and yet they stop the roof sagging by being connected to purlins around the edge of the roof. I couldn't easily move the tie in the middle of the picture (the one with the red pressure tank next to it) and I would have to duck under it hence my need to automate my layout. However I could make a feature of it by making some sort of figure of eight maybe to change direction. As I mentioned in my last post I also got my builder to add in in some more 100 x 50 beams at right angles to the existing ties them to further support my intended layout. You can just see three of them right over the back coming out for the foil to meet the furthest tie. Given the physical constraints of the loft I would really need to think about a suitable track plan. I know a lot of people rely on a few sketches or marking stuff out on the boards once they are in place but I am a software engineer and I designed our house in CAD so how hard could a layout be? Well actually I found it a very challenging and interesting exercise in its own right. I used a freemium SCARM track planning solution which I bought once it was released. It takes a bit of getting used to but allows for accurate positioning of flexi-track, both to limit the tightest radius (750mm in my case) and to set inclines precisely as well. I did buy the trains simulator too and while there are no UK trains on it, it allowed me to judge how the real thing would work: The layout Before I get to the layout design a word on my design goals - All my layout should be in view with no hidden fiddle yard as I knew I'd be operating it from different positions with laptops & phones over wifi and inviting a few friends to have a go as well. I wanted to loosely model Hastings where I grew up but back in the 1930's when steam engineering was at its height. There should be lots of options for routes mainline, branch-lines with and some freight working too My layout is pretty big and those beams are in the way so automating the points would be essential. I had no legacy equipment so I could standardise on the latest thinking. For example I was impressed with the great point motors and systems from DCC Concepts. and their excellent advice on wiring for DCC I wanted freedom to stop and start trains wherever and have them moving at prototypical speeds so DCC would also be used for train control, and I wanted to explore software control from a touch screen like Hornby Railmaster possibly with Hornby Elite as well (which I have now replaced with a Rocco Z21 and iTrain as detailed n this post). For the most part I'd be using 50mm track centres as there are no issues with overhangs on rolling stock at 750mm radii and this is what Peco 75 points are engineered for. After many iterations my layout design looks like this: The blue outline is the baseboard: The centre section is sitting on one of that exiting ties I can't move so you have to duck under it anyway. The access hole top right is need to reach the edge of the layout in the top left (NW) corner. The loft hatch is not shown but comes up in the cut out are in the SW corner (so lower left). SCARM this in 3D complete with the supporting timbers where brown indicates existing structural ties/purlins and the orange the new timbers added by my builder, so you can get a better sense of your design However the tools for creating buildings in SCARM are quite weak so I have just made a rough copy of Hastings station as was in the 1930's and designed the station to hold a pacific loco with six coaches . I have to admit the track plan does look a bit like a toy train layout, however as I said already, the radii are much larger to enable fitting detailing packs to locos, and to permit close coupling of tenders and coaches. One other thing I did in SCARM that sort of worked was to try and plan around the supporting timbers In the 2d view layers can be hidden to aid clarity. I have layers for the various design elements on the plan: Notes on the Design Essentially this is an two line oval track with a branch lines which cross over to change form one track to another. The three branch line sections shown in grey are those likely to need auto reverse units as will the turntable. There is a turntable as I'll be running express steam trains and I have added to long sidings (in yellow) to feed that which will double as storage for rakes of coaches or wagons. The two into one siding at the bottom of the layout will server some sort of industry - possibly a brewery! Inclines Hastings is hilly so I wanted at least a couple of inclines with bridges and so on. The trick to setting up these is to create enough room to get one track over another at the top centre (north side) given that I want to use 2% inclines. To achieve this, the southern end of the layout (the bottom edge of the plan above) at about 30mm above the lowest level (0mm) of the Northern centre section end. In this view of the middle of the layout you the right far side is 30mm height so far double track climbs 60mm to give 90mm clearance over the track off camera on the left. The track in the foreground drops 30mm as it goes into a tunnel to connect with the bottom level of track. This gives a rough idea of how the track passes over itself and in this view I have put in a road bridge scenic break to show what this will look like: One snag with this use of inclines is the sidings (in yellow on the diagram above). They have to be nearly level so unattached rakes of wagons and coaches don't roll anywhere and the same applies to my station. SCARM helps with this but I also tested what the maximum incline I could have through the station without coaches moving and then built that into the design. So now I could get busy with actually making the baseboard and that's for next time

@Aymod This topic should be front and centre on RMWeb to showcase members' amazing work. It's also a shame so many images have been lost. If I was running RMWeb I'd make this a monthly competition based on likes from us and give small award or badge for the best

we have totally got to have a chat - my problem is the higher sections of my backscene are angled in as I am in the loft:I did my clouds by hand with a car sponge dipped in white acrylic and have tried to get the 3d curve round the corners, but I do like what yu hav achieved as much. I do have a good Harder airbrush but very new to using it

I don't think I am related to Jesus or Pinocchio as my carpentry skills are crap so loving your work as I aspire to the precision you are achieving

Hi my loft is an homage to Hastings between the wars, My father went to st Olave's and my grandfather was head gardener at Harrow so guess which schools classes are on my layout however underneath it's very hi tech DCC with loconet train detection controlled by iTrain through a Rocco Z21

can you still get that lorry - I have some Dapol Harvey;s wagons and I am modelling Sussex too albeit in Hasting interwar. I might have a go at making this based on blog. Well done for your humility and honesty - we have all suffered from glue on the fingers you are among friends

Hi I have seen a few posts on waterslide transfers but they are quite old. Soo has anyone had a go at designing and printing transfers either on buildings or on rolling stock. I have the graphic skills but I wondered how well the inkjet paper you can get moulds to contours even if applied with say Decalfix or similar. I might for example create renumbering decals ,private owner logos for wagons or billboards for buildings. thanks for reading

Note this post has been updated following the loss of photos on RMWeb Like many kids back in the day I had a train set. In my case my dad got my brother & me a Hymek Freightliner set from Hornby. It was setup on an 8' x 4' board and stowed under my bed when not in use. We got bored of it pretty quickly and eventually it died a horrible death like some of the figures in the original Toy Story! Fifty odd years later and along bought of illness & enforced rest and I suddenly got the urge to look at the train again, like the ones my dad used to ride on. He went to St Olave's Grammar School and there's a loco named after it which by coincidence was designed by Richard Maunsell to cope with the hills and turns on the line to Hastings where I grew up. I saw that Hornby had made one of these, Chartehouse for the era I wanted (Dad's Army meets Foyles War) and that these could be electronically controlled and adapted to make noise as well - I was hooked. The question then was where to put a largish 00 layout that would do justice to the advances in technology and build quality in model railways. The only two options being shed, or loft. The loft won because we needed to properly insulate and board it anyway for storage. as you can see This meant the on cost of a layout would really be the those extra modifications needed - Velux windows, eaves insulation and electrical work to put certified wiring for lights and mains. I had to wait a while for our builder to carry out the modifications as mucking about with lofts like this is best left to experts. He fitted loft insulation and clad that in 5mm ply to a basic standard rather than leaving us with the mylar space ship look - it is a loft after all! I also asked him to add more structural timber (100x50mm) to the stretchers which would support my layout and avoid it affecting the roof. While I was waiting I had plenty of time for research and planning and also for retail! So as well as lots of good ideas and draft layouts I have a lot of the rolling stock I wanted: I am well kitted out with SR stock as it was 1935 -1945, I have a couple of Schools, an Adams radial, Wainwright, Terriers , Greyhound and T9s and a brass kit of an air-smoothed Merchant Navy by PDK to make from scratch. I have also the necessary Maunsell/Bullied coaches and wagons to suit I also decided to collect the key streamlined trains of the period - my layout my rules! I have acquired the Duchess of Hamilton (R3339 as preserved) and Silver Fox (R3309)both with six of the relevant but rather badly modelled coaches (the Hornby jubilee coaches from LMS and LNER). We honeymooned on the Orient Express so a few Pullman coaches as a reminder of our best train journey ever Mrs Deepfat loved the SECR Rails D class when she took me to the NRM in York so I have that and SECR birdcage coaches to suit Given this rolling stock I'd need a sizable layout with lazy curves but at least I had the space now!

Andy I am not into Meta = when Zuckerberg gets privacy, I'll reconsider

I am a proud supporter of Rapido, KR models, Rails & Hattons as they are creating interesting non mainstream stuff and clearly understand their audiences - model engineers with a sense of fun. Hornby could so easily fix things by listening to us and coming with their own ideas & not copying, e.g. I have order the Hornby the new Prince of Wales P2, but I am getting the Hattons Genesis coaches not the Hornby clones

A quick search on the internet for turntables will likely get you a list of products for spinning your vinyl collection rather than for an accessory for your model rail layout. I mention this because looking underneath an ADM turntable you'd think it was a record player - It has a toothed belt drive and a pretty sophisticated circuit board amongst the other wizadry. Land Rover may have had a hand in its design as it looks very robust and is reassuringly heavy and it's so well built you could probably add a stylus and listen to music at say 1/2 rpm! These things are from cheap and I have to confess what your looking at here is the fully loaded version with detailing, weathering and an adapter kit which I'll explain later. However I don't have the skills to make something as good as this and the adaptation kits for motorising turntables seem flimsy and suffer from indexing and drift. Of course it is a thing of beauty as well and here's the one I bought earlier in lockdown.. The queen of turntables from ADM. I'd always wanted a turntable and had planned to put one on my layout. I thought it might be good to review the design before cutting holes in my baseboard. My loft layout is resting on beams that spread the roof in my loft and the left hole is for the loft hatch and the right hole will have a removable section of scenery for access which presents interesting challenges for my layout. My initial design for including a turntable looked like this.. with three routes on to the layout and a small engine shed. However these routes weren't long enough to store rakes of coaches and this is important to me as there is no fiddle yard on this layout as it's all in view. However I do I want somewhere to form up trains to change what is running and to make the turntable a real feature as part of this. I also like the idea of a roundhouse and tried to squeeze a small one in. After a lot of versions this is what I came up with using the SCARM software to visualise how it might work. Essentially I stole some space by shortening the branch line siding to the left of the layout and using that space to run a set of sidings between the turntable and my mainline: With this design a loco would drive into either route A or B with six coaches and uncouple to leave the rake behind and continue to drive into the siding C. It could then reverse out to the main line on route D or reverse on to the turntable turn around and leave on route E or enter the round house. A new loco coming from the roundhouse or the mainline could cross the turntable to pull out a rake of coaches and return to the mainline with them. This looked like a good compromise so onto the installation. I mentioned my ADM turntable came with an adapter ring. This is it can be removed from the layout without disturbing it. The turntable sits on this ring of mdf which fits in turn into a square mdf mounting plate. All I need to do was cut the right size square in the right place in my layout and secure the base plate to fit flush with the top of the baseboard The Wiring is easy - you get a DC transformer a cable to connect the controller to the turntable and there are two connectors to get power to the turntable and this auto reverses the power as needed. Note the DCC power goes through the circuit board so the turntable must be powered on to get DCC power to the turntable bridge. And as you can see here I have followed the deign I had in mind.. Except that I reckon I can get a 6 bay roundhouse by using peco lifts to simulate how that would work. I can sort the details out when i have the roundhouse kit as the turntable has amazing fine grain control to get the rails to line up so I can have the entrances anywhere I want. Just as importantly when you turn it off and on again it goes through a start-up process to check it's properly aligned and I love how it simulates inertia and slows down as it comes to rest. It's very easy top operate and I have replaced the cat5 cable with a longer one so I can have the controller next to my touch screen. My problem now is to try and get this baby working from iTrain with detection and all, but that might be a post in itself. Finally thanks to Alistair at ADM for great aftersales service (note to self - rtfm)

@C126 Your are very kind, but looking at my uploads I should have gone to specsavers! I have a huge file to do my mitring and that helps as it's heavy and I can run the section along it too make sure the edge is square, but the angle is by eye and I figure if I over do it the edges will meet OK and then use those wills fillets to reinforce the corners but I'd love a gizmo too . I use a battery operated dremel with a cutting disc too but that starts to melt the material.

I am also on this journey, the corners for me are the challenge I have Ina wrights book on Will and do the mitring thing I do fil the joints and then use a jewellers fret saw to re-establish the horizontal mortar joints but its very slow. I have tried laser brick cut kits but these also fall down on the corners. I have attached a couple of goes at this a standard will craftsman pub and a scratch built signal box with lcut.co.uk windows and wills for the brickwork and windows

Just wanted to say I do like SCARM too but development seems to have stopped and not very UK orientated which is shame - and here's my loft layout with holes where I crawl under rafters etc.

It was harder to retro fit than I anticipated (I am rubbish at soldering), and I am having some niggles in the logic so far but I wanted to have more than one train moving at once and for the system to resolve contentions. If you are interested we can have a chat