Somewhere in Britain - A railway-ish scene in N gauge ++ FINISHED ++

[nimrod54]

Well chaps, Mrs Nimrod clambered into the loft yesterday and retrieved the N gauge locos and rolling stock. This stuff has not been out of the box for 35+ years, having been packed away long before we were married, it was like Christmas all over again.

I'm still trying to formulate a plan and have drawn out a 9in x 4 in rectangle on some A4 paper, although this may not be the size I choose in the end. But sticking with 9x4 for the moment, I thought that I could have a single line with a locomotive and rolling stock emerging from a tunnel. For the backdrop I thought of using some low relief buildings and in the foreground perhaps an open area with some fencing.

The 9x4 size will just about fit an Ivatt Class2 MT 2-6-2 loco and a coach, so one option could be to do a scene on a preserved railway and this would save any arguments about running mixed era stock.

 

 

The other option would be to create a scene where the loco is running a mixed goods or minerals train.

 

 

However, should I decide to go with a 12x3 base then I may be able to do something similar with a Britannia Class loco, but that may be a little tight for scenery options.

At this stage any helpful suggestions would be more than welcome.

[PlaStix]

Hi John and welcome to the Vignette GB. I'm really glad Mrs Nimrod managed to retrieve your N gauge stuff from the loft. My preference would be to stick with the 9 x 4 base as I think it would give more options for scenery - up to you though. Really looking forward to watching this project develop.

Kind regards,

Stix

[bootneck]

Hi John,

This will be a very interesting thread for me to follow. I normal build models and dio's to 1:144 scale and have always wanted to have an N gauge railway set but couldn't afford to start collecting those little beauties; so watching your progress in this thread will be my compromise!

Mike

[Mjwomack]

Ah good, I'm not the only choo-choo entry anymore. A tunnel is a very clever idea, if you can face cutting up a coach you could have trainl leaving tunnel and be left with space for more scenic interest on more of board. Also tunnel means you can 'double up' and have a scene, picnic etc above the tunnel

I'll enjoy this

[Cookenbacher]

Really looking forward to this one John - for what it's worth, my vote is also for the 9 x 4 base with the 2-6-2 loco.

[Mike]

I had my old N gauge out of its plastic box the other day too. Fond memories of childhood If I haven't got that Ward truck, I've got one exactly the same colour... ah, nostalgia. It ain't what it used to be

[Hockeyboy76]

Really looking forward to this one John - for what it's worth, my vote is also for the 9 x 4 base with the 2-6-2 loco.

I'm ganging up with Cookie on this John.

Having some N-gauge in the man cave awaiting unpacking after the move next year, I'm up for some inspiration.

[nimrod54]

OK chaps, I get the message, 9x4 it is then. I am trying to get some bits together but waiting for Mrs N to finish for summer then she should have time to run me to a local model railway shop (no, it's not for local people) to check out the Metcalfe low relief stuff. Apart from City of Truro, it has been a long while since I did anything railway related and things have moved on a lot since then. For a start you don't have to wind the engines up anymore and as for DCC, it's witchcraft I tell 'e, witchcraft.

[Mjwomack]

Standards have leapt so far forward that you might be in for a shock of the nicest kind! If you're buying some new track for this project as the standard has changed and pizza cutter tyre profile is not the main choice anymore I think you'll need code 80 rather than 55. But if there's plenty of track in the loft already no problem.

There fun to be had but dcc is definitely sorcery

[dadgaddad]

I always wanted an N gauge railway when I was a boy but my dad made me have OO/HO.

[nimrod54]

...but my dad made me have OO/HO.

No choice for me, N gauge was not available when my dad got OUR first model railway. It was difficult trying to wrestle the controller off him too, but we had a lot of fun.

[PlaStix]

Hi John. Just checking in to see if you've had chance to do any more on your railway scene?

KInd regards,

Stix

[nimrod54]

Hi John. Just checking in to see if you've had chance to do any more on your railway scene?

KInd regards,

Stix

Hi Stix, Just picked up your last post, so I apologise for the delay in replying. Funnily enough, we will shortly be off to the local MRS to check on what they have. We have had our son and daughter-in-law visiting and Caron has been busy running around after her 'Aged P's', so not much time for modelling lately, I've just had to squeeze a bit in when I can. Should be back to a more normal routine soon though.

[nimrod54]

Came back from my trip to The Loco Shed in Whitefield having picked up these.

I'm not sure how much I will eventually end up using, but this low profile terrace will definitely feature somewhere.​

​Time to get some of this made up and then I can see how things will fit together.

[Viking]

Lovely idea! I used to build those Metcalf card buildings just for the fun of it.

I don't know much about railways but my son does, he is quite into N gauge. I helped him lay the track but from then on he has spent hours and hours on over the last 10 years or so. He is now working and buying his own stuff for it. Hope you don't mind a couple of pics, I don't mean to hijack your thread, but maybe there are ideas here? Not very good photos, but you get the idea.

Cheers

John

[Hockeyboy76]

It will be interesting to watch these cardboard buildings come to life. When I inherited the N gauge railway from my father in law I also gained some of these too.

Hope all goes well John.

[nimrod54]

Lovely idea! I used to build those Metcalf card buildings just for the fun of it.

I don't know much about railways but my son does, he is quite into N gauge. I helped him lay the track but from then on he has spent hours and hours on over the last 10 years or so. He is now working and buying his own stuff for it. Hope you don't mind a couple of pics, I don't mean to hijack your thread, but maybe there are ideas here? Not very good photos, but you get the idea.

Cheers

John

That's a nice layout John and I really like his pumpkin patch. When I was living at home my N gauge layout was 14ft x 2ft 6in, then Mrs N came along and that was the end of railway modelling. Perhaps I should have stuck with model railways, it may have been cheaper in the long run.... not much though when looking at todays prices.

It will be interesting to watch these cardboard buildings come to life. When I inherited the N gauge railway from my father in law I also gained some of these too.

Hope all goes well John.

I haven't made any card kits H, so it's definitely going to be interesting. Previously I made my buildings from plastic kits or scratched them from plastic card and covered them with brick paper etc. At first glance, these do look simple kits and with the stiffening pieces added should be very sturdy.

[Mjwomack]

Metcalfe are really nice kits; beyond Superquick, proper instructions and little details like the curtains in the houses that you can swap around to taste.

In 'n' the lack of texture is not a problem, my hint would be to colour any exposed white card eg on external folds. Enjoy

[CliffB]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses. My appetite is well and truly whetted by those gorgeous looking building cards

Cliff

[Anthony Kesterton]

Nice start - good to see some N gauge here on Britmodeller

[PlaStix]

I remember Metcalfe kits from my model railway building days. I look forward to seeing what you do with them.

Kind regards,

Stix

[nimrod54]

I sorted some boards out for this today, and the plans have moved from being quite fluid to something to something slightly firmer. The plan now is to have two levels with a small street scene on the upper level and a line railway running by on the lower level. If things go as I hope then the title may have to change, but more of that later - if things progress as I want them to.

For now here are a couple of photos of the boards with the ideas roughed out. The upper board is a little too wide at the moment so overhangs the base a little at the back edge, that will mean that will mean that the terrace moves forward and hopefully that won't make much difference to my plan.

First up, the lower level with a steel rule to show size.

Next, the upper level with a rough location plan.

Finally both levels together, the upper level will sit above the lower by about 50mm.

[jean]

Hi John,

I must be the only one in this forum who has no idea whatsoever of what a N gauge is supposed to look like. For all I know I have tripped over many N gauges in my life to date...

But looking at your schematic diagram, I am sure the end result will be worth the wait!

JR

[nimrod54]

Hi John,

I must be the only one in this forum who has no idea whatsoever of what a N gauge is supposed to look like. For all I know I have tripped over many N gauges in my life to date...

But looking at your schematic diagram, I am sure the end result will be worth the wait!

JR

Thanks Jean. This is my first attempt at a vignette and could be the last depending on how it turns out, just hope that I can quickly hone some very rusty railway modelling skills.

Just for info.

A standard gauge railway track in British N gauge measures 9mm. Relating that to model scale then you could just about get away with 1/144th scale models, with N gauge being 1/148 - similar to 1/72 scale and British OO gauge (1/76).

[nimrod54]

As recommended in the Metcalfe instructions, I went out today and bought a cheap set of water colour paints to tint any white edges that will be visible once assembled. The cards for the wall have also been broken down into separate items ready for assembly and I hope to get that together over the weekend.