Model Railway Forum banner

Ray's new layout - based on North Wales' Coast line

54082 Views 250 Replies 45 Participants Last post by  Doug
Hi folks,
Well as I am going on holiday for 3 weeks, I thought I would commit myself into building a new layout on my return. My last effort was a 9ft x 4ft point to point with continuous run, but the curves were too tight and lots of locos can't run properly on it. So it will be ripped up in the near future and a new continuous run 10ft x 5ft (or 10ft x 6ft if I can squeeze it in) will be built in my garage.

The new plan will be a purely fictitious station, MPD and goods yard somewhere on the North Wales Coast line.

This is an 8ft x 4ft version designed by S. Jay that I will slightly modify.


There are several reasons for choosing the North Wales location (even though you won't glimpse the sea on this layout!).
First I am a LMS man even though I was born in GWR country (Hereford)
There was a large amount of traffic on the line, freight and passenger, especially with summer holiday traffic. Crack expresses like the Irish Mail and small local trains, it's all there!
I can run just about everything the LMS used from small tank to pacific and still be prototypical (except perhaps for the Coronation Scot - I have no record of that - but it won't stop me!)
There was some interesting architecture to be seen on the line.
In BR days, some unusual visitors were seen including B1's and even the Gas Turbine GT3.

I have a large loco stock so I wanted to include a MPD, just to have a few on display and operational.
The design is interesting enough to operate three trains (2 passenger and one goods), with plenty of scope for exchange of engines and also some shunting.

So that is the plan. I will take this thread all the way from baseboard construction, to track laying, wiring (DC not DCC) and scenics (mainly urban).
I will try to salvage some stuff from my old layout but there will be a new LNWR station building, Bangor style footbridge and other interesting bits and pieces. Other bits, like Engine Shed and Signal Boxes, I have already prepared (see Ray's Building Site thread below).

That's all for the moment, will continue in May, all being well.
See less See more
Status
Not open for further replies.
121 - 128 of 251 Posts
I've made the cuts for the incline.
I forgot to mark it out and cut it earlier with a jig saw so I had to do it manually with a Stanley woodsaw blade.



All feeds including turntable road feed wired up. Just got to wire up two points tomorrow.
See less See more
Today I have finally wired up everything except the turntable motor. All crossover points are interlocked. All sections can be operated by either the "up" side or "down" side of the controller.
So the rest of this week will be spent putting the turntable motor in place and wiring it up.

Also arrived today were the backscenes I ordered.





They are CDC Street Level backscene buildings from Modeltrainsuk http://www.modeltrainsuk.co.uk/cdc-street-...-cards-83-c.asp

I think they will look OK behind the viaduct/embankment wall on a plain sky background.
See less See more
2
QUOTE (Nathan Burnham @ 11 Sep 2012, 20:42) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Sorry if I've missed anything, haven't read all the pages in this yet... is the turntable a kit or a hand-built item? (if a kit, what's the diameter of it and where did the kit come from?) I'm looking for a suitably sized kit or scratch building one for my layout...

Thanks
Nathan

Hi Nathan.
It's a peco one with added plastcard walls, railings and vacuum controls.
I think the details are in "Ray's building site".
Will be posting how to fit a motor soon.
Well it has bee a bit of a struggle, but I have managed to get the turntable working/motorized.

Step 1 I used the ply offcut from cutting out the turntable well to strengthen the base of the well. The centre was cut away to allow room to get at the wiring tags and the bearing. It is simply screwed in place through the fixing locations disguised by the well "drain covers".



Step 2 I am using a clear case motor available widely on ebay or the web. The case if screwed to a small piece of batten cushioned for sound reduction using a piece of track underlay (thin foamboard will do). The wood will be fixed to side of a batten.



Step 3 Using an overlength batten, I drilled a 4.5mm hole somewhere in the centre, having carefully measured where the motor spindle will be positioned. (check that the hole is drilled squarely). Check that the motor operates freely and if necessary, widen the hole.





Step 4 is the tricky bit.
With the motor spindle temporarily in position, measure where the long batten is to be cut to fit between the frame and cut to length.



Step 5 requires cutting the motor spindle to the correct length. NOTE :- Ensure that the spline on the spindle is engaged with the final gear wheel before measuring and while cutting !!
Measure the approx depth between turntable collar and the top of the frame



Then subtract the depth of the batten to give you the length of the spindle above the batten.



Step 6 I added a couple of offcuts of thin foamboard to reduce noise where the batten meets the plywood circular strengthener.



Step 7 With the spindle temporarily in place, pilot drill 4 holes through the batten for final fixing then open out to take fixing screws.

Step 8 Make a final check for fit and working motor. Roughen up the end of the spindle with some emery cloth apply some cyano glue and quickly push the spindle into place within the collar. Leave to set.



The four securing screws (not shown in the pic) between the batten an the plywood strengthener can be tightened/slackened to provide some slight adjustment if the motor binds slightly.

Because I had added plasticard walls to the turntable well, I found out that the ends of the deck rubbed on the walls in places and had to remove some of the ends of the bridge and shave away some high spots on the wall in places before final assembly and gluing.

However, after lots of trial and error, it all works. I will try and post a video soon if I can figure out how to do it !
See less See more
9
QUOTE (Nathan Burnham @ 12 Sep 2012, 17:43) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What voltage are you going to run the motor on? I found that at 3 or 4.5v it is incredibly noisy, let alone the 6v I'd used from a battery pack, or the 12?v of a model railway accessory bus! I've been experimenting with the thing however, and have decided that I an reduce the noise by using a motor out of (I think) a DVD/CD player and making my own version of the clear plastic container thing. If I'm totally unsuccessful, I will simply use the standard stuff...
Nice to know how you went about motorising


Hi Nathan. I used an old basic Hornby train set controller. Controlled 12v output.
See less See more
2
Many thanks for the kind comments. Progress has slowed right down for a number of reasons including awaiting for some bits to arrive and also studying for my exam in a couple of weeks.

I have built a little loading dock from some plastic sheet (awaiting a working yard light for it) I have a yard crane somewhere in storage.





The cobblestones are Wills but with tops sanded down slightly and painted.

Have also made up some timetable boards from plastic sheet and added some posters to a Merit/Wills hoarding.







In the meantime I have purchased a Hornby Class 110 DMU set and an extra centre car plus a Bachmann Royal Scot and Patriot.

On order is a station building, some signs tailored to the layout, some working station and yard lamps and a Lima Crab !

I think there will only be a few posts over the next couple of weeks as I prepare for my exam and also start a new term course.
See less See more
6
These Station and pub signs arrived today from Tracksidesigns. http://tracksidesigns.co.uk/ Usual disclaimer, I am purely a customer.
Must say they are excellent and something unique too for the layout. You can choose up to 3 unique station names and they will create the signs.







Also obtained some station lamps from ebay. They were red but are now maroon !

See less See more
4
Station lamps in place and working, plus a flourescent under the canopy.





Station building now under construction. It will be illuminated and have an illuminated clock.
See less See more
2
121 - 128 of 251 Posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top