Progress (or otherwise) on Jeff's new layout

And here's how it is all working so far. I am deliberately using short wheelbase locomotives to test the frog powering, and sound-fitted units to see if there are any interruptions or dead spots (sound is particularly sensitive to these hiccups).

In this short video, the Model Rail 0-6-0T USA Dock Tank can be seen using both crossovers as well as traversing the entire length of my electrified track on the upper level to date.

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Work has continued every day of the long weekend here, and I finally completed the essential wiring yesterday evening. Even so, a quick test revealed that I had missed two feed wires, so I had to hastily reassemble the necessary tools to do that.

Further tests have now been carried out and trains have been able to run on every loop line and through every point on the main lines - the engine and carriage sheds will come much later!

To celebrate, I had a quick tidy up of all the tools and extraneous materials along the tracksides, and cleared some trains off the layout, and assembled some suitable sets for running on Saturday, then put the video camera onto the Hattons Warwell that I bought specifically for that purpose. I have run trains in both directions, edited the footage then uploaded it to YouTube. I have a high quality cut of the video too, but the YouTube one is still a rather large file size (a warning for anyone with limited bandwidth).

Please bear in mind that some of the trackwork is still not fully aligned (a few kinks in the loop lines are evident in the video) and the viaduct lines are able to move around a bit, pending completion of all the proper Vollmer arches.

Here is the link; [yt]Ca80SxUnfxY[/yt]

Enjoyed that Jeff  :thumbs  and the video footage gives you a great track level view of where any kinks are so you can sort em.                 That programming siding, all I can come up with is 'Grass bank sidings' cos that what I see  :cool wink   It's a great photo shoot stop as well, a great backdrop for your locos and shows that a programming track doesn't have to be boring 

Cheers  
  Matt

Thanks for that, Matt. I figured that there was no reason to sacrifice some layout space for the programming track; why not incorporate it into the overall scene?

There are a few kinks I noted in the loops in particular, which, although they don't affect the running, annoy me, and will do so until I have straightened them. :D

At the moment it all looks a bit barren, but that will be fixed over the next few months/years. I had thought of running trains on the lower level as well, but there was the distinct possibility that they could snag on some of the wires at the back of the layout; I will be securing these wires this evening, with a little assistance from SWMBO, to prop the lifting section open while I tape or clip the wires out of the way. At some time in the future, I'll rig up a hinged prop that can support the lifting bit without any danger of slipping or dropping off the board edges, and without fouling any running tracks underneath, but I need to think about the design very carefully.

I had a quick running session today, just for videoing purposes. There are six trains running at any one time, but, as usual, Murphy's Law kicked in: all ran perfectly for a while, but the moment I started the camera, the parcels train played up by derailing one of the coaches. I removed that one, then another derailed instead, then when I had replaced that with a different coach, the locomotive derailed at a different location. That train features in some of the footage, but after that I ran the Brighton Belle instead. What this means is that while there are six trains running, seven different trains may be seen in motion during the video - I have also mixed up the order a little, just for fun!

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As a small diversion from layout building, I did a quick build of a Parkside LNER horse box kit. It is finished except for a few very minor paint touch-ups and the transfers, which are on the way from Cambridge Custom Transfers as I type this.



LNER Horse Box with BR Horse Boxes - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr



LNER Horse Box with BR Horse Boxes - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Also visible in those photos is my first attempt at using some static grass.

This evening I set about levelling the track over the joint between the lifting section and the fixed level near the church hill. I then tested the DJM class 71 through the track where I knew it had derailed a couple of times before, and that worked nicely. I then tested the outer track with the consisted class 450 units, which had shown a tendency to derail occasionally exiting the loops and crossing that joint. That was tried slowly at first, watching every bogie as it travelled through the points and joints, then a few high-speed runs, culminating in a flat-out run, with no mishaps at all.

After that, I enhanced the class 33 and 4 TC set (416 in plain BR blue) by adding blue and grey set 404, then propelling that around at high-speed. Once again, all went well, so I am well-satisfied with my efforts.

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Class 33-1 D6520 propelling 4TC Sets 404 and 416 After High-Speed Tests - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

More horse boxes! The Parkside ex-LNER one again, with a few extra paint touches, together with an ancient Lima ex-GWR version that I have just tarted up a bit. The Lima model was in BR(S) green - a livery I'm not convinced it would have worn in real life - and has had its roof upgraded with new torpedo vents and new wire end handrails (mine was missing one anyway), plus better wheels and a complete repaint into BR maroon. The original model had some strange pointy conical roof vents arranged in rows of three across. A study of some images in Google showed a variety of vent and gas/oil lamp top combinations, so I just picked one such arrangement, although I believe mine should have an extra lamp top of some sort in the middle over the groom's compartment. However, the whole thing is really a compromise that I have tried to make a little more convincing, if not actually realistic. 

The underframe is not 100% accurate either, but I haven't done anything about that at this stage, except to replace the horrible oversized Lima couplings with some Parkside NEM pocket holders and Bachmann NEM pockets and couplings. Probably the source of greatest dissatisfaction now is the brake blocks being in line with the 'W' irons. They are in the 'too hard' basket for now.

Anyway, enough rambling: here are a couple of photos, showing the LNER and GWR boxes together, and in the 'race special' train with the Bachmann BR mark 1 horse boxes from TMC.

LNER and GWR Horse Boxes - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

​BR and LNER and GWR Horse Boxes - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I have been playing around with the track arrangement and alignment in the engine shed area again, actually cutting and trimming track where I was reasonably happy with the arrangement, but leaving other bits just perched loosely where they may end up. The track itself is a mix of Peco bullhead plain track and code 75 points (with a couple of temporary infills of plain code 75 track too).

The carriage shed would actually shift very slightly right in the photos, but generally I think I am very close to the final arrangement.

Try as I might, I just cannot get the turntable to fit properly in front of the loco shed while allowing decent alignments behind it, but this arrangement mostly works the way I would like it to. There will be a yet to be built diesel refuelling point somewhere in all this too.

The second photo is slightly blurred, but shows a slightly different viewpoint. Ignore the stray bits of track in the foreground and also the tools and glue bottles, etc.

IMG_20180330_213502 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

IMG_20180330_213517 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


I have also added a small new area of static grass. this is only the first layer here, and the nail for the ground is still in there.

IMG_20180330_213737 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I tried moving the turntable around a bit, trying different arrangements, including a possible kick-back line, but it just didn't gel.

This is much as seen before, but with the track cut to near correct lengths. The locomotives are weighing it down to hold the positions. I rearranged the two entry roads on the turntable slightly, so they are adjacent to each other. 

The carriage shed roads would seem to be only able to accept 2-car units (I was hoping for up to three), but with plenty of 2 EPBs, 2Hs, 2 BILs and 2 HALs, not to mention several MLVs which could sit with two together, a Bulleid 2 HAP still under construction (but able to run - seen in the photo), and future 2 HAPs from Bachmann to come, I think I can live with the compromise.

So far, I think this is the best combination of storage and practicality I can achieve in the available space. I have used three Y-points plus a left and a right hand point each.

IMG_20180401_161431 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Hi Jeff I'm sure you've tried just about every combination !  Best I can come up with (back of a fag packet drawing and not to scale  :lol: )



Allows the two longest sidings straight off the centre of the 3 way point for dmu/emu's, engine shed moved to left which  can get away with shorter lines rather than taking up the best space for length and TT moved as far right as possible, only needs one road in out which frees up a spur for one or two more storage sidings  :thumbs

watching with interest  :hmm         Oh and Happy Easter !

Cheers
  Matt

Thanks for the suggestion, Matt. I did try something similar but the geometry of the 3-way points precluded getting the middle track alignments and clearances  for 3-car sets - the spacer track I had to insert shortened what would have been the carriage shed sidings just enough to spoil it.

Even so, I'll have a fiddle tomorrow and see if I can get that to work.

Hoping you and your family had a Happy Easter too. :)

:cheers

I'm sure you will get there !  after trying fifty variations and then probably nearly back to your original one  :thumbs


SWMBO is working from home on an urgent project deadline not finished by a sick minion, growling about not being disturbed so I'm in the quiet corner (next to the naughty corner)  working on some more forum stuff till she grants me freedom to move and or breath 
                    Then out for a walk with the Dawg

Cheers
  Matt

I have been wanting to run a decent length modern container train for a while. I have run such trains on the lower level but they don't really fit in there, being too long for the loops and with the locomotive disappearing into tunnel while the tail of the train is still in the tunnel at the other end. The upper level is intended to give clear views of the whole length of a train, so here's the result, with a Bachmann class 66/9, 66 725 Sunderland, in First GBRf livery on a train of mixed container wagon types.

First GBRf 66 725 Sunderland on Container Train - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

First GBRf 66 725 Sunderland on Container Train - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


The locomotive itself was one of a pair of Bachmann class 66s that I won on eBay for very reasonable prices. The other loco was a standard class 66 in DRS livery. Being in Australia, with the seller also in Oz makes a big difference to the values achievable on eBay.

Some stages in developing the scenery. I have been experimenting a bit with the area to the right of the level crossing and above the Newton Broadway LT signal box. This included using various colour blends and textures from Woodland Scenics, and part of a grass mat with the addition of some tufts and blending of edges using some static grass (also a mix of several colours).

The first two photos show the effect before adding the static grass (although I did do a small section near the level crossing earlier, including the bits around the Landrover), and the remainder show the effect afterwards.

The Landrover is a standard Oxford Diecast Post Office model, but shows the enhanced effect of simply 'steering' the front wheels a bit by bending the ends of the front axle - the screw construction assists greatly with this. The Landrover is destined to lose the signwriting on the doors and will be weathered a bit and matt varnished.

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 4 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Further progress and experimentation with the scenic area:

The Landrover has now had the signwriting on the doors removed and a coat of satin varnish to tone it down a bit. I think maybe the peculiar extra roof needs to come off it too.

I built a couple of laser-cut wooden kits, one for a garden shed, which is now sitting behind a terraced house in the village, and a platelayers' hut which has had an initial coat of paint but needs a bit more attention to complete it. I have also placed a length of bullhead track with the Bachmann Wickham trolley in the area, although if that becomes more permanent I'll need to add some ballast and alter the path a bit.

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 6 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 5 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I like the way the scenery is shaping up, and I also like that container train

I did a bit of weathering with powders on the platelayers' hut, and am quite pleased with the effect. It can be seen here with newly arrived preserved P class 0-6-0T, No. 323 Bluebell, running 'wrong road' on a short works train.

The P is from Hatton's and looks absolutely stunning. It ran well on DC straight from the box, and after an hour on the rolling road was fitted with a Bachmann 36-568 decoder. It runs even more sweetly on DCC and is improving further with running on the continuous circuit. I'll look forward to receiving another, this time in SECR livery, plus two of their Andrew-Barclay 0-4-0ST industrial locos in due course. I'm very impressed.

Hattons P Class 0-6-0T Bluebell on Maintenance Train - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Hattons P Class 0-6-0T Bluebell on Maintenance Train - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Further works on the Scenic area above the LT signal box and tunnel entrance: 

The Landrover has also undergone a little extra work, including losing the signwriting on its doors and the extra roof (which required four holes to be filled then painted - I used BR locomotive green to touch it up), a couple of coats of matt varnish and some weathering with powders. I think it looks suitably battered and "used" now. A 4 TC set passes behind, part of a longer push-pull train of 2 x 4 TC + class 33/1 D6520.


Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 8 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


The Wickham trolley's refuge has also been enhanced a bit, with more muddy area around the track, and the track itself has now been painted. S15 30830 passes by with a mixed goods train, including an ex-GW Beetle prize cattle wagon and two ex-SR cattle wagons as part of the fitted head. The Beetle is actually classified as Non-Passenger Carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS), and is therefore in BR maroon livery, and could, in practice be included in passenger or parcels trains. This one may be being returned empty to the Western Region, hence its inclusion in an 'ordinary' goods train.


Scenic Work - Area Nr LT Signal Box - 9 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Finally, for tonight, I have been toying with the idea of adding an extra, fairly short goods siding in the vacant area adjacent to the locomotive shed area. This illustrates roughly the alignment and where the extra trailing point would be let in to the running lines.


Possible Extra Siding Near Engine Sheds - 05-04-18 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I like the idea. And the Land Rover is looking good.

Regarding that container train, who made the well wagon model at the front?

Hi Brendan; thanks for that.

The KQA/KTA pocket wagon is from Dapol, and has been released with several minor livery variations. Here's one from Hatton's website: http://www.hattons.co.…ontainer/StockDetail.aspx