Long Newton: BR 1980ish - 1993 in N

[MrT]

Here is my layout for everyones perusal. I've been asked about it a few times, and I've made a bit of progress now, so thought I'd post it up.

Firstly, credit where its due - the layout board/track laying and electrics were done by The Goods Yard, and a very good job they did too. I can't recommend them highly enough. Pictures of the layout as delivered can be found here.

I run stock on the layout from BR Blue to Sectorisation - basically anything with a TOPS number up until privatisation. In terms of operation, I try not to run Scotrail stuff at the same time as NSE for example but am aiming to go for a generic sort of feel to the layout, allowing me to run either as the mood takes me. The first bits of scenic work that you see here (ballasting & track weathering, basically) have taken me a long time - I prefer tinkering with locos to doing scenic stuff but hopefully the layout will move forward at a decent pace now.

Thanks also go to Grahame of Stoney Lane Depot for track weathering advice, Blooregard for depot floor and cable trough ideas, Sprintex for unknowingly giving me the motivation to get my ballasting done (due to his layout looking rather excellent and being done much quicker than mine!) and to Chris (Raider) and Simon (SASLord) for keeping the forum ticking over.

First up, a track plan (which I'm sure some have seen before):



The track is laid to Setrack geometry. Alot of people don't recommend this but I haven't found any problems. My 08 shunter is quite happy over the points (most of the time!) and I haven't found anything which won't run on it (although my VGAs don't like the crossovers!).

I'm sure the rest of the pics will speak for themselves apart from the first, which was an abortive first attempt at the platforms. Any questions, feel free to ask.

[engineer dave]

Hi

Very nice tidy looking layout you have there. I like the trackplan too, plenty of scope for operation, and I like the fact that the main loops aren't just an oval, but have an interesting shape. I wish I had done that on mine!

What sort of scenery are you going for? I'm guessing that the terminus and the country station will call for a mix of urban and rural.

Its nice that you've given a 'nod' to board members who've motivated you. I've also gained a lot of inspiration and advice from many people on this forum.

Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

Cheers



Dave

[Zunnan]

Another layout which proves that Setrack can be used to produce a very appealing model railway. The latter BR Blue photos really do give it its own identity even in this part finished state. That should be motivation in itself to get more scenic work done, as this layout shows real signs of promise!

[BR125]

Good looking layout,I look forward to seeing this develop further and also picking up tips ect for mine!

Regards
Daz

[SouthernBoy]

Nice to see some photos Mr T, well worth waiting for. Your ballasting looks really neat, and toned in nicely with the rails too - great job

Are those CR Signals you've used?
Now that you've started I hope you'll keep the picture-posts coming

[briantwigley]

Wow! That's brilliant. Someone else to do all the hard work; perfect!!

I see the Mercig Deltic there you spoke about, its fantastic.

If you ever want to sell any NSE stuff, I'm your man!

Ryan

[MrT]

Thanks for the kind words gents. The depot floor is now done, although not weathered.

What sort of scenery are you going for? I'm guessing that the terminus and the country station will call for a mix of urban and rural.

Hi Dave,

The tightest corner of the layout will be covered by a tunnel, on top of which will be the edge of a town plus the main terminus building. There will then be a road down into the middle which will lead to the depot - the ground around the middle will be wasteland. Theres so much track I don't want to overdo it with buildings.

There will also be a level crossing which will lead to the branch stations car park.

Or at least thats the plan at this point!

Are those CR Signals you've used?

Hi SB,

They are indeed CR signals (not working though). I cheated a bit and got Paul @ CR to build them for me

[hobby boy]

Great start to your layout!! Shame you don't have working signals.
It's quite useful that the goods yard also fitted point motors for your points as well!

Hobby Boy

[Tank]

A superb looking layout. It looks like you've planned it very well, and great to see another layout in the same era as mine. I'll keep an eye on this one!

[smallman28]

Nice layout,makes me want to build another one in addition to the two I am already working on

[Essex2Visuvesi]

do you think the good shed would do one with the track and plan supplied by me?

[MrT]

Thanks for the kind comments.

do you think the good shed would do one with the track and plan supplied by me?

I'm sure they would - I did the plan for mine. I even changed around the terminus crossover a few weeks after I'd ordered the layout and they were fine with that as well.

[m8internet]

Great intro, but you've not posted much details about the baseboard construction (seems to be quite common, that many people don't post about this process)

Two questions...

The baseboard looks like 12mm MDF
Has the surface been painted, if so what with?
What method has been used for the ballast?

[MrT]

Hi Marcus,

The baseboard is 9mm MDF topped with cork and painted grey - more info can be found on the Goods Yard site, linked in the first post.

I ballasted the track using Woodland Scenics fine grey ballast - this was 'misted' using a fine spray containing water and a little fairy liquid and then fixed in place using a 50/45/5 mix of water, PVA and fairy liquid (normal method I guess) applied with an eye dropper. The track was not weathered prior to ballasting. I then used a Precision Paints 'Track Dirt' aerosol to weather the track and ballast, having put masking tape on the points where they contact the rails. Initially, I was disappointed with the finish, thinking that the paint was too dark but I quite like it now - it seems to have faded slightly and doesn't look quite as bad.

[m8internet]

My last layout (OO gauge) used a similar method, the baseboard painted matt grey, and the track laid, and then ballast glued into place

Before applying the ballast I mixed three different types in a small food bag, to obtain the best look
It's not so essential for N gauge, but I would still recommend it if using ballast chips

I've never gone as far as spraying / applying weathering to track (but I might have to consider it for some areas of my current layout as it all just looks the same!)

Sadly I have used a different method (to save time and effort)
For the fiddle yard the track is simply pinned in to place on unpainted baseboards
Concrete effect sleepers were used, this was mistake but this track was cheaper
The track is laid into PECO foam ballast and then pinned into place
Ballast chips are then glued into place between the foam ballast, and to the sides
Buildings and structures reduce the need for realistic looking ground, etc the remaining area is currently painted with outlines in concrete grey, but this will be dealt with during 2010 (ready for the layouts first appearance on the exhibition circuit)