A.R.

Hi all, I know there are many an electrical whiz on this wonderful forum and therefore I am looking for a little help if I may. I am looking to install loco lamps and a smoke generator in an 8F. I use DC and I would be very greatful if someone could check my circuit diagram below! I am aiming for the following setup: To be able to switch all lights and smoke generator on and off (for this I am using a small radio transmiter and reciever) To be able to switch the lights between (front/white, rear/red) and (front/red, rear/white) via a magnetic reed switch. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and any help/advice would be warmly recieved! Kindest regards, Alex R

Hi all, I am currently working on a layout called Whittlesmarch Brick Works which features in the UK Standard Gauge Industrial layouts section of the forum. However, I thought I would start a workbench for the series of plasticard buildings I am making from scratch. So far I have made progress with the brick kiln and water tower, with an office and gatehouse still to come. All the buildings are made from Wills plasticard sheets with the arches and windows also from Wills. The water tower base is complete (apart from weathering) and work has begun on the water tank and the metal details that will sit atop the brick structure. I have also been working on a kiln built from the same materials. It is not quite finished yet and still needs some sutble weathering. And in situ (the foreground hasn't been properly modelled yet, just has a few scraps left from a previous attempt!): I look forward to hearing what you think! Cheers, Alex

Hi all, I hope everyone is well. I have been working on a number of different aspects of the layout recently including some of the rolling stock, control panel, scenics and buildings. I have repainted a Shell oil tanker and weathered a brake van, and started to organise which sets of wagons will run together when the layout is in operation. I have also finished wiring the layout (apart from lighting) and completed the control panel which includes switches for point motors, isolating sections and lighting. It also has colour light indicators for the isolating sections. The control panel has a long cable and plug to connect to the layout so it can be used from the front or back of the layout. I have also been working on a number of buildings for which I have set up a workbench thread in the "Kit Building and Scratch Building" section of the forum. You can glimpse the water tower in the above photo, and here is a preview of the kiln: I have also been working on the scenery in the corner of the layout: Finally, I have been having a go at adding some filters to a couple of photos just for fun: I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Cheers, Alex

Hi all, I have managed to progress at a good pace recently and thought I would update the thread with some pictures of this progress! Firstly, I have managed to complete the trackwork, including the new passing loop, and have nearly completed all the under-baseboard wiring. The join between the fiddle yard board and main board has also been completed with copper clad strip. I have also sprayed the track with an undercoat of Railmatch Sleeper Grime and cleaned the railheads. The switches for points and isolating sections are all wired but are waiting for construction of a control panel to house them which is one of a number of things on the never-ending to-do list! Following this work on the track and electrics, I have begun to paint basecoats on the baseboard to give an idea where different surfaces will be (concrete, road, greenery etc.), as well as starting some basic landscaping and test positioning of where the yard lamps will be placed. Hopefully I will be able to get some more work done over the weekend. Cheers, Alex

Hi all, Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it! I will have to have a think about the signal box! I have been working on a mock up of the control panel to assess how big it needs to be and have come up with the following. 'P' is for a point switch, and 'I' is for an isolater switch. The switches will all be wired to a terminal block, which will then be wired to the multi-pin plug which will attach the panel to the layout. This will allow easy replacement of any bad switches or plug failure. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Cheers, Alex

Hi all, Thanks for your replies and interest. Thanks for that info Gordon, much appreciated, I can easily remove the locks. Would point rodding still be used, even on a freight only line? Just a quick update this time. I have now built the fiddle yard board and fitted alignment dowels. I will add toggles to keep the boards together at a later stage. I have also been playing around the with the location of the water tower and an experimental tree. I will be working on wiring over the next few weeks and getting the new track down too! Cheers, Alex

Hello all, Firstly, a Happy New Year to everyone! Apologies for not updating this thread in over a year! I haven't done much on the layout during this time becuase it was in the loft and other things got in the way. However, I now have it back out of the loft on a more permanent basis which means some real progress should be made in the coming months. I plan to make some slight changes to the layout in terms of the track plan and backscene and will explain these shortIy. I got a number of kits etc. for Christmas and these have been used to help create a sense of how the layout will look! Upcoming Changes The track plan will essentially remain the same but with the addition of a run-around loop to enable locos to run around the incoming brick wagons. This has been made possible by the removal of the old backscene that cut off the right hand corner of the layout for the original, tiny fiddle yard and point control switches. This will replaced with a backscene that goes the full length of the layout and then an additional fiddle yard board will be added which will house the relocated switches. At the other end of the layout, there have also been some changes. The furthest back siding will be shortened (and linked to the aforementioned loop) to allow the kiln building to be situated where the old warehouse used to be (the Triang box is standing in for the chimney that will be part of the kiln!). This will allow direct loading onto wagons placed in the remaining two sidings. Rollingstock and Scenics Finally, I have been working on rollingstock and scenic items for the layout. I have been collecting Triang brick wagons and have converted them for use on bullhead track with Parkside diamond frame bogies and Dapol metal wheels and then weathered them (although not on the inside yet!). I have completed two and aim to have six for the layout. I have also been weathering some box vans that will occasionally visit the layout. I have a Barclay in NCB livery that is awaiting removal of the transfers for something more appropriate, and weathering when I can pluck up the courage; I am using the wagons as practice! I also have some ground signals, a home signal and a pill box that I have made up and painted/weathered over the past week or so! I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Cheers, Alex

Hello, I saw a photo (admittedly from the 1970s) of a large gantry crane over a couple of sidings which was used to load wagons with brick loads and liked the look of it. I will see if I can find the photo in question:) The point rodding is from Wills, though each pack only has enough for two points! Cheers, Alex

Hello all, Thank you for the kind comments regarding the layout and to those of you who have sent me plans for the Neilson's box tanks. I am also interest in the Neilson designed Beckton Gasworks loco No. 1 so if anyone knows of plans for that it would be a great help! I have drawn up a plan from pictures (below) but actual plans would be far more useful! I mentioned in my first post about some photos of layout progress up to now: The board on the right is the layout board and the one of the left is my workbench. Both had subsequent coats of paint to protect them from the outside moisture. Point rodding being put in place. Very fiddly but effective once completed. The kiln building is still incomplete but is, nonetheless, quite an imposing structure. The crossing over the points is made using wooden coffee sticks, painted and weathered. It, like most aspects of the layout, is yet to be finished! Finally, a look at how the concrete was done; using Daz clay. I look forward to hearing what you think! Cheers, Alex

Whittlesmarch Brickworks Hello all, I have only just joined the forum so please forgive me if I have posted this topic in the wrong section! I am currently building a fictitious, though hopefully nonetheless realistic, brickworks-based 00 gauge layout set in the late 1950s. I have scratch built all the buildings and the gantry crane and the vehicles are from a mix of suppliers. I have attached a couple of up-to-date photographs below but over the next few days I will sort through my in-progress photos and put a few up to show how I got to where I am at now. I have no industrial rolling stock at present so a few mainline locos from my collection have been involved in running duties thus far. However, I am planning on starting some scratch built industrial locos in the near future. Many thanks for reading! Alex p.s On a side note, does anyone know of drawings for a Neilson Box Tank loco?