johndon

Almost there with the plan I think. There are now 2 fans of loops in the fiddle yard which can be accessed from the Washington, Ouston and Consett lines albeit, like Richard, with some pretty complex track work, particularly at the Consett end of the yard. I did give serious thought to a flyover but have decided I'd rather have the whole fiddle yard on one level. The Stella Gill sidings can act as a fiddle yard in themselves so there will be plenty of storage space there with a run right through back to the Washington line. This will allow me to sit back and watch 4 trains running at once. Good to see the update on your blog Richard... John

Great to have your input Richard, it is very much appreciated, the work you guys are doing is most impressive. I'm currently reworking the fiddle yards, yet again, who'd have though it would prove to the be the hardest part of the whole design... John

Thanks for that, food for thought... John

Interesting idea, certainly both loops on the left must be able to connect to the Consett line on the right as, over different periods of time, the ore trains came up from both Washington and Ouston Junction... Time for more of a play in Templot John

Yes, they would all have to be built, another reason why I'd like to keep it simple if possible. I'm back in Templot trying to work the bottom yard so it's a little more like the top one... John

An update to the track plan. I've removed two of the Stella Gill lines as, whilst there were 6 sidings in reality, on the model they will be off scene so reducing to 4 doesn't affect the overall plan too much. I've also brought those lines in to the main fiddle yard area which, out of everything so far, I'm having the most problems with the design of: I'm happy enough with the top half of the yard which can be accessed by trains travelling in either direction on the inner loop but less happy with the bottom half which is being taken up, it feels, by the ladder crossovers. I could shorten them by installing slips but I'd much prefer to keep it simple in the fiddle yard... John

Even though this will be set firmly in the diesel timeframe, I'm going to struggle not to run a 9F John

Planning for the layout is continuing with the decision made that it will, ultimately, be a roundy roundy as it will let me, should the urge come up to just sit back and watch the trains go by. I think I've almost cracked the basics of Templot so the track plan now looks like this: The 2 thick blue lines represent the bridges that form the scenic breaks. The main fiddle yard (which has yet to be designed) will be at the bottom. I've also extended the Stella Gill lines in to a fiddle year of their own although this will be a nice to have rather than a necessity although I am already thinking about modelling the mainline on the right with a gradient (as it was in reality) and swinging the sidings a full 180 degrees to form part of the main fiddle yard... John

Completely agree and one that I'd forgotten about until your post - I've now tracked down and am reading the copy of MRJ that it appeared in. John

20076 passing 56009 which is looking like it is in desperate need of a repaint... John

An ex works 26006 & 20076 parked nose to nose: John

Well, I've done the following tonight: 1. Taken mine apart, unscrewed and rescrewed the circuit board 2. Actually slightly tightened the bogie screws (there's not much margin between the bogie being too tight and very loose) 3. Checked all the back to backs 4. Checked all the pickups I've only got 4' of track to run the loco on but it has just gone backwards and forwards 20 times over the 2 turnouts on my layout without a flicker or stall. So, I'm not completely convinced yet but things do seem to have improved... John

I've had to change the pickups on mine due to the P4 wheelset I've fitted so I'm not using Bachmann's arrangement - they are now wiping on the back on the wheels themselves, still only 8 wheels though... John

Mine is doing exactly the same - stops on points around 50% of the time... John

Got to this thread from another and whilst 7mm doesn't usually 'float my boat', I have to say that this is superb, some of the best, most accurately observed, modelling I've ever seen. John

Thanks Michael, much appreciated. John

I might be interested, how difficult do you think it would be to convert the bogies to P4? John

The mould line shouldn't be there but appears on all the Bachmann Blue Pullmans (at least all those that I've seen) and certainly spoils it for me albeit it would be a fairly simple job to rub it down and respray the nose... John

Superb work Cav John

Personally, I'd set them the same as the real ones are - that way, should you decide to exhibit the layout so it can be viewed at something approaching eye level, the effect will be so much better... John

Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on the book, it arrived this morning - great pics (if not a little sad) of the junction and some others of trains on the Consett line. Thanks again. John

Cheers Alan no problem, this is going to be a very long term project anyway I've been in touch with Ernie, he was very helpful and gave permission to use some of his images on my site. John

Certainly would be. I can see 2 advantages of going roundy roundy - one is getting the trains back to the start again without having to resort to a hidden line and the other is that, whilst it will make the layout wider it will make it shorter... Indeed - I'm hoping the new ones from Dave Alexander may be a bit simpler, I saw a sample at the Newcastle Exhibition last month and it looked fairly straightforward. John

I'm not old enough to remember steam on the line although I wouldn't mind a 9F Not sure if it will be end to end or round and round - one problem with end to end will be getting the loaded ore wagons back to the Washington end of the layout and vice versa with the empties although I had though about having a single track running from on fiddle yard to the the other that would be hidden by the embankments but would allow trains to get from one end to the other without being seen... John

And a superb job of they are doing as well although they are going a little further both up and down the line than I am. John