2mm Layout, based in South Wales

[iak]

Hmmm very nice layout...

And all the better as it goes

[Trevor H]

I've got a feeling the photo is buried in the old forum which I think is down at the moment. I'll have a dig about on my hard drive and see if I've still got the snaps.

Thanks Pix, would be interested to see them and perhaps a bit on how you lowered the loco.

 

Once Roath is done and I'm ready to really get my teeth into a 2mm project I will really look into doing new ends. The headcode box should be quite easy to move down but I think that the best option for the D lights would be to etch some surrounds for the master and make a new recess behind it. I guess they're a tricky thing to do as they're quite small on the real thing, which is magnified 148 times in N.

Their is certainly some room for improvement, will look forward to future progress

 

There's always the association kit...

Hmmm NO!! this 2mm started as a dabble into the scale, I think one of them would take me longer than building the whole layout

 

The profile around the middle looks a little rounded to me but I've never handeled one up close. Having the wheels reprofiled would probably help the looks no end as they look very Lima-pizza-cutterish, as would replacing the glazing to get rid of those windscreen whipers. What's the running like?

Yes something is not quite right, but with a bit of work I think it can be improved. The running seems to be very good, although the first one i tested was awful, probably just a one off. I'm looking forward to getting all my locos DCC fitted which with a bit of tweeking should help improve the slow running vastly.

 

They sounds tasty! Doing all the roof variations could be fun - I chickened out and went for 821 so getting hold of reference photo would be a lot simpler. The Farish one does look very nice, there's one in Antics at the moment which keeps singing to me.

I have a couple of BFY models at the moment, which is probably more than enough for the area, but I keep being tempted by a maroon one. I'm sure it would be possible to find someone to do some etches as a panel for the boiler and some NBL fan grilles, although at the moment I can't even find a decent range of nameplates for the Warship.

 

Can't agree more. Sadly I think the 25 will just be scaled down from the 4mm one (like the 24) but I think there might be something in using the cabs off the old 25/3 with some improved details. Still looking forward to getting my mits on a couple anyway.

 

Pix

As you say the class 25 is probably just going to be a scaled down 4mm version after seeing their class 24 which would be a shame. I think the old Farish 25/3 is a lot more proportional and would be a good starting point, that photo of the class 24 converted from the old 25/3 looked a lot more like a class 24 to me.

 

I had wanted to do something on the Cambrian coast originaly along with their cl108, but decided to go with the S. Wales idea on seeing it's release.

 

 

I did very small ones for my Farish 40 splitbox nose, but decided against it on the old 37 noses so they'd sit alongside the standard Farish end. However, new model, new standards. It can be done. Their sand filler recess on the side isn't so great either.

Hi Bernard,

 

Their are a few slight errors as you mention that could be improved on otherwise a very nice model, resin noses front would be nice

 

 

Trevor - Thanks - Must admit, the new blog format has grown on me as the indexing allows instant access to previous posts without having to trawl back through threads - it also now gives a little structure to my postings.

 

Really enjoying seeing your layout progess, and just found the presflo kit Bryn was refering to - very nice work indeed.

 

Keep up the great work - its very inspirational

 

Pete

Trevor - Sorry to jump in on your thread, but if you [Pix] can find that pic of the 37 I would also be interested to see and hear how you lowered it as it made a significant improvement. TIA - Pete

Thankyou Pete,

 

And no problem with jumping in, that is what it's all about, the work Pix done on his cl37 was a vast improvement and I look forward to seeing what he has done.

 

Trevor.

[Trevor H]

Hmmm very nice layout...

And all the better as it goes

 

Thank Iak,

 

Hopefully will be able to get back to the layout soon, but this weekend with all the snow I decided to stay in the house.

 

Spent yesterday getting on with some wagon kits instead

 

Trevor.

[Trevor H]

No work on the layout lately due to been so cold, so have been working on some of my wagons.

 

After recently receiving some parts from the 2mm association during the holiday period, which included the bogie parts to do my Bolster E, I decided I'd have a go at that yesterday.

 

The completed kit, I may change the stanchions, although the image is about 3 times actual size of model so is not as noticeable as picture.

 

Showing bogie parts used available from the 2mm Association

 

Parts used included:

Parkwood Models Bogie Bolster E body kit,

2mm Association etched bogie frames, David & Lloyd Cast bogie sides, steel buffer heads and 3 hole wagon wheels.

 

An enjoyable model to make with know more than a couple of hours work to get it to this stage, which is good as I'll probably get a few more.

 

Trevor

[Fat Controller]

No work on the layout lately due to been so cold, so have been working on some of my wagons.

 

After recently receiving some parts from the 2mm association during the holiday period, which included the bogie parts to do my Bolster E, I decided I'd have a go at that yesterday.

 

The completed kit, I may change the stanchions, although the image is about 3 times actual size of model so is not as noticeable as picture.

 

Showing bogie parts used available from the 2mm Association

 

Parts used included:

Parkwood Models Bogie Bolster E body kit,

2mm Association etched bogie frames, David & Lloyd Cast bogie sides, steel buffer heads and 3 hole wagon wheels.

 

An enjoyable model to make with know more than a couple of hours work to get it to this stage, which is good as I'll probably get a few more.

 

Trevor

Lovely work, Trevor, though the stanchions look a bit tidier than the ones I remember.

About thirty of them trundling behind the Old Castle Pilot (an 08) at about 10 mph, and you've got Llanelli circa 1973- the load would be 4" billets, bound for Great Bridge

[Bryn]

TRevor,

 

Nice work on the BBE, it really does look the business. How did you mount the bogies? Drill and tap the original bogie mount?

[Trevor H]

Lovely work, Trevor, though the stanchions look a bit tidier than the ones I remember.

About thirty of them trundling behind the Old Castle Pilot (an 08) at about 10 mph, and you've got Llanelli circa 1973- the load would be 4" billets, bound for Great Bridge

 

Thank you Brian

 

The thought of the cl08 working, has put a picture in my head for a possible working on the layout

 

Trevor.

[Trevor H]

TRevor,

 

Nice work on the BBE, it really does look the business. How did you mount the bogies? Drill and tap the original bogie mount?

 

 

Hi Bryn,

 

Basicaly yes, It was an easy mod and I 've attached an image of how I went about it, hopefully it explains.

 

I removed the excess material from the bogie pivot on the bottom of the wagon floor, the 60 thou plasticard spacer was used to file the required amount, checking for ride height as i went along. Although I didnt do it at the time I may remove some of the brass from the bass pivot to reduce some of the drop, then the floor mounting was drlled and tapped for a 12ba bolt (I think!).

 

 

On another subject what are your thoughts on various vans available, I have built a few one offs to get use to the different ones available, but the difference in size between some of the 2mm and N gauge models is quite noticable and I'm not sure if too mix and match or just go for the 2mm ones, any thoughts?

 

Trevor.

[Bryn]

Thank you for taking the time to explain your method, the 60thou filing gauge is quite a smart solution.

 

As for the vans, personally I would build them in 1:152 if the kit is available. With more kits (wagons and locos) slowly appearing, it makes sense to standardise. I've only built the one van, so can't compare first hand.

[BernardTPM]

Technically there should only be about 1/2mm difference between the width of a 1:148 and 1:152 van, however the majority of N gauge vans are about 1mm wider, possibly to match the Peco and Farish vans of the early 1970s. Interestingly enough the latest Farish by Bachmann BR vans are to 1:148 scale width (i.e. 1/2mm more than 2mm scale) and so narrower than most other N Gauge vans.

Personally I'm staying with the slightly wider vans, at least at present, simply because there are now a good variety of kits covering both BR and the grouping companies, a variety that can be further expanded by cross-kitting the spare alternative parts in the Parkwood and N Gauge Society kits.

Of course, there are also 2mm kits available and I suspect the new generation Farish vans would look alright with them too (closer, at least than the current kit BR vans).

[Trevor H]

Thank you for taking the time to explain your method, the 60thou filing gauge is quite a smart solution.

 

As for the vans, personally I would build them in 1:152 if the kit is available. With more kits (wagons and locos) slowly appearing, it makes sense to standardise. I've only built the one van, so can't compare first hand.

 

 

Technically there should only be about 1/2mm difference between the width of a 1:148 and 1:152 van, however the majority of N gauge vans are about 1mm wider, possibly to match the Peco and Farish vans of the early 1970s. Interestingly enough the latest Farish by Bachmann BR vans are to 1:148 scale width (i.e. 1/2mm more than 2mm scale) and so narrower than most other N Gauge vans.

Personally I'm staying with the slightly wider vans, at least at present, simply because there are now a good variety of kits covering both BR and the grouping companies, a variety that can be further expanded by cross-kitting the spare alternative parts in the Parkwood and N Gauge Society kits.

Of course, there are also 2mm kits available and I suspect the new generation Farish vans would look alright with them too (closer, at least than the current kit BR vans).

 

Thank you guys for your feedback on the vans.

 

On looking back at the vans I have, it seems the main problem is the NGS and Parkwood vans I have are wider, making them look rather chunky and this would explain what Bernard says in them built around the Peco chassis which is too wide.

 

Also after reading the note about the Bach/Farish model, I got the two I have and compared against the 2mm association ones, I was pleasantly suprised how close they were, so a few more will be puchased when available.

 

Trevor.

[BernardTPM]

On the subject of pre-BR (design) vans, I've worked out that using a three pack of the N Gauge Society LMS vans plus a few left-over parts from Parkwood BR vans (insulated van ends and meat van grilles) plus a few thin slices of 5 and 10 theou." plasticard it is easily possible to create six different vans: two straight build, early and later, early meat van, early corrugated end van, later van with added angle strips and the wartime version of the later van (as built by Ashford), the last using a spare end from a Parkwood LNER van. That hardly exhausts the possibilites and it also leaves over a spare set of corrugated ends to match up with some old W&K BR(LMR) van sides.

[Guest Moria]

Interesting. I just looked at some new Farish PO wagons and was also pleasantly surprised at the dimensions, but on looking at the Shop options, the only option for 15.2 axles is 6mm solid disc. I am not sure that would work for me. the nearest 8 spoked is 14.8. Has anyone used these instead, or even with axle cups in the farish chassis to get a runner, or does anyone know if the farish 5/7/8 plank opens on the new chassis are a good fit on the association chassis?

 

Looking great as always Trevor. I am just about to start attempting some track laying for the first time.. I think I may achieve in 6 months what you did in a weekend

 

Regards

 

Graham

[Trevor H]

On the subject of pre-BR (design) vans, I've worked out that using a three pack of the N Gauge Society LMS vans plus a few left-over parts from Parkwood BR vans (insulated van ends and meat van grilles) plus a few thin slices of 5 and 10 theou." plasticard it is easily possible to create six different vans: two straight build, early and later, early meat van, early corrugated end van, later van with added angle strips and the wartime version of the later van (as built by Ashford), the last using a spare end from a Parkwood LNER van. That hardly exhausts the possibilites and it also leaves over a spare set of corrugated ends to match up with some old W&K BR(LMR) van sides.

 

Thanks for pointing out the different possibilities, always good to do a different diagram with spare parts and we dont want to be seen wasting stuff . I have just made a second shockvan using the spare sides, along with a couple of ends from another kit I had floating around in my odds & sods tray.

 

Interesting. I just looked at some new Farish PO wagons and was also pleasantly surprised at the dimensions, but on looking at the Shop options, the only option for 15.2 axles is 6mm solid disc. I am not sure that would work for me. the nearest 8 spoked is 14.8. Has anyone used these instead, or even with axle cups in the farish chassis to get a runner, or does anyone know if the farish 5/7/8 plank opens on the new chassis are a good fit on the association chassis?

 

Looking great as always Trevor. I am just about to start attempting some track laying for the first time.. I think I may achieve in 6 months what you did in a weekend

 

Regards

 

Graham

 

Hi Graham,

 

The Easitrac was a real pleasure to put together and I think for a first timer you shouldn't find it to difficult, their is a nice article by David on how he done his http://www.rmweb.co....itrac-building/ which is helpful, although I didn't lay individual sleepers and opted for sliding the flexitrak bases onto the rail then laying the plain track as one unit. The points are the hardest part, may i suggest when doing your first one you go for one of the less important/unused ones on the layout if possible.

 

I've read the responses on the 2mm forum about 15.2mm axles and can't really add anything too that, If you need 3 hole wheels it's an easy mod to drill the holes. I also wondered about playing with fitting them with bearings and seeing if a shorter axle would then fit, their is certainly an opening for spoked and 3 hole wheels on 15.2mm axles, lets hope they will fill the gap in the market, as a straight forward drop in conversion can only help with people to convert to 2mm scale.

 

Cheers

Trevor.

[Trevor H]

No progress on the layout I'm affraid, I really need to get on and make some progress soon though.

 

Meanwhile whilst finishing a Heljan 7mm class 37 for someone, I thought I'd have a go at putting together some 2mm 21t hoppers which I received during the week. This will be one of the more important wagons required for my fleet, as the layout is based around South wales and so a few more will be required, thankfully the kit went together very nicely, so I can see a small fleet been built over the next few months.

 

I will hopefully do a write up on how the kit went together in the near future, but in the mean time here is a picture of the first completed model, still requires a good clean before painting.

 

[bcnPete]

That's looking smart Trevor - look forward to hearing a bit more about how it went together - Pete

[Bryn]

Now that's a well built kit! Excellent soldering Trevor, it does look the part. Is it a Fence Houses etch?

[Burkitt]

As mentioned earlier I fixed nickel silver wire to the point blades, which drop through the baseboard and connect to the point motors. In larger scales it is easy to solder these to the sides of the blades, but in 2mm their Is'nt as much area to solder too, I opted for 0.5mm rod and with a bit of tidying up their is enough clearance for the wheel flanges.

 

Thanks for posting that photo Trevor - it's shown me a better way to attach wires to point blades that might be a little more effective with my developing soldering skills.

 

Paul

[Trevor H]

Thanks for the replies lads, always good to hear when others can use something or find some inspiration from what you do, I know I personaly I have found RMweb excellent for this.

 

As I say I will put together an article on the build in the next day or two, It is the "Fence Houses" kit Bryn and I found it an enjoyable kit to build, along with some excellent instructions.

 

Beforehand I had built two of the NGS kits which make a presentable model, but been plastic I think they will be rather fragile and are very light so will need to be loaded I feel, the "Fence Houses" kit seem a lot more solid and should have no problems running empty, also the finish inside the hopper is a lot better with no ghastly joints to hide, I'll certainly be getting a few more.

 

Cheers

Trevor

[Trevor H]

For those interested in my build of the "Fence Houses" 21t hopper, I have put up an article on my blog http://www.rmweb.co....ses-21t-hopper/ it does go on a bit I'm affraid of which I'm sorry, but it was my insight on how to build the kit of which somebody may find useful.

 

The instructions you get with the kit are very descriptive and if you follow them you can't go wrong.

 

I've now built three of them and can easily put one together now in an evening. And looking at the two NGS plastic ones I had already built, of which they still need detailing work doing to them, I think it's actually quicker to build the brass ones and they have a much better finess to them.

 

Trevor.

 

[Kris]

The Fence Houses ones look so much.

[Trevor H]

Realising I've done no updates since the begining of Febuary, I thought I ought to put something up to show the project is still alive.

 

Layout wise very little has moved on, usually I spend the weekends working on the layout, but for one reason or another this has'nt happened of late, although I have a weeks holiday next week after Ally Pally, so my plan is to crack on with the layout, this should then give me a lot better idea on wheather the layout will be ready for July.

 

I have about a foot of sidings to complete which I have been unable to finish as I ran out of bullhead rail. I have ordered some so hopefully it'll arrive soon and then I paint all the trackwork and lay the ballast before moving on to the surrounding area.

 

Meanwhile I have been spending the evenings working on some more wagon kits and the latest two have been the Covhop kits produced by Stephen Harris, with the main part been a resin body with etched parts for the chassis and extra detail, the kit went together terribly easy and this was down to how presice everything just slotted together and I applaud Stephen on his design in making this an easy build.

 

 

So two more awaiting the queue outside the paintshop .

 

Trevor.

[Bryn]

What's the current situation Trevor? I hope the layout is hidden away somewhere safe, would be nice to see it again!

[Trevor H]

What's the current situation Trevor? I hope the layout is hidden away somewhere safe, would be nice to see it again!

Hello Bryn,

 

The layout is still in my hands but what its future is at this time I not sure. The 6 months of decorating was finally done just as Christmas arrived, so thats out the way, although the wife has other ideas I'm sure. But most importantly the modelling area is now back up and running, albeit mainly 4mm projects at this time.

 

The biggest problem with my layouts, is that they are all buried at the back and under everything else that was dumped in front from the decorating, so it may well be a while before I see them again.

 

Otherwise still following the 2mm threads with great interest and inspiration, on what you guys are all up too and hopefully their be something to inspire and kick me back into gear with the project at some date, so keep posting your work gals and guys.

 

Cheers

Trevor

[Bryn]

Thanks for the speedy reply Trevor, it's good to know the layout still exists and you're still following the 2FS threads. After a 4 month break I'm catching up with some of my RMweb reading and I'm also looking for some inspiration to kick off my modelling once again, I'm looking forward to seeing your 2FS modelling in the future as it was a great inspiration to me. I hope the decorating doesn't last too much longer