Gloucester Road

Did some more on the test ballast this afternoon. This is the peco track with concrete sleepers. If you look carefully you might be able to make out that the righthand side has been weathered abit and then down front some grass and dirt added. I think that for the shed area the grey will need to be toned down, something close to what is on the right and the main line will be cleaner like that on the left FGW 156 on the test track My class 08 I then moved onto the atlas track to see what the rust and ballast would look like on the non concrete track. I think i might have gone overboard with darkening the ballast as it looks darker than that of the peco. Not sure if i like it that dark, though it might be effective around spots locos would sit ie fueling point. Here is a 66 on the altlas track. So where do we stand. I am happy with both the rust effect and the ballast (just need to work on colour) so next step is to paint the rails on the shed board. Maybe tonight once the boys are asleep. Stephen

Simon, They are Herpa models; i picked mine up through N Scale Supply company. (http://nscalesupply.com/HER/HER.html) try this link. Stephen

Evening all Went around to the Post Office today and discused delivery. They were insistant that they were unable to deliver my package the other day due to the snowstorm, even when I let them know that they HAD delivered the mail that day. So we back and forth about this and clearing the snow from mail boxs; ours was and is the only one that is cleared so that the carrier cab drive their vehicle up to it. Anyway they had my package and i hurried home with it. Here are its contents: Ballast and squeese applicator: rail paint applicator and rust paint: weathered black paint, and two paint dyes: Now a shameless plug for Joes Model Trains; the paint appilcator should have been thought off long ago and the squeese ballast applictor, genius. OK, down to business. Out came the test track and the paint applictor. This is a neat idea, included are 6 foam wheels (different sizes) and two clear applactors (different sizes). There is a paint holder and a screw cap with a tube that leads to the foam wheels or clear applactor. The instructions say to use the clear applicator for code 55 track. After adding paint and the correct clear wheel you simply prime the tube and wheel; out comes the paint as you roll it against the rail. Presto rusty rails, genius. Before and after photos of the rust applied. Neat and clean. Ballasting is just as clean and simple. Cut off the tip and gently puff the bottle and a controllable trickle of ballast comes out. You can puff it into place and gently build up the depth; why didnt i do this before. Here is the bottle with the tip cut and ready for appliction. Now some shots of the ballasted and painted rails waiting to dry. The light grey ballast is a little light, so will be toned down with the weathered black paint after the glue dries overnight. Couldnt resist the posing of some stock. It took 45 minutes to this point that includes opening and reading instruction and minimum cleanup. Fantastic. Night, Stephen

Not very satisfied with the US Postal service at the moment. I ordered paint and an applicator to paint the rails of the shed from Joes Model Trains. The products have shipped according to the postal website and have even arrived at my local post office. Then there is a snow storm (20 inches of snow), post is still delivered. Now the website says a note was left in the mail box and they were unable to deliver the post due to the snow. But it was delivered and no note. So waited another day to see if would come in today. Nope; but post was delivered. I see a trip to the post office tomorrow. Whilst waiting for this deliverey i started work on the pub. This is going to be the scalscenes small corner shops. Im building both a left and right hand version and then will put them back to back, on the right side is the pub and the one on the left will be a corner grocers. Some pice. Here is the pub and grocery store with no front wall The front walls On the workbench In situ. Front walls are just temporarily in place as there is much to be done before walls are fixed in place. Now what time does the Post Office open........ Stephen

Happy New Year to all. Kris, yes the shed is removable. Have finished asembling the shed and started work on the small corner shops. Here are some pics of the shed, I am resonably satisfied with it. Needs to be sealed and weathered. Also did a "back of napkin" sketch of buildings and roads for the shed doard. All of the buildings will be scalscenes products including the new theater and high street, lots of bulding to do. Stephen

In between sledding, skating and snowball fights with the boys have managed get half the roof and other front wall on the shed. Here are 2 pictures. front wall roof Stephen

Hey Trevor, Fueling points and storage tanks are from scenecraft by Graham Farish, and yes they are weathered. Purchased mine through a certain store in Liverpool. Stephen

Ok back from flying for another week. Spent Christmas in Tampa FL, but the missus made a video and we were able to Skype so i watched the boys on Christmas morning. On the modelling front I have sort of come to a stop as i am waiting for paint and ballast to show up. However my fueling point and storage tanks finally showed up so they have been plonked in place. The storage tanks and fueling points The fuel point 08921 being fueled Just had a foot of snow arrive here in New Hampshire so that needs to be moved off the drive and put somewhere. Winter in New England. Off to play in the snow with the boys before it gets really dark and cold. Stephen

Kris, The bottom two lines are not running lines. Line closest to the camera is for the fueling point (awaiting delivery from a certain store over there) and the next line is the headshunt for the wagon storage line and entrance to the shed area. Did some work with Scalescenes cement and ashpalt surface and finished off the hardstanding area. Happy with it; again its not stuck down as i need to paint the rails and weather the ties, but you get the idea. Some more work on the shed with an entrance in place and internal bracing done. 37419 in the shed Thats all for now Stephen.

Had a bit of a rethink on the hard standing, so i took it up. I was only using one layer of card so it was not even and things were starting to sag. My rethink involved tracing paper and two layers of card. The tracing paper was used to trace the area between the running lines and the area between the seperate lines. Once this was done a layer of card was cut and fitted, so far so good. Then another layer of card was added on top of the previous to cover up the ties. Here you can see the two layers and how the lower card is slighlty smaller than the top layer. None of this hard standing has been clued down yet as i am waiting for and order from Joes Model Trains. It includes the rusty rails paint and applicator and some weathering dyes to paint the rails and weather the ties. Have finished all of the hard standing and wiil tackle the cement and ashpalt from Scalscenes next. A close up of the hard standing. some views of the shed area. then overall and with the unfinished shed insitu Finally a class 08 doing some clearance tests. Next some experiments with cement and ashpalt courtesy of Scalscenes. Stephen

Not sure what i did but here is the rest of my previous post. Here is the storage road; first bare card and then with Scalescenes.com road surface. Thats it for now Stephen

Trevor, your in China!!! Wow, my Dad used to travel there all the time. The backscenes are from Scalescenes.com on his South Oak Road blog. They are photos and come out very well, try this link My link and scroll down . Some more electrical work today; all was wired up to allow four trains into the shed and then be isolated, onto the fuel point two trains can be isolated from each other, and two trains can be stored on the storage road. Then the test run, chased some electrical faults for 30 minutes and then presto it works. With the wiring out of the way decided to test make some hard stand for the shed and storage road. Here is the front of the shed area The back of the shed and road area

So I see that many of you in England are in the snow. Have fun, we dont have any yet here in New Hampshire. Kris, thanks for the buffer image. It will come in handy. So what has happened with the train this week. My original thought was to put Gloucester Road up for sale or donate to the Boy Scouts. However my oldest son asked me if he could have it; so out came the measuring tape, could we get it to fit in his room. No. Ok ,could we move it around in the guest/train room? Yes, it fits over my work space; bit of a squeeze for me to work but he is happy. If you look closely you will see Gloucester Road has moved to the Island Of Sodor. THomas, Percy, James, Henry, and two Farish locos now run happily around. With Gloucester Road over on the other wall the extension with Brimsley on it no longer fit and had to come down. Pieces of it are being saved and may be reused. The extension had to come down anyway in order to make room for the new layout so two birds down with one stone. Here we see some of the demo ongoing. Ok so with demo going on that wall it was time to see if my measurment for board one were right. With some anxiety board one was moved into place, it was snug but a great fit. With board one in place some locos were put on, part of the backscene from the extension, some of the wall, buildings, cars, fences and partially built shed were staged on the board. Not bad, can start to see what was in my head. Next up wiring all of the sections to allow locos to be isolated in the shed, fuleing point, and storage road. Also laid out boards two through four on the wall where the extension had been. Not sure if i have mentioned this anyhere in this thread, but all the photos in the thread have been taken on my Droid X. Its has an 8 megapixel camera and does a very good job, also found this feature on it that stiches photos together as you take them into a panoramic shot. So here is a shot. Now those of you that remember "new layout" it can be seen sitting on board 3. Yes, it still exists and can be found in my gallery section. Thanks for looking. Stephen

So the postman delivered a package that had isolators and Peco buffers. They have been asembled and placed temporarily, I think they look pretty good. Now we will need to find what colour to paint these; any sugestions. I know what the instructions say about colour, but would like to see some images. Here is the shed with the buffers and some of the internal bracing installed. Class 67072 was seen coming out of the shed and heading to the fueling point location Judging by the look of things I think this is going to be an EWS shed. 67027, 37xxx, 66072, 60xxx are on shed while a class 08 shunts a small engineers train. Right thats it for now as work is getting in the way. Stephen

Kris, the legs are about 52 inches high which puts the base at 52 1/4 high. Now this seems high but there is a crawl space door which will be under board three so the height for the entire layout was dictated by this door. For me to work at its not a bad height as I can lean against it whilst working. Work continued on the elecectrics for board 1. There are four locations where power is supplied to the foot of a point and then four other locations. These other locations allow four locos to be stored in the shed, two at the fueling point and two on the storage road. The top track is mains power, the middle two will (once dremmeled apart) allow two locos on each track, the lower is a mains supply and the bottom is to allow two locos artthe fuel point. Moving to the right of above photo. Upper track allows for two locos on the storage road, centre is mains power as is the lowest line. Here is the underside that will be cleaned up and labelled before being conected to power. Thats as far as we got as i cant seem to find any issolating connecters, so they have been ordered as have 8 buffers as you will see next. While awaiting the postman,. started work on the engine shed. It is going to be two Scalescenes engine sheds back to back. Thats it for now, unless the postman brings me a package work will continue on the shed tomorrow. Stephen

Ok, Home from my week of flying, not a busy week just long. On one of our trips we saw two wounded birds; the Qantas Airbus 38, two were in LAX under going repairs. We were taxing so not the best picture. Right on the modelling front. Legs for board one have been finished. The legs and the top are capable of being seperated and transported, a first for me. here are the legs here is the top attached Here are some staged locos and the shed from Gloucester Road. Started doing some wiring tonight, so far so good. Stephen

No, its going to be end to end with cassettes at either end. Stephen

Bit of a milestone yesterday; board number 4 was finished off. Work on board 3 and 4'S upper level will commence next. Track has been ordered for board 1 which will hopefully be here when I get back from flying. Here in the next 2 pictures one can see how 2,3,4 boards all line up. Stephen

Four arrived here in New Hampshire today. Wow:blink: . 'nuff said. Stephen

Kris, The supports are temporary, they are a bit wonky at the minute. Just wanted something quick and dirty to get the height right and see how my plans were coming together, Yesterday we built board 3 and put together some more of the upper level line together on board 2. Today the plans were attached to board 3. As noted the sidings looked a little short and have been lengthened, these changes can been seen by the darker print. Board 2: longer sidding, upper level installed (temporarilly) Board 3: longer sidding As we are at peak of fall foliage here in New Hampshire here is a foliage shot looking down my road. Played trains today as there were some new arrivals today. See my blog update, Stephen

Took a little break from building baseboards today and played trains. Fiqured out a panoramic function on the camera that stitches pictures pics together on its own. . Here is Gloucester Road stitched into two pictures. the original board the extension Not to bad when you consider the camera is on the mobile phone and it stiches automatically. Also today a parcel arrived that had in it what surely must be some of the best RTR weathered wagons to date. The weathered silver bullets are amazing. Freightliner 66610 was seen pulling them through Brimsley and Upper Brimsley. and the "wagons on the web" type of shot. I was a little hesitant to purchase these as my luck with Dapol locos has been less than good, but these seem well worth it. Thanks for looking. Stephen

Household tasks kept me busy today, leaf raking, fertilsing lawn, stacking splitting firewood and such. Did get a little done and fitted the upper level to board 1. Measure twice cut once is how its supposed to go, First attempt found my track to be 2.5 inches above lower level, much to high. Half inch removed and it looks much better. . Here are some pictures. with template on with flex track on in this shot you may notice the pencil marks, that is where the curve needs to be cut and sanded back to. with class 60085 pulling petroleum tankers and 67027 on shed. Thats it for today. Stephen

Kris, I agree having put the sidding down it does seem short, so they will be lengthened. Edwin m, Good eyes. Yes all the curves are a combination of curves and straights. I couldn't get the flex track function on anyrail to work, all curves will be made up of flex track and continous in the final product. Thanks for looking Stephen

Construction ensued on board 2 this morning; helped by youngest who really wanted to use the powerdrill this time. Dont tell mummy. Then went for a cold 25 mile bike ride; must be nuts to go out in 52 degree weather, anyway got the blood pumping. When my oldest came home and finished his homework we put together some puzzle pices that make up board 2. we then lined it up with board 1 then some stock added to get a feel of how things are going a Voyager leaves the station Class 156 waiting for departure class 08 shunts a VGA class 67 heads for the TMD class 57 reverses into the container yard class 66 and 37 on shed i couldnt figure the flex track function and the set track cuves were way off. So use your imagination as the line that the voyager would have passed the 156 on will be widend out to allow a platform to fit between those two lines with the one on far right being an avoiding line. Then we printed off the pages for board 3 to see how it would look. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks for looking Stephen

Right back from another week of flying. All in all not a bad way to make a living; back on Friday we were walking out to our Piaggio only to find this sitting next out plane. Usually we are the best looking thing at the airport, not to day. Anyway back to modelling. Did some work on tracks for boards 2 and 3. Here is what i envision here. Along the back is going to be the two track mainline (still to be planned)runnning above the lower level. Somwhere along here is going to be an elevated station and a freight avoiding line around the station. On the lower level the line curves in from engine shed and runs past a small container laoding terminal (will be some hardstanding and container loading vehicles) the line then continues past an area for running around trains and three rail served industries. The line then curves off and onto board 4. As the lower level freight curves to the back I see the upper level slowly curving crossing over the freight only line before it joins board 4 (this is still be planned). Down on the lower level one of the industries, probably the two track spur will be a spot for loading and unloading my VGAs and the single sideing might be a virtual quary. Lots of planning and messing around to do so here are the pics so far. Today purchased some more lumber so we can play carpenter tomorrow and do up boards 2 and 3. Right need to get back to minding the fire as its a cold night here in New Hampshire. Stephen