Main Layout – Heljan Class 58 with coaching stock

I was given this loco as a present, and I have wanted it for a long time, this is the Class 58 in Railfreight red stripe, the model was done for Olivia’s Trains but I got these from the Deltic society at the rail show in Peterborough. I dont have enough freight cars to make a long train, so just pretend its doing a coaching stock move. Love this loco, and the Heljan model is amazing.

Weekend Engineering – Foam & Plaster Cloth ‘How To’ & Trains Running 5: Testing track on foam track bed

This is a basic how to on laying down a foam riser and covering it with plaster cloth. This is just how I do it, there maybe better and other ways to do it.

The foam track bed has been glued down for the outer track, most of the track has been cut and is loose fitted. Time to try some trains! Sorry for the non-prototypical running, the idea was to test more than run, but it ended up being a very long session.

Bench Layout: Trains Running

In the space where I’m building the new layout there is an existing bench top/work top along the back wall, before I built the new base boards to extend the layout area there was some time to run trains on it, these videos are the trains running on that bench area. Its still a roundy-roundy, but atleast its not nose to tail with a 4 car HST like the test layout.

The Bench layout was extended out from both corners to make a large ‘U’ shaped layout which became the ‘main layout’, which you can see in the playlists ‘Weekend Engineering‘ and ‘Main Layout‘.

Weekend Engineering 5 & Track Testing 2

Slightly shorter update from over the colder winter period from December. I will add some more videos related to this update showing the track testing and how I did the plaster cloth later.

The first section of permanant track gets tested with a strange testing train made up of a class 20 in the middle, UK passenger stock on one side and mixed US passenger and freight on the other, being pushed and pulled round the new track. A second locomotive in the form of my second Union Pacific Heritage unit takes a couple of circuits with the US rolling stock to test out curves and points. The idea here was to try to get as many of the more torublesome and different types of items to test with. The UP loco has a long chassis and is very low to the ground. The class 20 has kadees at one side and tension locks on the other making it perfect for connecting both types of rolling stock at once. I used a newer MK3 coach by Hornby (one livery) and older Lima MK3 and a Hornby MK1 (which seems to de-rail on everything) and a mix of the US rolling stock.

Hornby R2990XS BR Princess Helena Victoria Steam Locomotive with DCC Sound

Some steam on the layout, this is my first steam loco with sound. This is factory sound fitted by Hornby, its no. R2990XS.
Observant viewers might notice the ‘magic’ uncoupling operation, or the lack of green on one of the signals. Really observant viewers might even notice the MK1s are not actually BR…
Next video will be Weekend Engieering update/episode 5, expect it next week. The layout updates will then resume from then on now its a bit warmer.