Jump to content
 

Chandwell - N Gauge 1990s city viaduct


Chandwell
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 16/06/2020 at 14:14, Hector Lawn said:

Hi Michael, 

 

What a great idea for a layout! Love your work on the tunnels, bridge and viaduct. Some very neat looking work there. 
What plans do you have for the station end?

 

Regards

Hector

 

Thanks for the good comments, everyone! It keeps me going. The station end is a bit up in the air at the moment. But broad plans include a lot of tall warehousing/industry behind the station. I am torn between one long mill/works-type building like you see behind the station at Doncaster, or more individual buildings all crammed together in layers to give the impression of a large complex that may have grown up over time, or then again... something akin to the faded grandeur of the Little Germany quarter in Bradford. 

 

Then... the station building itself will be ultra low-relief on the right.

 

In front of the tracks will be more station buildings, parcel office etc. and then the high street descending the hill towards the first wide arch. This will have a large hotel, probably based on the Scalescenes kit, but built around a 90 degree curve - a crescent hotel like you see near the station in Leeds, and on the main street of Illkley. The backs of these buildings will back onto the already-laid cobbled backstreet below the station.

 

I'm starting on the station area next year probably, and expect it to take all year - I don't get much modelling time, and this layout is going to be about 85% scratch-built buildings. 

 

I am starting the road bridge that will go over the river this week, and next month, probably the river itself.

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 18/06/2020 at 18:40, 87023Velocity said:

Hi Michael,

 

Just to echo the above comments, looks stunning and has the feel and atmosphere of the area you mentioned.

Any plans for Transpennine mk2's and 47's?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

Thank you Simon! I'm pleased the feel is of the area I was aiming for. Up to now I've just been using old locos and stock that have survived the 25-30 years since my layout as a teenager, but my thoughts are starting to turn to updating things a little.

 

I remember travelling the Settle-Carlisle in blue & grey coaches hauled by a class 31, so I've got one of those and a rake of Mk 1's on order, as a start. I have an ancient large logo Class 47 so a rake of mk 2s would look great behind that.

Link to post
Share on other sites

So after finishing the viaduct build last week, my attention has turned to the next project.  I want to get the river finished this year, so it makes sense to move onto the next bridge. This one will be an old road bridge that will carry the road that passes under the skew arch in the viaduct, here:

 

319603AB-F07A-4462-B2B5-D13B565C2D17.jpeg.cf1b4273e35041ae9af5e86e2e24f4d8.jpeg

 

I am going to base the bridge on one in a town near me, Otley. It was built in the 11th century and has a lot of character. It is a very low bridge which will suit my layout well as I want the road to be lower than the bases of the arch workshops to the right, and to ascend towards the back of the baseboard. 
 

I have a small challenge though as the road leaves the baseboard at 45 degrees to the front, and I only have space to model a quarter of the length of the bridge. This means it will be chopped off at 45 degrees in the middle of one of the arches. I have worked out how to build it so that this will be ok. Here’s a mock up I made:

 

E41FF1CF-14F9-48D5-8379-A2AF79082D7C.jpeg.addfa4ccc6a3102ad6318f85738092a7.jpeg

 

The design of the bridge is progressing. I use the application Inkscape to do my builds. Here is progress so far. I found an excellent PDF document online from a survey of the bridge done for Leeds City Council who is responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, so I have the exact measurements of the parts that I need.  There are also loads of pictures of the real thing online, so I should be able to make a good go of it. 
 

2020-06-22_08-37-48.png.2ee497cfd5b56d84278da9c084b99ee3.png

I made a video this week of how I use Inkscape in my scratch builds to show some of the absolute basics of the application. It’s below if it is of any interest. 
 

  • Like 7
Link to post
Share on other sites

This week I had intended to carry on building the road bridge, but it dawned on me that before I can add the road surface to the bridge, I would need to know how I would get the road off scene into the backscene. And to work that out, I would need to know what I was doing with the backscene!

 

I did a lot of reading around here, and watched a few YouTube videos, and eventually settled on something that I think may work. A draft mock up certainly looks the business through the arch:


24299FEC-D915-4BB5-A6B7-7C723DA590DF.jpeg.09ec620bf057b0be7f344f9a4cd3e69e.jpeg

 

Moving through the arch and from side to side, a true 3D effect can be seen. It’s not perfect but it looks as though it will work...

 

C437AB7B-4D6D-40E9-B5E5-667D68EDF537.jpeg.fd9d711ae3e3a150cc38bf0ee718d856.jpeg

 

On the other side of the tracks, the street maintains a feel of 3D when the camera is placed into it:


9F3605C0-AEE8-40FD-A3A2-F01AD34B5FE6.jpeg.112d0075847a12800662bdb9eb0c9765.jpeg

 

So how I have decided to do it is to have 5cm of baseboard dedicated to the transition to backscene. I am using a kind of forced perspective to ease the transition. 
 

The road is curved to a point and will curve upwards too by a centimetre. 
 

9611C5F1-94E7-4256-8901-E070D29F95CD.jpeg.544da25cf4634a93f347e91336e58815.jpeg
 

The backscene will comprise 3 layers of 2D prints, each one progressively desaturated towards the rear to give the impression of distance. 
 

The street will comprise photos of receding buildings, but arranged at an angle to the road so that the road goes into the street and maintains a kind of 3D visual. All of the angles are “wrong”, but the effect works when seen in the flesh. 
 

The effect breaks down when seen from above, but in time, there will be other buildings and roofs in place to lessen the weird impact. 
 

3FEABC2F-20A5-4773-9227-199854063533.jpeg.c447716bea5d819b6ee156dc60a90eb8.jpeg

Hopefully next week will show the end result. 

 

 

  • Like 10
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi,

Your backscene construction is interesting complex and time consuming. If you can pull it off, as I'm sure you can, it promises to be stunning. Good luck with pulling it all together.

Cheers

Duncan 

  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I hope I am not jumping the gun, but I think this just might work...

 

”Real” building on the left (Scalescenes) followed by a 50mm deep montage of three pieces of folded card with photos wrapped around them. Road is just a straight piece which curves round to a point and goes up hill by 2cm to give the impression of distance. 

 

4021C727-D432-4446-8679-645394952130.jpeg.d9c8038bd91f117da55085479ad20b17.jpeg

Edited by Chandwell
  • Like 8
  • Craftsmanship/clever 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have finished the road and I think it has worked really well... I am pleasantly surprised because I just made it up as I went along. The overall effect looks great to the naked eye.

 

F4C79F78-CDEC-45C5-A18C-0AEC47D9C9F7.jpeg.42325bb047161a39926fd59e62a106dd.jpeg

 

 

FD18CC9C-312F-44F6-9543-9872D6701EE5.jpeg.f6adaf06a0ce915dc41f232b17b7e4b2.jpeg

 

It even works from different angles, albeit to a lesser extent...

 

C0EF1C54-2615-47E1-9FDC-8BA22E4C546D.jpeg.ec457f52ce8264694b298dd77c25fe64.jpeg

 

You can see the technique when looked at from above:

 

9A2EFB36-6513-403C-B5D4-4F5EB2A91824.jpeg.d5ae0ea46256d77b440bf4ca461a02d4.jpeg

 

As part of this build, I also made a start on the backscene itself, which I made from layers of buildings:

 

7BFDA17F-33ED-4F8A-AFFC-C3387D56A52F.jpeg.8aac2134b026e8abbaba8eae330a34dc.jpeg

 

I made a video of the build as usual, and it is here. 
 

 

2ABACDC5-0DF1-44BA-9AED-F3B5819EA4C2.jpeg

  • Like 7
  • Craftsmanship/clever 11
  • Round of applause 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 22/06/2020 at 09:02, Chandwell said:

So after finishing the viaduct build last week, my attention has turned to the next project.  I want to get the river finished this year, so it makes sense to move onto the next bridge. This one will be an old road bridge that will carry the road that passes under the skew arch in the viaduct, here:

 

319603AB-F07A-4462-B2B5-D13B565C2D17.jpeg.cf1b4273e35041ae9af5e86e2e24f4d8.jpeg

 

I am going to base the bridge on one in a town near me, Otley. It was built in the 11th century and has a lot of character. It is a very low bridge which will suit my layout well as I want the road to be lower than the bases of the arch workshops to the right, and to ascend towards the back of the baseboard. 
 

I have a small challenge though as the road leaves the baseboard at 45 degrees to the front, and I only have space to model a quarter of the length of the bridge. This means it will be chopped off at 45 degrees in the middle of one of the arches. I have worked out how to build it so that this will be ok. Here’s a mock up I made:

 

E41FF1CF-14F9-48D5-8379-A2AF79082D7C.jpeg.addfa4ccc6a3102ad6318f85738092a7.jpeg

 

The design of the bridge is progressing. I use the application Inkscape to do my builds. Here is progress so far. I found an excellent PDF document online from a survey of the bridge done for Leeds City Council who is responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, so I have the exact measurements of the parts that I need.  There are also loads of pictures of the real thing online, so I should be able to make a good go of it. 
 

 

 

But is the bridge open????

 

I live near Otley and every time it rains local social media is full of people asking 'Is the bridge open'. Its rare that it isn't!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, TomJ said:

But is the bridge open????


Hahah! It does flood a lot! It’s a really low bridge. It made modelling it a real challenge as it looks waaaaay too small. But I’ve double checked the measurements and it’s right. Maybe I should model the water up to the parapets! 
 

93948B05-F30A-4D7B-A147-D970BF79B085.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd say it looks spot on - and I drive across it every day! I don't think it looks to small at all. I presume the Wharf was never navigable at that point so no need for a higher bridge?

The water level is very variable, I think due to the weir for the old paper mill. There's always a fair amount of debris and trees washed up against the bridge. Or you could dump a shopping trolley for added authenticity

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 05/07/2020 at 18:26, TomJ said:

I'd say it looks spot on - and I drive across it every day! I don't think it looks to small at all. I presume the Wharf was never navigable at that point so no need for a higher bridge?

The water level is very variable, I think due to the weir for the old paper mill. There's always a fair amount of debris and trees washed up against the bridge. Or you could dump a shopping trolley for added authenticity

 

That's right, I guess. There was never any waterside industry up in Wharfedale so there was no navigation. I found an exellent document about the bridge including its history. I never realised that it is one of the oldest bridges in England - built in 1228 and then widened in 1776. If you look underneath it, you can clearly make out the two halves. The 18th century half has a ribbed underside. The walkway was added in the 1950s, cantilevered into the main structure. Fascinating stuff - I've driven over it so many times and never given it a thought.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I finished the bridge. The starlings (cutwaters) were a real pain to do and I am not too happy with them. From a normal viewing angle they look ok though, and on the whole, I am happy with how the bridge has turned out. It suits the character of the layout. 

4FFB0BB4-178C-4FF6-9299-F5618115D0F3.jpeg

DE1A0498-B5E5-49A3-A569-5CE605B5C3AF.jpeg

D05A796C-C945-4F5A-A69F-CD95D9912BB5.jpeg

  • Like 11
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
  • RMweb Gold

Hi Michael,

 

Great video and really good job with the warehouse.  Just a quick suggestion:  I usually print textures/scalescenes artwork straight onto self adhesive A4 sized labels.  This saves a lot of glueing and mess - especially in N!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I just wanted to say i have learned a great deal from your uploads.  I'm going to make the best job i can of the pretty famous three arch bridge near Gleneagles.  Lots of excellent tips.

 

 

This is what i'm aiming at.  I'm using the pretty poor plastic kit as a base and intend on cladding it using some of the process you 

 

You wouldn't happen to know who might produce the best red sandstone print that might get me somewhere close this would you?

20201015_111659.jpg.98a17109c1b7a42c88472161d98c4cc8.jpg

 

Thanks 

Claggy

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 21/11/2020 at 12:33, Clagmeister said:

You wouldn't happen to know who might produce the best red sandstone print that might get me somewhere close this would you?

 

There are a few textures on the Scalescenes website which may work... https://scalescenes.com/scratchbuilders-yard/ They have Red Ashlar, Red Coursed Rubble, and Red Squared Rubble. If you're up for making your own, give textures.com a try - I use that site for some of my builds.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 20/11/2020 at 18:14, Ben A said:

Hi Michael,

 

Great video and really good job with the warehouse.  Just a quick suggestion:  I usually print textures/scalescenes artwork straight onto self adhesive A4 sized labels.  This saves a lot of glueing and mess - especially in N!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

 

I've heard this a few times, Ben, but always shied away because... well, no reason. So this time, based on what you said, I took the plunge and wow - much better! No waiting for the glue to dry before starting cutting. However, I didn't choose wisely and the print quality on the ones I got was not good enough - very blurry ink bleed. But perfect for structural elements. I've now ordered a pack of photographic A4 labels, which I hope will be better! :) Thank you for opening my eyes at last to this!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...