JaymzHatstand

Thanks very much, I'm glad you like it!

I also have a soft spot for 37s, I've got two so far! They're usable on almost anything, and don't look out of place on short rakes of wagons either!

Cheers

J

That's rather nice, plenty of scope for operation and interest without track sturation! Everything appears to have a purpose and isn't just put there for the sake of it. I also like the half relief in front of the backscene to create depth, and the weathering of the scenics.

All in all a very nice layout and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.

Cheers

J

The exhibition over the weekend went pretty well, a few cases of dirty wheels and stroppy stock, but these were easy to solve as I went along (stock that didn't want to play didn't and wqent back in the box!) As the weekend progressed I found myself slipping into an operating sequence, which had just enough movbement to keep it interesting for me, and nothing to stressful that I could be wholly distracted if anyone wanted to chat (I hope!)

I think I could do with at least one more loco, as the five I had were pretty much coinfined to their duties, and the ability to swap them and have on in the shed area would add to bot the viewing and operating interest. This will hopefully be solved one day as I've got a Backwoods Double Fairlie on my workbench as well as the start of a railcar which will also increase my operating capacity, and over-fill my fiddle yard! I also found that despite my efforts, not all of my couplings are at the same height, and so not all shunting moves worked, so this is something else to address.

Scenically I recieved a fair few favourable comments (mostly about the backscene, which even led to Puffers of Pickering selling one of them, no commission for me though!) People didn't believe that it was pure chance that the scatter I had used matched up well with the colours on the backscene, but I had done most of it before fitting the back boards so it was nothing but luck (I'm rather grateful for it too!)

I took a few photos of the layout in action at various stages of the operating sequence so you can get an idea of how it ran.

One of my FR brake vans even found its way onto the Whitby MRCs layout 'Streonshalh' on Sunday afternoon and was seen at various parts of the layout on a Lowmac, and on the back of a lorry!

I'd like to thank Paul (Wordsell Forever) and the W&D MRC for inviting me to the show, it was great fun as always! Hopefully I'll get to take it out and about again as it is rather enjoyable to operate, and it'll encourage me to keep working on it too!

Cheers

J

Yesterday (Sunday) I took the layout downstairs and set it up in the lounge so I could spend the afternoon testing various combinations of rolling stock and try to highlight as many potential problems as I could as I dont want to discover that nothing works next weekend! There are a few minor bugs to work around, but on the whole I had trains which were fine and could have stock swapped around so it doesn't get too repetitive! The curtain to hide the legs has also been made, and the eyes for the press studs sewn on (thanks to the sewing machine, fingers and sewing skills of my wife!)

Today I have been concentrating on the scenics, mainly adding the wire to the Ratio fencing (which is quite a task, but looks good and so worth it!). Som scatter and hedges have been added, along with a few clumpos of hedgerow and the first couple of trees (all from the Woodland Scenics range) and the followinf photos show that particular progress. The unfinished fence wires are visible in a couple of the photos, but these won't be left dangling will-nilly!

I have also pasted the first of the backscenes to it's board, and it seems to be drying quite well. There were a few bubbles earlier, but these seem to be slowly going as the wallpare paste dries.

I'd best crack on, I've only got a couple of days until the exhibition now, and Friday will be taken up with loading the car and transporting it to Goathland for setting up, so time is of the essence!

Cheers

J

This morning I've had a play with the backscene for the station board, cutting out the hole for the control panel (inside the green barn) and drilling the hole to correspond with the bolt for the legs. After a sucessful test fitting I thought 'I wonder what it'll look like when it's done?' so out can the roll of Gaugemaster Backscene and a couple of small bits of Blu-Tack and hey presto (other supermarkets are available! ) the resulting photos are a rough approxiomation of the finished product.

There will be some foliage along the join between the flat and the vertical, hopefully some sea-moss trees or lichen, which will hopefully improve the appearance somewhat, but overall, I'm fairly pleased with it so far.

Lastly a shot of my Mercian FR van posing outside the goods shed, which I think shows a lot of potential.

Can anyone suggest any way that I can fasten the backscene onto the board itself, I don't think PVA will be suitable, so am I looking at wallpaper paste or something similar?

Cheers

J

I've finally got all of the paper mache for the ground done, it took a while duie to the contours and having to wait until the retaining wall and tunnel mouth were painted/fitted, but it's now ready for painting (first a few coats of brown to add a bit more solidity and a decent earth colour). Onmce it's painted, I'll make a start with the detailing; grasses, fences, trees and other bits and bobs. At least with an earth colour layed down it'll give it a bit more of a reasonable appearance. Less than two weeks to go before the show now, so hopefully it'll look pretty reasonable!

A few shots showing the retaining wall and tunnel mouth after painting and fitting. The eagle eyed of you may nitice some scatter has been applied between the ballast and the wall, this will eventually be weathered and have a few 'weeds' added.

The next job will be to fit the backscene, which is the Gaugemaster 'Open Field' three part set, I know it's generic but I don't really have time to create my own and it'll be mostly just the sky that is visible, especially on the valley section.

I'll post some more photos once the ground is less newspapery!

Cheers

J

I've made a start on the landscaping on both the extension and station boards, using a combinaiton of newsparer glued to the formers and then paper mache over the top which seems to be creating a fairly strong shell (but I will put down a fair few layers to be on the safe side!). The larger sections will have support underneath them from rolled up newspaper packing.

In order to form the cutting against the higher side of the hill I have made a retaining wall using thick card, with slaters embossed plastic sheet mounted on it. I have done the same for the tunnel mouth, which has had a layer of filler spread and scribed around the opening to represent the voussoirs and keystone, which hopefully, when painted will not be noticable as Squadron Green Stuff!

The staiton board is starting to gain a bit of undulating land as well, raised behing the staion (on the viewing side, then falling towards the end of the board. Hopefully this will add a bit more visual interest, and once populated with a couple of small trees make it seem less like looking at a baseboard with some track and buildings stuck on!

All comments as ever are welcome!

Cheers

J

Since finding out that I've got an exhibition in just under a month (Whitby & District MRC at Goathland Parish Hall 21st & 22nd July), I thought I'd best get cracking, the main thing to get done on the layout itself is scenery (although I can guarantee something electrical will fail once it's all done!) Fortunately I've had the ballast done for a while, so that's one less job to do, although it does need a bit of weathering.

I've made the main formers for the scenery on the extension board, and once I have a tunnel mouth fitted I can start landscaping!

In the accompanying photos you'll see my Chris Veitch FR 104/106 being used for gauging and clearance tests as it's my longes passenger vehicle and will hopefully be in service by the exhibition.

This shot shows roughly where the tunnel entrance will be, with the carriage half in and half out-ish!

As can be seen there are a few more formers/supports to fit to the viewing side (right hand side in the picture) before the 'ground' can be laid.

I aslo intend to have a retaining wall to stop landslips where the trackbed has been cut through the hill along the inside of the curve, not unlike those which can be seen on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway between Grosmont and Goathland.

I'll try to update this fairly regularly now as I should be making a bit more progress with the exhibition approaching fairly quickly!

Hopefully I'll see some of you there!

Cheers

J

Yesterday I joined the station board up to the rest of the layout and had a bit of a running session. I have decided I need to be able to isolate the fiddle yard so will be adding some electrics for that, and theres a bit of a sag where the fiddle yard and curve boards meet which is a bit of a bind with some couplings coming undone over it. This should be pretty easy to solve (famous last words!)

Anyhow, here's a photo of the layout looking from the headshunt of the station 'up' the line.

I also made a video of it in action, Harlech Castle (still undergoing 'winter' maintainance arrives with a works train, runs round then LNER N16 No14 leaves the shed area while the freight is shunted into the goods shed. No. 14 then leaves to collect a train from the carriage sidings (which are elsewhere!)

http://youtu.be/snMzSQzm8ZA

So now I should be able to make a start on some scenic work. First job is to paint the rails of the newer track, and hide the new wiring in the same manner.

Cheers

J

I've (finally) got the station board all wired up, and thanks to the advice and help from a couple of members of NGRM, the point frogs now work electrically too so there souldn't be much in the way of dead spots! The track now needs a good thorough clean (if I can find my track rubber, and rail-zip) and then I can have a right good 'testing' session!

Once I've got some proper tests done, I'll get some photos posted, and also make a start on the senics, I don't want to bury everything only to find it's not working properly!

Cheers

J

Just a quick update to say that the first train has run from the fiddle yard to the corner board without incident!

I have also tried different bits of stock, being both pulled and propelled, and so far there hasnt been a single problem. No doubt one the track is ballasted and painted something will develop some sort of objection to it though!

Cheers

J

I have finally got around to sorting out my new fiddle yard. In fairness I have been distracted by my other layout, but have now at last made some progress!

As stated previously the old fiddle yard served a purpose, but was not brilliantly reliable, the insulfrog small radius points being a particular problem so a new system was devised. I had considered a casette storage sysetm, but decided that they could be problematic to store and I had viisions of me tipping one up and stock rolling out of the end, as I'd no doubt forget to fit a stopper at the 'dead' end! So a traverser was the order of the day giving me an extra storage road than my original fiddle yard and no points to contend with!

As you will see from the photos, track alignment and current provision are dealt with using brass rod and tube sections, ensuring perfect alignment on every road. The tops of the tube sections had to be filed down slightly in order to not be higher than the rail head, but all has been checked and various items of stock will pass over without problems (so far!). Next on the agenda is the new control panel for the station which will hopefully make it a lot more user friendly and also incorprates section switches to place less emphasis on the point blades carrying current.

Fingers crossed that this bit of progress will spur on some more!

Cheers

J

Well, I've been meaning to alter the fiddle yard arrangement on Scrayingham for over a year, and I've finally got around to starting! Not sure if I've mentioned it in the past, but I'm going for a traverser as opposed to a fan of sidings, this way I don't have to worry about overhangs or long stock not agreeing with reverse curves (i.e. the Sandhutton coach!)

I have cut the wood and assembled the frame, but not fitted the top surfaces or drawer runners as yet. I'm waiting for the pattern makers dowels to arrive before I make the connecting end of the board inaccessible for drilling! Below are a couple of photos of the current state of affairs. The track and scenery is still on the original fiddle yard board, and this is soon to be lifted and changed to a scenic section so there is a bit more of a run between fiddle yard and station.

The observant amongst you may also notice that the platform shelter is not present in the photos, and a Will's Crossing Keepers Cottage has appeared. The cottage is going to become the ticket office/refreshment room, and the shelter will be moved up the platform (I just forgot to bring it downstairs for the photos!). I also intend to pave the platform as I've never been fully satisfied with the gravelled look I have at present.

While watching something no doubt thrilling on telly the other week, I also made a start on a ground frame to represent the control mechanism for the run-round loop points, this is now in need of painting and levers fitting. Also I've built a Parkside DM48 Festiniog 2 Balcony Brake Van, which will be finished as Van 7 as seen here http://www.festipedi...g.uk/wiki/Van_7 and will eventually joined by the single balcony version and an open bogie waggon to make the 'Greasers Express' as seen on the link above. I'm quite pleased with my rendition of the green used on the FR, being a mix of Railmatch 314 Southern Stock Green with a dash of 61 LMS Freight Grey.

So that's where Scrayingham is at present, hopefully there'll be a bit more progress over the coming weeks than there has been recently, but I keep getting sidetracked with other projects, must stay focussed!

As ever, any comments/suggestions/questions are welcomed!

Cheers

J

I got the Kerr bit right at least! To be fair, I realised my error about ten minutes after I wrote it, but for some reason didn't correct myself!

J

It's really taking shape, and a good looking shape at that! Is that a Kerr-Stuart I see sitting in it's bare metal? That trackwork is rather smart too (if smart is the right word for anything near a battlefield!)

I'm looking forward to seeing it in reality. Was the disc I sent any use?

J

Last night at work, while my mind was wandering (as it often does) and I decided to have a bit more of a planning and experimenting session. Further to the gradient tests I counducted, oh months ago, I decided to see what I can fit onto the board sizes I intend to use. The photo (which has been cleaned up in Paint Shop Pro) might be a little confusing, so I shall explain...

The station feeds onto the bottom of the photo, and the main line progresses over the set of points and continues in the long arc (15inch radius) until it straightens out and crosses the river (represshented by the dased lines) on an as yet undesigned bridge, possibly a girder one. The line that branches off the main line, begins to descend (at the marked gradient post) and curves round on a 9 inch radius curve until it passes under the main line and ont a warf next to the river. The set of points at the bottom of the gradient will have a small cassette so a train can use it as a headshunt before running onto the viewing side of the layout again.

Hopefully that has explained what can be seen above, how long it'll be befor I start building it, I don't know, but now I know it'll fit, I can start actually planning the boards!

If anyone has any advice, questions, or anything else they'd like to pass on, I'd be most interested and grateful to hear (or rather read) your thoughts

Thanks

J

Finally, I've done a bit!

To be fair I have been moving house recently, so apparently, modelling has to take a back seat! I have been building stock, and doing little sundry bits, but nothing really worth reporting for a while, until today!

I've finally started to replace the point in the run-round loop which feeds the second shed road/coal siding which got damaged when fitting the point motor ages ago! It managed to get through the exhibition last year (by not using it!), but I've finally got around to ordering a new one.

So this morning, in the hope that the posty would bring me a present, I began a P-way occupation of the passing loop. Fishplates were cut, and the track lifted (without too much damage) and the ballast cleared in preparation for the new one to arrive. With the loop out of commission, passenger services have had to be reduced to the push-pull set only (as can be seen in the bottom photo).

So that's the progress so far, the flapping letterbox while I was track lifting (and sop excitedly ran downstairs to meet) produced only a bill, though fortunately not for me! So track laying will have to wait. Followed by re-ballasting, then testing of course!

I'll keep you updated!

J

Where are you sourcing figures from? And have you thought about the remnants of a crashed aircraft somewhere? There's a fair amount of 1:48 figures available, but I don't know about 1:43, although to be fair against narrow gauge stock, the difference isn't as obvious.

It's a rather interesting project, and it's good to see the progress on here.

Keep up the good work

J

And here was me thinking it was inspired by this:

 

Well, it may have had something to do with the initial idea! I'm still tempted to get myself the Worsley Works version to add to the stud at a later date! Thanks for the photo too, it's rather nice!

J

I take it you mean my scratch built loco, based on a Tomix chassis, and plasticard. I haven't fully finished it yet, it needs a cab interior at each end, and glazing. The body is based on a combination of class 60, 56, and 66 locos, with early BR diesel 'speed whiskers'. I'm still in two minds as to whether or not to change the paint scheme from works grey to Deltic blue. I'm also thinking about nameplates, as I've tentatively named it 'Uhu', which is German for 'Owl' and so follows the BR practise of prototypes being named after birds (with the exception of Deltic!)

I'm also thinking about having a crack at another one, possibly a different shape though.

J

Wow! This is a stunning bit of building! It's also giving me a few ideas for my own shed (albeit only a five roader in OO)

Good choice of loco for testing too!

I'll be watching this with great interest!

J

I tend to run with more than one 'loco in steam' as it adds to operational interest, so I was planning on just having one or maybe two signals to protect the single line from the station (and act as a starter), and the yard area is worked by a ground frame/manual levers, I'm just yet to install the cosmetic versions, but it is on my 'to-do' list!

The following section of this post has been copied from the old RMweb thread for this layout, it was originally posted on November 30th, but I've only just got around to copying it to here!

Well, it's been rather a while since there was any news on here, but it seems that my trip to the NEC has stirred some inspiration somewhere, and I started having a bit of a play with some stock, N Settrack and some old Hornby gradient piers to see what I could get away with. It seems I can get a 9 inch radius semicircle from flat to high enough to clear itself workable by my locos, which is rather good for the plan I'm toying with.

Here a couple of photos of my trials

Now to do a bit more paper planning before I start getting too carried away! Once I've got some solid plans, I'll let you all know what's on the cards, I just thought I'd let you all know I haven't given up!

Feel free to speculate as to what is going on!

J

A good looking layout and one, I'm pleased to see, that doesn't look like a scaled-down SG branch (raised platforms, lots of signalling etc) but rather the low cost railway that most NG lines were.

Looking forward to seeing more of it (especially extensions!).

To be fair, the layout itself was built to be low cost (it didn't completely work that way though!) but I'm glad it is garnering approval! The actual Sand Hutton line had very minimal platforms, if anything at all, mainly just areas framed off with wood, so that's the effect I've gone for. As for signalling, I do intend to have at least one on the layout eventually, but I just haven't got around to it yet (after all, HMRI wouldn't let a line open to the public without them these days would they?!)

Thanks for the interest

J

At present it is six feet long, with a three and-a-bit feet of scenic section and the rest is fiddle yard. When I eventually extend it, I intend to use further three foot sections, and go to an 'L' shape, with the fiddle yard on the shorter leg of the 'L'

If you do decide to have a go at 009, I'd highly recommend joining the society, which also has it's own forum and is most useful for getting specialised knowledge and advice.

Thanks

J

This layout began in February 2009, after a good few years of wanting to have a go at 009 (ever since reading the Ddault article when it first appeared in Railway Modeller all those years ago!) It was designed to fit on a spare shelf I had managed to purloin, and also to be free-standing for exhibition purposes. It made it's first outing at the Whitby & District MRC's annual show in July 2009, and after a few operating problems for the first hour or so, performed rather nicely.

The basic overview of the location is thus...

The Sandhutton Light Railway ran on 18" gauge from Warthill (Stockton-On-Forest) to Bossal, but the proposed 1/2 mile extension to Scrayingham was never built, due to the cost of building a bridge over the River Derwent. The Owner of the line, Sir Robert Walker, died in 1932, and the whole railway was scrapped soon after, with only the single passenger carriage surviving (currently at the Lincolnshire Coast Railway, Skegness).

Enter the modellers license! When Sir Robert Walker died, the LNER bought the line (it did have an interchange yard at Warthill) and built the extension to Scrayingham, and took the opportunity to increase the track gauge to 2'3". Shortly after World War II, the line fell out of use and succumbed to nature. Much of the track be became overgrown, but was eventually re-discovered by an intrepid band of preservationists who are currently hard at work to re-open the line as a tourist attraction. My layout currently represents Scrayingham, as it may have been built, with only a modest passenger shelter (the line was primarily for freight).

Here are a few photos taken at various stages of the layouts construction (more are available on the older forum)

And now a selection of pictures from the exhibition

This is the current status of the layout, I'm currently planning an extension, but it is just planning at the moment! Eventually I hope to have two other sections to the layout, a curved section with a bridge over the river (modellers license again, as it should be a straight line from the station to the river) and a straight section between the station and curved section passing between some fields.

That's it so far, please feel free to comment!

Thanks fro reading

J