Gresby - N Gauge Great Central (MS&LR 90s-2000s)

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

Thank you for your comments, I agree, its good to see it in one piece - I can't usually get it all up in the shed so it won't be happening too often

 

The original plan for the extension would have taken it to 20ft with a load more town beyond the station, but I got volunteered for an exhibition in May and thought an extra 13ft would be a bit too much work so I decided to just add the pair of boards on each end to turn the trains round to a fiddleyard behind - the full length is now 12 x 2.5' with the scenic area being 9.5 x 1'

 

I've got the fiddle yard to lay, the electrics to wire (and I hid my droppers so well I can't find them now I've ballasted haha) and a spot of scenery to do and it'll be ready for the N Gauge Society AGM in May...

 

Thanks again everyone

 

Simon

[Southernboy]

Thanks for the overviews Mr Simon, a simple yet convincingly effective run of track you have there. And the shots with your buildings and bridge in place give a teasing taster of things to come.

 

I really like this picture, with just a glimpse of the road underneath (and all the detail some of us know you've put into it).

 

 

 

Some of my favourite pictures of railway modelling are not those that feature trains and locos close up - but those that set them in broader context or atmosphere. I can hear the traffic and sense the bustle of people in the road below, even though they are not visible, and I really like that

Edited December 30, 2011 by Southernboy

[MrSimon]

Thanks Mark!

 

At the moment this is also my favourite area of the layout, but that might all change as more gets built I've always thought the rest of the world is just as important as the trains on a layout, and I like a layout to be a slice of the world with trains in, if that makes sense...? Hopefully when I take pictures of the trains the shots will all have some sort of scenic glimpse, if only because of the cramped nature of the layout. Gresby was originally designed to be on a shelf (hence the scenic area only being 12" wide) so I've built half/low-relief buildings on the front edge as well as the back, and put things right up at the baseboard edge which looks a bit odd from the front but adds location and atmosphere to the photos taken from other angles.

 

When the station's finished I'm going to experiment with a mirror so I can get a shot of the station entrance front-on.

 

Right then, tunnels to build!

 

Simon

[MrSimon]

Hello everybody!

This morning the postman had my trial set of Dapol magnets and couplings, so I did an experiment to see how low they could be mounted so they wouldn't be visible on Gresby:


About 1mm is the answer, which is plenty of room for some cosmetic sleepers and a spot of ballast:


It even still uncouples with the ballast. I'll see how shallow I can get this so as to ensure reliable operation.

I've worked out where one of them needs to go, and I'll make a decision on the other ones when I've set the station boards up again and pushed some trains around

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

I've whipped up the first of 3 bridges I need to make. Its a GC style over bridge, with a 12'6 high arch:

The 2nd coat of blue brick paint is currently drying, and I'm about to make a start on the roadway and arched brickwork - then all I have to do is decide where the road is going

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

Just a quick update showing the nearly finished bridge in situ:


I've since marked out the baseboard and can start cutting the landscape formers out tomorrow and turn this end of the layout into undulating hills...

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[porkie]

looking good fella.

 

Love the long pic of the layout.

[MrSimon]

Cheers Porkie


Almost finished...

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

Welcome back, I hope you used your modelling time wisely I know I did!

First up: My Christmas present to myself, slightly blurred on my even more nearly finished bridge:


I'd been wanting one of these for a while, it needs to go onto the work bench for a spot of 'Gresbification' but I'm not ready to start with that just yet


The road. I wanted it to dip down under the railway so the hill didn't look too comedy trainset steep.


The block is the end of the loading area on board 3.


The bridge mostly finished and installed.

The formers for the hill. The flat bit will have a house on it.

I can't do any more work on the boards at the moment while I finish the tunnel mouth and work out where the banner signal will go, then its time to get cracking with the landscaping!

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[BernardTPM]

Looking good, Simon!

[MrSimon]

Thanks Bernard!

I've not done much the last two nights, obviously its nothing to do with RMweb being back - but I can't think of the actual reason... I made a start on the tunnel mouth:


What an awkward shape! I need to cut out the ring around the mouth so will cover over the slight wiggle, but the different radii was a right pain to cut out - I never realised tunnel mouths are made up of three circles sill, it seems to look OK.

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[Kris]

I find using paper templates handy when creating odd shapes like tunnel mouths or bridges.

[MrSimon]

Thanks Kris! I'll give the paper template a go when I make the bit to go round it (never sure what its called) and I still have the inside of the hole to draw around, which bizarrly doesn't have the wiggle...

I've just been out to the layout and had a mild panic that the tunnel mouth is actually massive:


And a secondary panic that its going to look doubly massive leading straight on to the little bridge:


I've always been worried about the hill being a bit of a comedy hill, so I did a test piece giving the profile of the hill:


It doesn't look overly steep and I can always make it higher - I've not made the wing-wall-things (we know all the engineering language here in Gresby) but I'll make some card backs for the them and landscape the cutting sides around them and try to make the hillside as realistic as possible. My main worry is that the house-base is a bit too low next to the tunnel mouth, but I can always raise it.

I'll have another look at it tomorrow afternoon and see how much alteration it needs.

Lots to do! Happy New Year Everybody

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[SNCF stephen]

This layout just blows my mind. I am always impressed whenever I check this thread. The attention to detail is awesome. I am very envious about your Plasticard skills. I look forward to seeing how this progresses in the new year.

[Southernboy]

The bridge is a nice piece of work Simon.

 

"I've always been worried about the hill being a bit of a comedy hill ... "

You can often use scenics (trees/bushes/a small cottage/electricity pylon etc) to disguise/distract the eye /draw focus, as required.

 

I think your house is sitting about the right height - because it will help block the view of the land rising behind it (or at least distract from the fact that the incline there is perhaps a little more sharp than you would ideally like) - at least that's if I'm reading your photos right.

 

Knowing you I'm sure the finished scene will be spot on

[porkie]

Hi Simon...

 

How do your VGA wagons like your layout..

Im having a bad time as my set keep derailing on mine

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Simon,

 

Great progress - thanks for posting ongoing updates.

 

I particularly like your shade of engineers' blue brick - how did you paint the bridge?

 

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

 

Ben A

[MrSimon]

This layout just blows my mind. I am always impressed whenever I check this thread. The attention to detail is awesome. I am very envious about your Plasticard skills. I look forward to seeing how this progresses in the new year.

 

Thanks Stephen! Plastikards not too much of a dark art, but I'm sort of stuck using it now so the layout looks the same all the way along first exhibition in 5 months... eeek!

 

 

I think your house is sitting about the right height - because it will help block the view of the land rising behind it (or at least distract from the fact that the incline there is perhaps a little more sharp than you would ideally like) - at least that's if I'm reading your photos right.

 

Knowing you I'm sure the finished scene will be spot on

 

Thanks Mark! I think the hill behind the track will be fine, just need to work on the forground... round here there are lots of houses on insanely steep banks, so it should be fine - its just a bit of a shock seeing the difference in heights!

 

Hi Simon...

 

How do your VGA wagons like your layout..

Im having a bad time as my set keep derailing on mine

 

Hi Porkie, at the moment the VGAs seem to like the layout well enough, but I've not finished the wiring yet so am only pushing them round with my finger... will definitily write about any problems I have with them actually running and and fixes when it happens! (I found that they won't run through set track point S-bends but they seem OK on the entrance to my fiddle yard.

 

Hi Simon,

 

Great progress - thanks for posting ongoing updates.

 

I particularly like your shade of engineers' blue brick - how did you paint the bridge?

 

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

 

Ben A

 

Hi Ben, The bridge is just painted with phoenix blue engineers paint and then I rubbed it over with a mix of brown, black, grey and mossygreen pastels until it looks how it looks now.

 

 

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments, advice and support over the last year and would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

 

Simon

[MrSimon]

Hello everybody!

I took a few days away from the shed after spending some christmas money on some more clam kits on New Years Day I stayed inside in the warmth and built them (as well as some other things I'm not quite organised enough to photograph and put onto my workbench thread) but tonight dinner left areally funny smell in the air so I escaped and did some more work on the layout

 

I decided that the hill would probably be OK as I left it last year (Saturday haha) so I filled in a few more bits of skeleton and then built the supports for the tunnelcuttingsupportwallthings (must learn the right word before they're finished). The pictures I've seen of GC London Extension tunnels show the walls going out quite far from the mouth, but Gresby's on a MS&LR east-west line and I don't have enough spare width - I think they'll look OK though

 

After letting it dry for a bit I made a removable (temporariliy removable) top for the tunnel so I could see what the top of the hill would look like. I need to take about a centimeter off the middle formers on the top, but apart from that and adding the formers to the sides of the cutting I'm pretty happy with how its turned out. Once again I am left waiting for myself to finish the tunnel mouth, but I'm sure I can get creative with some newspaper and PVA!

The class 37 is halfway through a repaint (which will make it onto my workbench thread eventually) and was used to do the first electrical test on this board - complete with a VGA which seemed to behave - and stayed for the photo. I took a video of the first run but I've no idea how to post it here... but the moment was saved for posterity!

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

Here is a video of the momentous first powered test run through the tunnel... it seems to work so when I've got the wiring sorted I can post a few more 'action shots' of Gresby, which'll be nice I'm not entirely sure if this has worked.

 

https://youtu.be/ytF8yG8e7hM 
Next time I choose to film a momentous running moment, I'll make sure the test engine is complete  

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited October 16, 2021 by MrSimon
Embed video and fixed it again

[MrSimon]

Hello everybody!

Last night it was brought to my attention that I've only got 16 weeks to get Gresby ready for its first exhibition. Always a good thing to be told when your not making some wagons rather than working on the layout! So tonight I spent time in the shed, firstly with the polyfiller and then with the wiring:


This is only the first coat of filler, when its dried I'll add a second coat of filler and then get started with the landscaping.

I made the ring of bricks to go round the tunnel mouth, and spend ages scribing the bricks and then blobbed the blue paint on too thickly and they've sort of vanished... so I'll maybe get the paint stripper out and try again I also need to get my mathmatical brain on and work out the tunnel lining, which needs to open out the furthur back the tunnel it goes so trains can go round the corner into the fiddleyard.

I mentioned wiring... I got all the new wires put into terminal blocks and labelled, so when I get my act together and make the control panel it should be simple to wire everything through ( buit I think I can maybe put that off for 15 weeks or so). I extended my temporary wiring system (everything live) and gave all the track on the original two boards a try, and aside from needing to get some glue out of the points everything worked fine. This week I'm going to lash up a basic fiddleyard and see if I can get a train round a full lap - which will of course be filmed!

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[millerhillboy]

16 weeks not a lot, but at the rate of progress you seem able to make I'm pretty confident you'll make it.

 

keep us posted, always enjoy your pictures, and I'm looking forward to seeing your rapid progress in the coming weeks.

[Lee m22]

Second that!

 

This is an exciting project to watch indeed

 

Lee

[MrSimon]

Hehe thank you - I think "May" sounds a lot further away than 16 weeks (15.5 now!) I know that there will be certain bits missing from the layout at the AGM (I know I won't have the signals finished by then so they'll be absent for its first show) but I want it to be as good as I can make it.

Last night after I posted I did some work on some stock (which I still havn't photo'd for my workbench thread) but this evening I laid the first part of my fiddle yard:


The first point leads to the reversing sidings - I had been a bit wary of having a point on the corner but I've done plenty of test running on a previous layout and it seems to work fine - and the other four to the main sidings. I'm trying to avoid reverse curves round the back but there might be one or two. Tomorrow night I might measure out and lay/plan the other end points, but these need to be slave points so I probably won't lay them straight away.

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 16, 2017 by MrSimon

[ChrisWV10]

Just read all through this thread which took just over 2 hours. Time very well spent! Fantastic attention to detail with the street furniture and all built from scratch. I'm not averse to building kits but have never scratchbuilt anything. I'm feeling inspired to give something small a try. Look forward to seeing your progress.

 

C.