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North Welsh Coast Railway - Welsh Dragon Rail


Anthony Ashley
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Dear All,

 

It eventually comes to us all but I have retired from the permanent work force!!  This now means I have a lot more time for the train layout and hope for considerable progress over the next month. The photos below show  more of the mountain with scree and dirt added. I have also added rocky outcrops which still require a coat of paint wash to get more realistic colours.

 

 

The brown area in the fore ground requires grass. I have ordered a RTS Greenkeeper which is now on the way from Germany. 

IMG_1304V2.jpg.b14511cbae5db914fda09573d1bfba0a.jpg

 

IMG_1305V2.jpg

 

I have to build the road viaduct to get the right height before I proceed with more of the paper mache around the other side of the mountain. The curve of the arches on hte road viaduct vary and I have tried to create a template to replicate the seven arches I need to install. I am using the same material as for the rail viaduct except the piers are plastic N gauge form ratio, I am  not sure how well I can cut the arches using the template. Does anyone have any ideas for creating an accurate arch apart form the jigsaw. 

 

Arch to be drawn and cut 14 times on 8 mm play to create the 7 arches for both sides of the viaduct. 

IMG_1303V2.jpg.ab84e39bf23e4ca6ed4f9d68e184023e.jpg

 

I have cut the road base and one side without creating the arches. Will try to complete the ply cutting tomorrow with arches complete. That will give me the height for the scenic areas a oining the road viaduct. 

 

Thanks for your interest. I should be posting regularly from now on.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony

 

   

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Anthony Ashley said:

...The curve of the arches on hte road viaduct vary and I have tried to create a template to replicate the seven arches I need to install. I am using the same material as for the rail viaduct except the piers are plastic N gauge form ratio, I am  not sure how well I can cut the arches using the template. Does anyone have any ideas for creating an accurate arch apart form the jigsaw. 

 

Might be a bit 'cheating' but you could always see if there's a local plywood supplier who will do CNC routing to order. 

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2 hours ago, ed1234 said:

 

Might be a bit 'cheating' but you could always see if there's a local plywood supplier who will do CNC routing to order. 

I’m not sure I’d class it as cheating. More creative use of skilled professional assistants and modern technology. A CNC machine is an example of a modern device that I would say makes life easier. Plus leaves more time for the other modelling tasks. Always a good thing. 

 

Cheating could be be classed as laser scanning the area the bridge is going to go in and then designing bridge and getting it 3D printed. 

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Agreed Phil - if it works, especially if it works better than another method, then I say go for it! We might be modelling times gone by but we don't all have to restrict ourselves to cereal boxes and loo rolls, though I have seen superb modelling using both on this website!

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I don’t think it would be cheating to scan and print it.  I went a few years back to Aberystwyth to photograph and draw scale plans of the loco shed, which I have converted to laser cut MDF and subsequently assembled.  I used laser measuring devices, tape measures, and CAD, and of course, the laser itself.  Is that cheating?  

 

I don’t think using the latest technology is in any way negative, it’s simply using the best tools for the job, and I’d strongly recommend doing exactly that.

 

is it cheating to pay someone else to do it?  No, not as long as you don’t pass it off as your own work!

 

Atb

simon

 

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Dear Gentlemen,

 

Thanks for the great comments and ideas above. I am not sure how muvh "leisure" I shall enjoy as I am by nature a busy person. Simon I would love to adopt the option you mentioned but have no idea how to do so at this stage. I am thinking of getting a laser cutter, but unsure what to get. There are many options. I have resorted to the tried and true technique which is highly dependent on my wood working skills.

 

I cut the channel in the viaduct to hold the road base (8 ml crossed ply is the material) using a router. Cut the viaduct walls to size, marked the arches on both viaduct sides lying them next to each other to ensure consistency. I have cut the first side and am really happy with the outcome. The jigsaw worked very well and was quite accurate. I wasn't sure I could be accurate enough. Only another side to cut, then cut the spacers to fit under the road to the piers.

 

Once side is shown below. Plasticard to follow.

 

Shows the height of the viaduct

 

IMG_1307V2.jpg.745ceec2204d5c0f6f98e1bcc6c7a039.jpg

 

IMG_1308V2.jpg.ebbc0805c36f67957f34fc1341eb4688.jpgIMG_1309V2.jpg.6063ae90a7b8f6f1326a6fa76ebe9181.jpg

 

I think with the plasticard to cover they will look good.

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

 

 

      

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Rodney,

 

Thanks for your kind comments. I do intend to take life a little easier, but I have my first job in a Reserve capacity tomorrow. Hopefully the job will be finished by lunch time and I can back to the train modelling by the afternoon. We have a very hectic social schedule this week end that I have to get prepared for.

 

Work has progressed a little with the ply components of the road viaduct having been glued together. I am now cutting the dividing sections that slot into the plasticard piers. Photos below will help explain. 

 

The plasticard piers are below with caps sitting unglued on top. I need to finish the dividers before I glue the caps. 

 

IMG_1311V2.jpg.53a8301742a48a3dd5f8781ff73d69c7.jpg

 

IMG_1312V2.jpg.8ddafc8af8b9d8de5eff770d5d7ad5e3.jpg

 

The sides of the road viaduct have been glued to the road surface on the pictures below;

 

IMG_1314V2.jpg.543bea8eefc91ea038c9d0ecd7491934.jpg

 

One divider cut and 5 more to go. The plastic capping has been slotted onto the divider. a little glue should secure everything IMG_1315V2.jpg.cb6e9e2eed055edfaa19cef142769962.jpg

 

IMG_1316V2.jpg.e1f32670af5ba3b5f74fc97ff19221b4.jpg

 

  The viaduct sitting upside down with the one pier sitting on top. I shall need to do some surgery to bits of the capping as it is designed to fit into other plastic viaduct components. I will need to use clamps to attach the dividers as the viaduct needs to taper a little to match the piers. The piers need to be extended by 32 mls. I have matching resin stone work to attach.

 

All comments are welcome. More work tomorrow!!!

 

Regards,

Anthony

 

 

IMG_1317V2.jpg

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10 hours ago, Anthony Ashley said:

Rodney,

 

Thanks for your kind comments. I do intend to take life a little easier, but I have my first job in a Reserve capacity tomorrow. Hopefully the job will be finished by lunch time and I can back to the train modelling by the afternoon. We have a very hectic social schedule this week end that I have to get prepared for.

 

Work has progressed a little with the ply components of the road viaduct having been glued together. I am now cutting the dividing sections that slot into the plasticard piers. Photos below will help explain. 

 

The plasticard piers are below with caps sitting unglued on top. I need to finish the dividers before I glue the caps. 

 

IMG_1311V2.jpg.53a8301742a48a3dd5f8781ff73d69c7.jpg

 

IMG_1312V2.jpg.8ddafc8af8b9d8de5eff770d5d7ad5e3.jpg

 

The sides of the road viaduct have been glued to the road surface on the pictures below;

 

IMG_1314V2.jpg.543bea8eefc91ea038c9d0ecd7491934.jpg

 

One divider cut and 5 more to go. The plastic capping has been slotted onto the divider. a little glue should secure everything IMG_1315V2.jpg.cb6e9e2eed055edfaa19cef142769962.jpg

 

IMG_1316V2.jpg.e1f32670af5ba3b5f74fc97ff19221b4.jpg

 

  The viaduct sitting upside down with the one pier sitting on top. I shall need to do some surgery to bits of the capping as it is designed to fit into other plastic viaduct components. I will need to use clamps to attach the dividers as the viaduct needs to taper a little to match the piers. The piers need to be extended by 32 mls. I have matching resin stone work to attach.

 

All comments are welcome. More work tomorrow!!!

 

Regards,

Anthony

 

 

IMG_1317V2.jpg

Good work, Anthony. I'll be using the 4mm version of those piers for Nancegwithey viaduct too.

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John,

 

Thanks for the comment. Yes I think they look very good. For the ones I need they are almost exactly the right height for the first section of the pier. At the bottom section of the pier they are further supported by a reinforced wider section of the same stone work. This will enable me to overlap slightly an additional 32 mm section on the bottom, making them pretty close to the exact Pen-y- clip viaduct. The Slater's fine stone plasticard matches very closely that of the ratio piers. It should be a good combination. I like the capping stone work on top.

 

 

Regards,

 

Anthony

 

 

 

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Dear All,

 

A little more work on the mountain. I needed to sort the height of the road viaduct in order to cut the joining road section. This road goes back to Penmaenmawr and is needed before I mould the part of the mountain leading to Penmaenmawr. Photos are of the technique I use to get the approx shape of the road using flexi rail track to get one edge. Once this is drawn on the piece of paper it is then a matter of measuring the width of the road. Using the same curve of flexi track to draw the other side on paper. I the cut it out on paper and check it on the layout for accuracy and then use it as a template to cut the ply to the right size. So far it has worked really well. Photos of the road section under construction area on the layout are  below with the area in which it will be inserted shown in other photos. 

 

Paper has been cut for one section with the flexi track laying on the edge of the paper. Another piece of flexi track is another section to be marked on paper and cut, then transfered to ply. 

 

IMG_1320V2.jpg.910cb62eda97f6899ca2995c0a26bdbf.jpg

 

Penmaenmawr end of the road section with the end of the road section visible and the road viaduct off in the distance

 

IMG_1322V2.jpg.2504a74a03828913989aa8418d2834bb.jpg

 

Looking back from the road viaduct on the same area. Road viaduct on the right foreground.

 

IMG_1323V2.jpg.19833cc83c0f79fa7ddec134855966ba.jpg

 

I just need to cut these sections and then I can progress the rest of the mountain with paper mache etc.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

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Dear All,

 

Some good progress with the road section cut and fitted. The road viaduct fits into the gap very nicely. Work still to be done on the piers.  Photos are below.

 

IMG_1325V2.jpg.9830dc1b8ede59d2a27a12ad16d90888.jpg

 

IMG_1326V2.jpg.f315af0ff6406a48be6396417f000671.jpg

 

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IMG_1331V2.jpg.036f731030559da9857be224e9effee5.jpg

 

IMG_1338V2.jpg.d7e91c53c2b0be0c38049bff0c78202b.jpg

 

IMG_1339V2.jpg.4a9df8fe083ce8abd85af7a89c977974.jpg

 

IMG_1340V2.jpg.2158a02a9789966c6ae6eac8a81028d4.jpg

 

IMG_1343V2.jpg.55cf87d9841af51c8f560f8b6c9539a7.jpg

 

IMG_1344V2.jpg.29b204a6887017ba498658144ef79c3e.jpg

 

I have started stapling the chicken wire to the top d lower roads. More stapling required to secure the wire and then a huge area to add paper mache!!! I also have a lot of plasticard to add to the viaducts and roads leading up to the viaducts.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

 

 

 

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Simon,

 

I agree the layout does appear to be a little large. Each of the main scenery areas seems to be a mini layout of its own. The mountain section has taken all of this year but I nearly have all of the supporting structures completed, It seems to me that building a really strong support structure is a very slow process. particularly where there are complex shapes such as tunnels rocks faces and avalanche support shelters to put into the mix. 

 

The left side of the rail viaduct as you look at it is the area currently under construction. I added ply to stabilise the wire behind the rail avalanche. I then needed to find a way to stabilise the wire going around the rail avalanche shelter on the rock side of the second shelter. I made a 30mm tunnel to staple the wire to. This little "tunnel" required further stabilisation. Pictures are below.

 

Plan of the area under consideration. next to the number 45 on the top left is an open area. This leads into the Avalanche shelter numebr 2. Next is the rock face and the Avalanche shelter number 2. 

 

 

843766468_Mountainarea.jpg.820503bcb128614b7e2858f0d70e6733.jpg

 

Second avalanche shelter in position. I have primed only some of the surfaces. I wanted to check how the rafters looked with some paint. The shelter is removable for track cleaning. The shelter still needs plasticard stone to complete.

IMG_1347V2.jpg.55821f88187045028beacb7dbe659bce.jpg

 

IMG_1348V2.jpg.84eb4efd349c181bf8264f28f5bb693d.jpg

 

Next is the tunnel at the start of the rock face. I needed a solid ply surface to attach the wire. The rock face is not removable but qwill be cleaned form inside the layout.On the left of the shelter in the second photo you can see ply running on the outside of the base board. This is also to ensure the wire is well clear of the train line.  

 

IMG_1349V2.jpg.ef5c31e747dec498a9713651c3638a48.jpg

 

IMG_1350V2.jpg.c2cd12373a41bea00f7964da43418eec.jpg

 

The 3 elements together (rail avalanche shelter, rock face tunnel and track ply support. IMG_1351V2.jpg.22665415715ecea4c00af5e46ae68131.jpgIMG_1352V2.jpg.ba5237308094ad80ca5c04f4633a19e9.jpg

 

Over view of the area. 

 

IMG_1353V2.jpg.cfa2cc1a61dd2558123b9e2f573426a9.jpg

 

Next easy job is to staple the wire to the track ply support running around the edge of the track base boards. Once this is done the whole of the mountain is ready for paper mache. I think it will take a week or so to do.

 

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

   

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Hi Anthony

 

for some reason the photos were'nt downloading, but they now have - it's looking mighty impressive.

 

The other "go to" BIG model on here at the moment is "Heaton Lodge" - that's also a huge, ambitious project. 

 

I'm doing a little at the moment, too much other stuff going on in the summer, so I'm enjoying others' work!

 

cheers

Simon

 

 

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Dear All,

 

Simon Thanks for the post. I had a look at Heaton Lodge and it is very large. Is it really 160 feet in length. Where doe he store it?

 

I have stabilised the wire around a lot of the mountain, down to ground level. Every road has to be stapled with wire. I have commenced the top section of the mountain with paper mache. I am happy with the result, given this is the first cover on this section apart from the wire. I shall do the 2 lower sections with paper mache and then move around to the back of the mountain. The curve of the base boards means that I have a back to the mountain. It is a huge area and the pape rmache is a slow task. I will probably need at least 8 layers

 

Photos are below.

 

IMG_1355V2.jpg.587138c34e904d48ba9a1b1dda8c50a2.jpg

 

IMG_1356V2.jpg.394707fed31a94f35e10f4f6c48da013.jpg

 

The back of the mountain is evident in this photo.

 

IMG_1357V2.jpg.86abe494b28da8050bda13bb950ad328.jpg

 

IMG_1360V2.jpg.59875c7f2e0f5aa4b435baea20df2ed4.jpg

 

IMG_1361V2.jpg.f15080d5e48cf379ae24bffccfb8f787.jpg

 

   More paper mache tomorrow.!!!  

 

 

Anthony Ashley

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Dear All,

 

Work has been continuing on the mountain. I have 7-8 layers of paper mache on all areas of the mountain, which seems to be sufficient for strength over all.

I think I shall focus on the road viaduct piers once I have painted to the mountain to protect form moisture.

 

 Thanks to Simon for the original idea on the use of paper mache. For anyone who has not read all of the entries I was originally going with plaster, but I found it did not have enough rigidity over the chicken wire and was prone to cracking and movement. The paper mache has the flexibility to provide an excellent base for the dirt and scree slopes/grass and vegetation and does not crack. Thank you again Simon for your contribution. 

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley 

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Anthony, you're making great progress and it must be awfully satisfying to see the mountain take form over the chicken wire. It's a simply imposing structure, and I applaud your ambition. I think we can all see it will look incredible when finished. A true "railway-dwarfed-by-the-landscape" example.

 

As always, thanks for sharing with us. Really inspirational stuff.

 

Best

 

Scott

 

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Dear Scotty,

 

Thanks for the comments. They really inspire continued efforts. It is obviously a long process, with having to get satisfaction from incremental achievements, particularly as most of my work is alone in the shed.

 

I have primed the maintain in white, so there has been a sudden snow storm in North Wales. Pictures are below.

 

IMG_1365V2.jpg.741d9dd848fa1d5b5cf928bb91f72ec8.jpg

 

IMG_1366V2.jpg.341ff8059538af9abc024d6b1938cbe2.jpg

 

IMG_1367V2.jpg.e232b24655a7c8b797ceea61a2e4d6b9.jpg

 

Next is a coat of brown paint.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley 

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Ed,

 

I agree that the lines are emphasised with the white snow and thanks for the comment. Unfortunately there has been a sudden heat wave in North Wales and all the snow has melted suddenly, leaving barren brown mountains!! I addition I have started the longer avalanche shelter. It was much more difficult that the first due to the curvature of the shelter and the uneven height of the roof. Nevertheless it has worked out OK so far. Just nee the add the rafters and roof above the false ceiling which was required to stabliise the structure.  

 

Photos below.

 

IMG_1368V2.jpg.ac1a2f5aaec9bb071168617466b0b15e.jpg

 

The curved avalanche shelter in the fore ground. Rafters and proper roof still to be added. 

IMG_1369V2.jpg.f3c98b5a3f451064e77239ee45131810.jpg

 

IMG_1370V2.jpg.c4e6cecdc62e1a6b741b91ea9ca41fd7.jpg

 

 

I think this gully will be very interesting to scenic.


IMG_1371V2.jpg.bf2f2d60f3a5b3e5fd5b8dd72d4b1f3f.jpg

 

IMG_1372V2.jpg.089cda02c2a2f447f321455f9346863e.jpg

 

I have temporarily attached the piers, but they each need to be extended by a further 4 ml. The closest pier has part of the extension added. The foam bits holding them up are temporary as well, but it gives an idea of the final effect. I shall need to plasticard the whole ply section of the viaduct.

 

IMG_1374V2.jpg.e5bd0b39f241c6757a9d7ac724f16f9f.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Ashley

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