The Ashbrooke Renewal Project by Whoshotjimmi

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:15 am

Thanks Mountain.

There is still a lot of work to do. The sheep in fast food restaurant car park need to be rounded up, as well as other, less silly items.

In hindsight, I would have done a lot of things differently and some of the decisions I made are now causing me problems when it comes to detail. The amount of space I've left for the signals, for example, as well as the fact that I ballasted before thinking about that properly. I'm definitely not up to the standard of others here and I have to learn the hard way!

I was looking at the terminus platforms yesterday and thinking about how they could be detailed. There is certainly an amount of subsidence on the platforms (another hindsight moment) and I'd like to steal your idea. I'll find a fun way to give credit on the layout.

James

Mountain · Post by **Mountain** » Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:18 am

Another idea for the terminus platforms is to add a drain system down the centre of the track, as if it is a busy terminus, drains were added incase someone flushes the chain.

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Wed Jan 04, 2023 10:32 pm

Hi everyone and happy new year!

It's been just over a year since my last update so I thought it was about time I offered up some progress!

Not a massive amount has changed on the layout recently. I've spent a lot of time playing around with buildings, moving things around and trying to work out what looks right and where. The station approach weaves between some light industrial and retail areas whilst passing beneath some more general high street action and more of a main road where the station building sits. With that in mind, I'm giving it the look of a town that is now benefitting from a little more investment following the recession of the early 90s (funding was slow to materialise during these times but the busy rail corridor through Ashbrooke offered a cheap but potentially lucrative opportunity for developers) though the financial recovery is still in its early stages. It might all look a bit samey and boring currently but I'll work on it with detail over time.

This encouraged me to make the main change, which was to extend the scenic area above the non-station end of the layout to allow a high street to be built (though the area is yet to be populated) and to add some elevation to that corner to give the layout more depth and interest. A school now sits in the mezzanine level but, again, detail is required. Other than that, I've just been adding bits of detail here and there throughout the year as well as spending what feels like the GDP of a small nation on rolling stock. It's not going to win any modelling contests (I am genuinely awful at fiddly stuff

) but it makes me happy! Some of all of this can be seen in some of my fave pictures from the last few months.

PXL_20221225_122307267 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20221229_155134515 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230103_185856561 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_180451443 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20221212_152839285 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_160621675 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20221113_155241719 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_161602065 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_144044269 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_180000900 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_174328936 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230104_174405722 by James Lee, on Flickr

As a little bonus for anyone that made it this far, here is a 10 minute-ish vid of some movements on Ashbrooke from the point of view of a bored student in a classroom on the top floor of the school.

https://youtu.be/G-6wI2FA5v4

Thanks for looking!

James

End2end · Post by **End2end** » Thu Jan 05, 2023 12:31 am

Who needs DCC sound when you've got authentic 'clickedy-clack'?

Very enjoyable modellers meditation.
Thanks
End2end

luckymucklebackit · Post by **luckymucklebackit** » Thu Jan 05, 2023 8:12 am

Missed this layout somehow, excellent modelling, very realistic setting.

Jim

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:31 pm

Hi everyone,

Something a little different this time. It's not Ashbrooke....but it is Ashbooke's analogue cousin!

A couple of new items arrived for which I didn't have DCC chips and I wanted to run them in. It made me wonder if I could put something together in analogue that could be put up and taken down relatively quickly. I also had the motivation of being host to a friend who also has a model railway in N Gauge, albeit it is currently in storage due to a protracted house move and is missing his layout. So after a few ebay clicks and some searching around the loft to find as much spare track as possible, this is what I came up with. It was interesting going back to analogue after the best part of 15 years being digital and in many ways it reminded me of why I enjoyed the hobby to begin with. As much as enjoy it, the real Ashbrooke has all got a little bit serious. This got me back to the times when I just used to 'play trains'. My friend and I had a fab time playing with it though at 8x6 ft it did take over the entire room! Still, the boards can be put up and taken down very quickly and it can be run as 8x6 or 6x4. If it comes out in full again, I'll build some basic stations etc.

One of the best things was getting some non DCC stock out after many years and my Lima Class 101 and Bachmann class 08 got a good run out for the first time in many, many years. I also reverted some locos to DC running to add to the fun! Not top modelling but definitely good fun and a reminder that a pretty substantial layout can still be put together for not an extortionate amount of money.

Thanks for looking!

James

PXL_20230123_135121133 by James Lee, on Flickr

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 7:39 pm

Hi everyone,

I don't have any big updates or piccies per se but I have spent the last few months making additions, changes and increasing stock at Ashbrooke. Just little bits here and there. Today I did a little rewire to give myself a bit more space to operate the layout, whilst fixing some typical summer high temperature damage that currently sees platforms 2-6 closed. I thought I'd just add a little trainspottting video of passenger and freight passing through platform 1 to keep people going during the summer lull. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/9LuOTAb57S0

Phred · Post by **Phred** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 11:09 pm

Thanks for posting the update video. Excellent realistic modelling.

Post by **Bufferstop** » Sun Jul 16, 2023 11:47 am

Hi James, the stripey tent in the roadworks would be placed over a cable joint chamber to enable the cable joiner to work without rain entering the cables. In the '60s an instruction went out that the joiners vehicle should be parked upstream to protect the tent from oncoming traffic. Behind the vehicle would be a row of cones guiding the traffic around the work site. In some sites it was almost impossible to comply with every bit of the instruction, but getting the van in the right position was the bit most often done right.
Just a bit of "guilding on the lilly" it's a nice cameo.
John W.

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Sun Jul 16, 2023 11:41 pm

Ahhh cheers John. Everything is a LONG way from finished! It's changed so much from the pics already, without going into detail. There's about ten set pieces along the layout that I'd like to enhance and I've got ideas for all of them. It's mainly a case of time, patience, planning and fixing past mistakes. And the Bank of England. But I do want to tackle the roadworks area sooner rather than later.

Post by **Dad-1** » Fri Jul 21, 2023 1:02 pm

Hi Whoshotjimmi,

I just love those photos, I see one layout is never enough.

Oh yea, I shot Jimmi - bloody long names !!

Geoff T.

whoshotjimmi · Post by **whoshotjimmi** » Mon Jan 15, 2024 8:40 pm

Hi everyone!

New year so I thought time for a little update. Truth be told, I don't get a huge amount of time to work on the layout so not a huge amount has happened other than collecting stock. I think there has been a lot of positive changes to the world of modelling over the last couple of years and, despite some astronomical price rises, the new manufacturers that are knocking around have put together some exceptional items, many of which likely wouldn't have been produced by the traditional manufacturers. Where there has been duplication, the quality generally has improved greatly over the incumbents and the prices these new manufacturers charge have somewhat shown up the likes of Hornby and Bachmann, in my opinion. The Accurascale Class 37, in particular, is an absolute triumph. It hasn't been all roses though and quality issues have crept in that I simply don't expect any more. The Cavalex MGRs couplings and running characteristics were incredibly poor and this has led me to cancel some locomotive pre-orders with them. EFE too has been a bit of a let down and I have suffered from some of the quality issues on the class 144 that many others have also experienced. That aside, I've been exceptionally happy with the stock that's come in and the availability for my era is now mindblowing.

On the layout itself, the main project is currently expanding the size of the fiddle yard, with the goal of being able to run a 6 hour freight timetable through Ashbrooke. A 2 hour passenger and 4 hour freight timetable is already catered for in terms of stock and space but I am trying to increase this to 3 and 6 respectively. Some people will think this overkill and unnecessary but it's just the way that I like to interact with the railway! Other than that, I've altered the layout of the road and station area above the platforms, started building Ashbrooke high street at the other end of the layout, moved the retaining walls behind the station forwards so that I can add some bits behind the station to give it more depth and toyed with some canopies on the platforms. All in all, plenty to do but happy with progress! I've popped some of my favourite pics from the last 6 months below.

Thanks for looking!

James

PXL_20230622_192311242 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20230923_093706129 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20231226_151826679 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20231228_162056716 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20231228_162024440 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20231231_203853754 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20231231_204230245 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20240114_194946087 by James Lee, on Flickr

PXL_20240114_195120194 by James Lee, on Flickr