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BEIJIAO - a large Chinese HO exhibition layout set in the 21st century


TEAMYAKIMA
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One thing which I had worked on in an attempt to reach out to viewers and engage with them was a display of photos of the real shops which I photographed in China and which I have featured on the model. I've built it into a small table which will sit in front of the layout drapes

 

IMG_20200316_134112.jpg.17868a03ab22f8570bcbe24409648a55.jpg

 

This photo shows shops #13, #8 and #9  ...…………….

 

    683333928_rmw3(2).JPG.85afa1e1e4fc8297a68e97b39d574c8c.JPG

Edited by TEAMYAKIMA
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The depot scene has moved on...…….

 

Our first exhibition in March 2018 (Bristol) - grey backscene and no depot!

 

DSC_0206.JPG.abbdaa5b8df5e6e23bcca9faa35531ed.JPG

 

 

Fareham (Oct 2019) and the depot is in place but the grey backscene is not 100%b popular with visitors.

 

 

DSC_0005.JPG.f941609ad672729c0493db7cdd3df8bf.JPG

 

 

As it would have been at AP ….. the cycle park fills an empty space on the platform and the backscene is far more dramatic and shows the pollution aspect of industrial china - the backscene is not 100% perfect yet, but getting there!

 

IMG_20200318_100154.jpg.9bf8cdc078ca38fcead35eae4dd2b2c2.jpg

 

 

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Be warned, there is going to be a lot of boring stuff in the next few weeks as I tackle the 'unimportant' stuff I hadn't prioritised earlier for obvious reasons.

 

I bought a Bachmann 25G YW hard class sleeper a few months back but wasn't going to run it at AP because it had no interior detail and no lights.

 

As delivered from Bachmann...…………...

 

IMG_20200318_115052.jpg.244047b411465908cc98aa1f62b3c193.jpg

 

I spent all afternoon on this and actually did a better job than on the two similar ones I did a few months back - so I had to upgrade those two once I'd finished this one!

 

IMG_20200318_184015.jpg.814624d4c6df6faf51b5f2e87c5a2e7a.jpg

 

 

I don't do the top bunks because you can't see them through the windows!!

 

Edited by TEAMYAKIMA
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Nice to see you've rediscovered some mojo after the comments on the Ally Pally show thread, I'm the same way in that I have lots of ideas and motivation to start a project but it takes a deadline to finish something- last week I was preparing for a show and had a list of minor jobs to finish, but I ended up with days of taking the kids to school, coming home to do some modelling, break for lunch watching Countdown, then going back to school to pick them up.

 

Unfortunately it seems so long ago now and a show at the end of May has obviously been cancelled, so in theory I might get some free time before the next one in October, should normality return. 

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24 minutes ago, 298 said:

Nice to see you've rediscovered some mojo after the comments on the Ally Pally show thread, I'm the same way in that I have lots of ideas and motivation to start a project but it takes a deadline to finish something- last week I was preparing for a show and had a list of minor jobs to finish, but I ended up with days of taking the kids to school, coming home to do some modelling, break for lunch watching Countdown, then going back to school to pick them up.

 

Unfortunately it seems so long ago now and a show at the end of May has obviously been cancelled, so in theory I might get some free time before the next one in October, should normality return. 

 

Yes, pottering about with a few minor issues (as I'm laid of work now) but no longer starting in the shed at 6am and working straight through until dinner at 7pm!!

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Whilst on the subject of YW sleepers - does anyone have any they would like to sell?

 

My 25G train now has 3 YW hard class sleepers but I would love to have two more - to make it a 20 car train!

 

My 25K train only has 2 YW's and I would like at least one more

 

Anyone out there want to sell? 

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After the Warley show I proactively sought constructive criticisms of the layout. One issue which was brought up several times was that the front of the layout was 'dead'. One suggestion was to add a Faller roadway. Rather embarrassingly we have had a Faller roadway in place since well before our first ever exhibition - but I've never managed to get it to work reliably. It needs to be 100% reliable because we cannot allocate an operator to supervise it.

 

A I am now in lockdown I have been concentrating on some jobs that have been 'on the backburner'. In particular the Faller roadway which runs along the front of the layout. Here is a video of part of it ……………..

 

 

Edited by TEAMYAKIMA
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These next two photos show

 

1. How anal I am

2. How much time I have on my hands now in so far as I have actually found time to do something so anal

 

Years go before we ever exhibited the layout I built a concrete wall to separate the industrial from the main line. But when painting the pathway I got black paint on the wall and I made a drop in piece to put in place once the boards were joined up at shows - we never got around to fitting it and eventually it got lost! It was like that at the first 4 exhibitions. 

 

IMG_20200329_162009.jpg.e2849ed3a394feaa0d6431123e7b4169.jpg

 

So yesterday I found the last sheet of the printed fence, cut out one section and stuck it over the worst bit . The printed fence is in very short supply and I can't print any more so rather than waste another section I moved a railway worker to stand in front of the other damaged section. And I made a new drop in section, there is a slight colour mismatch but only really noticeable if you're looking for it. ...

 

IMG_20200329_181951.jpg.d8cd53197d405a58bdf965d69e50e35c.jpg

 

 

 

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I have spent the morning (amongst other things) looking through my digital photos of China. I do understand (to a point) people who say that they are not interested in a Chinese layout 'because I never went there and can't relate to it.'

 

But, equally, I cannot understand why (finance permitting) more British steam enthusiasts didn't visit China in the 1990's when they could see (and photograph) things like this  and 'YES' I've got it on video too!...

 

                            1963239966_chinaoct2004223(5).jpg.fb79bc16adb026a9ed54ea7a3f80866f.jpg

 

 

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Unfortunately for me I didn’t have the job and money to finance it while it was still steam heaven. I think for many a railway holiday is probably a luxury when there are family holidays to pay for ;) My friends and I try to do short rail themed holidays but finding a week with other family commitments is difficult enough without the time needed to get to China let alone travel the huge distances within it.

I’ve wanted to do the States for years, which is far easier, but so far only managed Canada and that was ten years ago with friends from work. 
I got my interest from two older friends who did travel and catch steam in China and South Africa and shared it in slide and video shows at the club. 

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That is a stunning tunnel portal photo.

I so agree about the enchanting nature of 1990s Steam Age  China. I think I have posted before about being part of a British Council funded York Uni exchange project for 3 years about marketing historic aspects of China - featuring its historic places and museums - including railways (with an NRM academic connection).

They knew I was a railway nutter and we got preferential treatment on night sleeper trains (all East German with Chinese attendant tea-urn ladies trained in German).

What we so enjoyed were the line side cameo details - such as the line-side physical exercises in the mornings -  and in up in a northern railway junction town (forgotten its name) a dingy line side circus -  transported around by the attendant circus train. The Clowns kidnapped our EH Listed Buildings timid boffin for an entire night's 3 performances. He was very terrified by the experience . We all cheered him on as the butt of all the tomfoolery, along with the  (fairly sparse) audience.

Just a suggestion for a bit more foreground cameo human-interest stuff - especially for kids.

dh

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2 hours ago, runs as required said:

That is a stunning tunnel portal photo.

 

Total fluke - I could not believe how lucky I'd been - the semaphore lining up perfectly with the cab side!

 

 

2 hours ago, runs as required said:

What we so enjoyed were the line side cameo details - such as up in a northern railway junction town (forgotten its name) a dingy line side circus -  transported around by the attendant circus train. The Clowns kidnapped our EH Listed Buildings timid boffin for an entire night's 3 performances. He was very terrified by the experience . We all cheered him on as the butt of all the tomfoolery, along with the  (fairly sparse) audience.

Just a suggestion for a bit more foreground cameo human-interest stuff - especially for kids.

 

TBH something like that is in hand - keep watching!

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3 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I have spent the morning (amongst other things) looking through my digital photos of China. I do understand (to a point) people who say that they are not interested in a Chinese layout 'because I never went there and can't relate to it.'

 

But, equally, I cannot understand why (finance permitting) more British steam enthusiasts didn't visit China in the 1990's when they could see (and photograph) things like this  and 'YES' I've got it on video too!...

 

                            1963239966_chinaoct2004223(5).jpg.fb79bc16adb026a9ed54ea7a3f80866f.jpg

 

Superb Paul, I believe that is the summit at Shangdian if i'm not mistaken.

 

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Brian

 

You are right - this was taken in October 2004, by co-incidence the exact year my layout is set in.

 

I felt I had got most 'normal' shots on previous trips and so that trip I decided to go for more unusual ones. Usually we chased in a car so we got the same train in several locations but with this shot I just took up position and waited.

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19 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I have spent the morning (amongst other things) looking through my digital photos of China. I do understand (to a point) people who say that they are not interested in a Chinese layout 'because I never went there and can't relate to it.'

 

But, equally, I cannot understand why (finance permitting) more British steam enthusiasts didn't visit China in the 1990's when they could see (and photograph) things like this  and 'YES' I've got it on video too!...

 

                            1963239966_chinaoct2004223(5).jpg.fb79bc16adb026a9ed54ea7a3f80866f.jpg

 

 

That photo has 'Colin Garrett' written all over it!!! :yes: :good: His style of photography to a tee.

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Another unusual photo is this one ……………………. in the autumn of 2004 there was a short period of DF4B driver training and several (but not all) trains were double headed with the DF4B leading. This only lasted a short time and then trains became either double headed DF4B or double headed QJ.

 

2004_1204Image0043.JPG.1af922050f28bf4c316dcce73f7c6bd9.JPG

 

This steam/diesel combo will feature on the layout.

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Back to modelling matters!

 

The Faller roadway has been a massive project - getting reliability. That issues seems to have finally been resolved but the next issue was variety of vehicles. It would look awful if we just had the one same vehicle running continuously in an endless loop.

 

So I have introduced two parking magnets at the r/h (bridge) end loop. So now we will need THREE vehicles running at any given time. To begin with we have a vehicle trapped on each magnet. When the third vehicle arrives it trips both magnets. So one vehicle moves off into the layout and the next vehicle moves forward and the third vehicle stops on the vacant magnet.

 

Once I install a similar system at the other end we will need to run FIVE vehicles at any one time - again with only one vehicle visible on the layout with two vehicles held at each end so giving a lot of variety for the viewer.

 

Hopefully that makes sense but here is a video which hopefully shows what I mean - this is the bridge end ......…………..

 

 

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Al was developing a small diorama based around a crane as part of the building site. He wanted a sleeping dog as part of the scene. There are no decent ones made in HO/OO and so I took it on myself to source a 3D printed one.

 

I asked on RMweb if there was a suitable sleeping dog which could be used for HO/OO.

 

Someone sent me a 'free to use' file - it was perfect. So I sent it to my friend who does 3D printing commercially. 

 

In assumed it was HO/OO scale

 

I was wrong!

 

IMG_20200404_102327.jpg.94b9c620ef7a6834cf3fc667845d7865.jpg

 

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On 31/03/2020 at 13:10, runs as required said:

What we so enjoyed in China were the line side cameo details - such as the line-side physical exercises in the mornings -  and in up in a northern railway junction town (forgotten its name) a dingy line side circus -  transported around by the attendant circus train. The Clowns kidnapped our EH Listed Buildings timid boffin for an entire night's 3 performances. He was very terrified by the experience . We all cheered him on as the butt of all the tomfoolery, along with the  (fairly sparse) audience.

Just a suggestion for a bit more foreground cameo human-interest stuff - especially for kids.

dh

 

I did tell you that such a thing was in hand - and to prove it ………………………..

 

IMG_20200405_192848.jpg.8c911284fb7e138a4fab6fc5f93895d7.jpg

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