Gary's OO Layout Change Entry Thread

Yes, I'm a late starter, but better being late then never being there at all !

So, what am I doing ??

Well back in 2017 when I visited Toto, Paul and Co. to attended the Elgin exhibition, I had my house painted (inside) whilst I was gone. This was a good thing as I didn't have to put up with paint fumes. Anyway, when I arrived home, I found that the painters had damaged the silos I had on my layout, Jay Dubyew North Yard. Since then, I have been playing around with track plans for the eventual extension of Jay Dub, trying to decide on the best option and in that time, not a lot has happened, as I have focussed some attention on the O gauge layout. I did start by removing a length of track to install a set of points and that is far as I went with this part of the layout...

Until now...

In a few weeks time, I will be exhibiting Jay Dub in Canberra (30/31) and this means I need to pull my finger out and repair the hapless motions I started... Pulling the point up and reinstating the straight length of track is job no.1...

The area in need of attention...

The area where the silos stand (stood) will be remodelled, using a Walthers produce distribution warehouse kit I purchased from an model railway club open day a few weeks back. The silos I have, had been damaged enough and the fact that they are a view blocker on the layout doesn't help either.

Damage was also done to the rail that leads to the sector plate on the second baseboard...

Track laying has started. This time I will use PC board at the track ends.

So, I have plenty to get onto, so I better get going then...

Updated pics to come...

Cheers, Gary.

 

Thanks for that tip Gormo, I shall use it !

Cheers, Gary.

 

Whilst working on the layout this afternoon, I noticed a nice stream of sun light entering the room and hitting the layout. I promtly placed a loco and a few wagons on the layout and caught this image...

Cheers, Gary.

 

Can't lead you and your horse to the finish line Ron, but I have given you a major head start !

Anyway, where was I up to...

That's right, repairing the track... Well that has been completed and it runs as smooth as silk. You could say it runs as good if not better than what it originally did !

Originally I had a piece of code 70 rail sitting on the darker brown section of the fiddle yard. Don't ask me why or how that came about ! This has been replaced with a piece of code 100 and the mating track has been soldered to PC board, something I didn't do previously. I'd say I was in a rush to get it ready for the exhibition...

So with that task complete, I set out to build the produce distribution warehouse.

This is a reasonably large foot print model, as can be seen by the base plate...

The base plate was cut down to size, so the structure fits between the track and base board edge.

After cutting, filing and shutting the sides, I assembled the main structure.

...and this fits perfectly into the position. There is no back on the building as yet as I will paint the model before installing the windows and glazing. The rear wall will be flush with the base board edge.

The roof section for the main warehouse also had to be cut down in size, as well as the top story side walls.

Rather than use bothe side walls that came with the kit, I opted to use one section only and keep the other in reserve for a future low relief model. This also applied to the lower ware house side walls as well.

With all the walls assembled and the roofs in place this is how it looks. I temporarily added the rail side loading dock.

A few hours later, I have added paint and picked out a few bricks in a different colour. For those here that are on our facebook page, recently I posted a video about painting brick work for best effects.

In the video, Jason Jensen explains the use of 'jointing compound' to act as mortar. Unfortunately I don't have jointing compound so I used chalk !

The chalk was scrubbed over the model the duly removed the excess with a brush.

The end result was quite pleasing. I will give the model the model a light coat of clear matt acrylic sealer to hold the chalk dust mortar in position.

Well, that is it for today (actually it's almost 2.20am Sunday...), but I'll be back with a follow up tomorrow, or is that today....?

Cheers for now,

Gary.

 

Today I powered ahead with the build of the produce warehouse.

Windows and doors were painted late last night and put in today. I also painted the wall cappings and secured them into place. I opted for a terracotta colour for these.

Once these had cured, it was time for some light weathering. All the weathering was done with artists chalk pastels. The loading dock was also weathered using a mix of dark greys, black ad brown.

I needed to do this weathering before the canopy roof was put on. The roof was painted and weathered before adding to the building. This also included the rust streaks from the stays that attach to the building.

This is where the building will sit. The old plaster and scenery has been removed so I can test fit the building for height, ie platform height for the refrigerator vans.

Test fit...

I did find that one wagon has a handle on it that touches the loading platform on entry. The building is sitting on 3mm foam core to bring it up to height. Maybe dropping it down 1mm may help... Then again, that van doesn't need to be spotted at this destination...

I'll use the small shed on the end of the layout to screen between the building and the back scene end board. Now I just need to paint the small shed, add a door then plant all buildings in place.

Time to get cracking on the scenery now...

Cheers, Gary.

 

OK, I have done the inevitable..., I mentioned above that one wagon (reffer) was not going to fit in the siding without losing the lock on the door, or I was not going to use that particular wagon in that siding...

Well, the better got to me...

As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but in this case, I needed to 'fix it'. I ended up putting the dremel through the track and lifting it so that I could reposition it a single millimeter (and a half) away from the loading dock face. This way I can run any rolling stock down there !

Up and out, magnets tapped into the baseboard and ready to relay...

The track laid back down that little bit further inwards...

Once completed, it will make for more enjoyable running sessions.

I'm sure this will make Ron happy as it is another obstacle to slow me down, sort of...

Cheers, Gary.

 

Over the weekend I knocked up a few pallets for that little bit of detailing to go onto the layout. These were constructed from 3" x 4" scale timber (North Eastern Scale Lumber) and some thin card cut into strips.

I still have a few more to make up, as I require around 20 or so. Another task I set about (prior to exhibiting on the 30/31st), was to remove the old rail road company names on two locos. Here is a pic of one of the locos and hopefully tonight I'll rebrand the locos to JSRR...

Before...

After...

Once the new decals go on, I'll seal the models with clear matt finishing sealer and weather them up.

Now, I don't want to show to much of what I have been up to lately, so here is a sneak preview...

I think the pallets have turned out pretty good with a lick of paint to weather them up a little ! The ramp was also knocked up with some scribed timber and other 6" x 6", 6' x 4" and 4' x 3" scale timbers.

That's it until tomorrow.

Cheers, Gary.