sixteen 12by 10s

Hi Russ The grass is a mixture of Mininature, Helki, and Noch fibers. Don't have the numbers or descriptions to hand, but i will have a look tomorrow. They were applied in layers with my homemade, stun gun, (if you hold the mesh and touch the grid at the same time!) i mean fly swatter applicator. GaryÂ

Hi all Just a few shots,playing with the camera, thats about it. My time lately has been taken up with building the home signal, more about that soon. Please ignore the rubbish hanging from the cellar roof!

Smashing photos, it was an absolute sin when the old O&C  railway terminus was demolished. Years of neglect had left it unsafe. It was replaced with a “functional†and character less modern building. Ok if it had to go, and some thought had gone in to it, then a combined station and ferry terminal building may have been an improvement. While on a run over to Mull last year i got talking to a German tourist, he commented, that the ferry leaves port 5 minutes before the train arrives, yes an integrated transport system, bet that didn't happen in the past, progress. Gary

My missus has said something similar about me!! Claggy I shall be using mainly type 2's but i will model a 37, and thinking about it the lads of the class Forty Appeal would kill me if i didn't do 37190, it was allocated to west highland duties in the early 1980's. Mark The colors of the roof?. Are, I was afraid someone was going to ask me this one. Let me explain how I mix my paint, will all who excel in the art of painting models press the back button now to avoid offense. I have a top cup type air brush, you know one of the cheep Chinese one's, that I have fetteled by polishing various bits of. The mix for the roof (this is were it gets interesting) pour in to the cup a drop of thinners, add a dollop of mat black, mid gray, and dark green mix up in the cup, to a stick mess then try. I am sorry if its a bit vaig but its the unscientific approach to painting I use. The weathering to represent the moss and lichen, is mat yellow and white dry stippled on, the lead flashing painted with gunmetal and mat black mix. As for the rest of the building, the sickly green is a mix of yellow and bronze green, the gordy blue is rail blue and yellow. (sorry I can't quot Precision paint numbers here, and someone is about to tell me the correct name for these colors) The rendering, think this was a case of what have I got here that is in reach, after a bit of experimentation, the whole building was covered with a very thin layer of what is known in the motor trade as “knife stopperâ€. This I cellulose based so it has the effect of etching into the plasticard. When dry, it was treated to a mix of mat white enamel, and tile grout stippled on. As for the excuse to use a class 37, well I don't need one, Eastfeild started allocating 37's to the West Highland trains in the mid to late seventies, (probably 37144-157 were the first to be used on passenger duties), substitution one for a failed class 27?, while talking to a mate of mine, about fitting my locos with sound chips, he asked me if the one I was to fit in the 27, would have a function to activate the sound of the arrival of the Locharber fire brigade!. Far too much froth for one post. Gary

Hi again all Claggy Haven't thought much about operation. I would think with the line only eight miles long from Lochailort, then there wouldn't be a passing loop at Roshven. I would like to think that there would be a separate platform at Lochailort for the branch, and a dedicated train would use this, but I want to run that classic mixed West Highland extension train, IE a passenger coaches with vans ,CCT's and TTB's tagged on the back. For this reason I think the trains would originate from Fort William. Freight, well, by the middle of the 1970's all but a small amount had gone from the WH extension, the service to the oil dpt at Mallaig been the last. A when required run to and from FW would probably service the rest of the lines requirements. I have started to construct, or convert a fleet of wagons, a mixture of short wheel based unfitted, vac wagons and the new long wheel based air braked ones, it was this mix of rolling stock that fixed the date at 1980, if the old stock had of lasted a few years longer, the model would have been invaded with multitudes of LL class 37's, it was the standing around on the end of Scottish platforms and hanging out of front coach windows in the late 1980's that lead me to build my first WH layout “Lochalineâ€. perhaps one of the early Eastfeild large logo 37's will appear, but i have a feeling the layouts type three, will be 37190 with a small westie on the side, Ok two years out of date. Russ I think i need to print more of the back scene to get an idea of the finished article, a few A4's ether side and i will get a better idea. Jim The ground signal., a Stevens drop flap type is a kit from MSE number GS001. http://www.wizardmodels.co.uk Gary

 Well, after a few hours hiding down the cellar, the station building is complete. Will write a bigger post on this soon, but here's some photos to be going on with. Gary This is a test printfor the back scene, looks a bit grainy to me, comments please.

Claggy, The route to Genluig,there would be a junction at Lochailort and then a straight run down the west coast to the village, the North British , when the extension to the West highland was built, proposed a terminus at Roshven, witch is the next “village†north of Glenuig. The railway company instead of going south at  Lochailort continued north west to the tiny settlement of Mallaig. Rest and be thankful by rail?, think the only possibility would be a long tunnel through the Alps, the road on the other hand, is my second favorite bit of road in Great Britain, beaten in to first place by by the A87. You mension  Inveraray,stayed there last weekend, has anyone run an imaginary line there yet? It would make a cracking location, going back in time to the1930's with a classic David Macbrayn steamer tied up at the jetty???????. Watch this space the station building nearly finished. Gary

 Cal Mac ferry's can be maneuvered in to tight spaces, and some are built with a low draft,so i wouldn't worry about the birthing practicalities. Sorry to clog up you thread, heres another photo of Caolisport taken looking in the other direction, i take it that the Hebridean Isles will sail for the distant mountains of Islay, and Jurra. Gary Â

Claggy Great to see quality photos of this layout. Brings out the west highland atmosphere to a greater extent. DO read the instructions, The person writing this piece had accidentally switched his EOS 300D that he has owned for 6 years, on to manual white balance, resulting in a  blue color cast over all his photos. Normally i would have noticed this after downloading the images, but i was 400 miles north of my computer, on a scenic photo session in, yes you've guest it,Scotland. Since my return a mega session on photo shop has resulted, and heres one of the results, a view down Loch Caolisport, were ever that is!. Gary

 You should be able to find a free ware issue of this font,â€Helvetica†witch is near enough spot on. Gary

Funny you should say that Russ. I have been experimenting with some photos i took in October, and now have what i think will be the backscene. I have dropped a representation of the model over the top to see how it fits. A local printer has offered to print it for 40 quid, so i am about to spend this months trainset tokens. Gary

Go on, Jump in the time machine and go back to 1988. 37401 in Intercity, 423 in metals livery and 425 with the proper name(s) on it. Yes, Mary, Murray and Bob. Only playing you up. Just think you can now run GBRF 66's and a red parcels EMU. Gary

Perhaps this will explain The Isle of Rum taken from Glenuig

Hi Thanks for all your kind comments. I think the involvement in this forum has helped this layout to be a fast build.? The work on the station building has been halted for a few days while I find time to get to buy some more Wills slates, its ether that or I glue umpteen offcuts together.? Gus. the railings are from Langley models "seaside balustrade" No F181 With 1.5mm wire for the rails. What emulsion did i use for the platforms, well i haven't got a clue, probably stone colored with brown and black acrylics mixed in. With the scenic jobs, i tend to think about how i will do something for days, and then finish the job in half an hour and colors are found by experimentation. Dave, the lamps are scratch built and are based on the ones that were at Mallaig, they are made from brass tube the heads been turned from clear plastic. (i am lucky, i have a lathe). At present, they do not work but the tubes extend bellow the board to allow an optic fiber to be pushed up, and i have tried this with success.? The lady of the house has band me from spending all night down in the cold cellar, due to me having an on going chest infection. The doc has given me some pills, but the best remedy yet, has been the contents of the bottle in the photos and a chicken jalfrazie! Happy modeling Gary

Hi again all At last, i have made the jump and started, (and almost finished) the station building. The bay windows have turned out to be the tricky bit requiring 50 separate pieces excluding the glazing bars each. The glazing bars are thin strips of masking tape stuck directly to the clear plastic. The roof, Wills molded slate, the hip made by just bending the moulding. Two things i have found infuriating while using these slates, are, Joining it, the rows do not line up, and you always end up with a load of unusable size offcuts and never enough to finish the job. The brown coating on the bottom of the left bay is an attempt to represent rendering, this is car body knife filler I have just started to think about the fiddle yard. When i designed the layout, i designed it with a turntable type one, but now i have though about it, i am now thinking of cassettes. Gary

Hi I was trying to get a bit concerned that i hadn't seen an update for some time, but there was no need to worry. At a guess i would say it was the mind numbing job of making a million seats that had slowed things down Great and imaginative modeling Gary

????I have been waiting for a few days, to get at the computer while the website is up and running, now i can report on progress. I have taken the bull by the horns and started on the station building, and ????with three nights work, have completed one bay window. Photo to follow shortly. Russ The station will go right up to the backscene, but the design of west highland stations means the roof overhangs by about 14mm, leaving a gap between the back wall and the backscene. The station lamps are from the ones that stood at Mallaig during the late 1970's and 80', scratch built with brass tube the heads turned from clear plastic. Dave Thanks for the complements, i intend to get the backscene sorted out with next months trainset tokens, watch this space. Gary

This is what the post should have looked like before the server crash Thanks Mark My idea from the start was to create a rundown atmosphere. The setting of the early 1980's before the Chris Green years, and the publicity that Scotland's railways get now. It amazes me, while the corporate attitude was to let the system fall to pieces, the individuals working on the system tried to do the best they could to keep thing presentable.? I can remember a visit to the West Highland Line several years after radio signaling had been? introduced, the platform signal boxes at Tydrum and Bridge of Orchy had long been out of use, but they still had polished levers and swept floors. Back to the model. I now have a drawing for the station building. I have produced it from photos taken of Glenfinann and Arisaig. I have tried the foot print of this on the platform and to my relief it fits, just. West Highland Station buildings have a pagoda roof which protrudes out some 3'6" from the main building, and for a time the dimensions where worrying. Now all i have to do is build it, looking at the photos the bay windows and roof will be the demanding bit. For now here's just a few photos and one for a bit of fun Gary The last train of the day waits for the road Foot print of the station building site of the building with rum in the back ground?

Hallo folks Just at the end of my mammoth 23 day holiday, it is by far the longest time i have had off work in one go since i started in 1979. Well i have kept out of the way and hid down the cellar for most of it, the out come of which is that the layout is now at an advanced stage. One of the main reasons for its rapid build is that i am really enjoying this one. A new gauge for me EM, but i seam to have got my head round it. The layout now has a third loco, a class 26, this is just a strait EM conversion using Bachmann coach wheels, with a few bits done cosmetically such as taking in the primary springs on the bogie frame. Take note Sprat and Winkle coupling users, if you have the buffer beam detail on diesel locos, set the coupling bar about 3mm in front of the buffer heads,this will eliminate the hooks catching in the pipework when propelling. I am now at the stage of adding scenic detail and have one more structure to make the, station building., I will produce a scale drawing from the photos i have, and make a start shortly. Signals are starting to appear, and i have had some help from the Permanent Way, Signalling &Infrastructure section of the forum (thanks Stationmaster). The starter is a Stevens lattice pattern with Westinghouse UQ arm, the ground signals will be the drop flap type. Watch this space for the home signal which will be the joker in the pack. Gary

Hi Dave The last lot of photos have made me think what a brilliant and imaginative layout this is.You have captured the busy nature of a city station approach in such a small space.? Looks suburb as well. Gary

How about the wreak of the Politician in the bay at the front? http://www.whiskygalorefilm.com/ Gary

Hallo again all. The fowl weather in his part of the world has meant that i have been confined to the workshop, the upshot of this is that the signal box is now complete and I am quite pleased with the result. The coloring was a bit of a problem, the early 80,s livery looks like an off yellow and aquamarine green, hope my mix of paint looks OK. After my ? success with the box, i turned my attention to the quayside. At the far end, i wanted to create a small oil terminal.The static oil tanks are some old Ratio ones i had lying around,these have been weathered. The pump house (shed, lean too) is biased on one that i have seen up in the highlands. The pump has recently been refurbished and is painted in that metallic blue paint that every electrical engineer knows stays in a sticky condition for years!. To the side of this will stand a large corrugated iron shed,in the highlands corrugated iron is used for everything, and soon the rust takes over giving these structures modeling appeal. Fisherman's junk,clutter,scrap will be added shortly. Once this area is finished, i had better bite the bullet and have a go at the station building, Arisaig again.? Martin, good luck with your project, Lochailort, is now nothing more than a buss shelter, so Lochailort junction dose have an appeal to it. I have quite a few photos taken at Glenfinann and Arisaig, i will post them in the gallery in the next few days, hope they will help.? I have no intension's of running the Jacobite, the steam service started in May 1984, and i have set the scene between 78 and 83, but maybe this could be stretched in the future. Sorry to disappoint you, but the back scene, is at present ???photoshoped??? this should change in the next few weeks. The font should be down loadable from this link.. ? http://www.dafont.com/aon-cari-celtic.font

? Thanks all for the advise on the class 26, just trying to add some verity to the loco fleet. A class 37 will complete the motive power selection. The debate about boats and ferry's go's on, if i do anything i think i will extend the board out at the front of the quay enough to get a model of the Lochmor in. http://www.shipsofca...vessel=lochmor1 This was a relatively small boat but the board will need extending by at least 3???. The signal box build is on its final stages, i resisted the temptation to give up and seek refreshment, photos will follow shortly. Thanks Gary

Hello all I has been some time since my last update, and during this time things have moved on. I have spent the last few weeks finishing the rocks at the front, and the basic scenery is now complete. I have started to build and convert some stock, and have a pile of Parkside Dundas kits to get through. This last week i have made a start on the signal box. I have biased this on the one at Arisaig, although this has been disused, since the introduction of radio signaling in the eighty's, it is still relatively intact. The model is basically plasticard, the planks been scored on. ? I am just about to tackle the brackets under the eaves, they look fiddly, only the next few hours will tel whether i am successful, or give up and go down the pub. The loco fleet is about to expend, with the arrival of a class 26 , as i here thousands of screams of ???rare for the West Highland???, yes they were, but they were not totally unknown to venture to Fort William. The Bachmann coach wheels are standing by for the EM conversion, and I'd better make it a Haymarket one. A veiw looking towards the station, the patch of ground on the left is the site of the signal box ?

? The atmosphere you have created is spot on. It gives me, what is known in our house as???Skylitus???just looking at the photos. If you are interested,i have posted some photos of Bridge of Orchy and tydrum stations in the gallery. Gary