Gresby - N Gauge Great Central (MS&LR 90s-2000s)

[1977joey]

Stunning work as always Simon The effort & time consuming detail your putting into those buildings really is paying off. Always look forward to the updates

 

All the best,

Mark

[MrSimon]

Hello everybody!

Gresby is being exhibited on the 26t of May at the N Gauge Society AGM, today is the 20th and there's one or two bits to do between now and Thursday night. Hmm.

First up last week I started on the warehouses that sit in front of the viaduct hiding the station end entrance to the fiddle yard. I remembered too late that I'm absolutely rubbish at cutting round topped windows so spent ages making big lintels to cover it up:


I was unsure about a roof and then on my drive home through Nottingham the other evening I noticed a similar building with a Mansard roof, so thats what I did


The hollow infront is for a second warehouse, which probably won't be in situ at the AGM. Building goes into the paintshop this afternoon.


I test fitted the house, and it fits, but there was a mystery half inch bit of missing road. I can't remember if I left it out for a reason... but I've made the bits to fill it in. The house is back on the workbench for finishing off.


The ends and sides of the layout have been primed and will be painted this week. It looks weird being white after 2 years as bare wood.

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 14, 2017 by MrSimon

[maq1988]

Amazing detail, its great to see so many scratch built structures. They really make a layout seem more realistic as you create a building to fit into a space like you would in real life. I may have missed in previous posts but what paint are you using for the blue brickwork?

[MrSimon]

Hi, Thanks for your comment

 

I used Phoenix P945 Engineers Blue Brick for the blue bits, I used 2 coats and then used brown, grey, black and green pastels lightly brushed over to weather it.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Simon

[Gloucester Road]

I always enjoy checking up on your progress. Its a real treat to follow the progress of your buildings going up.

[MrSimon]

Hehe Thank you! It's been quite fun bringing all the buildings together - they'll all be going on once I've finished painting the edge of the boards

Another busy day, but without too much to show thats exciting enough to have taken photos of (where has the snap-happy Mr Simon of old gone??)

The following picture really weirded me out, after two-and-a-half of being a handy ply would shelf it became a carpark:


Its all glued down, which will make painting the lines on a bit of a pain, but I couldn't work out where the lines needed to be without sticking it down.


I've almost worked it out, I'll get them painted tomorrow and the pavements done. All the buildings I'd made to go in these arches earlier in the year had to be scrapped - they didn't quite fit and had gone a bit curly - but I saved the details so all I need to build new is some window frames (don't worry the MK2 aircon units are safe)


I can't paint the layout until the ballast around the point I didn't ballast until Friday has set and I've scrubbed the track around it... so after I glued the ballast I used up the leftover glue on a clean bit of layout that had been really bugging me. It looks OK... I think...


While putting off doing the window frames under the arches I forced myself to do the handrails for the stairs. These can be finished and fitted tomorrow and the platform can be finished. I burned myself twice and decided to use plasticard... so no sliding down the banisters on Saturday!

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 14, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

Layout building day tomorrow haha

I've spent every night this week working on it, so hopefully after tonights work it'll all just slot toghether tomorrow - ready to be set up on Friday afternoon.


I finished the stairs - and I'm fitting them on to the platform tonight


The carpark's coming on - I can't stick everything down until I've finished the arches... which'll be most of the work I'm doing until tomorrow night. Must stop putting off jobs I don't like!


Last night I built the last bit of arch - it still needs painting and finishing but the viaduct has been 2 years in the making (with approximately 2 years of provaricating)


Nearly time to stick the house down too

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 14, 2017 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

Lots done in the last 24 hours and lots still to do before bedtime, but here are some teaser pics (the camera battery went flat)


In the post today came the town bus (It won't be going to Hereford by the time I've finished with it) it needs some detailing, and it is noticably small, but where its going it shouldn't look too little...


The platform surface I've not painted it yet, and might not before the AGM, but it makes such a difference being fitted. I drew out a platform building and there needs to be some walls and things building on the bridges.


Its times like when I'm dumping sofas in back gardens I'm glad that sometimes there are massive amounts of flash on white metal mouldings.


The name came, but I might have made a slight mistake when I ordered it... excellent quality and speed of delivery though!

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 14, 2017 by MrSimon

[BernardTPM]

Just a thought re: the Leyland National, Simon. Why not change the 1:150 scale car for a 1:160 one? (Maybe one of those new Minis).

[Black Sheep]

the other option would be to place a smaller car such as a classic mini there as it will highlight the size difference between the two vehicls

[BernardTPM]

The problem there is that there isn't a good old-style Mini in N. The one the Mayfair Models one was way under size (approx 1:174 scale).

[MrSimon]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your suggestion - Which maker makes the cars to 1:160? The one thats there now is a Tomytec one but can easily be changed (or a smaller scale one put behind it level with the bus to sort of force the perspective a little)

 

Layouts all packed up in the car ready to set up tomorrow

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Les1952]

It is in the car, and the springs (just about) still bend the right way......

 

Les

(the chauffeur)

 

Just as well Cotgrave is only twelve miles from here.

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

Back from exhibiting Gresby at the AGM, had a good time and the layout worked well Can't wait to exhibit it completed!

Thank you to everyone who came to say hello, and I hope everyone enjoyed seeing the layout in the flesh, as it were.

The layout was quick and easy to put up, and I was driving out the carpark 20 minutes after the show closed - which was nice. I only took a few pics of the layout - nothing you've not seen before:

 

There was some excellent layouts at the AGM, well done to the organisers

Lots to do!

Simon

Edited July 14, 2017 by MrSimon

[Revolution Ben]

Hello Simon,

 

Thanks for exhibiting Gresby - it was good to see it "on the road" and as I said to you, it's bigger than I expected! The scenic work is really coming together well too.

 

How did it run over a full exhibition day?

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[MrSimon]

Hi Ben,

 

Nice to meet you today

 

It ran well all day, the odd derailment here and there but no faults other than Oli and I not being used to running it... Theres a few bits I want to add to it - some small handles underneath to make carrying it easier and a barrier like Loch Tat had to stop people leaning on it!

 

Good to see Horsley Fields - wish I'd had a bit more time to look at it closely, excellent modelling - and its really wide - I wasn't expecting that! Loved the buses too Did it run well?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Guest Moria]

Congrats Simon, and well done.

 

Hope you had a good time as well. Would have liked to be there, but it's an expensive return ticket

 

Regards

 

GRaham

[BernardTPM]

Thanks for your suggestion - Which maker makes the cars to 1:160?

It's by Herpa.

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Simon

 

The buses work reasonably well but occasionally they stop and need to be given a little time before restarting. Also, I think that a pair of batteries, at almost non-stop running, will last about 5-6 hours, so more than half but not quite a full day's exhibiting.

 

Having said that, the buses certainly were an attention getter. I think they got more of a response than everything on the rest of the layout combined!!! Perhaps you need one on Gresby??

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[robrailltd]

Sorry if this has been mentioned in the thread but who makes the buses?

[Revolution Ben]

Hi RobRail,

 

Apologies for "hi-jacking" the thread but in answer to your question about buses...

 

The ones we use are those made by Tomytec and purchased from Osborne's models - see here: http://www.osbornsmodels.com/tomytec-moving-bus-basic-set-a2-18149-p.asp

 

In the set you get a painted and unpainted bus body, a chassis, an oval of "road" track, and a bus stop module.

 

The chassis has a magnet fixed to the front axle that follows a wire embedded in the road. It is powered from two standard watch batteries via the rear axle. The chassis also has some electronic circuitry such that if it detects a magnet in the road surface it will stop for a short period, then continue. While it stops a small red brake light comes on too. This enables you to replicate a bus stop - which we have done on Horseley Fields. There is a photo of our bus on our layout thread, and earlier in the thread a photo showing the bus repainted to represent one of those seen in the Wolverhampton area.

 

Additional chassis can be purchased as spares, and another member of our group has fitted one in a National Express Plaxton coach, using the Oxford models' body as a starting point.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[Revolution Ben]

Hello again,

 

Sorry, I can't seem to edit my post above. Just to add, there is a photo of the bus stationary on p4 or the Horseley Fields thread, and one of it working at yesterday;'s NGS AGM on p6.

 

Faller also make working vehicles, but their models are to 1:160 scale (Tomytec, like other Japanese models, are to 1:150) and also the Faller ones have batteries that need to be recharged, which I find to be a pain! Swapping out disposables is a lot easier, though when I couldn't get one of our buses to work yesterday it had to be gently pointed out to me by another group member that I't put in the batteries upside down!!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[MrSimon]

The bus was pretty cool! I don't have any roads that aren't 1ft long ending at the baseboard edge - so they're going to be firmly glued down (but I'm mulling over them for the next layout though haha) the black bus on Horsley was more the type I'm after rather than a Leyland National - do they come as unpowered buses too?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Simon

 

The Black Diamond is based on one I saw in Wolverhampton in February, and is simply the unpainted Tomytec body reliveried. This was done by removing the glazing, spraying the body black, and then adding printed artwork. If you fancy doing the same project let me know and I'll see if I have any leftover prints, or send you the artwork.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[MrSimon]

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for the offer - Black Diamond's a little bit out of my area though Did you need to print out the lights etc? I think its going on my to-do-list!

 

Cheers

 

Simon