Welcome to the friendly forum.
Looks like a good setup and some lovely scenic work as a new modeller. I'd venture a guess that 'you' have modelling skills from another world?
That's a great collection of stock you have to get variety in running.
Is this DC or DCC?
As you say, a lot to do. It's an old adage in the MR world that a layout is never finished- invariably more details to add or even extensions!
Finally, great to hear it's been/being done as a team😍

 

Welcome to the friendly forum.
Looks like a good setup and some lovely scenic work as a new modeller. I'd venture a guess that 'you' have modelling skills from another world?
That's a great collection of stock you have to get variety in running.
Is this DC or DCC?
As you say, a lot to do. It's an old adage in the MR world that a layout is never finished- invariably more details to add or even extensions!
Finally, great to hear it's been/being done as a team😍

Hi John,
Thanks for the reply.

It’s DC. My Father in Law, from whom I inherited, had everything I needed to get going. DCC, apart from being a dark art for me, seemed a bit much for this sort of layout from what I understand.

(I say “inherited “ it’s not strictly true. I had no idea he had this layout until after he died, my mother in law was going to chuck the whole lot in the skip before I intervened and saved it, although I had no idea what I was going to do with it, which is why it was in storage for 15 years).

I do not have any modelling skills at all, alas, I do bit of research and have a go. Fortunately nowadays there’s hundreds of resources available on line to use.
The tunnel is made up of mostly scrap material, the main bulk is scrap celotex, cardboard, expanding foam, the ” grass” is insulation “blanket“ from a Hello Fresh food delivery parcel, and glue. All of these materials i had available leftover from other projects and cost nothing. I obviously bought the portals and walls from Hornby, but at an Easter discount, and I bought paint for the grass.

Regards

Carl.

 

Hi & another Welcome to you both to the Forum. As already mentioned its a friendly place & "clueless" tends to fit in perfectly with most of us
As John has already said, you seem to have made an excellent start already between you both & some lovely work already to be seen.
Think its always nice to see an old layout both brought back to life but also when there's some sort of family attachment / history to it all the more so - maybe take a look at what Pete is doing on his Grandad's old N Gauge layout thread; which is a current wip too.
Think what has been done so far is also quite a transformation from the original already & no doubt with lots being learnt as you go along too - that's one of the other great parts of this hobby, you never stop learning.
Also nice in that it's a joint project too - hope you are both going to be allowed to "play" trains too of course
There are lots of friendly members on here & its a great place to ask questions, bounce ideas - no matter how clueless they may seem or just show what you are working on; everyone tends to learn from it too.
Like to collection of loco's & stock you are adding to the existing & anyone with any sort of Flying Scotsman is fine by me; or perhaps am just a little bias ............................
Anyway welcome on board & hope you continue to enjoy the hobby & the Forum, & will look forward to future posts / videos; Cheers for now & Happy Modelling, on another Tidy Friday, Norm

 

Thank you Norm ( if I use your name)
My wife has absolutely no interest in running the trains, but she loves problem solving, fixing things and she found the challenge of making the points electric ( only three were powered before), and adding lights right up her street.
It has certainly been a steep learning curve, I have a lot to learn and some of its quite mind boggling, but it has been fun. I even went to the National Rail Museum on Wednesday, to see the Flying Scotsman, only to discover its in Didcot, 3 miles from where I live.

 

Hi again Carl,
Norm is fine - get called a lot of other things too
That Flying Scotsman story has made me chuckle out loud, great story for sure.
If you are that close to Didcot you have a wonderful resource on your doorstep almost too - Jeff one of the members on here (Stevenage MRC Threads) is quite involved with things there too.
Sounds like with her skills & willingness to take on a challenge, your wife could well be in even greater demand than normal on the Forum .................. electrickery is often such a black art to so many of us for sure !
Don't worry on the steepness of the learning curve or the mind boggling side of things; that's almost par for the course; just as you think you have one thing cracked, something else pops its head up - but having said that here on the Forum, you will find different members with different skill sets are always willing to try to assist / offer advice or point you in a certain direction, but all in a well meant friendly manner too.
Anyway, Good Luck on catching up with the Flying Scotsman & with further progress on the layout - btw, really like your approach on using "left over" / free materials or even upcycling too - excellent stuff, Cheers again, Norm

 

...in the middle of a project that’s never going to finished!

'Situation normal' in this hobby. Simply continuing with whatever you both enjoy is a good recipe for coninuing enjoyment..

 

I should have mentioned the trees on the layout are all homemade too, adapting a technique I found on the tube of u, using cat post scratching string left overs, copper wire from electrical cable, and ground down painted sawdust. ( I bought the paint).

 

Trees look very good indeed; seems to be quite a popular topic at the moment on the Forum; from John's / Shedman's hillside to the various different method videos / etc.
Assume along with buying the paint, also bought the cat food too eh
Cheers again, Norm

 

A warm welcome from me too, and for someone with no clue your doing very well. I'll look forward to seeing more.

 

@Norman Byrne Alas, we no longer have the cat.
@Alan@Formill Valley thank you for the welcome.

 

Sorry to hear on the cat front - but now has a paw or even a claw on all those trees on the layout eh - memories live on .................

 

A quick video of running the new City of Lancaster the other day. In my youthful enthusiasm 🙄 to run the train I didn’t notice the buffers twisted. Also a quick glimpse of the 20 year old Flying Scotsman.

 

hi and welcome
nice layout ,will have a lot of fun with it ,and always remember there is no wrong way to do anything if its what you want then all is well
gl have fun phill

 

@phill Thank you, I am having fun with it, it’s been quite therapeutic actually. Also quite vexing at times. (I’m looking at you point switches🤬). It’s all good.

 

Here’s video of it not long after I set it all up as I thought my FIL would’ve had it, before my my madness set in.

At that time the only things I had bought for it were the Oxford Diecast models at the level crossing.

 

yep i got into it in a strange way had a few problems but now rebuilding having fun and not to much money being spent
cheers phill

 

Um, yes, well, oh dear.

 

Another thing we did quite early on was experiment with lights in the coaches, with magnetic reed switches. My wife fitted those, I added some people and also had to mask the inside of the coaches to stop light bleed. I think the lights are a bit bright, but I’ll deal with that another time.

 

Another thing we did quite early on was experiment with lights in the coaches, with magnetic reed switches. My wife fitted those, I added some people and also had to mask the inside of the coaches to stop light bleed. I think the lights are a bit bright, but I’ll deal with that another time.

View attachment 36173

View attachment 36174

The addition of lighting be it to coaches / rolling stock, buildings, lamp posts & the like, as has been said on here many times, really does add another dimension to the complete scene.
In terms of brightness & light bleed that is often a challenge, but there are lots of different options around, some obviously depending on what has been used, one of the more recent tips from another fairly new member (Andrew) with a theatre lighting background being the use of some coloured jells on the light fittings to effectively dull them down, or resistors can also be added / used - but does depend on what has been installed to some degree - but that's all part of the fun eh.
Passengers & Little People also make a significant difference - that's still on the famous "To Do List" here; along with ballasting, before anyone elses mentions that (John)
Anyway, looks like you have already been having a dabble in all sorts of aspects of the layout / MR front, which is great too see.
Those level crossing gates being motorised / working might be a nice challenge for the Better Half at some point too, with a few signals added on there approach each side ....................
Very nice videos too - looks like the running is very smooth too, which is always nice to see as well.
Enjoy & Cheers for now, Norm

 

Sounds like an ideal solution on the level crossing gates tbh; there are lots of different options around - What are my options for motorising a level crossing on my layout ? the ballasting is a bit of a standing joke on here & my Loft Layout, with John / Shedman having set various challenges over the years; however so far the only completed ballasting being that done fairly recently on the Wine Box Fun Build front - but Never say Never eh; but take it not something that ranks highly on your theraputic MR hobby list
Cheers again, Norm

 

Welcome to the forum Carl,
Looks like you're off to a flying start!

 

Hi Carl,

Again welcome to the forum, I am new here myself also, but have been made to feel like home already and learnt plenty on the way! I look forward to following your progress and well done for saving this from going in the skip.

Enjoy the process, think you've motivated me to get some more done on mine tonight!

 

@Norman Byrne thank you for that useful link on level crossings.

 

Yep, the details do make a difference. I ordered an additional 18 Prieser figures and 6 Brekina automobiles earlier today from MSL in Germany.

I had to decide between this and a new Br.146.2. The details won out and the Br.120 will soldier on for another month.

 

Hi again Carl,
Something that crossed my mind given both your location & also recent arrival on the Model Railway hobby front, which you may not have come across is Pendon Museum, which is almost on your doorstep too - without doubt something not to be missed on the MR front totally amazing modelling; they also run a whole range of courses too -

Apologise if you are already aware of it or have even been, Cheers for now, Norm

 

Thanks Norm, It is very near me, and I haven’t been there yet, and until about four weeks ago I had never heard of it, even though I’ve cycled near it and past it several times.

 

WOW! I go to Scotland for a day (with very poor internet) and come back to find this thread.

Welcome to the forum Carl, what a great layout you have, certainly a lot of work has been done to this and I look forward to seeing more of it.

Regarding motorised crossing gates, and signals there are various methods of motorising (or operating by hand) to open if the train is stationary and operating the signals, such as by cable, IR or micro-switches, but as you know there is a great resource on YT so well worth a search to see what suits.

 

Thanks for the welcome @Smudge8617 and comments on the layout, I’ll certainly update all as things progress.
The forum does appear to helpful friendly site.
Im just finding my way around it.
My wife is in charge of all things electrical on the layout, and has everything in hand. As I type she’s installing more lights, a couple at the level crossing and a couple by the “Old Station Cafe”.
This week I’ll be doing more landscaping and painting on the road.

 

I was just having a little stock take of what I have and what I might need for the layout.
I was considering getting another couple of Oxford Diecast vehicles, at ten I think there’s more than enough for the layout.
A photo.

Each vehicle holds a significant place in our history—every one sparks a memory for my wife and me, except for the Mini police car, I thought my wife needed another challenge, and I’ve asked her to find a blue LED so it’ll flash.

 

You could also add head and tail lights to the flashing blue one.

 

Hi again Carl,
What a lovely collection of vehicles for the layout; there's always a real plus if there are some sort of nostalgic links to items on the layout from Locos / rolling stock to cars to buildings, which all both add to the back story & the enjoyment too of course.
Adding details like the police car flashing light also add another great level of detail without doubt as well - also everyone likes a challenge eh (* there are all sorts of lighting kits out there too).
Cheers as always & Happy Modelling, Norm
PS. Have a number of those models on the Loft layout here too - inc the AA Motor bike

 

@Smudge8617 & @jcm@gwr putting all those lights in might send her bonkers! I’ll propose the idea and report back.

 

If we don't hear back we'll assume your dearest beloved has called the paddy wagon and you've taken up residence at a local asylum.

 

Police Disco Van here we come springs to mind ...............................