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Awesome layout. Not sure how I have missed it. Thanks for sharing Jeff

Hi all, Spent today checking and rewiring. I had to add two additional buttons for the double slip to make sense. I had tried to make the 3 way point work with just 3 buttons but can't seem to make this work.. I had wired button 1 to up and up, button 2 to up and down and button 3 to down and down but it doesn't seem to work. My plan is to add 3 extra buttons so that you have to press 2 separate buttons for each direction. If anyone knows how to make this work I would be very grateful for any advice. Regards Jeff

Spent the afternoon fault finding with the point wiring. Turns out I managed to solder 1 row in a DIN plug backwards. I will fix later. I also need to add extra buttons for the double slip as it doesn't make sense at the moment. Other than that it should all work - fingers crossed! Jeff

Cheers David, New Year was excellent thanks. A bit more progress has been made with the hard landscaping and I have also completed the roller shutter door that allows access for HGV's to the distribution depot. I have built the landscape to position a factory unit lower than the road level which will have terraced houses along one side of it. Access to the factory unit will be by a slope down either a cobble or concrete road that slopes down - not decided which one I choose. Ideally I want cobbles but it is a relatively modern factory unit so I don't know if it will look right. Any ideas?? A couple of pictures to explain View of the road which will have terraced houses down one side. I also plan to model a corner shop - model shop is my preference at the moment a bit like The Signal Box in Anstey (my local) Opposite the houses will be the entrance to the factory unit. I am unsure whether to model the slope down in cobbles or as concrete. Ideally I want cobbles but as the unit is relatively modern I am unsure. What do you all think?? Finally a couple of views of the rear of the distribution depot. I have modelled a roller shutter door where lorries would reverse in to have freight transferred from rail to road and vice versa. Still to be added to the building are gutters, drainpipes and lighting. An earlier view before the shutter was added Regards Jeff

Evening all, Set up the layout tonight to test the point wiring. There are one or two gremlins affecting the routing. I will need to test the connections in the next few days to rectify them. It is never simple... Jeff

Evening all, Finished the platform including adding the edging stone. I have also been completing wiring up the interboard connectors using 15 pin DIN sockets. There are 2 of these connecting the Panel with Board 2 - each has used 14 pins each as there are 14 point motors and subsequently 28 wires. In addition there is the common return to complete the circuit. I have still to complete the connectors between the noards - each have 7 wires each. I am looking forward to finishing these and then I can do a "test" - i.e. a bit of a play... A couple of pictures showing progress... 47 492 Enterprising Scot at the buffers: And finally, an overall look at the station platform. The left hand side is the reception sidings for freight to the transfer shed... Happy New Year to you all. Jeff

Thanks Ron, Very interesting Jeff

Ron, Superb work. As a matter of interest, how long do you think it took you to build this bridge? You seem to model at a phenomenal rate. All the best for the New Year Jeff

Hello everyone, I have been busy with Maor Road over the last few days. The Mimic Panel has been completed and the connector wires added to link it with Board 2. See Pic below - very proud of this I was busy wiring the rest of the inter-board connectors today whilst waiting for a new dishwasher to arrive. The old one went bang on xmas eve so I had to wash up all the xmas dinner stuff - not good... Carried on with it until I broke the wire stripper - a piece of metal shot out today when I was about half way through Board 2 (centre board with most connections). It made a shwing-bump sound... A trip to Maplins for a new one beckons tomorrow before attending the Leicester City match. As I couldn't continue with the wiring and I have the modelling mojo in abundance I spent this evening building the station platform.. This is a Metcalfe kit and if anyone has thought about building one I would recommend it as they are a lovely kit to build. A couple of pics of it being held in postion by mugs full of water acting as weights for the glue to go off... The station building is a Bachmann one that I feel is just right for what I am trying to achieve. It looks particularly fine next to the Pichet du vin (wine jug). I aim to detail the building a little bit more so that it doesn't look straight out of the box. Hope you all enjoy the update. Jeff

Just read through this topic. Inspirational is the only word I can use. Please keep the pics coming. Merry Xmas Jeff

Hi all, Didn't manage to complete the raised area for the factory but spent time working on the Distribution / Goods Transfer Shed. Not sure what to call it. I have completed the woodwork for the wall behind and placed the wall sections to give me an idea what it will look like when completed. I have also completed the raised roadway between this board and the centre board covering the entrance to the fiddle yard. Pretty pleased with progress so far. First visitor to the shed was 37 409 Loch Awe shunting a couple of loaded Cargowaggons... I also promised a picture of the wiring... The layout is wired for DCC wih a traditional mimic panel for the points. Blue and brown wires are the Power Bus and Red, white and black for the point motors. All under board wiring is complete except for the wires from the tag strip to the inter-board connectors. However this has all been worked out and I just need to spend a couple of hours with a soldering iron. Stock Cheers for now Jeff

Evening all, Thanks for the comments. I have had a productive day and have completed spraying the track with sleeper grime and I have also built the superstructure for the bridge which covers the entrance to the fiddle yard. Next on the list is completing the raised area at the front of the layout. I have decided to have a factory unit here partly obscuring the view of the track behind it. The idea is to make the layout viewer have to peer round the building. Hopefully a bit like real life. I will post pics tomorrow when I have built the ground up for it to stand on. Regards Jeff

Hello all, Welcome to my new layout. For those of you who followed my Buxstone tread, this is not dead - just slumbering! I have helped to operate the excellent Oulton TMD over the last 6 years or so. Although this layout, on first inspection, appears to be a roundy-roundy, it is actually a combination of end-to-end shunting layouts. These are the cement works (my personal favourite), the oil terminal, ballast sidings, front sidings and the station. Not forgetting the original TMD section – which 3 of us used to operate! All operate individually but utilise common areas of track. I believe this is the magic of the layout. Originally I always wanted a roundy-roundy but operating Oulton made me think differently. I also really enjoy operating at exhibitions. The result of all this is Manor Road. The basic premise was a layout that can be easily transported in my car and be operated by 2 people (me and my son). Initially many designs were created and finally I settled on one that fits on a space 12 feet by 18 inches and breaks down in to 3 x 4 feet boards. All 3 boards are scenic with the fiddle yard hidden behind a retaining wall on board 3. The front of board 3 consists of a freight transfer shed. When building started the layout increased to 14 feet as I felt this would aid operation. Board 1 consists of an island platform with 2 lines. Rationalisation has been slow in coming to Manor Road as Platform 2 still has run round facilities. In front of this is a shunt neck and a 2 road reception area for speedlink trains. The idea is that regular workings bring vans for unloading in the transfer shed. Operation Passenger He station is served by a mix of DMU’s and loco hauled trains. DMU’s of classes 101, 108, 143, 150, 153, 156 and 158 in blue-grey, Provincial, Metrolink, Merseyrail and Regional Railways will be seen shuttling in and out. These will be supplemented by 4 coach loco hauled sets in blue-grey and Regional Railways liveries. Typical haulage will be 37/4 and 31/4 with the occasional 47/4 Freight I have assumed that the transfer shed on Manor Road is connected to the Speedlink network. As such a wide variety of locos will be seen bringing vans for unloading and transferring to road transport. This will include VDA’s, Cargowaggons, Pallet Vans along with covered steel wagons. Inbound trains will also include a variety of other speedlink wagons as part of trip workings. Parcels As I also like Parcels trains there will be a regular parcels working leaving from Manor Road. Maximum load will be 5 vans but this will include a variety of liveries. Fiddle Yard The fiddle yard is a mix of fixed lines plus a road that will attach to cassettes. Hopefully this will lead to a greater variety of stock seen on the layout. I think that is enough description for now. Here are some photos of progress so far…. Overall View looking down the layout. Control Panel showing schematic track diagram. Red = Fiddle Yard Black = On scene Green = Station Platform 3 Overall Views A few views of the transition between layout and fiddle yard Finally, a few views of the goods transfer shed. This started life as 3 Metcalfe goods sheds. These have been modified and a scrachbuilt roof added. Stillto be added is a roller shutter door at the far end to allow HGV's to reverse in and load up with the unloaded "stuff". Hope you all enjoy what I have posted so far. I will take a few pics of the underside (wiring stuff) and post tomorrow if anyone is interested. Cheers Jeff

Hi Sam, Thanks for the pic. It looks reasonably neat wiring.... Jeff

Looking really good. Have you got any close up pictures of the wiring for the led's in the inspection pits? They look superb. Regards Jeff

Hi Kevin and/or Leaford Crew, Do you have any more exhibitions lined up over the next 6 months? Regards Jeff

Hi, Where did you get the miniature snowplough for the class 156? Many thanks Jeff

This is my local model shop and I buy most of my stuff from here. Martin and his team are always friendly and have a wide range of 00 and N gauge stock. Not always the cheapest (compared to the box shifters) but always have the thing you need. Personally my view is - support your local model shop, I do! Well worth a visit! Cheers Jeeff

Hi Stuart, I know how you feel - I lost my modelling mojo for a number of months! I finally went in to the garage yesterday and did a tidy up. I now need to look at the 6 inches of track that need replacing that has made me lose my mojo! It is generally something small and crass that ends up losing it for you. Keep up the good work! I still can't believe how good that old busted Hornby 47 looks now that you have finished it. Cheers Jeff

Peter, Just recieved the latest edition of Model Rail and was pleasantly suprised to see a pic of 97 407 on the show and tell pages - great pic. You just need to get a full article produced. Keep up the good work, the updates are brilliant. Regards Jeff

Leon, Good set of pictures. I particularly like 47 190 - is that a Lima loco? It looks like a Lima loco but only when you look at the couplings. Have you got a few more photos of it? Many thanks Jeff

Hi Grimley, Thnks for the new pictures - looking good. I was intereste din the colour palette you are going to use for all the internal walls. I would love to see the pictures you are using for inspiration. Keep the pics coming. Regards Jeff

Grimley, Superb work. I particularly like the shot looking along the wall (2nd pic down in last post). Can't wait to see it with the clutter added. As a matter of interest what colours are you going to use? Regards Jeff

Ron, Impressive modelling. Your attention to detail is both astonishing and inspirational. I hope the video/DVD comes off as I would love to see it. Perhaps one of the modelling magazines could approach you to make a DVD showing how you go about building these fabulous structures. As Bolton is my birthplace I have travelled over the adjacent viaducts many times and you have captured them beautifully. Keep the pics and video clips ;-) coming. Many thanks Jeff