Cheshire Railway Modellers
On-line Model Railway Club
Members' Layouts - Derek Gelsthorpe
Derek is based in the Nottingham area and his models are available for exhibitions, he currently has three layouts, which he describes for us below. Maun Valley a British N scale continuous run style layout, Medental is a German branch line in N and Idle Way is a British OO scale shunting layout.
Maun Valley (N)
The River Maun is real and meanders through a gentle valley in Nottinghamshire on its way towards the east coast, but the layout is a fictional location. We can see where the track and sidings used to run into what is now an industrial site. New level crossing gates have been fitted and the old ones are ready to be taken away. The buildings are kits from Kestrel and Metcalfe, slightly modified to resemble actual railway buildings in the Nottinghamshire area.
The double track oval uses code 80 rails, with no sidings or points on the viewing side. To the rear there are 4 loops and 4 sidings. Stock is mostly modern image with the odd steamer passing through on special occasions.
The track ballast is Woodland Scenics medium and is brushed into the track which is masked at the edges with tape, then a mixture of PVA and water is applied with an eye dropper to the edges of the ballast rather than the centre of the track. This keeps the glue off the rails and makes life easier later on, also applying the glue this way does not disturb the ballast before everything has chance to set. Washing up liquid is not used because I have found it alters the colour of the ballast.
Scenery is polystyrene blocks and tiles cut to shape and glued to the 2-ply baseboard. When the glue is set newspaper is glued to the polystyrene with flour and water, when dry neat PVA is brushed on and scatter is sprinkled over using a tea strainer, the rougher material remaining in the strainer is used for making trees.
Maun Valley is a very simple layout for ease of operation, with no electric points, and 2 controllers, it requires just 1 operator. The layout is free-standing with dimensions of 9'x2'6" or 6'x2'6" feet depending on space available and it is transportable by car to keep expenses down.
Children are welcome to have ago. This layout is ideal entertainment for a family or newcomer to the hobby, but the enthusiast may also enjoy the scenic detail and variety of passing trains.
Medental (N)
For this layout I could only spare 4ftx1ft so it had to be N gauge, I decided to do it as a German project, and I call it Medental or Meden Vale when translated to English. Medenvale is a real place, part of
The buildings are second hand Pola kits and the river is green paints covered with varnish. The layout has just two electrical sections and three sets of points, with one hidden siding at the moment. Shunting is done with the aid of DG delayed action couplers and electromagnets with a variety of rolling stock to add interest. I am using a Pentroller as I have done in the past, complimented by a 12volt dc transformer, the magnets are controlled by a 6volt dc transformer and a hand held magnet is used for uncoupling in the off stage area. Points are operated with dowels connected to the tie bars using thin wire. A variety of stock is used to create an interesting shunting sequence.
The track is Peco code 55 fixed down with woodland scenics brown ballast using a mix of PVA and water, I don't add washing up liquid as I don’t put the mix directly onto the ballast but place it at the margin and let nature take its course.
The baseboard rests on separate legs and the lighting unit sits on top of the baseboard. Although only one foot wide the layout appears to be fairly solid and takes a fair amount of tilting before becoming unstable.
Idle Way (OO)
The third model is a small, but highly detailed, OO scale shunting layout. Three sets of points all left medium code 100, operated by my usual dowel method, with fine wire passed through and up to the tie bars. Sprat & Winkle delayed couplings are used with permanent magnets glued under the board at the end of each set of points. There are five sidings, three forward and two rear, and one hidden siding. At the end of two sidings there are isolated sections so I can use two locos, one to push and one to pull. Five wagons and a brake van are used in each operation. The layout can be operated from front or rear due to the dowel point rodding being carried through to both sides of the board. The only switches required are to isolate the end of the sidings where locos can be held.
After the track was laid a mixture of paint and turpentine was brushed onto the track sleepers (Humbrol black, white, green and rust), one part paint to three parts thinner. The turps seems to merge everything nicely to give weathered appearance. The yard was painted with Humbrol matt black and white then brushed over with talcum powder just before it dried. After the painting of the track the baseboard was painted grey with Wilko's child paint black and white at 80p a bottle, this is a water base paint but be careful when using black poster paint near trackwork, it contains carbon which can cause a conductive effect across the track, although not causing any problem with the running of the locos but can effect the operation of electronic track cleaners, personnel experience has proved this with Sutton Junction.
The ballast was laid next and a mixture of Woodland Scenics N gauge grey and brown and a little green flock was brushed into the track, masking tape was placed on the outside of the track to define the edge of the ballast and a 50/50 solution of PVA and water was syringed between the tape and track, so capillary action takes place, I have found in the past this method leaves a neat job and the track requires little cleaning afterwards, and also washing up liquid is not required, I have found this to discolour the ballast as I don't paint the track afterwards.
Maun Valley, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Maun Valley, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Maun Valley, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Medental, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Medental, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Medental, N scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Idle Way, OO scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Idle Way, OO scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Idle Way, OO scale, Derek Gelsthorpe
Idle Way, OO scale, Derek GelsthorpeMedental and Idle Way share the same legs and lighting unit for use at exhibitions, the latter being reversible to display the appropriate layout name as required on the viewing side.
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