Simon's Model Train Project - Photo Diary

MWHCVT said:
Going to watch this, also going to hope it doesn't revive old loves as I really cannot afford a new hobby :eek:
Click to expand...

Ditto!

I have photography and R/C cars as my current hobbies. This thread makes me want to break out a model railway layout. Think if I did that my 4th hobby would be living as a divorcee :D
 
Back in 1970 (when I was 12), I received what I now think of as my best ever Christmas present.
We were not that well off, but my dad knew that I wanted a train set, so he set about scouring the classified ads in local papers.
We set off on the bus one Saturday morning for a village about five miles away, where someone was selling a train set for about £20.
When we got there, we were confronted with an 8' x 4' piece of plywood, with track fixed to it, and a box of engines, rolling stock, more track and a transformer.
We struggled home with this, managing to somehow get it on to the rural bus for the return journey, and then to my delight, start assembling the locomotives and carriages.
I remember that it worked fine, and there were three locos - Hornby Albert Hall, Horby Dublo steel Deltic and a small tank engine. There were a couple of Pullman coaches and other stuff, and from that moment I was hooked.
Over the years, I added more coaches, got the Deltic running properly, and even added some trackside buildings made from card - they were reall detailed. I also bought more carriages (mostly from the local market) and set about painting them.
I think I sold them when I left school and bought an electric guitar.
 
Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in posting any updates. I have been doing some boring but necessary work of fixing the supply bus cabling to the frame using P Clips.
This is done and so after doing a little bit of clearing up (I made a mess up there) I've had a go of laying some track down to get an idea of what I am playing with, track wise and size wise.

Here are the latest photos...


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr



Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr


I have a lot more curves than straight!


Untitled by Mr_Si, on Flickr
 
So jealous of you having the space for OO.
My trains are a fair bit smaller...
Kit built Warship and Mk1:
(Yes, my painting skills leave a lot to be desired).
(you can see the scale from the cup)
Full Length HST:
 
Hi. I am afraid not, no. Baby arrived 13 days ago so attention has been on him. I hope to get back to it soon though. I'm still finishing off the base board!
 
Sorry for the long absence everyone. There should hopefully be some further updates soon.
I have just finished laying the base board. If you imagine what would be a square oval, it measures 14ft 4in long x 2ft 6in wide on the long lengths and 11ft 4in x 4ft at one end, which will call the "feature end" and the other end is 11ft 4in x 2ft.

So it's a big ol' layout and I suspect it will take me ages to build. Especially as I will be making raised track sections and other funky stuff.

The exciting news is that it's my birthday on Friday, so my wife is taking me to the big model train shop on Saturday so I can spend loads of money. I need so many straights, it's ridiculous!

I promise to put photos up as soon as I make any progress. I am thinking that I will need to go to wickes to get some 6mm ply for the gradients etc.


Edit:

Oh and here's a photo of the completed baseboard.

Baseboard Completed by Mr_Si, on Flickr
 
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Looks like it is going to be a labour of love. You will certainly need a load of track not to mention tunnels,bridges,stations,crossings,lakes,boats
,fields,towns and on and on and on. Definitely going to keep you off the streets for a very long time.
Just a quick pic of one of my trains. Unfortunately it's all packed away. Not had it out for many years, but this has kindled a flame so who knows? Mine dates from the 1950's.



Boys Toys_2 37/365 by M1RVW, on Flickr
 
Oh that's nice!

I hope it will be a project that my son and I can do, but at the moment he's 2 months old, so probably doesn't care!

Yeah, loads of bridges and tunnels and crossings and points and scenery and little people and of course, a motorised turn table!
 
Ok, so I broke my phone last night... It is a google nexus 4 and it fell from the garden table onto to concrete floor. Smashed screen!

If it wasn't for that, I would have posted some photos by now.

I bought some R603 lengths (20) at a reduced price of 1.50 each as they were ex-James May from his tv programme!
I also bought ten lengths of 601 and
3 plastic building model kits.

I have done some more on my long gradient, which goes from surface to 8cm high over the length of just over 2 metres.

I hope to post some photos soon.
 
Thought I'd give this thread a Holy Thread Revival, Batman-type bump back up as I've just wondered how it all went. I just got thinking about model railways and this thread sprang to mind.
 
I started a layout in my old house about 25 years ago.
Was a massive layout, and I built tunnels and hills using stuff called mod rock, which was like the stuff used for stookies. We moved house, so it never got finished.
My son still has the trains and all the track up in his loft. I also had a massive racing car layout as well. It was smaller than scalextrix, I think it was called aurora. My son has all that too.
My grandson is 4, and I keep saying to my son that he should floor his loft and start a layout.
 
Now, this is a good thread (y). Keep the updates coming

MWHCVT said:
Going to watch this, also going to hope it doesn't revive old loves as I really cannot afford a new hobby :eek:
Click to expand...

I'm afraid it already has for me haha. I went to my folks house after seeing this to go dig out my old set. It's smaller than I remember but it was packed away when I was 8. It's only a 7ftx5ft table but I had a lot of fun making the scenery and tunnels. Wouldn't mind doing it again but it's been in storage for so long it's completely shagged, which means I'd need to start over and it's not cheap buying stuff to make scenery. Tracks and trains aren't too bad to buy because once you have your layout you rarely move it, if at all. The only thing that has survived is a few trains :(
 
Paul, if the basic infrastructure has survived, you could probably get away with another layer of plaster bandage stuff (can't remember what the proper name is!) to restore the hills etc. Points and track should be recoverable with a track cleaning rubber or can be relatively cheaply replaced. Loco wheels can easily be cleaned with http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trix-Locomotive-Wheel-Cleaning-Brush/dp/B0000WRG64 . DCC adds a whole new set of dimensions to a decent sized layout...
 
I feel like I have let you all down! I have not done anything much since I last posted, but this year instead of the 52 week challenge I am planning to actually do some work on it! also, my little boy is almost 1 so I can take him up and put him in his travel cot with toys whilst I do some work on it on spring.
 
Hi Simon. Better late than never. But indeed, I know how it is when you start on a big project and then you get waylaid along the way.
 
CaveDweller said:
Now, this is a good thread (y). Keep the updates coming



I'm afraid it already has for me haha. I went to my folks house after seeing this to go dig out my old set. It's smaller than I remember but it was packed away when I was 8. It's only a 7ftx5ft table but I had a lot of fun making the scenery and tunnels. Wouldn't mind doing it again but it's been in storage for so long it's completely shagged, which means I'd need to start over and it's not cheap buying stuff to make scenery. Tracks and trains aren't too bad to buy because once you have your layout you rarely move it, if at all. The only thing that has survived is a few trains :(
Click to expand...

Actually found a couple of old layout boards the other afternoon when clearing my garage, it's going to take a lot of will power to not start shopping on eBay for used kit
 
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