Lancaster Lane & Dewar’s Street

[LDM34046]

11 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

Yes the rail sides and chairs were hand painted as you say.

That looks brilliant. Thank you Al. I’ll definitely give that method a go!

[LDM34046]

More ‘testing’ today. The layout seems to be working well and providing plenty of operational interest. The TTA Wagons are current stand-ins at the moment for fruit vans and cattle vans that are currently in the realms of Royal Mail.

 

 

 

A photo of the longest train I can realistically operate with. 41726 ready to depart with a small rake of coal wagons.

 

 

 

The only small issue I’m currently facing is the track at the fiddleyard is ever so slightly misaligned. It should be a simple case of cutting away the PVA glue and realigning the track.

 

Happy New Year! 
 

I hope next year is a bit more positive compared to 2020

[LDM34046]

Happy New Year!

 

What a year it’s been! Little did I know at the start I’d be reigniting a hobby six years down the line. With Covid-19 sweeping the world I found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands and so a new layout was born.

 

So much has changed in the six years I’ve been away and it’s all been a massive learning curve but once again I’ve been blown away by the support and knowledge of members on this website.

 

Here’s to a more positive and healthier year and hopefully lots more modelling!

 

Cheers!

Edited January 1, 2021 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

A lovely package arrived from TMC last night. Great service once again. This time some more period correct rolling stock.

 

Two fruit wagons from Dapol. Both lightly weathered from factory. Great looking models although one suffers from a low sitting coupling however a loose screw maybe the culprit.

 

 

The second two are a Cattle Van and GWR Brake Van, both from Oxford Rail. I’ve not used Oxford Rail before but I’m very impressed with the quality of them both.

 

 

 

Last night, after a lot of head scratching and tinkering I was able to work out and adjust the CV values of both locomotives to lower the speed steps so now both run a lot smoother.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Buffer stops have also arrived. Simple Peco ones will do the trick. They’ll be assembled and weathered along with the track.

 

 

 

The ballast is GM ‘Granite’ which is a lot nicer darker colour compared to the ‘Slate Grey’ I’ve used before. Certain areas will be weathered slightly darker where locos tend to stand.

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Tonight’s job was to touch up a few of the electrics. An addition connection was made with a few of the droppers to liven up the rear sidings so no more unsightly temporary wire. A few of the loose droppers were then reconnected to the track. A far from perfect job but they’ll be covered by the buffer stops and barely noticeable once weathered.

 

I still need to align the fiddle yard properly however I’m tempted to order a whole new fiddle yard. I need somewhere a bit safe to store locos when they’re not being used and the current fiddle yard is ever so slight too short. Ideally it could be 3-4 inches longer.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

With the paint ordered my next step is to fit the buffer stops. My plan is to fit them prior to weathering the track so they’re coated in the same colour before touching in a few details after such as the wooden beam and rusty bolts. Most of the buffers will be built up with small amounts of foliage and grass.

 

Any tips on painting electro frog points? I’ve been told to mask off the blades but other than that give an even coat across the whole point.

 

Regards

 

LDM

[LBSC123]

1 hour ago, LDM34046 said:

With the paint ordered my next step is to fit the buffer stops. My plan is to fit them prior to weathering the track so they’re coated in the same colour before touching in a few details after such as the wooden beam and rusty bolts. Most of the buffers will be built up with small amounts of foliage and grass.

 

Any tips on painting electro frog points? I’ve been told to mask off the blades but other than that give an even coat across the whole point.

 

Regards

 

LDM

Are you reliant on the blades for your frog polarity/electrical connectivity? If so definitely mask them.

 

What are your using to paint them? My normal technique is to do them by hand with a brush, as it’s more controllable and enables colour differentiation between the rails and sleepers. Either way, I’d ‘go steady’ and if using an spray can go for a few light passes, followed by touching in the areas that had been masked by brush.

Hope that helps 

[LDM34046]

36 minutes ago, LBSC123 said:

Are you reliant on the blades for your frog polarity/electrical connectivity? If so definitely mask them.

 

What are your using to paint them? My normal technique is to do them by hand with a brush, as it’s more controllable and enables colour differentiation between the rails and sleepers. Either way, I’d ‘go steady’ and if using an spray can go for a few light passes, followed by touching in the areas that had been masked by brush.

Hope that helps 

Thank you!

 

I’m not reliant on the blades for electrical connectivity as I’ve got droppers either side of the point and the frog however I may mask them anyway for reliable running.

 

I’m using a spray and then painting the rails in after. A few light passes should do the trick!

[LDM34046]

The buffers have all been glued and fitted. These will be weathered along with the track once it gets sprayed.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

With the buffer stops glued in place I popped to my local model shop and picked up a can of Tamiya ‘Brown’ Spray. 

 

 

 

Two light coats from different angles ensured that the track was coated evenly and then a few passes over the buffer stops at each end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The track is 99% coated with only a few areas still showing bare metal however, like on the real railway, nothing was perfect so in my books it was a job well done.

 

Even though the can was only 100ml I’ve still got over half left so I may end up using it spray the hill prior to static grass.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[Alister_G]

That looks a very good base colour to work from, nice job.

 

Al.

[LDM34046]

A slight oversight on my behalf yesterday, I forgot to replace the sleepers that were cut out when the track was laid prior to spraying.

 

Today the sleepers I kept were trimmed and pushed back under the existing gaps were the track joins are and fiddled around so the spacing was equal. A third coat of spray was coated over the new sleepers and a few touch ups that I missed yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Next step is to work on the hill foundations before starting on the joyous job of ballasting.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

With the UK back into another lockdown it was a good excuse to get up early and crack on with the layout. It’s great to be able to focus on something each day, especially in these strange circumstances.

 

Upright cardboard supports were made out of a cereal box and glued into place with UHU glue. This formed the rough shape of the hill.

 

 

 

I decided to build a small embankment at the front of the layout as I always find it odd at some layouts the ‘viewing’ side is always quite empty and I enjoy the idea of looking through the scenery and trees to see the trains.

 

Scrunched up newspaper was stuffed into place, held in place with more UHU glue.

 

 

 

 

Strips and pieces of newspaper were then dunked into a mix of 1:1 PVA and water and then applied to the hill to form the rough shapes. A second coat of PVA was then applied to secure the whole thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the glue is dry overnight any small gaps and holes will be smoothed out with filler and any additional small mounds I want to add around the layout. The plan with the cutting is to scratch build some brick supports to go either side of the track to support the earthwork. Once the majority of the hill is complete I’ll find some inspiration or maybe even a kit to do the job.

 

The hill will then be painted and work can start on the ballasting and then the static grass.

 

It’s nice to see the layout develop nicely!

 

Regards!

 

LDM

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

With yesterday taken up working from home today I continued to crack on with the layout. This morning’s job was to touch up a few areas of the hill with smaller bits of newspaper and PVA to fill in the gaps and create a smoother transition with the track level and the hillside.

 

 

Once the glue is dry, after a few hours I can mix up a batch of brown/murky paint and paint the hillside ready to start ballasting and grass work.

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Probably the most expensive and fanciest paints used on a model railway! We had loads of sample pots left over from the house so it seemed pointless buying new paints when I could mix my own. The colour I mixed ended up being way to grey and less brown however no harm in doing a first coat as it was going to take a few coats.

 

 

 

 

While the first coat was drying I came across my old modelling box full of Games Workshop colours. All the paints had dried out however there was still a pack of airfix paint, of which brown was included so I’ll use that for the second coat.

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

A second coat of paint in a more realistic shade. This time a lot more brown. It didn’t have to be perfect as grass and foliage will be laid over the top.

 

 

 

 

Next job tomorrow is to start on the ballasting. Oh such fun!

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[MarshLane]

Hi Luke,

Well done, the layout is coming on nicely, and is starting too look good. It is quite remarkable how much of a change can be affected by adding a small amount of scenery!

 

Rich

[LDM34046]

11 hours ago, MarshLane said:

Hi Luke,

Well done, the layout is coming on nicely, and is starting too look good. It is quite remarkable how much of a change can be affected by adding a small amount of scenery!

 

Rich

Thank you Rich!

 

Yes it does make a huge difference. It’s the first time I’ve done scenic work as my previous layout never really got to this stage so it’s been a learning curve.

 

The track almost looks different now there’s some hills in place compared to a plain baseboard. 

[LDM34046]

Patience is a virtue!

 

Ballasting is complete! The joys of a small layout is it only took about 2 hours. All the ballast was laid loose and brushed between all the sleepers and point blades and then sprayed with a 1:1 mix of PVA and water. 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we wait till this time tomorrow to see how neat it really is! 

 

I’m not really sure where to go from here as my previous layout never got this far! The brown spray on the track had chipped on the buffer stops so I’m cautious that if I start running trains, the paint will crack on the track. I don’t know whether to secure it with a Matt varnish spray. The other part of me isn’t sure on whether to paint the rails a darker colour. I thought the brown would be fine for the whole layout but now I’m not too sure. 
 

I still haven’t decided if I’m going to have a concrete ‘yard’ next to the head shunt for a few people, maybe a small yard hunt so I’ll have to paint grey area.

 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Well! I spoke too soon! I did say it was a case of learning as I go and I’ve hit my first face palm moment! Not bad for the stage that the layout it is.

 

The ballast has dried lovely! However with it, the point blades and mechanism have dried shut! Rock solid! 

 

This afternoon will be the joyous and destructive job of chiselling around the point switch to hopefully free it of any ballast and PVA without causing too much damage.

 

To quote Homer Simpson..

 

D’OH!!! 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Two steps forward, one step back.

 

Having tried to clear away as much of the ballast I can the point now longer throws completely to the right despite the switch being thrown. My biggest fear is that the wire-in-tube method below the point has come loose which would result in me having to lift the track and redo it. 
 

 

 

The point will happily completely throw to left but will only manage half way when thrown to the right. 

 

My other bug is the paint on the sleepers is starting to crack and chip all over the layout. Maybe I should have done some more research when deciding what to buy! 
 

Back to the drawing board and a frustrating day on the layout! 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

So using a flat headed screwdriver I was able to clear out more ballast from around the point mechanism. I undid the wire from the switch end and was able to push it back throw the tube up to the point before we attaching it to the slide switch. This seems to have worked and the throw seems quite solid and wagons run over it no issue. Time will tell if this is a permanent fix but it seems to have solved the issue for now....

 

 

As for dealing with the flaky track. There’s not really a lot I can do now the ballast is down. Worse case in the future I hand paint each of the rains and sleepers with a more suitable paint! Sounds like a job for a rainy weekend!

 

We March On....

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

Pointwork chiselled and working again. Pushing a wagon over the point seemed to run smoothly without any issues and any stray lumps of ballast removed from the rails. 
 

I couldn’t help but take a photo of the cattle wagon in the sidings! I’m thinking of adding a small coal yard in this siding to facilitate the coal wagons and maybe a small yard hut positioned at the other end of the headshunt.

 

 

I’ve taken a keen eye to the Wills Kits SS15 however I can’t seem to find the footprint dimensions to see if it’ll fit. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046

[LDM34046]

So after a bit of research I’ve settled on the Wills Kits SS15 as a suitable candidate for the yard hut and coal siding. My only slightly grumble is I can’t seem to find the dimensions for just the hut alone. The measurements of the coal staithes (SS17) sold separately conflict with the measurements of SS15. My only guess is to buy the kit and pray that it fits where I want it to fit.

 

The plan is to have the little hut sit between the head shunt and arrival road and then the coal bunkers to sit facing inwards on the coal siding. (Just in front of the cattle van)

 

Conveniently Railway Modeller tweeted a preview to an article back in 2019 in which this kit was built and slightly modified so I’ll use that as a basis for making the kit.  

 

Today started off with some point related grumbles however order has been restored on the progress.

 

We March On...

Edited April 1, 2022 by LDM34046