Richmond Park

Hello RmWeb, sorry it’s been a while! Progress with the construction of Richmond Park was frustrating slow last year, as many of you will understand, work and family life often take priority to our hobbies. This year I am more determined than ever to move the layout forward and have agreed to have a weekly modelling evening with a friend so we can work on each other’s layouts. Hopefully setting time each week will result in more progress. At this point the layout still comprises solely the two London Underground District Line tracks, which form a double loop around the room. I have resisted the temptation to start laying the National Rail tracks in order that I can work on the Underground dive under and 3rd/4th rail unimpeded by the other track. Last month I started work on the retaining wall for the dive under, the majority of which is brickwork. Being South West London, I have opted for a local London 'yellow' stock brick, something I rarely see modelled on layouts, presumably because of the challenges associated with replicating its appearance. To recreate the brickwork, I have opted for Southeast Finecast sheets glued to plastic sheet for additional strength. For the end of the dive under, at the deepest part, I have opted for reinforced concrete, which has been achieved by spraying plastic sheeting with Plastic-Kote Suede touch paint. The brick was first painted with Humbrol 83 (ochre), I then went over this with various Faber Castell artists pencils and dry brushed with Humbrol 29 (dark earth). As it stands, everything appears too clean for my liking so will be weathered along with the track once my airbrush comes out. I am also minded to add graffiti and patches where the graffiti has been painted over, sadly a fact of life for urban scenes such as this. I have amended the entrance of the tunnel portal from that originally planned, with the opening being made square and a beam inserted across the face. At a later stage, a low wall will be added around the top of the dive under with a metal safety railing. This past week I have commenced ballasting. For this I have used Hattons Highland Ballast on the wooden sleeper section and a Woodland Scenics grey blend for the newer concrete section at surface level. The next stage is to lay the 3rd and 4th rail. Initial tests suggest that using the Peco individulay track components is likely to prove problematic. From my test I found that the shoes of the Bachmann Class 450 Desiro units do not appear to clear the 3rd rail. Also, the motor bogies of the Bachmann S Stock appear to touch the 4th rail. I had anticipated an issue with the 4th rail, which is presumably why some modellers glues their 4th rail straight onto the sleeper without any supporting chair. However, I hadn’t anticipated an issue with the 3rd rail, so both need further investigation. For anyone who is interested, I often post more regular updates, including short videos, on Twitter since this is quicker.

From the latest Bachmann Collectors Club email which dropped today; For those of you who have ordered the Bachmann Collectors Club Limited Edition London Transport Class 20/0s in OO scale, or our new OO scale DRS Mk2F Coaches, we are pleased to announce their imminent arrival and orders for these models will start to be processed later this week, ahead of dispatch from the start of next week. These models have taken a little longer than anticipated to arrive and we thank you for your patience. Whilst both Class 20s have sold out, we still have limited quantities of the DRS Coaches which will be available to order via our website in the coming days.

Hi Terry, Firstly, congratulations on creating such a fantastic layout. The overall look is spot on in my view, there is so much detail in a relatively small space. I particularly like the terrace houses which I understand were scratch built. Quick question if I may please, where did you get the railing from which runs between the depot and station? I’ve been looking for something like this. Cheers Matt

Finally a little more layout progress to share, with the London Underground tracks now both laid and tested. This has created two separate continual loops which will become the eastbound and westbound District Line. The picture below provides an overview of my railway room at one end, with the main scenic area to be on the left and the fiddle yard on the right. This end of the layout will eventually be decked over, with a town scene and station entrance on the higher level and the tracks running below it. The EWS Class 60 is sitting where the London Underground tracks start to descend to below baseboard level, they then return to baseboard level on the right hand side behind the fiddle yard. These two pictures show the non-scenic ramp. Here a passing loop has been added in order that the S Stock can pass another train, such as my London Transport Museum 1938 Stock, Sarah Siddons or an engineers train. I was intending to work on the National Rail tracks next but upon reflection I'm thinking that it may be better to work on the third and fourth rail in the scenic area first. I have not attempted this before but image it could be a little easier without any obstructions in the way.

Thanks, progress to date has been much slower than I would have liked, hopefully I can continue the momentum herein.

A short video of the S Stock in action can be seen here;

Hello all, I apologise that has been been quite some time since I provided an update on the progress of Richmond Park. In the Autumn last year I started work on the London Underground aspect of the layout but ran into difficulties with Bachmann's S Stock models. Despite creating what I thought was a relatively shallow ramp for the descending and ascending trains, the S Stock failed to make the climb. After some tinkering, other commitments prevented any significant progress until more recently. In order to overcome the problems experienced, it has proved necessary to adjust each of the ramps, slightly reducing the gradients so that they are less steep and the trains do not have to descend/ascend as much. With hindsight, the original ramps did descend more than was strictly necessary but at the time I was probably too focused on how I would lay the track on the suspended underneath section and making sure I had enough space to work. As you may be familiar, the Bachmann S Stock is similar to their Class 121 and 158 DMUs in that it has a low hidden motor mechanism. This is good in that it affords a detailed interior but it does not provide the weight you will find with the larger cast block in a Class 108 or 150 DMU. Consequently, in order to improve traction I have added lead to each of the two end motor cars. This has been placed in the vestibule area between the doors. The additional weight in combination with the traction tyres and reduce gradient appears to have done the job, and now a prototypical S7 set can now descend and ascend as planned. Given the above, I have now commenced track laying As you will see the photos, I have nearly completed both circuits, with just the outer track to complete where I intend to add a passing loop on the non-scenic ramp. Once this is completed, the next stage will be to lay the National Rail tracks as shown in the photos uploaded previously. As suggested by @stivesnick some of the underground track was laid and then the trackbed suspended in place afterwards - this made life much easier, so thank you for that suggestion. With the ramp issue resolved, hopefully more timely progress can be made herein! Hope to update you again soon. Matt

Hi Jerry, hope all is well Great job with the Fastline 66s and the 58. I’ve still got the 58050 you did for me a few years back in EWS. The Heljan 58 really comes to life with some weathering. Have you got to tweak the front grill on LSL 90001? I think the Bachmann base model of 90005 you have used has it yellow. Keep up the good work! All the best Matt

Hi, not a silly question at all - could be a possibility and is a good suggestion, thank you. Apart from changing the motors in some Lima diesels back in the early 2000s pre-DCC days, its not something I've done before but will keep in mind. Cheers Matt

Since my last update work commitments have prevented significant progress, nonetheless, the sides of the Underground ramp in what will be the scenic section have been filled in and the ramp is now fully braced Before starting work on the scenic walling I thought I better have a test run. Unfortunately, testing of the S Stock on the ramps has revealed that the units are not keen on the gradient of the scenic ramp, even with the Bachmann supplied traction tyres fitted The S Stock is ok with the gradient of the return ramp behind the fiddle yard which is less steep as built over a longer run. I think the answer is likely to be twofold; adding additional weight to each of the driving/motor cars to help traction and potentially altering the lower part of the ramp to make the gradient less steep Locomotives with more weight onboard like the Hornby Class 60 are fine with both ramps. This isn't much use to me however, since the primary purpose of creating the ramp was to model the Underground which would be the domain of the S Stock. A frustrating setback but I'm not giving up on the idea yet! Here's some pictures of the S Stock posed on the ramp to give you an idea of what I hope to achieve. In the image below, I will be looking to add terrace houses and gardens along the rear against the wall, with the National Rail tracks running in the area closest.

Hi Jerry, Great job with the class 90s. I see that your wish for some blue on the workbench has come true. Will make a nice for you from all that red and grey recently - enjoy! Matt

Hi Rhys, Thanks for your support. The 455s were built for me by Britannia Pacific Models a couple of years back now. Precision Paints make the SWT Stagecoach blue (no. 232), red (no. 233) and orange (no. 234). Cheers Matt

A little more layout progress to share. I am currently working behind the scenes to assemble items I shall need with the scenic work. Fortunately I managed to gather the majority of the track last winter prior to lockdown, but still need to acquire a number of key scenic items including ballast, LU cable hangers, signals etc. It is a real pain not being able to get to an exhibition to pick up some of these items.

Taking a short break from the layout build, to look further at some of the rolling stock which will eventually run on Richmond Park. Here are some more photos of my 8 car Bratchell Class 455/9 EMU set in SWT inner suburban livery. Future jobs are to add a driver and to install working directional lighting so that they are closer in terms of spec to the Bachmann Desiro units they will run alongside. As with my diesel fleet, these units will eventually need weathering to. In real life these units are likely to be retired next year through the introduction of SWR's new Class 701 'Arterio' units, so catch em while you can!