Southernboy

That's a wonderfully imposing structure, steeped in character :-) The Noch railings are a very nice detail. May I ask how did you produced the 'Palace' lettering? And I'm also curious how you made the window frames? I must say as the first structure on your new layout this is very promising for what may lay ahead

Thank you very much Neil, glad you like it Well my next project is underway so expect an update in a few weeks,

Thanks Simon. The fuse wire I bought from my local Handy Store has probably 12" or so each of 5amp, 15amp and 30amp wrapped on a card. The finest I'd guestimate at 0.25mm - small enough for a door handle on a carriage or something - so either that or the next one up (about 0.5mm) should do for railings. The smaller gauge isn't 'stiff', but I don't imagine you're going to be handling that part of the structure much. Thanks for feedback on cutting strips of brick Funny, but whenever someone mentions my 'toilets' I get a fusty smell in my nose

Glad to see you're getting busy again Simon. The viaduct is going to be an impressive structure. For the railings on the refuge: Have you thought of using fine wire, like fuse wire perhaps? You could glue it rather than solder it. For the long narrow strips of brickwork along the viaduct ... do you cut those by hand, or use a chopper? I find it's quite difficult to cut a long straight line just a brick or two high without error, or without it curling. Keep thinking I should buy a chopper. I was wondering whether we could have a few 'overview' pictures of the layout sometime? It would be good to see how the various structures sit in relation to each other. Anyway - keep up the good work, inspiring stuff!

Thanks gents, Strictly speaking this is N gauge rather than 2mm, although I like to think I keep a 'fine-scale' hat on with much of what I do. The trees are rather nice and I recommend them. It's one of those funny things that I'll happily labour for hours over many details - but there are a couple of things I really can't bring myself to do: One is make trees. The other is make roof tiles from slithers of overlapped paper. Thanks again. Mark

Here's my control panel. I had two attempts before success, so photos are not exactly from one sequential build, but help paint a picture. I started off with 3mm plywood. It's mounted on drawer runners so it can slide out and flip up to work on. In the picture below you can see holes cut for two controllers. I drew the track-plan and masked it off with tape, then drilled holes for the switches. Next I gave it a number of coats of grey paint. I peeled off the masking tape which left 'channels' in the surface, into which I laid sections of black tape to make the track-plan. Next a couple of coats of varnish, and finally the switches were fitted. Here's underneath, with wiring for the rotary switches, but before the points were done. All wires and switches are numbered. So that's roughly how I built and wired mine.

Hello David, Your approach to the selection/placement/rationale of buildings is much the same as mine. An analogy I often use is that model railways are like film: It's about creating a convincing scenario that transports the viewer into your personal realm - get the production values right and you can create a totally convincing picture. Good luck with Cross Street, it's going to be one to watch

Thanks for posting this DavidK71, it will be a great help to myself and others out there looking for pointers on coach construction in N gauge. Anyway, it's looking good so far and I look forward to further news

This looks to be very promising and the visualisations have certainly whetted my appetite. In particular the station roof continuing in an (almost) straight line whilst the tracks underneath curve off to the fiddle yard is a neat trick. Good luck with this. I've not come across NoEL 1 before - is there a page or thread on it somewhere? There are a few tantalising glimpses of it being packed away in the photo gallery for NoEL 2 - but I'd be interested to see more.

Hello Don, I too can remember the older electrics (but only just) in the green to blue transition era. Thanks for your comment. Thanks also Tom and Bartb. number6, "I can't believe that Grahame's excellent gag went unremarked!" Me neither. I can't believe I missed that!

Thankyou BROADTRAIN1979 and L49, I'm much encouraged by your positive feedback. And I'm glad you're enjoying the links to period clips too - they're as much part of the 'scene-setting' as any scenic work I do :-)

Hello pirouets, The idea of bedding buildings into the ground like that is one many have adopted well before my time - I'm just perpetuating what some consider a useful practice. But glad to know I was instrumental in passing the knowledge on :-) The 4D Model Shop is great. It's aimed at modellers in general rather than just those interested in railways. They have plenty of products which make you think 'Ah, now THAT could be really useful for making X, Y or Z'. Thanks Rivercider, It's always nice when people pick up on the broader picture I'm trying to build. The supposed advantage to N gauge is it's much more about 'trains in the landscape' - and I like to think I'm making best use of that. Oldddudders, Glad to have brought a smile :-)

I have to say this layout is one from which I have drawn much inspiration. It's wonderfully atmospheric, detailed and nuanced, capturing time and place in a way very few layouts do. It certainly sets a standard! The prospect of "more of the same but better" is exciting and I look forward to following developments. Any idea what it will be called (so I know what to look out for when the new thread starts?) Good luck and have fun Mark

Hello Andy, The signs are from internet researches: some are 'lucky finds', others from online libraries. I use a page layout programme to scale them to the size I want, and then print them at a shop that has one of those photo-printing machines. The sheets are 8x6" and cost 75p each, which seems reasonable to me. I had initially tried printing them out on a normal office printer, but found the quality lacking. The 'photo' prints aren't perfect, but an improvement on the office printer. The trees were quite straightforward: First I took a small 85x55mm sheet of plastic. This was inserted into a 'Chip n Pin' machine at the 4D Model Shop and then they let me have two exquisite trees. The tree on the left is 50mm and cost £1.91, the tree on the right is 85mm and was £4.70. They need some work around the base of the trunk - but having eyed these up on numerous previous visits to 4D I could resist a sample purchase no longer. You'll also see in the picture some etched 'Chestnut Paling'. Below is a close-up of the paling (£4.34). It's much finer compared to the Faller version (£5.70). The paling is for use in the gardens of the mock-tudor semis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you devondynosoar118 and Colin, your comments are very kind. I always say though that nearly everything I've learned has come from forums such as this - so I return a big thankyou to everyone out there who contributes to the virtual railway modelling fraternity

I remember this layout from the old RMweb and liked it very much. Glad to see you've hopped across to the new RMweb and do please keep the pictures coming when you get the chance.

Thanks David and Grahame, appreciated.

Frankland update No. 6 Hello everyone and welcome to another in our series of occasional broadcasts from Frankland ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've had a space in the public gardens at the bottom of Frankland Hill earmarked for a bus or tram shelter - and decided to make this my next project. I wanted something quite rustic and browsed the London Transport Photographic Archives for inspiration, eventually deciding on the tram shelter at South End Green, Hampstead, photographed in 1933. Image 01, Image 02. I also quite liked the story behind it: The shelter had been donated by a member of the public in 1893 who took pity on the drivers of the trams which then had open platforms. The drivers were soaked and frozen in the winter and this was a place to warm up. Frankland also needed a public convenience, and one had been built next to the Hampstead tram shelter in 1897 by the LNWR. However, I decided to have this wrapped around the tram shelter for reasons of space and also I thought it was more aesthetically pleasing :-) For the Conveniences I found pictures on Flikr. So that's the preamble - now on with the show! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As usual I drew up a plan roughly to scale and got the Plasticard out. First sections of the shelter below. One characteristic of the shelter are it's leaded-light windows. To create the leading I laid some clear plastic at 45º over a sheet of graph paper and scored it with the back of a knife. Then I painted a mix of grey and gunmetal over the surface, and after a few seconds wiped it off leaving the paint in the grooves. By the way - I always have a 'project box' to keep parts in - otherwise it's so easy to lose things, especially small parts. Does anyone else do this? Basic shell assembled. Next I needed to get an idea of the degree of the incline on the hill in order to adapt the buildings to suit. And dug out a big hole. I then made a base on which everything would sit, and created some angled steps so the shelter would be level. Next the inside stair assemblies. The steps were from a Ratio 'Southern Railway Concrete Footbridge' which is now surplus to requirements. Here are the inside walls fixed into place. Then the outer walls were made and lightly curved ready for fixing. Some extra bracing was required at the bottom to stop the curved sections from springing out. Various timetables, route-maps and adverts printed out ... ... and added to the shelter, now with interior walls. Further progress. On the right you see the staircase walls with holes drilled ready for the railings. I was very nervous about drilling the holes as just the smallest error could see the drill coming through the side of the walls. The holes look huge, but in fact are only 0.5mm. To the left of the stairs is the obligatory drain, and to the left of that something I am particularly chuffed with, ground-level skylights for the toilets. These are made from two window-frames surplus from a Walthers kit. I used Humbrol Clearfix to glaze them, then underneath stuck a strip of Ultima 'Opaque Glazing'. Next a picture with the first length of railings in place. Most of the area around the walls will eventually be planted with bushes and shrubs, only the front strip will remain paved. Over the entrance to the stairs are two lamps. For the lamps I used a couple of sections of cocktail stick, rounded off with sandpaper, painted off-white and then satin-varnished. The tops of the lamps are two bits from a sprue that happened to look about right for the job. I drilled a small hole through the top of the lamps and threaded through some fine Microstrip. Here you see one side of the lamp support stuck to railings. Later the other side was bent around-and-down to the other side of the railings. And that was the exercise completed, apart from a light dusting of weathering powders to tone everything down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So - Penny at the Ready? We bring you Frankland Tram Shelter and Public Conveniences ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, that concludes another broadcast from Frankland. Being Sunday evening transmission ends early, so for further entertainment why not get down to the Picturehouse? There's a most entertaining you really shouldn't miss!

Hello all, My layout is set in suburban South London 1924 - 1939. My Layout on RMweb I look forward to this group developing.

I second all the positive and admiring comments above In particular the following caught my eye: "Looking at aerial photos of both Manchester and Birmingham, I built up a fictional ‘story’ for the area in my model – what sort of road was it, where did it go, what was the typical sort of use for this part of a city?" I do think using the imagination in this way makes for a more convincing and satisfying layout: Firstly, because I'm sure it lends an extra authenticity which observers will pick-up on, even if subliminally. And secondly, for the modeller it not only extends the challenge/scope of interest beyond the track-side fence, but adds to the sense of running trains through a 'real' (even if imaginary) townscape. (I hope that makes sense!). One thought from me ... in the mock-ups the backboards are cut at angles, and I wondered whether they may look better slightly curved? Anyway - good luck with this, I just know it's going to be an interesting, educational and inspiring thread

As others have already said - wonderful work on the bridge - a real labour of love and really most impressive. But I'm wondering how you're going to fix the track, ballast and weather it (etc). Are parts of the bridge detachable for easy access? Or will the track be built on a slide-in-shelf or something? The answer is probably so obvious that I can't see it - and equally, apologies if you've previously explained this and I missed the post.

Thank you Jim, I'll get some of that. The E.M.A. website looks to be a handy resource too. Hello Ian, the song is 'Life Begins At Oxford Circus', played by Jack Hylton And His Orchestra. Jack Hylton was a British bandleader who was hugely popular not only at home but across Europe and North America too.

Thankyou Mr Simon and Mr Hudson, I had fun making the films and am glad you enjoyed them. I often spend time on my knees squinting at the layout through one eye to get a 'Franklanders-eye-view' of proceedings. Hopefully the videos conveyed this way of seeing things better than photographs or written accounts

Frankland Intermission The new Talkies are all-the-rage in Frankland - and not be left out the townsfolk have come up with two of their own: We hope you enjoy them

Thanks for further comments Ben A: Thanks, I missed that news, but will now be keeping a keen eye out for updates. It feels like things are starting to fall into place quite nicely for the travelling public of Frankland.

Thank you for further comments gents - as always really much appreciated BernardTPM: Ah, Bernard, it was your comment on my previous attempt at a 3-SUB that stuck in my mind: inter alia " ... While the old Farish coaches do have a reasonable semblance they are a little tall in the body and the compartments rather too long for typical SR units. If you can get them, the 4-wheel coach bodies have usefully lower windows and can be further reduced in height by taking a little off the wide eaves above the doors ... " I did think about using the four wheelers, but the hassle and cost of getting them off eBay (etc) and all that cutting and shutting made me think 'there must be a better way of achieving this' ... so thanks for making that comment because it was largely instrumental in sending me off on the search that led me to where I am now with the Worsley Works kit So a big thanks to you. I'm also interested in your comment: 'The N Gauge Society are looking to produce the Southern 8' bogie as a one-piece moulding' I'm a Member - but don't recall reading about this - any details you can share on this subject? Do you know if this is something coming soon or is it a more long-term project? Well, thanks to one and all again