Red Fox

A while has gone past with nothing really happening due to my pesky work getting in the way but there has been some progress: The footbridge is a modified Faller modern footbridge, I've cut it down in height somewhat as it was far too high for a UK structure. I've not yet added the lifts, I may wait and add them if and when I construct a 4th board. Platform edging is in place on three out of four platforms and lines 2 and 3 have been ballasted. With the footbridge now built I have a height reference for the low relief shopping centre which will be scratch built. I would like the station to have some canopy's and Faller make what I think would be a suitable design but they are abit too pricey..... (especially as I'm going to cut them up and modify them)

Started work today on reworking my DMU's. Up to now the 158's, 159's and 170's have all ran with their coaches permanently coupled due to wires running between coaches to allow use of one decoder per unit. Since Lenz Golds came out I have been slowly replacing older Lenz decoders so I now have alot of spare LE1025's so I have started using these to operate the lights in the unpowered end of the units. On the 159's I've moved the motor to the first class coach. I had installed kadee couplers on two of the 159's but a third had yet to have them installed but already had the fake buckeye removed, the outer coaches of that unit became the centre coach for two 159's while a simarly prepared unpowered 158 chassis sorted the other one. The kadee fitted chassis were then shared out between the units so the four units dealt with today have a kadee at one end. Only a few problems encountered today. One was a burnt out Lenz Gold chip, not sure if it's completely dead or just needs resetting, which CV is it to reset Lenz Golds? CV8? I broke a few of the clips which hold the bogies on and I lost a screw to hold a bogie in place, until that's found or I get a spare from my doner unit one of the 159's is operating as a 2 car unit. On the layout front I added most of the platform edging to platform 1, this is Peco plain edging with concrete block sheet stuck on, it is mean to give platform 1 and 4 a slightly more modern appearance but the jury's out on that one. There are some minor clearance issues to be addressed at one end of the platform. My stock cull is under way with the DCC sound locos for the chop along with a few other locos, wagons and my Lenz set 100 and transformer.

Didn't Dapol announce they intended to produce a model of this class when Freightliner first announced the order?

EDIT - 2020. Work on Ampton version 3 is underway, see from Page 3. Ampton version 2 Concept Four platform though station based on Southampton Central serving a large town. Somewhere in the South West Trains area but also with services from Southern, First Great Western/Wessex Trains and Virgin/CrossCountry. Plenty of through freight. Ampton is on a fictional line with links to the West of England Mainline, Wessex Mainline and South Western Main Line (via WoE and Wessex Mainlines). I have a whole backstory in mind for the layout and its fictional line. Because I've taken so long to build the layout its looking like I will be running the layout in two eras:- 2004 to 2006 with South West Trains, Virgin Cross Country, Wessex Trains, First Great Western, South Central/Southern, EWS, GBRf, and Freightliner. Present day with South West Trains, CrossCountry, First Great Western, Southern, DB Schenker, GBRf and Freightliner. Baseboards Three roughly 4 foot by 2 foot boards of plywood construction. Four curved basboards connecting to three fiddle yard boards. Track Lines for platforms 2 and 3 and a siding are SMP code 75 bullhead track. Platforms 1 and 4 are Peco code 82 rail with Fastrack concrete sleepers. Track in the fiddle yard and in hidden areas will be Peco code 100. Points The pointwork in the scenic area is on boards 1 and 2. Peco code 75 electrofrogs with SEEP point motors are used. Fiddle yard and hidden points will be Peco code 100 insulfrog points. Control Track - DCC. Was a Bachmann Dynamis until it gave up the ghost so back to my reliable Lenz Set 100. Points and Signals - Conventional control panel. Scenics While the trackplan is based on Southampton Central the surrounding buildings are not and the intention is to give the impression of more modern surroundings in a regeneration area. The station building is a Busch Container Station with modified Faller footbridge and canopies. A low relief shopping centre/office complex will be scratch built due to lack of suitable models on the market. Platforms 2 and 3 use Peco concrete platform edging, 1 and 4 have modified plain Peco edging giving a more modern look. Signals Roger Murray four aspect signals on commissioned gantries based on the prototype. SPAD signals are a possibility but these are likely to be non working representations. Progress up to about 2009 ??? And since then not a great deal has happened due to that pesky thing called work getting in the way. In the mean time I've had many ideas running through my head which hopefully will see the light of day at some point. Big jobs I really want to get done is sorting out the shopping centre building on board 3 and producing a suitable backscene. A major stock cull is likely to occur at some point in the near future to bring more focus to the layouts fleet and I am also planning abit of a re-engineering project decoder wise on my DMU fleet as the 2 and 3 car units are permanently coupled with lighting wires running between the coaches.