There are 9 turnouts/points/switches on the scenic section of my layout. Those 4 towards the rear are controlled by wire-in-tube, however the 5 on the far side of the layout to the operator are/will be controlled via ZTC 206 DCC Point Motors. So far only two have been installed as ZTC have run out of stock but hopefully the remaining three will arrive soon.
These motors take their power directly from the track, with control being via the DCC handset. However the controller I am using (Bachmann EZ Command) does not have DCC accessory control capability. Fortunately these point motors allow for a manual overide to be installed, usually a push button, which causes the point blades to change position without the need of the dcc controller. On my layout these manual control takes the form of a Peco Passing Contact Switch, which when moved slowly provides a suitable overide control. This is mounted in the Peco leverframe which is mounted on my "control panel". More on that later.
Bridge Work
The bridge are largely complete now, with only the rear walls and coping stones to be added followed by suitable repaint for some of the plastic areas. The bridge was constructed from the following:
- Wills Single-Track Road-Overbridge (salvaged from previous layout)
- Peco Plate Girder Sides
- Hardboard, with pine pse offcuts for supports
- Scalescenes Bridge Abutments Kit (dark brown brick variant)
- Scrap pieces of brick-card from the Metcalfe plaform kit to make up the walls at the top fo the bridge.
Buildings
There are currently three major structures on my layout. The first is the station building, the MS&LR pattern station as made by Metcalfe Models, which is a close enough representation of smaller stations in the Sheffield area. This was kindly built for me by Kieth, of the Sheffield MRS.
The second structure is the signal box. This is currently a Scalescenes kit, which came free with an early issue of Hornby Magazine. I enjoyed building this kit, of a fairly generic brickbased 'box and this is currently acting as a "placeholder" on the layout. In time I plan to replace this with a scratchbuilt model of a small GCR Type 5 signal box that is more typical of the South Yorkshire Joint Railway. Many thanks to the members of the Great Central Railway Society email group for assisting me with plans for both the signal box and other equipment.
The final structure is a small workshop/store, represented by the Skaledale Gasworks boilerhouse, produced by Hornby. I purchased this secondhand for £4.99 from a local model shop and I think it fits this role perfectly.
The next structure I plan to add is a footbridge. I have determined that the R076 Footbridge produced by Hornby, suitably repainted and modified will be suitable to fulfil both this role, and as an access point to the station from the road level of the retaining wall.
Platforms
These are built from Metcalfe Brickplatform kits. I have just finished building the central platforms and will in time resurface of the platforms with either textured paint or wetdry paper to give a more realistic effect than the printed tarmac effect card provided in the kit.
Ballasting
I have started the process of ballasting on the largest of the two scenery boards (the small end section being complete) but have so far only ballasted between the tracks, but not between the rails. This is so I can still lift the points and track sections if necessary when I fit the three remaining point motors.
Of course not all sections are requiring point motors (as most of the points are wire-in-tube operated) so these will be fully ballasted soon.
I discovered this method of ballasting at http://www.scenicmodelrailways.com/modellingtips.html
Other Scenery
In addition to ballast I have been busy deploying dark brown scatter material to act as a soil base layer, with varying shades of green scatter on top to represent undergrowth. This will be completed once the rest of the ballasting in finished.
Fascia
I have painted the fascia of the fiddleyard and the scenic area of the layout a nice shade of Navy Blue gloss, which is a reasonable approximation in my view to "Easter Region blue". This makes the layout look overall less tatty and more "complete".
I have plenty of pictures of the layout still to upload so be sure to check back soon!
2 comments:
Is "Easter Region blue" similar to Eastern Region Blue?
Yes, but it has a slight hint of eggshell.
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