Progress (or otherwise) on Jeff's new layout

Moving along the line a little (literally), I have done a little reseating and filling on the Wills stone viaduct section. The last arch in particular wasn't sitting properly, but is now much better. The filler is still in its raw, unfinished state - it has to harden properly before I attempt to sculpt it to match the stone courses.

After this, I'll be able to paint it properly (the existing paint was really just a rough wash to reduce the visual impact of the light grey plastic. I can't glue it into place yet as I still need easy access to the tracks behind to lay the third and fourth rails.

The arched bridge looks very good, but will only look better when finished ! :thumbs

With the steel girder bridge in post 453, you could possibly add extra cantiilever supports that dissapear into the brick retaining wall, like this…



Cheers, Gary.

I don't think a girder spanning two tracks with no end support would work.

Phil

[user=878]Gary[/user] wrote:

The arched bridge looks very good, but will only look better when finished ! :thumbs

With the steel girder bridge in post 453, you could possibly add extra cantiilever supports that dissapear into the brick retaining wall, like this…



Cheers, Gary.

Hi Gary. Once again, I'm thinking along the same lines, although I also have an alternative in mind. That would be to add the extra girders as you have indicated, but extended over to the platform with vertical supports going down to the platform (or realistically, extending up from the platform!). That might also involve the first girder. There are plenty of examples of that sort of structure in the real world of railways and would get over the feeling that the girders are just suspended in mid-air.

p.s. Nice art work on my photo! :)

If anyone is interested, I have been experimenting with a video camera mounted on a wagon to produce a few "cab rides" on my layout. They are posted on YouTube and Facebook (for friends only in the latter). If interested, the links are as follows:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfbZmNL0UPk&ab_channel=JeffreyLynn with a Heljan class 33 and legomanbiffo sound;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkyQVXfwFe8&ab_channel=JeffreyLynn with a Bachmann class 37 and Howes sound;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoBWJiy4XKc&ab_channel=JeffreyLynn with a Heljan class 52 and Howes sound.




I am learning as I go and trying to put more features to make them more watchable and interesting, as well as using different locos to give a variety of sounds. I hope to improve as I try a few more of these videos.

sat here with a cuppa and thoroughly enjoyed those clips,thanks for showing them
:thumbs;-):cool:
Owen

One more "cab ride" video, this time at a slower pace than the previous one.

https://www.youtube.co…L4&ab_channel=JeffreyLynn

Latest arrivals at Newton Broadway (curse those bargain sales!):

A Motor Luggage Van (MLV) of class 419 in plain BR blue with full yellow ends (fye) from Invicta Models (by Bachmann). 68004 is seen here leading 68006 in green, with  green 4 CEP (class 411) unit 7126 just off-stage. This has been fitted with a Lenz decoder to match all my other 4 CEP, 2 EPB and MLV units. Standardising on these makes for easier matching up of settings for multiple operation (consists in DCC parlance). Kadee #19 couplings were fitted to each end.




Not a good photo, but this is a three car BR Mark 1 "suburban" non-gangwayed set from Replica Railways parts. The body shells come pre-painted but without numbering. This set is still awaiting numbering, window 'stickers', set numbers and underframe detail components to be fitted. I ordered one more complete kit so I could adapt the body to fit a spare Bachmann 4 CEP TS underframe to convert a Kernow green 2H DEMU to a 3H unit. This conversion is still in progress and also requires the green to be darkened a little and the roof ridges to be removed. The 4 CEP chassis allows for the interior lighting and head and tail light connections to be continued through the unit. In the meantime, I have other plans for the remainder of the 4 CEP (3 CEP now!) and the remaining Replica chassis. I'll try to post some detail shots of these in my workbench thread later.




I have ordered two of the bargain Hornby 2 HAL (class 402) units from Hattons. One, 2603 in green with fye has already arrived and been fitted with a Lenz decoder and Kadee #19 end couplings to match with all my other 2 HAL and 2 BIL units. A blue unit also with fye is still to arrive.




I also succumbed to temptation and bought a Network South East 2H (class 205) unit from Rails of Sheffield. These were commissioned from Bachmann by Kernow Model Rail Centre. Unit 205 001 is seen on its own and running in multiple (consist) with a previous purchase from Kernow, unit 205 012 in Connex livery. Again, Lenz decoders and Kadee #19 couplings are fitted, although I may have to go to the longer #20 couplings for tighter curves (only tested on the outer run for now).

I have been contemplating fitting lights into my London Underground S Stock train, and possible some of the BIL and HAL units as well, later. I've just fitted lights into the first two of the S Stock cars.

I'm using the strips of surface-mount LEDs that can be purchased quite cheaply from eBay sellers, which are arranged in sets of three LEDs with a resistor included in each set to allow for direct wiring up to 12 Volts DC. I tested one group of three sets of three on DCC wired straight to the track and that worked fine, so proceeded to wire up the first two cars of my six-car S Stock. The Driving Motor cars are easier as they already have a PCB feeding from the bogie pickups, but Bachmann have been very kind to us in fitting pickups to all of the trailer coach bogies as well - wiring the lights involves more wire and soldering than the DM but is still relatively easy.
The lights are very bright, so I may look at ways to dim them a little (especially if I want to light the BILs and HALs!), but I'd say the experiment has been a success, so I have four more cars to wire up in the near future. I have posed an unlit car beside the two with lights for comparison.

Blue Hornby 2 HAL unit 2677 arrived on Tuesday and has been run-in, fitted with a Lenz decoder and Kadee #19 couplings fitted at each end. Because Hornby made a mistake with the length of the coupling pocket mounting at the driving trailer cab end, these units really need Kadee #20 couplings, but I don't have any of those left so the #19s will have to do until I can order some. The unit is seen here running in multiple (DCC consist) with the green HAL 2603.

A small but significant step was taken yesterday: I finally got around to fixing the gap in the woodwork on the upper level at the current (temporary) end of the fiddle yard loops. I have been toying with the idea of using the existing board as a template to cut an entirely new one, but after assessing the degree of support under it, I decided to just cut the small, oddly shaped bit of MDF from an off-cut, trimming it with the jigsaw in small increments for the final fit.




This now allows me to screw down the adjacent board, which is already cut to the correct shape and fit, which, in turn, allows me to start more track laying.

As a preliminary to the laying of further track, I have placed a few lengths of rail and posed a 9-car unit as being the maximum allowed length: 2 x 4 CEP units and an MLV were loose coupled to gauge where the end of the loop is needed (with a little leeway built in) and where the next lot of points will go.

There is, as always, still much to do (that's almost become my mantra!), but it feels like a new start on progress after a period of stagnation.

I have been laid up a bit over the last few days with sciatica on the left-hand side. The doctor gave me two days off work and said "Rest, but don't spend too long lying down or sitting in one position". I decided to do a little track positioning (not laying, as such!) which I could do standing up without much bending involved (even so, I fear I have overdone it a little). Using my new Xuron track cutters made this a relatively quick and easy job, too.

What I have done is cut and fit the track along the front of the layout, on the bridges and viaducts. It is not fully laid as it is not fixed down in any way, yet, a job that has to await my finishing the bridges and viaducts and also completing the third and fourth rail laying on the lower level (the viaducts get in the way of this).

Anyway, here are a couple of photos to show how the alignment will look when finished. The curve under the 2 HAP unit (the unpainted resin kit at top left) is a set track 3rd radius item. If I can ease this out a little I will do so.

One more from me, with a nine-car set of units (MLV + 4 CEP + 4 CEP) posed on the viaducts to show how the longest proposed trains will look snaking along the top.

Jeff,
Sorry to hear about the Siatica, hope it clears up quickly. Laying the track on the viaduct really shows where you are going with this layout and I'm particularly taken by the view along the lower level in between the high level showing the cross overs and the third rail work that you have done there. Your steady progress is paying off.

Keep it up.

Marty

Thanks Marty.

I subscribe to what I teach about project management: break the big job down into smaller, "digestible" chunks. In the case of our hobby, doing a little at a time still eventually gets the job done, and one can pick and choose which bits one feels like doing at any given time, unlike commercial jobs where it absolutely must be done to a timetable.

I can't pin or glue the track down n the viaducts yet, because I need access to the bridges and viaducts themselves to finish off some of the detailing and painting, and also to the LT tracks behind to finish off the third and fourth rail laying.

I am also giving thought to the wiring of the tracks on the viaducts: I may leave the main bridge across the LT tracks plus the lattice bridge as a separate piece of lift-off scenery, which means wiring down through the hollow bridge abutment and having the ability to unplug or unscrew the wiring connections (possibly using a 4-pin plug and socket. The rest of the viaducts can eventually be glued down, so wiring the tracks on those will only mean threading the wires down a few piers.

SWMBO decided that we needed to pull curtains down for washing in various rooms of our house. This also involved swapping to different curtains in our bedroom. That meant that the dark blue crushed velvet curtains from there were now spare.The orange curtains in the train room, while very heavy duty, didn't really make a good backdrop for my models, so I suggested that the blue ones would be rather better (ideally I wanted some sky blue ones but none were available in the local Spotlight store when we looked). The result is this:

Maybe a weak bleach solution would lighten them, although SWMBO might not be amused!

Thanks for that suggestion, Mike! I'll make sure you get a mention on my gravestone! 

    

I'm expecting a magician to step out from behind the curtains, got any white rabbits on the layout?

I had some squirrels on the old layout - they'll eventually get recycled onto this one!