johnsmithuk

Thank you for the input.

As I said above, I measured my boards wrong, hence the change of track plan.

The track has arrived, so will be experimenting over the next few days in-between nightshifts.

I have a preliminary design for the control panel for the points and lighting, and have been researching stay-alive modules that are small in size, but pack enough punch to get a class 06 and/or 08 across the points if problems persist.

Pulled the trigger on ordering the track pieces I don't have for the above track plan. It is a little bit real now.

Slight amendments made.

All of my wagons are 4 wheel small ones.

Firstly, I put my hand up to misreading some measurements. My baseboard is a little thinner than I read, and was my error.

The theme will be unchanged, but the track plan has changed a bit to compensate.

I wanted to put everything on a slant, but it was a stretch too far, so have stayed parallel to the board. I have gone to town with the points to try and make it look like there was a lot more trackwork there in the past. In doing so, I appear to have made a double inglenook. That makes shunting puzzles to a whole new level.

The yellow wall is the exterior fence of the works, a dirt road joins the building, and loading dock area (orange block) to the outside world through the red gate. A similar gate separates the private works to the main Network Rail owned line.

The orange block has potential for a loading bay to unload trucks, a crane, other scrap left everywhere etc.

Pictures below. As always comments/suggestions/flaming/improvements are welcome.

Ok, the as yet unnamed wagon works may be inching forward.

I now have the wagon works building in the top left corner, with a storage siding running down the side of it. This is currently a twin road building, it may turn into a three road building to cover the siding, turning it into more works space.

Near centre-right houses storage sidings that also encompass an inglenook shunting puzzle area.

Far right has space to build a scenic break, a bridge or other building to hide the exit away from the main board to a fiddle cassette/stick.

Back centre has space, along with behind the wagon works and near right to build the surrounding area up to the boundary I set for the works.

I am assuming that the works was a lot bigger in the past, and has sold off land that other local industry has taken over.

1 hour ago, CameronL said:

Hi.

 

If you want a variety of wagons both old and new in a very small space, how about modelling a wagon repair facility? What better reason could there be to have a large variety of wagons coming and going, and all the shunting you could ask for? 

 

It would also require deliveries of materials such as wood, paint and metal, and could be a delightfully cluttered scene.

 

Feel free to ignore.

 

Best wishes

 

Cam

Wow. My mind is blown. So obvious I never even thought if it.

Time to get thinking again.

Thank you for more inspiration. 

On 16/09/2020 at 00:50, AireValley1962 said:

The baseboards by SMS sound like a grand idea. I would make three notes, if you don't mind!

 

1. What industry(s) and how did it/they grow? As you say 90's, it would be more than likely that some older industry would be winding down operations. 

2. That being the case, the track network would probably not be so nicely laid out, if it had been built years ago,  and added onto, and relaid and taken up over time.

3. Therefore, for operating reasons, I would try to have a couple kickback sidings, keeping in mind that 90's stock and locomotives are longer than stuff 40 years prior.

 

Enjoy!

 

Will

Thanks for the comments.

1. My thoughts are an old factory, repurposed to a more modern usage, so allows a mix of old and new hardware to go be used as I feel fit. The part backing on to the rails to be a loading dock, but much disused.

2. That makes sense, and I am trying a few more variations to see if something looks more organic/disorganised.

3. Rolling stock is a pair of beaten up 08's. If I can convert an 06 I was given to DCC that will be used as well.

The inglenook is pretty much a deal breaker, as I want some operational interest as well as something to model.

Thanks again for showing an interest.

Hello everyone, I have been interested in this hobby for a long time, and decided after a few false starts to make a serious go of a layout of my own.

The plan is to use ready made baseboard sections from Scale Model Scenery, 2x ends, and 2x centre pieces. This will give a working area approx 1600mm x 400mm, 5 feet x 1 1/3 feet roughly.

Control will be DCC, and a fiddle stuck will be added to one or both sides, depending on final layout.

The first idea for the track layout is below. The baseboard sections are on order, as space is a premium, and is as large as I realistically can go.

The intended theme is intended to be industrial, and close to modern day, somewhere between 90's and now, possibly a mix up throughout the range. I am using Rule 1 liberally.

Comments and hint welcome.

On 02/01/2020 at 07:05, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Yes.

Stop worrying about other people and just get on with it!

You are the only person to whom it really matters.

 

Mike.

In a friendly/supportive fashion.

I believe this is a Rule Number 1 scenario.

You could sell many of those, looks very professional.

That car primer from the pound shop is great, I use it myself.

On 26/06/2019 at 20:12, luke the train spotter said:

So an update on the Peckett now christened Douglas. I have fitted some homemade pickups made out of 0.4mm phosphor bronze wire. They work a treat and it’s great to have Douglas back running again. Here is a picture of how everything is set out prior to insulation.It was a lot simpler than I thought and works a treat. In fact it worked so well and wasn’t even that difficult  I plan to re do the pick ups on my 009 roco loco to improve reliability of running. Thanks for looking guys.

Hi Luke, sorry for dragging up an old post, but I have a question.

I have an old class 08 that it looks like the pick up has pretty much disintegrated. Is the wire bent, and then glued to provide some tension on the wheels to maintain contact? I have been searching for a week to find this post again after it sitting in my memory that I had seen it done.

6 minutes ago, josh_will said:

Thank you, the terminal block is just there to connect the wires coming out of the baseboard to the wires inside the panel. The panel is removable, it has two bolts inside it joining it to the front of the baseboard. There are then 6 wires coming from the baseboard: 2 for the track feeds and 2 each for the isolating sections. Therefore a 6-way terminal block is used for the connection. It’s not pretty but does the job.

Thanks for the reply, seems so obvious now.

Sorry for the newbie style question, but what is the purpose of having the terminal block exposed on your control panel?

Thanks.

I like the idea of changing the backdrop to change the time of day.

On 10/03/2019 at 21:13, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Returning to this thread, I think there are some wonderful suggestions in 2mm scale - reworked favourites and new ideas: it'll be interesting to see which way Mr Parker goes with his 3rd layout.

 

Having suggested two very conventional ideas in 4mm scale, I've come back to the question of viewing angles after reading a description of a Cameo Layout, where there is a reference to 'a "natural" viewing height'  ('What is a Cameo Layout?' in the relevant Special Interests thread on RMweb),  It's fair to say that my ideas take an operator's eye view as "natural."  What this means in feet and inches can vary considerably of course, and is a question of accessibility.

 

One of the potential aspects of a bookshelf model for home use is that multiple viewing points become available: as well as my operator (in this case the figure on the right below, who happens to be standing), I also have a seated viewer across the room (on the left below).  They are viewing the same model from a distance.  How might I best use this?  [At an exhibition there may be other people getting a close up view, creating an artificial maximum viewing distance].

 

 

As well as distance, the challenge for the layout designer in my example is that the green shaded area is invisible to a seated viewer - but at the same time is the area most easily viewed by the operator.  How might I make more of the "shop window" or "display cabinet" aspect of this project?

 

I wonder if there's space within the 26cm x 76cm space to be more creative?  In a larger space (and scale), one of my favourite BRM Layouts did just this, Macclesfield Model Railway Group's Hammeston Wharf (BRM Feb 2007).  They had four separate levels from front to back (including Narrow Gauge and trams), but I think they had a scenic area some 36' x 3' in total (in 7mm scale).

 

Dare I throw an idea at you?

How about an angled mirror on the bottom of the shelf above the layout, so that seated viewers get a sort of bird's eye view of the layout?

I have no connection to Homebase, but found this whilst browsing, very similar and £6 cost.

Homebase Crate

Catzilla is waaaaaaay too cute.

Lazarus Lane?

On 1/25/2019 at 10:52 PM, colman29 said:

Good Evening,

 

I am embarking on my first layout, using DC, insulfrog points and one controller

 

I have had a go at showing where I think I will need power and insulated joints on the attached but I may be wide of the mark!

 

Any help you could provide on wiring would be appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Colman29

 

 

This may seem like a very silly question, but how do you distribute the power from your controller to the track.

Is it a single feed into something like a terminal block to then spread it to each section?

How do you construct the switches for the isolations?

Sorry for the newbie style questions.

Space solution is easy, all you need is a sledgehammer and a sympathetic landlord. 

Love the making the crane moving.

That is some dedication to getting the walls looking great.

Very nice! Did you do that pic?

Yes, sorry it is a bit rough and ready.