DoctorP

I'm now creating my first OO scale layout, modeling a small village in the Cotswolds. I've been using card stock building/structure kits from Metcalfe and they are good, but fall a bit short of the level of realism I want to reflect. This morning, I was scanning Youtube and ran across exactly what I hope to achieve on a very short video from British Pathe on using human hair for thatching material. I have listed the Youtube address for the video in hopes that somebody might view it and give me some good advice about how I can create structures along the lines this modeler has. The Youtube address is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeWOzMEHCpc I hope someone can help. The layout I am creating now is a "practice" layout. We will be moving next summer and this layout will have to be torn down and another built in our new residence. With all due respect to Metcalfe, I want to be more realistic and hope to learn something from some of you on this site that will help me with creating a more realistic end product. Thank you. DoctorP

Got it...will do, thanks. DoctorP

Thanks, my friend...I printed out copies of all the turnouts, etc and plan on laying them out on my track plan tomorrow to get an exact measurement on what I need in my Faringdon layout. DoctorP

Thanks, Dave, I appreciate your wisdom and help. I take all the advice I can get believe me...knowing nothing means one is wide open to listening to those who know much. DoctorP

Thanks for your reply...yep, helps a lot. I'm a member of BRMNA as well but there doesn't seem to be much activity on that site or I would use it more. I've tried posting but can't get much of a response...Mr. Venable is very good to reply however and I appreciate his help. John Kendall has been a big, big help on this site and I stand in his debt for what he has taught me so far. There is no club close to where I live...being from Mass. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Central Appalachia, but it's not likely that I'll find anybody closer than Lexington that is very interested in model railroading. There is a club at Lexington however but we are about 100 miles away so...I appreciate the help. DoctorP

Thanks so much for this valuable and considerate information. DoctorP

Ladies and Gentlemen, Just a very brief contextual introduction: I am new to the hobby and this is my first layout. I have sought and found advice on this forum already and am now turning to you again for even more advice. After reading John Armstrong's Track Planning for Realistic Operation (3rd ed), Layout Design by Iain Rice, and Basic DCC Wiring for Your Model Railroad by Mike Polsgrove, I am ready to order and lay track for my layout. With advice from a member of this forum, I am going to use a standard track layout model called the Faringdon https://imgur.com/a/zDXo5. It fits my benchwork perfectly and offers me a good introductory level of modelling.with options for future expansion. I wil be using Peco 100 flextrack for my layout. My questions at this important juncture are these: 1. How do I figure proper angles for turnouts...excuse me, I am from the US..."points."? Can I get this information from the Peco turnout template section at https://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=pointplans? If so, what sort of information do I need to "feed into" the section? 2. What DCC brand/system should I choose. Here are some criteria to consider: a) this will be a one person layout with no visitors or other operators of any sort, b) I will be running only 1, perhaps 2, trains at the most c) simplicity is much preferred over complexity d) I want to add lights and sound to my entire layout d) cost must be modest. I would appreciate any and all advice in making these very important decisions since I have absolutely no prior experience with any of this. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. DoctorP (David Profitt - Kentucky USA)

Green board is screwed down with drywall screws...just have to back them out to make wiring easier. and then re-attach screws, mud them in, sand and I've got a flat surface. No problem there.. I'll check out post 59 for ordering foam underlayment. I'll contact Steve today on the track...which one? 100 or 75? You said earlier 75 is preferable but someone else said 100 is better for some reason I can't remember. Keep in mind, ease of working with the track may trump prototype at my level of experience. I'll remember the fishplates. Anything else? Doc

I'll make a trip to the hardware store in a bit and hopefully they will have the corksheeting. If so, I'll pick up enough to cover the green board. I'll also pick up some glue. I plan on ordering track later today so tell me what I should get and where and that's what i will do...I'll also order some Woodlands foam underlayment as well. Let me know what to order and where. Doc

I need to think about the best basic covering for my bench. Should I overlay the bench with 1" foam board insulation or merely paint the green board that forms the "floor" of my bench? Woodland Scenics has grass "mats" in 4 x 8 sheets but the cost is going to be roughly $100 just for the grass mats alone. Still, if I need to go that route I can. I was hoping to save a bit by painting the "floor" with oil base, earth tones paints from the hardware store. Two questions here...the necessity of foam board overlay and the idea of grass mats vs painting. DoctorP

I have some great intentions and a plan is taking shape in my mind. The more I learn, the clearer that plan becomes. I have a long way to go, but I will go as far as I can as knowledge and ability allows...and as long as there are advisors like you and Emma and others who will take the time to help. Doc

The difference is, John, that I've seen yours and it is a work of art while mine is...well, lets say, a bit less than a work of art. DoctoP

Seems a far off dream right now... DoctorP

Well...the only UK close to me is the University of Kentucky so... Thanks Andy

John, Surely shipping can't be that much! I'm in an all day meeting today...got a short break and decided to check in...I'm gathering a growing list of books, magazines, videos, etc that is going to keep my quite busy for some time. I'm also going back and making notes from all your previous emails, following up when necessary or making note of points to be studied further. I've got some reading material on order and am searching back through some back issues of Model Railroading magazine. I am finding that knowing the history of the region i hope to model and knowing the history of the GWR and the Gloucestershire - Warwickshire historic restoration are critical elements in any worthwhile layout. I can see that more and more. Of course the temptation to "get something rolling" is very great and I will probably end up purchasing a period and region specific steam locomotive and some rolling stock just to look at if nothing else...something to give me a little encouragement along the way and to get me more into the hobby as it were. Well...it's about time to get back to work...I'll check in sometime later. We have guests coming over to the house tonight so it may be late or it may even be tomorrow, but I'll be logging on soon. Many thanks for all you have done to help and guide me along the path. DoctorP

Going to have to sell a tractor first! DoctorP

Found "Modellers' Guide to the GWR". ordered it (1990 Booth). Could not find either of the 3 you mention on Amazon, but I did find this one so i picked it up...should ship in a couple of weeks. DoctorP

BRM is about $160 US! Lordy! DoctorP

MRH?????????? NA??????????

Amen to the exploding brain issue. I haven't been able to do anything with trains since I got home.I had to build some heavy duty ramps so that my wife and I had to unload a John Deere 60 tractor off the truck. We got it unloaded and set up ready to tear down the motor for a re-build. This will be my last summer restoring vintage tractors because of my health (arthritis, knee replacement, etc) and I've got 3 waiting to be resurrected. After that, 2 will be sold and I'll keep one but more importantly, i'll be able to give my full attention to trains. Emma is very perceptive. i confess to being a very driven, type A personality that likes to work hard and see results so i usually work too hard at whatever I do and I'm sure I'll be the same with the trains but I'm going to try to chill a bit because as i have already seen, this is a hobby that lasts a lifetime and one never fully completes anything but merely keeps on adding and improving along the way. That's why I felt that getting started by laying track on my existing benchwork is the best idea. That way, I'll get to learn by doing and any changes i make will go toward the adding and improvement process. You have given me some of the best information I have received to date today and yesterday and I need to ponder on your suggestions and the avenues you have opened for reading, study, purchasing, and laying track...all good! As my students like to say, "you're the bomb!" DoctorP

Yep...I'm so glad you gave me this good advice. I will do just that and use the foam board to build topographical elements on the greenboard and have already researched the Woodland foam track underlayment...things are beginning to come together quite nicely. DoctorP

Emma, I appreciate your concern and I am aware of a tendency I have to want to do things quickly and see results. I'm having to balance that against the desire to get at least something "on track" (pun intended) even if it is only something that will need re-doing down the line. I will be careful to ask for and heed advice along the way and to use a little common sense to help guide me on my path but this is a very promising hobby and one I hope to be involved with for years to come. DoctorP

I am so glad you asked this question since it was my plan to purchase foam board tomorrow and glue it to my benchwork top and then place everything either on or in the foam board including track, etc. Right now my bench is covered in a very hard sort of sheet rock called green board. Green board is specially designed for use around tubs, showers, bathrooms and any situation where moisture is a problem. it is also much heavier and more durable than sheet rock while being easily cut/trimmed/altered by either a utility knife or a jig saw. I had planned to glue the foam board to that and then move forward from there. I am extremely interested in knowing if that is a good plan or if I should consider another...one you seem to refer to above. I hope you can let me know since I plan to pick up the foam board either on the way home from work today or tomorrow at the latest. As always, thanks so much for your timely advice. DoctorP

This is food for thought for the entire weekend! John, I really appreciate the time and trouble you are taking with a novice like myself who doesn't know one end from the other. I just presented a philosophic forum at the college yesterday that had stressed me out quite a bit. I present one each semester and yesterday's topic was "America: Boom or Bust? Is America Going to Hell in a Handbasket?" and we had a panel of 8 faculty and budding philosophy students who discussed a variety of topics covering economics, ethics/civility, the environment, politics, and more. I had been planning it for 3 months and yesterday was the day. It went well with an auditorium full of students, faculty, the Dean of Humanities (my boss) and the President of the College, Dr. Zylka. I feel llke the weight of the world has been lifted off me today so I should be a be able to give more thought and planning to my layout. i hope to stop by Lowe's Home Improvement Store on the way home from work today to pick up some extruded foam board to overlay my bench and move forward from there. I plan on contacting Steve today if I can look back and find the web address he sent me and I will discuss all the possibilities you have mentioned here with him as to availability, prices, etc. Again, thanks so much for the help and I hope you do not grow weary of shepherding someone as ignorant as myself. Blessings, DoctorP

Yep, looks Yep, looks good. I'll have to contact them to see exactly what comes with a :"set" (if it does indeed come in a set). I plan on buying some additional track and build part of my ultimate layout now and then add to it as time goes on. I also need to contact a retail outlet in Canada that contacted me yesterday to see if he offers this item His name is Steve and the shipping would be cheaper coming from Canada than Britaiin. And, yes, I had done some background homework of the British rail system and did know about the shifts from many small lines to 4 larger ones and then the ultimate government takeover in 1948. I hope to model a late 1940's - mid 1950's era which would bridge the gap between the middle and ultimate era. DoctorP