67A

Hi Paul, They are Wills Materials sheets, come in packs of 4 approx 80mm x 120mm and thick enough to use without building up with plasticard first, cost just under £3 per pack. Been building a road overbridge today, will be posting pic's later. Cheers Mike

Hi again, As Promised here are a few shots of the buildings under construction. MPD North Light Shed is plywood based and TMD shed is Perspex and Wills sheets. Regards, Mike

Hi, Well that brought back a few memories of Toton in BR blue days. I worked there as a fitter in the 70's. Its sad to see it now as its near enogh a dumping ground for stored loco's and most of the yard lines uplifted. Its up to us modellers to show the future generations how the railways used to run because there's not much left of the real thing - is there! rant over. You sound as though you have sizeable space for the intended layout and the bridge looks pretty good too. Mike

Sorry, I have been scratchbuilding some of the buildings over the past few months and others are originals I built for my other layout (Milne - see gallery and Model Rail 121) this layout is in storage whilst work is underway on the above. Engine shed was built about 17 years ago with plywood walls and timber roofing beams, roof detail in plasticard, whole building clad in Superquick brick papers, I hope to re-clad in plasticard before taking to an exhibition. Coaling stage is ply again but with plasticard over, tank is very thick card moulded to shape, I made this for our club layout which has been dismantled so I retrieved it. Diesel Depot is new and as yet unfinished, main structure is Perspex with Wills sheet cladding, this will have a fully detailed interior when finished. Fuel point is a Knightwing kit Fuel tanks are Knightwing parts and general mix of scratchbuilding materials to hopefully achieve an accurate portrayal of the correct fuel storage system used on BR - which is worked on a rotational basis where: Tank 1 is diesel for dispensing. Tank 2 is diesel settling to expel air bubbles Tank 3 is two fold A: Diesel drained from loco's entering depot for more than an 'A exam' to reduce fire risk (this operation causes the air bubbles and B: General refill from wagonload etc. The tanks are rotated as tank B settles it becomes tank A etc etc. I will take some detail pictures in future. Cheers Mike.

Hi again, Progress over the weekend, ballasting completed and a few buildings placed to give an early impression of the layout. Still loads to do though. cheers Mike

Here is a few pictures of the inside of the control panel as requested. The controller is a 'MORLEY VECTOR' twin with hand held units (not shown). Really nice operation and has a capacitor discharge built-in. It normally comes complete with an enclosure but Ted at Morley's adapted it for panel fitting. Thanks Ted.

I intend to stand inside the 'U' section and layout will be viewed along the frontage shown at the top of the plan, the r/h side will also 'hopefully' be of interest upon completion, thinking of perhaps a harbour scene but not yet decided. cheers Mike.

Yes that was the idea, something a little different 'I hope' There will be more than just loco's plying back and forth as the layout develops. Managed to get the ballasting finished yesterday so I can concentrate on some scenic work now. cheers mike

Layout is looking good, I have been browsing as I am building a new layout and looking for inspiration, I have also decided to scratchbuild my depot building in order for it to look different. Do you intend to exhibit at some stage? Keep up the good work. Mike.

Hi, Control panel is made from hardwood & MDF for the frame with 'Formica' panel face which is thin enough to accept the mini switches. As the layout is plain old DC (can't afford to chip all the loco's or don't want to learn about DCC - take your pick) I have to place several isolated sections in anticipation of the movements expected, I hope they are in the right place. Points are controlled by stud operation affixed to the face of the panel. All wiring is routed to 25 way 'D-sub' connectors which use computer style male/female 25 way cables to attach to the opposite connector on the baseboard. I will take some picures of the electrics and post them during the week. Ballasting now completed and just awaiting the drying process, again I will upload some pictures during the week. Cheers Mike

Hi, Having followed many a topic and enjoyed the content of RMweb for some time I thought it was about time I put something on myself. So here it is, my latest creation in its conception stage. Bermuda Road Motive Power Depot is a fictional location and depicts a steam era depot in the closing years of steam in the north west of England - somewhere - Its location benefits from the joint running powers and stock from the London Midland and Eastern/North Eastern regions. Its name derives from the track plan which utilises a triangle for locomotive turning as opposed to a turntable found at most depots (see attached plan courtesy of Mike Cole.) The depot is a four road North Light building common to ex:LNWR locations as is the coaling stage, a small loading stage is located within the depot yard for the unloading of stores to add operational interest. To add interest and ensure longevity of the site a new Traction Maintenance Depot has been constructed upon an old unused sidings area to service and maintain the growing fleet of early diesel classes now appearing on the BR network. The TMD hosts a two road maintenance building with adjacent fuelling point. It is intended to fully detail the interior of the depot building as time permits. These first few images show the the basic concept and construction underway, all trackwork is now laid and wired to two control panels and the mundane task of ballasting is the current task combined with a few scenic operations to relieve the inevetable boredom. I have used PECO Code 75 Electrofrog throughout apart from the sections over the baseboard joints which have been strengthened by removal of the plastic sleepers and replacing them with PCB copperclad strip as shown. I hope to maintain a regular build program and complete the layout within 12 months. We shall see! You can also follow the progress at: My link Ah well, back to the ballasting.... Regards,