Derek's Layout

[derek]

My layout began back in 2012 as a 9 feet by 4.5 feet "constant running" operation. ( Dont like the term "tail chaser"). For that reason alone some on here might be put off , but I thought I would put it up here anyway. It also had a 3 feet by 2 feet fiddle/goods /storage area to the side.  My love for trains goes back to childhood , where I routinely ruined a number of locos by running them over carpet. One Hornby set survived (BR Inter City) class 45 (I think). I kept this set with me on leaving home, promising myself that someday I would make a proper layout . It took over 25 years but I finally found myself in a house with room enough for said layout. And lo and behold the loco still ran! I have to say that I never looked beyond Hornby and so the layout was anything but Irish. That is the reason I haven,t given it a typically Irish title( Bally.... Glen... Kil...etc.)  I wasn,t even aware of an Irish modelling community until a couple of years ago when I knocked across the IRM A class for pre order. I was aware of the MM141s okay but didn,t think there would be any rolling stock so I largely ignored it. (How silly was I?)   Ihave since purchased an A class, with some park royals pre ordered,  and intend to "Irishise" the layout as much as possible. All the buildings, bridges, tunnels etc are scratch built, for better or worse.  Ihave recently commandeered some more of the room so I am planning a 5 feet by 4 feet extension at the side where the goods yard is presently, giving me an L shaped layout. Here are some pics, so feel free to offer comments, criticisms( constructive or otherwise), or insults. 

[DJ Dangerous]

Absolutely love it!!!

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Fair dues lad, I'm looking forward to the Irish invasion

[Patrick Davey]

Am sure there will be no insults!!!  Great layout - looks like there would be a lot of enjoyment in the operation.  

[theotherandy]

Fantastic layout, Derek! I think the scratch built buildings look pretty good.

How tight are the curves? Any issues with locos and rolling stock on them?

[derek]

Thanks for the positive reactions lads. The inside oval is only 371mm, so only the BR from 1977 and the little tank( at the station platform) can run on that. Everywhere else is 438 and larger so no problems there. The buildings are made of 4mm mdf with perspex windows. Thinking I might give a little more attention to detailing them and might replace the station building altogether. The bridge and tunnel were 6mm mdf with the "stonework" etched out with a wood chisel. Have since discovered the wonders of Das modelling clay, so I might replace/ modify those too

[derek]

On 22/5/2023 at 12:06 AM, theotherandy said:

Fantastic layout, Derek! I think the scratch built buildings look pretty good.

How tight are the curves? Any issues with locos and rolling stock on them?

Turns out that the inside loop is actually 770mm out to out , giving a radius of 385. Obviously not standard by any means. I remember having a Lima set as a kid (1970s ), and I kept a lot of stuff from then, so maybe Lima had their own geometry (Fixed and  ballasted so I cant check. I just stuck down what I had in a box and went from there) . Maybe someone can shed some light on this?. 

[derek]

On 20/5/2023 at 8:21 PM, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Fair dues lad, I'm looking forward to the Irish invasion

Denis, Irish invasion has begun. Finally got my hands on a 141/181, thanks to Dave of Wrenneire fame. Pleasure to deal with, has to be said. Was trying to get one for a while and typically , two came along together-  Daves one and Mogul had one as well.  Here a few pics, showing the existing layout and the extension. The King Edward was my pride and joy before discovering the Irish scene. The building with the red windows and yellow door was a post office so that definitely needs "Irishification". (BREAK OUT THE GREEN  PAINT!) I am also on the hunt for Guinness signage or such like for the pub ( J Sheehans). Any suggestions? 

[DJ Dangerous]

34 minutes ago, derek said:

Turns out that the inside loop is actually 770mm out to out , giving a radius of 385. Obviously not standard by any means. I remember having a Lima set as a kid (1970s ), and I kept a lot of stuff from then, so maybe Lima had their own geometry (Fixed and  ballasted so I cant check. I just stuck down what I had in a box and went from there) . Maybe someone can shed some light on this?. 

 

385mm outside to outside sounds close enough to 371mm centre to centre, so probably 1st radius fixed curves.

Good stuff on getting that 190 from @WRENNEIRE, the man can't be beaten!

[derek]

6 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

385mm outside to outside sounds close enough to 371mm centre to centre, so probably 1st radius fixed curves.

Good stuff on getting that 190 from @WRENNEIRE, the man can't be beaten!

He sure can,t. Been talking (pestering) to him for a while and finally pulled the trigger. Yes, thinking about it now, the track is probably 371 with the curves  "bunched up". As I said, there wasn.t a whole pile of planning put into the layout originally.

[murphaph]

Fair play Derek. Every convert to the cause is warmly welcomed here! I dare say most Irish based modellers started out with BR stuff too as that's all we could get back in the day (the "real" modellers were able to build their own of course but most of use came the RTR way).Good time to make the switch, with plenty of stock due to be announced in the coming months and years.

[DJ Dangerous]

3 hours ago, murphaph said:

Fair play Derek. Every convert to the cause is warmly welcomed here! I dare say most Irish based modellers started out with BR stuff too as that's all we could get back in the day (the "real" modellers were able to build their own of course but most of use came the RTR way).Good time to make the switch, with plenty of stock due to be announced in the coming months and years.

 

Definitely agree with that...

Looking back at one of the videos I took about five years ago after dusting off some of my childhood BR stock and receiving a lovely Deltic in the post from Marks models, and contrasting it to the few Irish bits and bobs that I have today, it is also the path that I took.

@derek has the new batch of Murphy Models Class 141 / 181's to look forward to, and an IRM steam loco, more Murphy Models Mk2D coaches, IRM Mk2ABC coaches AND Park Royal coaches! Hatton's Genesis coaches are probably only a stone's throw away, too.

[Sean]

Jouef do/used to do a set track that was smaller than the first radius we know now. 

[jhb171achill]

Only seeing this, Derek. You've put a lot of work into that - it's looking very well. Only (constructive!) suggestions I would make is that there doesn't seem to be a physical connection between the inner circuit and the rest - a connection would add much flexibility. Also, for Ireland, platform ends were never tapered (not all that much in Britain either).....  your idea of green paint on buildings, especially railway ones and post offices, is very much the way to go!

[derek]

18 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Only seeing this, Derek. You've put a lot of work into that - it's looking very well. Only (constructive!) suggestions I would make is that there doesn't seem to be a physical connection between the inner circuit and the rest - a connection would add much flexibility. Also, for Ireland, platform ends were never tapered (not all that much in Britain either).....  your idea of green paint on buildings, especially railway ones and post offices, is very much the way to go!

Thanks Jonathan. ( apologies if I have your name wrong). Yes , as I said,  this layout was originally following the styles of some British ones I had seen on the Hornby forum ( wash my mouth out! ) So I went with the old tapered platforms, red and yellow post office, red phone booth etc.... A lot of stuff on there will have to be radically changed. ( I think platforms are glued down, so thats,s going to be fun). The green paint wil be the least of my problems. The loops are actually joined with a pair of points behind the pub and post office. Is this called a crossover? With the inside loop radius being so tight, it doesn,t see much action.  On a more positive note, I have the extension baseboard and backscene made.  Two bridges from DAS clay will be next..  Sean, I will dig out the old box I had the small loop in,  and hopefully get to the bottom of what the radius actually was.    Gonna have to dress those graves in. ( theres a statement I never thought I would say). After I made them I just sort of plonked them on the grass.

[derek]

On 10/6/2023 at 12:46 AM, jhb171achill said:

Only seeing this, Derek. You've put a lot of work into that - it's looking very well. Only (constructive!) suggestions I would make is that there doesn't seem to be a physical connection between the inner circuit and the rest - a connection would add much flexibility. Also, for Ireland, platform ends were never tapered (not all that much in Britain either).....  your idea of green paint on buildings, especially railway ones and post offices, is very much the way to go!

Only realised now that I didn,t put the crossover in my track plan sketch. So here is a pic instead........ 

[derek]

Latest bit to be done is a bridge over the river at the far end of the layout. In between the middle of nowhere and Ballygobackwards. Next will be a bridge at the next gap in the track. (I know, very technical descriptions). Started a bit of "filling in" of embankments too, using that white packing stuff . Styrofoam? Handy to shape, but it makes one hell of a mess. Place looked like a winter scene very quickly. Thanks to Jonathan for his advice on painting stone a while back. Admired a bridge on Dugort Harbour and he helped put me on the right road. Das clay is a lot easier to work with than mdf....

Edited June 22, 2023 by derek

[DJ Dangerous]

Lovely stuff!

Is that DAS clay glued to card or wood?

[derek]

The sides are self supporting (arched pieces). Under the track is a piece of plywood supported by my old falllback, two pieces of mdf. The uprights between arched sections are glued to this with  the arches in turn being glued to them, tying the whole thing together. Clear as mud? 

[derek]

Made another little bit of progress. Not sure what its called( culvert maybe?) . Basically a tunnel facing. A way for the little yellow tractor to get to the layout from wherever it is he lives. 

 

 

Did a bit of ballasting too this week. God! Now there is a task that would make you peel your eyeballs for a welcome distraction. I go for the old  double sided tape method. Tried PVA glue before, but the train running noise was atrocious so I didn,t go there again.

[irishthump]

Did you buy the culvert or make it yourself?

Just scrolled up and 

Just now, irishthump said:

Did you buy the culvert or make it yourself?

Just saw you made them from clay. Have you tried using XPS foam instead? 

[derek]

Had a bit of grief joining two different backscenes. Had to get out the  tins of paint and try get a bit creative on its ass. The sky didn,t turn out too bad, the trees less so. The dark green bunch of trees had to  go so I decided to stick a bridge and road in front of them. (As you do). The bridge follows no particular design, just from my own head, like most of the layout. I,ll probably have to do a disguise job with a lot of foliage. A LOT of foliage. It just kinda looks a bit random at the moment. I discovered too that the makers of this particular brand of backscene edit the skyline so you can join/blend them easier. The distance from the tree tops to the top of the scene is the same in every different backscene.  As long as you dont cut them, which I did before realising the whole editing thing. Oh well, we live and learn. Just had a power cut as I was updating this. Lovely Irish weather. Thank goodness the content was saved automatically. Well done to whoever made/maintains this forum. 

14 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Did you buy the culvert or make it yourself?

Made from Das clay. Great stuff to work with.  Not even sure if its called a culvert though.

Edited June 25, 2023 by derek

[derek]

37 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Did you buy the culvert or make it yourself?

Just scrolled up and 

Just saw you made them from clay. Have you tried using XPS foam instead? 

Never heard of the stuff. Happy enough with the clay. Its fine as long as you can keep it in shape until it dries. Do you use it?

Edited June 25, 2023 by derek

[irishthump]

3 hours ago, derek said:

Never heard of the stuff. Happy enough with the clay. Its fine as long as you can keep it in shape until it dries. Do you use it?

Yeah I use XPS all the time now. It's insulation foam, either the blue or pink kind, NOT the yellow kind from builder's merchants. It's easy to carve and not as messy as clay or plaster.

Here's one of the last things I built on the layout....  

https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/71-grahams-workbench/?do=findComment&comment=163727

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by irishthump

[Sean]

where do you get this from? I can only find the insulating boards local to me.

[derek]

22 hours ago, irishthump said:

Yeah I use XPS all the time now. It's insulation foam, either the blue or pink kind, NOT the yellow kind from builder's merchants. It's easy to carve and not as messy as clay or plaster.

Here's one of the last things I built on the layout....  

https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/71-grahams-workbench/?do=findComment&comment=163727

 

Just had a look at your double bridge. Very impressive. Thought I was the only one to use tester pots for painting. All my buildings are painted with colours from the rooms in my house. Dont know if I would fancy carving out stone individually. I used  a pattern made from an old tv card. The soft clay lends itself to this type of work. Had enough of carving to last me a lifetime when I made the bridge and tunnel faces on my original layout from mdf. Bit slow making the pattern but it saved a hell of a lot of time afterwards

[leslie10646]

3 hours ago, derek said:

Just had a look at your double bridge. Very impressive. Thought I was the only one to use tester pots for painting. All my buildings are painted with colours from the rooms in my house. Dont know if I would fancy carving out stone individually. I used  a pattern made from an old tv card. The soft clay lends itself to this type of work. Had enough of carving to last me a lifetime when I made the bridge and tunnel faces on my original layout from mdf. Bit slow making the pattern but it saved a hell of a lot of time afterwards

No you're not, Derek. My Man in the Isle of Wight put me onto them and  while I have only dabbled with them, they've done the jobs I've tackled.

[derek]

.

[derek]

This is the template I made for the bridge. Found the ol Das clay had a tendency to take it,s own shape, so I made a "form", packed the clay in and then ran over it with the template. Had to do a bit of fine tuning with a fine, flathead screwdriver afterwards, but I think it turned out fine. 

[derek]

Got to the end of the dreaded ballasting thank goodness. Got most of the embankments roughed out too. I never want to see that styrofoam stuff again.  Had a go at making a second bridge over the river - far more enjoyable than ballasting and embankments. Fleshed out the bed of the river and painted it ahead of pouring the water. (what do you mean I can,t use water?) Seriously though, I have a box of Woodland Scenics deep pour water waiting to go. Probably wait until more of the scenic work is done before going near that. Busy times..... Oh , and while my back was turned, ivy grew on the bridge. 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

I fully agree with you about the styrofoam, you find it everywhere for weeks after

[DJ Dangerous]

Excellent idea using the template - reminds me of this post on the wonderful Borris Railway thread.

[derek]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:49 AM, DJ Dangerous said:

Excellent idea using the template - reminds me of this post on the wonderful Borris Railway thread.

The Borris Railway is indeed wonderful, just had a look there. Seriously impressive. And that roller thingymebob looks the business. You would want it for something as large as that excellent viaduct. Wonder where a man could get hands on such a thing?...........

[Sean]

https://www.hobbymad.ie/textured-rolling-pins

 

ive seen them for bridge stone before also

Edited July 11, 2023 by Sean

[DJ Dangerous]

4 hours ago, derek said:

The Borris Railway is indeed wonderful, just had a look there. Seriously impressive. And that roller thingymebob looks the business. You would want it for something as large as that excellent viaduct. Wonder where a man could get hands on such a thing?...........

 

You could probably make one much the way you have made your own, only wrapped around a roller instead of flat.