4mm Life in a Northern Town - back to back(scene)

[Neil]

That is really effective! Looks great, and everything in pounds, shillings and once too(!) .....

Ah, back to simpler times when sums were harder and there was no spell check to give a false sense of security.

Back to the bench; is it possible for structures to have an unhealthy interest in bondage?



Resisting the temptation to mention back passages, developments have moved on to the rear.



First a side wall and then the whole back yard.



For the other end wall I wanted a rendered finish. I think I overdid it with the filler; it took ages to sand back to an acceptable degree of unevenness.

 

[Neil]

I've done a bit more. The rendered wall has had the signwriters at it. Normally for painted lettering I cut a mask with thin tags for the centres of Os A's and the like. This time letters with an enclosed centre were just cut out as an outline shape and I painted in the missing bits in wall colours when the lettering was dry. Lots easier this way I feel.



Framer's tree surgeon will occupy a yard to the left of the grocers shop. The shop itself will be named for my late and much loved great aunt who brought up my mum from an early age.



If I'm honest I'm not a hundred percent convinced by the roof pitch. I've a feeling that it should perhaps be a bit steeper but it's what the kit comes with and it would be a right pain to alter.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I wouldn't worry too much about the roof pitch - by the time you've added the rainwater goods, fascias, soffets and barge boards I'll hardly be noticeable.

Once you start studying photographs it becomes apparent some early C19th terraced houses had/have lower roof pitches - more noticable in northern towns. These ones in Salford I would say have a lower roof pitch.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Resisting the temptation to mention back passages, developments have moved on to the rear.

Just refer to them as Snickets or Ginnels.

 

[Tim Hale]

Hi,

I apologise if I missed it but where do you source the windows etc?

Thank you

Tim

 

[Neil]

Easy to answer this one Tim, they came with the kit. However they are also available separately from the Fair Price Models ebay shop here.

 

[Tim Hale]

Easy to answer this one Tim, they came with the kit. However they are also available separately from the Fair Price Models ebay shop here.

Neil,

Many thanks, your Shell Island kicked off Bridport Harbour, your Northern Town is having a similar effect on a possible future not-that-micro of another project.

Tim

 

[Neil]

Late last month, back at post 255, I showed the improbable trains my mates turn up with on a Friday night. On other Fridays Thomas and Duck have made appearances so any pretensions at a realistic North Eastern setting go out of the window. However it's not a one way street, this last Friday I took this fine ensemble round to my mate Patrick's gigantic two track main line tail chaser.



It's back on home metals now as I didn't take my camera with me but I was pleasantly surprised at the length of run and how moderate the speed was.

 

[Jordan]

It's back on home metals now as I didn't take my camera with me but I was pleasantly surprised at the length of run and how moderate the speed was.

No photos? What a shame, they would've been fine fodder for the WT Naughty Corner

 

[ceejaydee]

It's back on home metals now as I didn't take my camera with me but I was pleasantly surprised at the length of run and how moderate the speed was.

I had the black one with a circle of plastic track, a tank wagon and a red open as my first train set.
Replaced the loco with a boxed example a few years back.
With the current cost of elastictrickery, spring power could make a return

 

[Neil]

Since the last update I've been on holiday and acquired a kitten. I have when the dust settled from both managed to get on some more with the undeveloped side of the layout, where the light railway heads out of town alongside the river. Here are a few photos showing the rough placing of features and the track bed construction from cutting the basic shape in mdf, to blocking it up with inch square battens and finally sticking down the yoga mat foam underlay.

 

[simond]

We probably need a photo of the kitten. I presume it’s standard gauge.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Please is this a reusable baseboard topped off with OSB, on which you can build a succession of layouts? It looks like a substantial structure.

 

[Neil]

We probably need a photo of the kitten. I presume it’s standard gauge.

As requested, here's Fred.

Please is this a reusable baseboard topped off with OSB, on which you can build a succession of layouts? It looks like a substantial structure.

It is a fairly substantial structure. I would have preferred chipboard but when I wanted to alter the trackbed at the other side of the layout from the recent photos the battens and mdf came away from the OSB more cleanly than they would have from chipboard. An unforseen bonus. It is unlikely that I'll build a sucession of layouts on the same sub structure as I don't work quickly and what I've got to do to complete this one will take some time.

 

[Jordan]

Since the last update I've ... acquired a kitten.

Do not use Kitty Litter for ballast.

 

[Simon]

I really like the look of Fred.

You've got to watch those Celtic cats mind, look you...

 

[Neil]

Oh dear, it seems as though Fred has gained more likes than the railway, however that's no deterent to progress. Here's where I've got to with the light railway side of the layout.





All the track, with the exception of the curved siding has been cut and fixed together with rail joiners. I've been waiting for a track pin delivery (just arrived) so that I can make more progress. I'll need to swap out some of the rail joiners for insulated ones and arrange for the right sort of electric knitting to be applied before pinning into place. I'm told I have until next Friday evening to complete these works when my mates will turn up to operate/play/bugger about with the layout.

 

[Neil]

Well it's now Friday and I have applied electricity to the new track. It's not pretty, in fact it's awful, doubly so because I trained as a sparky forty odd years ago. I will be tidying it all up later but for now it will have to do.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Saturday here in Essex

Untidiy wiring seems to have fewer crosstalk / EMC problems than the carefully loomed work.

 

[Neil]

Saturday here in Essex ......

Ah yes, Friday afternoon when I wrote the post, forgot to click on the 'post reply' button until this morning. Poor wiring even poorer memory.