Alex3410 - My Railway

[alex3410]

I am making slow progress with the fiddle yard, life just gets in the way

I have had to rework some of the layout to get it into the space so watch this space to see what i end up with!

in the meantime i have treated myself to this:


Its a little bit bent & battered but its the first one i have spotted on eBay with the full width and a reasonable price, currently off with dad to be sorted out but looking forward to putting it up on the layout.

I wanted a SECR lamp that went up a few weeks ago but anything SECR related seems to go for silly money at the moment

[Mountain]

Isn't it the wrong scale for your layout?
It will look really nice.
I like the Lima coaches. Lima coaches always did run well.

[Montfort]

Are you going to build a 1:1 scale layout?

[Bufferstop]

When you are fitting fishplates do you file a lead on the edges of the rail foot, and test each one on a spare bit of rail before using them. There's nothing raises the curse level more than trying to push on a fishplate at arm's length, where you can't see it properly, than one that is so tight it's never going to go on the rail in a month of pushing.

[alex3410]

I have taken to using a file to make sure all of the edges are clean, I am using rail cutters but noticed the cut is not always 100% and it was leaving extra metal under it which was causing the issues

Not a long job but adds extra step, have not had any issues since doing it however so onto a winner

Well if the lottery goes my way tonight I might just start 1:1

[alex3410]

Some progress over the weekend, i have the fiddle yard track down for now - i think there is some room for improvmeent in the future but for now its OK. I have it all laid and the feeder wires soldered on, i just need to connect them up to the bus wire.







I also have the rolling road and programming track in place, its nice to have set aside space for these:

What i do need to do (apart from connect up the rolling road) is look into having a switch for the rolling road so i can connect DC power as well for testing new locos.

Next on the list is to connect it all up to the bus, i will be honest i took one look under the baseboard - and this is only 1/2 of it
and thought i would leave it for another day :

[Chops]

Magnificent photo essay of the evolution of a remarkable layout. My favorite pieces are the diesel shunter with the jack shafts and the coal rake. May I ask exactly what shade of green paint did you use? It looks like a Forest Green, but not as dark. I am looking to find the right color to paint up a Silver Fox Deltic shell.

[alex3410]

Thank you, i am glad you have enjoyed reading through the thread.

I honestly cant remember which paint i used in the end, it was one of my first projects after getting into the hobby - something i keep meaning to revisit as well.

If you post the question on the forum i am sure someone will have the answer your looking for.

[alex3410]

No to much progress of late, i have been distracted by other bits and bobs

Also avoiding connecting up all the dropper wires as its not going to be a fun job in the meantime i have tried my hand at scratch building again, this will be the first project that has got this far so a fair bit wrong with it but overall i am pleased with it so far:



The windows don't look as wonky in real life! The inspiration for this was Bachmann Branchline 44-0086 Industrial Gate House so i build mine based off of this, downstairs away from the railway. Turns out i would have been better building it the other way around as it would have lined up with the track much better!

So the next job was to rearrange my plans for the area, lesson learnt and next time i will make sure it fits within my track plans before starting



This is what i have so far, i have ordered another 3 sets of points which i need to finish the track laying so hopefully will make some more progress with that soon.

It will mean more dropper wires to connect up to the bus, making that job even less appealing!

[luckymucklebackit]

Looks good Alex - I see you managed to master the interface between the two roof sections nicely!

Jim

[alex3410]

i will be honest i restored to trial and error using the tip about making templates from paper first

The other side is not as smoothly done

Next up is painting it and getting the track down, i am really looking forward to starting some scenic sections of the layout but want to get track etc perfect first

[joshv8]

Man, you gotta be happy with that for scratch building... it looks fantastic! Im never happy with anything I do haha... but you learn where to better yourself for next time!

[Montfort2]

Well done. What's next ? Maybe it's too cold in your loft...

[alex3410]

it is very cold

Progress has been well and truly scuppered by the birth of our daughter not long after my last update shes just over one now but just as hectic as ever.

It means i have not found the time over the last year to do much of anything, I think I have had about half an hour in the last year in the loft and most of that was spent clearing away boxes and bits we had just shoved up there.

I am hopeful I can make some more progress soon, I would like to at least get it to the stage where everything can run so I can at least show it off to the little one but won't be holding my breath

[Dad-1]

Alex, Enjoy your time with the little one, it passes by SO fast
and building a railway is never meant to be a race.

Geoff T.