GCJ Update July 2024 Drivers Eye View Full Length of Layout

[@johnmboon]

Really enjoyed that. There's a heck of a lot of work gone in to building and maintaining all that.

[@frankwhittle4364]

Sorry just seen the video been away. It gets better and better everytime I watch. Fabulous trip around the layout, Thanks Frank.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

No apologies necessary Frank, Glad you enjoyed the run around the layout. As you can see, it`s not all lovely scenery when you explore the inner workings, however it does the job of getting the trains around from point to point. All the best Gormo

[@davidpriddle9236]

Well done Gormo! A real inspiration for me, and I suspect to all other viewers. Thankyou.😃

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day David and thanks for your kind words All the best Gormo

[@garydoc]

¡Hola buenas tardes Gormo! That has to be the best update from GCJ and, without exaggeration, the best I have ever seen on KZbin. Your attention to back-scene design and on- view attention to detail is second to none. You should feel very proud of your achievements. Long May you enjoy playing trains and, in doing so, entertain your KZbin followers. Sending best regards to you both. un saludo. Gary. PS: Coming from Saffron Walden, as you are aware, it was great to see all the familiar town and village names from around Great Chesterford!

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Gary and thank you for your kind words. I think adding names to the locations helps bring a purpose to train operations All the best to you and yours Cheers Gormo

[@R3deye119]

Love it gormo as always a brilliant video and amazing work keep it up mate. Really love watching your vids 👌👍

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

@@R3deye119 Thanks R3deye119 for your comments All the best Gormo

[@paulturnbull5861]

Excellent.... you clearly have so many options to 'play trains' I am very envious Gormo, thanks again Paul

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Paul, Yes the options are good, but sometimes I think I have created a rod for my back....LOL Cheers Gormo

[@vinylelpea]

Absolute pleasure too watch. What a wonderful layout. 👍🤓

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks vinylelpea, Glad you enjoyed the journey Cheers Gormo

[@tonyhill6296]

Such a wonderful experience. Like others have said - the concept of destinations brings so much more to the layout and enables the ‘train playing’ (aka operation) to have such great purpose. An inspiring video for us all to enjoy. Thank You for all the effort that went into creating and sharing it. Happy Modelling T🚂

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

No worries Tony....glad you enjoyed the video. Yes the destination system changed the whole ball game for me. It seems to add a purpose to the operations, rather than just sending a train to the " fiddle yard ". Cheers Gormo

[@petertownsend8276]

Gormo. Thank you for an excellent video. The layout looks great. Thanks. Pete

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Pete and thanks for your comments Cheers Gormo

[@greatnorthernrailwaytother4711]

Good fun thanks Gormo, cheers Peter.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Peter, Thank you Cheers Gormo

[@stretchedits]

Hi Gormo, that was a really enjoyable look at the layout. I like how you've planned the layout to run to different destinations, even if they are only hidden sidings. That seems to make the layout more purposeful somehow..................Really really nice..............All the very best Dave.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Dave and thanks for your comments. I agree that with destination names it does seem to give it more purpose. All the best Gormo

[@johnodonoghue7381]

Cweratinly goog to se the layout Gormo great ride cheers

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day John and glad you enjoyed the ride Cheers Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

Thanks Gormo. It is now written in the book so unless I am dumb enough to lose the book, there should be no more problems !!!😊

[@musoseven8218]

Remarkable layout and filming, editing all of that must have been quite a task. Thanks so much for sharing Gormo💜👍😊

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Muso, Thanks for your comments. I`m used to the editing now, so it`s fairly easy for me, however this video being quite long, it took a while to get it all together. Cheers Gormo

[@musoseven8218]

@@greatchesterfordjunction 👍👍😊😊💜💜✌️✌️

[@dennisfillhart88]

Enjoyed the run very much. I don't often get to do that on someone else's layout. 😁 Smooth switches not just in movement but smooth riding through. Great job.👍

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Dennis, Yes everything went well eventually. Initially I had some technical issues, not with the railway, but with couplings for the camera car and the Velcro straps were catching in the tunnels.......both problems easily fixed fortunately.....then it was just a matter of filming the journeys. Cheers Gormo

[@vincenthuying98]

Dear Gormo, excellent footage of your layout! Love the way you shot the run around sequences. Cheerio

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you Vincent All the best Gormo

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

good vid on channel thanks for the share on channel of you layout keep up the vlogs on channel

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Anfield....glad you enjoyed the ride. Cheers Gormo

[@kenattwood8060]

Thank you for this fantastic video, Gormo, I honestly didn''t realise just how extensive your layout is! Loved the 'passing trains' sequence at the end! All the best, Ken.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Ken, Yes the railway has turned out fairly big. .....lots of hidden areas that allow different destinations. All the best Gormo

[@gwrdriver1660]

Thanks, good to see how different areas of the layout are linked, cheers

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

No worries GWR, Glad you enjoyed the video All the best Gormo

[@ArcadiaJunctionHobbies]

Fantastic and a beautiful layout

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you very much Cheers Gormo

[@stevenpotter3812]

Really enjoyed that Gormo , Thank you .

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Steven, I`m happy that you enjoyed the video Cheers Gormo

[@johnstephens649]

Great footage mate, especially with other trains at work although got a bit distracted by the tools in your workshop! Now have a much better idea of how your layout works and fits together. Knew it went across other rooms but didn’t realise by how much. Long runs between the branch stations and you really get a feel of going from somewhere to somewhere.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day John, Yes I have a good selection of tools but over time you come to realize which are the essentials. The layout was designed to have good long runs between the three stations, but was only possible by utilizing the other two rooms to gain the height required. Each of the branch stations is used to hide fiddle yards below as well. All the best Gormo

[@chesterroadmodelrailway6369]

Fantastic Gormo! Really enjoyed that.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day and thank you Glad you enjoyed the ride Cheers Gormo

[@andrewstevenson5449]

Great stuff. Felt like a real treat to see all that.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Andrew, Glad you enjoyed the video All the best Gormo

[@johanswanepoelswanies7483]

Great video, I like Bardfield most. Really enjoyed this, thank you.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Johan All the best Gormo

[@chrisvaughan159]

Very good, most enjoyable, thanks.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

No worries Chris, Glad you enjoyed the ride All the best Gormo

[@michaeljamesdenniss2716]

Great to see it all thanks

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks for your comment Michael All the best Gormo

[@FredWilbury]

Ingenious Gormo I love it 😊 👌😎☕️

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Fred, Glad you enjoyed it mate All the best Gormo

[@EtonieE25]

The layout is more extensive then you realise Gormo 👍

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day John, Yes it`s a big one when considering the whole length, yet the scenic area is in a 10 x 13 feet room.....there`s a lot crammed into it. All the best Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

Thanks Gormo. I have just done some video to the side inspired by scotts rails idea of mounting a mobile phone camera on its side vertically in a box car in which he made a slot in the roof to accommodate it. I went a bit further and constructed a rather rough drop centre flat car from shet styrene and balsa strips. This allowed the centre of gravity of the phone to be lowered to aid with stability. The camera can be angled slightly to allow the bottom of the video to be closer to the track and minimise having the top of the backdrop in the shot. The height of the top of the phone can have some clearance issues depending on tunnel and bridge clearances. That said, the very useful video I got was clear and very steady. A smooth loco is also an advantage. The phone is only held in position by snugly fitting balsa strips about 10mm high gripping the phone. I have also got some good onboard video with the use of an SQ13 cube camera mounted on a flat car, positioned as track cam at the head end and rear end. I have also placed it mid train both looking ahead and behind. The only problem with this camera is some fisheye effect when passing through bridges. I noticed that that did not seem to be a problem with yours so that was why I inquired what camera you were using. Cheers

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Roland, Thanks for sharing your phone set up and that may be something else I could try at some time. I actually saw Scott Rails video just a short while back. The camera I use is a tubular sport camera. It has two settings for video...720P and 1080P. It can also take still photographs and it uses a Micro SD card to store the videos. The brand on mine is TOPO and was found on Ebay. The exact same camera still appears to be available and may be available wherever you are located as well. I`ve inserted a link to one on Ebay ( Australia ) so you will know what to look for. www.ebay.com.au/itm/405020458903?itmmeta=01J1YRVFD7SDDZ04G2RG332H2Z&hash=item5e4d19bf97:g:r-wAAOSwg8BmYV6V&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0A1ey0N7ePZ9T5byCihRMCo7p%2FZK2Bteab2Tap2U9C0h%2BCpyF7KLU5REPG%2Fd3ZDMFwlnGsb1zc6Z22zUHtWZeyb4D3ivPPnc4Yx%2BexYAgcgtFgHqY7kMyrQc%2FbTwK0DMDD5HNK68GxiWFBkXpWY%2FWSKyMYD4fYB3Kq8ACPkIPwNZZ06PwfozWg%2FlYCIv81Wjec6MDzxENMZp51ZsS%2B%2BbZF6eCbCDHDSrvdb82yHMK9jSaHqhzKKfVYjzSuk23uoVRnNZnyhmhmmOB0uPBSKUkc0%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9j27diPZA Hope this helps All the best Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

Yes thanks. I found them on eBay but I have one question. In the description it mentions the system requirements but does not mention windows 10. Do you know if it is compatible with windows 10? Roland

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

@@rolandhersom239 Ah...good question...I don`t know? I run Linux myself and it works on there just like plugging in an additional drive. Sorry I can`t give you a definite answer regarding Windows 10 Cheers Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

By the way, I live in Brisbane. It would be good if I had a way of contacting you by some secure phone or email to share info and photos about some of the materials I have used to make various things on the layout. Roland

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

@@rolandhersom239 G`day Roland, Probably the safest way for me, or actually both of us, would be if you were prepared to join Platform 1 MRC. Membership is free and it`s a civilized forum....no bad behavior or nasty comments are tolerated. The forum has a personal message facility, somewhat like email, where messages and images can be transferred between correspondents securely and privately. I have used this system with another fellow from Qld. who wanted to contact me privately and he was quite happy that he had joined the forum. No pressure if this does not suit you.......I just don`t like publishing my email or phone number on this public site. Cheers Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

Sounds great . I'll get in touch next week. We could also exchange phone numbers that way. Roland

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

👍

[@rolandhersom239]

Hi Gormo, guess what some idiot who shall remain nameless did? He didn't write down that new cfj email address and accidentally deleted it from his phone. Could you please resend it to me and this time I will write it down !!!!!😢 Roland

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

@@rolandhersom239 G`day Roland [e-mail] Cheers Gormo

[@phillipisley9693]

Gormo. I have to ask. What are all the electrolytic capacitors for close to the tracks? Are they there to prevent voltage drop on your branches? Phl

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Phillip, The capacitors are for my train detection system which activates LEDs on my control panels. The capacitors extend the time the LEDs will stay lit on the panels. The system works by having a short ( 30mm approx. ) section of rail within the running rails, isolated from the running rails and connected to the indicator panels. When a metal wheel from either a loco or coach or wagon passes over the isolated rail section, it activates a circuit which in turn lights an LED......the capacitor acts a bit like a stay alive to extend the time that the LED will remain lit. The isolated rail section has to be very short to ensure that an 0-4-0 loco can pass over it without stalling. Hope this makes sense..??? Cheers Gormo

[@phillipisley9693]

@@greatchesterfordjunction Thanks for getting back to me Gormo and it makes lots of sense. A very interesting train detection system for DC and somewhat simpler than the one I built for my old DC system which used CdS resistors and JK flip flops. Problem then was it needed lights on all the time and additional lights in the tunnels. Clearly not an issue for your system Phil

[@rolandhersom239]

What is the make and model of the camera

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Roland, It`s a TOPO Sport DV........can be found on Ebay. All the best Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

Are you able to access those hidden areas?

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Roland, Yes......the entire town with church lifts of to access the tunnel below. The airfield and ancient monument lifts off to access part of the main line fiddle yard plus all the scenery behind Little Bardfield comes off as well for the same purpose. The complete hill comes off at Bamford to access track below plus the complete hill above the tunnels on the main line comes off for access and also the industrial units and garage area at Bamford lifts off as well. At Great Chesterford, the whole town in the corner is removable to access difficult areas of that section of the layout. Basically, it`s no good having hidden areas if you can`t access them because if something goes wrong, and it has many times, it will be in the least accessible area. Cheers Gormo

[@rolandhersom239]

😮Very well thought out. What I thought was to be my ultimate track plan with a very long mainline run which traversed the shed 4 times and rose to a total 14 inches in height with several tunnels did not eventuate as a year or two later when I thought about building it, I realised that I was now at an age when I was not as flexible as when I designed it and going underneath to fix derailments in the many hidden areas, was not going to happen !!! So I redesigned to a 2 level design where every area could be reached at a stretched out arm's length. The lone tunnel has a lift off top. Cheers Roland

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

@@rolandhersom239 Yes that`s a good idea Cheers Gormo