Breitefurt (my first layout)

[Chris]

Hi Jeff,

It is 7/0.2, but the problem was that it had broken at the point where it was soldered to the switch. It's only a temporary control panel and some of the wires are a bit tight. I will add in an extra inch of wire. The dead block in the station may well be due to a dud switch in the signal base. The signal is an old style Marklin one - I have plenty of spares. If it is not that then it will be a blown diode (unlikely). It's not a major problem as there is also a direct feed from the panel which bypasses the signal switch.

The layout is now back on the kitchen table so that I an make a few changes to the scenic area. After that I will have a think about the interlocking (more diodes!).

As far as a night scene is concerned - NO! We were in the brightest room in the exhibition. It was that bright that I was able to take a few photos without the flash, hand held.

Best wishes,
Chris.

[Chris]

Thank you Andrew. The two ends are a pale grey. As I mentioned earlier (I think) I am not an artist and would have no idea how to bring the backdrop round to the ends. I thought a light grey would be the best option as white would be too garish. I also feel that to bring the backdrop round to the sides it really needs to be a gentle curve. It does not look good on a right angle. I've seen it done and it looked awkward. (Of course, much of the white ends you see are actually the windows and wall behind the layout as the ends slope down to the front.)

Still, there is a lot more work to be done - all the fiddly stuff now; the stuff that can make or break the effect!.

All teh best,
Chris.

[Chris]

Hi everyone.

Just a quickie. Breitenfurt - Ost was at an exhibition in Inverness. I haven't been able to write up the show due to my computer's failure. However, I did manage to put a few photos of the layout on the web. See http://trains.manvell.org.uk/exhibitions/20100918-Inverness-TEMP/index.htm . I will do an update as soon as I have my computer fully functional.

All the best,
Chris.

[Chris]

Dear Friends,

It's been a while since my last post for which I apologise; lots of other stuff keeping me busy. Anyway, I had a defective signal which required that the layout be turned round and I decided that, while I could, I would add a bit more detail to the scenery. Do have a look (link is in my sig), but bear in mind that there is still a lot to do (e.g. train shed, people and traffic for a start). I have an exhibition at the end of the month so I will concentrate in getting the new lighting up and running.

With best wishes,
Chris.

[Chris]

Dear Friends,

In seven days time I will be packing up the layout and loading the car ready to head off to Elgin for my next exhibition. (I also have another booking for March next year.) So, the layout has been transferred from my workbench to my wife's craft-work table downstairs so that I can give it a thorough cleaning and start testing the locos that I intend to take with me. I will also be adding a few extra touches to the scenery.

However, the reason I am posting this message is that, on the way downstairs I took the opportunity to photograph a 'satellite view' of the layout. I did this once before a couple of years back and thought an update was due. (Incidentally, I don't think I have ever seen such a view before.) No trains of course, and no backdrop. (It wouldn't show up anyway.) Anyway, do have a look, if you are interested. Use the 'Breitenfurt' link in my signature.

With best wishes,
Chris.

[David]

Interesting viewpoint indeed! Does it match the AnyRail drawing?

David.

[Chris]

Hi David.

First. I have edited my earlier message and (I hope) corrected all the typos.

I think it directly matches the current AnyRail image. I am constantly tweaking the latter but there will, inevitably, be some discrepancies in the scenic part as that pre-dates the creation of the scenery on the layout itself. Incidentally, did you manage to get the second option to twice the size? One member of another forum said that the satellite effect was even more pronounced as he scrolled across the image. After that I had a spate of looking at satellite views of German stations. Beautiful!

Best wishes,
Chris.

[WO W]

Chris,

Caught you at Elgin. The layout looks good in the flesh!


Steve

[Chris]

Hi Steve. Glad you liked it. Pity about the weather though; it kept a lot of people away. I will be at Elgin again at the end of March, in the TA Centre with Moray MRG.

All the best,
Chris.

[PS. I have just posted my photos from the exhibition. Use one of the links in my sig.]

[WO W]

Had a good look at your photo's - very good. Yes a real pity about the weather at Elgin - noted the change of venure for the March exhibition.


Steve

[Chris]

Hi All.

Just a note to say that I have posted all my photos from Inverness and Elgin on the web. Either link in my signature below will take you there. No diary update at the moment.

Best wishes to you all,
Chris.

[Jeff]

Chris,

I think you've done a superior job of layout building and I see why you're always off to exhibitions. Still, I feel I must point out one glaring(!) omission - WHERE IS THE POSTING OF THE AnyRail file???

No, no!!! I mean WHERE is the posting of the file ON YOUR SITE? We need to encourage people to try AnyRail, even if it's only to view the track plan!

(p.s. I would Glue everything in site before posting it, just to save it from accidental changes)

[Chris]

Hi Jeff.

Thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated.

I hadn't thought of posting the .any file - good thinking. I'll have a look at doing it. But I'm not sure why I need to Glue everything. If somebody downloads it and messes around with it there is no way that they can corrupt the original file. (I have already had one person download the file so that they can rework it for their own purposes.)

All the best,
Chris.

[Jeff]

Well, I figured that someone would then have to download and learn AR in order to mess with it . That gives us another convert, since AR is the best track planning software in the world.

[Chris]

Hi Jeff.

It was a bit awkward to do it as the symmetry of the header had been honed down to a minimum code. However, there is a link there though I am not convinced that it is a 'user friendly' one. Maybe I need to re-think it.

Best wishes,
Chris.