Possible new N gauge project

I'm planning a second layout next year, a small N gauge one which will use this pallet as its base. It is still in the very early planning stages but i might be able to squeeze something fun in and give my N gauge rolling stock somewhere to play!

Return to HOe?

Its been a few weeks since the last update, there hasn't been a lot of activity but i have been busy with my plans for the new layout (due in the Spring). After a lot of thought i think i might return to HOe for the next layout and the N fleet can have a rest for a bit. I do miss the Falcon. I am still working on the design but it looks like being a single loop with a fiddle yard and a separate line that goes into the station. There will also be provision for a "phase 2" branch line. I'll hold off making the final decision as to what stock i will run on this new layout until i get something down...

Into 2017

Just before the end of the year some new stock arrived, a Rail Express van, a Railfreight van and a couple of open wagons. Now the focus though will be on the forthcoming new layout. I am still planning it and exploring some different ideas, including a U shaped end to end layout. I'm not going to build the new board until around Easter time so until then there is plenty of time for planning and building "virtual layouts" in Railmodeller!

Project #1004

Next year i am going to remake the Knell Lane N gauge layout with a new board, a new concept and new track (the existing layout re-used the track from Eskalon and its getting a bit worn). This will be Project #1004 and will be Knell Lane 2.0. I'm thinking of moving away from loops and having a "U" shaped layout with a back scene and a terminus station. Until then the existing Knell Lane (Project #1002) is running fine. The Lima 31 looks good on the storage siding though its a shame it doesn't seem to be able to get it running well enough to use. I am thinking of removing the engine from one of the Lima 31s and using it as a "dummy" loco for double headers.

Next step for HOe

The Falcon had a test run on the Knell Lane layout earlier today, just a couple of circuits to make sure the main loop is still suitable for HOe locomotive running in. Maybe some of the bushes alongside the track are a little close but the mighty Falcon made it around OK. Current plans are for a small end-to-end layout for HOe with the loop of the N gauge Knell Lane layout available for extended running to keep the locos in good shape.

I was having a look around at what rolling stock is available in HOe to augment the fleet in future (next year at the earliest) and this little montage i made shows there are some interesting options available old and new.

The best laid plans

Its funny no matter how many simulations and plans you might dream up using railway modelling software when you get your blank canvas for real (a.k.a. a new board) and start laying down the track things change. To be honest the new layout isn't going to be dual gauge anymore, it just seems too small for HOe. I have decided therefore to create the new layout for N gauge only - though the main loop will retain sufficient clearance to allow for running by the HOe fleet.

The smaller new board does mean there is now a fair bit more space in the room the layout is situated in, in fact i think a separate HOe end-to-end layout is now completely viable and we may look into that in 2017.

Until then we will concentrate on the new N gauge layout, New Knell Lane. Holes have been drilled for the electrics which have also been done (very simple anyway). We might start fixing the track down pretty soon. There will be some changes there as to how i've done things in the past - well maybe - but that's a story for another day.

A day for destroying things

So the old layout is gone, destroyed forever. Well all the stock, buildings, track, even the trees have survived of course and now the building of New Eskalon/Knell Lane has begun! Its noticeable how much smoother the new layout runs even with the track unfixed, which just shows you what a bad job i made of the board the first time around!

The new layout is shallower but wider as i said though it will again have a loop with various sidings in the middle, maybe planned out a bit better this time. See an early test run below (the station sidings have changed since this was made). I am concentrating on HOe at the moment as that is harder to get the clearances right though the CEP has also had a test run and ran really nicely.

Falcon's return

Falcon has made a return to the layout to do some running in. Over the next few weeks all of the HOe locos will get a bit of running as its been 8 months now since the switch to N. Now as you know i have been planning a new end-to-end HOe layout. I also have been thinking of a new loop layout with a new board next year.

But then i had an idea... why not get a new board now and build a new joint N/HOe layout. The track layout and clearances could be designed to be be fine for both and the scenery is easy to do so it suits both sizes. All that needs to change are the rolling stock of course and buildings (plus a few odds and ends) which wouldn't take long to change. Maybe we could share the new layout with the 2 fleets, with changeovers every 3 months? Well its an idea...

A cause for concern

The DMU picked up a bit of a flutter last night, running a bit jerkily and then making a bit of noise. I put a bit of oil on it and gave it an extended run and all seems fine now, maybe just a bit of dirt had got into the system. I hope that it is solved now, i did try and remove the body shell last night off the power car but had little joy.

In other news i think a new loco will come next month, its time! I've also begun some serious planning for the new HOe layout which will be an end-to-end layout with a fiddleyard. Current plans are for a board thats 130x32cm.

Options for change

The Eskalon board has been moved slightly allowing slightly easier access to the far side of the layout and there has been plenty of operational running. However thoughts now turn to the future of the layout and there seem to be 3 options for the Eskalon project:

1) Continue things as they are, continual refinement and updates. There is a possibility of a small extension in the board which would allow for some extra sidings. A refresh of the scenery is also planned for next year.

2) Start again with a new board and "learning from the mistakes". Eskalon 2.0 would have a similar but modified track layout and of course use the same stock and most of the scenery/buildings.

3) Completely starting again with a new layout and moving away from HOe to (probably) N gauge.

To be honest #3 would be expensive and i've never really liked N that much so is unlikely to be the path taken. #2 would also be a bit of a hassle and expensive but would solve a lot of problems with the layout. I'll think about what to do anyway and make a decision later in the year...

Wishlist 2015

2014 has been a good year for Eskalon, we've managed to iron out (most) of the operational problems and made good progress on scenery and building up stock. With the year now entering its final few months i thought it was time to plan what Eskalon needs to achieve in 2015. Maybe late next year we can revisit this list and see how much we've deviated from it...

• Another locomotive or two is planned though the layout is starting to fill up. Rotation of stock will be employed next year with locomotives and rolling stock spending time in storage.
• Scenery building will continue, the centre of the layout needs to be finished.
• Improving the appearance of the track is a must, making it look a bit less "train set".
• Adding an isolation section on one of the sidings to boost locomotive storage potential.
• Some more people... and road vehicles!

The identity of Engine 4... and 5?

We plan to add a fourth locomotive to Eskalon in the next month or two. Its most likely going to be D10, a Liliput model of a Zillertalbahn shunter. It will fit in well with the layout.

However we've also got our eyes on a Roco shunter too. This may follow later in the year or early next year to help supplement Plymouth on mine work. One problem with HOe is that you arn't inundated with choice with regards to rolling stock. Still this makes the choice of what to get easier and saves money!

Overhead view

I thought it was time i took an overhead view of Eskalon, and annotated it. Here it is.

Eskalon B

Eskalon the layout isn't finished yet though we are in the period of stability with much of the layout done. Now my attention is turning to a possible second layout, Eskalon B. This would be a small end to end industrial layout (110 x 20cm) which would fit nicely atop a bookcase next to Eskalon A! The B layout, if i build it, would be HOe scale too as this would allow me to use A to run trains in though i have been looking at TT scale too.

This is an early plan for the layout, despite a small size quite a nice little layout would be made i think, the siding on the far right would go into a backscene.

The next steps

Now Eskalon is starting to take shape we can say that phase 2 is coming to a conclusion and now we can start to think about phase 3. One change i am considering is ditching the back scene and instead having this area as an industrial area. It would mean i have no "fiddle yard" but i don't think that will prove to be a problem.

It will mean raising the track in this part of the layout but its only been lightly nailed down anyway so shouldn't prove too destructive. I will probably add another siding too.

Proposed Phase 3 mods (new track in red)

Next loco is likely to be another small industrial diesel, perhaps the Roco shunter. There is a starter pack that includes a blue version of this and 4 wagons so that might be a good idea. Next year i'll be looking (funding permitting) to get the red Zillertalbahn diesel and some more freight waggons. I could also do with a station...

An extra siding

The layout is pretty much final now but i decided to add one more siding to it in the top left corner, utilising some empty space and also adding a bit more operational flexibility. It also used up some spare track as i only needed to buy another set of points (though those are expensive enough of course!) Next step is to start planning the scenery.

New track supplies

Today i received the remaining track i needed for the layout and my first wagon. As can be seen from the photos below i now have my fiddleyard siding and the full 3 siding station complex. There arn't likely to be many changes to the track layout for the foreseeable future (no space for a start!) Though there could be a few tweaks before i nail it down.

Revised plan

Because of the reduction in the size of the board the plan has had to be amended a bit (though not as much as you might imagine). Much of this layout is already in place, i just need 3 more sets of points...

Our possible layout plan

Now we have finalised the size of the boards we can now finalise the layout plan for Phase 2 as well. This is my current layout design (as created in RailModeller). Its designed to fulfil the brief of combining a loop with shunting interest and can also be split into 2 parts should the layout need to be moved at any time. Now the final layout may not exactly look like this but it will be on the right lines (so to speak). The area at the bottom of the plan will be the "fiddle yard".

Time to switch

I bought a few more pieces of track today from a model shop, enough track (including a point or a switch if you prefer) to add a siding to my experimental layout. One complication of HOe gauge is while you can use N gauge track the geometry is different because the rolling stock is much larger. Thus a siding which would be perfect on an N gauge layout would not have enough space for clearance with HO size stock. However an extra bit of straight track does the trick.