New year, new layout.

[PeterH]

the trackplan ...?

Trackplan looks good to me, and a bit late to change now, but a bit of disguise might do the job. Maybe it is a bit one-sided with the container and most of the track at one end. A small shack or object in the big area where the shrub seems to be would balance things more. Or a bit of fence near the headshunt - prop a bit of cardboard in different places and see how it looks. I like Cookie's fence here http://forum.gn15.info/viewtopic.php?t=2355

I don't think of small industrial railways as having trackplans - the rails are narrow and the track is inset into dirty grey stuff or else buried in dirt and weeds, so the track sort of merges into the background.

I like how you called your layout a folly; reminds us that layouts should be fun.

Incidentally, you can break up lumps like limestone chips by putting them on a big area of concrete, bashing with a hammer, sweeping up. I did this on my drive. I noticed that the drive naturally had a coating of fine material - sand, dust, grit, bits of unknown matter - that was good for representing 'ground' on my layout.

[Adrian]

G'day David.

Since my last post, i have put them somewhere "safe" and now can't find the little buggers.

Glad that its not just me that does that

but I'd like to use something to replicate a nice warm morning sun. Was thinking of illuminating from the rear corner, behind the shed to draw your eye into the back...

A lighting source at the back corner is a great idea ..... but it will throw the front of everything on the module into deep shadow. I would suggest 'fill in' lights at the front in the top lid (maybe the Ikea lights if you can them) otherwise all your good work will be for nothing.

So bearing this in mind, any suggestions for a low profile, low voltage cool lighting source? would like it to be battery powered as it will be destined to sit on a shelf.

Unfortunately all lighting tends to use lots of power. LEDs are probably the most power efficient devices available at the moment. They are available in a wide range of colours and sizes. The colour of the white ones can be altered with coloured gells or cellophane. They are also 'battery friendly' and not too expensive and run cool.

Quote:
is this for home or exhibition use ?

Ha! It is strictly for home use. The thought of insulting proper model railways by mixing my feeble efforts makes me smile! Could just imagine sitting beside a 20' long mainline terminus station with my knocked together box....

Don't put yourself down......many 'proper model railways' that I have seen at exhibitions could learn a thing or two from looking at your efforts. And as many other members of this forum will tell you exhibiting is not only great fun but a great way to get honest critique......and it also spreads Gn15 to the rest of the world

Hope that these ravings are of some help

[scott b]

Is there going to be enough room at the base of the Y to shunt a train from the 2 lines?
The material you used for your grass I also use for longer grass and weeds, I glue it down in clumps let it dry and pull alot of it away so it comes across as patchy grass and weeds and then I will add different colours to it for variation.
Looks like you are having fun and perhaps planting seeds for the future with your press ganged labour wish I could get my kids interested.

[david colley jnr]

Peter, I seem to have seen the light. Couldn't quite figure out what every one was trying to say in a subtle way, but as I had envisaged the thing, it was to be viewed over the large grassy expanse, like this:

But this leaves little way of using this grass area as it will block the rest of the view. I tried turning the box. Not very symmetrical, but gives an idea of the new view point.

Much better now, and I even mocked up a little 6x4 shed to fill the ground. Some hedgerow in the background, a little fence and a gate should set it off nicely. I can see a new "lid" coming soon, maybe with some provision for lighting - cheers Adrian for the info. I'll look into what I can pick up from Maplins in the near future...
Scott, it wasn't intended to be a working layout, but after all the work on the points, it does seem like a bit of a waste. Maybe I could create a small extension to fit on after the lid has been taken off? Think i'd only need the one feed, and that could be on the new board. My original concept was just to have the footprint of an A4 sheet.



Anyhow, not much been happening, just a bit more to the points and then spiking with "dretsome"'s technique of cut down staples. Man, I only have a short length of track, but it took forever, so to do a whole layout like the market garden- wow. That is dedication! I'll let a few photo's talk... My bath is about to overflow!









Just drowned the ballast, all hand picked to try and sort the finer stuff and get rid of the chunky rubbish, with a dilute, "wet" PVA. Fingers crossed it comes out the other side alright...

David

[Adrian]

G'day David

Just found a really great new lighting unit......
A plastic light tube with a high efficiency LED at each end so it acts like a fluro.....
http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/level5/module ... 550952.xml
THEN I saw the price
The rest of the layout shouldn't cost that much

[david colley jnr]

Indeed, Adrian! Plus the units are a little on the large side my my offerings to this fine table. However, the actual light units aren't too bad, £15, and the reflector strip is available in units of 100mm, so may be of some use after all. The LED's are rated at 3.6v, so figure it would just about run from a couple of AA's?

Bit more done. Point blades now fitted and seem to be alright.


Didn't want to use the normal fishplates as they looked a little bulky, so eating a mince pie, came up with the thick foil base, cut into strips and embossed... Just realised i didn't take any piccies of the blades in situ.


Fiddly little buggers!


Painted and a bit of magic rust powder dusted on, couldn't think of anything else to drag out the detail. May go for a dark wash in the end.


To get an idea of the overall look.

Got a real "Oh f***!!!" moment when I cut through the rail where I wanted as I used my finest Dremel disk which turns out at 1mm. This looked MASSIVE! After painting though, it seems to close a bit and looks acceptable. Six fishplates down, only another twenty four to go. May be gone some time
Oh, I've been turning an idea round in my head for some chestnut fencing... just need to find some suitable timber!

David

EDIT* may need to break out the decent camera for these! If you squint really hard, in the third photo, they are sat between the second and third sleeper, and in the last photo, sat between the sleeper and rear bufferbeam. They do stand out a bit better in real life, Honest!

[PeterH]

I'm impressed how fast your layout is coming together. Yes, I'd like to see bigger photos.

[Adrian]

G'day David

Glad you liked the lighting units.

Love those fish plates by the way.
Not often modelled but once seen one wonders why.
...... they are really cool !!
Will have to think about adding them to my next layout.

Cheers

[Willow Creek Traction]

Got a real "Oh f***!!!" moment when I cut through the rail where I wanted as I used my finest Dremel disk which turns out at 1mm. This looked MASSIVE! After painting though, it seems to close a bit and looks acceptable.

Have read that some folks fill the gap with a 1mm (.040) piece of styrene.
Glue with a touch of super glue, then trim, shave, file, sand to shape with rail.

Haven't done that myself yet. But for three months have had Dremel sitting on track at spot that needs to be done.

[SOUTHPASS]

I cut my gaps with the Dremel type cut off disc then fill the gap with hot glue. Let it cool then clean up with Xacto.

[david colley jnr]

Not really happy with the fishplates I knocked up, then seeing Bill's fantastic efforts on his display section and finding out they were commecial items prompted me into ordering some myself. They came yesterday, so I spent the evening installing them. My goodness, they are still fiddly little buggers and two hours later, I got into the swing of it....


I've given them a lick of paint (first one got lost in the paint!), and a good wash of "devlan mud" to pick out the detail. No photo's of the finished items yet as I have decided to re-stick the ballast down, so more dilute pva was flooded in. Think the first attempt was too weak and the ballast kept coming adrift.
The fishplates would have been better stuck to the track before painting the rails. Next time....
A quick going over with the airbrush, and i will call the track "finished"

Whilst waiting for the fishplates, George found a wagon chassis kicking around in my bits box. He also found some three hole wheels i'd been using for gauging the track and promptly insisted I put them together. And so the "Jim Davidson" wagon was born. Well, it's as crude as him...


A bit of timber inserted into the frame to hold the wheels, some notches cut in underneath to hold the wheels and some offcuts of angle to hold them in. A lick of paint later and it's on the rails. Actually rolls freely and straight, although it won't stand many miles...


A crude timber deck with ends was constructed from split down sleeper balsa, painted beige, then a couple of washes with the fantastic Games Workshop "devlan mud". This really is fantastic stuff, not sure what it is thinned down with, but it really collects in just the right places! Recommended!


Put it all together...


George is happy with it!

Still working on the picket fencing, but off to play proper trains now.

David

[Simon Andrews]

Found this possible lighting solution http://www.maplin.co.uk/dc-12-v-flexible-led-light-strip-400mm-47376?c=froogle&u=47376&t=module

Simon.

[Artizen]

Is this an option?

http://www.jaycar.com.au/ProductResults ... BCATID=879

[david colley jnr]

Thanks Simon and Ian, those look like great ideas for concealed lighting and have both made it to my bookmark list, though I was looking for something more like this as a self contained unit to sit on top of a cut out and be self sufficient, with no wires...

David

[Artizen]

I really like the adjustable LED track lighting option. Better even than strips because you can direct the light. Might have to be careful that you don't end up with bright pools of light and shadows from only three light sources though. Battery life might be an issue but no doubt if you can wire track, you can wire up a 12V DC power supply to it as well.

As a reference, the Jaycar strips are only $15 for a 300mm length so I thought I would get a second price from a major lighting chain. Their price was $60 plus another $130 for the transformer. Just goes to show that sometimes it pays to think about alternative methods and supplies.

[michael]

David I thought your own fish plates were very good, frankly I have a hard time telling the difference between your own painted ones and the commercial ones.

[Pandy]

Erm, just because it's called a track light doesn't mean that you've got to stick it over a railway you know
Some interesting possibilities amongst those links, have to agree with Micheal, thought your own fishplates were rather good. As for chestnut fencing, well, years ago I made a fascine for a model of a Churchill AVRE in 1:76 scale from brush bristles and fine strands of wire, some of it was brush bristles and thin cotton thread, I must have been mad to attempt it, almost guaranteed to send you bug eyed & barmy, but, it worked I seem to remember making a couple more with scale oil drums in amongst the chestnut fencing, not sure what happened to those. Thinking about the fencing in larger scales had me at first thinking about the "bristles" from some of the cheaper brooms that are around and then about split skewers or chopsticks, I'm a long way off needing to actually make the fence yet but I think I'll be going with the fine wire strands & split skewers and then going straight to the nearest asylum ! Good luck with whichever method you decide on using, keep up the good work

[SOUTHPASS]

Thanks for the link Ian/Artizen. Those lights will be perfect for the station area at Swingler on my SOUTHPASS LINE.