ROBINSON ROAD GOODS DEPOT - Layout No.2

[RailwayRobbo]

Some significant visible progress at ROBINSON ROAD GOODS DEPOT over he last couple of weeks.
The depot platforms are taking shape.

I'm finding it quite comfortable working on the layout at 'height'. Less strain on my aging back lol.

As with the baseboard it's took a lot longer to get the platforms down than it did on PETERSDALE.
With PETERSDALE it was just a matter of cutting strips of MDF to the correct measurements on the school circular saw then cutting to length and gluing them in position.
Measuring and cutting 2mm card with a Stanley knife and a long straight edge proved to be quite time consuming.
There will also be a shorter platform (shown as the long dotted line in the bottom left corner of pic 4) that runs parallel to the main platform which I'll build when the track is laid. Whenever that may be.

I've made my final revision to the track plan removing the short spur I was going to use to stable the yard shunter in. I'm also not putting the turnout at the end (see picture 4) as it only gives a very short siding and reduces the distance between the front of the layout and the sidings.

Picture 1 - Platform layout at the buffer stops.

View of yard looking towards the buffer stops

Picture 2 - Close up view looking towards the buffer stops.

Close up view looking towards the buffer stops.

Picture 3 - Platform end at the entry to the yard.

Platform end at the entry to the yard.

Picture 4 - General view look towards the yard exit showing the position of the turnouts (The last turnout will be removed).

General view looking towards the yard exit.

Picture 5 - D2581 a loco that will definitely be working in the yard sat on a short length of track doing a clearance test.

D2581 Sat on the only piece of Code 100 track I have doing a clearance test lol.

Now the layout is taking a physical shape on the baseboard I'm realising there will be quite an area of the board which will need landscaping in some form. Something else to get my brain thinking about.

[Admin4]

I too like a high board that you can comfortably stand at to mess about

[RailwayRobbo]

The Peco track and turnouts I ordered from Hattons a few months ago is now trickling through.
3 weeks ago I got my small radius Y point and some rail joiners.
Yesterday I got an email saying my 10 lengths of code 100 had arrived.
Now I just need my other turnouts and I'll be a happy chappy. Once they arrive I can empty my 'trunk' lol.
Just need my enthusiasm to return and it's all systems go. I think it's been washed away in all the endless rain we've been having.

Pete

[glencairn]

Just need my enthusiasm to return and it's all systems go. I think it's been washed away in all the endless rain we've been having.

Pete

Waiting for 'stuff' for some time can be demoralising. It's just a case of doing other little jobs ready for when 'Christmas again' arrives.

Glencairn

[Dad-1]

Waiting for stuff can be frustrating, but having the stuff, but lacking inspiration is thoroughly disheartening !
Me I like the idea of scenic space. I'm interested to see what and how it's used !!

Geoff T.

[Admin4]

I think it's been washed away in all the endless rain we've been having.

There are days that I think building an arc would be more practical than a railway

[RailwayRobbo]

GOOD NEWS
Progress is being made on ROBINSON ROAD GOODS DEPOT.
Not only that I've managed to source all the track and points I needed for the layout as well.
I've had my lengths of code 100, a small radius Y-Point and some buffer stops in my trunk at Hatton's for a few weeks.
A couple of weeks ago I scoured the internet for my remaining points and fishplates. I found just what I wanted at Hereford Model Centre. So I'm good to go now no excuses

Progress on the layout.

Main Depot platforms and ramps complete except for white marking to platform edge.

The white background is the interior back wall of the warehouse.
There's a 25mm gap between the backscene and the warehouse front so I can install lighting and some items like crates, parcels and oil drums etc.

Warehouse front temporarily in place just to see what it looks like.

The smaller parallel platform will be where the piece of flat balsa wood is.
The platforms with the main warehouse buildings on will have a flat roof and a canopy with lighting.
The smaller platform will be open with lamps standards for lighting.

close up of hat will be the buffer stops on the main platform.

Not decided yet on a colour scheme but it will probably be Midland Railway Maroon.

[RailwayRobbo]

Following on from my last post in this thread very little has changed.
The platforms now have their white edges. A framework for the low relief warehouse fronts has been constructed along the backscene (the white painted area shows the finished length of the warehouse frontage).
I've been decorating the warehouse fronts with some leftover enamel advertising signs from Petersdale.
The next job will be to cut some thin card for the arched brickwork above the windows and the sills to give a more 3D appearance. Then I'll paint the window frames, doors etc in Midland Railway maroon and white to make it look more authentic.
I've decided to leave the main brickwork unpainted. I justify this (lol) by the existence of an old shoe factory (now used by an engineering firm) just down the road from where I live built from a similar coloured brick. It's grade 2 listed because it's the last remaining building in Northants that made just one specific item for the boot and shoe industry, heels. Most factories did the full manufacture of the footwear. Also the laser cutting of the detail on the warehouse fronts isn't very deep, so I think painting them would be a long drawn out job and I'd probably lose the mortar courses. They will of course be weathered when they are in place. I think there are 6 individual fronts to paint. That's 18 window frames just for starters lol. The warehouse will have a flat roof and a canopy over the platforms. The smaller second platform will be open to the elements.
So still a lot go do to show any significant progess.
I've had a good birthday and Xmas with regards to Rails vouchers for presents so I've decided to splash the lot on a green Bachmann 08 Shunter for Robinson Road. It's a pre-order so I don't know when the release date is.

Stay safe guys.

[joshv8]

Coming along nicely!
Im really liking the station area and the laser cut building end looks great.
Regarding painting the laser cutting... lightly spraying in a really causes no fill to the mortar lines. Just for future reference

I find adding the card around the windows a must for some depth.

It seems quite a few projects happening this coming year so exciting times ahead!

Cheers,
Josh

[Dad-1]

Hi RailwayRobbo,

I am watching, but heck, only layout No.2 ? You've been slacking !!

Geoff T.

[RailwayRobbo]

Hi guys. Yes I'm still here. It's been a bit of ups and downs since the New Year but hopefully things will calm down a bit for the summer.
Progress has been made with 'Robinson Road' as you'll see from the pictures.
I've enhanced the laser cut low relief warehouse fronts I bought.
I decided to leave the brickwork in it's original colour for 2 reasons. Firstly there are still a few old buildings locally that are remnants of the boot and shoe industry left standing and they all are built of buff coloured brick. Second I'm trying to cut down on the amount of work I've got to do on the layout = idleness lol. Even though they are laser cut the warehouse fronts still looked a bit 2D so I've highlighted they sills and arches on the windows with a bit of 2mm card to give them a bit more of a 3D appearance. I've painted the window frames and glazed them. The sliding doors could be assembled so you could open and shut them but I've fixed them both in the open position.
In the pictures the warehouse fronts are only leaning on the supports fixed to the backscene so you get an idea how they will look. There's still some brickwork to add to the bottom of the buildings and some stone columns to hide the joins between the sections. When they are all permanently fixed in their final positions I'll give the brickwork a bit of light weathering to age the building a bit.
I'm going to make a simple canopy from card so I knocked up a small section from some scrap card I had. It needs to be longer over the platform. I'll put some rooflights in the sloping part and finish the front off with a traditional wooden facia.
I've bought some of those LEDs you get on a roll to light the interiors and under the canopy. I wish I'd lit the buildings on PETERSDALE.
The piece of balsa is where the second shorter platform will be. I'm going to take it up and make the platform 3" or 4" longer I think. I'll leave building the second platform till the track is laid.
Next stage is to get the warehouse fronts permanently fixed.
Here's the pictures.

View looking towards the buffer stops.

View at the end of the main platform.

Messing about with the canopy. The engineer's square helping to keep the roof on. Final colour of the canopy will probably be grey.

I'm pleased with how the warehouses are looking with the addition of a bit of Midland Railway maroon and a few advertising signs.

[Dad-1]

You woke me up !
That's nice, well worth opening my eyes.
Better to do it right, than do it fast. Well that's an excuse I use from time to time.

Geoff T.

[RailwayRobbo]

Thanks for that Geoff.
We were down your neck of the woods at Easter. Stayed in Poole for a week and had a day at West Bay. Never been before. It's a nice little seaside resort.The weather was unusually good. We had a meal at the Station Kitchen. If the purists saw the interiors of the station and the coaches they'd have a meltdown. Blue wallpaper with gold stencilled pineapples along with giant colourful parrots made of sequins. Not exactly GWR. The food was good though.

[Dad-1]

Hi Robbo,

Not cheap, but the foods good & they try to make it special.
I've got a set of photos somewhere from when the first coach was delivered in.
There hadn't been a coach for quite a few years, then the current proprietors
took over - gawd, that must be a few years back now.

Geoff T.

[RailwayRobbo]

Progress at last.
The warehouse fronts are now in their permanent positions.
The card framework I was going to mount the warehouse fronts on were to thin, so I widened it with some balsa wood to give an increased surface area to glue onto. It was a very fiddly job as nothing was absolutely square and a couple of the fronts had bowed (they are thin plywood). A little trimming and use of my old lead blocks was needed to get the whole thing to stick onto the framework. End result is quite acceptable I think. I must admit I'm developing a love/hate relationship with this project. When I get a positive result it's great but sometimes I wonder why I'm bothering LOL.
I've moved onto the canopy now. I mocked up a simple flat roof but it didn't look good at all. I'm modelling it in artist's card. I found out that the long side of the warehouse was about a centimetre longer than the longer side of an A2 board so I'll have to do that in 2 pieces.

Here's a picture of the view towards the buffers.
I think the Lord of the Manor has just bought himself a new black E-Type soft top by the looks of it.

"Get the motor inside men out of the rain." "Yes M'Lord."