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some more photos of wiring progress - these are 2 of the 3 fiddle yard boards. As the layout will be quite large (I am, as noted previously, working on a shortened version at present) I have opted to go for a bus wire arrangment and while the wiring works, I am sure the DCC purists would have some comment on the actual installation and tidyness etc but as this is my 1st attempt at DCC then I am happy enough with it and it does appear to work - so far! as the layout is for exhibition purposes only, I have learnt from our club layouts at exhibitions that the fiddle yard points never get changed by the cross bar that runs through the points but by members (including myself) simply pushing the switch rail which results in these rails being twisted and losing proper contact with the main track or even breaking off altogether. Bearing this in mind I have fitted point motors to all the fiddle yard points and all but one are surface mounted and I have built a little conventional panel to operate same. As a DCC novice I have not yet got the experience to start working with accessory chips for the points - who knows what will happen in a few years though! as a novice on DCC, I must record my thanks to the various posters who have taken the time to put their questions or answers in the DCC section of the site. This has proved useful to me and persuaded me - along with various members of DEMU - to go DCC on this layout. Max

while I don't have a video someone will no doubt record it when its ready. The intention is to have a 56, 60 and the 2 26s with (if money permits) 2 37s all in trainload coal. Max

a week off work has seen a start on the wiring of the layout boards. Main effort has been on the fiddle yard boards including point motors but today has seen the completion of the headshunt board and the half completion of the curved board. Having now decided on dcc I had to make some modifications to the code 100 insulfrog points in the fiddle yard (these were installed on the basis of the layout originally being dc) which appears to have been successful. more photos to follow but yesterday saw the first train over any of the tracks - recorded on his phone by DEMU member Mike Bartle who gave me some helpful assistance yesterday afternoon - it was much appreciated. my photo of the event Max

managed to find some time from work today to develop the loading tower further. While my card mock up worked reasonably well away back, the real thing with a wide plasticard shute didn't. After much mulling over the problem decided that a 'funnel' type arrangement as the coal would drop into the wagons seemed a possibility. The attached photos shows what I have come up with. It is cumbersome in the tower itself but as the faces will be clad the public will not see the gubbins within. The plasticard over the funnel is to ensure no coal escapes from the funnel. The hardboard backscene will be replaced with 3 or 6mm ply (for this board only) to ensure rigidity and the height of the backscene will be less high elsewhere on the layout. The new tower arrangement was tested and there appeared to be little spillage but operators will have to master when and how much coal to drop at any one time. As there will be an enclosure at the sides of the tower (to the backscene) I will need some form of lighting within the tower to let the 'loading person' behind the backscene see where the wagons are relative to the loading opening!! Fun and games will ensue. There are also a couple of photos showing a locomotive and the wagons relative to the tower and the opening for same. Max

the promised pictures at last - better late than never. Joints between boards not fully tightened hence differences in levels. Next action is to strengthen up all the sides and then start the wiring!! Off work from 29 August for a week to get moving on it again and to check St Ann's Depot for the Ayr show. Max

been a bit quiet of late - real work getting in the way of the hobby again!! However have managed (given the weekend weather) to get the ply sides added to most of the boards. Will post up some pics later this week. Max

as I return to work on Monday, here is the latest update of my 'shortened' version of The Maxwell Colliery Loading Tower. All basic track now laid. Refer to attached photos. Fiddle yard has still 2 other boards to be added but garden aint big enough!!!! size is 8 feet (starting from the headshunt) x 16 feet scenic boards plus 11 feet of fiddle yard. All scenic boards are 18 inches wide. Fiddle yard 1 foot wide. Total board area - just under 50 sq ft. next step (when time and money permits) is basic wiring and purchase of 4 tortoise point motors for the 4 points on the scenic boards. Max Fowler

my week off work has been somewhat spoiled by the heavy showers but in between I have managed to get some more work completed on the 'split board' between the main openframe and the fiddle yard and track laid on boards 3 and 4. The attached photos show an overall view of boards 3, 4 and 5 (which is the split board). Track is fixed on boards 3 and 4 but only laid out on the split board to show how it will run into the fiddle yard and some proposed 'disconnected' tracks which have been lifted or overgrown. I have also shown a cose up of the use of the Peco inspection pits below (and the holes either side of the track) under the coal loader. These holes will hopefully let any coal that misses the wagons to drop into a collector tray under the boards. hope at the weekend to get the track on the split board laid to allow a start to wiring in the next few weeks. Max

managed to get the main basis of the 'split board' undertaken today although I have found that I need to stiffen either side of the drop section of plywood that links the 2 frames as it is quite fexible. Also need to 'bridge the gap' between the solid plywood and the board which has been painted green. Max

I looked at (and tried on the mock up) aquarium stones but they are too heavy. I am using 'Green Scene' Coal which is light and very effective looking. the layout will ultimately be a large 'u' with the loading tower at one end and the fiddle yard at the other. The shortened version I am working on just now is an inverted 'l' shape. Max

unsure how to add captions to the photos but for those that are interested the details of photos on posts to date are: 31 July posting - 2 x 37 at Knockshinnoch at New Cumnock, 1 x 37 at Blindwells near Tranent, 2 x 37 at Ravenstruther near Carstairs, 56 (hidden under loade) at Knockshinnoch, 1 x 60 at Knockshinnoch and 1 x 70 at Ravenstruther 2 August posting - 2 x 37 at Knockshinnoch, 2 x 20 near Kinglassie (on the Westfield Branch) 3 August posting - 2 x 37 at Waterside (on the Chlamerston Branch), 2 x 37 near Annbank (on the Killoch Branch), 1 x 26 near Millerhill (on the Bilston Glen/Loanhead Branch), 1 x 66/5 near Hillhouse (on the Chalmerston Branch), 1 x 66/5 near Patna (on the Chalmerston Branch), 1 x 66/5 near Hillhouse (on the Chalmerston Branch) - on the return run and 1 x 66/5 near Kincardine (on the Alloa/Longannet Line). Max

some shots taken today of progress to date. I am on holiday all this week coming so hope to advance even further. the board with the leg in the middle will be joined to a 'split board' ie the framing over half the length of the board will be at the height of these boards and the other half will be at the 'track level' as this next board will tie in with the fiddle yard boards which of course are at 'track height'. with the addition of the split board I will have a shortened version of my 'overall plan'. The overall plan boards will be worked on as soon as more resources (ie money!!) become available. further update next weekend when I should have the full 'shortened' version complete re basic framing. Max Fowler

a day on a stand at the Kyle MRC show on Saturday at Saltcoats/Stevenston allowed me to get the basic frame of the loading tower built - refer attached. Still work to do to develop the actual chute within and then add the cladding etc. previous weekend and one night last week allowed tracks to be laid on board 2 - the curved one - and the track supports and ply base constructed for board 3 - the one with the tower - refer photos below. The shot of board 3 with no tower on it shows where the peco inspection pits are going (in the middle) and these have been cut along the base along with the 2 other slots - either side of same - hidden within the tower structure - to capture surplus coal that miss the wagons as they are filled. I will have an appropriate container under the board to collect the surplus material for re-use. I have a weeks holiday coming up second week in June so hopefully get a bit more progress carried out that week. Future updates to follow. Max Fowler

the intention is to make the shaft as narrow as possible and have the shape of the hole be slightly smaller than the wagons themselves thereby trying to minimise spillage. Any there is would sit on the wagons as in real life etc. as this has been another long weekend, I got the second board (corner board) framed up and plywood trackbase put on. Have also laid cork and some trackwork (peco code 75 as opposed to code 100 on St Ann's Depot) on the first board. The green paint is only being used to help seal the plywood!!! as real work beckons again progress will be a little slower for a while! Max Fowler

Craig - good to see this layout has been saved and look forward to seeing it back on the circuit. I only saw it once at the SECC and was impressed with it so it will be good to see it once more. Max Fowler

Lewis - the photos of the mock up tower (earlier postings show the mock up) show what I hope to do ie the coal (the woodland scenics coal you refer to) is dropped via a hole in the backscene at the top of the tower and into the wagons below. I intend to use the peco inspection pits (suitably cut out) along with slots in the baseboard either side of the track (all concealed by the tower itself) to catch surplus coal that misses the wagons and collect same in an underboard container. The theory works, the practice remains to be seen. The tower will be on baseboard 3 which is the one that will be after the corner board shown in todays photos. The final intention is that an empty wagon set is pulled under the tower and the loaded wagons (just like the real thing) come out the other side. The loco uncouples, draws forward into the headshunt release, runs round the wagon set, recouples and then takes the full train away. Simple!!!! Max Fowler

a long weekend and with no office work to deal with took the opportunity to advance the layout. A number of legs constructed and the last board (ie furthest away from the fiddle yard - refer previous plan drawing) which is the runround headshunt has now been formed with one plywood end in place and the plywood trackbed supports incorporated and the plywood then fixed in place. The first corner board has also been fitted with one plywood end and temporarily joined to the last board to see that bolt positions are correct etc. The attached photos hopefully shows the above and the advantage of the open frame construction that will allow me to have the scenery above and below track level. another long weekend coming up so hopefully weather permitting more progress can be made. Max Fowler

Now that Model Rail Scotland has come and gone and St Ann's Depot has been bubble wrapped until required again, I now have a chance to advance my new layout. I have attached the revised track plan which will probably be tinkered with again around the area of the double track becoming single track. I have also attached some photographs of the baseboard frames which I have worked on this weekend - first time in months (track will be much higher as I am going to use open frame system - refer previous post). The frames shown are those from the headshunt beyond the loading tower to the board that will have the viaduct on it. Further updates once time and money permits Max Fowler

Kier, look forward to seeing the finished article (keeping an eye on your progress) and if you get an invite to Model Rail Scotland please count me in as a spare operator as you did with Wibdenshaw a few years back now. Max Fowler

Some track has been laid on 2 of the fiddle yard boards. The concrete track on the smaller board was due to the fact that the supplier of same did not have the full quantity of wooden sleeper track that I needed. The fiddle yard track is code 100 but this will change to code 75 at the point end of the yard as it goes onto the main boards which will all be code 75. Max

At the time of the photo, coal traffic was running from Westfield in Fife to Yorkshire, and the trains would operate in and out of Westfield (along the single track branch from Thornton Yard) as 36 wagon sets. There would be a morning service and an afternoon service - usually hauled by a single class 56. After loading, the trains would run back along the branch line to Thornton Yard where they would be were split into 3 - 24 wagon sets (the maximum allowed over the Forth Bridge) ie 24 of the wagons from the first run would continue to Millerhill while the remaining 12 awaited 12 off the second train to form the 2nd run over the bridge with the remaining 24 of the second train from Westfield running direct as the 3rd train. At Millerhill the first 24 wagons awaited the second 24 with 12 of these being added and the train sent to Yorkshire. The remaining 12 at Millerhill were then re-marshalled with the 24 of the 3rd train from Thornton to form the 2nd 36 wagon train to Yorkshire. The photo here shows the first 12 wagons from the 2nd train (originally of 36 wagons) to Westfield heading back to Thornton (loaded of course) to hook up with the 12 left from the morning working as loading was slow at Westfield that day and there would have been a major delay waiting on the full 36 wagons. This way 2 trains had got over the Forth Bridge and one 36 wagon train could travel south from Millerhill. I hope this all makes sense. Max

More inspiration showing what I want to achieve - hopefully there are more photos up this time. Max

brilliant - kind of sums up what I want to achieve. Max

Dave - thanks for your comments. You are correct and I will turn the top board the other way round and protect the trackwork. Max

First posting of some photographs of lines that have inspired me to model the single track coal line. More to follow. Max only 2 have attached then the attachment system failed.