4mm Malpas Road servicing point

[Ressaldar]

With the long term view of having something to run on in my den when I cannot get out into the garage to run my O gauge locos on Hadlow Road I have decided to build a n OO gauge mini servicing point layout measuring 1800 x 450.

The location is purely fictitious but again, as with Hadlow Road, set around the South West suburbs which served both the Southern and Western regions of BR in the mid/late 60s. The site used to be solely occupied by the CCE Department but has now been amended to allow the building of the servicing point, fuel facilities and the servicing building and retaining just one CCE siding (somewhere for the Inspection Saloon).



I am a great fan of retaining walls and have chosen to go with the KS Laser Designs version (having used them an two O Gauge layouts in the past) all around the perimeter with a girder bridge over the track leading 'off scene', it cannot be realistically called a fiddle yard. The baseboards themselves I have ordered from White Rose Model Works.

Trackwork is Peco Code 75, point control via DCC Concept's Omega units and loco control by NCE Power Cab and the buildings will be Bachmann Scenecraft. The areas within the yellow lines will be concrete and the car parks will be tarmac. Yard and building lighting will be installed later.

Stock currently consists of a Dapol Class 22 - D6332 in blue with full yellow ends and fitted with a Zimo 21 pin decoder with a Youchoos sound file , a Hattons Class 14 - D9521 in green being fitted with a Zimo 8 pin decoder with a Youchoos sound file and the necessary Inspection Saloon (Rule 1 applies) albeit the Bachmann ex LMS Diag D2046 version - M45030M in Blue/Grey which can just about be justified, certainly until somebody brings out a BR (WR) version of the ex GWR Q13 Inspection Saloons. The main idea of the layout is to just shuffle locos around so the tension lock couplings will be removed (except on the 03 or 08 shunter when either is acquired) and the screw couplings fitted.



Whilst waiting for the baseboards to arrive, I have laid the layout full size on lining paper, marked up in 150 x 150 squares and checked the fit of the design, so now it is a matter of being patient until they delivered.

Hopefully, progress photos in the not to distant future.

Regards

Mike

 

[NHY 581]

This sounds like a nice project.......


Rob.

 

[Andy P]

Looking like a nice idea mate.

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi Rob and Andy,

Many thanks for your encouraging words, a whole different ball game going back into 4mm after 40 + years.

Regards

Mike

 

[matto21]

Looking forward to seeing this progress - love a depot layout

 

[Ressaldar]

A four week progress report:

Quite a lot has happened in as much as the baseboards arrived two weeks before they were expected (well done White Rose) the quality is excellent and they went together in no time. I added a 9mm ply backscene board to which I glued the KS Laser arches and then turned y attention to the trackwork. To my surprise, it is more or less as I had drawn it out so the pointwork was drilled through the centralised tiebar and each end of the tiebar - the three holes are then lined through on the underside which greatly helps the point motor installation. I have used Cobolt point motors when they first came out and like many others, suffered the clicking problems and switched to Tortoise. I had intended to use Tortoise ohere, but for some reason went for the Cobolt Omega and was pleasantly surprised when I opened the boxes - not only was the wire already bent to shape but there is a pad included which is profile cut to the same shape as the top of the motor and has an adhesive coating on both sides (protected by a tear off strip) The pad is stuck to the top of the motor prior to offering up to the location and then the assembly is gently pushed into placed, the fixing holes marked, motor removed, holes drilled, motor refixed and then using four of the supplied five screws finally held in place. I had already fixed the droppers to the plain track and the running rails of the points, which meant that the track was down and tested quite quickly.

I have ordered a project box from CPC for use as the control panel but in anticipation of that arriving (hopefully tomorrow) the point wiring is now in and temporarily terminates at the chocolate block that will be fixed onto the topside of the project box, with the aid of a couple of flying leads on the end of the 9v supply, I have tested that all is well with the pointwork and that the frog polarities are correct and the Class 22 runs through all A1.



I have done away with the rataining wall behind the service shed and applied it direct to the backscene ply having decided that the shed would be sufficient in itself to act as the 'scene breaker'



there is also a slight change of plan at the other end in as much as the two roads on the right hand side will now terminate in a small two road engine shed with the associated coal stage and water facilities nearby. This change has been brought about by Management displaying big signs of disappointment at the lack of steam, but the era is 1960s so no real problem!





The bare area below the mini drill is awaiting some black paint and a bridge parapet being installed to further disguise the scenic break. The retaining walls have had two washes of Railmatch acrylic 'Slate' and further coats of slate and 'roof dirt' will be added over the course of the next few days - heatwave permitting, even here on the Wirral 28degC forecast for this evening @ 19.00 hours

The buildings are only loosely placed for 'observation' purposes, a final decision will be made once the trackwork has been painted and ballasted.

The Class 14 duly arrived with its sound decoder and ran for all of 20 seconds on the rolling road and was therefore promptly returned wence it came for inspection and sorting out. I received it back again last Thursday only for lightning to strike yet again. This time I removed the decoder, speaker and stay alive and the loco is now lurking on a shelf to be located 'out of service' on a siding when the layout comes into the den! How prototypical can you get The decoder has been returned to be reblown to a Class 35 Hymek which should be arriving before the end of the week - breath already on hold.

More to come soon

regards

Mike

 

[Ressaldar]

Time for an yet another well overdue update:

the layout is now resident in the Den and coming together slowly.



the baseboard join is to the left of the portacabins at the rear and to the right of the front portacabins.

overall view showing the sieved building sand used for the ground cover starting to be painted with Vallejo Model Air AV - 71012 Dark Green, more progress on this later today with a bit of luck.

closer view of the right hand end, I will be fixing a mirror tile in the exit to 'the rest of the system', something which I have done before and looked quite effective. At this stage, the bridge parapet is still unfixed as there is the need for a narrow infill brickwork pier to be placed behind it at the right hand end.

The latest locos 'at home', the 07 is not sound fitted, the 35 and 52 are and sound great. The shed, another KS Laser product with the addition of ModelU hoppers and holderbats and microrod for the downpipes. The glazing bars and frames on the North lights are Evergreen microstrip, painted gunmetal before being fixed in place with Glue and Glaze. The final weathering of the shed has still to be applied, as it is to the groundcover and roadways.

Bachmann Scenecraft buildings in place but not yet fixed down to allow access for painting the rear of the scene. The errant 14 is now 'parked up' and will be weathered accordingly in due course.

Close up of the servicing shed

22 at rest and still awaiting the reporting numbers, pipework and skirts to be applied.

No more locos are envisaged at present, but who knows what might appeal when visiting the shows?

The unfinished 7mm Inspection Saloons stare at me every time I venture into the workshop and I think that following the visit to the 'Holy Grail that is Telford' last weekend, I might even be taking pity on them shortly!

regards

Mike