My 00 Gauge layout - Oldmoor Junction Model Railway

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 7.5
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I've finished the trackplan for the railway centre. Turns out I can store up to 14 engines (but I'm only storing 13 at the moment) in the sidings, which is more than plenty! I've attached some photos of the railway centre for you all to see.

(Click on the photos to see them in a larger form)

Ask any questions you have - ask away!

Thanks,

-Peter

EDIT: I've just realised that the second photo isn't of the railway centre, but is instead of the ballasting work in its current form. Still lots to do!
The photos of the railway centre also show most of the OJMR fleet as well, I've just realised.

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 8a
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I've uploaded several posts on here now, many of them referencing the stock I run on the layout. Having already uploaded a couple of photos in the previous post regarding the railway centre including the engines on the railway, I thought I might as well share the entire stock fleet. Here we go!
Each of the photos will be inserted as a thumbnail: to see the engines in full-screen, click on the images.
These engines are in no particular order.


Hornby Class 50 50046 Ajax
Fitted with a Hornby Class 31 TTS decoder, this engine is one of the best engines in the OJMR fleet. It is really heavy and can move almost anything, which proves very useful when trying to shunt rakes of coaches. This version of the Hornby 50 is the later version without the rubber band linking the motor to the fan in the roof, improving the performance of the engine. This loco used to be a display engine in a cabinet at a local large department store - something a bit different I think!


Bachmann Class 47 47164
This amazing loco from Bachmann is one of, if not the, best-performing engines in the fleet. It can work on the dirtiest of track and the livery makes it stand out from the rest of the engines. It came with 45552 Silver Jubilee (LMS Jubilee in BR Green) as part of an anniversary pack from Bachmann but sadly the steam loco's coupling rods broke - I've detailed it in a previous thread.


Dapol Class 68 68010 Oxford Flyer
The OJMR "cat" provides a real eye-catcher on the layout. Although it struggles to run with some coaches, because of the differences between coupling heights, it runs with enough stock that it earns its own keep, if you will. It's fitted with headlights, tail lights, and cab lights, and I plan to (one day) get a sound decoder to fit in it. The 68s are one of my favourite current UK diesel locos and I've spent quite a while sat at stations listening to their roar!


Hornby LNER A1 60163 Tornado
This loco sparked the current layout as it came with the Hornby starter pack I used to base the trackplan off of. It came with two Hornby Pullman coaches (the Railroad ones to match the loco) and it looks really good with pretty much any rolling stock. I plan to get a BR Express Passenger Blue A1 at some point because I think that pretty much every engine looks good in that livery.


Hornby GWR "King" 6021 King Richard II
This loco was one of the first engines I got for the layout when it turned DCC and it is amazing (it's fitted with TTS from Hornby). The wheels are really quite dirty and they need a good clean - at the moment it won't go around the layout even once without stopping multiple times. This engine is in BR Express Passenger Blue - my choice for this livery being King Edward II at Didcot Railway Centre as it is currently in this amazing colour scheme.


LNER/BR J83 68748
This loco came with the Mixed Freight DCC set, along with a Class 08 from the Hornby Railroad range. Once an amazing shunting loco, something has happened with this engine and it won't work as well any more. I think it's something to do with the DCC decoder. The same problem is affecting the Class 08, which is interesting.


GBRf Class 50 50007/50014 Hercules/Warspite
This loco was the subject of a repaint project I did last Easter, meaning this engine in this form is almost a year old. It's a Lima Class 50 - 50013 Agincourt. This engine doesn't work at the moment because one of the wires inside has come detached from the motor. The loco was fitted with a DCC decoder by Hatton's and I'm hoping to fix it soon. I recorded the repaint of the loco in this thread.


Hornby Class 08 D8738
This loco was once a really good shunting engine but now it's not working - same issues as the J83. I plan to try and get it working again, probably after the whole COVID-19 crisis slows down and shops and places to fix engines like this can open and work again.


Hornby GWR Pannier Tank 2759
This engine came as part of a small job lot from Facebook, along with a small coach, two larger coaches, and a flatbed wagon. It runs well, adds to the GWR collection, and is an oddity on the layout thanks to the lack of a full cab roof!


Hornby E2 1 Thomas
I think most people who have a model railway have had a model of the cheeky blue tank engine himself at some point. Currently, Thomas works better as a smoke generator than a loco (I choose to see it as Hornby's "live steam" range returning ) but it doesn't mean he can't be moved to a siding in the railway centre for everyone to come and see, like at Didcot Railway Centre!

And I've reached the 10 images per post limit - so I'll have to make another post covering the next 9 engines in the fleet.

Thanks for reading,

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 8b
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Carrying on with the locos!


Hornby GWR Prairie Tank 6119 (I think)
This loco is the only engine I've bought from a model fair and it runs really well. It's been detailed with a driver and fireman in the cab and having seen a couple of Prairie tank locos at Didcot, I just had to get it to add to the GWR collection!


Mainline GWR Mogul 43xx 5322
This engine, turns out, has been preserved at Didcot (there's a theme of Didcot here), currently (I think) in ROD black livery. This engine was made by Mainline in the 1980s and therefore is one of the oldest engines in the fleet - but it still runs, albeit a bit slowly. You'll notice some dirt around the wheels and motion gear: the loco's wheels were covered in it when I got it but I've cleaned it up (mostly) and it looks really quite nice.


Hornby GWR 101 Class No. 101
This engine started it all. The original OJMR layout started in the conservatory, on the same dining table, on a 6'x4' baseboard in 2015 and the layout has grown and the fleet has become quite something since then. The loco still works but I'm scared to run it at high speeds for fear of wearing out the motor (I ran it quite quickly in the first few years). Apparently Hornby have re-geared their 0-4-0s so I need to get a new one and compare it to this old one!


Tri-ang Class 37 D6830
This engine, which, from my research, could anything from 40 to 60 years old, is very useful for finding track pins and fishplates left between the rails after construction work thanks to the magnetic motor bogie. I plan to restore it to its former glory and make it look amazing again - I also want to make a DC layout just for these older locos to show them off and illustrate how far model engines have come in the past few decades.


Hornby Tri-ang Class 43 43010 and 43011
This HST has been in the fleet for a couple of years and comes complete with lights in the direction of travel. I've got a couple of Mk3s in BR Blue-and-Grey to match the power cars (the older ones which are shorter than the prototype) and a couple of GWR Mk3 coaches to match a future GWR HST power car set (not going to happen soon, but when I get the power cars they'll probably be from the new starter set including them).


Hornby LNER A4 4468 Mallard
The second engine in the fleet, this loco has proved to be a lovely engine to watch running around the railway. However, I've lost the screws and the coupling bar for the tender, meaning it can be run, but without the tender, essentially barring it from running at the moment. I plan to get this sorted soon because I've got a couple of nice Hornby Railroad LNER "teak" coaches to go with it.


Hornby LNER D16 8900 Claud Hamilton
This engine is an oddity in that it's an LNER engine. Yes, the Mallard is part of the fleet as well, but this engine is a bit less famous. I like this loco a lot - it's really quiet going round the railway and looks good with the aforementioned teak coaches. However, the screw for the tender-engine coupling is lost in the house somewhere and therefore I only really run the engine tender-first, with the coaches being coupled to the smokebox-end of the loco.


Tri-ang GWR Pannier Tank
This engine was supposed to be a live-steam engine, but I've never had the steam oil to make it work and the engine itself has some issues with wiring and the motor IIRC. It's currently sat in the railway centre in the layout, accompanying the previous Pannier.



Hornby BR Class 423 7756
This unit is the only multiple unit I have on the layout* and it works really quite well. I've removed the front and rear couplings, allowing for it to go around curves, but the lights at one end don't work and the saloon lights only work in one coach. However, it is till a lovely engine and looks almost identical, bar the full yellow ends, to 3417 - the EMU currently being restored and worked on at Strawberry Hill Depot. Search "Gordon 3417" on Twitter if you didn't know about it.

That's the fleet! All of the engines, and the unit, all here. Please ask questions if you have any.

Thanks,

-Peter

*I do have a Tri-ang Class 101 but it doesn't work very well and I don't have photos of it

 

[Cowley]

Blimey you’ve got quite some fleet there!
I didn’t realise you had so many locos.
The railway’s really coming on Peter and I can see now why you wanted to build a railway centre in to show everything.
When I had my 00 I had a Bachmann 47 and a Hornby 50 and they were excellent models, the 47 was ultra reliable and like you say it ran with dirty track/wheels with no problems at all.
What I’ve found since going DCC though is that keeping the track and wheels clean is much more important than is was with DC.
So keep the track really clean by using a Peco track rubber, and I use cleaning fluid for the wheels. Sometimes I soak a bit of rag with the fluid, lay it on the the track and put one end of the loco on it with it running. I’ll post a picture of what I mean later.

 

[Peter C]

Blimey you’ve got quite some fleet there!
I didn’t realise you had so many locos.
The railway’s really coming on Peter and I can see now why you wanted to build a railway centre in to show everything.
When I had my 00 I had a Bachmann 47 and a Hornby 50 and they were excellent models, the 47 was ultra reliable and like you say it ran with dirty track/wheels with no problems at all.
What I’ve found since going DCC though is that keeping the track and wheels clean is much more important than is was with DC.
So keep the track really clean by using a Peco track rubber, and I use cleaning fluid for the wheels. Sometimes I soak a bit of rag with the fluid, lay it on the the track and put one end of the loco on it with it running. I’ll post a picture of what I mean later.

Thanks very much!
The railway centre has proved to be very useful already in storing locos and I hope to get as many as possible converted to DCC so I can have them all on electrified sidings without having to worry about which ones have to be stabled where.
I can definitely agree with you about the 47 and 50 - they are amazing!
I use a Peco track rubber as well - they're very good. I'm on my second one because the first one from a year or two ago was so worn out! That sounds like an interesting way of cleaning engine wheels- I'll have a look into it. I look forward to seeing the picture showing exactly what it is!

Thanks once again,

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

I spent 3 hours on the layout today, with 47164, 50046, 60163, and 68010 all making an appearance on the scene.
68010 was allocated to the last train, which was formed of two Intercity blue and grey Mk3s, followed by 2 GWR green Mk3s, and then HST powercar 43011 in blue and grey livery to match the 2 Mk3s. The train ran around and around the layout for the best part of ten or so minutes before a rather serious incident occurred - the HST powercar became derailed, taking the coupling of the last GWR Mk3 and quite a bit of ballast with it!

You can see where my ballasting work had been dragged along by the wheels of 43011. It was all sorted and then the incident occurred - time to call the P/Way gang, me thinks!
I think the Carriage & Wagon Department may also need a call - the Mk1 full brake was, shall we say, bumped during the incident: it was on the other side of the points before 43011 attacked it

The thrills of running a model railway, eh?

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Love it. I hope you’ve got a couple of buses available for the RRBS..?

 

[Peter C]

Love it. I hope you’ve got a couple of buses available for the RRBS..?

Haha! I've got a Mini and a Banana Van.... do they count? (They may be better than some replacement buses run by TOCs today! )

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Hello all!

As part of the ongoing celebrations of the amazing work the NHS has been doing about the coronavirus situation, I thought it would be nice to thank them in my own way, as well as the other celebrations of their work such as #ClapfortheNHS. I've run two of my blue diesels and some blue and grey coaches to make up a short blue running session. I know it's not a lot but it's something.

I've made a video of this on the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway YouTube channel. Click here to go to watch it.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by the coronavirus in any way, shape, or form. We will all get through this.

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I wouldn’t want to be waiting at that level crossing...

 

[Peter C]

Ha! Yes - I've heard of some bad level crossings around the country but I think this one takes the prize for longest waiting times!

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 9
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After spending the last 6 months in the conservatory in less than ideal conditions, the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway has been moved!

We moved the layout upstairs yesterday and trains began running as soon as possible. Having the layout in a more conventional room means that the engines can be left on the layout without me worrying about them becoming damaged - a concern I had when the layout was in the aforementioned poor conditions of the conservatory.
Having the layout in its new home makes it so much easier to take and upload photos for these posts - just one of the many benefits which will be seen over the next however long!

Here is a photo of Oldmoor Junction station, with the following engines:

- Platform 1: 6021 King Richard II
- Platform 2: 50046 Ajax and 68010 Oxford Flyer
- Platform 3: 60163 Tornado
- Platform 4: 47164


The track laid out near the bottom of the frame is potentially going to become a goods siding for a coal merchant - I have four wagons which I'm using as coal wagons and I've got a small card building of a coal merchants so hopefully I can put the two together and make something interesting!

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

That must be a good feeling to get the layout upstairs so you can work on it easily.
I’m doing similar tomorrow as my railway is being moved up to the spare room so that I can get on with decorating the front room. This will be good because the light is much better up there too.
Anyway yours is coming together really well now, I bet you’re looking forward to getting stuck into the scenery?

 

[Peter C]

That must be a good feeling to get the layout upstairs so you can work on it easily.
I’m doing similar tomorrow as my railway is being moved up to the spare room so that I can get on with decorating the front room. This will be good because the light is much better up there too.
Anyway yours is coming together really well now, I bet you’re looking forward to getting stuck into the scenery?

It really is - I much prefer being able to work on the railway and various other projects all in the same room!
I hope moving your layout goes well - moving mine almost didn't happen - trying to get an 8'x4' baseboard, complete with easily-damageable track (the track did take a beating in a couple of places!) up a staircase which isn't designed for that didn't go easily!
Thanks - yes: I'm looking forward to being able to work on the ballast again (we had to remove it to take the layout upstairs) and then other scenic sections, primarily the hill and urban street at opposite ends of the layout.

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 10
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As those of you who follow the Do you have any model railway projects on the go? thread may know that I've been working on a new trackplan for the layout. Yes - I know what you're all saying - another trackplan!
This one has come about as a result of me using the layout a lot more since it's been moved upstairs. There were several areas where I could run trains to and from but they weren't very interesting or fun. This new trackplan has solved all of those issues.

The layout now features two stations - Oldmoor Junction, the big station which has been present on the layout since it began (and has seen some changes which I'll describe later), and a currently unnamed two-platform terminus station which I'm thinking will be vaguely based on a 1980s Network SouthEast/British Rail terminus station on a small branchline. But this might change!

Oldmoor Junction is now comprised of five platforms instead of the previous four, with three terminating platforms and two through platforms. The terminating platforms are accessed from the other end of the loops to where they used to be and they are longer. The railway centre is going to be on the opposite side of the baseboard as a result of this change.

In terms of operating the layout, I've found today that it is much more fun than it was. I can run the Class 423 from the terminus station to one of the terminating platforms of Oldmoor Junction and back, and I've come up with a little operating routine for loco-hauled trains to the terminus station as well:

• Loco and coaches start in Oldmoor Junction (one of the terminating platforms)
• Train departs and goes round to terminus station
• Shunting locomotive stabled in siding comes round to move coaches from one platform to the other
• Locomotive from train moves over to couple to coaches once shunting loco leaves
• Loco hauls train back to Oldmoor Junction
• Shunting locomotive moves coaches from one platform to another
• Loco moves to couple to coaches
• Train departs for terminus station
• And repeat!

It's actually quite fun but seeing as I only have the one (working) shunting loco at the moment it means the shunter has to follow round the layout after the main train to move the coaches around but one day I'll get another shunter to solve that problem. Having the shunting loco move the coaches means that the engine on the train is never propelling the train - something I highly doubt Control or Health & Safety would allow along a mainline for a long distance!

I'll post a couple of photos in the next post.

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I’ve been meaning to reply today Peter but unfortunately it’s been a bit hectic (to say the least).
Being that you’ve been moving things around I assume that you haven’t fixed the track down yet then?
If that’s the case then a couple of thoughts popped into my mind earlier, and one was that you could maybe get down to eye level (as a real person would be) and view it from different angles to see how it works? It’s really useful for putting things like buildings in the right place.
That way even if you start to get bored of running a timetable, just setting a couple of trains going around constantly and watching them running through various scenes that you’ve created will give you a completely different perspective to enjoy that I guarantee you’ll get really into once you’ve start developing the railway.

The other thought I had was that it would be worth thinking about stations that you’ve visited (or perhaps even just seen in pictures) that sparked some kind of interest in your mind, and trying to incorporate some aspects of them into what you finally settle on...
I’ve always done that and it’s really enjoyable trying to recreate stuff that you’ve seen and like.

(I’m no expert though, and these are all just ideas by the way. So please don’t forget that. )

 

[Peter C]

I’ve been meaning to reply today Peter but unfortunately it’s been a bit hectic (to say the least).
Being that you’ve been moving things around I assume that you haven’t fixed the track down yet then?
If that’s the case then a couple of thoughts popped into my mind earlier, and one was that you could maybe get down to eye level (as a real person would be) and view it from different angles to see how it works? It’s really useful for putting things like buildings in the right place.
That way even if you start to get bored of running a timetable, just setting a couple of trains going around constantly and watching them running through various scenes that you’ve created will give you a completely different perspective to enjoy that I guarantee you’ll get really into once you’ve start developing the railway.

The other thought I had was that it would be worth thinking about stations that you’ve visited (or perhaps even just seen in pictures) that sparked some kind of interest in your mind, and trying to incorporate some aspects of them into what you finally settle on...
I’ve always done that and it’s really enjoyable trying to recreate stuff that you’ve seen and like.

(I’m no expert though, and these are all just ideas by the way. So please don’t forget that. )

I fixed the track down yesterday actually but I'm still needing quite a bit of track to build the railway centre and the fifth platform of Oldmoor Junction station. I'll definitely try that way of placing buildings around though - I'd not thought of that before! I've liked the idea of having several scenes on the layout to add some interest and that will be a brilliant way of working out where they should go and therefore what they should be. I've already got a little scene made up of some track workers on the lineside - they're not social distancing but we'll ignore that!

In terms of stations - I've done that a bit already actually. The larger station on the layout (Oldmoor Junction) was originally two platforms - so therefore vaguely based on the stations I've seen countless times on the Cotswold Line - and then I added the two bay platforms - making it like Oxford - and then I've added a third bay platform - making it a bit different to stations I've been to but it's added in something I wanted - two platforms serving the one line, such as at Banbury before the remodel:

(c) www.hondawanderer.com / Martin Loader

And the smaller station is based off of the model railways I've seen on Twitter, such as South Central (@east_coastway) on Twitter. Here's a photo of their station:

(c) South Central (@east_coastway) on Twitter

Having the smaller station makes running the trains more fun - instead of them just going around and around, they can now go between the two stations, meaning they have somewhere to go!

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I fixed the track down yesterday actually but I'm still needing quite a bit of track to build the railway centre and the fifth platform of Oldmoor Junction station. I'll definitely try that way of placing buildings around though - I'd not thought of that before! I've liked the idea of having several scenes on the layout to add some interest and that will be a brilliant way of working out where they should go and therefore what they should be. I've already got a little scene made up of some track workers on the lineside - they're not social distancing but we'll ignore that!

In terms of stations - I've done that a bit already actually. The larger station on the layout (Oldmoor Junction) was originally two platforms - so therefore vaguely based on the stations I've seen countless times on the Cotswold Line - and then I added the two bay platforms - making it like Oxford - and then I've added a third bay platform - making it a bit different to stations I've been to but it's added in something I wanted - two platforms serving the one line, such as at Banbury before the remodel:
View attachment 77457
(c) www.hondawanderer.com / Martin Loader

And the smaller station is based off of the model railways I've seen on Twitter, such as South Central (@east_coastway) on Twitter. Here's a photo of their station:
View attachment 77458
(c) South Central (@east_coastway) on Twitter

Having the smaller station makes running the trains more fun - instead of them just going around and around, they can now go between the two stations, meaning they have somewhere to go!

Thanks,

-Peter

I like it!

 

[43055]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 10
--------------------------------------------------

As those of you who follow the Do you have any model railway projects on the go? thread may know that I've been working on a new trackplan for the layout. Yes - I know what you're all saying - another trackplan!
This one has come about as a result of me using the layout a lot more since it's been moved upstairs. There were several areas where I could run trains to and from but they weren't very interesting or fun. This new trackplan has solved all of those issues.

The layout now features two stations - Oldmoor Junction, the big station which has been present on the layout since it began (and has seen some changes which I'll describe later), and a currently unnamed two-platform terminus station which I'm thinking will be vaguely based on a 1980s Network SouthEast/British Rail terminus station on a small branchline. But this might change!

Oldmoor Junction is now comprised of five platforms instead of the previous four, with three terminating platforms and two through platforms. The terminating platforms are accessed from the other end of the loops to where they used to be and they are longer. The railway centre is going to be on the opposite side of the baseboard as a result of this change.

In terms of operating the layout, I've found today that it is much more fun than it was. I can run the Class 423 from the terminus station to one of the terminating platforms of Oldmoor Junction and back, and I've come up with a little operating routine for loco-hauled trains to the terminus station as well:

• Loco and coaches start in Oldmoor Junction (one of the terminating platforms)
• Train departs and goes round to terminus station
• Shunting locomotive stabled in siding comes round to move coaches from one platform to the other
• Locomotive from train moves over to couple to coaches once shunting loco leaves
• Loco hauls train back to Oldmoor Junction
• Shunting locomotive moves coaches from one platform to another
• Loco moves to couple to coaches
• Train departs for terminus station
• And repeat!

It's actually quite fun but seeing as I only have the one (working) shunting loco at the moment it means the shunter has to follow round the layout after the main train to move the coaches around but one day I'll get another shunter to solve that problem. Having the shunting loco move the coaches means that the engine on the train is never propelling the train - something I highly doubt Control or Health & Safety would allow along a mainline for a long distance!

I'll post a couple of photos in the next post.

Thanks,

-Peter

Nice ideas there and i like the idea of shunting the coaches around at the station, Something not that common on a modern day layout. It will always take a few attempts to get the track plan right as it did with my layout.

 

[Peter C]

Nice ideas there and i like the idea of shunting the coaches around at the station, Something not that common on a modern day layout. It will always take a few attempts to get the track plan right as it did with my layout.

Thanks very much! Yes - the coach shunting doesn't happen often and that's one of the reasons why I added it - it adds something to the operation of the layout which people don't normally see on a modern-day layout.
Hopefully this is the final trackplan for the layout - I've still got plenty of track to lay for the Railway Centre, though, so it's not finished

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 11
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I've not been doing a lot with the railway over the past couple of weeks - mainly because I've found myself playing a lot more Train Sim! I had a go at doing some things to make the layout look a little more presentable the other day - mainly cleaning the track (it gets really dirty extremely quickly) and even adding in some new track!
The layout has regained a level crossing, albeit in a slightly awkward place in terms of trackwork:

It's located partially on the branch between the two smaller stations and the mainline - as you can see from the above photo, if it keeps on going along at that angle, it will have to cross the points - I've never heard of a LC which crosses pointwork - if someone can find me an example, then please let me know, as it could come in handy when doing this section!

Here's a look down the mainlines, from around where the crossing is:

It shows off the Down loop (on the right) and the branchline between the two small stations (on the left). The new loco sidings I've added in come off of the Down loop:

50046 and 68010 are currently sat in the sidings - having the two of them in there proves to be a tight fit but I think I can fix that. The sidings come off of the Down loop using a set of normal Hornby points to join the loop to the mainline instead of a curve and then a set of curved points to make the two sidings.


This photo shows the station which I'm planning on calling Eastbury Road - of no relation to the Eastbury of Hungerford or of Berkshire!
The station's going to be in Network SouthEast colours to complement the BR Blue 423 I've got and any further stock I might get. I've got my eyes on a few things...!
The track closest to the camera was going to be a platform, like the one further away from the camera, but I've decided that it'll become a platform/small mail platform, with the track next to the white platform being the main line for that station. Loco-hauled services will run into and out of that station as I described in the previous update.


I can't remember if I showed this off last time, but the main station of Oldmoor Junction has four platforms - two through, two bay - and one siding. The idea of having a small siding between the two terminating platforms came from Worcester Shrub Hill, where there is a siding between the two platforms there. I originally intended to make the siding go between the two through platforms, like at WOS, but it didn't work and so this is where I've got to!
I'm going to see if I can change this back to a platform, though, because I quite like the idea of having 3 terminating platforms as I've never seen that for myself in a real station (where there are two through platforms and three terminating platforms), so it's a novelty to me.
The engines in the siding are 60163 and 6021. 6021 doesn't work properly - something to do with the motor I think - so it'll need either a good service from me (when I can find the time to have a go) or it'll be sent away to one of these businesses which will service your engines. But given the current situation, and some stories I've heard from one or two servicing companies, I'd prefer to keep the engine at home and service and clean it myself.

I came up with a plan for the railway a short while ago, and that was to have everything running and looking somewhat decent by Christmas - I know it's still a long way off, but seeing as there's still so much to do I think I need to get back into doing things! Reading the threads on here about others' model railways has really inspired me to get something done. The Christmas "deadline" (it's not a hard deadline, I can change it to whenever I want seeing as it's my railway and doesn't affect anyone) came about from the idea of being able to sit and run trains around over the December/Christmas/New Year period - it's one of my favourite times of year so I'm hoping I can spend it running trains

Thanks for reading - I hope everyone is staying safe during these uncertain times.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I’m liking the progress Peter, and you’ve got me thinking about level crossings with points in them! Pretty rare I think but one example was here at Red Cow crossing Exeter before it was rebuilt in

FEB 72 07. D7044 approaching Red Cow Crossing, Exeter, Dec 21 1971

The train is heading for Newcourt MOD sidings on the Exmouth branch.

www.flickr.com

It’s from this thread on rmweb:

Pointwork encroaching in to a level crossing?

Is it ever acceptable to have pointwork within a level crossing? I'm guessing not, since it would require wider than usual gaps in the road surface to accommodate the moving parts of the point, and I imagine that there would be a significant risk of the points becoming fouled by debris from the r...

www.rmweb.co.uk

I was wondering if you could budge the crossing up slightly so that the actual blades aren’t in it?
I’ve got a foot crossing across some points but not over the actual blades...
(Ps thanks for your kind words on the 15th birthday of the forum thread )

 

[Peter C]

I’m liking the progress Peter, and you’ve got me thinking about level crossings with points in them! Pretty rare I think but one example was here at Red Cow crossing Exeter before it was rebuilt in

FEB 72 07. D7044 approaching Red Cow Crossing, Exeter, Dec 21 1971

The train is heading for Newcourt MOD sidings on the Exmouth branch.

www.flickr.com

It’s from this thread on rmweb:

Pointwork encroaching in to a level crossing?

Is it ever acceptable to have pointwork within a level crossing? I'm guessing not, since it would require wider than usual gaps in the road surface to accommodate the moving parts of the point, and I imagine that there would be a significant risk of the points becoming fouled by debris from the r...

www.rmweb.co.uk

I was wondering if you could budge the crossing up slightly so that the actual blades aren’t in it?
I’ve got a foot crossing across some points but not over the actual blades...
(Ps thanks for your kind words on the 15th birthday of the forum thread )

Thanks very much!
I've been thinking about how to solve this issue as well - I'm wondering if, looking at that image (is that the crossing at Exeter near Exter St David's station which crosses 6 lines?), and the thread, I might be able to make my own card section for the crossing which is narrower than the rest - a bit like a country road widening out, just on a railway, instead of a normal road! Seeing as many of the level crossings and footpaths over the railways came about as a result of a railway crossing an existing public highway, it might be the way to go. Moving the crossing over would be a bit tricky as it's sandwiched between two points as well - I've really given myself an engineering nightmare here
You're very welcome re:15 years of the forum thread - I've been inspired by the progress you've made on your layout and how you and several others on the forums have done things and they've made my railway and my time on the forums so much better for it.

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

That’s really good to hear.
Re the points thing - You’re the boss of your own railway and there’s a prototype for almost everything. Cut some plasticard out and fit it between the track and it’ll look good anyway I reckon.
Yes that’s the crossing at the north end of St David’s. It’s different now of course but interesting to see how it was.
Of course tramways like the one at Weymouth had points in the roadway...
(Photo from Cornish Railway Society site)

 

[Peter C]

That’s really good to hear.
Re the points thing - You’re the boss of your own railway and there’s a prototype for almost everything. Cut some plasticard out and fit it between the track and it’ll look good anyway I reckon.
Yes that’s the crossing at the north end of St David’s. It’s different now of course but interesting to see how it was.
Of course tramways like the one at Weymouth had points in the roadway...
(Photo from Cornish Railway Society site)
View attachment 79778

You're right - I've come to the conclusion that anything goes on my railway - originally, it was only stuff that was local to me, but as I've seen more and more engines and units I like the look of, Oldmoor Junction will soon be the station with the most destinations in the country I think!
I thought I recognised that crossing - I've been over it several times... in Train Sim - normally in control of a HST!
The Weymouth Tramway has always fascinated me, right from when I first heard about it. Whenever I see a train going over a level crossing and I look at the train wheels on a road it's cool and so having a good old Southern Region EMU pass by your door every week must have been amazing for those down there! I've been wondering how I could include a section of track like that on my layout for a while as well - it'll probably become part of the railway centre, when I get around to building that...!

-Peter

 

[Peter Kelford]

Hi, I hope you don't mind my bringing up of this thread. I saw your post on Dale End Lane earlier about running to a timetable like that of Oxford. I was wondering if you are planning on extending the layout to facilitate that?

 

[Peter C]

Hi, I hope you don't mind my bringing up of this thread. I saw your post on Dale End Lane earlier about running to a timetable like that of Oxford. I was wondering if you are planning on extending the layout to facilitate that?

Hello - no issue at all
My decision to go try and make a timetable based on Oxford came from the vaguely similar trackplan of Oldmoor Junction (my station) and Oxford - two through platforms and two terminating platforms (although my station now has three bay platforms). The layout I have at the moment is the biggest it can be really, which is a shame in a few ways as there are a lot of things I'd love to do with it, but I've got quite a nice little setup with three stations and whatnot for the time being. I did think about changing the station layout to have a through line that didn't pass through the platforms, but it wouldn't have worked.

Hope this answers your question.

-Peter

 

[Peter Kelford]

Thanks.

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 12
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I've just finished adding some track on the layout and thought I might as well write about it on here.
The most interesting bit is the new crossover at the end of Oldmoor Junction Platforms 4 and 5 - it's been added to match with the other express at the Oldmoor Jn side of the layout and to keep the geometry. The main thing I've learned from this: don't use Hornby's quarter-straight pieces of track. Ever. I've had two different purchases from two different shops of these pieces and they both have issues with the rails - they need to be hammered with a pair of pliers back into place for them to function correctly and make a straight section of track.

I've also added in the branchline - the section of track connecting the two smaller stations on the layout so that trains between them don't have to use the mainlines. Not as interesting, but very important as it means I can run a (slightly) larger timetable, as trains do not have to use up the mainline when going between the two small stations, freeing up space for expresses and mainline services.
The TMD has also seen a bit of an extension, with the second siding becoming a bit longer. This section is still unfinished and will need another double-straight to finish it off.

I'll post some pictures of the work done in the next post.

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

Oldmoor Junction Model Railway - Update 12 - Photos
-------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, here are the photos from my work on the layout today:


Above: The branchline (the section in the red rectangle)


Above: The new crossover at the end of Platforms 4 and 5


Above: The new siding in the TMD.


As you can see - there's quite a bit of tidying-up to be done!

-Peter