SwannyUK

Scenery work coming towards completion on the turntable section 😊

A small update - Some pictures of how the outside section is looking, the plants are growing nicely and really help bring it all together.

Inside work continues on the station area with a Metcalfe kit almost finished. I decided to add lighting to give some extra interest.

Chris

20 hours ago, mick said:

A smashing little layout! I remember way back when you were knocking holes in garage walls so it's really nice to see how it's developed since then.

Cheers Mick!

Scratch building the platforms. 4 layers of foam board, brick and paving plasticard and a fine layer of filler on top. Really happy with how they are coming along.

On 17/03/2022 at 09:41, Clay Mills Junction said:

Looks good, the addition of little details like signs and stuff laying about outside adds a lot.

Cheers. Yeh it does, I've got some guard rails coming which I'm going to paint yellow and run around the edge of the concrete. Also contemplating whether or not to paint on some yellow lines around the track to indicate walk ways.

Some more progress on the depot. Ballast and buffer stops next.

It's been a while since I posted an update. With all this rubbish weather we haven't been out in the garden at all.

With such a wet winter I had to battle mould issues in the garage. It was growing on top and underneath the baseboards. Cleaned all that up and treated the wood with some wood sealer/anti mould stuff (it was just painted with left over fence paint previously)

I've also been doing a lot of work in there to improve ventilation and decrease humidity levels. I'm hoping we won't have a repeat of these issues next winter.

I've made a start on the depot concrete and some small scenic bits are ready for that area once I've sanded and painted the concrete.

After that it will be time to tackle the station.

Work inside is coming along and we now have a cowboy watching to make sure the bridge is ok 😁

The tunnel and hill are one piece and can be lifted off if access is needed to the point. Signal placement isn't ideal but I'm having to use a bit of "artistic license". If I put it further away from the tunnel the clearence is very tight. It does the job though. An in built sensor turns the signal red when a train passes then starts the timer to go through the light sequence. If the point is thrown the signal will stay red until it is put back in favour of the mainline. Being a traintech sensor signal I can buy another 2 sensors and place them along the outside section and link with a wire to replicate block signalling in the future.

I haven't posted in a while, here is a quick update.

Plants are coming along, turn table added and started work on the scenery inside.

I've been putting together a level crossing that we can put on the railway.

I didn't want a generic Hornby one so got a kit and adapted it so we can lift it off and store it when finished in the Garden.

Mr Bean waiting patiently as the last bits of glue dry up...

We apologise for the delay.....

Now I know what to look for the eBay app has had a bit more use lately

Some running today, all fine and the hoppers are looking great!

With a 5 year old being in control of trains outside, on a raised base where a derailment could be a bin bag job for the poor train involved, I got thinking we need some protection.

I'll give our little boy credit, he's very mature for his age and treats the trains as models where as some of his friends might not be so gentle and on the ball. However, even I've had a near miss when a coach came free and I wasn't paying attention.

I've looked at various solutions, most of which  require purchasing something or another but decided to try and use things I already have.

Plastic netting (left over from our Protectapet fence)
Large cocktail sticks
Outdoor fence paint
Cable ties
Staple gun and staples

Due to the way the plastic netting bends the outside of the corners only requires a couple of posts to keep it tight. The inside requires double.

It might not be the best looking but providing the cocktail sticks hold out it will require no maintenance.

That's a great shout Mick, the moulds are good but very flat.

Morning all,

It's taken some steady hand Dremel work and creative thinking with regard to getting the smaller type connectors attached but finally got the hoppers converted. It's been a fun little project but no way I'd be wanting to convert anymore.

I purchased a more recent Hornby version to get a reference for how high the couplings needed to be. I also went to work with some acrylics and a sponge to get a more "used" look to them. I spent my childhood in the Midlands watching these things thunder past on their way to the power station and remember them being grubby as anything. I could get better effects by purchasing some specialist weathering bits but I'm a fan of using what's at hand.

Added an old web cam to the computer in the garage so we can monitor outside. This has made running the trains much easier as we know what's coming.

Hi all,

Any of you green fingered fellows recommend some easy to maintain bushes / plants to liven up our garden a bit?

Preferably some big enough for our cats to dive in and chill out on a hot day.

South Devon and south facing garden that sees the sun most of the day.

Cheers

Another nice day so the Class 37 is doing a spot of track cleaning for me whilst I cut the grass.

That's after a session with the track rubber and my super duper "get the bits of left over rubber off the line tool" haha

3 hours ago, mick said:

These are the codes for the MGR wagons I have in my collection - some are single wagons and others were in sets of 3.

R6213, R6213A, R6215, R6215A, R6215B, R6222, R6222A, R6222B, R6224, R6331, R6333, R6333A, R6333B, R6333C. Probably not an exhaustive list but they are the ones I have.

All the later version wagons have the small tension lock couplers, the earlier variant have the larger tension lock couplers.

It looks like they're still attracting high prices averaging about £20 per wagon whereas the earlier variant can be obtained for much less than that. Something to consider perhaps.

 

Thanks for taking the time to give me the numbers Mick, much appreciated.

Thanks chaps. I'm using the two I got from eBay as testers for now. I've removed the wheels and found both sets are 14.1 already. I've ordered replacements along with nem connectors and coal loads.

It's nice to have a mini project on the go but I don't fancy doing this every time so will be keeping an eye out for the newer version mgr.

17 hours ago, mick said:

A great choice for a loco Chris and wagons too! 

I've responded to your other post regarding the MGR wagons (not sure if it will be any help or not) but you might want to bear in mind that there will shortly be a new version of the MGR wagon released by Cavalex models. I'm not suggesting that you go out and order them (£90 for 3 wagons ouch!) but it may well lead to a lot of the later version Hornby MGR's finding their way onto the usual auction sites and in my opinion they would be a better option to the ones you have obtained. However, If you're prepared to replace the plastic wheels and sort out the wobbling then the earlier version you have are an absolute steal and may even become cheaper still given the impending arrival of the Cavalex models.

Thanks Mick, I'll keep an eye out. I'm currently using these two as guinea pigs. Replacing the wheels, replacing the massive couplings and adding coal loads. Would you happen to know the product number for the later Hornby version so I know what to look for?

So, with the nicer weather (well, not today typically) I've been flicking through eBay listings for bargains.

I stumbled across this DCC fitted 37 for a very good price so snapped it up along with a couple of hopper wagons. I'll be keeping an eye out for more of those wagons over the next few months.

I did post in the rolling stock section about these wagons but will mention them here too. One has plastic wheels the other metal. The plastic wheels don't really turn very freely and the metal ones have a good wobble to them. Any idea on replacement metal wheels?

I've just picked up a couple of these hoppers. One has plastic wheels which aren't turning very freely. The other has metal wheels but wobbles quite a bit.

Any advice on maintenance and replacement metal wheels?

Cheers

Sure does Mick. Touch wood we've had a good enough run of weather to be able to get 80% of what I wanted done. Last 20 or so connector wires to go but we're now at a stage where we can run locos!

Also decided to get rid of the point just after entering the garage and opted for a nice 3rd radius sweep instead. More reliable and gives more room for my station building.

Before and after