M.R.P.G

Some videos from the operating session Class 25 arriving at Depot Lane Class 25 departing from Depot Lane Cheers Simon

An operating session with my 'blue' stock... Cheers Simon

The fuel tanks are now glued in place. (Also note the extra 'hoops' added to the ladder on the water tower and the base has now been painted and weathered) Cheers for reading Simon

The fuel tanks have been toned down with a duller colour and a more weathered look, here's some pictures showing the walkway and ladder attached. Thanks for looking Shaun

Hi to all, We have been busy making and painting some details Lockers scratch built by Matt, and the oil drum stand with drip tray by myself (Shaun) . Paul has been painting the details and Simon has made some workbenches. A view of the yard with the new 'Stop' sign fitted outside the shed The fuel tanks waiting for the ladder and walkway to be fitted They are nearly finished, using the same method as on Simons water tower, the ladder is a Ratio signal ladder, with hoops I made from wire and micro strip for the cage. The walkway is from a Knightwing kit and I used pieces of chicken wire bent to shape for the handrails. Thanks for looking Shaun.

Exactly! There will always be someone who spots something you miss! Simon

UNUSUAL STOCK! I brought some stock around to give Annesley Woodhouse a run and thought while it's here... We noticed after taking this photo that some painting needed to be done... and here is the view after Shaun got his brush out... Cheers Simon

Thanks for the kind comments guys, they are appreciated! Simon (Psiborg)

Weathering Hi all, It's been a while since I've posted an update, you've had Simon and Shaun to entertain you in the past few, but now its my turn again! A few weeks ago, shortly after the work mentioned in the last update was completed, I weathered all the track work using my airbrush. I used only a couple of colours from the Phoenix paints range: 'Track Dirt' and 'Dirty Black', I used these 'straight' I just thinned them down of course but didn't mix them with any other colours. I started out by using the Track Dirt lightly sprayed down the sleepers and the outside edges of the tracks. I then gave the whole lot, including the road and hard standing a spray with the Dirty Black, when spraying the latter I paid close attention to areas where locos might be stood to give the impression of grimy oily deposits. After this, we then used some Humbrol Gloss black dry brushed into the aforementioned areas to give the impression of 'fresher' grime. The first two photos give some close up shots... And the third is an overhead view taken from the 'Google Earth Satellite'! The next update will include the addition of more details to the layout. Its really looking the part now so its one not to be missed! Cheers, Matt (Heinz57) (Edited by Simon to correct Matt's spelling )

Hi to all, and thanks Andyram, we are looking forward to the show. Here's another update, Simon has painted and weathered the water tower, its still not quite finished yet though. The fuel tanks are being worked on with more details being added. The fuel pumps are now glued in place, also water taps with grates. We have also added a lighting strip to the shed interior, and wall lamps outside. The shed is not glued down yet as we will be adding interior details. Thanks for looking Shaun M.R.P.G

Fuel tanks are actually grated hard cheese containers costing just over £1 each. They have been filled and sanded down then primed with red-oxide primer. I added pipework to give them a bit of detail Here is a the latest google earth view of Depot Lane. Note the new roof vents on the shed awaiting fitting More to come soon Simon

Good looking compact layout and still enough to do to keep you interested! Simon (Psiborg)

Hi to all, Here's the update as I said I would get round to it, but too many projects and not enough time to update... We have been busy making a lid for the fiddle yard, it is hinged so it can be folded down when the layout is not in use and to make transporting easier. Also so you cannot see us lifting the stock on and off at shows. The end board just slots on or off, and the lid just rests on a block of wood. Note the point operating lever . Just needs painting and we intend to add a "Depot Lane" sign at a later date. Thanks for looking Shaun M.R.P.G

Cheers Colin, We hope you do get inspired by it and we would like to see what you come up with! Shaun (Scooby71) says he will be posting another update in a few days! (That's if he can stop himself working on his own layout Drabford ) Simon (Psiborg)

Hi Steve, thank you for your comments Here's a few more photos Another busy day at the depot, that's why we needed bigger fuel tanks. Shaun.

Tanks sprayed with grey primer The brickwork paint has now been matched up Thanks for looking Shaun M.R.P.G

Fuel tanks ​​With the amount of locos visiting the depot, there is not enough capacity in the small single tank to refuel them all. ​So we have had a change around, Matts tank and pump building is now attached to the depot building. On the layout in the blue era. Note the buffer stop lights. ​Up to date with DB. The new bigger tanks have arrived ​The tops have been covered with plasticard, and filler

BUFFER STOP LIGHTS The buffer stop lights we wanted to fit needed to be of a non specific time period, so we were looking for a prototype that would be suitable. One day we were sitting at Sheffield Midland station and saw this one at the end of the bay platform... Shaun found a way to build them using LEDs and resistors from Layouts4U The ends were cut off and they were fitted like this... After painting the brackets on, here they are, all illuminated with a few of Paul's locos 'on shed' Psiborg

Thanks guys Simon (Psiborg)

Spot on! It's so we can run a loco in with a TTA tank, stop it over a magnet (all stock is Kadee fitted) and uncouple, loco runs on and point is changed and it runs back to fiddleyard. It can then return to push the tank wagon up to the buffer where the unloading point is. (But basically its an excuse to add extra moves to do at an exhibition!) Psiborg

Hi, The baseboard measures 4ft x 15 inches, including sector plate. We wanted to keep it as compact as possible. The Fab Foam is this stuff from Hobby Craft, it comes in A4 sheets and is about 3mm thick. Cheers, Heinz57

Hi to all Further progress was made to Depot Lane in May with more work to the retaining walls, finishing off the capping stones and work around the bridge girder. We have also painted inside the fiddle yard / sector plate area, and there is always time to give the layout a test with the sound fitted DB 08. Into June and the retaining walls have been painted with a mortar colour. The filler work on the road way has been smoothed down and given a base coat of paint. More updates soon Scooby71

Thanks chaps for your kind comments on the layout, we very much appreciate it! Further Progress In the last update I mentioned about the retaining wall that Shaun has started to construct. This photo shows it as a work in progress. It is based loosely on the retaining wall behind Sheffield Station, basically a miss-matched blend of various styles of brick work. What I find amazing is Shaun built it only from scraps he had left over in his spares box, and it looks fantastic! Also visible is the shed that Simon has been constructing, it's of a simple construction and represents a typical basic engine shed. This photo was taken after the metal cladding had been painted but prior to any weathering being added. As March 'Marched' on, we made quite a bit of progress on the layout and it really started to come to life! Firstly I added an extension to the road so it now goes over the tracks and connects the hard standing to the road. I did this using the same 3mm plywood we used for the bridge and used filler to slope the ends down. This photo was taken shortly after the filler was applied, so looks a bit of a mess in the photo but after sanding and tidying it looks pretty good. The fuel tank and pump house is my main project on the layout. I based the model on the ones that were at Buxton, the tank was made from the Knightwing kit and the rest is scratch built. I actually built and weathered it back in February but we didn't fix it straight on the layout and just put it to one side, that's why you can't see it on any other photos. The water tower was another bit of detail we added, and I volunteered to build this. Without much research I dived in and started building it, I made the tank and then was a defeatist and gave up. Simon then stepped in and took over on this build, he studied some photos and then added the support legs and further details to the tower. Here you see the tower half done, since this photo was taken more details have been added, its been painted and looks really good! Finally you can also see the retaining wall almost completed. The main wall has been completed and its seen here awaiting capping stones and painting/weathering. This update brings us up to the end of March. Stay tuned for more showing the work we've done on the layout this past couple of weeks, it's really looking the part now! Cheers, Heinz57

Yep, that`s the stuff! I used cork tiles up to the sleeper edges and then filled in the rest with the Fab Foam. When dry, all of it was sprayed with suede effect paint and left to dry before random spraying with grey and white primer to the desired colour finish. More weathering work is still needed though Psiborg

Further Progress In the last update we talked about the idea behind the layout and the early stages of construction including the track laying and ballasting. This work took us until the end of November. As winter marched on, we continued working on the layout. Of course we spent a lot of time 'playing' with the layout as you can see here! This photo has a better view of Simon's hard standing, painted up but not yet weathered. The chosen method to laying the hard standing is one by Andy York in BRM. Simon found this method last year and we have been successfully using it ever since. Simon has done it on a couple of his own layouts and I have also used it on the current version of my Elveden Road. Here is another look at the hard standing. In the back ground is the Bachmann Scenecraft shed, this isn't the actual model we will be using. Its actually Paul's that we used to size it up. The completed layout will use a scratch built shed. As time rolled on and December made way for January we made steady progress on the layout. The next major addition to the layout was the backscene using 3.5mm MDF and the bridge and road made using 3mm plywood. Shaun made the supports using corrugated packing card, it doesn't seem like much but believe me, now its finished it it absolutely rock solid! The front fascia was also added which not only gives the layout a neat look but provides a bit more support for the road. After the road and back scene was added, Shaun made further progress by starting on the retaining wall. He first created a 'base' using more 3.5mm MDF and a bit of cork here and there. This gives the brick sheet a smooth surface for it to stick on to. As January and February rolled on we made quite a bit of progress and started to make the model look more like a layout than a stack of wood with a bit of track on it. Although what we have done here doesn't seem like much, we're happy with it. We only meet up once a week and spend a few hours working on the layout, so as you can appreciate that isn't much time! I think when we start working on our tail chaser project we'll probably find more time for us to work on the layout so work on that will probably be much quicker. Cheers, Heinz57