Barry Ten

A friend leant me the cassette when it came out so it's always been one of my favorites.

A spot of dry weather was the spur for taking an overall view of the layout: This is the whole thing now, with the backscene permanently mounted. Just to be on the safe side, I did see if it fitted in the car! It did, and while there was plenty of margin of error on the height and width, I was surprised at how close to the limit it was in terms of length. That's with the back seats folded down, but the front passenger seat still fully upright, allowing for a spare operator! In fact, it should be possible to go with just one rear seat folded, assuming no trestles or legs go with it, so in principle three of us could ride down with the layout. And I've started on the scenic landforms a bit at this end. Speaking for myself, I struggle to maintain interest in a modelling project unless I can hop around and work on different aspects at the same time. So while there's still a magnet to be added, and therefore the wiring isn't yet complete (never mind the rudimentary fiddle yard) I was itching to get on with adding some contours, so that I can start to envisage the thing more clearly in my mind's eye. I've also been working on the final tweaks to the track, adjusting a few places here and there where there were some discrepancies in levels between adjoining rails. It's been a learning curve, as I've never had to lay track without fishplates before. To help with the alignment, I started soldering in very short lengths of phosphor-bronze wire into the outside web of the rail, which helps keep things level. I'm using the phosphor-bronze that comes with the DG couplings pack - there's a lot of it, so a few snippets won't go amiss! Another issue is that the recent warmer weather has exposed a few areas where rail expansion was still causing electrical difficulties, so I've had another round of taking care of that issue. Hopefully the ups and downs of temperature we've had over these recent weeks (the layout sits in a cold conservatory overnight) will help give it a thorough stress-test! That's it for now. In the next exciting installment I hope to report on some positive developments with the Dapol pannier.

I've been pushing on with my small N project. To recap, it's a smaller version of a 4mm layout I built about 13 years ago. The new one fits entirely on one board. Some basic landforms have started to appear. The access holes in the backscene will eventually be covered by scenery.

Not in practise. It can be retained quite snugly at the "sloppy" end but still have a margin of error for the chassis not to be distorted.

I'll take that as a win!

My thinking is heavily influenced by a really good layout I saw once ... Shell something? 😄

Hi Neil, yes I think that would be possible - probably a bit too much butchery to inflict on the box as built, but definitely something to think about in the future.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been building some of the Ratio kits which form the main railway buildings of the layout. As my first venture into scenery in UK N, I quite enjoyed getting to grips with these. First up is the goods shed, which is where the engine shed used to be on the old layout: In keeping with the other buildings, and the original layout, I've opted for GWR colours of light and dark stone, rather than WR brown and cream, the idea being that not only has this station not had a lick of paint since before the war (or they're still using up local stocks!) but that I could run some pre-nationalisation models if so desired. This isn't too fanciful as some GWR backwaters did retain traces of the older colours right until closure. I also constructed the GWR signal box: This is arguably a bit on the large side (the 4mm one was the much smaller Highley-style box) but I'll just pretend that it controls more than just the visible track - perhaps there's a junction or set of sidings just off-scene. Another enjoyable kit but I found the instructions a bit skimpy. The etched windows are a nice touch, though. I sawed off the enormous chunky base that the model is supposed to be mounted on. In addition, and taking in a view of the layout as a whole, now mounted on a rather rakishly curved sheet of extruded foam: I also made the carriage shed, and I've made a start on the station building to get a feel for how it all fits together. This view also shows a test-fitting of the backscene. I've cut recesses in it which will allow the operator to work the points and uncoupling magnets, but once finished, the rear scenery will rise up to box these in from the front, with a stone-built retaining wall and steeply sloping hillside. I've opted for a relatively high backscene by N standards (about 12 inches in total) which I hope will help place the models the context of the landscape. One thing that's maybe worth a mention is that there'll be no backscene on the right-side end of the layout, affording a view along the scene, as well as it into it. There'll also be no "proscenium arch" as such - just a dainty lighting support cantilevered off the backscene. The idea is to break away a bit from the New Layout Design Orthodoxy (NLDO) of a high vantage, wings, arch etc, as popularised by Iain Rice et all and which has understandably become the norm. It's popular because it works, and is very effective at framing a scene and constraining viewing angles, but with this one, I want the layout to be viewable from a range of angles and elevations, yet still be well-lit and appear "finished" to a decent standard. To this end, the intention is that it'll be operated from a tabletop (so no trestles or legs needing transport) and be equally suited to viewing from a seated or standing position. I think this works in a valleys context because in reality you could be at almost any given elevation in relation to the scene, so it won't look "wrong" to be looking up, down or sideways! Anyway we'll see, it could all crash and burn!

And apologies if it also wasn't clear, but I was agreeing with your point!

There's only one word for that ... F.A.B.

Far from it, I think Iain's write-ups are some of the clearest on RMweb!

I'm one the organisers of my local parkrun here in South Wales and this morning it was my turn to coordinate the event. We had 97 runners in all and the weather was very kind. A lot of them are familiar faces but we do get some first-timers, run tourists, and the occasional participant who lives elsewhere but joins us from time to time. Today we had a lady from Lincolnshire who has run with us a few times before, but not since the start of the year. We got chatting after she had completed her run and I asked her about her local parkrun, which turned out to be near Peterborough. I said I wasn't familiar with that part of the country, but I did know Little Bytham, which rather surprised her. "Who do you know there?" she asked? "Tony Wright", I said. "Ah, the model train man!" she replied. TW's fame is spreading!

The curved route through Peco slips is definitely on the tight side. I try to get my tank locos and smaller tender engines to run through the curved way, but I don't worry if larger engines struggle, as they're not asked to do so in normal operations.

What's that squealy noise that Pacers make on curves caused by? 😀

These Finetrax points took about an evening and a bit each, but that's a very leisurely evening. I tended to make everything except the switch blades one evening, then do the switch blades, tie-bar and wiring the next. I understand the design has been altered now so that the chairs are already added, saving quite a bit of time.

See the link posted by NHY581.

A bit of daylight in the conservatory was the prompt to get on with the slightly fiddly work of making a few more DG couplings! The Sonic Models 56XX is a lovely model but greatly benefits from losing the chunky couplers, and having the somewhat less obtrusive DGs fitted. I made up another two pairs which enabled two 12T vans to be added to the goods fleet, in addtion to a short rake of 16 tonners (and a Toad!) already one. It's not much but it does allow for some rudimentary testring, which has already thrown up a few "issues". Incidentally, these Sonic 56s seem very scarce now. I ordered two (both BR black) but I wouldn't mind a third, perhaps in lined green. They must have sold very well as none seem to be available anywhere. The tightest point on the layout is the entry to the longer siding, above. Using the 64XX hadn't indicated any problems, but the 56XX showed a tendency to want to derail the first wagon it was pushing, due to side-thrust from the couplers. Happily the solution was just to turn around the 56 so that it's running bunker-first into the station. The end throw at the smokebox end is a bit less than the bunker end, so no further problems were encountered. (I know 56s tended to run smokebox first "up" the steeply ascending valleys lines, to keep water over the boiler crown, but there must have been instances where they ended up facing the other way, due to reversals and so on). After playing with shunting moves for a while, I realised I need an additional magnet! It's a good job as once the layout is embedded onto the blue foam sub-base, it'll be a lot trickier to make any electrical alterations. So better to give it a thorough test at this stage than have a nasty surprise down the line. I've also found that subjecting it to a few temperature spikes in the conservatory has helped with identifying areas where rail expansion would have (in fact did) caused shorts, so additional gapping has been added. Onward!

Over the last few weeks, I've dug my Paynestown project out of the attic and made quite a bit pleasing progress. To recap - and unfortunately my earlier pics were lost in the image crash - I built a 4mm layout with the same name in 2010, then sold that a few years later. I'd always said to myself that might have another go, this time in N, provided there was an easy route to getting a 56XX, vital for a layout set in former GWR territory in the South Wales valleys. Thanks to Sonic Models announcing just that engine, I was able to start making plans (for Paynestown). Again, to recap, I decided to have a go at using the Finetrax system of Code 40 track parts. I'd had a lot of experience with Peco Code 55 track on my American layout, and while I was satisfied with it in that context, I felt the possibility of a small layout, with small locos, invited the idea of attempting finer trackwork. Early in 2021 I ordered a bulk pack of points and plain track components from Finetrax, and set about making my first point in N! This went quite well, although it appears that the Finetrax products have now been revised to make assembly even more straightforward, something to consider were I ever to go another layout in Code 40. Back in 2021 I got as far as completing the basic trackwork, as well as beginning to ballast some of it, but the sidings were mere stubs and there was no fiddle yard as such. I've now completed all the sidings, revisited the ballasting, and added a rudimentary "stub" fiddle yard just for play value for the time being. The whole thing is about 5 foot long, and won't be much longer once it's fully embedded into its scenic context. It'll be narrow, too, emphasing verticality rather than depth. I took some rather ropey photos with my wife's camera. These can be related to some pics I found of my old Paynestown, showing the general similarities. These were taken at exhibitions after I'd sold the original, so the stock wasn't mine, but it gives a flavour of the layout. The new one will be similar but different - certain common features (such as the carriage shed) but some other changes, such as no engine shed, and no road bridge under the tracks. Hope this is of interest, and with luck there'll be more progress in the coming months.

As it happens the layout is a near-copy of one I originally built in 4mm, and which was 11 feet long (but with a fiddle yard that was possibly a bit generous in relation to the rest). This one is N, but with Code 40 track from the Finetrax kits.

A kinematic coupling is one less thing to remove if you're fitting Spratt & Winkles, so a win for me.

I'm hoping to provide a counter-example. Wiith proper attention to tracklaying, and use of DG couplings and electromagnets, it seems to work reliably enough for my needs. At the moment the whole thing, including rudimentary fiddle yard, is just over 5 foot long so definitely falling within the window-sill footprint.

It does run well now, but I'd imagine it would be even better with a High Level kit. However, I got it out for a trundle the other day, and was still pleased with the improvement, so for me it was a "win" given the difference before and after and the relatively low investment of time and money!