D&RGW narrow gauge: Back to scenics.

[JZ]

[JZ]

A great help .gov.uk is. Just checked whether I will have to pay VAT on buying from Europe. It says I may. It also includes Norway and Iceland on the list. Well I know that you do from Norway anyway, but there's not much model railway stuff coming from Iceland, so not particularly worried about that. And can find nothing about this governments previous intent to scrap the £15 exemption, so that may effect buying small items from the US. Maybe I need to find a shop in Canada, which appears to have a £135 waver.

[Nile]

Well there's this if you're having difficulty sleeping - Brexit summary . The full text hasn't been published yet.

[JZ]

I may not have posted, but I have still been busy(ish). I have decided that these Bar Mills buildings really need their own individual dioramas, as do most of the buildings, These modules can then be put into the layout when I reach that stage.

The first I am working on is a stamp mill, actually a Grandt Line kit.

 

The ground form is made of 5mm foam core board. The top level, with the loco, will be up against a rock face, with a mine entrance opposite the mill. There is a door on the top floor of this large enough for the large Roco mine tubs. I have managed to get hold of a couple of lengths of Jouef HOe/OO9 track to form a bridge between the top level and the mill. Where the loco's will be a line linking another one, maybe two mines. Whether this will be loco or man powered, I have yet to decide. Another short piece of track will lead from the bottom door to a chute for loading gondolas. The cribbing is from Chooch Enterprises.

 

Also managed to pick up this rarity.

A Division Point drop bottom gondola. It came without trucks, though looking at the packing, it never had any. I think I picked it up for a reasonable price, bearing in mind that a Division Point HOn3 loco is upwards of $2000, without DCC or sound.

[JZ]

Finished the mill diorama.

 

The white area is for a track to the loading chute and will be done when it's fitted in the layout.

The rock face is another Chooch product. It will be blended into the hillside.

 

 

 

 

Boiler house. It's missing a coal bunker and any means of getting coal to it. I may provide one and a cable way to supply it. But it's nor glaringly obvious it's missing.

 

I have a couple of ideas about blending the ends of the diorama in. They involve either rock face or cribbing or a mix of both.

In the previous post, the loco looked a little incongruous, but now the rock face is in, I think it fits in a bit more. I would prefer the old Minitrains Plymouth diesel of maybe the Baldwin, but they fetch silly money  on eBay.

Should have got a back view photo to show the bridge a little better. It is modelled after a few I have found in books on mining in Colorado. A walkway on one side and planking between the raile, then completely open on the other side.

 

In an ideal world, I would love the space to fit this kit from Banta Modelworks.

In HO it has a 15" x 25" footprint and is 15" high. The kit contains 400 laser cut parts and 800 pieces of strip wood. The instructions run to 40 pages and have over 150 photos. Only available to special order and is $475. So around £525 by the time shipping, VAT and duty are added.

Edited February 8, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Hopefully warmer weather is on the way, so I should be spending a bit more time out in the shed soon. And with the easing of lockdown restrictions, maybe I won't have to get an appointment for the waste site and the last unusable remnants of Gurney Slade can be rid of.  Another birthday has been seen and gone, at one time the retirement age, but I will soldier on for another two years. Among my presents was this AMB kit, the Windsor Hotel.

A rest day today has seen the main structure completed. This was from my daughter, who also chose the colour scheme from photo's I took when I visited Silverton back in May 2019.

The Shady Lady Saloon in Blair Street. Formerly the Blair Hotel, it was the last brothel in Silverton.

Not one to airbrush history, the mining town of Ava City needs an establishment like this, bearing in mind that places like this survived until about 1970 in some towns in Colorado. I am not going to use the Noch Sexy Scenes figures as I don't want it too obvious, but there will be hints to it's use, like the chief of police and mayor's cars parked outside. Hopefully I'll have it in a state to be photographed tomorrow.

[JZ]

Railing around the balcony and some roofing to add.

[JZ]

Freight operations on the Rio Grande narrow gauge towards the end. D&RGW 1960-68

[JZ]

Four more building kits have been purchased.

This first one from Classic Miniatures is sold as 'Red Light district', but will be used as individual miners bunk cabins, or as holiday cabins.

Next we have a Master Creations Hukill mine kit. It comes with a 1920s Mack truck, which will be suitably weathered and parked in a decrepit state. The above two were picked up on eBay last night for silly money(cheap)

This one is another Classic Miniatures kit. Found it when I searched for the make. Just seems to ooze character with the lean-to extension. I couldn't say no. It was from the States, but at a very reasonable price with reasonable postage charges. But I know I will get stung with VAT and handling.

Silver Spur bakery from Banta Modelworks. I've been after this kit for more than a year, but it has been discontinued and have only seen it from one seller in Arizona. In the end I took the plunge and coughed up for it and eBays thieving GSP. And now I've done it, loads will appear on eBay, probably in the UK too.

 

And that has to be it with buildings, I have more than enough for Ava City, but if I do get more, they will replace some of the Kibri plastic ones.

 

[JZ]

Next little scene is the bar Mills 'Tylick Tool' kit. Tylick Tool has seen some changes since they started 57 years ago. No longer a manufacturer, they mainly do sales and service of other companies products.

Vehicles are from Classic Metalworks, repainted and will be joined by an Oxford Chevy van. Not sure at the moment whether to to have asphalt, concrete or dirt for the surface around the buildings. They will have a paling fence around the back and side. The kit came with some white metal, lathes, grinders and upright drills and some resin clutter, to which I've added a couple of packs of Wills Workshop sets, some of which will end up in the roundhouse and some in John Cleary's.

[JZ]

Also finished off the Blair Hotel with a few of it's staff. Just need to add the local sheriff and mayor.

[JZ]

On to the next diorama.

Bar Mills Phineas Clutter kit with a Wills forge. General clutter around the place is from various sources. The yard surface is Country Scenics textured paint, Yard Grime. It's OK, but a pain to mix if it's been left standing. The road and lighter brown is Vallejo texture paint, which is superb. It is more like a brushable paste, doesn't need mixing and goes on a treat. So pleased with it that I've ordered another couple of colours. At £9.50 for a 200ml pot, it's less than half the cost of Tamiya's offering (£12 for 100ml)

Still needs a couple of figures. The road surface will be weathered in once installed on the layout.

[Woody C]

On 08/02/2021 at 17:19, JZ said:

Finished the mill diorama.

 

The white area is for a track to the loading chute and will be done when it's fitted in the layout.

The rock face is another Chooch product. It will be blended into the hillside.

 

 

 

 

Boiler house. It's missing a coal bunker and any means of getting coal to it. I may provide one and a cable way to supply it. But it's nor glaringly obvious it's missing.

 

I have a couple of ideas about blending the ends of the diorama in. They involve either rock face or cribbing or a mix of both.

In the previous post, the loco looked a little incongruous, but now the rock face is in, I think it fits in a bit more. I would prefer the old Minitrains Plymouth diesel of maybe the Baldwin, but they fetch silly money  on eBay.

Should have got a back view photo to show the bridge a little better. It is modelled after a few I have found in books on mining in Colorado. A walkway on one side and planking between the raile, then completely open on the other side.

 

In an ideal world, I would love the space to fit this kit from Banta Modelworks.

In HO it has a 15" x 25" footprint and is 15" high. The kit contains 400 laser cut parts and 800 pieces of strip wood. The instructions run to 40 pages and have over 150 photos. Only available to special order and is $475. So around £525 by the time shipping, VAT and duty are added.

Hi, I have been very fortunate in having visited many old mining facilities in off the beaten track parts of Oregon and Nevada. Been some years since I last visited but seeing this beautiful building and its setting just suddenly took me back to some great times in those places. Stunning build and wonderful weathering. Thank you and apologies that I have not found your thread before but I will be following from now on.

 

Woody

[JZ]

Next diorama is Majestic Hardware & Feed.

Another Bar Mills kit, the Ford pick ups are Williams brothers kits and the boxcar is a Rail Line kit.

 

[JZ]

Lots more to do on this one, but I just wanted to try it with a backscene.

Background is 2019 Colorado calendar that I picked up on Amazon for the princely sum of £1.80 (just arrived, that's why it hasn't been used before). Eight of the pictures were suitable for using. These are only going to be used for displaying like this and, which is a plus, they are all from around The Rio Grande and Rio Grande Southern area. The van is a repainted Oxford Chevy police van(87CV50002) with homemade transfers and licence plates. The pallets in the storerooms are also Oxford. While OO and UK labelled, they look about right and you can't read them from usual viewing distance. I've got some fruit and veg crates from Scale Model Scenery to go in the third doorway. I've a small forklift of unknown heritage for unloading trucks.

[BernardTPM]

Those kind of calenders make good backscenes for photographing models, pushing the apparent depth of field towards infinity.

[JZ]

Some idea of the length of train that could be seen on the D&RGW can be seen from this photo taken just outside of Durango.

I've put a star by the caboose. Maximum train length was 75 vehicles.

From the William Reed collection.

Edited March 20, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Lunchtime at Tylick Tool.

Seth, George and Melvin taking lunch on the loading platform.

Meanwhile, round the back..........

Barney, Josh and Clint play poker, while Bob pours himself a coffee.

Card school figures are Preiser, those at the front are Woodland Scenics. Fence is Ratio (437), vehicles from Oxford and Classic Metalworks and the building Bar Mills. Going to add a few crates and oil drums. and maybe a lathe waiting to be loaded up after lunch.

Edited March 21, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Weather improving means a warmer shed. The recycling centre is open, appointment only. However, after much nagging from my daughter, I have started clearing out JZjr's old room. The plan for it is a office/library/workshop. Move my PC out there, which will also mean that the WIFI hub is at the back of the house, so signal should reach the garden, hence shed, better. I have more books than bookshelf space. So all my railway books will move there. The bookshelves will incorporate a test track, running from the computer desk at one end and a modelling work station at the other. The room faces Northeast, so not too much direct sunlight. I will add some form of lighting under a shelf over the bench.

Bookshelves on the door wall will include room for a small N scale layout for the bits and pieces of US stuff I've collected, probably with a removeable fiddleyard that will stand were the radiator is. The room measure 3.5m by 2.4 at it's widest point and yes, the back wall is staggered. Once done, it will mean having a warm place to work in the winter, without having to clear the kitchen worktop every time I cook.

Edited April 2, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

And I am looking putting a light coloured laminate floor down. Fed up of losing the smallest pieces that drop to the floor.

[JZ]

This arrived today. 130 pages and around 200 pictures from the 675 miles of D&RGW and RGS narrow gauge that formed the Narrow Gauge Circle and it's branch lines.

A bargain £6.59 with free postage from Dallas, TX.

Edited April 10, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Picked up these two Blackstone cars recently. The previous owner had been rather heavy handed with them. Rather than easing the side out to get at the interior, they had pulled the roof off, then crudely glued it back on. There was some damage to roof parts, which was repaired with Squadron putty. Both cars had two sets of steps missing, but fortunately I had some from E&B kits spare. I had originally intended to repaint into Pullman green to match the rest of my passenger stock, but as the glazing was too well stuck down, I will now have a short Rio Grande Southern rake, with an E&B combine kit I have just acquired.

[BernardTPM]

Well done. It's always nice to rescue abused models.

[JZ]

As much as I want to get on with layout building, I have promised myself that it will wait until I have finished the computer/library/hobby room. This has had a minor setback in that my usual timber merchant is out of plywood and has stopped selling softwood. I have now sourced some locally, but delivery can't take place until Tuesday. So I've been getting a few kits together and finding a few more. One thing I did want on the layout was a Renault Dauphine. Not very American and when I mentioned it to a work colleague, he scoffed, until I showed him the following picture.

Robert J. Boser.

 

He then suggested that I should get one, but my searches on eBay had come to nought for 1:87 models. He then searched for Dauphine and found loads, but all in France and many would not ship to UK. But one seller had it in the right colour and would. So here it is, in Main St, Lucyville.

Fitted with Montana plates, downloaded off the internet and resized, on his way to Loveland Pass.

Some may wonder having a Bedford ML, but it bears more than a passing resemblance to a GMC AC series.

[BernardTPM]

They were briefly quite popular as an import in the late 1950s. Good choice and, no doubt, will be a talking point.