nharding99

I've been working on some of the building structures... On the left is the Goods shed. Like my muse (Lymebrook Yard see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112891-lymebrook-yard/?p=3194391) I have used the Kestrel kit, painted into LMR 1960s colours with added gutters, drain pipes and signage (see also below). This is the first time that I have successfully created a mortar effect on brickwork that I am reasonably happy with. I thought I was going to botch it at one point but hit upon the formula of using fine white filler to infill the mortar colour then tried dry brushing the brick colours (some of which looked very inconsistent) but with a few repeated applications and then treating the whole thing with a few thin dirty washes it all came together. Phew. The roof still needs some subtle shades of weathering and there's a few bits of paintwork to be touched up. To the right is my scratch build station booking hall that will sit above the station bridge. Early days for that one, the cutting out of parts is teaching me patience! Alan Downes standard it is not but hopefully it will head in the right direction and I'll end up with something a little bit different. There's also a signal box in production. That's all for now :-)

Thanks, a great collection. Heaton Norris in 1969, definitely looks like a red door in the goods yard beneath the grime.

Thanks Tony, That's a great site. So buildings (signal boxes and station buildings, goods sheds not specifically mentioned) under the Cheshire Lines Committe were probably light stone and mid brown until 1951, thereafter LMS red (dark red) and cream until 1960 at which point gulf red and light biscuit became the official shades. I'd still love to see a colour photo of a goods shed if anyone is aware of one. Many thanks Nigel H

Hi there, I'm looking for intel on the likely colour scheme of a typical goods shed in the early 1960s in the North Cheshire/South Manchester area. I've been Google searching but of course many images from that era are in black and white. My musings are... were shed doors and office doors religiousy painted in LMR maroon or was there variation and freedom to use other colours (if so which)? In B&W photos it looks like alot of window frames were either white or cream. You could always argue that buildings from that era were so run down that it is hard to tell but I'd like some starting point for a bit of modelling. Same question for station buildings, were doors always maroon? Thanks in advance for any hints, references or links to images. Nigel H

A little bit more development, some tidying up of ballast in the 2 sidings in the centre of the image. I have created a mockup of the booking hall. It seemed a tad overscale to me (at the time of the photo) but I have since drawn on some lintels. I think the windows need to be dropped down a bit. Overall height of the structure is comparable to a Scalescenes island platform building and by my calculations scales to around 3m in 1:1 so I think it's just window placement that needs improving. I have some Brassmasters windows for the actual construction. I plan to use PECO brick sheets for the walls. I've never scratch built anything before so fingers crossed! I hadn't run any trains since doing alot of cosmetic work, I have completed some more wiring and given one of the DMUs a run around. It's still pretty smooth after all of my ballast laying efforts so that's good news!

Thanks Steve, that's very useful to know. The other thought I had was to maybe attach a small flat base to each support block (sticking out) which would have a hole in it which could then accomodate a screw and wing nut. Your method would be more compact (and possibly a stronger solution).

! With most of the ballasting completed (though still some tidying up to be done) thoughts are turning to one of the hidden sections. I have put together an elevated section which is 3mm ply cut to approximate shape and braced with balsa strips. For now this is posed on some wooden blocks which haven't yet been squared off properly. The top needs to be semi-removable (in case of in tunnel problems). I'd welcome hints here. What does everyone else use to do this? Just some screws into wooden blocks? The Metcalfe wall is representative, it will be used at the other side of the layout. I used it here to test the height. This section may just have a bespoke retaining wall made of matching Metcalfe brick. The height seems about right (53mm high to street level, 50mm for the blocks and 3mm for the width of the ply). The station platform is quite narrow so I'm thinking that a bus stop style shelter will be used and we will then see steps up to a small booking hall at street level. My inspiration for that will be Small Heath station in Birmingham (see www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/small_heath.php) although my track layout is, of course, a bit different so I'll only need one staircase. The brass buffers on the Class 20 are a sign that it has been dropped and repaired! Thanks!

I can't take credit for the plan (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112891-lymebrook-yard/) but the idea is that I can watch trains roll by if I wish or dabble with some shunting if I fancy a different kind of operation. There is hopefully a bit of interest in having a situation where the double track becomes single line beyond the station so we will be able to see trains having to wait for others to pass. Thanks for the reassuring comments about ballasting.

Ballasting - I'm showing off the best bit here. Other bits are alot rougher with some clumps in evidence so I'll be working on those. Thanks for the comments and encouragement!

I'm not one of those modellers that seem to make very quick progress but I have moved things forward. I have started to ballast the track. Most of the viewing side is covered though alot of tidying up and re-applying to missed parts is required. That has been a learning curve, early efforts were a bit of a mess (I think I didn't soak the ballast enough prior to dropping the glue on). I have also slightly over ballasted in the sense that I probably laid it a little bit deep. I have trying to lessen that effect by tidying and scraping away with a dentist's pick (it is both painstaking and relaxing at the same time). The station platform is coming along. This is made from PECO brick platform sides with PECO paving on top. I had issues bending the platform sides, they seemed quite brittle and tended to snap (even after heating them up by soaking in boiling water) but I got something resembling the right shape in the end. The sides have been pre-painted. The top still needs the filler to be tidied up with some gentle sanding and is still to be painted. I think that's all for now!

A great choice in my opinion!

Thanks for the hints. I am now getting better results by going to the traditional 50% PVA/water and drops of washing up liquid. It's possible that the pre-liminary misting with water is what is making the difference, I can see that it seems to make the ballast heavier. But whatever the science, it's working and looking better now.

Hi there, I have started ballasting my n gauge layout with Woodland Scenics fine ballast and the DeLuxe Materials product "Ballast Bond". I have spread the ballast, tamped it down, done some tidying up and arranging with a brush and then added the Ballast Bond. Ths product is supposed to "just work" right out of the bottle. However I'm finding that I.m getting a lumpy result. When I apply the product it's clear that Ballast is getting moved around (even though the product claims that it shouldn't). Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a surface tension issue and would adding some washing up liquid help? Here is an image, the left hand side has has Ballast Bond applied (still wet), the right hand side is largely untreated. Any advice welcomed. Thanks Nigel H

It's too good for that code 80 track

More of the track work has been completed. Tonight I have been soak testing (aka playing trains...) You may notice a trio of the new class B Tanks by RevolutioN trains. These are as close to perfection in N gauge as you can get, they are beautifully crafted items. I have also made progress on the design of the mimic panel. Next job there will be to add the LEDs for route indication. That's something I've never done before so before too long I'll be ordering and playing with LEDs, holders and resistors. Thanks

Most of the track-laying has now been completed... Since last time I have adjusted some of the curves. On the viewing side I felt that track was too close to the baseboard edge and didn't look right. I'm happier with it now. I've been doing lots of track testing with all locos. The only one that has problems is my new Farish class 40 which derails at some of the frogs (it seems to be the outer bogie wheels that slip off. I haven't measured the B2Bs yet, there is alot of play in those wheels. Apart from that everything is running pretty smoothly. In parallel (and because it's starting to be a pain to change the points which are fitted with Cobalt motors but no switches yet) I have started to build a control panel. It's a bit OTT for such a small layout, I could have used some much smaller switches but I've always wanted to try a signal lever arrangement so I'm using Cobalt S lever switches. The wiring needs to be tidied up a bit, rest assured that I have documented what goes in/out of the baseboard connector. The wiring was quite a challenge for this beginner. Eventually I want to add LEDs to a control panel diagram.

It's always reassuring (and a relief!) when you complete a circuit... Track laying has begun. I have used electrofrog points (rather than your suggested set track points Steve) because I had a couple of small wheel base locos that stalled on the insul frogs. In the long run that would irritate me so I'm reasonably happy to sacrifice a bit of space. I am actually a small R/H point short so that will be added to the fiddle yard in due course. There are a few niggles to sort out, there's a distinct dip in the middle of the code 55 point and it causes my class 40 to derail. I think I'd like to ease out the station curve slightly, it looks a little bit flat and eventually ends up as quite a sharp curve. There's space to nudge it out by a cm or two and I'll have a resulting hidden curve that isn't quite so much on the limits of tightness. I did sort out another derailment spot where a fishplate hadn't engaged properly. Had plenty of fun testing it. The fiddle yard really needs a lip (crash barrier) on the outer edge of the board as the track is quite close to the edge!

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement Steve. I'm more of a Southerner these days so Burton and Stafford would be a bit of a hike for me. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lymebrook Yard in the flesh though, I'm sure it will happen, I'm sure you'll be invited to TINGS or Warley before too long. Thank you for your kind offer of letting me have a look in detail. For now, perhaps you can let me know how high your high level roads are above the baseboard, just to give me an idea? I assume that the backscene is flexible MDF or similar. I think the next stage is for me to try out some cardboard templates to get an idea of fit. I have got as far as trying out a full size version of the trackplan on the baseboard as below. I probably won't slavishly reproduce the goods yard. I may have a traditional goods building with track serving it and maybe ayard crane vehicle to load/unload conflats on one of the other sidings and I'm thinking of maybe a furniture factory building somewhere to justify the conflat traffic. Thanks again Nigel H

So what does one do on the eve of a royal wedding with the wife and daughter out and setting up a celebration tea party? One reveals one's plans for a small N gauge layout. I have never managed to complete a layout, my attempts have always been somewhat half-hearted or over-ambitious. Without further ado, the plan is below. This is unashamedly based upon/inspired by Steve Farmer's excellent Lymebrook Yard. The track plan is pretty much identical. His layout is beautifully executed and if I can come up with a first layout that is 50% as good then I'll be happy. There will be some differences though... The layout will be set in the transition era ca 1961-1966 The layout will not be based upon an actual location but the intention is to have a cross-city branch line feel, hinting at a south Manchester location without ever explicitly being so. I'm toying with the idea of using overhead catenary for the mainline to add some interest with "Electric trains stop here" signs and as an excuse for diesel traffic (to access the non-electrified goods yard). Alot of the traffic will be cross city DMUs and, whenever my ambitions and skills grow, I'd like to try to represent some class 304 EMUs. On the electric front, a couple of Class 86s will be backdated and will manage cross city empty coaching stock or parcels services (it's probably a bit unrealistic to have a class 86 pulling a 3 coach express). Steam locos will be lingering with a Fairburn 2-6-4 tank, couple of 3MTs and a few others. There will be plenty of green diesels making an appearance too. Why does building this layout appeal to me? I grew up in south Cheshire where a train ride to Manchester was the ultimate excitement! The layout will be a manageable size and hopefully it won't be too daunting. I already have a fair amount of rolling stock that will be suitable Things I'm a bit worried about Carpentry! I have the baseboard assembled but adding the elevated sections and backscene will be a challenge for me The stream. How easy is it to countersink a stream into a flat baseboard? Will it be worth the effort? Drilling accurate holes for Cobalt point motors. I know, I should get one of their template kits. The name? I'm thinking about calling the layout 'Trinity Road' (to me it just sounds like every city should have a Trinity Road and for some reason the quasi religious feel appeals to me). Any comments or questions are welcome! Thanks Nigel H

Arrived today. Really enjoyed this edition so far. A special shout out for the research article on West Wycombe station by Tim Cooney. Very well written and researched and, as someone who lives less than a mile away from the subject matter, I really appreciated it! Who is going to build the layout? :-)

I think I only whiffed something slightly sour just the once. Which leads me to the following possible conclusions... 1. Perhaps the RMweb campaigns for greater personal hygiene are really starting to take effect. or 2. Perhaps my sense of smell is starting to falter. They do say that smell is the first of the 5 senses to wane as you get older and I am getting older. or 3. Perhaps my own personal environment is starting to fail and my own odours are combatting those of any opponents. I don't think so though because I did shower before I left home!

OK thanks, I get it now. The 2 speaker wire are soldered to the locomotive PCB (it's a Farish Castle which has been setup for this). Thanks

Hello everyone, I'm looking for information as to where I need to solder the 2 wires that will connect to a speaker. Have tried finding this in the Zimo mx-kleine-decoder manual that I found online. Maybe I'm missing something. As I look at the decoder there's the side with the pin, this has 5 solder pads. On the other side there are 2 solder pads (my hunch is that these might be the ones), Can anyone help? Thanks Nigel H

Don't forget your tripod and/or selfie stick too :-)

CJL must have written scores of articles about DMUs over the years and I found the latest one about detailing/personalising the class 122 as informative as ever