Kleine Albula - RhB HOm

[Crocodile414]

Thanks for all the kind comments, I've really enjoyed running it for the last few days. I'll probably have a few more days playing and then back to work. 

 

Cheers, Nick 

[cornish trains jez]

Hi Nick,

 

Lovely layout mate and your stock runs really smoothly. Looking forward to the next update!

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

[Crocodile414]

Hi All,

 

A very long time since the last update. I've been having a break from the layout over the latter part of the summer but work resumed today. I didn't fancy doing any scenery today so I thought I'd finally get the lighting gantry made. A trip to Wickes and 4 hours later I have a frame which is now mounted (albeit unpainted yet). The front fascia is 5.5mm ply and the frame work is 18mmx44m. It's all held together with bolts and T nuts. 

 

I need to get some LED tubes to up inside it now.

 

More news soon.....(hopefully!)

Cheers, Nick 

[Crocodile414]

Hi Everyone, 

 

Apologies it's been so long in posting the next update. 

 

To cut a very long story short, I took a break from Kleine Albula in October 2020 to work on a mid-life rebuild of my OO British layout (which is still on-going!). Throw in a house move as well and it's only the last few days I've actually been able to get started again. 

 

I've been working on making rockfaces using the Woodland Scenics rockmoulds, around the viaduct and also the tunnel at the other end. I've also been adding retaining walls where necessary and I've applied a layer of Artex on top of the plaster bandage in preparation for the final scenery.  

 

A couple of snapshots are included - plenty more still to do - particularly lots of filling the gaps but I'm pleased to be progressing again. 

 

Cheers, Nick

Edited June 3, 2022 by Crocodile414
replacing missing photos

[Crocodile414]

Hi All, 

 

A very long overdue update but seeing as it's one month to go until the layout makes it debut at the Penarth Exhibition on 2nd & 3rd July, I've finally gotten round to downloading the pictures off the phone and posting a few. 

 

With a significant amount of help from my friends, the scenery has been developed somewhat since the last images were posted (I'll try and re-upload these from the earlier posts). The layout is being depicted towards the end of winter, where there is plenty of snow still on the ground, trees & roofs etc but it has started to melt leaving the main paths and roads relatively clear. This has nearly all been achieved with multiple layers of Artex which has been sanded to achieve the various shapes. 

 

Trees have begun to be planted today (yes, I know some them aren't straight, I'm waiting for the glue to dry before bending the trunks!) and there are currently about 80-90 of them in situ. Another 40 are being prepared for planting, some needing re-coating from their previous life. 

 

The catenary is the next job to tackle - the cross spans through the station loops have been soldered together today and loosely placed on the upright sections. All the various wires and droppers are ready and waiting for installation. 

 

I've been going through all the rolling sock cleaning wheels and either adding or repairing the additional detailing parts where appropriate. 

 

I will be having a test run soon and hope to record some video clips, which with time permitting, I'll upload into a small film on YouTube.

 

More progress soon.....hopefully!

 

Cheers, Nick 

[Crocodile414]

Hi All, 

 

Today has seen the catenary begun in earnest. We've deliberately been leaving this job until the end so as to avoid any potential damage when developing the scenery.

 

Our full size drawing from 3 years ago was found and with exception of one or two snags everything has gone together more or less in the intended order/position. A few pieces required shortening to fit the intended gaps between the posts but overall we're very pleased with how it's gone. 

 

Once all the droppers had been installed, each piece was loosely hung in position before committing to soldering them together. We've started at the viaduct end and are working our way along towards the control panel. There is still much to do on this section of the build and I am extremely grateful to my friends for helping me today and explaining and demonstrating how all of it goes together. 

 

Hopefully, another solid days work will see this part of the build complete - then it's time to plant more trees along the front!  

 

Cheers, Nick 

 

 

[Crocodile414]

Evening All, 

 

The catenary is now complete and has been tested with numerous locos with different pantographs. Thanks to my two very good friends for spending two days stringing it all together and soldering everything in place. I can safely say I've learnt a lot about how it all goes together!! 

 

I've also been adding the extra bits to the switching tower - this was quite a challenge as Sommerfeldt didn't provide any specific instructions, just some pictures too follow. I've therefore made my best interpretation from the pictures available. 

 

Further trees have been planted along the front of the layout but plenty more are still required! It's amazing how many the space uses up. 

 

Two weeks to go until the first show at Penarth https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/23704-BarryPenarthModelRailwayClub_Exhibition . We're hoping to have a test run next week. Many evenings have been spent adding the various additional pieces to the rolling stock where possible. 

 

More news soon.

 

Cheers, Nick 

[Crocodile414]

A video is coming soon..... Intensive test running is currently in progress. 

 

We'll be at the Penarth shown on 2nd and 3rd July https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/23704-BarryPenarthModelRailwayClub_Exhibition

 

Cheers, Nick

[PaulRhB]

It’s looking ‘cool’ Nick 😀

[Crocodile414]

2 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

It’s looking ‘cool’ Nick 😀

That's the idea! We have discussed putting a dry ice machine underneath the layout! 🤣

[DGO]

Assuming it's set between mid December and the start of April there really ought to be at least one person carrying skis, if you go to Arosa for skiing you get a discounted fare on the RHB I believe this year for example if you have a valid ski pass travel from as far as Tiefencastle to Arosa is free, and the Swiss will often go for a days skiing if they have a day off, I once saw a  person getting on the train as Basle at 5:30 am wearing ski boots and carrying skis and they went all the way to Lauterbrunnen which they reached in time for breakfast (I know because I got to Wengen in time for my breakfast and was on the ski slopes by just after 10am) 

[Crocodile414]

5 hours ago, DGO said:

Assuming it's set between mid December and the start of April there really ought to be at least one person carrying skis, if you go to Arosa for skiing you get a discounted fare on the RHB I believe this year for example if you have a valid ski pass travel from as far as Tiefencastle to Arosa is free, and the Swiss will often go for a days skiing if they have a day off, I once saw a  person getting on the train as Basle at 5:30 am wearing ski boots and carrying skis and they went all the way to Lauterbrunnen which they reached in time for breakfast (I know because I got to Wengen in time for my breakfast and was on the ski slopes by just after 10am) 

There are 3 figures near the station building carrying ski's but I may not have got them in the shots! 

[Crocodile414]

As promised, here is the video of some of the test running. 

 

 

You'll have to excuse the traffic noise and the lighting. 

 

Remaining jobs to do are to glue to gutters and downpipes on one of the buildings and attach the station name signs. 

[DGO]

15 hours ago, Crocodile414 said:

There are 3 figures near the station building carrying ski's but I may not have got them in the shots! 

Ah yes I see them in the new video, looks like they are in danger of missing the train LOL

[Keith Addenbrooke]

15 hours ago, Crocodile414 said:

As promised, here is the video of some of the test running. 

 

 

You'll have to excuse the traffic noise and the lighting. 

 

Remaining jobs to do are to glue to gutters and downpipes on one of the buildings and attach the station name signs. 

I think this is a stunningly good layout - and as an exhibition layout I hope it will be a fantastic advert for the hobby and for modelling Swiss metre gauge railways in H0m.  I love the attention to details, and for me the care taken over the catenary has given the whole project quite a ‘Wow!’ factor.  I note the thread began almost exactly three years ago (although the baseboards must predate that a bit), which is helpful to know as I’m still trying to get properly started with a layout.  Thanks, Keith.

[Crocodile414]

6 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

I think this is a stunningly good layout - and as an exhibition layout I hope it will be a fantastic advert for the hobby and for modelling Swiss metre gauge railways in H0m.  I love the attention to details, and for me the care taken over the catenary has given the whole project quite a ‘Wow!’ factor.  I note the thread began almost exactly three years ago (although the baseboards must predate that a bit), which is helpful to know as I’m still trying to get properly started with a layout.  Thanks, Keith.

Thank you so much Keith for the kind words. 

 

I've just checked the construction photos, the first piece of wood was cut on 9th Feb 2019! We were slightly delayed by the pandemic but I'm very pleased to see it reach this stage. 

 

The entire project would not have been possible were it not for one of my very good friends (who'd had his own HOm layout for many years) helping me at almost every stage of the build from drawing it out full size on wallpaper on the kitchen floor, right up to what you see now. What started as an individuals idea has very much become a joint project. 

 

Cheers, Nick 

[Crocodile414]

Ready for the morning.....and we didn't forget anything! 

 

https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/23704-BarryPenarthModelRailwayClub_Exhibition

 

 

[Crocodile414]

Hi All, 

 

Pleased to report Penarth was highly successful - the worst problem we encountered was operator error and me forgetting to charge the drill up on Sunday which meant undoing all the nuts by hand!!

 

Many thanks to my good friends for assisting me with transport and operation for the weekend. We'll do it all again in about 7 weeks time at the Cardiff show https://www.cardiffmodelrailwayshow.co.uk/exhibitors.asp and then again the weekend after at Highbridge. https://bdmrc.co.uk/2022-exhibition/

 

We also had a visiting loco which did a few demo runs for it's admirers! 

 

Cheers, Nick 

[Samedan]

Crocodile414 an excellent layout. I seem to have missed this thread for a while, so have rapidly come up to date on your progress. I hope we see it further North in the future! 

[Crocodile414]

7 hours ago, Samedan said:

Crocodile414 an excellent layout. I seem to have missed this thread for a while, so have rapidly come up to date on your progress. I hope we see it further North in the future! 

 

Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed reading the thread. We hope to get out and about as much as possible depending on the usual factors. 

 

At present we've nothing really in the North. Our current confirmed exhibitions are:

 

Cardiff - 20th & 21st August https://www.cardiffmodelrailwayshow.co.uk/

Highbridge - 27th & 28th August https://bdmrc.co.uk/2022-exhibition/

Yealmpton - 8th October https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/23363-ChrisCraftsandModelRailways_Exhibition

 

Another one on the verge of confirmation but I won't say until it's certain. 

Cheers, Nick 

[Samedan]

19 hours ago, Crocodile414 said:

At present we've nothing really in the North.

I don’t know if the SRS AGM is going to be in Crewe again in 23 or back in Derby? Might we see you at either? 
Wigan is a brilliant, big but spacious show and then there’s always the Warley NEC of course! 

[Crocodile414]

4 hours ago, Samedan said:

I don’t know if the SRS AGM is going to be in Crewe again in 23 or back in Derby? Might we see you at either? 
Wigan is a brilliant, big but spacious show and then there’s always the Warley NEC of course! 

 

I've no idea about the SRS AGM at the moment. As for the others you've mentioned we don't currently have any invites for any of them. The layout is naturally still fairly new to the exhibition scene so hopefully we'll be going for a while yet! :) 

[Kenbj]

Hi Nick

Any exhibitions in 2023 with the layout?

[Crocodile414]

1 hour ago, Kenbj said:

Hi Nick

Any exhibitions in 2023 with the layout?

Hi,

 

Our only confirmed exhibition at present is Lydney on 23rd & 24th September. 

 

We've been asked about several others but no firm invites have been received so far. We've also had some potential enquiries for 2024 but again, no firm invites at present. 

 

Cheers, Nick

[Crocodile414]

Evening All,

 

A long time since the last update mainly because I've moved house again,  and secondly due to the layout not having any invites since Tolworth last November. 

 

With our only 2023 appearance at Lydney fast approaching, we thought we'd better have a test run. Everything worked fine but we were having trouble with the draw runners which the traverser sits on and weren't able to consistently get it to reach the outermost tracks. After taking the deck on and off several times we are currently running experimentally with the 2 outer runners only. Following at bit more fine tuning with a planer and some wd40, it seems to be behaving itself for the moment....fingers crossed it continues to do so. 

 

If any of you get to Lydney, please come and say hi, details are in the link below.

 

https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/y2023/25504-ForestofDeanModelRailwayClub_Exhibition

 

Cheers,Nick