Hi,
What plans do you have for your layout next year?
I've been thinking about adding a tram line on my main layout. It would run from the middle of the top side of the layout. My Kraft building will move over to the left and the tram line will start at the factory and head off to the right. There is enough space to move the train tracks down by 6-8".
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_8618.jpg)
It will head through the town and down the right side passed the window. I'm slowly starting to buy various US buildings from Ebay.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_8627.jpg)
The trackbed here is wide enough for three lines as there used to be a loop on this section.
It will terminate in the lower right corner at the tram depot.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_8624.jpg)
The tram will be controlled by a single line shuttle from Heathcote Electronics, so it can run idependantly from my other train operations.
Other plans include getting my yards lights up and working. Should keep me busy for a wee while. :wave:
Alex
Hi Alex,
don't know if you have seen this site, but he talks about a guy who makes card building kits, almost to order by the sound of it.
you have to scroll down the page a bit but it does show quite a few of his buildings. don't know if he does them in N or just in 20mm.
cheers
alan
ps Bedfords under work as we speak :evil:
Hi Alan,
Cheers. Where's the link?
Hope you'll post piccies of the Bedfords when finished.
Alex
SORRY<
you just can't get the staff these days :evil:
http://winterof79.blogspot.com/ (http://winterof79.blogspot.com/)
cheers
alan
I'd like to get a bit more done on my Home layout (The big one) and also get Sheaf working and looking to a much higher standard.
Ollie
Sounds like a great addition to your layout Alex.
I myself have closed the train shed over the Happy Season and expect to get back into building after we get back from a nice holiday towards the end of Febuary , I hope with much enthusiasm :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
In the new year i hope to be able to finally start building my layout.
It is going to be an "L-Shape" and i will be using workshop sheliving for the base.
Have two ideas in mind for layouts, but can not decide which to go for.
1) Off scene storage yard to station with small freight yard and brewery.
2) Off scene storage yard to port complex with various sidings for "stone, timber, oil containers".
Reuben.
........... and I bet you get your trams finished before Edinburgh does :smiley-laughing:
What are you going for Alex, American style trolleys, old British style or more modern offerings from Japanese makers? I know Glenrothes have a tram shuttle on their layout (Balbirnie I think??), certainly good to have something shuttling back and forth just in case there is a lull in mainline operations
having just started my layout it should be a busy new year especially if santa is good to me and brings me everything on my list ;D ;D ;D
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd518/JerryHowlett/Fiddleyard.jpg)
Fiddle yard in waiting to cover it with the town.
Now I have to stop making up any more buildings and finish the trackwork. Also will need to pluck up the courage to try ballasting. I have bought 2 bags but keep putting off the job. Anyone passing through Tuscany with some PVA washing up liquid etc?
Hi Jerry,
Don't know whether it's just me but your photo link seems to be a bit missing and so isn't there ???
No its me. As a retiree who specialised in computer information systems I openly admit that the internet frequently messes with my mind.
Picture added now.
Quote from: Jerry Howlett on December 20, 2011, 01:23:05 PM
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd518/JerryHowlett/Fiddleyard.jpg)
Fiddle yard in waiting to cover it with the town.
Now I have to stop making up any more buildings and finish the trackwork. Also will need to pluck up the courage to try ballasting. I have bought 2 bags but keep putting off the job. Anyone passing through Tuscany with some PVA washing up liquid etc?
Well it was worth the wait, nice yard.
Hmmm, Tuscany, never been there, might be worth a trip in the summer ;)
Only one plan for me.
To get the layout running and complete as possible for it debut exhibition! :smiley-laughing:
Which is June 23rd at Retford, so I'd better get a move on...
Quote from: Lawrence on December 20, 2011, 10:39:06 AM
........... and I bet you get your trams finished before Edinburgh does :smiley-laughing:
What are you going for Alex, American style trolleys, old British style or more modern offerings from Japanese makers? I know Glenrothes have a tram shuttle on their layout (Balbirnie I think??), certainly good to have something shuttling back and forth just in case there is a lull in mainline operations
Hi Lawrence,
It will be American style trolleys, probably from Bachmann. No real plan yet but I'll probably lay the track first then add the rest as I go.
Alex
i think the older bachmann n gauge trams look awful, especially the windows with people in them... so avoid the brill and pcc trams they make even if they are cheap...
i would go for this newer tram... a Bachmann Spectrum N 84654 Peter Witt Street Car with Lights, Baltimore Transit Company (Decoder Equipped)
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Bachmann-N-Trolley-p/bac-84654.htm (http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Bachmann-N-Trolley-p/bac-84654.htm)
tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the link :wave:. I've been looking at the various trams/trolleys on offer. I'm only needing one, two at the most so may go for a cheaper one and tart it up a bit, don't need DCC. It's mainly just to have something running in the background all the time.
Alex
maybe try and get a peter witt car that isn't dcc fitted? they must do them as well. i think they are £60.
i really think the older bachmann american trams ('street cars') look awful...
does it have to be an american tram? can't you get arnold or kato german trams instead!!!! lol
tim
Hi Tim,
I could get other trams but it's for my US layout so would look out of place. I'll have a hunt around when I decide to buy my tram and see what I can get.
Alex
My plan for this holiday (up to the 9th) is to finally make a start on the layout I marked up both on paper and on the board earlier this year - and never did anything else to :thumbsdown:
And next year to finish it enough to assemble a coffee table around it !
Mike
Another thing regarding the cheaper Bachmann Brill Trams and PCC cars is the motors are only built to last about 100 hours running, I myself don't mind them and running through a city scene look pretty OK, depends how fanatical you are ??? 100 hours can be an awful lot of running.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the info. I'd probably get a years worth of running from the 100hrs. That would then give me time to save up for a decent one.
Alex
2012.well if I can get the track cheap etc then an idea is foerming inside my brain cell >>>>>>>>>
A circle of the dreaded Peco ST5 points wit 2 ST3 lenghts of track 1 each side of a point. The rest of the circle would be built of the ST5 points with the turnouts forning the circle and the mainline(?) being the start of a spur leading into a series of 'sidings'
The point between the 2 curves wuuld form a lead into a couple of sidings where trains could be made up from siding stock .
this whole 'thing could connect to a layout and allow stock to be built before joining the tracks or used as a stand alone marshalling line game for building trains and practicing shunting.... the train makeup being written on a pile of cards and drawn from the pile with a completed train stock listed on it. At the end of the 'game' the train could break stoke down into sidings again. Not nesesarily the same as they came out of.
Has this made sense?
Edit....
Think a very bassic/simple..... http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5 (http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5)
I think the wiring will be a nighmare to work out.it will be 'non DCC' :(
I'm going to get the new baseboards on the battening, and getting a loop (how I've missed having a loop!) of track on it. I have most of the wood, and I'm waiting for some adjustable legs to arrive.
Quote from: jonclox on December 23, 2011, 04:32:40 PM
Think a very bassic/simple..... http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5 (http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5)
I think the wiring will be a nighmare to work out.it will be 'non DCC' :(
Fascinating - but rather you than me with the track formation :o
Quote from: Tank on December 23, 2011, 05:52:29 PM
I'm going to get the new baseboards on the battening, and getting a loop (how I've missed having a loop!) of track on it. I have most of the wood, and I'm waiting for some adjustable legs to arrive.
I agree 100% sometimes it nice to just watch your trains running around.
Quote from: newportnobby on December 23, 2011, 07:12:54 PM
Quote from: jonclox on December 23, 2011, 04:32:40 PM
Think a very bassic/simple..... http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5 (http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5)
I think the wiring will be a nighmare to work out.it will be 'non DCC' :(
Fascinating - but rather you than me with the track formation :o
No way am I thinking that complicated.... a bassic circle of points with the spurs layed aback along it on the 'outside'.....think spinning catherine wheel firework with the sparks 'flying off' the ends of the outside sidings
Hi,
Sounds like a lot of you are going to be very busy over the next few months. Keep up the progress reports and post loads of piccies. :wave:
Alex
Quote from: alex crawford on December 23, 2011, 08:18:09 PM
Hi,
Sounds like a lot of you are going to be very busy over the next few months. Keep up the progress reports and post loads of piccies. :wave:
Alex
It might be a few months before I even get beyond'brain cell thrashing' let alone getting started so dont hold your breath in expectation :-\
Quote from: jonclox on December 23, 2011, 04:32:40 PM
2012.well if I can get the track cheap etc then an idea is foerming inside my brain cell >>>>>>>>>
A circle of the dreaded Peco ST5 points wit 2 ST3 lenghts of track 1 each side of a point. The rest of the circle would be built of the ST5 points with the turnouts forning the circle and the mainline(?) being the start of a spur leading into a series of 'sidings'
The point between the 2 curves wuuld form a lead into a couple of sidings where trains could be made up from siding stock .
this whole 'thing could connect to a layout and allow stock to be built before joining the tracks or used as a stand alone marshalling line game for building trains and practicing shunting.... the train makeup being written on a pile of cards and drawn from the pile with a completed train stock listed on it. At the end of the 'game' the train could break stoke down into sidings again. Not nesesarily the same as they came out of.
Has this made sense?
Edit....
Think a very bassic/simple..... http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5 (http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5)
I think the wiring will be a nighmare to work out.it will be 'non DCC' :(
Whatever you're drinking, I want some!
Great track plan, that should keep you occupied for a little while :thumbsup:
Quote from: MinZaPint on December 24, 2011, 06:08:46 PM
Whatever you're drinking, I want some!
A quiet whisper to you.......
In 1996 the doctors rushed me into hospital with a damaged pancreas and only just managed to 'save me' but with the saving came the warning.....'if you ever have even one alcoholic drink it would be your last chance gone.'
So since then Ive never touched a drop....or if I suspected anything to be even slightly alcoholic got spat out at once.
Sorry to hear that Jonclox, I'm a real ale fan and my consultant assures me that if I stick to that and avoid the spirits (I forget occaisionally as I can't resist a drop of malt!) and drink around the 4 per cent mark I'll drown before I do myself any harm. Best wishes for the festive season and happy modeling.
Hi,
I've been out in the shed the last couple of weekends doing some work on the layout. The station and goods yard on the lower layout was removed a while ago but I was unhappy about the way I replaced the surface. I used oddments of polystyrene tiles and plaster and it was a bit on the lumpy side. I finally found some of the 2" pink insulating board and fitted a new section today.
Station/goods yard
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/Layout7.jpg)
Replacement
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_8341.jpg)
Standard board
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_9051.jpg)
This will get a covering of cork and then it's ready for paint.
As I have now built some woodchip cars I am planning on adding either a lumber yard or a paper mille on the upper layout.
The river area, while looking ok, takes up a lot of space and is unusable. I was going to add some fishermens huts and small wharf and a disused rail barge. But now the river and lower bridge will disappear anda 3-4 track siding to the mill will be put in its place.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_9047.jpg)
The initial siding will come from the right hand side roughly where the barn is, so that will have to be moved.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f178/alexcrawford2008/N%20Gauge/100_9050.jpg)
I don't think the lower layout will last very long. A couple of times I've been tempted to rip it up and start again. It doesn't really suit my American theme but I'll persevere with it this year and see what develops.
Alex :wave: