Wayne 37901

Hi Andy, Thanks, I'm hoping it's not too ''Wee'' Hmm, I haven't seen Tingtong Yard to be honest. Cheers

Hi Andy, Thanks for the kind words, I will be having a Bullhead rail barrier along the hardstanding in the middle. That area will be having a fair bit of detail added eventually. Cheers

Good evening, Just a quick update on things. After playing around with pencil and paper, templates and various bits of stock on the layout I think I've come up with a track plan that will suit my small space and also make shunting interesting. This is the 5th plan I have drawn up after deciding that the others would either need more space or would have too much pointwork and I'm going for a less is more approach with this one. Here's what I have arrived it... I know it's simple, but as I said I'm going for less is more. The buildings will all be relief to save on space and are based on structures from various areas of Scotland. The half loop is a main feature allowing locos to run round before shunting. It's not final yet but I think any further track or pointwork will be too much for my 40'' scenic board. More soon.

Hi Arthur, Thanks for the kind words. The little bit in front of the building was just to see how it might look if I fenced off that whole area to sepperate it from the rail movements. The more I look at it though the more I'm thinking not to bother. The input is welcome though, always good to get others opinions. Cheers

Thanks for the kid words chaps, Thanks Dave, I was thinking the same but thought I'd see how it would look. Neil, thanks for the kind words. To be honest I've avoided taking a full pic yet as the other end of the layout is still a building site, once I've sorted things at that end I'll see about taking one.

Good afternoon, Well the weather has been terrible so I've been able to get a little more done, I've finished painting the coil handling warehouse and have added some pipework. I'm going to weather it all in once I decided whether or not to add anything else as I don't want to overdo it. I'm also undecided about the Palisade fence along the back, I have a fair bit of this so wanted to use it up. I think it will look ok but what do others think? Apologies for the poor lighting. Cheers

Good afternoon, As I've had the day off work and not being able to do anything on the other layout for the time being, I thought I would have a play with the new project. This has resulted in the first cardboard mock up to appear on the layout. It's still in the very early stages but here's a quick taster pic of the current state of play. A VGA van stand in the goods depot having arrived with Soup traffic from Campbell's at Kings Lyn, whilst a class 26 stands alongside. The Peco track is only for the photo, I'll be using other track on this one. More soon

Good morning, Got the day off today so I'll be able to continue with some jobs on the layout. Looking back at the photo of the Oxygen tank compound that Brian posted at the top of this page, I noticed that the 'stand pipe' at the left of the tank seems to take an interesting route. It leads from the bottom of the tank, runs upwards then appears to turn on itself and head underground. Am I correct, or does anyone know better? Cheers

Good evening, As the other half doesn't finish work till later this evening I've been able to work on few layout bits, mainly the Oxygen compound. It's not an exact replica of the one at Tremorfa which Brian posted a pic of, but I think it looks ok. Here's the current state of play. Edit: I should have stated that the tank is only posed to see how it looks and isn't fixed yet. As usual, comments/questions welcome. More soon.

Looking good so far Peter, Interesting you're doing 20165, this is one of my planned locos for my new project following it's transfer up north from Potash duties. Cheers

Won't be able to make this one. Working today and the other half wants to look round some homeware stores on Sunday. Hope everyone has a good show though and I'll look forward to any pics posted up. Cheers

Also of interest is the stored HEA wagons in the distance.

Hi Peter,, Thanks for the kind words, I'm hoping it'll be an interesting project. Mine was my first 26 and I have to say I think it's a lovely little model, it certainly seems to capture the right look of these little beasts. The class 27 is a little early for my time scale but likewise a lovely model. Yes the VEAs are nice kits and very easy to build along with most of the Parkside range. I also have a pipe kit lined up to become an ODA at some point. The recent arrival of a loaned book (thanks Brian ) has enabled me to get some nice ideas for the layout. More soon

Good evening, Just a quick update to chart what I've been up to since the last post. The first bit of pipework has now been fixed to the building and I'm now looking at where else I can add pipes, raised walkway and/or ducting. This evening has also seen the coil handling warehouse primed after finishing the cladding, this was another building that had to be replaced following the warping of the original. If I get time, I'll take a pic on my day off this week. I can feel this one nearing the end as each area gets completed. Cheers

Yup, dreaded steel axles indeed. Thanks peter, I was thinking of some sort of brake but on wagons with shallow solebars i was thinking that the 'brake gear' might be noticable. I'll have a look at Steam Era Models. Thanks for your offer, might take you up on it for some of the more urgent 'fleet' wagons. Of course I would gladly give you something for them if they're in short supply. Cheers

Afternoon, Well the first bit of building pipework has been assembled and painted, just need to weather and attach it to the building now. I've also been cladding the coil handling building which uses a slightly more modern box cladding compared to the corrugated sheets of the works buildings. Should have an update once I'm able to upload pictures again. Cheers

Well done peter, Reminds me that I must dig out my bauxite liveried Bass and get it finished. A bit off topic, but as like me you use Kadee couplings what magnets do you use? I'm using 308 under the track magnets but find that once a wagon is uncoupled the wagon gets pulled towards the magent. I'm guessing it's just a weight issue, but it's nice to have another opinion on the matter. Cheers

Cheers paul, Won't be as impressive as Castle Works though, but thanks for the kind words. There won't be any updates for a few days as the interweb is down at home. However, the building detailing is coming along so I'll have something to show once I'm able to upload pictures again. I've dug out some vents so I've been adding those along with more raised walkway. One thing that puzzles me is deciding where the pipework runs to/from as I know nothing about this. Another thing I wondered about was the so called 'Power Control panel' in the Knightwing walkway pack. Has anyone found a use for this? Cheers

Hi Dave, Yes, Scotland did indeed see increased MOD traffic in 1991 and this will feature to an extent on my layout. I'm also interested in other interesting working that took place and I have one in mind already. For the time being though I'm concentrating on the steelworks layout. Cheers PS: Thanks for the PM

Thanks for the contributions folks, it's all very interesting. Nice to see some archive pictures as well. I know you're waiting to see it Marc... It's getting there! Cheers all

Thanks for that Arthur. I was aware of the Basic Oxygen Process for works using raw materials to produce steel but not for an EAF plant, interesting indeed. Brian, It's always nice to hear stories of your experience there, it just goes to show that Steelworks are dangerous places to work in. Is the nail factory still in production, or does castle works just concentrate on producing wire rod? Cheers

Thanks Peter, I'm enjoying the motivation to get this one done, it's really been too long. That helps a lot Brian. Just out of interest, what would Liquid Oxygen be used for in a steelworks? That's an impressive set up of pipes, the 'crossover' is interesting. Thanks Brian, That gives a good overall impression for the location of the various pipe runs. It also shows just how big the new Melt Shop is and how it towers over all the other older buildings. Cheers

Morning, As the building details are coming along thanks to some excellent input on here, I thought I would move on to an area that's proving a bit tricky and that is the corner between the large building and the backboard. At the moment I've got two storage tanks on a concrete base planned but I was also thinking of an Oxygen tank surrounded by a Palisade fence. The idea being to hide the join between the building and the board a bit better. The end wall will also have some raised walkway, vents etc added to take away the blank look. The following pic will show the area in question. Comments/thoughts welcome. Cheers

Hi Brian, I see, so it seems I can use I beam to support the pipes. That's good because I have a few sizes in stock. The photo's look good enough to me, I think I remember seeing of them on your thread. Thanks for the tip about the sandpaper as well, I'll give it a go and see if I can get something knocked up. I must say I do like that pipe 'bridge' but I don't think I'll have anywhere to put one of those on Dragon Steels.

Hi Arthur, Thanks that's very helpful. I'm really impressed with what you have done on Staplegrove Works. I'll have to see what I can knock up. Is it tricky to get the profile of the saddle to match the pipe or is it just a matter of constant test fitting? Cheers