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Lockdown layout project


Voicey
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Hi everyone. I returned to the hobby during first lockdown. Hard to believe that was 18 months ago. Due to lack of space, love of running long trains and looking at peoples outdoor layouts I built my own! Its been reliable so far. Running DC to save money, though every track joint has soldered bridges and there's a 'bus' running all around, points have been modded with live blades etc Reclaimed outdoor switches used for some isolating sections. Some buildings and details, mostly from the bargain bin or scrap box 20210715_180509.thumb.jpg.7f9401158937953512c68198e6ee7afc.jpg

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Edited by Voicey
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16 hours ago, Andrew said:

All looks great, especially the ballast.  Hope it all survives the ravages of winter.

Thanks. Its been through one so far. Its sheltered and I cover it up so in adverse weather so I'm cautiously confident 

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5 hours ago, ba14eagle said:

Excellent. I look forward to seeing more. Some nice stock too.

Thanks! Aside the accurascale tipplers I'm slowly collecting secondhand stock and locos I can fix / detail or repaint. Its nice to be able to run long trains!

 

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On 08/09/2021 at 21:07, ThomasI said:

For just one and a half years of construction, however, a remarkable layout was created.
Even with ballasted tracks and working signals!

Thankyou! Its certainly not your layouts level, but its fun to play trains again! The signals are very old hornby dublo with some beefing up to the bases. They seemed the most robust option for outdoors

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21 hours ago, Voicey said:

Thankyou! Its certainly not your layouts level, but its fun to play trains again! The signals are very old hornby dublo with some beefing up to the bases. They seemed the most robust option for outdoors

Well, I've been working on my layout since 2016 and there is still a lot of track to gravel, signals are still completely missing.
So your work doesn't have to hide there.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi.

Just catching up with what others have been up to while I've been opting for camera's over controllers.

The layout looks really good with a lot of detail. It's a wonderful example of what can be achieved outdoors in OO gauge. The long trains look fantastic and I particularly like the photo of the I/C class 37 with its matching stock. I see there's a rake of MGR's rounding the curve in the distance too - very nice!

What's the actual setup? Are you able to run into a storage shed or do you have to manually add stock to the track for each session.

I hope you're able to continue with the layout now that lockdown restrictions are behind us. It would be great to see regular updates.

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2 hours ago, mick said:

Hi.

Just catching up with what others have been up to while I've been opting for camera's over controllers.

The layout looks really good with a lot of detail. It's a wonderful example of what can be achieved outdoors in OO gauge. The long trains look fantastic and I particularly like the photo of the I/C class 37 with its matching stock. I see there's a rake of MGR's rounding the curve in the distance too - very nice!

What's the actual setup? Are you able to run into a storage shed or do you have to manually add stock to the track for each session.

I hope you're able to continue with the layout now that lockdown restrictions are behind us. It would be great to see regular updates.

Thanks! Its all outside so I put trains out every time. However most of the time I'm just running one or two around whilst I do things. If I've a full relaxed day and its dry  I'll fill up the fiddle yard 😄 There's also a shunting section so if I'm lazy I just play with that, though it only takes ten minutes with a track rubber, occasional wipe with alcohol to get going. There's an outdoor 240v socket for the controller and it plugs to the track with 2 pin plugs like you use for a mower.

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Well at least putting stock on track each time allows you to run those lovely long trains.

I use the shed for the garden layout, incorporating a through station, but it limits the length of trains I can run even though the outdoor running circuit is quite extensive. There are insufficient storage roads inside to accommodate a lot of stock and long trains would require longer passing loops etc. Still, that's why I have the attic layout too.

Your outdoor shots are very realistic - the 60 looks great in the fading light (unless you were up very early?). They are liveries I can actually relate to unlike the more recent train operating companies. Good times.

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  • 3 months later...

Been a while since any updates. Mostly because the layouts been under tarpaulin! Uncovered it and cleaned the track today to run the 121 bubble I had for Christmas. Bloody cold though 😆 No winter problems so far except one broken solder joint on a point frog microswitch.

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3 hours ago, Voicey said:

Been a while since any updates....

Don't worry about it, most of us take a break now and again and there's usually little that can be done at this time of year anyway. We're just lucky to have a settled spell of weather at the moment although as you point out, it can be bitterly cold out there even in the winter sunshine.

The bubblecar looks great waiting at the platform - nice present!

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Light weathering and detailing of the 121 today. Also I enjoy looking for bits that will work for detailing an outdoor layout. Picked up some brass speed restriction signs that will bend rather than break (brass ones hard to find now)

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The weathering on the 121 looks really nice and along with the added details certainly finishes it off.

The brass linespeed signs are a handy purchase for outdoors and seldom found these days which is a pity. It seems everything is either laser-cut MDF or moulded plastic.

I'd really like to be able to add small details like signs, signals and telegraph poles along the outdoor line but I just know that they wouldn't last more than a few days before the birds had knocked them over.

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The 31's with TTA's. This rake was mostly the cheap bright red and yellow tta tanks you can still pick up for under a fiver. The 31s are lima with railroad chassis and some detailing such as shawplan roof fans, flushglaze and etched wipers. Sound added as I'm running DC as part of my attempt to keep this hobby affordable 😄

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