Well not exactly but very close! A while back, (well ages ago) I started to test out Luke Towan’s method of making wire trees. That was until I was 3 way point obsessed, but now having reviewed where I was up to I needed finish the trees so that they are ready to complete the Garsdale diorama. I started with a rough sketch to map the aerial view of their positions and sizes and found I really needed quite a few! Before I decided to use the wire method, I had thought that the use of natural eve
The railway cottages block retaining wall to the Carlisle down line platform above has been an interesting undertaking due to correlating the Google earth image with the few others taken at ground level. It also affected the position of the rail side cottages to include the access road and enable a better baseboard/diorama joint for the next adjoining module two. The extra 50 mm for the above had resulted in revising SAC Bridge 115 being positioned closer to the South end of module one than o
Before I can fit the glazing to all the windows, I need to paint the building exterior. Being new to scratch building I have found painting with acrylics a challenge, in as much the matching of the paint colour to the images in photographs is always a compromise depending on the photographers use of filters, time of day, decade and of course the weather.
So with that in mind I started with a light grey wash, then I mixed a light grey along with yellow oxide, burnt umber, plus a touch of crim
With the windows completed and the roof in place a ‘topping off’ ceremony has been held by yours truly by way of a brown ale or two before tackling the chimney stacks and painting them. I have previously used balsa wood for each of the station waiting room chimneys with moderate success, but I found detailing the stonework awkward, as the wood was too soft to maintain any close definition.
Now however using a foamboard core and then overlaying it with clear styrene detailed pieces with the s
The stepped cottages chimney stacks and pots are now completed. I checked for older images of the cottages on the Internet and came across my own, which was disconcerting, as I hadn’t placed them there! Then I resorted to look for video images using You Tube. These old videos at the time were taken using film and VHS technology; most reveal the loss of the number and types of pots since the 1950’s.They do however reveal the grime around the chimney stack roof tiles and the barge boards when comp
It's a busy time of year. Someone mad in a red suit is rushing around, or rather in this hot weather going red in 30°C rushing around! Just time for some progress pics.
With the Workers Railway Cottages virtually completed some of you may have noticed that the porch bargeboards are arranged differently from the previous trackside terrace cottages in as much as they are recessed under the roof tiles. I may return to make the remaining four cottages. This will depend on a possible diorama width decision and how well the landscape back scene can be devised to blend with the physical buildings. A 3D composite may have to be devised somehow, but that would be someti
I’m slowly working through the process it seems to complete this part of my diorama. Lately other issues have been slowing me down somewhat. With constructing the many sized trees from small bushes 25 mm = 2 m to the the tallest 180 mm = 13.716 in OO Scale the wire lengths needed ranged from 45 mm to 1280 mm. The Gedeo latex I found needed to be watered down by 10% of its consistency for ease of application. I used a teaspoon full in a small plastic shot glass with a small amount of water and
Well spring has sprung here down under and with the weather and winter colds fading away hopefully, I now get to catch up on gardening chores after a 4 month break. So while trimming down the hedges I found that an asparagus fern had grown through and being an observant ######, I remembered having seen an article by Bill McClanahan in a Kalmbach book I bought back in the early 70’s called ‘scenery for model railroads’ in which fir trees were made using wooden dowels that had finely drilled holes
With the abutment built, the next challenge is getting the wing wall lengths measured. Using Google maps, the approximate length was ascertained reasonably well at the10m scale and by comparing this with the bridge dimensions I obtained earlier.
Both the Eastern wing wall lengths being shorter due to the rise in the road/terrain appear as a nearly identical mirror image on either side along with the end height. On the opposite West wing, both walls are the same in length but wall end heights
After the initial assembly of the box, it was obvious to me that from the operator/visitor view point that the interior would need to be furnished. The current lever and frame at the box is 33 levers in a forty frame, and I believe the Northallerton line through Hawes in Wensleydale will be achievable one day. Therefore on my layout of Garsdale Junction this is reflected and gives me more operational value.
I came across Steve Hewitt’s fine Semaphore signal work here on RM Web (before I join
Well hello to my first attempt to post my scratch built Version of Garsdale Junction Station and its associated buildings. I have been inspired by the many RM Web contributors and offer an insight into my 3.0mm foam board efforts. From this To this
It has taken me a while to regain some of the skills in modelling that I had when I was 16 or so, but now old age only affects one's physical abilities to accomplish what seems a challenge to model in OO Scale. I had started planning for this pro
Tennessee Ernie Ford might have been a handy help for roofing the original prototype building, but 16 tons is just my guess anyway. Now for a different approach than the way I used to fabricate the roofs on the smaller station buildings I made earlier. Because of the slight bow that occurred with them, (the roofs had to be massaged gently back straight), so this time I kept both roof halves separate whilst I glued the cut cardboard slate tile strips to the vanilla (paper still on) foam board.
As before these are pre cut using Evergreen#103/122 styrene strips for the window sides and rails. Working through all 47 windows takes time and certainly patience, so to break the repetition another one was started! Same thing but different. The window assemblies did take time but I thought it was worth it as these workers cottages at Garsdale Head are, apart from scenery are some of the outstanding features as you approach the station from the South. My quandary is … should I extend the dioram
I’ve been slowly working through my first third of a forest of wire wound trees and like making slate roofing for my Garsdale buildings I found myself, forgive the pun, wound up! You do get much better at it when making several trees at a time and it’s amazing how every tree turns out to be an individual. The spruce tree on platform one, opposite the railway workers cottages I found slightly more challenging due to its shape and small size and now version three appears to be on the right track.
Having built bridge 115 and before contemplating undertaking the construction of Dandy Mire viaduct, a start on the baseboard modules needs to be started. This is so I can prefit the bridge for the station approach and the stepped railway cottages to suit the diorama needed for future development.
Having read horror stories about baseboard warping and woodworm destroying hours of workmanship and even deconstruction when a relocation of residence has been undertaken, I determined from the sta
Progress has slowed down mainly due illness and to my other commitments, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been slacking on the Garsdale project. It has always been my intention to have stackable modules for storage and transport and so to this end I have been working through different ideas to achieve this. Having gained experience working on the GWRM exchange yard and return loop for our exhibition layout and the need for it to be transportable in a limited allocated space, we developed a removable
Inspiration is a wonderful tonic! Progressing well now as modifying the bridge sides is a relatively easy task. The four outside plates are complete with the inner plates cut in half and glued. The end plates that are directly under the stonework abutments were cut from the original end pieces and end riveted detail cut from the same now spare panels. This is because the plates were turned through 90° to create the right number and spacing for replicating the bridge.
Going from the photos, y
Well now the railings have been revisited. I am now using a brand new 0.71mm 60/40 solder and a Rosin soldering flux paste to see if the previous result can be improved. The styrene solution for the rails is an option of last resort for me.
The reason why I am persisting with this is because I really do need to sharpen my soldering skills as I contemplate the Dandry Mire Viaduct safety railing and kit building the semaphore signals and the Network Rail radio link tower, not to mention the la
A lot of tasks to complete with the above under way. The idea if successful will provide a texture once sanded with a suitable 120 grit or other, to the roads on this 1st module. I will also try a timber matt grey acrylic paint to cover over the shaped graphite polystyrene after a trial test. This may help to avoid disaster and make the rest of the diorama construction less involved as opposed to using other methods. Its worth a try in my view. Speaking of which there’s a few photos for you foll
I have flat surfaces that need some character and I’m using 50mm thick polystyrene off cuts of flooring insulation that are glued down with exterior PVA to create it. The outline of the access path to Platform one and road to the terrace railway cottages were drawn in with a permanent marker pen after studying many photos and determining a plan view. Then using a small flexible handsaw and a Surform rasp these are then carved out and shaped to simulate the embankments and general sloping terrain
Well welcome to 2018. Much of my time has been family orientated with time spent at our clubs museum layout and meeting visitors from Rugby and Dorset in the UK along with many other nationalities. My need to build as close to the prototype as possible meant the scalpel came out yet again and suitable adjustments were made to the plate girder bridge sides without destroying my previous efforts. The camera is certainly not kind! A general tidy up by using contract filler and nail files, I swiped
The Hollies of course sang my title for this post. Now at last the glazing can be fitted to the windows. I had already cut these out at 25mm and 35mm square 0.4mm clear styrene sheet when I made the entrance lobby/porch windows. The immediate concern is window dressing as once the tile roof goes on the access to the inside of the building will no longer be possible.
Because there will be no internal lighting, I decided to apply the three-foot viewing rule to my building here and use 1.5mm th
Well items ordered sometime go astray! While waiting patiently for the Wills SS57 plate girder panel bridge to not arrive, I’ve had time to help improve the old layout and rolling stock down at our local clubroom and go over my original thoughts and plans for my own layout baseboard construction. With having the advantage of the newly constructed Railway Workers Stepped Cottages and diorama requirement around the Coal Rd. #115 bridge this forced me to rethink what I wanted to achieve.
Also a
At the start of this blog I posted some of the pictures of my version of the Midland type 4c signal box that took some time to construct. The first problem for me was to check and recheck the window height (as it didn’t look right) against the prototype pictures and a pic of ‘Signalman Owen’ standing in the signal box entrance. The building dimensions also gave me a length to width problem. I scaled my width at 55mm then after a few days of deliberation arrived at a length of 125mm less the acce
