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Inspired by Crianlarich


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  • RMweb Gold

The shed is an excellent representation of the real thing, you have managed to capture the colour and feel of the brickwork particularly well. I am a little envious, I do'nt have the space to fit the prototypical length of shed on WHL4

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11 hours ago, young37215 said:

The shed is an excellent representation of the real thing, you have managed to capture the colour and feel of the brickwork particularly well. I am a little envious, I do'nt have the space to fit the prototypical length of shed on WHL4


Thanks.  I don’t have that much space and sometimes I wonder if I should have added more compression to allow for a bit more of scenic run.  The die is cast now  and I am happy enough except perhaps when I see some of the scenic photos on Meanach  I do sometimes envy your space too,  and the chance to model a greater part of the whole system.  It must be nice to be able to tun several trains from location to location and passing place to passing place. I suppose it’s swings and roundabouts and both approaches have their advantages.  I’m a bit happier now that the ‘Oban branch’ actually goes somewhere even if it is just to an entirely fictitious lochside location a’la Ian Futters.  It does give some feel of being part of a larger system - and gives a bit more play value.

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That shed looks great, you’ve certainly captured the look of the real thing well. It’s the only location I’ve actually been onto the platform to have a look a round on the WHL and thought it would make into an interesting model. Still haven’t been to Rannoch despite me starting building my model of it in 2009.

 

all the best

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold
16 hours ago, MRDBLUE17 said:

That shed looks great, you’ve certainly captured the look of the real thing well. It’s the only location I’ve actually been onto the platform to have a look a round on the WHL and thought it would make into an interesting model. Still haven’t been to Rannoch despite me starting building my model of it in 2009.

 

all the best

Mark

 

Thanks for that, Mark.  I have followed your build of Rannoch Moor from the very early days.  Indeed I owe you a thank you for I ordered  the etch of West Highland station windows and doors from PH Designs that you and he designed.  I saw Rannoch a while back at Model Rail Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed that.  I noticed that there is a Rannoch again on the layout list this year.  Is that you?  It will be at the top of my list of layouts to see.

 

Regards

Warren

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15 hours ago, Barry O said:

I like driving trains so too much scenery can be a bit boring. Time to crack on and get the layout finished!

Baz

 

Being able to drive and shunt for the first time has held up progress a bit, however, I do enjoy all aspects of modelling so should see more progress soon. 

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3 hours ago, BoD said:

 

Thanks for that, Mark.  I have followed your build of Rannoch Moor from the very early days.  Indeed I owe you a thank you for I ordered  the etch of West Highland station windows and doors from PH Designs that you and he designed.  I saw Rannoch a while back at Model Rail Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed that.  I noticed that there is a Rannoch again on the layout list this year.  Is that you?  It will be at the top of my list of layouts to see.

 

Regards

Warren

 

Hi Warren,

 

Thank you for your very kind words about the layout. It is me back with Rannoch this year stand B62 along with the Scottish Modellers demo alongside. Please come and say hello as always good to put faces to names on here.

 

Martin and Alan who will be on the demo area are both interested in the WHL and are building/planning layouts as well so always good to chat and share ideas.

 

Hopefully see you next weekend

 

thanks

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold

A couple more pieces of the jigsaw ready to plant.

Or at least I thought they were ready to plant and then the photos showed up all of the faults. Photos can be oh so cruel.

 

The signal box

 

1463112956_signalbox1.jpg.c91a0cfcd3af8ed245475174501d4126.jpg

 

The former paraffin/Lamp shed based on photo here (7th one down)

 

1234013158_lampshed.jpg.b078332420bedc871ebaea4a2ff3590e.jpg

Edited by BoD
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  • RMweb Gold

At some point in the past I changed the title of my thread from Crianlarich to Crianlarich(ish) and then to Crianlarich (very loosely).  The reason – compromise due to space limitations. Something from which I think most of us suffer.  When I started out, I had set a minimum radius for curves and decided to have hand built point work.  I don’t regret those decisions but it soon became obvious I was running into problems.  We have already mentioned compression on here but I found I was having serious space limitations.

The track plan had to be constrained quite severely to fit and the throat became quite compromised to fit.

 

crian1.jpg.45dcfbad877ef7d65e8dad893df85597.jpg

 

I would not have enough room at the North end of the station for the original crossover so it would have to be based on the remodelled pointwork.  (Does anyone know when this actually occurred?)  I still had my heart set on semaphore signals too.

Also, both branches would have to enter curves almost immediately. 

 

crian2.jpg.0f3629ec7c019a2fe2b051ec147d4721.jpg

 

 

Certainly the right hand Fort William branch couldn't cross over the River Fillan Viaduct. There's just not room.  That branch would have to disappear somewhow.   the 'Oban branch' wasn't going to drop down to the old Callendar line either.  Could I justify a viaduct there.  If I had any hair it would have been torn out.

 

crian3.jpg.4303a2790f98b329520e16de3b2e5c78.jpg

 

Sadly the whole thing was becoming less and less like Crianlarich. 

Some serious deep thought was needed and some decisions needed to be made.

Do I scrap it and rethink the layout?

Do I rename as somewhere entirely fictitious but using WHL buildings and style?

Am I alone in having these issues?

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If I was in your position, I'd probably keep what I have and make it a might-have-been. So, keep the name if you like it, but don't model the prototype down to perfection, but rather model the atmosphere you recollect and want to experience.  

 

I've found that what I am more comfortable with is the atmosphere I create rather than a perfectly prototypical recreation. Especially considering the parameters you have to deal with in terms of space.

 

Cheers,

Will

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  • RMweb Premium

No you are not alone !!

 

.....I fell in love with the West Highlands back in the 80's and have been besotted with it ever since, I have drawn up and redrawn layout plans, bought rolling stock in one scale / gauge or another only to decide that it wouldn't 'quite' work...I even bought a 3/4 finished layout to 'Caledonianise' but again couldn't quite make it fit my available space. I currently have a large N gauge collection of WHL stock just waiting to be used.....and all I've physically achieved is 'Nowt !'

 

My problem being that I know too much about the line to a degree and recognise the differences between the different areas be it scenery, trackplans, infrastructure or traffic diagrams.

 

My current thinking is that I need to do something as suggested in the previous post and just go with what my heart desires....whether it is authentic or not, otherwise I may never realise my ambition to go into my room and be transported the 300 miles or so North. So baseboards are about to be built as I can't change the area available and everything else will just have to be what fits in that gives me that feel good factor.

 

So please don't give up....you've already got the basis of a great layout (as have others on this forum) ....you've got some great buildings ....go and capture the Magic that is the West Highlands.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Kind regards,

Ian.

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  • RMweb Gold

We all get crap days when we question what we are doing, trust me I seem to get more than my fair share. Hang in there and trust your judgement as to what you want.  My first WHL layout had similar space constraints and  the Fort William line curved sharply on passing the northern junction much as your does. In reality the WHL does this at the far end of Strathfillan, in essence what you have is close to the real thing but you just do'nt have the space for the 2 Strathfillan viaducts.  If you elevate the Fort William line and lower the Oban line you will create something similar to Crianlarich, albeit with some selective compression just as I did and I had hours of fun with my first layout. 

 

The northern junction changed on the introduction of RETB in Autumn 1986 when the north end platform was also extended and the loop at the southern end was re-modelled to what it is today.  The bottom line is it is your layout and only you that needs pleasing, if you want to change it you can but I do'nt see that you need to.

 

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  • RMweb Gold

I have an interest in North American railways as well as British ones, and one thing I have noticed is that when they build a model of a real location, they feel more free to make the odd adjustments to the prototype arrangement if it suits the space or simply their aesthetics. So, unless you are trying to build a perfectly accurate model in P4, then certain things can be altered without detracting from the overall authenticity.

Following that logic, stick with what you have, obscure the Fort William line behind a bank of tress, and put a viaduct over the River Fillan on the Oban line. You will at least have the viaduct at the correct end of the station. And arrange semaphore signalling to suit any "remodelled pointwork". 

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4 hours ago, BoD said:

........

Some serious deep thought was needed and some decisions needed to be made.

Do I scrap it and rethink the layout?

Do I rename as somewhere entirely fictitious but using WHL buildings and style?

Am I alone in having these issues?

 

So as soon as @gordon s posts you ask “do I scrap it and rethink the layout?”  You also ask about renaming it.  I suggest not Crianlarich(ish), but Eastwood Townish.

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I've only just started following this so please dont scrap it! There are so many good aspects to it already.

 

I'd go with "rename as somewhere entirely fictitious but using WHL buildings and style". Takes a bit of pressure off worrying about it being Crianlarich.

 

Dont worry we all have these days... I have plenty of them and every project I've worked on there are frustrations and something I'm not happy with.

 

Layout looks great to me 

Will

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  • RMweb Premium

It is your layout. If you want to leave it as is  please do..call the station something else..but keepthe buildings. If I had room my layout would be much larger and have a bigger fiddle yard..but I have no more room and will live with it. 

Baz

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  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for the supportive posts.

 

After some deepish thought, some discussions here and elsewhere, and a visit to Model Rail Scotland I have decided that I quite like what I have even though it will never now be an accurate model of Crianlarich.  I have already built some other buildings and certainly don’t want to waste the work done so far.  So, I will go along with some of the thoughts here and move to something that is Crianlarich like but fictitious and most certainly West Highland based.  It’s not a layout that is ever going to leave my loft and I think it will please me and keep me interested.  If others like it, well that’s a bonus but not important. Hopefully the similarity to Crianlarich will still be very noticeable.

 

Did you know that the West Highland originally built another junction station north of the snow shed above Rannoch with a branch line along the north side of Black Water to Kinlochleven.  It was originally built to service the building of the dam and the aluminium smelter but also led to the building of a distillery and to other traffic.  You didn’t?  Well you heard it here first.

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From Wikipedia:

 

"The name Crianlarich is derived probably from the Gaelic meaning either "the wasted site" or "the aspen site" (c.f. Gaelic critheann, "aspen")."

 

So you seem to have been leaning towards the first derivation, but now you've decided to continue, how about a name based on the second one? Aspen Grove as one possibility?

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Hi Warren,

 

It was good to get to meet you at Glasgow and even better news to read that you are continuing what will be an excellent layout. 
 

That signal box is superb by the way. I like the worn washed white effect on the lower brick.

 

I will enjoy seeing the continuing progress on here.

 

all the best

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold
20 hours ago, MRDBLUE17 said:

Hi Warren,

 

It was good to get to meet you at Glasgow and even better news to read that you are continuing what will be an excellent layout. 
 

That signal box is superb by the way. I like the worn washed white effect on the lower brick.

 

I will enjoy seeing the continuing progress on here.

 

all the best

Mark

 

Thanks for that Mark - and your encouragement.

 

It was good to see Rannoch again. A beautiful layout. I may well be picking your brains about the viaduct before long, if I may.

 

I was quite pleased the way the signal box turned out.  Re the fading of the white - up to now I have tried to work from photographs.

 

4420844976_6a59805475.jpg.a43bbc466bf60b44bab19e62271173e9.jpg1463112956_signalbox1.jpg.c91a0cfcd3af8ed245475174501d4126.jpg

 

However, I have just noticed that I've painted the supporting bricks green.  Now how on earth did that happen?  

 

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Glad to read you have decided which way to go. The turmoil of indecision can really be destructive where either you do nothing or tear up a potentially good layout.

 

Keep going, it will all be worth it, particularly if the standard of buildings is anything to go by...

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