Popular Post Chandwell Posted May 26, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 26, 2020 Hello everyone. I am Michael and I've lurked around RMWeb for about eight years, but have never posted. It's a site full of inspiration but I've never been confident enough to write my own layout topic. That's changing today. I hope I've got it in the right place. I wasn't sure whether a topic like this was the right thing, or a blog. I'm sure comments will keep me right! Chandwell is an N Gauge layout that goes around two two-metre walls of my garage. The track plan is very roughly based on that of Bradford Interchange - I copied the sequence of points from Google Maps. There are two double-track lines coming out of tunnel portals and crossing a three-track curved viaduct before entering a four-platform station with a loco release loop and a stabling siding. I started the layout in March 2019 and do what I can, when I can. I usually work away from home a lot, so forced home-working has given me many more evenings to work on the layout recently. I will use this topic to show progress of the layout as and when I finish bits. The latest part to be finished is the iron arch bridge which will cross the river. I based this on a bridge near Dewsbury and is my first true scratch-build... everything else has been kitbashing Scalescenes kits up to now. This bridge is made of nine arches, each one made from 0.5mm greyboard. I designed the structure myself using Inkscape from photos I took of the prototype, Long Cut End Viaduct Bridge. Each arch took 40 minutes just to cut out. I also post videos of my layout's progress on YouTube, so you can see more of this bridge over there, if you're interested. Hopefully there is a link in my signature... I am hoping for constructive advice from the members of RMWeb as I post updates over the coming weeks and months. 37 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simontaylor484 Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Good to see another layout based in Gods county 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Looking good Michael. Can you post a picture of the tunnels and station? Cheers Duncan 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TomE Posted May 26, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 26, 2020 Looks great Michael. I especially like the girder section of the bridge! Looking forward to seeing more. Tom. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chandwell Posted May 26, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 26, 2020 Thanks for the comments, everyone. Duncan, here are the tunnels... And the as yet unfinished station area... 29 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Hi Michael, Beautiful and well made tunnels, lovely raised station, nice to see you have got away from flat baseboards. Can I say that the track looks nicely laid, you appear to have all the right foundations for a successful model. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. Cheers Duncan 1 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyboy Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 A great layout! I first heard about your project from watching videos on YouTube and it's great that you have put it up on here. Keep up the good work mate! Sam 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted May 27, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 27, 2020 (edited) 33 minutes ago, sammyboy said: A great layout! I first heard about your project from watching videos on YouTube and it's great that you have put it up on here. Keep up the good work mate! Sam I wondered why the layout looked familiar, but that's it, I too have seen it on youtube. Looking good. Just for interest, do you know what the radius of the curve is from the tunnel to the station throat? Best Scott. Edited May 27, 2020 by scottystitch 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 23 hours ago, scottystitch said: Just for interest, do you know what the radius of the curve is from the tunnel to the station throat? Thank you for the comments and I am really pleased you’ve seen the layout on YouTube! The track radius varies through the curve slightly, but at its tightest, it is the same as two Peco Code 55 curved points back to back. It looks really tight when you see it like this: On average through the curve, the radius of the inner track is 618mm, or just over 24 inches. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyboy Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Could we see the full track plan of the entire layout above please? Sam 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted May 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 29, 2020 23 hours ago, Chandwell said: Thank you for the comments and I am really pleased you’ve seen the layout on YouTube! The track radius varies through the curve slightly, but at its tightest, it is the same as two Peco Code 55 curved points back to back. It looks really tight when you see it like this: On average through the curve, the radius of the inner track is 618mm, or just over 24 inches. That's very helpful, thanks. It's actually encouraging as I have a similar curve on my plan which, at it's most severe is 32" radius (6 chains if my sums are correct). I am in two minds as to whether I hide it or leave it exposed (as I'm very averse to clearly non prototypical curves in the scenic portion), but based on your layout, and with a speed restriction, it might look okay. Yours looks fine in the videos. I particularly like the shot of the simultaneous departure. Please do keep us posted on progress. Best Scott. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted May 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 29, 2020 10 hours ago, sammyboy said: Could we see the full track plan of the entire layout above please? Sam I hope Chandwell doesn't mind me being a bit forward, pending his response, and providing the following link which provides an overview of the layout and a track plan. Best Scott. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 I think the curve is probably as tight as I could get away with, but in the flesh, it works nicely and doesn’t look too bad. It seems like a decent compromise between realism and available space. @scottystitch beat me to posting the video, but there is an overview of the plan and my reasoning behind it in that video (thanks Scott) I’m drawing the track plan over time in an iPad app called Vectornator. The original track outline was imported into it from AnyRail, and since that was used to actually lay the track, I think it is dead accurate as a representation of the real layout. It is here if it is of interest... 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chandwell Posted May 31, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 31, 2020 I have spent this weekend working on the last three arches of the viaduct that I have been working on all year. I’m using the same technique as the rest of the viaduct. I make a simple box with an arch and then place this under the track bed. I place the boxes in the curve and then fit the front and rear of the viaduct once they are in place, the piers being wider on the back face obviously. This allows me to slide them under before lifting them up to the correct height. Here are the last three arches in situ under the track, before being lifted up 5mm to the base of the track. These three arches are slightly different to the rest as they are on the start of the junction, so they widen towards the fiddleyard: I don’t think that this is very prototypical but I really wanted to have these three arches rather than just an embankment. The arches at Brixton seem to have this pattern but I have not been able to find and photos of the interior of them, so I don’t know how they would have been constructed. I’ve therefore built these three arches out of six boxes. There will be an angle change in the middle of each arch, which I assume would have some kind of vaulted ceiling in the arch. I have no idea if this was ever a thing, but it will be hardly noticeable once finished. That is as far as I have got. Here are some pictures of the other arches which I built using the same method. The larger arch in the middle is a skew arch and will have a road running through it. I made a video about this, here: 17 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlebah Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 (edited) Michael - i love your track plan and viaduct / arches junction. I guess this kind of track plan demonstrates the joy of building n-gauge in a comparatively tight space. Very much looking forward to seeing how this layout progresses. Cheers, Nick Edited June 1, 2020 by turtlebah 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted June 1, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2020 Hello Michael, Lovely layout, thanks for posting. There is something very appealing about an L-shape. What arrangements are you planning for the off-scene traversed/fiddle yard? cheers Ben A. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 3 hours ago, Ben A said: Hello Michael, Lovely layout, thanks for posting. There is something very appealing about an L-shape. What arrangements are you planning for the off-scene traversed/fiddle yard? cheers Ben A. Hi Ben, I was inspired by Horseley Fields many years ago and had your layout topic in my bookmark for years. So thank you very much indeed for that! Chandwell’s fiddle yard is a metre long - just enough space to squeeze a loco with five coaches. I have made cassettes from cable trunking and incorporated a power cut off on the section leading to them. Power simply travels from an exposed wire and round some copper tape. It is quite a basic and rudimentary setup. The cassettes were featured in my very first, very unconfident, YouTube video, so you can see them under construction. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 3 hours ago, turtlebah said: Michael - i love your track plan and viaduct / arches junction. I guess this kind of track plan demonstrates the joy of building n-gauge in a comparatively tight space. Definitely - you can get a lot into a small place! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Hello Michael, I discovered you layout on youtube a few weeks ago, very impressive indeed! glad to see the progress on here too. Graham. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Very nicely modelled ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted June 3, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 3, 2020 Hello Michael, Thanks for the kind words about Horsely Fields - glad it provided some inspiration! Looking forward to following your progress. cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 I’ve not had much time on the layout this week, but I have made some progress on the last three arches. For the first time, the viaduct now spans all the way from the station to the hillside. The cores are in and the face is on. Just the inner walls, buttresses, sills, ledge, and walls to go. I always think it looks scruffy at this stage, but it usually works out in the end. I’m not happy with the way the tops of the arches look, but I am hoping that once the finishing bits are on it won’t look too bad. I have also downloaded a new app for editing videos. Called LumaFusion, it is quite a complicated piece of work. To try to learn my way around it, I made a short ‘trailer’ for my YouTube channel. I may have overdone it a little, but it was great fun to make. My ten-year-old son did the filming. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandwell Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Another week has gone past and I have finally finished the building of the viaduct... It has taken me seven months, but I am really pleased with how it turned out. Here is a couple of pictures of the completed last three arches: I had a bit of a disaster with the varnish this week. I use enamel brush-on varnish. I always give it a coat of gloss followed by matt, as I find that adding matt first leaves the matting agent as a dusty covering. Anyway, this time I must have had some smudged PVA on the surface of something as it left a light blob clearly visible on the surface of one of the piers... This has never happened before, so I don’t really know what was up. Anyway, I dabbed on some various shades of brown paint and to the naked eye, especially at normal viewing distances, it is no longer noticeable. I also had to replace a point this week as one of the blades came disconnected from the tie bar and I could not work out how to reconnect it, eventually destroying it further with my ham-fisted attempts to get it clipped back in. Thankfully it was a point where I have not yet ballasted, and it was connected with the plastic insulating rail joiners. So I could cut it out with a craft knife and carefully glue another one in place after re-soldering the wires to it. Not sure how it came unclipped. Perhaps some over-zealous track cleaning or something. I need to be more careful. I am really pleased with how the viaduct has turned out but there are still a lot of things I wish I had done better. I am going to make a video of these things to help others avoid my mistakes. It does look quite nice though, if you don’t look too closely! As usual, I have made a video that details how I made the last three arches. It’s below if you’re interested. Are you interested? I am never sure if it’s good practice to link to videos from here... don’t want to annoy folks. 14 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan. Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Hi Michael, Your model certainly floats my boat. I am always disappointed when I see the track laid upon a flat baseboard that does not allow scenic development below rail level. Your model is an excellent advertisement for using a raised trackbed, immediately the model has an extra dimension. Cheers Duncan 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted-ish Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 I stumbled across your videos at the weekend Michael, I didn't realise you had a thread here. Really enjoyed watching the construction of the bridge bracing, looks great - the layers really work to add realism and interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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