Dave that gantry looks really good. Will you be leaving it as it is, ie the colour it is now or will it be painted or just weathered. What ever you decide i think the way it is now looks good amd i should think being outside it should weather it self.

Phill

 

 

 Yes it looks really good and with the weather we have had this year the 'weathering' won't take long

Oh dear! Ok guys time out. You are both right. The mesh is slightly corser than it would be on a normal indoor layout however it was cheep, easely available and looks ok when viewed from a distance. The photos make the mesh look worse than it actualy is due to my camera not being able to focus properly. Thats why I normaly do a photo montage when I do updates. However everone is entitled to an opinion and I respect mikey for being honist.

Right todays update will be in two parts. This is the first bit the second bit will be later when I've uploaded some pics. Thankfully today I have had no call outs (& the phones getting switched off in the next 15mins!) so a full day out in the sunshine has seen a big transformation in the area arround the new signal gantry. I started off by fitting the reed switches for the control system. Problem…. how do I get the wires from the switches to the junction box when there is no access under the baseboard? The solution was found by running the wires along the top of the board and then building some trackside trunking from some matchsticks and balsa. To make the scene look more realistic I then added some trackside cabinets again made from balsa. The area was starting to look realy good but was spoilt by seeing the reed switches so some covers were made from balsa and glued over the top. Once painted black and then scribed with a knife they would pass for AWS ramps. Before I start another heated discussion off I know that the AWS comes before the signal not after it but if I mounted the reeds before the signal the lights would change to red as the train approched! Anyway after looking at the area for a while I had a realy cool idea for an outdoor dirama for photographing my models outside in the sunshine. More to follow………….;-)

Here we have part two! First up is some pics of the reed switch covers and the trackside trunking……



Next a general view. I did take quite a few but it would take ages to upload them so I picked the ones I liked best.



Next one for Chris t…..



And finaly heres a few 'night shots' took after I added a OHLE gantry…..

Looks the part Dave, Is the back scene removable or waterproof ?

John
RJR

Some very nice pictures there Dave. Thanks for giving us some separate ones, easier for me to handle as you know.

Dave, your comment about

The mesh is slightly corser than it would be on a normal indoor layout however it was cheep, easely available and looks ok when viewed from a distance. The photos make the mesh look worse than it actualy is due to my camera not being able to focus properly

Yes, I thought the mesh  looked big close up but under the 3ft rule, it looks OK & once weathered a bit, it will look better.

 Now is this gantry outside in the weather & if so ,are your imitation AWS covers over the reed switches outside as well :question Reason for asking is balsa wood outside in the weather will not last long unless perfectly sealed.

Now is this gantry outside in the weather & if so ,are your imitation AWS covers over the reed switches outside as well :question Reason for asking is balsa wood outside in the weather will not last long unless perfectly sealed.

RJR should know the answer to this one!

Earlier this year after getting wet in the summer again I decided to 'roof over' the side section of the layout using clear corrugated plastic sheeting. My Mrs thinks it is for drying the washing! But actually it has given me the best of both worlds. Now I can work on the railway outdoors in the rain without getting wet. Since putting up the roof the layout has stayed dry thanks mainly to me fitting some guttering along the top of the fence first. Sometimes it's quite relaxing being under there when it's raining the only drawback is that the path still gets wet as the water runs down from off the garden. However I am planning to fit some deck tiles over the path at a later date so the water should flow underneath ok. Another idea that i'm seriously thinking of is building some removable plastic covers for the garden section. This will allow running whatever the weather and will protect the railway from uninvited guests and the occasional football coming over the fence!

Is the back scene removable or waterproof ?

As this section is 'under cover' the backscene is glued to some scrap section of laminate flooring. I have given it a coat of clear varnish to give the print a bit of protection so it will be interesting to see how it holds up outdoors. The main problem that I can see is the sunlight fading the print. You may remember me experimenting last year with some grass matting outdoors. This is still stuck solid and waterproof just as it was when I laid it last summer however it didn't take long for the colour to fade in the sun! Like most things time will tell if the backscene will last outdoors.;-)

Would those cheap plastic garden cloches be of any use in covering the track Dave?

Possibly Bob however at my local car boot we have a guy that sells clear lexon sheet for not a lot of pennies. I actually built the viaduct using the lexon sheet to make a mold with then filling it with concrete. The idea was to remove the sheet once the concrete had set but then decided to leave in place as it gave a better finish. The idea is to custom build the covers out of clear sheet as it is very easy to work with and can be cut with a jig saw. The covers can then be left in place during the bad weather and removed on running days as required. Of course the covers wont be happening just yet untill I work down the list of priority's first like actually finishing a section of the layout!

Thanks Dave for the explanation of an outside layout that is not "outside" - as you say, the best of both worlds.

Some great photos Dave - love the Peak!  Have I really got so much influence that I get photos posted just for me?  Or are you all just humouring me to keep me quiet :roll:

[user=200]Christrerise[/user] wrote:

……………  Have I really got so much influence that I get photos posted just for me?  Or are you all just humouring me to keep me quiet :roll:

Chris - you take your pick

After all Chris, we wouldn't want you to be BLUE. :thumbs

Sorry lads… :pedal:pedalThis is me doing a Phil….. —→

Daft as it sounds I found BR blue boring when I was a spotter in my teens. I prefered the intercity striped livery with the yellow cab roofs. However looking back the blue locos bring back many happy memories of a time before jobs,mortgages,etc!;-)

Dave

I must congratulate you on building one of the best, if not the best layout that I have even seen, forget the size of the total layout, it is the quality that you are building it to that for me is ………….. well as said before brilliant. I have only just found this thread and started reading it, but have really enjoyed trying to catch up.

Such a inspiration

Thank you.

to be quite honest i was going to make a similar comment myself
its nothing to do with perspective,maybe a touch of grey paint
will tone it down, it does over power a good model.

please read this bit in the spirit it is meant,,
i think it would help the forum if the person the critisisms are for was
the one to reply first, their reaction is what counts.

:oops::oops:lol::lol::lol::cool:

Yes Dave the mesh looks 100% better now. I guess it bears out what I have said time and time before. Photographs can be dangerous things sometimes because they focus the attention too much. models take on a whole different look when viewed as part of the layout as you would do with a prototype, if that makes sense.

Mikey

Dave,

I know exactly what you mean - I loved Intercity livery when it came out and all the Railfreight ones as well but now Blue is the only proper colour :roll:

Thanks guys for all the feedback! A couple of posts back I installed a back scene outdoors. When I first thought about it I discussed it with Mrs B who suggested that maybe laminating it would be a good idea. Well me being impatient as usual decided that it would be ok to stick up as is due to the overhead covering and the fact that I printed on to photo paper. So I stuck it up sprayed it with clear lacquer took the pics packed up and came in for the night. A few hours later in the morning I went back outdoors to find the back scene creasing up due to the photo paper getting damp over night. Today I managed to get my hands on a laminater reduced from £24.99 to £9.87 in WHSmiths complete with five laminating pouches. When I got in I unpacked it switched it on and stuck the back scene through. Success the creases have gone and the paper is now sealed. Just waiting for "I told you so" from the Mrs.:lol: