Jump to content
 

Furtwangen Ost


Les1952
 Share

Recommended Posts

Afternoon all.

 

No pics today- they didn't come out. Kaufhaus building arrived today- a Vollmer kit. I don't know which manufacturer has more minimal instructions, Vollmer or Kibri. Made a start on it and on getting the Town extension sub-board made to go underneath it.

 

Also arrived this morning, more barrels. Eight stacks of ten. Some of these are now in the loading dock- mainly inside so they can be seen through the doores, though I've put two stacks into tthe brewery middle yard.

 

More tomorrow- I hope it will be a longer day.....

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Wednesday- railings and embedding

 

After yesterday, where I wondered what I'd done in the 4 hours work I spent about the same amount of time working today and have the following to show for it..

 

1. Both of the remaining brewery buildings stuck down and embedded into the surroundings.

2. 6 more panels of railing stuck around the brewery.

3. Progress on the bridge (now to be two bridges) over the railway at the town end

4. two more floors of the department store built.

5. Several more railings panels painted on at least one side.

6. The platform of the loading dock cut back where it didn't quite clear the wagon I tested it with.....

7. Posted details and forms for two exhibitions, details if and when confirmed.

 

Not a bad four hours work. here's pics.

 

post-13358-0-50604700-1326296376_thumb.jpg

Brewery top yard with loading dock bedded in- there is still a weighbridge deck to go in here, then a pair of fancy wrought iron gates to find, but they may wait until after Cotgrave show.

 

post-13358-0-41156200-1326296393_thumb.jpg

The effect of six more panels of railings put in, but also showing where they need touching up. This is also the most cruel angle for showing where they aren't quite straight, but they'll do. Grass tramway reservation shows up well.

Edited by Les1952
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

That fencing is really looking the part now. Good progress. I really like the grass on the tramway reservation, have you secured it specially to prevent it getting into the tram mechanisms?

 

Very many thanks for the compliments- the grass is actually scenic matting of uncertain origin that I found lurking in the loft. It must be at least 20 years since I bought it. Cut to shape, tried, cut again, thrown away and replaced etc then fastened down with copious quantities of PVA. At the edges I've used Woodland Scenics, Jarvis and some German (Faller?) scatter of different colours held in with PVA or applied on to wet Citadel "Graveyard Earth" paint.

 

It was vacuumed before letting any of the trams anywhere near it, then a large amount of time spent getting stray glue off the railhead.

 

Fencing just takes time to do, after painting about a doxen posts and/or panels you lose the will to live.....

Link to post
Share on other sites

Productive Thursday

 

Despite an hour off in the middle of the day to earn some money on eBay I got a lot done again- just as well because in a week's time I have three weeks of intensive paid work...

Music today by Mika, then Status Quo when he failed to repel interruptions.

  • The department store is now finished except for the balcony handrails.
  • I've made two more trees and stuck all those already made into position- the trunk bases still need weathering in.
  • I've put the flower beds in front of the brewery with low railings in front
  • More of the edges of grass have been sorted out
  • I've had a first go at some ground cover between the railway and the town wall- if it doesn't work I can always put a better layer over the top.

post-13358-0-77081600-1326382888_thumb.jpg

 

The area in front of the brewery- the flower beds behind the railings work- made with spare flowery flock sprinkled onto very wet "graveyard earth" paint. The railings have advanced by another three panels. House in the background still needs bedding in, and some improving as it is the grottiest of the ready-made buildings from eBay.

 

post-13358-0-32769200-1326382899_thumb.jpg

 

View through the arch showing the walling behind ready for the installation of a footbridge. I've boxed myself into this corner (literally) and will need to make a stone stairway from the footbridge and department store level down to the town below- it will need to be complete as different bits of it can be seen from different angles.

 

I still have a view straight through the railway arch from a little straighter on that I can't do much about- the back of the control panel can be clearly seen. I'll cover it in stone paper to disguise it. Unfortunately it is at wheelchair user and child eye level, like the inside of the shed....

Edited by Les1952
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Friday again...

 

Streaming with cold, music by Status Quo again to repel; visitors....

 

post-13358-0-36866700-1326468512_thumb.jpg

 

All of the railings on the brewery walls are now done. I've also abandoned the idea of doing the rest "municipal blue" as I can't get the shade to work in either gloss or matt. However, I've found pics of grey fencing in Furtwangen itself, so I'll try for a decent gloss or semi-gloss grey. shows also the weighplate. Barrels etc added to the loading dock on the left, and I';' stand a truckload of grain on the weighplate eventually. The plate itself doesn't want bedding in as it is supposed to be just proud of the surface and moveable.

 

post-13358-0-13529100-1326468539_thumb.jpg

 

I've made a start at getting the trees in the back corner bedded in- still some way to go. The hole in the backscene isn't too visible- from this height the buildings are blocking it, and the trees help to shield the view of taller people. I will paint behind the hole green and may yet plant a tree trunk or two to give the impression of there being somewhere else there.... Two horizontals on the backscene are in the "too hard to deal with now" basket.

 

post-13358-0-54301700-1326468525_thumb.jpg

 

Wheelchair users get this view along the top row, though there will be railings at the front to help distract the eye somewhat. Only the far end building is stuck down, and this is yet to be properly bedded in.

 

Still plenty to do.

Edited by Les1952
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Saturday

 

Quite a frustrating day- still full of cold, not really concentrating to the extent that I came back into the house this afternoon with the superglue palette attached to my elbow....

 

Mr Simon was out shopping so I got the workshop today- working mainly on the corner behind the city gate.

Music by Status Quo (again), Mr Simon has gone out now to work on Gresby- he'll put the radio on......

 

post-13358-0-69031700-1326552495_thumb.jpg

 

The gap in the walling is where I'm going to have to build a staircase down- this will test my building abilities, especially as I'm running very short of the Faller walling now. The view is across the rathaus platz, and is similar to the view a wheelchair user will get. Higher angles didn't come out as the winter sun was so strong.

 

Next job is to try to find a pack of 200 cheapo Chinese-made people I bought two years back. They will fill up the town, allowing the "better" figures to be placed where they have the most effect. Most are going to need repainting but some of them will do for brewery workers.......

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Sunday Morning

 

Out in the workshop early this morning- an hour done before Mr Simon got up, then an earlyish finish so he can work on Gresby. Moody Blues and Shadows failed to keep visitors away, result being a glued figure dropped back into the pot of figures.......

 

post-13358-0-44526600-1326636791_thumb.jpg

 

First two floors of the brown Kaufhof building populated- i put tables and an assortment of figures into the second floor, then decided it was too much like hard work so the floor below has a display board made from Faller wooden planking and Kibri and Vollmer odds and ends. The bottom floor is set out as a cafe, so I've put some figures in there, and, as threatened I've divided the top floor into two offices. Still unsure as to whether the boss will be bonking his secretary in the left-hand one (which has a restricted view into it.....)

 

The box of 200 Asian figures (all with black hair!) from China surfaced, and I've spent much of the morning painting some and planting others.

 

post-13358-0-17221600-1326637446_thumb.jpg

 

Its the brewery back yard again. Smokers' corner. The cylinders would be empty of Carbon Dioxide so it is fairly safe. Still some bikes and a little more junk to put in this corner.

 

post-13358-0-29826600-1326636810_thumb.jpg

 

Just about 3 months left to the first exhibition, so time for a progress shot.

 

Time to get some work done....

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Monday- spent detailing

 

A bitty sort of day- all sorts of little jobs started, and some progressed, but nothing finished.

 

post-13358-0-26423900-1326726163_thumb.jpg

 

Sixteen attempts at getting this view and this one is the least worst so far- there are too many places to distract the autofocus on the camera, and with no manual override it is very hit and miss. All of the people, except one are from the Chinese bulk pack, some with repainted hair. Wooden barrels by Faller and PD Marsh, and aluminium kegs by Faller. Bicycles are Marsh ones, painted by me, and the fat bloke with the yellowish shirt is by Preiser.

 

Other jobs tackled today include-

  • getting the first of the tramway masts made- I'll use heavier traction poles and span wires nearer the arches and through the woods.
  • painting the next set of railings in "chainmail", which is a good gloss grey (or dullish silver), another Citadel colour
  • finishing (at last) the walling capping and touching it up twice- because I used the wrong brown first go- brain in house, body in workshop
  • another twenty little people with hair changed to varoius browns and given jeans rather than bright pink shellsuit trousers.
  • chippings laid at track side through railway cutting to finish this area off before the overbridges get stuck down
  • Order off to Gaugemaster for some more Faller walling and cobbles, market stalls by DM Toys and Faller, and a set of tourists with umbrella-carrying guide.

Sun now shining straight into my eyes, tiime to stop for the day.

Edited by Les1952
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Tuesday- doing bits...

 

post-13358-0-97611700-1326815838_thumb.jpg

 

One more tree done- the Woodland Scenics pines work rather better if you tear the foliage into much smaller pieces than they reccommend and use Photomount spray instead of the Hob-e-Tac that they make for the job. The trouble with the latter is that bits just keep dropping off. This pine is for the side of the board either behind or beside the end house. I'll see what Mr Simon thinks of where it currently sits before gluing it in place.

 

post-13358-0-25283700-1326815833_thumb.jpg

 

Another task has been to fix and bed in the second house of the row and paint in the parking places. The big open car belongs to the brewery boss, and the tipper truck will get a dusting of something looking like a brewery delivery.

 

Other jobs- yet more railings done. "Chainmail" has dried to just the shade of gloss grey I want for the railings NOT surrounding the brewery. Some flowery stuff worked into the grassy areas. More people part-repainted.

 

Still a lot to do, though the top end isn't far from a stage where it can be considered leavable....

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wednesday frustration

 

New points have arrived from Japan- with switches. Two problems- both soluble but frustrating

 

1. I bought Kato switches rather than Tomix by mistake- now all I need to do is work out how to hang them on the back of a flimsy backscene. They do work the points.

 

2. They are 12 volt DC- guess who didn't factor a 12 volt DC supply into the layout design. Fortunately Wendy has a Gaugemaster 12v cased PSU in stock, so it is off to Kirkby in Ashfield this afternoon to buy it.

 

At least the trams now run slowly through the new points, and I didn't make much of a mess lifting tramway to replace them. However there won't be infills for the new points, which is another scenic issue to be addressed. Maybe a grassed reservation through the tram station may work better than the street track- I'll think about it while I'm away for the long weekend.....

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Definitely not my day..

 

Turns out the transformer at Wendy's is an uncased one. Will have to pay a fortune for one from Gaugemaster after all.

 

Got home and cleaned the track- tram now doesn't want to run- has picked up the little bits. I'll have to think again about how to clean the tramway, especially as much of it is difficult to reach.

 

Good news is that I've sourced the tree for the market area in front of the Rathaus.- a rowan in flower, by Noch. Expensive but I only need one.

 

post-13358-0-67156200-1326902369_thumb.jpg

 

Vacuum cleaner tomorrow before putting tramway back into its surroundings- I've only paved the area of the actual stop and under the archway- the rest can be grassed as this seems to cause fewer problems.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thursday- much better day.

 

Yestarday finished by me dropping and smashing the CD case for the Status Quo double CD- needed two new cases, but the CDs are unhurt- of course I had to test them both by playing them full blast. Unusually free from interruptions today......

 

post-13358-0-16214100-1326985755_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Horrible light- the sun is shining brightly in. I've extended the grass track reservation down past the tram shed to the actual passing place. This has had its paving shortened and then the grass starts again aa far as just before the gateway. So far the grass behind the tramway here hasn't been added as the street scene needs putting in first- the grass track will be edged with flowers and a low fence after the surface of the road is done.

 

No more work on the layout until Tuesday as I'm away for four days. Mr Simon will take over the workshop completely to lay Gresby's fiddle yard.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Tuesday - back from Manchester

 

Haven't yet found a decent Portakabin kit but someone is selling an Arnold engine shed kit on eBay- I've been looking for one of these for some time- it just fits the space in the front left corner of the layout. I might have to use an Avis Portakabin and put it mostly behind to hide the fact it is a solid lump.

 

No progress on the DC point supply but I'm working on it and on where to put three bulky point switches in a cramped fiddle yard. More on this when it manifests itself.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Progress, Jan 26th (Thurs)

 

A heavy-duty bash at exam marking yesterday earned me enough of a breather today to get out in the workshop and get some work done. (I got another question polished off as well so a productive day.) Workshop music by Status Quo.

 

post-13358-0-82951600-1327591984_thumb.jpg

 

The side the punters don't see- looking along the fiddle yard from the tramway controls to the railway controls. Note the tramway loops are on a slope. These hold two trams each. The railway loops are to the right and are level. These hold one short train each.

 

post-13358-0-65751700-1327591996_thumb.jpg

 

The solution to the switches for the tramway loops. 1 and 2 are the ends of the main loop, same order as seen over the top by the operator, and the white square is for the tram shed. The switches are mounted onto a spare pioece of plywood screwed to the backscene frame and to the backscene itself (through two spacers) at the top.

 

The rectifier should arrive tomorrow morning so I'll get this lot wired in and tested tomorrow afternoon.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Friday afternoon

 

The rectifier and 8 points for Bingham MRC arrived this AFTERNOON. Full marks to Gaugemaster for service, but Useless Parcels Service only delivered at 3.10pm 45 minutes after I sent them a rocket because the van had driven past the house twice then gone off onto the A1.......

 

Soldering all done this morning while waiting. The rectifier is the small box on the right hand end of the switches.

 

post-13358-0-11685400-1327679011_thumb.jpg

 

Sum total of the tramway controls- Modelex hand-held, nine section switches (a diagram to be attached inside the backscene) and five (yes, five) point switches- I decided to do the two on the back as well (numbers 4 and 5, labelled on the points themselves) The Y-shaped motif at the top of the lever is to show point set to curve. The levers are passing-contact type.

 

So now the tramway driver can do everything from his raised seat behind the layout at the end, allowing the railway operator to walk up and down the back.

 

 

PS- all points threw the correct way first time, clever or just lucky?

 

Exam marking all weekend, finding out what 16 year olds don't know, while Mr Simon gets on with Gresby in the workshop.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Testing trams and points.

 

I've got all the tram points working properly now, and have tried running trams through. Quite a lot of fettling needed due to clearance problems and surplus glue. I'm not sure whether this will work as an attachment, so here goes.

 

 

Status Quo playing in the background and the tram running far too fast. Now it works I can get on and finish the buildings behind the arch at the bottom then put the two arches back properly.

 

Plenty to do (and still marking exams......)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Monday Funday...

 

220 essays on computer access for the disabled later out into the workshop again- another 97 essays to do this evening but the brain was beginning not to cope......

 

post-13358-0-13251900-1327937755_thumb.jpg

 

The building for the corner plot next to the tram shed- it isn't really big enough so I'm still one building short. I need a fairly thin one of 3 or 4 storeys. The cream Japanese one is the right size but totally wrong. It is now being cannibalised for aircon bits (for the factory roof), windows etc to improve other areas. Roof of this needs repainting to Furtwangen Ost colours, an interior for the ground floor, and something needs doing to fix or hide a prominent gap where it isn't quite square.

 

post-13358-0-89108600-1327938000_thumb.jpg

 

The Arnold shed at last- it has taken three months to source one of these. No chance of finding an unmade kit. Just nice for the space, though I've had to file part of the underframe off because the track curves on exit, and the interior buffers had to go. The roof has been repainted. There is a portakabin or two to go in beside it, and those wonky white chimneys want sorting. Came without its doors- I can live with them being missing for now- may add some later.. It does hide the wheelchair users' view through the bridges to the control panel.

 

The rowan tree is more or less where it will end up- but surrounded by market stalls.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

That tram looks really smooth. It is coming along very nicely. I would love to see more videos when you have time.

 

Thanks.

 

I'll try- that was by the way of an experiment to see 1) if I could get a video in the first place and 2) if I could get it onto RMWeb. The answer to the second was "no", but I figured out how to get it onto YouTube and link. I'm having fun and games with dirty track- any glue at all and the trams stop, so cleaning is a recurrent nightmare.

 

I did take two videos this morning, so with a bit of luck here's the tram coming back again through the other side of the loop but still too fast......

 

http://youtu.be/6y5ytW68V-s

 

one thing it does show is which buildings and details are actually stuck in place so far........

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Another day another video..

 

Having spent a lot of yesterday testing and fettling the tramway today is the turn of the railway. So far all sections work, with a little track cleaning needed in the murky depths of the right-hand tunnel (where else?)

 

Some ballast needed digging out and I've had to hack a chunk off the right-hand end of the platform where the newer (and smaller!) diesels don't clear it - originally tested with the biggest one, which does (law of Sod again...)

 

 

The yellow diesel runs through with five cars in tow- this is the longest train that will run on the layout- six don't fit the fiddle yard. Slade repelling visitors.......

 

Work for this afternoon centres on getting the areas between the railway and the retaining wall covered with chippings and foliage as a first ground cover- basic can be detailed later. Portakabin on order for shed area. Hopefully that will arrive tomorrow. Today's post just brought another 50 random people.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

OK, a passenger train

 

Testing the passenger stock showed very quickly that some have much deeper flanges than the goods stock- again the train is really running in too fast. Note the extra ground cover since this morning.

 

 

The BR86 takes quite a while (3 circuits) to warm up, so each time round it was going a little faster than the previous one. I suspect it is full of gelatinous grease.....

 

 

A kinder angle of the departure, failing to show how much bounce there is over the point leading to the loading dock.....

Link to post
Share on other sites

And, latest pictures.

 

The Fleischmann diesel shunts the loading dock with a tram descending the hill. Trying shunting using Rapidos has convinced me that I'll put Dapol buckeyes on the stock and use rare earth magnets embedded in the track.

 

post-13358-0-18817900-1328025307_thumb.jpg

 

Note also that I've got the missing pillar cap put on the loading dock at last. All it needs is painting white (then 4 more finding for the tram shed............

 

post-13358-0-26252000-1328025321_thumb.jpg

 

The shed corner is beginning to look like a railway now. Still lots to do, but progress is now tangible.

 

Still plenty to go at.

Edited by Les1952
Link to post
Share on other sites

Can't put it off any longer....

 

Doing the big stone stairway that is.

 

post-13358-0-76815000-1328104803_thumb.jpg

 

This shows how little of the staircase is actually going to be seen, BUT there is a changing view of bits of it from different angles along the front, seen by punters of different heights.

 

post-13358-0-05660900-1328104813_thumb.jpg

 

Out of focus but I've moved on a bit since 11am when this was taken. It finally occurred to me that the height and width of the treads could be fixed using Green Scene lengthways. being stone the squareness of the edges and the tread depth doesn't matter too much. Steps are about a metre wide and about 25cm high, scale size.

 

Now the tricky job, cladding them in stome. More later.......

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...