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Bregenbach im Schwarzwald - in the hills of the Black Forest


Les1952
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FOUND IT!

 

For this to make sense I need to explain that Fleischmann point motors have three wires, hellbraun and dunkelbraun (shades of brown) for switch left and right and Schwarz (black) for common return or earth. I'm extending the two browns with brown and yellow respectively if the wires from the points don't reach.  It doesn't help that I used black and red for the power to the track before the first electric points arrived.  It might have been wiser to use blue and pink but it was too late to change.

 

The wires for the left-hand point didn't reach so I've had to replace the black connection, moving the place where the wire from the point met the common black to a piece of copperclad glued to the underside of the board (I've run out of tag strip).  It was previously on its own connection on a tag strip.  Still a buzz when the earth was connected via this, BUT the buzz ceased when I cut the wire leading to the tag strip from the common black return.  All the other point motors on this board have their black wires on a different tag strip.

 

Looking closely there was an oily sheen between the tag with the black common (earth) wire and the brown direction feed on the next tag.  Not a wire short, but some form of conductive liquid.  All motors now fire correctly but it is too late to wire in the feeds to the motor for the left-hand point.  I will do that tomorrow.

 

Meanwhile the rails have been cut between the boards on all tracks.  the gaps are a little wide in places but everything runs across without problem, other than a satisfying click.  There are one or two clicks elsewhere where I've left a little for expansion (my excuse) so it looks like this "private" cross-country line still has jointed track to go with its increasingly elderly collection of locos.

 

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These are the joins in the most visible positions.  They are slightly wider than they should be as the centre trestle has closed up a bit meaning the layout is presently slightly high in the middle.  I should be able to disguise the one in the station with a lift-out board in front of it over the board join.  The front one may need similar.  These are also the three tracks where catenary needs removable sections.

 

Another elderly loco coming - a BR142 Holzroller  (East German E40) in DB red.  Several of these were sold off by DB at the end of their careers and are still running with private operators. 

 

More later.  The Pink German ballast still hasn't arrived.

 

Les

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A pair of pics showing that the other points on the switch bank on this board actually work- they are only switchable electrically as turning the motor upside down means you can't reach the point lever any more.  It does have the advantage that it can be ballasted over- when the ballast arrives.

 

At the left the main comes up the bank as the front one of the pair of tracks while the other two roads feed the industry.  To the right the front line is the main and the rear is the loop.  Note the Dapol magnet embedded in the trackbed, an absolute b*** to cut out - and this bit of track is the second attempt, having wrecked the first.

 

A little historical this as I've nicked the point on the left rear to work in the fiddle yard.

 

STEP FORWARD - THEN BACK

 

I got the new wiring in to the relaid end of the fiddle yard, and ordered a replacement left hand point from Osborn's to put in on the top level.   It worked- ONCE!!!!!

 

The left hand point then fell apart convincingly- its mechanism disintegrated.

 

It was, however, a secondhand point.  ANOTHER new left-hand point ordered, this time from Gaugemaster with next-day delivery.  They are, at least, hand points (which are a lot cheaper).  The motors are still in situ and wired in, so when the points arrive they can just be clipped into place.

 

Backscene next, and finding a suitable sub-base for the first of the plaster bandage banks.  I've now ordered the Veissmann signals from DM Toys.  Hopefully I've ordered enough- no doubt someone will tell me about a movement I've forgotten.

 

Les

 

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ONWARDS AND.... ONWARDS

 

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First a pic of the longest coaches I have being propelled up the grade into the upper station. Definitely too sharp a curve as they come through the hole, but buildings (now sourced secondhand via eBay) should hide that.  They won't go in until the line below is finished to the stage its catenary can be installed for access reasons.

 

This train is five cars long and quite happily ran round the entire layout with an electric loco at the back.  The track may look rough in places but stock is staying on.  Just awaiting (still) the ballast to improve it.  Access Models reopens on Monday, so I'll be able to get the right paint for the rail sides and make a start on track weathering.

 

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The first section of the paper backscene held in place with pegs while I work out how much hole to cut.  Note these three were all taken before I nicked the left-hand point from the top level- they are a little out of sequence.

 

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Pegs gone and the backscene held in place with glue.  It certainly makes a difference already.  Unfortunately it is Bavaria rather than Baden but with a suitable foreground it can work.

 

I've a supply of A4 notepads that are well printed and fairly useless as notepads, so pages from these will be placed in front of any backscene area when I'm painting or gluing in front of it- I needed a hot air balloon to hide a paint mark on Hawthorn dene, and Croft Spa has a couple of suspiciously tall trees for the same reason.

 

The grass field on the right is a little to large and close for my taste, so there will either be another layer of backscene in front of it or, more likely, it will be mostly lost behind buildings and trees.

 

All for now.  Next job is to find the bowl I used last time I soaked plaster bandage.

Les

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THE NEW ENTRY

 

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New points, new motors and at last all working.  Wiring removed from the bank behind.

 

BREWERY BUILDING

 

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Two buildings arrived in the post from Gaugemaster- not the cheapest place to get them from but they had them in stock.  They arrived in the same post as the replacement point for the fiddle yard - see above.  This one claims to be a UPS distribution shed and has decals to prove it.  The walkway along the front is old Tomix pavement left over from Furtwangen Ost.  The sprues from this are being used to support the plaster bandage between levels.  Hopefully the point from Osborns will arrive tomorrow and I will be able to start positioning the second building.

 

More eBay purchases- a set of used buildings that will either fit the space in front of the main running line, or be cut to fit, or go back on eBay.  These should arrive in the next couple of days.  What HASN'T been dispatched yet is the flexible plywood to finish the other end of the backscene.  

 

Some major running to do over the next couple of days to ensure all five fiddle yard roads will accept any train in any direction, i.e. soak test the new point.

 

Les

 

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MOVING ONWARDS

 

I found in the buildings bits box a leftover piece of Faller goods shed - the rest of it became the loading dock on Furtwangen Ost.  There was also most of an American warehouse that had done service on a US shunting plank back in a year beginning with a one...

 

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Both are missing bits.  This is a trial fit to see if they will work in the space.  Between the two tracks is to be a building from Piko, which will get started as soon as I finish the Faller one. I think that will need a little trimming from the corner of its base to fit between the tracks.  I will also have to build up the ground level behind the current cork and add another very short straight to the rear siding.

 

A GLACIER?

 

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The first stage of plastering, with a gradient that looks too step for comfort.  However it does cover up the mess I made of this end of the viaduct so that is one major improvement made.  When it dries I'll need to patch one or two bare bits before it gets a coat of green acrylic as a base for the grass etc.

 

Note in the top of the pic the latest loco addition....

 

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A Brawa Holzroller, aka Class 142. This sets the period as between reunification and 1999, probably nearer the latter as an attempt seems to be underway to find a home for an about-to-be-withdrawn loco.  Definitely a rule 1 loco.  I can't find out whether these had electric brakes or not.  If not then they would have been considered unsuitable for this line with its steep gradients- 1 in 25 actual on the layout.  Not as steep as the nearby Hollentalbahn with its 1 in 19, but bad enough.

 

This loco is secondhand and already DCC fitted.  I suspect it is hardwired as there is no indication on the box that an interface is fitted.

 

MORE BACKSCENE

 

This bit seems out of a logical sequence but is pushed ahead early because I want to get the valley with its basic scenery done ready for the overhead wires on this bit (which need to be in place before the end tunnel can be constructed).  It is also partly because there is STILL no dispatch date for the rest of the bendy plywood and because the whole five foot length of the backscene on this board is too difficult to apply in one piece- too many changes of level and four holes for trains.

 

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It certainly makes a difference.  Too much close-up grassy meadow to hide- I'm going to need an awfully large number of trees for this lot.  Some adjustment needed to the line below before final gluing in place- I can see a dog leg here. The viaduct also needs a second go with a damp cotton wool bud to get the plaster splashes off.

 

Next steps are

 

1. To do the bank on the other side, 

2. To roof the Faller building and decide whether to add the other two bits to it

3. To get the ground level under the Faller building raised to track level, and

4. To do some trials of wires across the board join at the front.  I can't cheat this one so there will have to be removable/demountable wires.

 

Hopefully the point from Osborns will arrive shortly, with the ballast and the additional switch.  Not to mention the plywood orders, both bendy and "rigid".

 

Plenty to do.

 

Les

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THE OTHER BANK

 

The run of bank along the front will have to wait until the signals are installed as I need access under the top level to wire them in.  However the bank to the right of the bridges can go in before the backscene is in place along here. if nothing else it will help define the bottom edge.

 

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First a pic showing how I've used Tomix sprue instead of chicken wire to define the gradient.  The black stuff is bits of Ten Commandments stock boxes, the big ones from the OO boxes and the small ones from the N boxes.

 

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I mentioned sacrificial paper earlier. Here is the sheet covering the backscene where I'm going to plaster next.  Hindsight says I need two sheets as a little damp got through but the backscene underneath is still the right colour.

 

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A valley of white showing I still have a slight dogleg to get sorted.  Some damp on the bridge deck to smooth out, and I will need to clean white blobs off the viaduct and track.

 

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The whole area, again before cleaning.

 

Next step here is colouring it- out with the acrylic paint tubes.  A dose of green or greeny brown will make a real difference.

 

More to come, including a couple more videos to process.

 

Les

 

 

 

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MORE LINING UP

 

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The roof is now on the modern building.  Looking at it I like the older building beyond it but I think the blue shed can go back in the box.  I'll extend the loading platform so it runs the length of the two buildings.

 

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Test piece for the removable wires at the board join.  The Somerfeldt masts look the part and are metal and therefore strong, but the wires of the same make aren't going to work across the join.  I'll have to make special pieces of Hobbex wire to do the job.  In the mean time the two masts can stay in place while the platform is added and the ballast tried.

 

Nothing to report at the other end, the plaster is still drying and the bendy plywood is in transit spomewhere.

 

Les

 

 

 

 

 

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COLOURISING STAGE ONE

 

Time to play with the acrylic paints and get some ground colour to lay the grass on to.  the grass is never going to be as green as on the backscene, but that will largely be hidden.  As alweays I squeezed far too much brown onto the palette and didn't have enough yellow handy - think the yellow tubes are in a box I left at the club room.

 

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Too dark under the left hand arch but one or two bits that will look OK if they show through the grass.  Still shows that I've not yet tackled the view through the holes in the backscene, and the white rail showing through on the right has been added to the "to do" list before I fit the next picture backscene panel.  I'm still waiting for the other bendy plywood- it is now marked as "dispatched".

 

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Looking the other way.  the colour may be wrong so far but it does make the valley more alive.

 

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A close up of the viaduct.  The brown face on the right will have to become rock- it is too steep for grass. the bit of coping still needs gluing down.

 

FOLIAGE 

 

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Last one for today.  Access Models has reopened, with a magnificent home-made Perspex screen around the till (Steve is an engineer) and a red and green light system on the door to tell you if you can enter or have to wait. I do still have some pine tree armatures left over from Furtwangen Ost.  These will give me the first thirty of the fairly large number I'll need.  I'm starting from the back and working forwards so these will be nearest the backscene with bespoke ones in the highest profile spots.

 

Hawthorn Dene having only two trees and two banks of big bushes on the whole layout was able to have purely bespoke trees.  Similarly the three trees on NO PLACE were all high quality bespoke trees.  This layout needs a lot- exactly how many I don't yet know, but to use high quality ones throughout would bankrupt me.  I've ordered one group of three bespoke trees so far.  How good these are will partly decide how many more I can have.  The rest of the decision will be on price and location on the layout.

 

One change from the ones on Furtwangen is that I'm not going to use the Woodland Scenics glue.  Furtwangen's trees shed their foliage in exactly the way pines don't.  These will have their foliage attached with Gorilla Glue from the start.

 

More anon

Les

 

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FINAL LINEUP FOR THIS BIT

 

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I've got the ground around the two buildings basically level- just needing to put some more appropriate ground covering in place.  I've also extended the loading platform to the rear of the old building and glued the two together.  there is a pack of used industrial buildings due- partly to cut one down to go in front of the main line.  If there is anything suitable to extend these buildings to the right I'll use them.  If not, a car park and road access will be needed.

 

The curved line to the front will need moving slightly forward to make enough room for the other brewery building, on which construction has now started.

 

A5 SHEETS ARRIVED

 

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The pack of five A5 sheets of 3mm ply has arrived, giving me a fighting chance of putting in small pieces of ply with straight edges.  The first one shown here has formed the front of the end area, hiding the entry to the fiddle yard, and has had the advantage of strengthening this end of the backscene.  I also have a solid piece to attach the sub-board in front of the high level line, and the extension to this which will make the tunnel for the lower line.  However the scenics on the front of the slope and the catenery above the track need to go in first.

 

I didn't buy enough sheets but the second batch should arrive before I'm ready for them, together with some A4 pieces.

 

Next time, a look at the first grassed area (hopefully)

 

Les

 

 

Edited by Les1952
"strengthwening" - why can't my fingers spell?
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MORE ARRIVALS

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A big batch of secondhand industrial buildings has arrived in the post.  The one I thought might go in front of the tracks as a view blocker is too wide, and narrowing it failed to work- it is still too wide and out of proportion with the rest of the area.  Of the rest, the small grey building and the two tanks are useable, and one or other of the two brown single storey buildings.  The two two-floor brown ones are also too big for the site.  Three brown buildings to go back on eBay as a set, one set of bits for the club sales stand next April and an unpictured Backmann whistle generator which might go back on eBay or might go to club sales.  

 

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The signals have also arrived from DM Toys in Germany- nobody in the UK seemed to have the combination I (thought I) needed.  Looking at them the 4415 is a bit OTT, and the 4412s should possibly have been 4411 which doesn't have the amber aspect.

 

To make the 4412 work with conventional electrics I'm going to need a DPDT or SPDT switch for the red/green aspects and a separate on-off switch for the ambers.  The 4418 will cover access to the factory, and the other three are for the upper station.  There was also a nice German-language book in the packet as a freebie.  This has a colour page showing what aspects show for what job.  It also told me where they are relative to the track - as I'd suspected they are to the right.  

 

I've ordered a 4411 starter signal to go in the station so there are two tall signals at each end.

 

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One of the 4412 signals planted at the viaduct end of the station.  The second one will be planted in the hole the white gubbins has crept into.  However I'll get this one wired in before I plant the second one. This one is to control the exit from the loop.  The second one will do the same for the main.  I need to order a couple more DPDT switches and some tag strip.

 

Les

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ANOTHER ARRIVAL

 

I had decided that the top of the bank at the viaduct end of the layout needed a big black forest house to put the whole thing firmly in the right area- one of the buildings from the Volksbauernhof museum would fit the bill perfectly.  Looking for the kit online (eBay first to hit the Paypal balance before spending real momey) I found this one ready made and off someone's layout in Germany.

 

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I'm all for using something someone else has made well, especially if it is the building I wanted (or one of two possibilities).  The far side has a ramp up to the upper floor for the animals.  I'll get the backscene done round it (when the bendy ply arrives) and then build up a bank on its left and bed it in properly.

 

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A pic showing the replacement pointwork in the brewery area and the likely line-up of the buildings behind the rear siding.  I think the tanks may become either white or silver. The BR78 is parked up as it shed a buffer somewhere round the layout and I need to be reminded what it came off when it turns up.  To the left the base of the front building.

 

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To go with the finished pointwork, now all working, a pic of the final version of the switch bank at this end.  The oversided wonky screws were what i had in stock and do the job.  They are on the side the punters can't see. 

Numbers 1 to 5 are the fiddle yard rear to front, M is main line up top, L is loop, F is Factory.

 

The signal switches for this board will be installed to the immediate left of this, on the grounds that there isn't really anywhere else to put them.  I've got an order in for tag strips (twice after I realised the first lot were coming from China) and DPDT switches.  Also on order some more A5 plywood pieces.

 

Time to stop.

Les

 

 

 

Edited by Les1952
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FIRST GRASS

 

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It still needs a lot of work but the first layer of static grass has worked well.  Shopping list for the next visit to Access Models includes more 2mm spring green for the mixture, which is distinctly darker than the grass on the backscene.  I've still not stuck that coping together- it is still on the "to do" list.  That white area just through the hole must be attended to.

 

IT HAS ARRIVED!

 

I thought I'd ordered a single 2 feet by 1 foot sheet of bendy plywood.  What has appeared is five A4 pieces, much harder to bend but a lot less cutting needed.

 

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The first piece has gone in, with a sharpish turn at the end of the previous section and a gentle curve through this sheet.  The base of it is a little on the high side so at some stage I'll bank up in front of it .  The Black Forest gateau house has a ramp at the left side so the scenery will need to reflect the slope of that ramp.

 

Trains now disappear properly.

 

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The wood in place to match the corner.  There will be a step in the backscene so that the two ends are at the same height.  Hindsight says- why didn't you use your spirit level?  Answer- I'd forgotten I had it....

 

There will be a high level piece covering the low level line - once the overhead wires have been installed on this piece.  However the grass either side of the line through the valley, and more particularly the ballast will need to be done first.

 

Next job at this end is to get the paper backscene installed so I can work in front of it.

 

Les

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A BIT OF BALLAST AND SOME PAINT

 

At the third attempt I've got some ballast that looks to be about the right size and colour.

 

Fleischmann's ballast was small enough but too uniform a mid-brown.

The Noch ballast I thought I used on Furtwangen Ost was a nice pink colour but considerably too course.  It will do for filling in holes and making sub-layers, though

Finally I've gone for the Gaugemaster brown, mixed with just a little grey left over from Croft Spa.  It gives about the right shade for the area.

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This is the first scattering to try out the colour when set.  I'm happy with the colour and with the particle size.  Next step is to paint in between each pair of sleepers with pva and trickle a few grains of ballast onto the glue.  A task that will take forever, so a little bit each day.  Note just how difficult the plaster spillage is to cover over- I'll need a few more goes to get it how I want.  This is the bit of line that has to have its ballast completed so I can put in the overhead.  When the overhead is done the tunnel offscene to the right can be done.

 

Note also that I've painted the stuff just beyond the hole black.  There will be some more ballast in here, and a false backscene to hide the hole, plus plenty of trees in and around the viaduct.

 

FIXED IT

 

OK, so I've been promising to do this for a while, but I've finally got round to it.  

 

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The offending piece of viaduct setting now it has been glued together.

 

NEW TOY

 

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Definitely a rule 1 loco is an Arnold E04 (104) 1-C-1.  It might fit with a scenario that the independent Bregtalbahn bought DB hand-me-downs.  I'd not spotted the missing buffer- time for another buffer-hunt I think.  The missing one from the BR78 has been reunited with the loco and all four now firmly glued in place.

 

Next bit is to do the rest of the paper backscene, and while it is drying get on with the brewery yard and retaining wall.

 

I'm still waiting for tag strips and swtiches to arrive so I can do the signals, and for more A5 plywood sheets.

 

Les

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visitor.jpg.00cedb08fc042dec9b174d0c9c8b2f4d.jpg

 

I'm also getting a visitor, a little too regularly.  Next door's kitten has finally had his jabs and been allowed out- everything is just too exciting.  It is too hot to keep the shed door shut, even with the window open, so it is mostly a case of talking to him and threatening to pick him up and cuddle him.  He found his way into the boxed-up Hawthorn Dene, so I've had to put up a better barrier to the inside there.  As he gets older he'll remember that cats don't like garden sheds- he exited very quickly when he dislodged one of the metal trestles which clanged noisily at him.

 

He IS making himself useful under the bench as a hairy duster- he has come out from the confined space behind the freezer twice covered in cobwebs.

 

Les

Edited by Les1952
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PICTURE BACKSCENE EXTENDED

 

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Held in place with pegs while I tried (and failed) to flatten out the creases.  The piece on the far right will eventually have land in front with the lower line in tunnel.

 

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Glue dried and pegs removed, the creases are still there but nothing I can't hide with suitable trees.  I've also had a first go at the white showing through the hole where the line over the viaduct exits.

 

I'll use plaster bandage to re-form an embankment in front of the scruffy line in the foreground, and I have some suitable stuff for rocky outcrops by the girder bridge pillars.  I want to get the valley ballasted and grassed with the overhead wires in place before doing too much here in case I box myself into a situation where I can't reach the bit I want to do next.  It is only 14 inches from the baseboard front to the hole where the trains leaving the viaduct pass through the backscene.

 

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Meanwhile the first pair of Woodlands Scenics pine trees are ready.  I decided only to do a pair of prototypes and let them dry before trying any mass production.  These are stuck to their bases for stability but will probably end up behind the brewery where their bases can't be seen.

 

All for now

Les

 

 

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While waiting for the tag strips I have made a start on the signal controls.  I can't connect them up until I can do the middle, but at least I've worked out what aspects need to be shown.

 

1004064901_signalboxstart.jpg.4af907e7d0742b44837cbb27a6cbe87c.jpg

 

This panel will control the two signals at the viaduct end of the upper station.  There will be a centre off DPDT for the red and green aspect of each with a separate on-off switch to allow the signal to show amber.  The DPDT in place will control the main.  the loop will be controlled by the other pair.  Wiring will start as soon as the tag strips arrive- and the first lot are now overdue....

 

BREWERY WALL

 

 

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I've made a start on the wall that separates the brewery from the descending main line- as with the other end the ground this side of the main line can't be done until the overhead wires are in place along the front. That in turn needs the embankment behind to be finished- which can't be done until the signals are wired in and working.....

 

However there is nothing to stop me getting on with the brewery.  The Piko building is ready for its roof and verandahs and the levelling up of the ground is progressing.  there will be two trees behind the back pair of buildings- not room for any more, and probably a line of trees along the end with plenty more on the ground in front of the main line.  New beer van from Arnold and a Modellbahn Union graffiti covered van beyond it.  The BR78 is back again.

 

Next stage here as well as finishing the wall is to ballast the track in front of it and do the rail sides to disguise its Fleischmann origins.

 

968348753_nexttrees.jpg.4fb3ed54e7a17ced4b161898c9ed12f1.jpg

 

Trees three to six- no I'm not going to photograph each group as they are made.  The difference with these compared with the last lot is that they aren't glued to their bases so they can be poked into the ground on the slopes. One of the two tall ones here has been earmarked to hide the crease at the far right of the backscene.  I just wish Woodland Scenics did a little more variation in their dark greens.  I may experiment with a later batch.

 

All for now

Les

 

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GETTING TOWARDS COMFORT ZONE

 

As most of my readers know anything that involves right angles is difficult as my dyspraxia means I don't recognise right angles or verticals when I see them, or even after I've measured them for that matter.

 

Getting the kit built structures for the brewery complete and managing a laser-cut curved viaduct that I can make look the part even with all its defects has been a bit trying- likewise the ability of inanimate objects to fail to cooperate at any given time is more than a bit frustrating.  BUT - I'm getting towards the light at the end of the tunnel.  The electric points all work.  Trains run round without falling off, though an odd coach here and there dislikes certain other odd coaches here and there...  On to the scenic bits and bringing the layout to life

 

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The two main brewery buildings are in place and I'm happy that wagons can get past and the locos will couple up to them.  The wall is coming along - the first two sections of coping are in place and the first coat of stone applied.  Ground cover behind the wall will be ballast- grey with odd black stones here and there.  In front the main line will be pinkish brown.  Note I've got some of the bits between the sleepers ballasted.  With weathered rail and ballast on the outside of the rail the Fleischmann origins will be disguised- and there will be view blockers in front of the main line.

 

 

MORE SACRIFICIAL PAPER

 

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The black foam rubber is to give a bit of a base for the bank next to the house.  All ready for getting plastered  plastering.

 

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The extra plaster giving a higher ground level up to the backscene.  The flat area in front will have the house sitting on it, and the white slope near the centre is the bank beside the ramp to the upper floor of the house.

 

Still plenty to do, but getting there- and the pine tree count has reached double figures...

 

Les

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A LAYER OF COLOUR

 

coloured.jpg.a952dc062d366d34d0f2797489f529dd.jpg

 

Not the best colour but a decent bed for the static grass and for the house to sit on.

 

 

THE BESPOKE TREE

 

 

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This is a bespoke pine that I got for the front of the woodland.  It looks OK but at £7 per tree I'm not sure there will be any more.  I'll just add more detail to the Woodland Scenics ones ath the front- some variation in trunk colour and a little lightening towards the top.

 

 

VISITOR

 

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WD 90098 of the Croft Spa fleet was on the work bench for a minor service (lubricating the valve gear and wheel cleaning) so I thought I'd give it a trial round the layout.  With three beer vans in tow it managed the clockwise circuit without derailing but struggled with the 1 in 25 on a curve. Anticlockwise (the opposite way to the pic) it derailed on the three-way point and couldn't pull its train round the bend by the brewery - that bit is 1 in 25 on a radius 1 bend at one point.

 

Just as well most of the fleet are heavy Bo-Bo electrics with traction tyres...

 

MORE NEW ARRIVALS

 

1102076417_newcoaches.jpg.e53edd7b0b38e54b36b9454785987bc2.jpg

 

A pair of Arnold centre-entrance coaches, though there are two of the blue and beige composites.  These arrived with a Bm234 by Fleischmann in green, a Roco parcels van and another pair of wagons.

 

 

742367059_trainintb.jpg.938473da4c4666697a47d7380991a64f.jpg

 

The turquoise and beige coaches at the head of a rake hauled by a turquoise and beige Class 110.  Unfortunately they don't like staying coupled to it.....  I feel some modifications coming on.  The view of the viaduct is improving, though the station area is still waiting for me to find suitable buildings.

 

The post this morning brought the tag strips I've been after, so the signals can now be wired in.. But first some grass to do by the big house.

 

Les

 

 

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TREES AND GRASS

 

464894813_corneredtrees.jpg.ea79bb9588d6db8138c8f12431abe8b3.jpg

 

The trees here and the start of grassing round the big house have the advantage of hiding creases in the backscene (smoke and mirrors but green) and making a start on sorting out ground levels.

 

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More grass done and a zig-zag path is starting to appear leading up to the house- it will need an occupation crossing (or the German equivalent) at the bottom of the hill, though sod's law says that a mast will appear in the middle of the path....

 

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Some more grass of the loose static and the clumpy static varieties going in around the bottom of the viaduct, though there is still a lot of work needed to get it looking good.  Some more white to remove around and under the arch.

 

BREWERY SURFACE

1878932230_cornerwithtrees.jpg.2b2551aa4d63768a9d8b4c4fe1543e8f.jpg

 

The two trees on the right have been stuck down while the single one on the left is a trial fit- there is still some ground work to do at that end before the buildings and trees are stuck down.  The ballast is stuck down and is level.   Next here is to put an end on the wall and extend the line of it with security fencing- I have some left over from Furtwangen Ost, though it might not be enough.

 

ANOTHER NEW ARRIVAL

 

I bought an ocean blue and beige 141 secondhand on eBay.  Although listed as DCC I got it a price that screamed "Analogue" at me- and the catalogue number was that of an analogue one.  On arrival it is analogue.  I already have a red one, but never saw red 141s in service.  Plans A and B were best described as follows-

 

A- swap the bodies and sell an analogue chassis with a newer red body (already done with a Hobbytrain 110.3)

B- keep both

 

On arrival it is analogue, so Plan A it is.

 

1639393584_new141.jpg.c4907b300688fae5d08aa44981cbf0bd.jpg

 

So here is Frankenmonster II.  It just needs me to get round to replacing the red crests with blue ones.

 

Next job is to get the first two signals wired in.

 

Les

 

 

Edited by Les1952
typos...
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I've just looked back at the date the boards arrived - MAY 18th.

 

That means all this lot has been done in six weeks.

 

 

...... no wonder some of it looks scruffy.

 

 

By comparison Furtwangen Ost took me a bit over six months to build, Hawthorn Dene and NO PLACE about eighteen months apiece, and Croft Spa nearly two years.

 

 

Just for the sake of completeness, the other Frankenmonster.

 

110_315-9.JPG.cfdb717903c3c682d598f582d368e850.JPG

 

Chassis a Hobbytrain E110.3 originally red.  Body off an earlier, analogue only E110.3.  The red body on the analogue chassis sold very quickly on eBay.  The Red 141 on an analogue chassis also got a bid quickly.  So why I can't I get a bidder for a brand new Minitrix 139 in green that is DCC compatable but not compliant?

 

Les

 

 

Edited by Les1952
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FIRST SIGNALS WIRED IN 

 

The two starter signals at the bridge end of the station are now wired in- and working.

 

The loop signal wired up first- this took the whole day as the complete gubbins had to be figured out and wired back to the 18V ac input to the layout - nothing sophisticated like using DCC or computers to do it - I had enough of programming  teaching electronics then computer studies and finally ICT for 37 years- not to mention 37 years of teaching physics....

 

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The first signal at stop and at go. These are wired to a centre-off DPDT switch so I can switch it out when playing or test running.   However, using a second switch there is an amber aspect on the signal. The signal at this position should only show red or green.

 

1307514587_amberfirst.jpg.f00e2a3181dd7b1cdfe24b2b4c35698d.jpg

 

In the position I've put the signals here they shouldn't be able to show amber.  It is an on-off lamp and It will remain off most of the time.  I MAY be tempted to use it as a signal to draw forward onto the bridge to reverse onto the other track and hope nobody notices......

 

1914147677_light2planted.jpg.05ff677c2681b50534e9b4e043df86fa.jpg

 

The second lamp has been planted ready for wiring in.  This one controls the main line- the other the loop.  German signals are situated to the right of the line.  Again it is a start signal but has an amber aspect it should not display in this position - a consequence of buying two of the wrong signal and only finding what I SHOULD have bought when I opened the free book on German N-gauge trains DM Toys sent in the parcel with the signals.

 

twogether.jpg.dc7ec9400772992e585efeb9e1bb4dab.jpg

 

The pair together- a train is signalled to leave the main line and head down the valley while the loop is held at red.  Wiring in the second signal took about an hour as the switch feed and common return from the signals had already been wired in.

 

223248366_bigsig.jpg.3710727f32a2f19b912b86a73a737005.jpg

 

Lastly, the first signal for the other end is now wired in.  This will control the exit from the main station line for trains going down the hill past the brewery.  Note it is two signals on one post. The lower one is a distant.  Wiring this one in can wait until after the next scenic bash while I make the switch panel for this board and get a set of control wires and a common power feed wired to the back of them, this time BEFORE I fasten it down so all I have to do at this end is pass wired through the board top and connect them at the far end- which will be a lot quicker - he says hopefully.

 

All of the wiring on the viaduct board is now done so I can get on with the embankment at the front.  Next instalment- more icebergs........

 

 

Les

 

 

 

 

 

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Can all your trains get past the new signals? The one with the shunting head looks to be in the danger zone for long foreign coaches/railcars/wagons - but it might just be the angle of the picture.

 

 

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On 04/07/2020 at 17:38, MrSimon said:

Can all your trains get past the new signals? The one with the shunting head looks to be in the danger zone for long foreign coaches/railcars/wagons - but it might just be the angle of the picture.

 

 

 

I tested it before gluing it in place- everything passes with a millimetre or so to spare.

 

That "shunting head" is a distant signal.  It shows two greens for next ahead clear, or two ambers for next ahead not clear.  As I discovered this one having each lamp wired separately the top can show amber plus green and the distant below can show one green and one amber, which the book says is "Fahrt mit Geschwindigkeitesbegrenzung erwarten"  So there!

 

It has eight connections to wire up, deep joy to come....

 

I have also discovered that the amber on the stop signal is for the display Hp2, or pass at 30km/h, ie a shunting signal.  So green + amber at the bridge end will allow me to use the viaduct as a headshunt provided I ignore that there should then be two more lights on the viaduct itself for the return movement.

 

 

1103298803_frameagain.jpg.5437bfb09a0b2eceb456c2a14e93fe59.jpg

 

In the mean time, now I don't need to wire behind it,  the sub-frame for the next area of plaster has been stuck into place, together with some real stones around the ends of the girder bridge.

 

Short progress tonight- the next batch of pics need resizing and a little cropping so will go up later..

 

Les

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MORE GLACIATION

 

... and I've run out of plaster bandage, a shopping task for the weekly shop- call in at Access Models to see if Steve has any, or if not pay through the nose at Hill's art shop.

 

699414572_newglacieragain1.jpg.6572cbbef1a0071722fd9fb6f4b36ecb.jpg

 

the whole section to the baseboard join plastered.  I'll not paint right to the end just yet so that I can go across the join with the colour once the other side is done- and that won't be until after I've wired in the rest of the signals.

 

1168779281_newglacieragain2.jpg.47c263d5fd8f8f89c0d7cf4d91c3e327.jpg

 

Looking the other way- the last roll I had in stock was a bit coarser than the others- this one is a Hobbycraft roll, the others unbranded ones off eBay bought when our local shops were all locked down.

 

I've gone onto the front panel a little- there will be a plywood facing applied once all the messy stuff is done.

 

1148803025_rocksbyrail1.jpg.1df20236719ef0479b8dbcd7da5bb81c.jpg

 

At the end of the embankment by the bridge abutments I've embedded some real stone, which when foilaged, should actually look like stone outcrops (he says hopefully)

 

There didn't seem a lot of point in painting the girder bridge while I could still get white splodges on it,

 

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Latest arrivals from China are some smaller tag strips - remarkably quick to come as they claimed a delivery in September for them...

 

Also some cheapo pine trees. When straightened and planted they will look all right mixed in the woodland in the background. I'm still thinking of ways of getting the Woodland Scenics trees to look better.

 

MORE COLOUR

530990328_anotherlick.jpg.786cb9f058c1ae72febb76e84bdd50b0.jpg

 

Looks better than white - just- now ready for some static grass to be applied. 

 

All for now.

Les

 

 

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I spent some time yesterday evening watching a drivers-eye video of the Hollentalbahn on YouTube.  Very interesting.  Some points struck me -

 

1.  the rocks around the area are largely darker than I've collected stones so far- the next foraging for stones will need to be for darker ones.

 

2. The trees are a bigger variety than I've got so far- including the dreaded bog-brush firs.  The colour is a little lighter than the Woodland scenics pines, about the same as the cheapo Chinese ones I got.  

 

3.  There is a lot of vegetation very close to the track, and in 2011 a lot in places growing ON the track- perhaps some static grass in places as in Furtwangen's tramway of Hawthorn Dene's colliery line- useful to know.  Grass might be better than ballast at hiding splodges of stray plaster.

 

4.  for a 2011 video the train engine (or at least the one on the front) is a turquoise & beige class 139.  The two trains passed were both topped and tailed by class 143 in Ruhr area livery- two 4000hp locos on a 4-coach train.  That is useful to know as it does allow me to have 2 coach trains as prototypical- now if I can just get topping and tailing to work reliably....

 

Definitely things to think about.  The Hollentalbahn is a bit steeper than my Bregtalbahn (1 in 16 against 1 in 25) but the principles are fairly similar as it is the next major valley to the South..

 

SOME PROGRESS

 

With railway club restarting, weekly shopping and getting a haircut (an hours wait but worth it) not a lot done.  One interesting (to me therefore boring to anyone else) aside is that last time I went to the barber just before lockdown I'd drawn cash and paid him with the first note out of the wallet.  Today I paid him with the next note out of the wallet - 14 weeks on....

 

378267267_advancingoverheads.jpg.e447a3f3dd4e67a002e5bf31d8059c50.jpg

 

The overhead is now advancing down the valley with rigorous testing using classes 110.3, 104, 141, 142, 193 and the Kaiser Taurus to check functionality and alignment- the 141 first as it is the most forgiving.

 

100338392_grassyembankment.jpg.07c1b34569c14ebbf910b0b36f167e28.jpg

 

Static grass on the bank and both sides of the line on the incline.  Not yet vacuumed up as the vacuum cleaner needs its battery charging and is refusing to play until it has decided it has been given a full charge.

 

2043422491_viewblocker.jpg.4df0595c9ce2d4275f6efc6116a6533b.jpg

 

Now the wires are in and pantographs are following them I've put in the view blocker for the back of the valley.  Plenty of trees needed here to try to darken the approach.

 

1196622416_viewblocker2.jpg.5d9fb9f765da1e2a9546d2758c6cef5b.jpg

 

Punter's eye view from the front looking over the vioaduct.

 

734881299_viewblocker3.jpg.c501f7f0603ed0f5b04245a2e609570f.jpg

 

the "how I did it" pic- 3mm ply glued to the back of the riser and a piece of timber at this end with a printout of part of the Black Forest Pritt-stuck to it.

 

More later- next instalment should be the signals at the factory end of the station.

 

Les

Edited by Les1952
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