Bayerndorf im Tirol

[Mike at C&M]

With the dimensions of the churchyard now decided, a secondary frame is built whose size is millimetres smaller than where the churchyard wall will stand.

 

 

 

The upper frame has recesses cut within it so that it fits snugly on to the lower frame, and it will ultimately be glued into place.

 

 

 

The church will not be fixed into place, so that any repairs that may be needed in future can be carried out by simply lifting it off the layout.

 

Next stage is to fit the foamboard sections to carry the churchyard walls.

Edited April 2, 2017 by 87029

[Mike at C&M]

Even with pre-ballasted track, ballasting the trackside and the '6 foot' is one of the most laborious and boring jobs there is! That is all!

 

 

 

[Mike at C&M]

The churchyard progresses almost as slowly as the ballasting!

 

 

The base for the churchyard was cut and glued to the frame. Small pieces of additional foamboard were then glued to the main structure which would carry the walls. I didn't want the churchyard to be flat and level, so a small section has been lowered, and the level of the walling reflects this. It rises from right to left as you look at the front.

 

The polygonal hole in the base mirrors a hole in the bottom of the church, and will allow the wiring for the lighting to easily positioned through the frame.

 

 

 

The lowered section at the front right of the churchyard is clearly seen.

Edited April 12, 2017 by 87029

[Anthony566]

I have to agree the station building looks fantastic. ..... and i really do like the low level photos.

[Mike at C&M]

Slow, but steady, progress on a number of projects, including the interminable ballasting!

 

 

The outside wall is now finished, although the entry gate is not fitted into place yet.

 

The steps to the lower level are glued into place, which has allowed the walling here to be built.

 

The plastic strips in the background position the church, but I will need to experiment to see how light tight it is - not a job which will be easy as it is now light here until 10 o'clock in the evening!

 

 

The walling for the lower level is made from Metcalfe walling. It is cut to shape, and then wrapped around a 1/32" strip of Balsa wood.

 

 

With coping stones still to be added, the walling is now in place.

Edited May 21, 2017 by 87029

[duff man]

Hi Mike .

Nice to note some progress, keep it coming before it's too hot in the loft. I have the reverse problem, because the layout is so large we have to work outside and the weather has been useless although it's a good forcast this weekend.

Craig.

[Mike at C&M]

One of my preferences for the layout is a small number of larger buildings, rather than lots of small ones. A perfect example of this is the Lagerhaus (Warehouse). 

 

 

The kit used is the Kibri Lagerhaus, which has been in the range for many years. Indeed, my building has been built for probably 15 years now, but I just haven't used it! As will be seen from the pictures, a number of minor repairs are required, which some Plasticweld should sort out.

 

 

My building uses three of these kits. The main part of the building uses three separate kits joined together. As I remember, there wasn't much carving required, except for the roof sections. The joins between each section are disguised by the dark grey vertical cladding between the adjacent pairs of sliding doors.

 

The tower has also been heightened. This time it is the horizontal grey stripes that hide the joins.

 

 

It is not intended to glue the Lagerhaus into place, and it is held in position by cutting away the ballast shoulders on the RocoLine track.The cut is exact so that the unloading platform fits snugly into the cut-away, and so it is positioned to give a realistic distance between the platform and and wagons that are unloaded.

 

 

The trackside view. The ballasting gangs are currently progressing along here towards the station.

[Mike at C&M]

On 03/07/2011 at 21:42, Mike at C&M said:

At last, my layout will be fully useable in the coming weeks.

     Does 509 weeks equate to "the coming weeks"?

 

     After the layout had to be partially dismantled, The past couple of months have seen:

- The boards re-erected

- Track re-instated where it had to be lifted

- Layout thoroughly cleaned, including the track.

- All point decoders have been tested and they now all work. There was some wiring which had never been completed previously.

- All the signals now work by digital switching, subject to a few tweaks to achieve exactly what I want as regards aspects shown. Another project which had never been completed before.

 

      A stocktake of rolling stock is under way, including fitting decoders to locomotives bought recently. Also, everything is being re-boxed rather than being scattered around the attic in drawers, boxes or loose on the layout.

 

    Hopefully, the re-opening of the shop next week will not prove too onerous, and slow but steady progress can continue.

 

    Trains have been run, and the purists amongst you are more than welcome to squirm at the following picture of the 're-opening' trains.

 

 

[Mike at C&M]

On 24/10/2010 at 16:19, Mike at C&M said:

 

 

 

One of the problems with operating the fiddle yard is knowing what trains should be stopped where. The view of the operator is from the left hand side, and not from an elevated viewpoint.

 

So when I was offered a batch of (cleaned) coffee stirrers, I had a 'Eureka' moment.

14 holes and 14 stirrers placed therein indicate the stopping positions where a train will not foul the exit pointwork from the fiddle yard.

 

There is still a degree of randomness to which tracks their positions relate to, so a piece of numbered card placed on the top of each stirrer shows which road the stopping point relates to.

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Mike at C&M

[Mike at C&M]

For an alpine-based layout, it has been somewhat lacking in Alps.... until now.

 

There is limited potential for meaningful backscenes due to the slope of the attic roof. However, one side is a huge chimney breast which was crying out to be covered.

Faller backscene "Karwendel" is from close to the area I am modelling, so I chose this. Because of the limitations of the attic hatch opening, this would have to be mounted on a series of small boards, and then "wrestled" into position. Deluxe Materials Backscene Glue did it's part very well, but the difficulty of using many small boards and having to twist and turn it into position has resulted in creases, in addition to several noticeable air bubbles.

There is a narrow gap between the layout boards and the chimney breast, and the backscene slots down into this gap, resting on a number of pieces of wood which are screwed across this gap on the underside of the baseboard. The length is a snug fit between the two beams, and a couple of well placed screws holds the backscene vertical, and prevents it tipping forward.

 

 

[Vecchio]

7 hours ago, Mike at C&M said:

One of the problems with operating the fiddle yard is knowing what trains should be stopped where. The view of the operator is from the left hand side, and not from an elevated viewpoint.

 

So when I was offered a batch of (cleaned) coffee stirrers, I had a 'Eureka' moment.

14 holes and 14 stirrers placed therein indicate the stopping positions where a train will not foul the exit pointwork from the fiddle yard.

 

There is still a degree of randomness to which tracks their positions relate to, so a piece of numbered card placed on the top of each stirrer shows which road the stopping point relates to.

 

 

 

I like the little Liliput draisine you have in your station. The Austrians also call it "postbox" (Postboxes are yellow in Austria). I purchased a basic version some years ago and upgraded it to sound and stay alive. The soundfile was free on the zimo website. (you need an MXULFA to load sounds yourself) The interesting thing about the sound is that the original uses a standard lorry engine and gearbox. Means it shifts why accelerating. Works aboslutely great after the changes!  If you are interested find some material here.  The new connector making life difficult is the next 18 by the way...

 

[Mike at C&M]

Time for one final watch of those Youtube videos showing how to make a static grass meadow.

[Mike at C&M]

 

 

With a big thank you (irony!) to our immediate neighbours on the terrace for telling us that as of this morning, the builders are on site to completely replace the roof next door to us! A hurried covering up of the layout will hopefully protect the layout which has already received a coating of dust.

 

Replacement bus services are not available, as I can't remember which box I have put them in within the attic!

[Mike at C&M]

It could be worse.

 

Still to investigate why, but the backscene became dislodged, and split where the tape was not strong enough to hold the two halves together. I will need to reposition the backscene on it's mountings, and it will get 'fixed' to the attic beams at either end.

 

Plenty of dust came down, but the newspapers covering the layout did their job. Thankfully, nothing too large came down to cause any damage.

 

Worst task is going to be clearing the spiders webs. They were obviously disturbed by the work going on on the neighbouring roof, and have registered their displeasure by spinning lots of webs around the apex of the roof and the Velux windows.

 

[Mike at C&M]

At last, grass is beginning to grow.

 

 

One area that required some careful thinking was the farm track that will lead from the road up the slope to the back door of the barn.

 

Rather than scrape away the grass once it had been laid, instead I cut out some thin plastic sheet and taped it to the painted landform. In order to prevent the 'breeze' caused by spraying the layering spray from lifting this plastic, I laid some bolts on to it. Once the grass had been laid, the plastic was then lifted to reveal a still clear area which will have gravel and short grass laid to imitate a farm track.

 

 

 

 

The one down side of this, anyone want three grassy bolts?

 

[Mike at C&M]

This week, I have mostly been doing grass, in the attic

 

 

 

There is some damage from the collapse of the backscene to repair. One of the overhead span gantries has two broken supports, and the road bridge railings will need replacing. Also the backscene needs "tightened", so some strategically placed holes and taut string will be put in place. But as said previously, it could have been a lot worse.

 

The next job is one that may work perfectly, or be a major disaster.

      The board upon which the farm building stands is a 'scenic island'. It can be removed to provide access to otherwise inaccessible parts of the layout. The grassing (deliberately) was done across the join in the boards. And now, I will have to gently take this board away whilst disturbing the grass as little as possible.

     In the pictures below, the first picture shows the 'scenic island' as (roughly) the white area where the bare plaster bandage is, the second shows the grass in place over much of this board. Eagle-eyed viewers may see some nails sticking up which show where the border is. The area behind the DB InterCity train is painted plaster bandage, and awaits it's static grass.

 

Fingers crossed that all will go well.

 

 

[Andrew P]

It looks like a nice area and plan, and reminds me of a Bedroom Layout 10.5ft x 12ft I built back in about 91, I hope you don't mind, but here are a couple of photos, of photos, all pre digital of course.

It was due to go into Continental Modeller, but they lost the paperwork unfortunately, (still I'm in RM next Months with my British O Gauge).

Seeing your pics and Stock is so tempting.

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Andrew P

[Mike at C&M]

On 20/06/2021 at 16:49, Mike at C&M said:

The next job is one that may work perfectly, or be a major disaster.

 

Delighted to report that this went very well. Once the 'scenic island' is re-instated, a light covering of the meadow grass mix will cover the join nicely.

 

Lots of other jobs now await before the grassing machine comes out again.

[Mike at C&M]

The muse has struck again, after a few months away from the attic.

 

I have decided to work on the countryside corner first, with the first task being to build a scenic 'island' that fits into the furthest corner. The first picture shows the gap where this fits (behind the VT11.5 power car), and shows as the white modroc-ed area in the later pictures.

 

Noch beech trees have been bought to go next to a country lane that will travel across this section. Some re-contouring has been done so the lane will not run on a ridiculous slant and so the alpine haylofts can stand on relatively level ground.

 

Plenty to do, and looking forward to getting the static grass down on this area.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Mike at C&M

[Mike at C&M]

A week at home, and with plenty of preparatory work done over the past few weeks, my hope is to get all of the corner shown in the last post fully sceniced.

 

The scenic island at the back had it's plaster bandage painted green, so the base colour for the static grass was in place. The whole lot was cleaned with a mini-hoover, which just succeeded in blowing plaster dust everywhere! Not something I wanted to achieve.

 

 

A country lane will run across the back of this section. This will be done with a fine 'ballast' stuck down with Deluxe Materials "Ballast Bond". To allow this lane to be clear of grass, a path of masking tape was lightly stuck where needed.

 

 

Alpine meadows usually feature haylofts dotted around them. Two of these will sit next to the roadway, to enable the farmer easy access to them. I was all ready to sort out lengthy grass tufts to sit next to these when I checked some pictures of the prototypes on the internet - farmers tend to cut their grasslands tight up to the haylofts, so I will need to put the static grass right up to the side of them, but avoid covering the side of the haylofts in grass.

 

My thought was to wrap the hayloft in sellotape, put the grass down, and then remove the sellotape. Will it work? The lofts are held in place with "Tacky Wax"

 

 

A couple of sections of the country lane need to be slightly wider. The entrances to the haylofts, a place for a livestock trough and a seat, plus an area for storing logs. These areas were also masked off.

 

Behind the lane will be a rustic countryside fence with some beech trees interspersed - the prototype was seen near Brixen im Thale in the Austrian Tyrol. A rough check was done to see how this would fit.

 

 

First day of the week off, and the static grassing has started on the railway side of the lane. Most of this is simply covering a large area.

 

 

And what has happened with the haylofts as the static grass was laid around them? As this is written, they bear more resemblance to Cousin It from the Addams Family, but the coverage of grass up to their walls looks about right. Once the sellotape around the haylofts is cut away, I will then see if my idea has worked.

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Mike at C&M
Correcting grammar

[Mike at C&M]

Ta! Da! The sellotape is now removed from the haylofts, and I am delighted with the result.

A little filling in of the grass is desired, but the buildings are free of static grass.

 

 

One aspect that has definitely not worked is where the background trees are to be placed.

 

Using Noch trees, they come with a small plastic base which can be stuck to the scenery - I had "Tacky Wax" in mind. A small circle of cardboard was cut to the size of the tree base, and by inverting a screw within this card, I could simply lift the screw/card upwards to leave a bare spot to stick down the tree within the newly laid static grass. Wrong!

 

Even having put in something to level the place where the tree was to be planted, it wouldn't stick, and the tree base does not sit down in the grass, especially the large chestnuts at the back corner. Some thought required as to how to get around this.

 

 

Happy with the progress made thus far.

 

The project will not be able to be completely finished during my week off, as I do not have enough chestnut trees to run along the back of this area, but provision can be made for them, when I figure out how they will be fixed into place.

[Mike at C&M]

Static grassing continues, but it has been a frustrating couple of days battling with the trees.

 

 

The smaller birch trees close to the backscene worked better with the technique of a removable card disk to enable the trees to be glued down after the static grass had been laid.

     However, unseen in the picture below is a large bare area by the base of the trunk of most of these trees.

 

     Next job will to be remove the masking tape to reveal the path of the lane. This should yield sufficient patches of static grass to fill most of the gaps at the bottom of the trunks.  (And who left those fence panels sitting on the permanent way?)

 

 

The scenic island has been taken out to enable it to be worked on close-up, reaching across the layout was making working on it difficult.

 

Fixing the large chestnut trees in place is proving to be a major problem, mainly due to poor planning on the contours where the trees will stand. They continually want to lean at excessive angles, and as a result, I have had to build up small level sections for the trees to be fixed to. This will require substantial infill sections of static grass, and how I will achieve this is still being thought about.

 

The country lane section on the 'island' has been laid, after the masking tape here was carefully lifted. Some scenic work on this is still required.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Mike at C&M
Clarifying description

[Mike at C&M]

Steady progress continues to be made. Fencing is going up, gravel paths are being laid and the positioning of trees is being decided upon.

 

 

Progressing down the hill like an Icelandic lava flow, the country lane is almost fully surfaced, and the fencing contractor is working in the other direction.

 

Three Noch chestnut trees are now glued into place. The masking tape which was used to cover the country lane yielded plenty of spare static grass pieces which are held in place by PVA glue around the tree bases.

 

The scenic island will require removal for further work once I get some more of the chestnut trees, but for the time being, it has been put back into it's proper place. If nothing else, I can see how it looks. And I am happy with the result.

 

[Mike at C&M]

In front of the section being worked on sits another scenic island, which has had a partially built barn on it for 10 years plus! The suggestion was made to me that a CAD designed farmhouse is what is needed to marry up with it.

 

Courage has finally been plucked up to start....

 

[Mike at C&M]

At the beginning of my week's holiday, I had 2 goals:

 

- Fully scenic the back corner of the layout. I know I won't achieve this, but progress has been made elsewhere, and once the extra trees and a few other scenic features arrive, then this area can be finished in a relatively short time.

- Run some trains. Might happen tomorrow!

 

The original intention was to static grass up to where the culvert emerges from the embankment, but I carried on to just short of where a road will cross the tracks on a level crossing. This removes the need to take off the front scenic island (not fitted in the pictures) when I progress the scenery further down the board.

 

 

And that concludes the scenic work being done on my week off. I am delighted with the progress made, and happy with the look achieved. FIngers crossed, this builds up some momentum to carry on with further work.

 

 

And to finish, a before and after comparison