Copenhagen Fields

[CF MRC]

At last the third shed is almost complete and some of the vehicles and horses permanently placed. 

Jim’s canopy will, of course, go across the end. 
The New Zealand Finescale horses do look so much better than any I have made. In fact, my recent one - which I was quite proud of - looks more like a pantomime horse in comparison, so will be relegated to the back of the layout. 

This piece will go into the Club tonight and the area worked on tomorrow, better integrating the back scene with the foreground.  
 

All a bit of a deadline for our CF mini exhibition on 10-11th July.

 

Tim 

 

 

 

[bécasse]

Tim,

 

Wouldn't the static horses have feeding bags, I seem to recollect from my youth that giving them a few oats to chew was common practice to keep waiting horses "occupied"?

 

Certainly, though, that scene is starting to look very impressive.

 

[CF MRC]

Three of the six horses currently modelled have nose bags, David. The loaded cart is about to be driven off, the unloaded one is going to be moved to be loaded and the two horses on the partially-loaded wagon have bags. 

The horses & wagons are not yet fully detailed.
 

Tim

[CF MRC]

Started to get the new bits working better with the back scene today. 

The view westwards is beginning to fall into place: there is virtually no detail in it, but the eye is happier for that. 

The view up the layout works OK, but obviously the view down the back scene itself is a bit compromised. 

The south end sky is certainly better than it was. St Pancras and the gas holders are not there: arguably they were much further south from the diorama viewpoint. 

Quite tricky really. 
 

Tim 

 

[bécasse]

9 hours ago, CF MRC said:

Started to get the new bits working better with the back scene today. 

The view westwards is beginning to fall into place: there is virtually no detail in it, but the eye is happier for that. 

The view up the layout works OK, but obviously the view down the back scene itself is a bit compromised. 

The south end sky is certainly better than it was. St Pancras and the gas holders are not there: arguably they were much further south from the diorama viewpoint. 

Quite tricky really. 
 

Tim 

 

While I am not sure that my preference wouldn't have been for a typically (especially for the period) murky London day with virtually nothing visible, the current dramatic sky isn't at all bad and the inclusion of the Alexandra Palace high-point is certainly correct (on a clear day we could see it from our front garden in south-east London). 

 

I think that the answer with the gas-holders is to accept that they will never look right painted on the back-scene itself, but to try various flat reproductions printed on paper and mounted in various positions immediately front of the back-scene itself until you find a position and size that seems to work. The reproductions themselves could be paintings, pen-and-ink drawings or computer-produced drawings although I would suggest initially trying "fuzzy" photographs, if you can find ones taken from a suitable angle, computer-manipulated. That would certainly tell you whether it is possible to include a representation of the gas-holders without them looking totally wrong.

 

If you can get a representation of the gas-holders looking right, then that will also pose the question of whether the arched-roof of St.Pancras station should be visible behind them.

[CF MRC]

I am fortunate to have the advantage of working in a 32 story building at London Bridge, so have a pretty good idea of how north London looks  from ‘layout viewing height’.  One frequently sees a number of weather systems transiting London and that is what I have tried to represent. The view out west goes on for a long way…

 

Tim

 

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

As a kid living in North London in the 50's and early 60's, the view from 'Ally Pally' on an average day was, 'Lucky if you could see Hornsey station' and on a clear day, the 'Flats behind Ferme Park yard'. The last time I went to Ally Pally, ( in the late 80's) you could see the 'North Downs'..........Amazing !!

 

manna

[hayfield]

On 04/06/2021 at 02:32, CF MRC said:

Apologies for what is going to be a very long post. This was the state of play with the KX goods sheds up until two weeks ago.

However, I have been in correspondence with Malcolm Tucker, who knows a great deal about the KX Goods Yards. A little bit of knowledge can be a bad thing for some, i.e. me, and one of the comments he made was that the cart road was too low relative to York Road.  He was correct, of course, so I raised the whole section by 10mm and the scene was much improved. Unfortunately, this also raised the already tall long shed, especially in relation to the York Road viaduct,  simultaneously altering its horizontal relationship with the tracks going into the sheds. The solution to the height issue was to lower the roof of the main building by 17mm and take out the top story. 

The roof was re-instated and a clerestory vent made by Alan Budgen, which actually then bring it back up by 10mm. That didn’t do much to help the relationship with the YR viaduct and track, so I chopped 90mm off the length of the building, to take it away from the road bridge. The height differences are very apparent when the two sections are juxtaposed.

The overall improvement by lowering the rear roof is, I think, quite significant. The raised 10mm is also apparent in this image: the gap at the baseboard end will obviously be filled in at some point. 

The solution to how to handle the north end of the sheds is also just visible in this image; albeit only sketched in. The prototype had some large E-W canopies added in the 1890s and I thought that one of these would make an interesting addition at the north end. 

On the prototype, these were supported and braced at one end by the walls of the potato warehouses and so a suitable wall was incorporated on the model. Ironically, it is the base of the chopped off building section and is more or less back where it started a decade ago, when Mike Randall started off the whole scene.

A placeholder building can be seen, to give some idea of the effect aimed for. 

This placeholder has a roof pitch that is too shallow and is 10mm over wide. The actual model will be of etched construction, courtesy of Jim Watt, because this roof was mainly glass.  The view through to the yard below should look quite effective. 

The benefit of raising of the whole area becomes apparent when you look at the cart road canopies. They can now be seen underneath, albeit an intriguing view, but at least the new vehicles and horses will be more visible.

Finally, in this early morning deserted view, one can see that the streets around Copenhagen Fields have quite a lot of cr@p on them, despite comments to the contrary from some quarters. 

Worth all the effort? I hope so... the layout will be erected for the first time in over a year this weekend. 

 

Tim

 

 

 

 

 

Tim

 

Absolutely stunning, I remember seeing it early on and develop over the years,  truly a masterpiece 

[CF MRC]

Our 20-page booklet describing the history and making of CF has now arrived from the printers. Apart form some rambling commentary, it features excellent photos taken by Tony Wright, Craig Tiley & Barry Norman and was put together by Ben Weiner. It is nice and big at A4 size (whatever else!) and printed on good quality paper. Copies will be given to attendees at our CF mini exhibition on 10-11th July and will also be available through the Club shop at £3 + £1.50 p&p - or collect from the Club. The mini-exhibition is now sold out.  

The latest addition to the layout is from Cornwall: Goods & Mineral Junction signal box, by the hand of Matthew Wald for the main structure & Jim Watt for the etched stairs, barge boards & lever frame (which is almost impossible to see). 


With such a superb building now made, the surrounding areas - especially the ramp line up to the Caledonian Goods & Coal Yard - will need to be brought up to the same standard. 

Tim

 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by CF MRC

[queensquare]

39 minutes ago, CF MRC said:

Our 20-page booklet describing the history and making of CF has now arrived from the printers. Apart form some rambling commentary, it features excellent photos taken by Tony Wright, Craig Tiley & Barry Norman and was put together by Ben Weiner. It is nice and big at A4 size (whatever else!) and printed on good quality paper. Copies will be given to attendees at our CF mini exhibition on 10-11th July and will also be available through the Club shop at £3 + £1.50 p&p - or collect from the Club. The mini-exhibition is now sold out.  

The latest addition to the layout is from Cornwall: Goods & Mineral Junction signal box, by the hand of Matthew Wald for the main structure & Jim Watt for the etched stairs, barge boards & lever frame (which is almost impossible to see). 


With such a superb building now made, the surrounding areas - especially the ramp line up to the Caledonian Goods & Coal Yard - will need to be brought up to the same standard. 

Tim

 

 

 

Superb stuff, I do love a signal box.

 

Jerry

[2mmKiwi]

On 08/07/2021 at 20:04, CF MRC said:

Our 20-page booklet describing the history and making of CF has now arrived from the printers. Apart form some rambling commentary, it features excellent photos taken by Tony Wright, Craig Tiley & Barry Norman and was put together by Ben Weiner. It is nice and big at A4 size (whatever else!) and printed on good quality paper. Copies will be given to attendees at our CF mini exhibition on 10-11th July and will also be available through the Club shop at £3 + £1.50 p&p - or collect from the Club. The mini-exhibition is now sold out.  

The latest addition to the layout is from Cornwall: Goods & Mineral Junction signal box, by the hand of Matthew Wald for the main structure & Jim Watt for the etched stairs, barge boards & lever frame (which is almost impossible to see). 


With such a superb building now made, the surrounding areas - especially the ramp line up to the Caledonian Goods & Coal Yard - will need to be brought up to the same standard. 

Tim

 

 

 

Very nice work, the roof and brickwork look particularly good - congrats to Matthew, great piece of modelling !

[CF MRC]

Well that was a very busy weekend. The MRC staged our first Copenhagen Fields mini exhibition. My daughter made some excellent cakes, the booklet looked good and I gave the opening talk and description of the layout 14 times. We had some very interested visitors: Tim Dunn the TV presenter was the last (but not least). I suspect that from the feedback we received, it will happen again; I think everyone appreciated getting really close to the layout and seeing the hundreds of cameos within the scenery, the trains were almost incidental. There were also a lot of local visitors, which makes it well worthwhile.

 

 

Matthew’s signal box required a last minute remake of the nearby civil engineering structure before the mini exhibition, involving shifting an arch by 30mm and thinning the structure by about 6mm. 

This allowed width for the ladder, balcony and signal box toilet.  

There is a great deal of detail to go in around the box, not least a chimney protruding from the ‘office’ below the ramp line!

(photo by George Pring, courtesy David Challis - please respect copyright.)

That bracket signal is a strong contender for the next signal on the layout. 
 

Tim

 

[Darlington_Shed]

16 hours ago, CF MRC said:

Well that was a very busy weekend

Many thanks to you and the other members who made my visit yesterday so enjoyable and informative (and thanks to your daughter for an excellent lemon drizzle cake!) As a recent recruit to the ranks of railway modellers, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see Copenhagen Fields in the flesh.

 

The day was completed by lunch at Kings Cross Coaldrop Yard where we spotted Tim Dunn ambling about and, by waving my copy of the CF book at him, lured him over for a brief chat. What a thoroughly pleasant chap he is.

[Simon D.]

Just to echo Mr Shed's comments - big thanks to Tim Watson and the gang for the warm, generous welcome and the opportunity to see a masterpiece close up on Sunday morning.  Really well organised and excellent communication from the Club beforehand. 

 

I also went to coal Drop Yards to see the huge architectural model of London - gets as far as  Kings X, but not to CF unfortunately.

 

That lemon drizzle cake was toothsome.

[CF MRC]

We had a useful CF photo shoot today with Phil Parker. Valour also had its first run.

 

Both locos painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

Should be a really useful (dark) green engine. 
 

Tim

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by CF MRC

[65179]

11 hours ago, CF MRC said:

We had a useful CF photo shoot today with Phil Parker. Valour also had its first run.

 

Both locos painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

Should be a really useful (dark) green engine. 
 

Tim

 

 

Wonderful to see Valour in its proper setting Tim.  Also great to see a loco in a different shade of green on CF too.  It should be a real talking point - a touch of poignancy in amongst the parade of Gresley etc products.

 

Simon

[PhilH]

I’ve enjoyed seeing CF on a few occasions at exhibitions. Now, I don’t doubt this has been asked and answered before, maybe even in this thread (I’ve kind of speed read it) but what is the track cleaning regime for this layout please?

Edited July 14, 2021 by PhilH

[CF MRC]

1 hour ago, PhilH said:

I’ve enjoyed seeing CF on a few occasions at exhibitions. Now, I don’t doubt this has been asked and answered before, maybe even in this thread (I’ve kind of speed read it) but what is the track cleaning regime for this layout please?

The layout goes for quite long periods without running so that  the brass track at the back tarnishes. This is vigorously polished to a high shine with DOGA (Double O Gauge Association) abrasive track cleaning blocks and vacuumed. The front tracks are treated similarly, but with great care. Once running under exhibition conditions the tracks rarely need cleaning: the wheels may need it though, especially in the first hour or two of running - they pick up the rubbish. 

Mrs W’s goods yard is cleaned with a worn out rouge paper block. Fibres are our greatest maintenance enemy on exhibition. 

Hope that helps

 

Tim

[PhilH]

2 hours ago, CF MRC said:

The layout goes for quite long periods without running so that  the brass track at the back tarnishes. This is vigorously polished to a high shine with DOGA (Double O Gauge Association) abrasive track cleaning blocks and vacuumed. The front tracks are treated similarly, but with great care. Once running under exhibition conditions the tracks rarely need cleaning: the wheels may need it though, especially in the first hour or two of running - they pick up the rubbish. 

Mrs W’s goods yard is cleaned with a worn out rouge paper block. Fibres are our greatest maintenance enemy on exhibition. 

Hope that helps

 

Tim

Thank you very much…whatever you’re doing it seems to work a treat, superb layout.

[t-b-g]

16 hours ago, CF MRC said:

We had a useful CF photo shoot today with Phil Parker. Valour also had its first run.

 

Both locos painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

Should be a really useful (dark) green engine. 
 

Tim

 

 

My new "favourite thing" on Copenhagen Fields (and there have been many!).  

[2mmMark]

Copenhagen Fields is now safely tucked away in its cases until the next outing, whenever that may be - currently planned for Alexandra Palace in 2022.

Keeping the vulnerable parts of the layout in cases is why Copenhagen Fields has lasted this length of time.  Still gets dusty but very little gets damaged.  It's much more at risk during the setup and dismantling process. We all breathe a sigh of relief when the final scenic section is boxed up.



For those who've not visited Keen House, this is the lower ground floor, partially a basement.  Even in the current hot weather, it remains comfortably cool.  Rather handy for us last Saturday when we were packing it up!

Mark

P.S.  We no longer take the kitchen sink to exhibitions.

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by 2mmMark

[richbrummitt]

On 14/07/2021 at 13:06, CF MRC said:

 Once running under exhibition conditions the tracks rarely need cleaning: the wheels may need it though, especially in the first hour or two of running - they pick up the rubbish. 

 

The latter is something I have always struggled more with. Using cotton buds or other applicators with a fluid is how I have tried most recently. Getting to the axle-bushing interface is a particular challenge (for those fibres you mentioned). What is your method, please?

[CF MRC]

8 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

 

The latter is something I have always struggled more with. Using cotton buds or other applicators with a fluid is how I have tried most recently. Getting to the axle-bushing interface is a particular challenge (for those fibres you mentioned). What is your method, please?

That is the fluff out of one loco. I use very fine tweezers, scalpel blades or single edged razor blades to cut the fibres, patience and magnifying loupes for removal, Rich. Ally Pally is probably one of the worst venues because of carpet tiles. Silver Fox seems to specialise in picking up handle bar moustaches on the front bogie centres. 
 

Tim

 

[2mm Andy]

23 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

 

The latter is something I have always struggled more with. Using cotton buds or other applicators with a fluid is how I have tried most recently. Getting to the axle-bushing interface is a particular challenge (for those fibres you mentioned). What is your method, please?

 

Apologies for the thread drift away from CF, but is there not the risk of introducing more fibres by using a cotton bud (even dipped in cleaning fluids)? There is no shortage of sharp corners or points on a 2mm chassis to snag the cotton bud on and having spent an hour trying to extract oil-soaked fibres from around the axles and crankpins of a secondhand N gauge loco last week I'll prefer to avoid anything that might mean repeating that task!

 

Andy

Edited July 21, 2021 by 2mm Andy

[tc]

On 20/07/2021 at 09:16, 2mmMark said:

We no longer take the kitchen sink to exhibitions.

Only because it doesn't fit in the van! It fills a Luton pretty much entirely. The upside - you can tell if you've forgotten something if there is a space for an overnight bag in the back....