Gairloch (a slight change of direction)

[andyram]

 Due to being preparing my other layout, Skaleby West, for its outing at the Sheffield show - work on Gairloch had stalled for a while. Today I found the time and motivation to return to the project. Firstly I applied a layer of plaster bandage to the brewery area to act as a base for the yard outside of the factory building. This was shaped to provide a slope down towards the goods shed.

 

Then attention turned to the other end of the board. Screwed up newspaper has been glued in place to act as a base for the embankment that will provide a link between the layout and the photographic back scene.

 

 

 I have a few more jobs to do over the next few days. I would like to add the divider between the scenic section and the fiddle yard and then finish off the embankment. That is plenty to get on with for the rest of the half term - especially as I need to finish off the repairs on Skaleby West before the Weston show.

 In the meantime here is a final picture of my Railroad Jinty shunting the goods yard this evening.

 

[andyram]

Over the last few days there has ben further progress on Gairloch. On Wednesday, I cut and attached the second side screen. This will act as the divider between the scenic section and the fiddle yard. Cutting the wood to size was no problem, but cutting the hole for entrance / exit to the fiddle yard proved a slightly bigger challenge. Thankfully my measurements were all correct and the screen is now in place and the rolling stock does pass through the hole. Now all I need to do is to construct the bridge that will hide the hole in the board.

 

Today I have painted the yard area to provide the undercoat for the scenic treatment. I will be using some of the fine ash ballast for the yard outside the factory building, whilst hanging basket liner will be used to create the grass on the small slopes down to the track bed.

 

Hopefully more progress soon.

 

[andyram]

 A bit of test running on Gairloch today. The first passenger train has arrived. Although not very prototypical, J94 68080 hauls a single coach train.

[andyram]

It has taken almost two months to find the time to make further progress on Gairloch however I finally managed to work on the layout today. With wife and daughter busy with preparations for tomorrow, I was told to make myself scarce. It would have been rude not to do some modelling.

 

Firstly the support structure for the front fascia was screwed into place. The fascia board will be added much later. Once the support was in place I turned my attention to the scenery. Polystyrene blocks were glued into place to provide the support for the cutting that will lead to the bridge / tunnel entrance that leads to the fiddle yard. Balls of screwed up newspaper will form the slope of the cutting. Some of this has been started, but much more will need to be added before the plaster bandage layer is applied.

 

Here is the progress so far.

[BoD]

A lovely little layout Andy. One of my favourite areas too.

What plans do you have for the back scene?

[andyram]

A lovely little layout Andy. One of my favourite areas too.

What plans do you have for the back scene?

Thanks. I have a self adeshive back scene for the layout. It features fir tree covered hills and a loch. Part of that will be used. The low relief factory will depict the fictional Gairloch Brewing company.

[andyram]

A little more progress today. With the help of my six year old daughter, more screwed up newspaper has been glued at the tunnel end to create the cutting. The rear embankment was built up slightly whilst more was added to create the slope from the polystyrene blocks at the front. A card "road" base was added across the top of the tunnel to create the roof. This has all been left to dry before the plaster bandage can be added. The first picture shows my young apprentice in action.

 

The second picture shows the finished product.

[andyram]

Whilst off work ill, I took advantage of some spare time to make further progress on Gairloch. The cutting that will lead to the tunnel mouth and fiddle yard has had a generous layer of plaster bandage added. Most was completed in the afternoon, but my daughter helped with the final few pieces when she arrived home from school.

 

I filmed much of the construction and plan to piece it together for a “how to” video for my YouTube channel in due course.

Edited January 25, 2018 by andyram

[andyram]

After almost three months without progress, I have finally found the motivation to return to work on Gairloch. Actually, it was daughter who pushed me into action because she wanted to help. Having been signed off work with stress and depression, a bit of modelling was probably a useful thing to do. 

 Today we have wielded the paint brush to paint the cutting in brown ready mix paint. This will provide a base for the scenery. Hanging basket liner will be added when the paint is dry to depict the long grass. I just need to buy some as my stocks are very depleted.

 

 These pictures show my daughter hard at work, and then the completed paintwork. The road across the bridge has also received a coat of grey paint as a base for the scenic scatter.

 

 I am currently signed off work for another week so I may find the time and motivation to make further progress with the layout. Hopefully more to report soon.

 

[PeterBB]

Young enthusiasm works wonders when channelled!  Most of us take part in the hobby for fun and enjoyment and thus it calms the mind so, go to it Andy ... 

 

Peter

[andyram]

Young enthusiasm works wonders when channelled!  Most of us take part in the hobby for fun and enjoyment and thus it calms the mind so, go to it Andy ... 

 

Peter

She certainly enjoys helping. I am sure she will be wielding the glue when I come to add the hanging basket liner. Today I spent some time running the layout. It was no more than shunting a few wagons about, but it was very therapeutic. Maybe I will get the wagon cards out tomorrow and run it as a shunting puzzle.

[Andrew P]

Hi Andy, the work is progressing well mate, and will do you good mentally as well. A good Shunting session with the Cards will also help as you need to think 3 or 4 moves head each time.

 

All the best,

The OLDER one,   

[andyram]

Still off work at present, but an improvement in mood has prompted me to return to scenic work on Gairloch. Today I made a start on the grass for the cutting. Hanging basket liner has been ripped into pieces and glued onto the rear embankment. Sadly the liner was not quite as good as the one I used on my previous layout (despite being bought from the same place) and it has not blended together quite as well. There are some clear gaps where the layers overlap. I will see what happens when it has dried and I add the scatter. The current state of affairs can be seen in the picture below.

 

Current motive power on Gairloch is not particularly prototypical for the Highlands of Scotland. The ex GWR 56xx stands on shed opposite the factory building.

 

[andyram]

Fuelled with enthusiasm following yesterday’s trip to the Derby show, I returned to the scenic work on Gairloch. I was not happy with the effects created on the rear portion of the cutting. The hanging basket liner seemed too bright and did not seperate well from the backing. A new liner was purchased from a different shop and was used on the front part of the cutting. Amber was once again keen to lend a hand and the job was completed quickly.

 

The new liner looked much better so we then gave the rear section a new covering.

 

 

I am much more pleased with how the cutting looks now.

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by andyram

[Andrew P]

Just need some scissors and a combe now Andy to trim and stand it up a bit.

 

Very good.

[andyram]

Just need some scissors and a combe now Andy to trim and stand it up a bit.

 

Very good.

 

 

Definitely Andy. 

Once it has dried I will trim it, then run a vacuum cleaner over it and the track before I comb and then add a layer of static grass.

[Marly51]

It's coming on well Andy, you must be pleased with your little helper mate.

Great you have your daughter as an assistant, Andy. Mine has always enjoyed making models from an early age and will be helping me when she has time. But she works long hours these days, so I live in hope!

[andyram]

Great you have your daughter as an assistant, Andy. Mine has always enjoyed making models from an early age and will be helping me when she has time. But she works long hours these days, so I live in hope!

 

 

Thanks. She thoroughly enjoys helping out and also comes along to one of our clubs when she can. Hopefully, with the school summer break rapidly approaching, she will be able to help us to make further progress with Gairloch.

[sb67]

Just seen and read through your thread Andy, nice looking layout, I like the plan and the idea of the goods sidings behind the station, sorry if I've missed it but how big is the layout and what will you do for a fiddle yard? I keep thinking about a small station similar but I would try and move it to Essex or the London suburbs.

Steve.

[andyram]

Just seen and read through your thread Andy, nice looking layout, I like the plan and the idea of the goods sidings behind the station, sorry if I've missed it but how big is the layout and what will you do for a fiddle yard? I keep thinking about a small station similar but I would try and move it to Essex or the London suburbs.

Steve.

 

 

Thanks for the kind comments Steve. In answer to your questions, the scenic section is 4ft long and 1ft deep (the same size as my Skaleby West layout). The plan is to use the same fiddle yard used by Skaleby West should Gairloch ever venture out to an exhibition. At present it uses a "fiddle stick" that is just long enough for a tank locomotive and a couple of wagons. I am sure that this will be extended once the layout is seeing more use. 

 The next job is to trim the hanging basket liner and add static grass to complete the effect.

[sb67]

Thanks Andy, look forward to seeing some more pics.

Steve.

[andyram]

Life has been so busy recently with running the shop and the online marking work I have been doing. Gairloch has sat under the cover of a blanket in the spare room for several months. Once again is my little girl who made the suggestion that we did some more work on the layout so we brought it down into the living room yesterday and set to work. 

 Firstly we set to work with the Woodland Scenics materials, mixing black, brown and grey before gluing it all down with PVA. A mix of black and brown was used to glue down the scatter to create the road way and the yard area in front of the factory building. A liberal spray of scenic cement was then applied over the top to fix these things in place.

 Static grass, from a Gaugemaster puffer bottle, was added to the rear embankment of the cutting. All has been left to dry. In time the layout is expected to be taken to the shop for display alongside Skaleby West. This is a change of plan. Originally the layout was planned to be used at home but we need the spare room so the layout will need to be moved. Here are some pics from yesterday:

 

[andyram]

It is amazing the impact a 7 year old daughter can have. Another day, and once again my little girl was determined to do more to Gairloch. I could hardly refuse and so we set to work once again. The goods yard was tackled with the final section of ballasting completed. Here my young lady can be seen brushing the ballast into place:

 

After she had gone to bed I tackled the backscene and factory area. The back scene was one of the self adhesive ID Backscenes. I found this quite tricky to detach from the backing paper. Once this was done I found the whole thing difficult to put into place. This has left a gap at the bottom oft the picture and the white border also has been left on. I felt like I could use this as a guide and it would be hidden by further detailing. This will prove to be a bigger challenge as can be seen in the picture below:

Part of the border has been hidden by the walling at the rear of the loading dock. Hopefully I can hide the rest effectively.

Hopefully there will be more updates soon.

[calvin Streeting]

8 hours ago, andyram said:

It is amazing the impact a 7 year old daughter can have. Another day, and once again my little girl was determined to do more to Gairloch

 

who's layout is it  lol.. but got to nerture that enthusiasm for modelerling...   

[andyram]

A day off from the shop yesterday found me doing some clearing up in the spare room ahead of a big clear out. It would have been rude not to take the covers off Gairloch and run some trains. Track cleaning was completed and I spent a few happy minutes shunting wagons into the goods yard. All worked well. Unfortunately this was a false dawn because problems were waiting just around the corner. When running a train into the station it stopped dead just over the points at the start of the loop. The reason is clear, the point is no longer fully switching across for the run into the station. I scraped out some excess ballast from the previous modelling stint. This did not work. I put the vacuum cleaner on the layout but still no luck. In fact nothing I tried made any difference. The point refuses to make a full switch across and the gap, of less than 1mm, between the outside rail and the switching rail is enough to prevent electrical contact being made. Very frustrating. Since the points are hand operated there are no point motors to cause the issue. I would guess there must be a stray particle of ballast somewhere but it must be well hidden. I am hoping the solution will not have to be the removal and replacement of the offending point because that could easily blow the modelling mojo out of the water.