what are people doing on their layout right now

dannyboy · May 07, 2020, 10:14:12 AM

Congratulations on the new arrivals. Somebody is going to have their hands full now.

Alan Kyte · May 07, 2020, 02:04:46 PM

Quote from: dannyboy on May 07, 2020, 10:14:12 AM
Congratulations on the new arrivals. Somebody is going to have their hands full now.

Thanks all, even fuller, I've a 2 year old at home as well

.. That said he's fascinated by the trains!

chrism · May 07, 2020, 02:24:57 PM

Congratulations on the impending sleepless nights, Alan

As to what I'm doing - I'm fitting the signals to Broughton, complete with the solenoids to make 'em flap up and down roughly like what they should. Four done, including the bracket on which was going to be a pain due to needing a cranked actuating rod and due to being close to the baseboard framing.

When doing the bracket one, I suddenly realised that I didn't need to add a tube to the back of the post (like I did on Coniston's bracket signals) to guide the lower vertical part of the rod - since I'd replaced the whitemetal lower post with square brass tube, so all I had to do was drill a hole through the bracket horizontal down to the post tube. That also meant that the actuating rod came out under the baseboard a few mil further from the framing that it would otherwise and gave me a little more leeway for the location of the solenoid.

Pjlons83 · May 13, 2020, 11:24:34 AM

Hi All,

I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm trying to be more adventurous with my 3D printer. I've been layed up for a few days with a torn calf muscle (it hurt a lot!) so I've spent a lot of time on the laptop practising drawing for printing. The 2 in the image where the first effort and there's a few tweaks needed. The red boat I'm now just practising painting but the work boat came out with strange holes in the hull... I had a thought that it might make it onto the layout as a sunken/abandoned boat. I'm waiting on some matt colours coming to add more detail; just having fun really and learning as I do!

(The holes in the hull were down to my bad drawing skills by the way.. hopefully fixed for the next version).

Swindon69 · May 13, 2020, 11:36:53 AM

I'm currently swearing a lot putting together a Kestrel factory building, lets just say if I was doing it again I'd have completely changed the build order.

Newportnobby · May 13, 2020, 01:49:46 PM

Quote from: Pjlons83 on May 13, 2020, 11:24:34 AM
the work boat came out with strange holes in the hull... I had a thought that it might make it onto the layout as a sunken/abandoned boat.

Place a submarine conning tower a suitable distance away?

Hailstone · May 13, 2020, 02:03:30 PM

Quote from: Newportnobby on May 13, 2020, 01:49:46 PM
Quote from: Pjlons83 on May 13, 2020, 11:24:34 AM
the work boat came out with strange holes in the hull... I had a thought that it might make it onto the layout as a sunken/abandoned boat.

Place a submarine conning tower a suitable distance away?

I think you have been in isolation a bit too long Mick

Regards,

Alex

Pjlons83 · May 15, 2020, 11:36:59 AM

Quote from: Newportnobby on May 13, 2020, 01:49:46 PM
Quote from: Pjlons83 on May 13, 2020, 11:24:34 AM
the work boat came out with strange holes in the hull... I had a thought that it might make it onto the layout as a sunken/abandoned boat.

Place a submarine conning tower a suitable distance away?

Please don't make anymore silly suggestions. I really haven't got time for this

crewearpley40 · May 15, 2020, 11:59:27 AM

How is your boat progressing ? I use matt colours and it's a pleasant project

Pjlons83 · May 15, 2020, 02:16:57 PM

Quote from: crewearpley40 on May 15, 2020, 11:59:27 AM
How is your boat progressing ? I use matt colours and it's a pleasant project

Hi. It's coming on well thanks. I'm really trying to get the prints right before I spend too much time on them. I have added a small bit of detail to this one which is coming along. It's giggles the need for some decent fine paint brushes though. I've also discovered that painting with cocktail sticks is also possible. I'll post some more pics when there's more to see.

crewearpley40 · May 15, 2020, 04:32:15 PM

Any good art shop or my local hardware sells them . Quite a few varying thick and thin usually £7 for 8 or 9 a pack

Pjlons83 · May 19, 2020, 12:15:54 PM

Quote from: crewearpley40 on May 15, 2020, 11:59:27 AM
How is your boat progressing ? I use matt colours and it's a pleasant project

My new colours arrived yesterday so I've made a start. I've started a thread here https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=49618.0 in an attempt to motivate me to do a nice job of it.

PGN · May 27, 2020, 01:16:58 PM

I am planting Ratio lineside fencing .... 6 posts at a time. Tedious, but it has to be done!

Ted · May 29, 2020, 12:07:03 PM

I'm testing speakers!

MatP · June 02, 2020, 03:14:09 PM

Hi all,

I've sent a couple of pictures of cheap and cheerful recent projects to a thread about the cost of N gauge vs. other hobbies, but as that discussion has started to make me want to grow a beard and ride round South America on a motorbike while writing a diary, I've decided to post some stuff here instead.

Attached to this post are (hopefully) some photos of my layout "Jardine Junction", which is 9' x 2'2", set in 1987-ish and purports to be a station on the proposed (but never actually built) line from Tulloch on the West Highland to Kingussie on the Highland main line - thus allowing Eastfield and Inverness-Haymarket locos to meet. Because the North British (starting out from Tulloch) and Highland Railway (from Kingussie) hated each other, there was never a through connection, so trains from each end terminated on opposite sides of a platform.

The line was built because the (fictional) town of Fort Jardine (taken from my wife's maiden name, though actually she's a Lowlander) grew up around an enormous, hydro-electric-powered Pretext Factory established in the 1920's. Originally the station was much closer to the centre of the town, but due to damage sustained in the Cyberman invasion of 1968, a new station was built on part of the junction goods yard. Or in other words, it's all an excuse to collapse all the different railway facilities of 1980's Fort William into a single location.

I've just finished building a small oil depot, using a tank and some details from an old Kibri kit, plus a lot of exra piping made from 1mm rod and wire. The railings round the top of the tank are hot-water-bent and trimmed Kestrel fence. The hut is scratchbuilt using a piece of GWR pagoda shed for a door and a piece of an NGS wagon kit floor for a roof. I only wish now I hadn't painted the pipes red, but it seemed a good idea at the time. The installation still needs some chain-link fencing, which I will order from Scale Model Scenery as soon as they are able to restock. The oil depot as it stands can handle five TTA's and cost about a tenner.

I've also recently repainted a 37 which I bought as a scrapper from eBay a couple of years ago. I've tried to make it look like 37043 in 1987, still a Highland Loco but no longer called Loch Lomond, with its data panels in funny positions, lots of decals missing from the nose ends, and Scottish "rally car style" extra headlights.

My current project is building the road from the goods yard up and over a bridge. The buildings in the Goods Yard (most belonging to the MacArcady Construction Co.) are temporarily sited at present, waiting for final planning permission. The layout doesn't have a backscene because I need plenty of access to the fiddle yards - instead I'm making do with trying to create a firm line down the middle to separate stage from backstage.

I would also like to point out, before somebody asks me whether the track gets cleaned by my First Footman or Underbutler, that I am of very humble means. The collection of stock herein represented was collected gradually over 30 years (starting with my 37407, which was a repaint commissioned through the Lichfield Train Shop in about 1990 - it took me a whole year to save up for it as I was still doing my GCSE's at the time).

Best Wishes,
Mat