dpaws Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) For those with similar ideas but less space, the back of the retaining walls is 300mm from the front edge of the board. In my opinion the 1ft depth can work visually but you have to be so clever with the scenery to distract the eye before the realisation dawns. In fact, it's the foreground scenery that will create the illusion of depth. Chris Nevard's a master of this illusion, check out his excellent "Fountain Colliery" here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157660416839998 and you'll note how effective the trees and foliage in the foreground really are. Further down the page there are some blog photos of the build in progress which show the scene before these trees arrived and the scene looks quite flat in comparison... Now I've got to think of a way of performing the same trick with only a cm or two of space!! Edited July 15, 2018 by dpaws 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) Just experimenting with a canal running under the plate girder bridge... but to where? Hmmm Edited July 15, 2018 by dpaws 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 What a fantastic plan! Really interesting and original design that should offer lots of operating potential. Your use of computer design is also excellent, helps to bring plans to life. I'll keep on following your progress. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 A happy day! My girls are out and have their own money, Radio Paradise is streaming without dropouts and there's plenty good coffee on the stove! Finally a full day lost in railway land... Well, the track's down for the first time. I gave up with hot glue as it drove me mad in the end. I'd found a bargain cork Nobo board which has 1mm of almost velvety fine cork with 9mm of soft block-board stuck to it and it works out just fine for pinning the track. Obviously there are no droppers soldered up just yet as this was about trimming the track pieces and fitting it all together. DSCF0808.jpg Speaking of which, I've decided no fishplates, not the conventional type anyway, I'll be using the C&L fine scale type which slide either side but not underneath the rail. Snip20180608_11.png I found that the end sleeper had no chairs to allow for a conventional fishplate to slide onto the bottom flange. DSCF0790.jpg Any tension in the rails and the rail ends straighten and this creates kinks between adjoining pieces of track. To resolve this I've used a short length of fully webbed sleepering from a spare piece of "fixed track" instead to hold the rail ends in place and butted up together for now until the fishplates arrive in the post one day. Worth mentioning that their lengths of flexi repeat this sleepering style periodically; I've cut them out and slid the others up to fill the gap instead, it looks much better to my eyes. The large radius turnout is a piece of art; all have a little flex built into them so you can transition into the curves quite gracefully. With this in mind I swapped out the remaining smaller radius RH for a semi-flexy Y turnout which opens out to around a 1000mm radius and that's the minimum now. The traverser will be on the mainboard and will be positioned behind the tunnel's portals. The canal diorama was a beauty but the siding's just not long enough to do the scene justice, so it's now a short siding much in need of a trap point! Whilst googling a new photo took my eyes, that of a due out soon range of industrial buildings; I want to look through that archway and see the bay platform with my camera's lens. Warehouse_ArticleImg.jpg I reckon that canopy could keep my 08 dry too, and that'd look cute! If you chopped all of the larger structures in half you'd have a decent semi-low relief backscene! I'm liking your layaout a lot and I really like these buildings, appologies if I've missed it somewhere but where are they from and do you know when they're out? Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) I'm liking your layaout a lot and I really like these buildings, appologies if I've missed it somewhere but where are they from and do you know when they're out? Steve. Thanks - Hattons have one of them listed online but no ETA as yet... http://www.hattons.co.uk/337619/Bachmann_Branchline_44_0086_Industrial_Gate_House/StockDetail.aspx only patience... don't they just scream for a grubby W4 Peckett with a tightly coupled 3 plank!! What a fantastic plan! Really interesting and original design that should offer lots of operating potential. Your use of computer design is also excellent, helps to bring plans to life. I'll keep on following your progress. David Kind of you David, thanks. I'm fascinated as to how the ideas have evolved as the project has progressed. The CAD's very useful as I'm crap at sketching! It is quite liberating when you move the viewpoint to a platform edge and observe the scene in virtual reality... it all helps my visualisation and has saved me many an hour of wasted modelling of an idea which is always so demoralising... Edited July 15, 2018 by dpaws Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Thanks - Hattons have one of them listed online but no ETA as yet... http://www.hattons.co.uk/337619/Bachmann_Branchline_44_0086_Industrial_Gate_House/StockDetail.aspx only patience... don't they just scream for a grubby W4 Peckett with a tightly coupled 3 plank!! Kind of you David, thanks. I'm fascinated as to how the ideas have evolved as the project has progressed. The CAD's very useful as I'm crap at sketching! It is quite liberating when you move the viewpoint to a platform edge and observe the scene in virtual reality... it all helps my visualisation and has saved me many an hour of wasted modelling of an idea which is always so demoralising... It's wonderfully creative and a completely different way of approaching things! Planning is he aspect of the hobby I almost like the best (says he who procrastinates and never finished a layout!!) PS - agree with the Peckett comment - perfect setting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) Planning is he aspect of the hobby I almost like the best (says he who procrastinates and never finished a layout!!) Ahh like I was, locked in the logic phase; planning is a game of Sudoku with a transportation twist, addictive too! Many of us with the same addiction are also drawn to the collecting side of the hobby, making logical sets of running stock but still unable to tap into the creative side of their character to fulfil the layout dream (often due to a lack of design parameters). The key is finding something or someone that will help pick that lock... Watching Nevard making magic on Tim's superb 4x1 baseboards was the final straw... I've taken up photography since too; there's no stopping me now that I know how! Thanks for your kind comments - I've been researching Das and sand techniques for yards, all of that's still to come... more planning!! Edited July 15, 2018 by dpaws Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Thanks - Hattons have one of them listed online but no ETA as yet... http://www.hattons.co.uk/337619/Bachmann_Branchline_44_0086_Industrial_Gate_House/StockDetail.aspx only patience... don't they just scream for a grubby W4 Peckett with a tightly coupled 3 plank!! Or a faded and weathered 03, Sentinel or a work stained and grubby Andrew Barclay, I recon there's a few loco's that would look great trundling through the gatehouse. Thanks for the link, I'll keep my eyes open for that. Steve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 (edited) Ahh like I was, locked in the logic phase; planning is a game of Sudoku with a transportation twist, addictive too! Many of us with the same addiction are also drawn to the collecting side of the hobby, making logical sets of running stock but still unable to tap into the creative side of their character to fulfil the layout dream (often due to a lack of design parameters). The key is finding something or someone that will help pick that lock... Watching Nevard making magic on Tim's superb 4x1 baseboards was the final straw... I've taken up photography since too; there's no stopping me now that I know how! Thanks for your kind comments - I've been researching Das and sand techniques for yards, all of that's still to come... more planning!! Interesting and very true! Sometimes we just need to be brave and dive in. I've had about 5 years away from the hobby in a practical sense and whilst I've glanced at the odd magazine etc over that time I haven't done any real modelling. However a period of ill health has made me re-address a lot of things and i really want to get back to railway modelling. I need to find something to 'pick that lock' though as you suggest. Keep the updates coming, I am really enjoying following! I think the canal cameo looks a great idea by the way. David Edited July 16, 2018 by south_tyne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 (edited) I need to find something to 'pick that lock' though as you suggest. Keep the updates coming, I am really enjoying following! I think the canal cameo looks a great idea by the way. David Thanks for your encouragement David, it was after losing a close friend that I became determined that building a layout wasn't going to be an item left on my bucket list! I'm digging the canal cameo idea too - I just can't figure out where the canal's going to... Sadly there isn't enough space across the rear culvert for a junction and a pair of lock gates... after all that would have been far too easy!! Next time we're out cruising the many muddy ditches around Birmingham I'll have the camera out ready to capture inspiring cameos. Many of the bridges are so low that you have to lower the exhaust pipe else it'll get knocked off "Picking the lock" is a tricky one; I took a cappuccino in Amsterdam - it works for me on my part of the spectrum!!!! Edited July 17, 2018 by dpaws 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) Thoughts on the road Regrettably one has to work to fund boys toys so at present I'm away from home and this little layout that intrigues me so. Before I left I lined up low relief buildings a long the skyline and felt a little disappointed as I remember so many other layouts that follow the same thinking and yet fail to capture the atmosphere of a "real railway". Thankfully life on the road is not devoid of google, and www.davidheyscollection.com has produced some gems... Note the background in these photos, how the foreground blends seamlessly into the mid-ground and on into the background; how the background sets the scene but doesn't distract, like a frame is used to compliment a picture on the wall. I think this is the philosophy I will follow, with a photo back-scene of a small town's roofs and chimney pots just visible above and between the sprawling foliage. Of course Nevard and the like pull this illusion off with alarming regularity but the penny's only just dropped for me. I noted that the experts in loco weathering always refer to real photos to curtail the human preference for patterns and sequences, so it makes perfect sense that a natural background can only be achieved using the same process. Now actually pulling off this illusion is another matter, but if I start from the right point at least I'll have a chance. Enjoy your modelling - I'm so jealous! Edited July 26, 2018 by dpaws 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) Back at last. More post, lots of little bits and bobs and look....!!! Very nice I must say. A higher finish quality than I've seen before with a much thinner shell - easy prey for the Dremel should slicing for semi-low relief be required. I just couldn't resist buying the set and yes, they really do scream out for the latest pair of W4s!! If only Hornby could resolve the pick-up issues with these models... albeit generic with close-spaced industrial 0-4-0Ts I guess... Curiosity led to the placement of the loco - there's sufficient roof clearance through the archway - better still if the rails were sunk into the ground, as they most likely would be of course. These models will sell very well indeed, they offer superb stage entrance for a shunting micro puzzle type layout, very intimate. With a traverser off-scene beyond the archway you could use the inside of the largest building for hidden storage tracks, fed from the same traverser. Now if only they'd release the same but in O gauge... NO.... stop that thought right there!!! Edited August 29, 2018 by dpaws 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) Nice photo's, look forward to seeng the buildings on your layout. Steve. Edited August 29, 2018 by sb67 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) Nice photo's, look forward to seeng the buildings on your layout. Thanks Steve - well, we'll see... I'm not even sure if they will arrive as part of this project - it will all depend on the next couple of days spend moving things about - no doubt with copious chin scratching and glasses of the local Prosecco. As charming as they are the thing I really don't want is the distraction of a "next" project sat in the drawer, begging for my attention every time a seemingly impossible task lies ahead of me on this one! Part of the problem with my working away is losing the creative thread of where i was before I left - this is my motivation for maintaining the thread as I can read back through and bring myself back up to date! Having you guys out there spurs me on too, so thank you all so much for that! It seems that the back retaining wall with low relief buildings on top is coming out and being replaced with more scrubland and trackside interest with chimney tops etc poking up beyond... Right, time to clear the dining table; let the games begin! Edited August 29, 2018 by dpaws Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) Thanks for the link, I'll keep my eyes open for that. While I remember Steve - TMC had them in stock if you're struggling to find them - the last time I looked Hattons were still waiting for the delivery. Meanwhile if you need measurements or photos from different angles just ask... I've been shuffling them around for most of the afternoon but I can't find a way where they blend in aesthetically with the rest of the scene, and I like the scene as is because of the variation of stock that I can run... The big building is quite errr.... big! The two smaller buildings and the canopy have a chance of inclusion so all's not lost as yet - fingers crossed!! All together they'd be perfect for the diorama in front of / hiding the fiddle-yard after a scenic break - wagon turntables, rope shunting, intimate detail, Modelu figures, DCC sound... a smell the morning dew on the rustic cobbles sort of scene with a scruffy ginger cat licking her paws after mousing at dawn... You know, Chris Nevardland! Edited August 29, 2018 by dpaws 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 They are very temping and I could see a few small layouts planned around them. ideal for the small industrial locos around at the moment. If only I hadn't started building a quayside layout or the baseboard was a bit bigger........... !! Steve. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) Well I can't really send it back now... "guilt" Edited August 30, 2018 by dpaws 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) They are very temping and I could see a few small layouts planned around them. ideal for the small industrial locos around at the moment. If only I hadn't started building a quayside layout or the baseboard was a bit bigger........... !! Steve. Steve - I've just been reading through your quayside project and discovered Gordon Gravett's Arun Quay... Oh boy.... what a gem - no wonder it drove you mad! Very inspiring and yet so frustratingly simple. Just in case I'm not the last person in the world to know about this masterpiece please, indulge! Look how that back-scene works... beautiful. Edited August 30, 2018 by dpaws Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Steve - I've just been reading through your quayside project and discovered Gordon Gravett's Arun Quay... Oh boy.... what a gem - no wonder it drove you mad! Very inspiring and yet so frustratingly simple. Just in case I'm not the last person in the world to know about this masterpiece please, indulge! Look how that back-scene works... beautiful. It is a stunning layout on every level, so small but there is so much to see. The Gravett's are really nice and friendly as well and are more than happy to chat, if you get the chance try and see it somewhere. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Back at last. More post, lots of little bits and bobs and look....!!! Very nice I must say. A higher finish quality than I've seen before with a much thinner shell - easy prey for the Dremel should slicing for semi-low relief be required. I just couldn't resist buying the set and yes, they really do scream out for the latest pair of W4s!! If only Hornby could resolve the pick-up issues with these models... albeit generic with close-spaced industrial 0-4-0Ts I guess... fullsizeoutput_202a.jpeg fullsizeoutput_2027.jpeg Curiosity led to the placement of the loco - there's sufficient roof clearance through the archway - better still if the rails were sunk into the ground, as they most likely would be of course. These models will sell very well indeed, they offer superb stage entrance for a shunting micro puzzle type layout, very intimate. With a traverser off-scene beyond the archway you could use the inside of the largest building for hidden storage tracks, fed from the same traverser. Now if only they'd release the same but in O gauge... NO.... stop that thought right there!!! Love that mock up! So atmospheric even in this most basic of formats. I hope you can incorporate those buildings and that entrance/exit scenario in the layout 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 (edited) I've had a head like a snow globe these last days with this model! Grrr... finally I reverted to an earlier way of thinking about the layout (after all, that's when I pre-ordered the new buildings) and mental blockage eased... The trackplan doesn't lend itself to the line running through the archway, pretty much everything is wrong; instead this is about the only placement that works. It provides an excellent scenic break, better still once the building has been raised to rail height (for the sunken track). You can see the chunky 08 hiding... It creates the sort of yard that screams for a wagon turntable, unloading cranes etc, maybe an additional rail in the extreme foreground. There's a nice peek-a-boo perspective through the archway, though a raised section will be required over the tracks behind if transport routing is implied, as shown. Now if the double doors are opened out as a maintenance shed you can really have fun with it's interior with inspection pits, maybe that's the ideal place for my incoming W4 to reside... Damn! That slipped out... it's the black of the black one that was the final straw... that or a pair of the Altas Work's ones, cute as kittens... I may allocate it to BR's Loco Department one day... Edited September 4, 2018 by dpaws 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 (edited) Three steps forward, one back... Followers may recall the idea of using linear slides as a traverser mechanism? Well, there's a problem - stiction - it's not B&O buttery smooth as it needs to be. There's too much of a lurch when the traverser starts to move, enough to derail stock... not good! Plan B? A punt on Aliexpress and back to China... It seems to work nicely... 280mm overall between the outer edges of the black cheek pieces, 80mm long platform.There are of course motorised versions of all these tables but I haven't a clue how the motor would attach to a DCC interface for precision stopping positions. I can't be the first to consider it for sure... 80mm long overall (ie stock wheelbase) offers enough for a wagon or a shunter to move alone; a Locolift can rest on the rails to extend the road length. I'll need something to ensure the Locolift can't pivot and tip from weight on the overhang. Oh, the steam crane is an HO model maybe for the yard - it'll need to weathered up scruffy... Edited September 17, 2018 by dpaws 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 Still shuffling stuff around, but it's starting to make sense... slowly... A works yard down the far end and two platforms ends at the other with the yard head shunt in the near corner. Must be a Friday as Mavis looks to be in high spirits...!! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) Where I'm up to at the moment, lots of things posed to give an impression of what I'm aiming for, aesthetically at least... I'm liking the density of goods wagons in the yard - it'd never be this busy of course but at least it looks and feels like a yard! The nearest rails leading to "off-stage left" could be for static display only; I imagine the overspill from the adjacent work's department residing there; an old yard hand crane on a rusting Conflat A, even work's loco stabling... Looking the other way across the waterway at the platform ends. A covered footbridge will serve the platforms and provide the stage exit across the 80mm traverser... and speaking of which I've had an idea about using Kato HO, I'll revert if it works out! Edited October 18, 2018 by dpaws Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaws Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 (edited) A 128 idling alongside platform 1B with the depot depicted behind in ultra low-relief. Ex-MR Class 2441 0-6-0 tank 47201 ambles across the water towards the yard's headshunt... yip, a happy day today! It's a while since I lost an evening in a Metcalfe kit; I enjoyed it! Edited October 20, 2018 by dpaws 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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