mason

Thanks Dave, its a great kit, a little messy but the results are good, you should be able to find it on woodland scenics website.

Cheers

Neil

You could have your own weathering demo table next to the layout , they could arrive on the layout all clean and come back all filthy, sounds good to me

Neil

Thats fantastic thank you Richard, i too am going to have a go at some scrap loads for a couple of old railfreight HAA's and a POA.

Neil

Hi Mud, i noticed the great detail in the depot, did you scratch build the step ladders and if so how did you do it??

Cheers

Neil

Thanks mudmagnet, im really happy with the trees, and yeah i kinda stole that idea from Orchard Road

i think it really does bring that area to life cheers.

And thatnks for the inspiration i hope i havent stole to many of your ideas

Cheers

Neil

well the 09, 33, and a rather clean looking 47 and 57 will be with you at members day and if i can get the 08 hardwired that will be too, i might bring my 20;s but there a little clean too.

Thats about the size of my stock list till the end of the month, i might get another when payday comes around

Neil

Cheers Cav

Yeah the trees are a 100% improvment, doing them has been a learning curve in itself

the cameras were from ebay, there pretty cool, ill send you a pm with the link if ya want mate.

Outon road is going to be huge aint it, cant wait to see it progress to be honest, i have also thought the same in that it would be better building another layout, i think ill do a smaller micro with dcc, probably just a couple of 08's or something, but this layout as you know is my first dcc so once its finished i wanna explore the dcc locos and sound a bit more and put my resources into that.

Then they can guest appear on Outon Road

Cheeers mate

Neil

Hi all, well my trees and cctv cameras turned up, and work started, the tree kit is a woodland scenics tree learning kit, and it was a bargain from a well known auction site, the kit is very easy and im really happy with the results, so much better than my previous efforts and even added a couple in places were i thought they wouldnt look right.

any way let me know what you think.

iv also fitted the cctv cameras to the office building and the factory building, hopefully this will stop the local youth from adding there mark to deeping lane,im sure there will be some graffiti find its way in places.

there was talk of the cameras being made to move with motors etc, but i couldnt wait to fit them and its more cost effective this way ( more money for stock ) sorry Cav it was a great idea though.

After sleeping on the extension theory, iv decided not to persue it, for now anyway, there are still a few little details to add to this and with a dynamis coming soon i want to concentrate on getting my stock looking good and running well, and also a storage section on the fiddle yard for said locos, i think this is more important than the extension, and more money practical also.

Details to be added are barrels, oil drums, pallets and the odd sleeper here and there, also people and vehicles.

Alot of layouts have inspired this project, Outon Road, Orchard Road TMD, Wells Green TMD, Cramdin Yard and Brooke Wharf which was on the old forum just to name a few, and iv always aimed to emulate the detail and atmosphere that these layouts have and i think im getting there now and it would be a shame to try and add something on that wasnt in the original build plan.

as always please leave your hints, tips and advice and comments

Cheers

Neil

superb photos of a superb layout, looks better and better the more angles its taken from

Neil

as things are slowly nearing the point of completion on this project, my mind usually wanders onto what next, so iv been pondering a possible extension to this layout, at the moment its just a light bulb thought and nothing concrete as its commited to a couple of shows over the next 12 mths, so this will be a little side line till after then.

My thoughts

basically a small wagon storage yard with maybe a low relief workshop, this will obviously be left of the overbridge, with the idea of locos coming in with small rakes of stock, then moving into the depot for service while the resident 08/09 shunt the wagons in and out the workshop, then make up rakes for return to service with a loco from the depot taking them away, its not going to be a complicated trackplan and will prob only involve 2 Y points if i can get away with it and if designed correctly can be used as a module for the depot board so the fiddle yard can be used on either board, iv not set a plan yet so if any one has any ideas then i would love to see them, the board will be the same size as the main depot board which is 4ft x 1ft, im hoping to start work on this towards the end of the year.

until then its building my stock up time and scouring ebay etc for some good deals and some nice stock, mainly 37's, 56's, 60's and probably 20's and the odd 66.

Cheers

Neil

Hi, had a little time today to have a little play around with some locos and shunt some wagons around, so out came the camera and here are a few shots.

Cheers

neil

the second shot just needs clutter and depot gear and it would look so realistic, great work

Neil

Hi all, did a little bit of work today, mostly tidying a few little niggly areas, firstly i gave the fence posts around the car park on the front of the layout a little wash of thinned down brown and went around the fence wire with a permanent marker to take the brass wire look away.

and then sorted the pathway at the side of the factory with a little brown and grey ballast and some greenery and a security fence to stop the local yobs, i may get some clutter like an old bike thrown over the fence for detail

and then a little greenery at the other end of the factory and over the wall.

trees and cctv cameras should be here tomorrow so a little more to get done, really should get my stock sorted and chipped next.

NEIL

this is getting more and more amazing everytime you update it, fantastic work, whats next after the metal work??

Cheers

neil

Thanks Grimley, its a pleasure coming from you too as iv admired alot of your work since becoming a member of this site so thanks for nice comment

Cheers

Neil

Hi dave, and thanks for the kind comments, the backscenes are great arnt they and easy to handle and cut, iv still got one section left so they go a fair way too which is a bonus.

The layout is probably about 85% complete i think, next is the trees to replace the ones taken off and then details like people, vehicles, and little cameos, got some cool little plans for that, also things like pallets, barrels, and general yard clutter.

also i want to get the trestles that the layout will eventually permantly sit on at home and exhibitions.

Then its a matter of getting my head around the dynamis that iv just brought and then concentrating on more stock, locos and a couple of new wagons and then getting them all off to Cav ( RBE ) to get them detailed and weathered, in fact id like to thank CAV for all his help and tips and advice, i met him this year at the mansfield exhibition with his fantastic Outon Road and he has been a source of inspiration and my constant rambling text messages but he has helped me progress into dcc and take my modelling to the next level so thanks mate, look forward to members day and Outon road.

Cheers

Neil

Hi crisis, thanks for the good comments, Pilot road was the boxfile featured in model rail, unfortuanatly it got taken to bits, i took the figures off for charlie street and then we moved house and the point dowells got damaged and broke the points in the process so sadly it got broken up, that shot was pretty cool, i will look for the original for you i should have it on a disk somewhere and ill try and PM it you if thats ok

Cheers

Neil

Hi guys, and wow i didnt expect that such a good response thank you guys

Cav, i have to thank you for making my mind up on it, i should have listened to you in the first place , and yeah i am pleased with it, few little bits to tidy up and trees to build to make the scene complete.

thanks jon and chris, looking at it, it really does add a sense of location now and the layout looks like its part of the scenery in a bigger world, i think the backscenes have added everything i hoped it would and you guys have confirmed it for me.

Thanks again

Neil

Thanks Mike, im so glad you think its come out ok, it can be hard some times to be positive about your own work, especially when its something you have tried for the first time, I always get that kick when i see someone elses layout and think that could work on mine and then your mind gets ticking.

Thanks again mike

Neil

Ok well here goes, iv done the backscenes, im still a little unsure, but i think its improved things, so ill put it to the masses and see if its a win or a loss.

please be gentle

Cheers

Neil

Looking good, is this going to be a working diorama of just the 2 tracks and the fuel point and its surroundings.

i like the covers for the inspection pits also

neil

Hi all, well my backscenes have arrived today, and i have ordered a woodland scenics tree kit, i havent been happy with the trees at the back of the depot, and the pictures i have taken recently have made my mind up to remove them and then fit the backscenes and then refit the new trees so they hang over the path a little, in hindsite i should done the backscenes before fitting the buildings in place, but as iv said before this is still a learning curve and what looks good at the start doesnt always mean it will look good towards the end and i think this will give the layout a whole new dimension, well thats if i dont cock the fitting of them up

so im off with prints in hand and not alot of confidence in what im about to attempt, but fingers crossed and luck on my side i think i can crack it.......i hope

The next update could be of a grown man on his knees, head in his hands and a pile of wood, plastic and wires lay all around him

Cheers

Neil

alsmost forgot, after a chat with cav and myself not thinking about it very well, i may try and put some photo backscenes in, i think definatly above the line on the bridge to give that seen some depth and probably at the rear above the gates and to the right hand side around those gates too, i should have listened in the first place

just gotta find the right backscenes that will fit nicely.

Cheers

Neil

Dont worry mate i havent done it, i will give that a miss, it may get better with time i dont know, all i know is i may stick with the TCS T1's, little bit more expensive but run lovely.

Hi bluemoon jon and thank you for the lovely comments, i like that picture too, one of my faves, only thing that i have noticed is the fencing, i havent stained the posts or painted the wire, think thats a job for tomorrow afternoon, i may just run some really thinned brown paint doen the posts so it highlights the grain and paint the wire in grey and then add a little light rusting.

i also think i need to pay a little more attention to the trees on the backscene, they still look a little flat in the photo with the 47 down the side of the shed, think they need bulking up a fair bit, they may even come off and redone, i think it would look cool if they over hung the siding slightly, not sure yet.

Cheers

Neil

yeah cheers cav, i think im going to put it the 33, that always runs nicely and see what happens, i think ill look at some other chips instead, that was the cheapest chip i found, not always the best.

Cheers

Neil