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Real running river on a layout? Possible?


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David and Shirley Rowe did a superb exhibit, Exebridge Quay, exquisitely detailed in their inimitable style. It used real water for the dock basin and incorporated at least moving swans, and perhaps boats, and a rotating bridge. The water wasn't flowing, but I seem to think the tide ebbed and flowed during the course of an exhibition.

I have just been to the Croydon Exhibition today, and one layout, Pont d'Elaulne et Traveaux de Graviers, made use of real water, although not flowing.

One example was a nicely modelled river

attachicon.gifPont d eaulne croydon 2018.JPG

The other was certainly innovative, and very surprising.  A flooded gravel pit has been created, and the HO9 diesel shunter could safely make its way through the water, with amazing reliablity.  I was assured tap water was used, nothing partlcularly special, and the loco was picking up from the rails; not battery trickery involved.

attachicon.giftravaux de graviers croydon 2018.JPG

 

Exebridge Quay was the sequel to an earlier Rowe layout 'Leighton Buzzard' which again featured working swans, boats, lock gates etc (and an angler IIRC).

 

Another water-based layout that used to be on the South London exhibition circuit was 'Splash' by Stuart Robinson, which was apparently based on a real-life location where a railway line had been laid straight across a shallow river bed! (I did suggest to Stuart that perhaps his next project should be the Rottingdean Tramway, but he didn't take me up on it...).

 

The Egham Club had (have?) a very nice H0 North American layout with a real water lake and working train ferry,

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I spent a couple of hours operating O gauge Tollesbury Quay recently, on that the tide comes in and out. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-weUtKXAK56Q/VnAyO0x98jI/AAAAAAAAG94/WmnKig70y8s/s1600/IMGP8015%2B-%2BCopy.JPG

Tide coming in ,in the picture. Try to get a copy of MRJ246 for layout write up with a description of how the tide works, got my copy off Ebay. Buckets, piping and a sort of drip feed, there's even a sealed baseboard joint. A small leak, well drip really, occured but from a poor bucket to pipe joint. Operaters must remember to alter the clock for tides.

Yes, that was the one I was thinking of, I think they add something to the water...glycerine?

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I saw a layout at an exhibition once with a static rippled stream in the foreground (not sure exactly what was used for that but there are various things which give a convincing, albeit non-running effect). It was lit from above with a row of LEDs and as I moved my head the reflections of them on the "water" gave quite a convincing (unintentional) impression of it flowing, so I wonder if something could be done with a conveyor of LEDs. That's going in the opposite direction to the OP though.

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I would add a thickening agent to the water to slow it down and add colouring to take away the perfect clarity of water. a green/brown shade should work. 

 

There is a thickening product that people use to thicken liquids to help with swallowing etc - looks like it might do the trick! 

 

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  • 2 months later...
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Hello,

 

as I'm a nurse. I can tell you that these thickening powder won't look that good. Yes it thickens the consistency of water, but you could see airbubbles that are trapped in the liquid by stirring in the thickening powder, and the water get's a more grey or white colour, and isn't as shiny as unprepared water.

 

Markus

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I saw this done with the usual layers of yacht varnish as the base but with water running over the top. The colour/weeds etc were all in the varnish but the small amount of water flowing over the top gave it movement. The varnish also sealed against leaks.

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  • 2 years later...
On 12/10/2018 at 17:13, rovex said:

Never mind all the issues regarding leaks etc.

When you see models and water in films, assuming its not all computer generated, the film is invariably slowed down to make it more realistic

 

Edit. Actually I think it's shot faster and then the resulting film slowed down.

Yes. That's how they launched Thunderbird 4.

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