STROLEY INTERNATIONAL

17 - 11 - 09.

Since purchasing the GAUGEMASTER (M1DC) Transformer some weeks back, I've still suffered with the reoccuring "problem" of some of the electrical accessories switching off after three or four minutes.  I really didn't understand why so I contacted the Gaugemaster Technical Department with my "problem."  It was suggested (thanks to their Greg Spears) that I separate some of these accessories.

I've spent all day today (Tuesday 17th November 2009) on the floor under the layout with screw driver and wire cutters.  I have three outputs available to me, two 12v outputs from the transformer plus the 12v output from my Gaugemaster "D."

I've now wired in ALL the signals to the "D" output.  The thirteen Buffer Stop lights and the five Yard lamps now run off one of the transformer outputs whilst the twenty street lights run off the other transformer output.

It now looks as though my "problem" is cured .... hopefully .... fingers crossed!!

16 - 11 - 09

Having visited my local model shop TRAINS4U in Peterborough last Saturday, after visiting the rather excellent Spalding M.R.E., I have stocked up on ballast.  As the decision has been made with regard to which ballast I shall be using, I've bought 14lbs of Javis "fine" Granite Chippings, for the mainlines and a further three small packs of Woodland Scenics black "cinders" for the rest of the loco stabling tracks and the "yard" (inner) track through the country scene between the arch and motorway bridges.

The ballasting on the raised tracks above the arches has now been completed, between the fiddle yard entrance / exit and the points for the station platforms, below the edge of the Transport Exchange.

I have also now sited the remaining packet of KYTES LIGHTS purchased a couple of weeks ago.  The first packet (you may remember) is lighting the "duck board" crossings in the refuelling and station throat areas.

Four lights of the second packet are lighting the two double porta-cabins and the associated car parking facility.  The remaining six are sited around the DMU office block and the Stroley Signalling Centre and their staff's car park.

10 - 11 - 09.

As I've been working on the arches section of the layout on the "lower" baseboard, I've decided to ballast this area, being the logical next step.  Although I don't always appear to have any logic (!!??!!) I have also decided to ballast the main line with a different type of ballast.  At an exhibition earlier in the year, I purchased a 7lb (God knows what the metric equivalent is - sorry - hope the Politically Correct police aren't reading this!!) bag of JAVIS "FINE" GRANITE CHIPPINGS, thinking that it will come in useful.  Indeed it is.  Whilst I admit that the chippings are much bigger, they somehow look more realistic.

The next two photos show the comparison between the JAVIS (first photo) chippings and the WOODLAND SCENICS "gray" (second photo) ballast that I used on the main lines of STROLEY CENTRAL.

So ... the decision has been made.

I'm battling on with the ballasting of the raised track area as can be seen in the following two photos.  The difference in the shades of ballast in the second photo is only where the darker shade has been glued down and the lighter shade is placed, but not glued down at the time of taking the photos. In the area of the points, between the first couple of sleepers from the tie-bar, I've used a few granules of the Woodland Scenics "gray" ballast.  This is because the granite chippings are too big to glue down and allow free movement of the rails attached to the tie-bars.

The photo above shows the end of the ballasting prior to entry into the fiddle yard.  I've stopped it here as the area in the space between the two sets of lines will house a tall warehouse to disguise the fact that these two lines ("UP" and "DOWN") join to enter the fiddle yard.  The same happens with the other set of tracks in the photo.  These will also be hidden by a warehouse to be "built" in front of the arches.

The arches have now been fully completed with the construction of the two under bridges.  I have now fully painted / detailed the bridge fronts, and completed the roads and walls under the tracks.  All are glued in place along with the remainder of the arches since my last update, which can be seen below.

The top of the stair well of The Priory Multi-Storey Car Park has been repaired.  The local council was getting fed up with it being vandalised and the top windows always being smashed.  They've now bricked up the top level windows and put a new roof on top as it leaked like a sieve!  They haven't the spare cash to redo the brickwork on the rest of the building, so it stays in this "80s" state.

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03 - 11 - 09

Whilst I appear to be "darting all over the place" when it comes to doing the scenics on STROLEY INTERNATIONAL, I have to admit that I am, purposely giving myself a bit of variety. I will return to the completion of the second pack of Kytes Lights (see last update below) in due course.

Another admission is the fact that my wife said that she was interested in assisting me in some aspects of the scenery.  Not being one to "look a gift horse in the mouth," I suggested that a bit of "terraced house" card kit making might be up her street (yeah yeah ... ha ha!!).  We sat down one afternoon, opened a packet from the METCALFE MODELS  range and started to build one of these excellent kits.

This then led to my thoughts on where to site these kits.  The lower board, upon which the arches section of the layout sit, came to mind as being the perfect (and only) place for these.  This then led me to continue towards finishing the SCALESCENES arches card kits and associated walling for the raised section of track.  Whilst not completed, all arches (and businesses where appropriate) are sited.  The bridge under the tracks on the left hand side for instance, is incomplete and needs to be finished and painted.  I have placed all arches on a plinth of mounting card, except where the roads will be positioned.

LATEST ACQUISITIONS

The "Monsterbox" race between Dapol and Bachmann to the finishing line has been won by the former.

I had ordered from HATTONS of LIVERPOOL, nine of these freight wagons some six months ago.  A truly superb model, some of which can be viewed here.

Night-time shots of the station and new lights in the refuelling area follow.

23 - 10 - 09

There are plenty of Runswick Leamside and Holland Park photos which can be viewed via

"MY FAVOURITE LINKS" from the navigation bar above.

Throughout the many stalls selling model railway bits & pieces, I spied KYTES LIGHTS.  I have seen this company exhibiting its wares before, and I have also visited their website on numerous occasions.  These friendly and chatty gentlemen displayed, informed and promoted their products for the gathered throngs.  They sell, among other items, excellent and realistically priced packs of model railway lighting.

I purchased a total of four packs of two different style of lights.  The first style I will be saving for fitting some time later on the lower board in the "arches" area.

In preparation for the installation of the second style of lights, I have transplanted the tall Yard Lamp from the fuelling area into the TMD.  This TMD / Washer Unit area now houses three yard lamps.

One of the two packs of ten (6v) lights (priced very reasonably at £9.99 per pack) will be used to aid the safe passage of Hi-viz wearing staff, whilst traversing the maze of "duck-board" crossings plus lighting the fuel unloading area.  The second pack will be used to illuminate the path behind the porta-cabins and the car park close to the arched bridge, plus the DMU office building and surrounding area on the other side of the station throat. 

HERE are some PHOTOS of the FIRST PACK of the NEW LIGHTS.

The first ten lights "planted" include one between the "UP" running lines and another between the "DOWN" lines in the station throat.  These will aid the hi-viz wearing staff (when this part of the layout is populated) that need to cross this area when going to or from the Signalling Centre.

 A further four lights (from pack one) have been "planted" to light up the Fuel Unloading Area.

The other four give light to the areas where the "duck-boards" cross the re-fuelling roads.

 Pack two has yet to be sited, photos of which will follow in due course.

21 - 10 - 09

After giving myself a few days off from the layout, I decided to see whether my ballasting skills were up to scratch.  I do admit that the ballasting of the DMU Sidings here isn't too bad!  I have used Woodlands Scenics "Medium Cinders Black" Ballast (Ref No:- B1383) mainly because I had half a shaker full of this left over from the ballasting of STROLEY CENTRAL some six years earlier!  I shall be using "Coarse Gray Blend" Ballast (Ref No:- B1395) for the main lines, again because I have plenty left over, plus the fact that it looks quite realistic as you might have noticed from the "CENTRAL" photos on my other site.

The "cinders" ballast for the DMU Sidings extends from the entrance of these sidings.  The double slip and the short straight with wooden sleepers prior to the points to the sidings will eventually be ballasted with the "medium gray." 

There are plenty of weeds creeping up all around these sidings due to the enforced cut-backs of the weed killer trains.  They're only spraying the main lines this year!

The first three photos below show this area off quite well.  The ballasting had only been completed a couple of hours before these photos were taken.  The wet white blobs of the diluted PVA glue are still visible in places and this whole area will be completely dry (and blob-free) within forty-eight hours.

The ballasting in the locomotive refuelling area has also been started.  The same ballast has also been used here.  This is incomplete because I have now used up the old stock and will probably wait until the Warley MRE before purchasing more stock.

Three photos of this incomplete area follow.  Again the photos were taken within an hour of the stock running out; hence more "blobs!"

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