shanks522

Very little work has been done on the layout of late as it is moving rooms and has had to be dismantled for a short while, so today i had a few hours and thought i'd try and get some work on the mail terminal, the building itself is very boring and i'm hoping that with the trains and general clutter around it will fit in quite nicely. It has only been sprayed in primer but i actually like the colour so may leave it so, all it really needs now is the lights fitting inside to highlight the platform and a gentle touch of weathering. Graham.

I really like the idea of modelling trains that are not quite the norm, ie units and block freights, how about some sort of Network rail test train sandwiched by a couple of 31's, steam loco and support coach running light, or mk3 coaches in between barrier vehicles and a 57 on the front? Graham.

Looking great David, speedy progress as usual.

Personally David i like plan b. tho i think i'd maybe use a couple of three way points to increase the headshunt on the left hand side. Graham.

I know exactly where you coming from here David, I have for many years thought about 00 layouts, always wanted a engineers yard with a couple of 08's or 09's, problem for me has always been i'm spoilt for choice, My father has a large loft layout in 00 which i built a lot of and in doing so purchased a fair bit of 00 stock as well, only trouble is its 1950's western region steam, not a problem until i bought 3 Hornby class 60's then some Heljan 47's Bachmann 37's and so on, now i have a lovely selection of modern image loco's and rolling stock but no Modern layout to operate them on, I to will probably get a VEP and CEP and quite probably the EPB so now i may have to build a 00 terminus. To cut a long story short i think if you can afford it and you have the space you do as you please. You think 00 is a problem i've got 12 yards of 0 gauge track and some points to play with, a cause of many headaches... Graham.

little confused by the question James? If you meant how long a train i can run on the slope it really doesn't matter, last night i had thirty bogie vehicles and 25 double axle wagons all together behind 3 farish 66's and it was fine. the ultimate tail chaser. Graham.

Well last night i finished construction of the helix, I'm quite pleased this section of the layout is done now as i really enjoy watching the trains climb and decend the slope,(shame it'l be hidden) Its a fairly step gradient of 1 in 39 and i spent a few hours testing different formations of wagons and locos, Most stock is fine but the new JGA's are quite heavy and all the locos struggle except the Farish 60's. In a way i'm glad because it means i've got to use specific locos for freight trains. The other thing i've found useful is that helix adds about 6-7 feet to the running line enabling me to run two trains on the same track, when one is on the lower UP diverging line the other is passing on the top level DOWN line. Graham.

Cheers james its getting there slowly, its difficult to picture how much track you wont see when its complete, What i'm aiming for is trains to appear in places you wouldn't expect and only see them for a short space of time then to re-appear on a different level or direction. Graham.

Well i've survived christmas so now back to modelling, My family were all very generous over the festive period and i've now got a lovely rake of TARMAC JGA's and a Freightliner 57 (I wanted the chassis for a RES 47). Whilst out today shopping for handbags i managed to slip into the local model shop and grab a couple of points i needed to complete some of the upper level trackwork, It looks a little strange in the photos but hardly any of it will be visible when complete with scenery, both the 57 and 66's are sitting in what will be the mail terminal and i'm going to disguise the mainlines behind some sort of office block about 6 inches back from the signal. I'm having to add pointwork in all over the place at the moment and have found that in doing so i'm opening up all sorts of different operating moves which i find quite an enjoyable part of constructing a layout, never been one for sticking to a trackplan. Also had some of my brothers stock over for a run, very impressed with the 150. Graham.

Really like these, Especially 821 with the door in grey primer. Graham.

Thanks for the info David, I completely forgot about BH enterprises. Jon the fencing is from N-brass, its only placed loosely and needs painting. Thanks both for the kind words to. Graham.

Really envious of your weathering Jo, fantastic work as always. Graham.

Had a good few hours modelling this weekend, ballasted the diverging line so i can complete the bridge's both front and back, then made a start on the Mail terminal, I made a mock up last week and have been toying with all sorts of ideas of what to do, I was going to try and fit three roads in similar to Bristol but there's just not enough room for the pointwork (three way point in N would be a god send), So settled for the two lines instead. Also started to construct the actual terminal building, at the moment its just a shell but will get on with insides, roof details etc later, plan to install lights to. One thing i'm really struggling with is photos of Willesden PDRC, must have spent nearly all of yesterday (Except for xmas shopping) trying to find photos of the terminal on the Net and in magazines, also need to find a supplier of Brute trolleys in N, pretty sure i've seen some on here? and some good Vans and Trucks to convert to Royal Mail vehicles. should keep me out of trouble for a while.

The last few days have been very fruitful indeed, birthday yesterday and some great gifts arrived, my lovely girlfriend got me a schenker 66 and a JGA, brother some more JGA's and my parents a 67 and a lot of track. This now means i can get on with the upper level, just finished building the right hand side incline and laying the track, also picked up some plasticard and paint to make a start on the Mail terminal. Still a little undecided about this section, I'm toying with running the overhead wires along this stretch but not sure? Graham.

Its a great shame your having these problems David, I have had some problems with Dapol stock myself, To be fair i have 10 class 73's and they are all fine(touch wood), The 66's are a bit strange, one packed up within hours of purchase, the second really lost power after about twenty hours running but just needed a good clean and the third is absolutely fine, Got two voyagers one powered one dummy, both were ok then all of a sudden one of the driving cars started to short the track and i still don't know why? Graham.

Well i can't wait Grahame, I have no doubt at all that the model will be stunning, will be following with great interest, Graham.

Just a few pictures, Dont know why but i kept the front section of the original layout, thought i would compare the old and new. Also picked up an early birthday present yesterday.

Great shots David, i really like photos of layout areas that you wouldn't normally be able to view. Fantastic as always. Graham

Thankyou Scott, can't wait to see your layout evolve, A minor criticism of the article in MR is that the trackplan printed isn't how the layout is in reality, it should have double track under the bridge all the way into the station, and when the layout was erected for the photos it was in its short guise, there is another 4 foot board which enables the station to accept 5 mk2's and a 47. Cheers Graham

Thankyou for your post Kenton to start with i dont use trackplan software as i dont know how, but i do know how to scale things down, I have constructed several layouts in N,, 00 and 0-gauge, I know what will fit and where, half the layout is already built, and if you look on the old RM Web you will see the first version of Smithdown rd, The 8 road fiddle yard is on two levels so requires half the space, and yes there is a lot of trackwork hidden but all will be accessible, Finally the whole point of the layout is to watch trains go round and appear in places you wouldn't expect. Incidentally the 0-gauge layout i constructed was in Model Rail, Invergeachy.

will post a crude diagram from MS paint, hope it helps.

Welcome to Smithdown rd Junction, a lovely part of North London where railway lines emerge from every angle connecting East to West and North to South, The layout is supposed to portray somewhere around the wembley area, with the main lines on the lower level, two going to Euston and two diverging to the east to connect freight and mail to other London termini. The upper level will have a Mail terminal, a mainline running from the north east to the south west, and a freight connection to the WCML from the south. This is a rebuilt version of the original layout and i will post pictures over time comparing the two. The time frame will be around 1999 to 2007 ish.