Jason T

Baseboard no.3 is now built and resting on top of the frames looking very bare. The track on there is an attempt to maximise the fiddle yard and offer as much access and space as possible. I did think about building a traverser but because I am limited by storage space for stock and by the fact that a traverser isn't really feasible due to the back of the layout being up against a wall, it'll be the plain old boring fan of sidings. Much of the pointwork for this will be on the scenic board (no.3) and hence why in my previous post, I was looking at ways of hiding this from view without a full scenic break. As such, I've been in contact with the L&Y Railway Society (I'm a member) and procured a number of photographs of Whitworth Goods Shed, which was down the line from Bacup but built in a very L&Y style, if you know what I mean. So, here below is the first steps in the building, the cutting out of the mounting card. I'm going to need to add quite a bit of bracing, etc., to this to keep it rigid. I can't share the photos I was sent for obvious reasons but it would seem that one was on my screen when I took this shot. A closer view Baseboard 3

There's not been a lot of progress in the past week but as can be seen in the first photo below, all turnouts and most of the track for the goods yard have been laid and wired on board 2. With that done, it's now time to move onto boards 3 (curve and exit) and 4 (fiddleyard), necessitating a trip to B&Q when I get time for more wood. These two boards should be easier to construct, lay track and wire than the first two although board 3 in particular presents a problem in that the main lines need to continue on their arc, which restricts space for the already compromised goods yard (I always knew that the goods yard would be compromised in size). So I've been having a think about what to do, as well as a mess-around by raising a section of baseboard using some off-cuts. It strikes me that the only real place to put a goods shed / warehouse is on board 3 and by placing it diagonally to the curving running lines but in line with the most likely candidate siding, not only will it fit in place but the building itself will hide the curve of the main lines and act as a convenient view-blocker for the fiddle yard entrance itself. After all, how many people are going to peer over the top of the building to see if the running lines are straight or curved and as long as there is enough clearance at the back of the building, then all should be tickety-boo. To continue the illusion, I may add a mill on the other side of the running lines but parallel with the goods shed. I sort of did this on my previous layout, where from normal viewing angles the single track line entered and ran down a straight (but tall sided) cutting before entering a tunnel where in reality, the track continued to curve and the inside (e.g. unseen) wall of the cutting was missing. To try and get an idea, I placed the mill building (note: finished the slating and started to paint the roof) in the approximate position of the goods shed / warehouse and took a photo from the viewing side and then from above. Any thoughts on this? (And yes, that's Peco flexi, saved over for use in the fiddle yard. After looking at nothing but SMP flexi for the past few weeks, Peco just looks wrong now )

When I hit a tree at one point, fell off the bike, then off a 6' drop off, followed by the bike (which landed on me and bounced off) and then a huge boulder which landed straight on my head, I emitted a similar noise. Thank God for full face helmets Unfortunately, although my mate was filming at the time, he was wearing a headcam and not actually looking where I was so all he caught was the various swearing, laughter and me climbing out of a hole

A boring update for a boring task. Not much done in the last week, mainly because I have been throwing myself down rocky mountain tracks in the South of Spain on a downhill bike and crashing a lot, but since getting back I have been busily scoring and cutting strips of slates from 150gsm card and then glueing them to the mill roof. Only two sides done so far and I have that much PVA on my fingers that it's hard to type and not just put 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'. Anyway, here's a photo. Not sure whether I should put these updates in the other thread in the 'Buildings' forum but I suppose that the layout has now reached a point where it is more than just a collection of unpainted buildings so I've decided to run with this thread. Told you it was boring.

Nothing much to report as an update although I have had a go at the roof for the mill. not sure if it's a bit steep / tall. It's currently not affixed and as you can see, the mill was at a wonky angle (due to it's rather strange overhanging location - it will be resolved) but hopefully along the right lines and if not, I have 10 A1 sheets of mounting board stored up for attempt 2.

Is the name a play on Kirkby Lonsdale by any chance (which, of course, is on the River Lune). Most definitely a thread that should draw interest, as it is interesting and informative to see how you prepare the layout room (surely it has ceased to be called the garage) and all the steps to completion.

Well, Bachmann have just made it a very good day by announcing the L&Y Aspinall 2-4-2, which when on sale will put the London Road kit I am to build to shame . Anyhow, there is a whole sub-forum full of Bachmann discussions so let's get on with updates. Continued testing has revealed a few more niggles with the track and moreso with the back-to-back measurements on quite a bit of my stock (my 2 Black Five's being the worst) but I am definitely getting there and derailments, wheels riding up the noses of crossings, etc., are *almost* a thing of the past and to tell you the truth, the running and especially electrical pickup seems comparable / better than with the Peco points I used before. As such, I have moved on to starting to lay the goods yard, with the 3 way point down and the first two sidings, which will be extended once board 3 is completed. The third exit from this turnout will lead into another, but looking at the turnouts I have built and are spare, none of them really suit so I'll knock together another. Main 'problem' is placement of the point motor; it would be hanging down from the underside of the bridge, so it will have a longer approach track. Speaking of point motors, none have been fitted to the 3 way yet although the holes have been drilled, etc. It'll have to wait until I get back from holiday (going to Malaga for 5 days, mountain biking with 3 mates - will hopefully not break myself, as I have before). Hence the blu-tac, which is allowing me to test to an extent and more importantly, to shunt. Anyway, here we go. 3 Way turnout Goods yard so far Black Five shunting (desperately in need of renumbering and weathering) I have a feeling that there may be a few shots from this viewpoint in the future

Very happy Andy; how can you model Bacup without an Aspinall? I really am dreading the London Road kit after your sage advice but I had to have one....... until now that is. The kit is for a belpaire long bunker so different to the one Bachmann are planning. Theirs will probably be on sale long before mine gets made anyway and even then, it'll probably look more like Thomas the bloody Tank Engine than what it is supposed to be

I'll be pressing ahead with the London Road kit anyway (my second ever loco kit so it may not go too well) but I never in a thousand years thought there would be an RTR version released. If this encourages more people to model the Lanky then (a) it can only be a good thing and (B) I guess we'd all best start learning to weather stone built buildings until they are almost black.

Guess who recently bought the London Road kit Fantastic news as far as I am concerned though

I've reached a point now where I can see that what I envisaged last summer is finally coming to fruition and as such, reflect back on what has been a real learning curve for me. Apologies if this is a bit boring, but I want this (and my other 'Buildings For..') threads to document my progress. Much of it I will have mentioned before, I'm sure. When I had the idea to model a representation of Bacup, other than scratchbuilding a few buildings and a few wagon kits, most of what I had done was out of the box modelling. As such, the original plan was to use Peco track and point motors but when I worked out the trackplan (using Anyrail - it's in the first post), although I could achieve it using Peco's finest, it wasn't pretty as there was no real flow to it with different radii from one turnout to the next in the same section of track, etc. So, I made the decision to give handbuilt turnouts and SMP track a go, as well as slow motion point motors, etc. I've made a few errors along the way but, after a few adjustments and tweaking, it is (almost) there and has now been tested with all my locos. Baseboards was another area which scared the bejesus out of me; I didn't do any of the practical subjects at school and have (had?) a fear of DIY, woodwork, etc (although I can quite happily strip a mountain bike down to it's bare components and rebuild it). From the start, I wanted to get away from the flat earth syndrome so there was no choice but to get out saws, buy a jigsaw, etc. The outcome isn't pretty but it seems robust enough, is level and has achieved what I wanted. The various buildings (station, mill, houses galore) never worried me too much but it took a fair bit of commitment to start, especially with the number needed. I'm pretty chuffed with how they've turned out and whilst there are many more to build and a lot of finishing off with the ones already built, the ones I have done to date do give me an idea of what the finished layout will look like. There is a long way to go yet. I need to lay the track for the goods yard (including building another turnout), board three and the fiddleyard board (let's call it board 4 ) need building and track laying, paint all the track and lay ballast, etc., scenery, etc. And the one that is still scaring me, signalling (I want to go down the MSE route). And then there is stock. So far, all my locos are RTR except for a Judith Edge 'Thomas Hill Vanguard' which is way out of period but despite the very wise advice from Andy C that the London Road Aspinall 2-4-2 is a swine of a kit, I bought one and it is sat in it's box waiting to be built (and probably thrown out of the window) at some point. Also, most of the locos I have will need renumbering at the very least and some will be sold on and replaced with more fitting ones for the area. Then there is weathering. As can be seen from some of the photos, I've had a go at weathering some of my locos (and nearly all my rolling stock) but there are plenty that still need doing. As for rolling stock, a fair bit of the freight stock I have would be stretching reality a bit if it was to appear in Bacup (wooden bodied ex-LNER grain wagons? Hmmmm) and as for coaching stock, there are a few Stanier coaches, the ubiquitous Mk1 Suburbans, and a few Mk1's. Of those, how many would have made it to Bacup? I'm guessing Mk1's wouldn't have in the early 60's (actually, almost all passenger services were DMU by then anyway). I do have a couple of LMS Push Pull coach kits that I may tackle, but I'd be frightened of painting the damned things and making a mess so it can wait for now. Anyway, I've rambled on for ages and I apologise for that but I did warn you it might be boring. To finish, I have taken some photos of where I am today, although the 3 way turnout at the throat of the (future) goods yard isn't laid yet. A 3F sits in the siding next to the running lines with a short freight (these Parkside wagons hate all track so are good for testing). The siding will eventually carry onto board 3. The station throat, as well as the hole in the wall (the cupboard doors protruded too much so are in the cupboard - where else) Looking over the rooftops towards the station A Fred Dibnah view of the station from the top of a mill chimney

A couple of the points need a bit of fettling as the CCT isn't overly happy on them but in general and for the first time I've built my own track then yes, I'm chuffed to bits.

Here's a video of the first train (incorrectly formed but hey, it's testing so who cares) passing from board 2 to board 1. All point motors are now fitted and operational, so when the testing of the main lines is complete, I'll start on the goods yard

Hi, thanks for the positive comments. Forest Mill is still there and does indeed have only three storeys and a flat roof. It's not the nicest looking of mills and my rendition of it is a long way off, but the below link is to a photo of the real thing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossendalewadey/5422372593/ I'm pretty chuffed with how the layout is coming along. Got the droppers in on board 2 tonight (the one with all the turnouts), point motors are still to go on but have just run my 'trusty' Class 25 over each and every bit of pointwork and it works fine which I find a bit surprising, as the frogs aren't wired up yet and are most definitely isolated.

Last night, after taking and uploading the above photos, I couldn't help but stage a couple of others (although the 105 could actually move the length of the platform if desired as that board is wired up). I know I really shouldn't be doing this and should instead be concentrating on getting the layout built but it's also nice to get an idea of what it may look like in the future and surely it's a step up from putting together full train formations on Templot printouts........ 105 in the station Black Five arrives with a pick-up freight

I got the windows finished on the mill, painted the interior in a suitable dark colour (grey) and glued the main structure together. I still need to do the roof and am now undecided on a flat roof (means building up a few more courses of stonework on the top and then recessing the roof in) or the originally planned hipped roof. Either way, I need more 7mm brick or mounting board so it will have to wait. However, I thought I would take a couple of photos showing where it will be situated, it's purpose and why it was built in an odd 'L' shape. Please remember that there is a lot of scenic work to be done here, basically building up the land in front of the railway so that it forms a hill rising from the under-bridge, seen in other photos. Before: the dreaded blue wall that stands out like a sore thumb After: Wall? What wall? And here is a bonus shot taken from platform level. I imagine that class 25's were rare, if never seen beasts in Bacup; it just happened to be out of the cupboard. Of course, the mill does a pretty good job of hiding the houses I took a while building but I always knew that would be the case. It's also highlighted that I need to build another odd-shaped building between the house and the dreaded wall. Oh, and the perspective of the railway and the backs of the houses appear to suggest that their back doors open out on to the run-round. I can assure you that this is not the case

Glad to hear your op went well and as you say, the fact that you can post on here is testament to the treatment available nowadays. It's probably a relief to find out that you haven't been 'typing' on a chopping board whilst staring at the microwave, waiting for replies

Thanks. The only slight problem that should hopefully not be too noticeable, is that the mortar courses are a bit to widely spaced. Funny how with all the stone buildings I've constructed so far, I've not once used any embossed plastikard that was actually designed with 4mm in mind - 2mm for the house and now 7mm brick for the mill. I do have some 4mm Slaters stonework squirreled away; maybe one of these days I will get to use it

Hi, the strips are butted up although where the central section is supposed to open, a second strip is glued over the base one to give depth, which hides any small gaps. I find that if there are any small gaps, gently dragging the knife blade along the strip in the direction of the gap fills it anyway.

Not much of an update as I was out on Friday night and all day yesterday so made no modelling progress whatsoever but with the weather being a bit, well, biblical today, I've managed to get a few hours in on the mill. since the last update, I've given the stonework a couple more coats and whilst not 100% sure with the colour or with the properties of Humbrol Matt paint, it'll do, especially as it's going to be weathered to within an inch of it's life at some point. Additionally, I've made a start on the windows. Nothing out of the ordinary here really; they're made from glueing Microstrip onto clear Plastikard which is itself glued to the inside of the structure. Again using Forest Mill for inspiration, the windows are three panes tall by two panes wide, those on the ground floor having both the horizontal and vertical centre bars the same width (most which are non-opening, I presume to keep burglars out?) and those on the first and second floors having the centre section opening and therefore represented by wider horizontal bars. On the second photo, you may be able to make out the faint lines I score on the back to assist with alignment.

Dress up as Ringo, stand by a P4 layout and in a loud Ringo voice (nasal Scouse), provide a commentary / story for all movements, giving each loco a name. "Rupert had been told by the fat controller that he had to shunt troublesome trucks all day and he wasn't happy, so he decided to go far too fast and bump the trucks, as well as stopping for no particular reason on the points by the goods shed"

The mill has progressed. First, the formers that will hold the thing together and keep it rigid. An odd shape, but it is designed to fit around and over a wall so they are 'L' shaped, and the roof will be the normal rectangle and sit over the offending wall. Confused? All will make sense when finished, hopefully I have added the lintels and sills; lintels are flush so the stonework was cut back and inserts added, whereas the sills sit proud of the wall so are glued on the outside And I have given it a base coat of paint, as doing so when the windows are added will be a right pain (as I am finding out with the various houses which I am currently daubing with the leftover paint)

Hi Ian. The mill isn't too far on really, once the card is marked and cut, it doesn't take too long to get the embossed plastic on and cut. The next stages, adding lintels, sills, windows, doors and then cutting the dreaded slates from the 150gsm card are the bits that seem to drag. I work from home, in IT, so I can get on with stuff whilst having to listen to my American colleagues drone on whilst on endless conf calls. When I worked for IBM, I had to attend one that lasted for seven hours and had a lunch break in the middle!

Cheers Simon, I'm not 100% convinced with it as there are a lot of windows and they still seem a bit close together but hopefully, when the frames, etc., are added (microstrip) and it receives at least one coat of paint, then it should help to reduce their size and hence the impact. Thing is, the real building does have a lot of windows and they are quite closely spaced - seem to be about the width of a window between each one - and it is only inspiration for what I have knocked together. For instance, I won't be building the rather nice tower mine will have a pitched roof to hide the annoying blue wall, etc. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossendalewadey/5422981426/ If I'd have built anything like this three years ago, I'd have been over the moon but now, I'm getting a bit too critical of my own efforts.