SteveyDee68 Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Warehouses, a busy quayside, a grain silo*, dockside cranes, small shunters and short wheelbase stock. All the ingredients for yet another dockside micro! The baseboard is exactly four feet long and was originally seven feet long before being chopped into two sections! This longer section was the baseboard for my loco/wagon works micro DRS Engineering but that is now being built using the shorter piece of baseboard (previously being used for Woodhey Quay). Here is the latest photograph of the board with track laid out as for the wagon works, with stock placed to demonstrate the (as it turned out, incorrect) "hidden" Inglenook puzzle... PHOTO OF ORIGINAL DRS ENGINEERING WORKS TRACKAGE I had added a three way turnout on the left front track so I had another long siding running along the front, but hadn't taken a picture of that! Just looking at the above picture, I thought it looked more like a busy quayside than a wagon works, and so have rejigged the rails about in order to have a siding along a baseboard edge (like Canute Road Quay) but am not yet happy with the track design. I am keeping the interleaved points and crossover (centre of the picture above) but am working on having a clear five wagon run around loop. As soon as I think the trackwork is anything like, I shall update with a photo. I intend to concentrate upon DRS Engineering in its new format, but having a record here to look back on will keep this idea ticking over! HOURS OF FUN! * With thanks to Hornby Magazine for commissioning John Wiffen of Scalescenes to produce the free low relief building in November's issue - what perfect timing! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Changed thread name / restoring photos 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Well, it's the last day of 2020 and yet, despite having so much opportunity to model this year due to the pandemic, a lack of modelling mojo means this micro has progressed not one jot! In fact, it has gone backwards in that the existing track has been mostly disconnected (except for the tandem point and crossing!) and various paper point formation templates have been dumped upon it (detritus from my Broadchurch Marine (now Broadhaven) track planning efforts!) Meanwhile, my efforts to progress my other, smaller micro DRS Engineering have sidetracked themselves into a dockside micro ... because I forgot this was the dockside micro! (Some scenic rethinking for that required, urgently, and get back on track!!) Here's to a much more focused, productive 2021! HOURS OF FUN FOR 2021! Edited January 23, 2023 by SteveyDee68 Typos! Corrected layout names 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 (edited) Progress - of sorts! Earlier today I wrote that DRS Engineering had hit a major snag, in that large tender locos look ridiculous using small settrack points. However, the trackplan I had devised would work as a small wharf or industrial micro, so my attention turned to the four foot baseboard for Blackford Wharf [now Burnstow Dock - do keep up!] with the idea of using that for an extended version of DRS Engineering... I felt just like Miss Kylie Minogue sang in her hit song ... "I'm spinning around..." However, before I completely lost the plot, I took a look at my second hand turntable and decided I needed to do a bit more planning, free of baseboard constrictions, as I wanted to include servicing facilities for both steam and diesel locos and have the Loco Works adjacent (this will be part of my Broadhaven project). So, back to a busy wharf scene... Although I like drawing plans, there is nothing quite as exciting (though also sometimes frustrating) as pushing lengths of track and points around a board to try to come up with something that works! Trying to work an Inglenook puzzle into the trackwork plus a run round loop was proving difficult, especially with my interleaved points and short crossover crossing... Things were not progressing well until I pulled most of the "complicated" point formation apart and moved the short crossover crossing to the opposite side of the formation... If I had had another 9 inches in length, I could have had Reception and Departure sidings long enough to take five wagons and a brake van; as it stands, both easily take five wagons. I have two sidings accessed by the short crossing and a short headshunt (six coupled loco plus one wagon, or four coupled loco plus two wagons), each of which will comfortably hold three wagons each. The other siding off the crossover crossing holds four wagons, as does the wharfside siding accessed off the short loop at front right; however, this is a kickback siding to a longer wharfside siding to the left which hold six wagons, so generally will remain clear. I have loaded up the sidings with wagons to get a sense of stock balance across the layout. I could easily run it as an Inglenook using the three sidings to the front at the right hand side (with "blocker" wagons in the sidings to create the 5-3-3 layout from back to front) or shunt it using "waybills" to deliver wagons to appropriate sidings. Initial scenic treatment visualised is a grain silo at rear right, with a conveyor belt across to the front of the wharf. At the rear left I am imagining a large, concrete beam and brick infill warehouse, with a two storey structure over the rear of the two rear left sidings similar to the overtrack warehouses at Ipswich (or the "Bus Station" kit by Inthegreenwood). Both silos and warehouse are at an angle to the backscene, so flat roofs best to avoid strange angles in the sky. In the centre at the rear there is room for a more traditional brick or stone warehouse, or alternatively dock gates, administrative offices and a hostelry? Front to be finished as quayside, with a suitable portal crane over the front left hand wharf siding. I'll post photos as a record of developments and try to sketch in some scenic ideas. Meanwhile, I shall leave the track as is for a few days and see what occurs! HOURS OF LOCKDOWN FUN IN 2021! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Terminology & typos & yet more typos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 (edited) Today had its ups and downs... In time honoured fashion, the bad news first! DOWNS I had left some lengths of track overhanging the end of the layout board, as I won't trim them until I am certain of the track plan. Whilst moving things around to move a redundant chest of drawers into the loft, I caught said track with my jumper sleeve ... Having swept half of the track off the board and most of the rolling stock with it (fortunately not my Dapol Austerity 0-6-0 tank loco, which I was using to gauge headshunts etc), I now have various repairs to make to at least half a dozen wagons! Not what I was planning for! Furthermore, putting the track back again I noticed that using the 3 way point meant I could not actually properly align the loop (I had eyeballed this up previously, but using a straight piece of track demonstrated that something was definitely amiss!) On closer investigation, I think the left/right arms of the 3 way do not match right/left points*, as I simply could not find a way to complete the loop without compromising what should have been parallel runs of track from L/R points off the 3 way point... Much head scratching, grinding of teeth and contemplating giving up on Dryanuary followed! UPS I decided to remove the 3 way point from the trackplan, and have a compete rethink regarding access to the loop etc. It took a while, and in some ways I have perhaps lost out (no parallel sidings holding five wagons in each to act as arrivals/departures, for example) but the outcome is possibly better than before... The sidings to the rear have remained more or less as previous -- two sidings rear left serving a warehouse, via the short crossing, interleaved points and a short headshunt, and a single siding to the rear right serving a grain silo, accessed via the short crossing off the rear part of the loop. A single long siding runs in front of the loop capable of holding five wagons, and in front of that is a parallel siding/headshunt capable of holding a loco plus three wagons, which runs into a fan of sidings front left which hold three, three and five wagons from rear to front. This means that a self contained 5-3-3 Inglenook puzzle is at the front and I could perhaps wire this to allow a second loco to work independently of the loop and sidings at the rear, for two operator fun! I have left it once again to see how this plan 'sits' in the morning. Fortunately in this version no track is hanging off the board to get snagged! I will photo this tomorrow (how I wish I had done so for yesterday's plan!) and have yet to decide whether the 3 way point might work better for the Inglenook to lengthen the sidings slightly. So, an accident has possibly resulted in a more operationally interesting layout. These days, I think I shall count that as a "win"! HOURS OF FUN IN 2021! * On further investigation lying it on a PECO point template, it looks as if the point has been "trimmed" by a previous owner (it was rescued from a toy fair) - only a couple of millimetres, but that might explain it not aligning properly. Edited January 29, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Update on 3 way point 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) After a couple of days away, I returned to the trackplan and felt the front left hand sidings were just a bit cramped. Shifting bits of track around wasn't really getting me anywhere, until I thought why not use the three way point to access the three sidings at the front - as it won't form part of a loop, it won't matter about the odd angles. The photos show how I have rejiggled the track layout (again). PHOTO OF OVERALL TRACKPLAN I'll draw up a plan and add it below. I may angle the rear left siding around to make it parallel to the board edge to make low relief buildings a little easier to fit. The whole plan could then move backwards about an inch, and leave more room in the foreground. HOURS OF FUN IN 2021! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Additional text after photos / restoring photos 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) Apologies for shadows off the iPad on the photos! Plans scanned for better clarity! Trackplan approx to scale (4ft long in total). The loop is shorter in reality, with two wagons quite a squeeze for running around! MK IV PLAN JPEG Capacity of sidings etc and showing the two Inglenook puzzles built into the design: MK IV CAPACITIES JPEG Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Photo placement / replacement scans 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) Printing out various draft Scalescenes (SS) kits, I've found my drawing above is almost spot on, although I don't think there is room for office buildings given the size of the SS structures. At rear left I have measured for two SS low relief factories; however, I am hoping to modify the kits to create the kind of buildings seen at Ipswich below (centre), with structures over the track supported on columns. Although a flour mill behind in the photo, I will instead have a tall, very low relief warehouse. IPSWICH WAREHOUSE OVER TRACKS (Apologies for not citing the source of the above; if breaching copyright I shall remove) At the right end of the warehouse will be gates giving access to the wharf, before two SS grain silos with a central elevator/loading bay, plus a heightened and deepened SS boxfile corner building will fill the rear right of the board. The boxfile conveyor belt will form a scenic break at the right hand end passing over both headshunts. The wharf will be walled in at the end, with further buildings on the backscene in ultra low relief. The quayside will be simpler than shown on the drawing, hopefully with room for several lighters. At the front left, creating a visual block to the entrance to the fiddle yard, will be an almost full relief warehouse based upon the SS canal boxfile buildings, adapted to fit the track spacing of the three sidings. 5mm foamboard will be used to create the depth required for the wharf. However, I will perforate the foam before gluing, to give extra purchase for the glue (a trick I have picked up off RMWeb!) At that point, I should fasten track down and wire everything up, but instead I plan to construct the various buildings needed, to ensure everything fits with adequate clearances. HOURS OF LOCKDOWN FUN IN 2021! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Andrew D Posted January 16, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 16, 2021 Thanks for the updates - following with interest! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastworld Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 8 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said: Printing out various draft Scalescenes (SS) kits, I've found my drawing above is almost spot on, although I don't think there is room for office buildings given the size of the SS structures. At rear left I have measured for two SS low relief factories; however, I am hoping to modify the kits to create the kind of buildings seen at Ipswich below (centre), with structures over the track supported on columns. Although a flour mill behind in the photo, I will instead have a tall, very low relief warehouse. (Apologies for not citing the source of the above; if breaching copyright I shall remove) At the right end of the warehouse will be gates giving access to the wharf, before two SS grain silos with a central elevator/loading bay, plus a heightened and deepened SS boxfile corner building will fill the rear right of the board. The boxfile conveyor belt will form a scenic break at the right hand end passing over both headshunts. The wharf will be walled in at the end, with further buildings on the backscene in ultra low relief. The quayside will be simpler than shown on the drawing, hopefully with room for several lighters. At the front left, creating a visual block to the entrance to the fiddle yard, will be an almost full relief warehouse based upon the SS canal boxfile buildings, adapted to fit the track spacing of the three sidings. 5mm foamboard will be used to create the depth required for the wharf. However, I will perforate the foam before gluing, to give extra purchase for the glue (a trick I have picked up off RMWeb!) At that point, I should fasten track down and wire everything up, but instead I plan to construct the various buildings needed, to ensure everything fits with adequate clearances. HOURS OF LOCKDOWN FUN IN 2021! A couple of miles down the road to me! It doesn't look like that any more, unfortunately. Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) On 16/01/2021 at 10:41, eastworld said: A couple of miles down the road to me! It doesn't look like that any more, unfortunately. Stu Crikey! Just took a quick look around on Google maps, and you're not wrong! Took a few screenshots for inspiration. Glad to see they haven't 'mucked up' the old customs house! CRANFIELD BROS CONCRETE SILO STREETVIEW PHOTO I can just make out where the conveyor bridge came out! CRANFIELD BROS WAREHOUSE MISSING FRONT EXTENSIONS STREETVIEW PHOTO Outline of the original upper stories, with just the supporting columns left (like dinosaur bones!). At least the building behind gives me a few clues! It does seem like much of the development keeps the 'essence' of the original buildings, skyscraper blocks notwithstanding! Interesting exercise (and I took far more screenshots for reference!) HOURS OF FUN IN 2021! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Photo text - sorting out photos 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastworld Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Have a look too at https://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/layout_canada.html which was inspired by parts of Ipswich Docks Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) On 16/01/2021 at 15:24, eastworld said: Have a look too at https://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/layout_canada.html which was inspired by parts of Ipswich Docks Stu You suddenly got me doubting that what I had identified as the doorway to an elevator/bridge in the first photograph was correct, and that I had been thinking of the above model! Thank goodness that after a further trawl of Google images I finally found the following! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Demned typos! Reloaded image 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) Also stumbled across this image, which I hadn't seen before! PHOTO OF LOADING APPARATUS IN TOWER ON QUAYSIDE Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 (edited) Blimey! Looking at the above photo with fresh eyes this morning, I just noticed the unloading device - like an insect's proboscis - extending down into the ship from one of the tall housings! I had assumed those were simply lustrums for hoists... Every day truly is a schoolday! Having redrawn my trackplan to better reflect the planned building placement/sizes (ready to scan in and upload), I now realise that those buildings should really be against the edge of the wharf at the front, and simply not at the rear covering a couple of tracks. Having said that, I want to keep the foreground clear for uncoupling etc... I'll have to apply Modeller's Licence and have them as overlarge lustrums over the rear sidings. I can see why modelling an actual location can, in some ways, be easier than trying to create something freelance and believable! HOURS OF FUN IN 2021 Edited January 18, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Damn typo!! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enfys_Rainbow Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Some cracking opportunities for scratchbuilding some industrial structures! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 (edited) On 18/01/2021 at 16:43, Enfys_Rainbow said: Some cracking opportunities for scratchbuilding some industrial structures! My original intention was to slightly kitbash standard Scalescenes kits to fit the space... Then I realised that the canal boxfile warehouse (with the hoist over the canal) wasn't going to work as a foreground building ... so used the low relief warehouse at the left rear side to "mock up" a building, using standard elements... Then I asked about the W & H Paul grain elevator in a separate thread (because I was thinking of using the industrial boxfile conveyor and elevator building at the right hand side of the layout, and wanted to 'finish' the structure at the dock edge), and in the process ended up plunging down a new rabbit hole this afternoon, an interesting location called "Wells-Next-The-Sea" ... So, now I have even more inspirational material for my quasi-"White Swan" yard/quayside layout (Woodhey Quay) but that is another story/layout* - I hope to merge elements of Great Yarmouth and Wells-Next-The-Sea to create a more 'rural' quayside layout (and plan to use 5mm foamcore board to build the baseboard, to keep it lightweight), inspired by the likes of Shalfleet Quay, Brewery Quay or any of the wonderfully bucolic and atmospheric layouts by NHY 581 (get well soon, Rob!). So, thinking back to Burnstow Dock which is a far busier scenario like Canute Road Quay, Frost's Mill or Canada Street, I want to create a tall warehouse at the rear left based more closely upon the buildings in the post above. The front left warehouse will be "freelance" based on the canal boxfile warehouse, but I am now investigating whether I might "horizontally flip" the R & W Paul building to create a grain warehouse at the rear right side, rather than using the Hornby magazine Scalescenes freebie "low relief silo" kit (which is actually too shallow in any case!) I redrew my plan to show using the Scalescenes kits - I'll scan that here for reference, but already the building "profile" or "skyline silhouette" will be different from my drawing... SCAN OF PLANNED LAYOUT Hours of fun in 2021 * Is it a common affliction to plan yet another layout before properly starting the first?! Edited January 27 by SteveyDee68 Typos! Grrr! Added scan of plan 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold simonmcp Posted January 19, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2021 That track plan reminds me of ZOB by The Baron aka Brian Harrap. A nightmare to shunt in the case of ZOB as it was three separate gauges and not every siding had all the gauges, also see Quai87 for more quayside inspiration. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) I've taken another look at the Google Maps screenshot showing the rear part of the warehousing on Ipswich Quay, and have sketched out (to size) an impression of the building indicated on the photo. I used standard Scalescenes window elements and used the Low Relief Factory as a template for height of floors and windows etc. By saving as a pdf and then printing it reversed (neat trick I learnt off here the other day!!) I have the bulk of the rear of the building and can gauge how that looks on the baseboard. I don't think I will have room to include the large gable ended building to the extreme right, but hopefully the extension immediately to the right can be. I've not included a hoist tower (the corrugated iron clad structure on the roof) as this won't be a grain warehouse on the layout. From Google Maps: My rough sketch of main features: By printing "flipped" I can create the double frontage. Edited January 20, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Repositioned images 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) Well... Printed, flipped, printed again, stuck together with tape and placed on the baseboard, and it fits nicely, like a decent off-the-peg suit. As I am not striving for absolute accuracy - more of an artist's impression - I realised that the right hand extension section was effectively a third of one of the gable ends, but without the sloping roof at the top. Looking closely, it does appear to be slightly wider between the brick pillars and the central windows, which appear to be the same size as the rest of the building, but who is going to grumble about a few bricks when I can simply print the sheet out again, cut off one third of the building, remove the top gable, and ink in the smaller gable for the front extension? I'm not! And I've done it. And guess what? Now it fits like a bespoke, expensive, made-to-measure suit! Very happy indeed. Next job is to draw up the concrete elevator building for the right hand corner... HOURS OF FUN FOR 2021! Edited January 20, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Why don't typos show until AFTER you press POST?! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Well, posting here keeps me doing a little but bit more to mive move things forward! After creating the full size sketches for the rear building, last night I did the same for the extension structures over the track. These differ from the prototype in that the central doors are now windows, as they no longer open out onto the wharf itself. (I could have the extensions over just a single track, but felt they looked a bit lacking so altered the facade instead.) After scanning, printing and sticking these together, I decided to stick bith both buildings onto foamboard and position them like scenic flats in the theatre, to give me a sense of scale etc. It was only another step to fashion a cardboard roof to an appropriate size for the extension, and a quasi 3D draft could be positioned for effect... So excited, I took a couple of photos to see how it looked. (Excuse the inked in "sky" hiding the mess of reality!) Of course, now I need to foamboard the proposed warehouse at front left, as the photo shows how much paper bows when propped up! I'm really enjoying this process - there is no real detail on the buildings and they are 'sketches' rather than accurate drawings but they are showing me the way forward. I've downloaded Inkscape to do the actual proper drawings - that's another learning curve to ascend! HOURS OF FUN! Edited January 21, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Micking my Urnglish nit zound lick a Fronch Polleasemon! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastworld Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 David Kindred has a lot of photos that you might find useful: See https://www.flickr.com/photos/kindredspirituk/albums/72157635610244053 Stu 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angliacan Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Here are own photos of Stoke Bridge area of Wet Dock Ipswich taken before the quayside track was lifted. I'm local to Ipswich Wet Dock or Waterfront and this is one of my regular allowed COVID Lockdown Boristime Exercise locations so I can take photos if that helps. https://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/dockside-layouts/ Edited January 21, 2021 by Angliacan 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyDee68 Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) On 21/01/2021 at 15:02, eastworld said: David Kindred has a lot of photos that you might find useful: See https://www.flickr.com/photos/kindredspirituk/albums/72157635610244053 Stu Okay, can I just say a massive thank you to both @Angliacan for his photos above, and to Stu (@eastworld) for pointing me towards another rabbit-hole of fascinating historical pictures on Flikr! Those pictures show how the buildings gradually sprawled and how corrugated clad extensions gradually covered more and more of the original buildings. It's also interesting to see how, over time, industrial buildings became more utilitarian in their architecture - in fact, the building I am copying originally didn't have the extensions over the tracks, hence the pillars and windows behind those buildings! In fact, many of the buildings looked "prettier" before R W Paul knocked them down and erected the concrete silos in their place! Also interesting to see fewer "pipes in the sky" connecting various towers and buildings as the years progressed. I am now wondering which buildings to pick and chose... Problem is that there is so much inspirational material to chose from! Maybe I could (one day) incorporate them into the docks section for my planned Broadhaven?! With thanks again! HOURS OF RESEARCH! PS It's a shame David Kindred has blocked downloads of his photos - in their largest format on my 27" iMac, I could have zoomed in on detail to my heart's delight! Edited December 31, 2021 by SteveyDee68 Layout name changes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angliacan Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Here the area at top of St Peters Quay at top corner of Ipswich Wet Dock taken last month. The new Highrise towers are called The Mill & The Winerack, the Winerack was Knickname given by the locals to when work on the concrete under -structure was stop by the late 2000’d crash leave it looking like an oversized Winerack. It has since been finished. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted January 25, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) On 18/01/2021 at 21:29, SteveyDee68 said: Is it a common affliction to plan yet another layout before properly starting the first?! Quite normal. Plenty of prototypes to follow - historians of the big railways just call them “might have been” schemes . (PS: I think this definitely looks like one worth following through with though). Edited January 25, 2021 by Keith Addenbrooke 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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