Bakewell - Peak District Line BR - Layout Views

[Andrew P]

Glad you both had a good time matey, when you said Marcus was coming around, I thought you meant Marcus37, the Train Driver that I saw at Gresley once.

 

Still glad it was a good day and I'm looking forward to the new Video.

[Alister_G]

Glad you both had a good time matey, when you said Marcus was coming around, I thought you meant Marcus37, the Train Driver that I saw at Gresley once.

 

Still glad it was a good day and I'm looking forward to the new Video.

 

It is mate, sorry, I put his name down wrong...

[Andrew P]

It is mate, sorry, I put his name down wrong...

And I thought I was the one that was getting OLD, Hhahahhahhahha

[Alister_G]

And I thought I was the one that was getting OLD, Hhahahhahhahha

 

You're growing old gracefully... I'm just falling apart

[Marcus 37]

Yep 'twas me.

I tend to turn up in the strangest of places!! LOL.

Seriously though it was great to meet up and fantastic to see Mini Bakewell in the flesh. Also the lawn mower was something else.

Thanks for your hospitality mate and hopefully see you up down in the Midlands in the not to distant future.

All the best

Marcus

[Alister_G]

Yep 'twas me.

I tend to turn up in the strangest of places!! LOL.

Seriously though it was great to meet up and fantastic to see Mini Bakewell in the flesh. Also the lawn mower was something else.

Thanks for your hospitality mate and hopefully see you up down in the Midlands in the not to distant future.

All the best

Marcus

 

Cheers Marcus, It was really great to see you all, I'm sorry we didn't get that pint in the Peacock, maybe next time.

 

Next time I'm down at Studley I'll drop you a text, see if you're free.

 

Al.

[Alister_G]

Well as I mentioned above, I bought a Branor Cam-Truck, which arrived on Friday, so I had a quick play on Friday night, but only really tried it out this afternoon when Marcus was here.

 

They are made by Bruce Pigott, and are available here:  http://www.branor.co.uk/

 

Although not cheap, they are worth every penny, in my view, having had a chance to use one.

 

Compared to the video I have produced so far using the relatively cheap USB camera, that produced by the Branor camera is in a different class.

 

It is obvious that Bruce has used high quality components, and both the camera sensor and the supplied wide-angle lens give great results.

 

Here's what it looks like:

 

 

and here's the business end, the lens:

 

 

As you can see it's a good sized lens, not a little pinhole.

 

A close-up of the USB port, reset button and SD-card slot:

 

 

And the top of the wagon, with the controls, and the LED activity light:

 

 

With the truck, Bruce supplies a USB lead for charging and to retrieve the files off the camera, a "prodger" to operate the switches (which are recessed), and a 4GB micro-SD card which is sufficient for about 40 minutes of video.

 

You can invest in a larger SD card, and it will support up to a 32GB card, but I would question why you would want to bother, frankly.

 

Also with the truck is a lens cleaning cloth, a comprehensive set of instructions, and a piece of Windows software to manage various options on the camera.

 

It records video at 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 frames a second, which is full HD quality, and has a microphone which is again very good quality, nice and clear sound.

 

As I said, they're not cheap - mine cost £98, but I am more than satisfied with it, and given what it comes with and the quaility of the final results, I reckon that's a good price.

 

Anyway, I've waffled on about the video this produces, but you haven't seen any yet. I have edited some of the footage we have shot today, and it is in the process of being uploaded to YouTube as I write. When it's done, I'll post it below.

 

Cheers,

 

Al.

[Alister_G]

And here's the video:

 

[Alister_G]

Thats great'''looks like your all having fun 

 

even a wave at the passing train in Railway Children style off a young lady

 

Cheers Mickey, yep, we had a good day, and the camera is impressive.

 

The young lady was driving, as well, I told her "Both hands on the wheel" but would she listen! :nono:

[Andrew P]

Hi Al' great bit of Video mate, nice and clear, and a good audience as well.

[Sasquatch]

That's a cracking video Al.

Those cam trucks are great. I have gotta get me one of those one day. 

Edited December 2, 2014 by Sasquatch

[Jock67B]

Afternoon Al,

Love the video, the 'crab' is especially nice, and a touch of glamour thrown in - what more could we ask for?

Kind regards,

Jock.

[David Todd]

Having had my Branor cam truck for 2 ish.year's, am also pleased with what it deliver's. although I have the Fish eye lens one.

 

Good video Al, you will soon get the hang of the right speed.

 

It should also,serve you well, in helping to develop your layout, from a trackview, unless, you can take your eyeball out,place it on the track, record,then replace 

 

Look forward to seeing more video's.

[Alister_G]

Having had my Branor cam truck for 2 ish.year's, am also pleased with what it deliver's. although I have the Fish eye lens one.

 

Good video Al, you will soon get the hang of the right speed.

 

It should also,serve you well, in helping to develop your layout, from a trackview, unless, you can take your eyeball out,place it on the track, record,then replace 

 

Look forward to seeing more video's.

 

Cheers David, it was partially looking at your videos, (and the discussions we've had previously) which prompted me to get one, and it certainly is a step up from the cheap USB cam I've used before.

 

I need to do some serious track cleaning and then I should be able to run stock much more slowly, for better results.

 

You're right, there are already bits of track and scenery I've seen from the video which need addressing.

 

Al.

 

Edit: I'd forgot to say, I'd be interested in seeing what the difference is visually between the fish-eye and wide-angle lenses.

Edited December 2, 2014 by acg_mr

[Alister_G]

I've just realised, I missed the second anniversary of this thread, which was yesterday!

 

I can't do much about it now, but I'll post a recap of the year's events and progress this evening.

 

Al.

[David Todd]

I've just realised, I missed the second anniversary of this thread, which was yesterday!

 

I can't do much about it now, but I'll post a recap of the year's events and progress this evening.

 

Al.

 

 Am sure the lads will chip in for you Al...........Romantic Travel Packages

[Alister_G]

Perhaps I should cook a spaghetti bolognaise for the layout, to say sorry...

 

Isn't that the usual procedure??

 

Al.

[sp1]

Perhaps I should cook a spaghetti bolognaise for the layout, to say sorry...

 

Isn't that the usual procedure??

 

Al.

If your layout is female I think the usual procedure also involves red roses, champagne, a weekend in Paris, something made of 24ct gold, and,........you will be washing up for a month....

[Alister_G]

Well, another year of this thread gone!

 

Looking back, at the start of this year I still hadn't finished the Station buildings, nor run any trains.

 

Here's what things looked like:

 

The station was roofless, and windowless:

 

 

The goods yard was laid and ballasted, but things like the provender store and coal staithes didn't exist yet:

 

 

Only the very basics of the scenery had been done, just some hanging basket liner thrown over the hillsides:

 

 

The year started well, although the Station build dragged on until the end of February:

 

 

 

 

 

Then I started adding some more scenic details, and we had a spate of tree making:

 

 

followed by platform lights:

 

 

At the beginning of May, I finally wired up the main lines, and was able to run trains for the first time:

 

 

Which also meant getting a lot of my stock out of storage!

 

I also started adding lighting to the buildings:

 

 

 

I returned from holiday at the start of June, full of a great new idea: to have a tunnel and cutting on the layout, for more photo opportunities, and this was slowly built over the next couple of months:

 

 

 

 

I built the Provender store, and the coal staithes:

 

 

 

Then, I started adding scenic items, static grass, fences, hedges and so on:

 

 

 

 

Along the way, I built a new interior for a Mark1 coach, added lights to locos and stock, made stone walls out of cat litter and hedges out of scouring pads, built a wrecked truck, and made a greenhouse, and a lawnmower (or two).

 

It's been an interesting year, I've learnt more new skills, made new friends, met some face-to-face, and had a great deal of support when i wasn't feeling like modelling.

 

Thanks to all of you, your help, support, suggestions and humour have all helped to make this thread what it is.

 

Here's to the next 12 months!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al

Edited December 2, 2014 by acg_mr

[JCL]

Congratulations Al. It's amazing that you have managed to get so much in given you also have a day (night job)! Your miniature work is just fantastic, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

 

Thanks for inviting us along.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[David Todd]

Good ...............

  Résumé.............Al.

[freebs]

It's a brilliant thread, brilliant model, and brilliant example to the rest of us who still have to hold down a full time job!

[Jock67B]

Morning Al,

Seen in that way, you've had a very full year indeed! Puts the lack of effort from a retired chap like me into perspective, although I do have my medical condition as an excuse - that and the fact that the modelling space and funding won't be in place until into the spring now!

I hope you don't mind, but I've been planning my layout and building files of relevant information and have cribbed lots of information such as your static grass application and lots of other ideas for future use. I liked the method of putting interiors into buildings for instance - that will work well on the likes of the engineering workshops I hope to model. To explain more, my condition is terminal but, after a successful recent operation, I hope to have won a few years more but I've decided that, rather than attempt a complete model at one time, I'm going to build separate modules of each element of an MPD based on Hurlford67B where my dad was a driver! I hope to start with the coaling stage area which includes the turntable and ash pits and have worked out a way of mating the modules together to make one layout. Madam hopes to downsize to a bungalow next year so I feel the modular idea will be adaptable! Sorry to bore you with this lengthy tale but I wanted to make the point that following your thread has given me a tremendous amount of inspiration for which I'm truly grateful.

I now look forward to the next twelve months to see what further surprises you have in store for us!

Kind regards,

Jock.

[westerhamstation]

Hi Al, heres to more years, and thanks for sharing all your highs and lows, all the best Adrian

[Alister_G]

Morning Al,

Seen in that way, you've had a very full year indeed! Puts the lack of effort from a retired chap like me into perspective, although I do have my medical condition as an excuse - that and the fact that the modelling space and funding won't be in place until into the spring now!

I hope you don't mind, but I've been planning my layout and building files of relevant information and have cribbed lots of information such as your static grass application and lots of other ideas for future use. I liked the method of putting interiors into buildings for instance - that will work well on the likes of the engineering workshops I hope to model. To explain more, my condition is terminal but, after a successful recent operation, I hope to have won a few years more but I've decided that, rather than attempt a complete model at one time, I'm going to build separate modules of each element of an MPD based on Hurlford67B where my dad was a driver! I hope to start with the coaling stage area which includes the turntable and ash pits and have worked out a way of mating the modules together to make one layout. Madam hopes to downsize to a bungalow next year so I feel the modular idea will be adaptable! Sorry to bore you with this lengthy tale but I wanted to make the point that following your thread has given me a tremendous amount of inspiration for which I'm truly grateful.

I now look forward to the next twelve months to see what further surprises you have in store for us!

Kind regards,

Jock.

 

Morning Jock.

 

Yes, it's funny, I sort of felt I hadn't achieved much this year, but in putting the above post together I realised I've actually done a fair bit.

 

Of course I don't mind, the whole point of this thread, as far as I'm concerned. is to share what I've learnt as I've been building this layout, so that others like yourself can take inspiration from it, and hopefully avoid some of the mistakes I've made, as well

 

I am in awe of how you keep your spirits up, given what life has thrown at you recently, and I like the sound of your plans, and look forward to seeing them come to fruition next year.

 

All the best mate,

 

Al.