A layout in progress, slow progress...

   S’mae Peter
We are definitely on the same side. Must admit I haven’t been on a train since my last day at Salford – some 36 years ago – since then we have lived in very rural locations – so no experience of the fares nowadays. Back then they did represent reasonable rather than good value for money – but from what you say I don’t think that we would have the funds for rail travel today anyway!
  Keith

  S’mae Barry
   Yes, I reckon the world was a much happier place back then than it is today. Woodside will be around for some time to come, whether it will ever be anything resembling finished is a wholly different matter!
  Keith

  S’mae Kevin
  No apology necessary.
  Keith

  Meanwhile….

I took this recently on one of the rare occasions of late, due to this weather we’ve been ‘enjoying’, when the railway was actually running as it illustrates how I keep to the actual timetable of the day.




The Standard 5 is just arriving in platform 2 at Hooton with the 5.57 semi-fast to Shrewsbury. This train departed Woodside at 5.37, and will leave Hooton at 5.59 – presumably the timetabled wait at Hooton is to allow for some parcels to be loaded. It has spent most of the twenty minutes since leaving Woodside in one of the loops under Woodside. Behind this, held at the signal on the main line is a Stanier tank which has just departed from Woodside with the 5.56 stopping train to Chester. While the Standard 5 is waiting in Hooton, the Stanier tank will proceed to the loop which held the Shrewsbury train. The standard 5 can then depart Hooton at 5.39, and travel down to the cutting leading to the fiddle yard using another free loop under Woodside. At 6.18 the Stanier tank can then arrive at the due time in Hooton. And so on…..

I’d like to say that I had planned all this before laying any track….. but I didn’t – I don’t do planning at any time, just fitted as much track as I could in the space under Woodside. Miraculously it just works with the track layout I have, as it does on many other occasions during the day, there is always a loop free when you need it.  Once this second run is finished I’d like to try a run of the summer timetable which I think will be more problematic with the additional summer traffic. But first I have to remember the ‘safe place’ I decided to use to store said summer timetable….. failing that I have a Bradshaw from  February 1959, which will involve the odd motive power change…. or I could make a start on the green bits…… steady on….

….. at long last the weather is making a determined effort to catch up with the calendar,  happy days!

Keith

Not quite sure what happened to the line spacing on the last post, thought I did what I've always done - the spacing appeared OK just before posting, but clearly the blank lines have all disappeared…… I'm sure someone will  put me right  -

Keith
 

…..just noticed the Edit box at the foot of every message…. so spacing sorted!

My grey cell gets there in the end - just takes a lot longer than it used to take, for even the simplest of tasks….

Keith

That's a nice scene Keith but you lost me when you mentioned "planning" !  

I've heard the word before but have no idea what it means.  

Your Hooton shots inspire me - I still have loads of trackwork to do around the layout but now really want to do some scenic stuff so I have somewhere to take photos.  Keep them coming please.  :thumbs

Hi Keith.  February 1959 Bradshaw timetable, just a couple things there, I didn’t think that you had a plan, the timetable okay, are you doing a Michael Portillo? I have never had a Bradshaw. I had to carry one when I worked on the London Underground, not as you would believe it, late running was frowned upon even in the rush hour, and on one occasion in particular my train had lost 20 minutes on a 20 minute journey, all the trains were late but I still had time to make the tea without losing anymore time. Best wishes Kevin 

  S’mae Peter

Come on now – me and planning?!!    Note that in the post I did say “I don’t do planning at any time”, I do have a vague idea of the meaning of the word, which is why I have chosen to ignore it.

Over the last few years I have tried to take photos of the layout from positions/angles which give the impression that the layout is far more finished than it is. I’d recommend that technique rather than getting too involved with getting all the green bits finished when there are far more important things (trackwork) to do. If this helps, here is a view of the marshalling yard/engine shed junction, operationally an important part of the layout….which, as you can see, shows that even something as basic as ballasting has yet to be started. The signal box does help to ‘hide’ the unfinished junction.



….. personally I would concentrate on the trackwork for now – you can’t run trains on the green bits! The green bits will come later …..much later in my case.
 
Keith

S’mae Kevin

The only ‘plan’ I have is to operate the layout to the timetable of the day, so it is essential that I do have a copy of the timetable. All my timetables are from my trainspotting days back in the early 60s, finding a different timetable however may take a while – they are definitely somewhere in the loft…. or the garden sheds…. or the spare bedroom….

Keith

We'll both be pleased there are parts of Woodside yet to be tackled Keith.

Me because it makes me feel better and you because much of the fun is in the modelling rather than just running trains.


What are you using for underlay in the marshalling yards - it looks interesting…… ?   :hmm

S'mae Peter

It is just strips cut from what we used to cover the kitchen floor some time back now - "Cushionfloor" is the generic name. Pattern side down as the under side has a finely dimpled surface, which helps to 'hold' the ballast until the adhesive dries. It is about 1/8 inch thick, and so gives a decent 'shoulder' to the ballast.

Keith

I know the stuff Keith - thanks.  :thumbs

In my day, we used hessian backed 'lino'………………on the kitchen floor, not as underlay … 

Progress with the timetable is still very slow, but finally the 2P has set off on the second run of the evening with the 6.00pm stopper to Woodside – with the rush hour now over the local suburban services can again run through to Woodside rather than terminating at Rock Ferry. I’ve included this photo purely because it shows the home on the advanced starter off, distant on – as there is already one train in the loop, nothing new in that…..

 

…however, the first attempt a few days earlier, when I operated the switch for that signal, the arm ended up hanging vertically down on the pole. At first I thought that the hole on the arm had cracked – that would involve taking the signal off the layout for a while so that the arm could be replaced – turned out the control wire had just slipped out of the arm, nothing broken ….just a simple matter of putting the wire back through the arm. Now, it must be nigh on nine years since I fitted this signal…. back then it would seem the link between the grey cell and my fingers was significantly stronger than it is today….. with the result that after several failed attempts to locate the wire back in place on the arm with the air getting bluer by the minute, and the yard lamp outside the goods shed looking very vulnerable, I had just about given up trying to do it with the signal in situ. After a break, I decided just one final attempt – and this time, no problem, wire straight back in the arm. Checked it, and it was staying put. From now on, I’ll check it at the start of every session. In future I suspect I will be relying on the Dapol examples, just have to make do with the odd single distant, rather than building any more Ratio kits….. and Woodside station will probably have to rely on colour lights permanently (not sufficient clearance to the storage loops below for the Dapol signals) …..once I get around to fitting them. Before fitting of course I will need to do a bit of finding …..all the various signals are in boxes ….somewhere. For me the signals really should be finished before I do anything about the green bits – I’ll use any excuse.

Keith

Hi Keith
That is a view I havent seen before……that looks a very complex junction….I have often wondered how you marshall all the trains for your timetable.

I dont suppose you have a track plan/schematic to help me connect Woodside and Hooton (which I am familiar with) with the yard?

I often wish I had followed your advice and delayed scenery and ballasting until all the track was laid and proven. Retrospective adjustments of ballasted track in the middle of a built up area can be very counter productive!

Bestwishes

S'mae Peter

Hesian backed lino - there's posh!  - I recall a bit of tatty old carpet just in front of the sink…. the rest, just tiles….

Memories, memories….must be getting old!

Keith

S'mae John

You are quite correct in your assumption - distinct lack of any documented information here - but if you go back to the start of this thread, I have used the various control panels to give an idea of the way the layout is set up.The photo in question is of the marshalling yard (freight only) /engine shed juction. The main line is on the left leading to Woodside, the single track in the centre is the entrance to 6C Shed, and the double track on the right is to the marshalling yard and back up to the goods Depot. All passenger and parcels stock is sorted in the sidings at Woodside Station.

Best described as organised chaos, but somehow it seems to work, not a technique to be recommended….

I'll have a go at a more general sketch of the layout, possibly a photo would help, bear with me please…..

Keith

S'mae John

I've had the camera out again to try to give a more overall view of the layout, which is on three levels…. the top level is essentially Woodside Station and coach sidings, goods marshalling yard and depot and 6C - Birkenhead shed.



From the station the main line passes 6C, the goods yard, Apologies for the shake - but it is a bit difficult to get the camera where it needs to be - and then heads down the slope to end up in the loops/sidings beneath Woodside Station - the intermediate level - and then on to Hooton Station..



- that bloke always manages to get in the photo… behind him you can glimpse the north end of the fiddle yard.

Back again to the intermediate level under Woodside, before heading down again to the third level, the fiddle yard. That Shrewsbury train pictured earlier is now waiting for access to the fiddle yard.

Hope that helps…. what it does show is that I've packed as much as I can into the space available. There are a couple more views in the gallery. Currently there are around 54 engines, 65 coaches/parcels and some 90odd wagons on the layout - no, I don't know how they all fit!

Keith

That's far more complex than I'd imagined Keith.  :shock:

Have you any idea what sort of gradients you've used and therefore, what clearance you've got between the levels ?  

I'm thinking about your ability to access stock "underneath" in the event of a loco running out of coal or water  whilst on one of the lower levels……….:hmm

Hi Keith

Thats great……..thank you!  I have a much clearer idea of the geography of the layout now. As Peter said its far more complex than I imagined. No wonder you can deal with the rush hour with that number of locos and coaches.

Do you have most of them set up as fixed rakes with just a loco change from the shed? Incidentally I have been meaning to ask for years……do you run the timetable to real time or a fast clock?

Thanks again …..it will be much easier for me to follow and enjoy your timetable movements now!

Best wishes