luke the train spotter

Hi there! I have been modeling for 4 years now and would like a new challenge - modeling a prototype. Now so far my occasional research searches on google haven't shown anything up yet but I would like to model something Scottish/ north eastern region in the late 50s with diesels and steam. The location is purely because of my current collection of stock. The layout would have to be 4 foot by roughly 1 foot (that dimension is more adjustable) and standard gauge in oo gauge. I operate on a very small budget so preferably a layout without much point work (3 scenic points at tops but 2 is my preference). Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I've heard about those problems so I plan to hardwire a standard 8pin 4 function decoder into my sentinel. From experience with Hornby 4 pin decoders mine have been duff ones that dont work properly and cause erratic running so I now stay clear away from them.

Looks very good. I am considering that track plan for my next layout so am following with interest.

Looks great and the complete lack of flicker is amazing! Convenient that leds dont draw much current so you dont need massive capacitors.

Point rodding is one of those things that modellers miss so it is really good to see them being used on your layout.

Looks brilliant. Wish I'd thought of putting a flickering fire light before I stuck my signal box down.

So I hope you all had a happy Christmas and a great new year. Now I'm back with a few new additions to the layout. The first is this amazing DJ models J94 in early Br black with british railways written on the sides. Here 68068 waits for the road as it sits in Ravendale platform 1 and 2 with a mixed freight. The layout is now nearing the end of construction as the backscene boards are finally up. The other new loco I got is the Hornby 4wd sentinel in Crossley and Evans. In my opinion the livery is beyond ugly and toy like which is good because I plan to repaint it to a matt subtle colour to give it a more realistic look (I got Crossley and Evans because it was the cheapest livery I could find it in and it doesn't really matter what livery is underneath if you are going to repaint on top of it). Any advice/ suggestions on how to strip paint of plastic and metal parts would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Really brings the layout to life with some weathered stock on it. Those class 20s just look awesome and really suit it.

So glad I found this thread. Really inspirational and amazing modeling work.

Thanks for the advice. I have actually managed to get the dmu running by completely dismantling it and checking each part of the motor and wheels to locate the fault. I came to the conclusion that it was the brushes needed replacing and the rest of the motor just needed a good clean. I did look into replacing the motor bogie/chassis which would be a very effective long term solution but the price put me off. In the future I will probably replace the motor bogie/chassis but at the moment its running fine for a cheap fix. Thanks for your help.

Like the look of that goods yard board.

So this is one of my ongoing projects. So a couple of weeks ago I realised that Christmas was fast approaching and I didn't have any festive rolling stock to run. A quick surf online revealed that I didn't like anything there except the snow ploughs. These however came with a very big price tag (at least £40) which I think could be better well spent. But at this point I still didn't have any festive rolling stock and I still really wanted a snow plough so I set about scratch building one. The plough was the hardest bit and was mocked up several times out of card and paper before being built out of thin plasticard. The latest progress report shows the plough finally mounted on the chassis and one of the weights added. Now I've only got to build a couple of basic boxes, add the rest of the weights and do some detailing.

Class 108 DMU rests in platform 3 before its next outing on the Ravendale Railway.

And suddenly the layout is full of colour! Looks amazing!

I'm alright at ballasting straights but ballasting points is just a night mare. Something id much rather not do.

Looks great. Cant wait to see a train winding its way thought the landscape.

Looks brilliant. Looks very well built.

Thank you very much for your help and I certainly have to agree with you on pancake motors. I will continue to work on the DMU as I also have a fair few modifications to make like interior painting , driver fitting and a change in destination boards. All of this amounts to not much spare time for my own projects but recently I have been looking into wiring DCC lighting (into a Bachmann class 25) and I discovered this circuit diagram. Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated in response to the following circuit diagram (I am utterly hopeless at electrics): I would like to point out that this isn't my circuit diagram.

So pleased I just found this thread. Ticks all the boxes for me, dcc, diesels..... Looking forward to more developments.

A friend's lima 2 car DMU has come in for some TLC and a serious look at the motor (any advice on this would be greatly appreciated). Here it waits in platform one/two while the class 108 DMU from the home fleet waits in platform three for its departure.

Thumbs up!

Micro connecters work really well. Might try it on my own stock some time.

Visiting engines on Ravendale last night. Here two of the visiting diesels stand tall in Ravendale MPD

Very nice. Looks like it will be a nice little station.

I also have a Youtube channel showing the progress of Ravendale. Here is a link to my latest layout update: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XlT254h5MfI