'Angloshire...' OO in the USA

[HeavyDuty]

I think it's now the biggest show in the US. Seriously, it's worth the trip!

[Thom]

This is the end tunnel module when I was doing the scenics on it in my living room. The backscenes are not painted here and you can see the trap door that opens for access to the current controls and track. It was very important to me that to be realistic the tunnel had to be totally dark inside for viewing and this was the only way I could do that.

 

The backscenes are painted here and the rest of the trees added. 

 

The abandoned farm, (Hornby Skaledale,) before Dad's Army arrives.

 

The stone circle up close showing the sheep and shepherd.

 

 

[Thom]

For anyone wondering how I did the terrain these pics should help. The baseboards are framed with 1'x3's and then covered with 1/2' styrofoam. Sturdy and light weight. I then built up where I wanted to by cutting and then glueing more 1/2' styrofoam. I used Loctite adhesive from Home Depot but it is available from any DIY store. Much better then Liquid Nails. You can also see I already glued on the 1/4' luan fascia. I made sure that I left room for the Plexiglas to slide between the fascia and the scenics.

 

Then I used spray foam, 'Great Stuff', to fill in some.I used the green paper to keep it from the other modules but that was a mistake and would not recommend that.

 

When the spray foam dried I simply used a serrated knife to shape the foam.

 

Then, after making sure the track was totally covered, I used caulk to cover the foam. I put the caulk on and then using a bowl of water, kind of like a potter, to keep wetting my fingers, I smoothed the whole area. It ends up being wet and takes a couple days to dry. I used temp backscenes to make sure it was the way I wanted it. You can also see I already had a hole for where the pill box was going to go.

 

I then painted the whole area brown and added the scenics. You can see here how much better a tunnel looks when the inside is painted flat black and it really is dark inside. All the foam underneath makes the modules very light and incredibly sturdy. Two important things for an exhibitiuon layout.

[Thom]

I now have Inspector Morse, Sergeant Lewis and the Jaguar from ‘Inspector Morse’ to add to the layout. Any suggestions to where best site them? I must confess I do not know the series well enough, (OK, not at all,) as to know where they might be found.  Meeting at the Prince Albert pub, perhaps? They need to be visible and yet not conflict with any other cameo figures.

[Purley Oaks]

Yes, close to a pub, getting into/out of Morse's maroon Mark 2 Jaguar

Mal

[Thom]

I finally got around to a tweak to the Tovis Valley module that I wanted to do. This is the way it looks at shows with no Plexiglas in front of it. At shows I have stands with ropes attached to keep viewers from  getting to close.

 

But at home there are people passing by rather close and  I have had Plexiglas clamped to the front of it for protection. The problem is that the Plexiglas becomes a mirror with the black behind it. Any dark color does, for that matter.

 

So I cut the Plex and used foamboard to brace it in place.

 

Then I cut a new 1/4" luan fascia to match the front contour of the module and attached it with Loctite. (I lifted the Plex out before painting.)

 

Painted it flat black to match the rest of the layout and then slid the Plex back in behind it and there you have it. There is still a little refection here in my living room, but not much at all. In fact, that is how I have the Plex all the way around the layout. It's just that doing it to this module was not a prority since I don't use the Plex at shows. I suggested somewhere else that for those who have cats that like to jump on their layouts, this would be a good way to stop them. It's removable by just lifting it out when working on a layout and then just slid back it when running trains and there are cats around. 

[Thom]

I'm sorry this is so out of focus but my camera doesn't take good close ups. This shows Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis getting out of Inspector Morse's Jaguar heading into the Prince Albert pub. I repainted two figures from Preiser Churchgoers set 10559.

[artizen]

Don't know how I missed this one. Just wonderful and above all, fun!

[Thom]

Some more pics of Hogsmeade/Goathland Station. There were camping coaches in the 1950s but there are not the same ones that are recorded as being there then.

 

The NYMR wagon is a nod to the current North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

 

As I said before there are only two tracks through the station but I have three so Hogwarts Express can be parked there while not running. 

 

Also, in the 1950s there were no cobblestones in front of the goods shed nor was there a footbridge there. My intent was to have reletively accurate portrayal of the station but not 100%.

 

[Thom]

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub in the background is actually the Birch Hall Inn a mile from Goathland Station, but in the opposite direction.

[Thom]

Some pics of the real Goathland Station that I worked from. I also made two pilgrimages there to get more details. The first is the rear of the station.

 

I still need to add signals, some fencing and foot boards

 

This old black and white pic show the station in 1958 when it looks like there was no roof on the whole gents, the extension chimney looks different, and there were telegraph poles along the platform. Some of the reasons I'm not trying to be 100% accurate. It looks like a greenhouse out back behind the goods shed, as well.

 

The next pic shows the station somewhere between 1956-1965 when the line was closed. The additional tracks that I did not model are clearly shown and one can see there is no water crane next to the water tower at that time. Also, no cobblestones in front of the goods shed. I still cannot find any pics of Hagrid's Hut from that time period, though.

 

The current station layout from a satellite image. One can see it's not as curved as some pics make it look.

[Sasquatch]

Excellent job! Bit spooky as I thought I was looking at my own layout for a second.

The Dads army picture is my favorite!

Clever use of Metcalfe kits for the viaducts. Tried that myself but got the curve too sharp.

Regards Shaun.

[Corbs]

Delightful model, an ode to Britain on film!

[Jaz]

Sasquatch gave me the link for this......

As we both have Goathland layouts....he is just putting his back together, and we are rebuilding ours after ripping it out....because Sasquatch's wa so much better

I love you take on mixing Thomas the Tank Engine buildings with the Skaledale, and Like your statue on the US monument stand...I assume its a 1:36 sat on the plinth. We have the same monument but so far has not made it on to our layout anywhere.

 

Love the little stone building....interesting 3 tracks....like the birch inn...intersting on the stonehenge.....bascically lots of interest     

 

In addition to Sasquatch and us (Kal and me), Boris lives in Goathland.....mkwolf1877 has a lot of research for it, as does Silky_Jack (who unfortunately has not been seen for a while). And the same for graham (Clay) who also has noticeable Harry Potter influence. You are well past needing any help. And you have a lot of interesting items.

Clay and Sasquatch are both US based and do shows. so you will have a lot in common.

 

Sasquatch made his pumps from scratch...and now has both correct....you might be interested in that.

 

And as for Dads Army...the NYMR does a lot of enactments...so that is all good too.

 

Nice to see your work. I have added my self to followers, ad will be interested to see how your thread progresses.

 

If you have any more back ground photographs ...especially of the weir behind the station I would love to see them...in time...not trying to push you in to anything.

Sasquatch has a lot of reference on his thread, so do we but ours is higgley piglley as we do other stuff. Harry Potter and Heartbeat also. Love the groovy baby car too.....

Oh and love the English bus stop......

Edited July 21, 2014 by Jaz

[Thom]

Jaz, thanx for the kinds words. As I think I mentioned before, my layout was predominately designed to interest US modelers in British modeling. Second was to create my little bit of Britain here for me. 

 

Having Great Waterton was born  out of two things. One was that Hornby made so many of the buildings from Great Waterton. The Station, Waterton Butchers, Ben's Books, Post office, blacksmith and garage. The blacksmith was just way to overscale to use and there was noo room for the garge. That was a good starting point. I got as many pics  on line as I could find for it and tried to recreate a somewhat realistic simulation of a real fictitious animated location. The other thing was that I wanted to use Thomas as a way to draw people into the layout in a way that they could relate to, which works especially well with kids and their parents.

 

Once again, with Harry Potter, Hornby made, both a few years ago and recently, the main buildings for Goathland. I happened to get Hagrid's Hut on eBay and that was the icing on the cake. It was easy to find details about Goathland before I even visited there, and as with Thomas, Harry Potter was a way to really draw teenagers and adults  into the layout. 

 

The war memorial in GW is from Harburn Hobbies, and Ye Olde Fighting Cocks was sited as close as possible to the landscape, (for my layout,) of the original Birch Hall Inn. 

 

Unfortunately I could not find any other older pics of Goathland. Here are some I took last summer but don't know if they will help at all. I took around 120 pics last summer and would be happy to email them to anyone who is interested. I also took tons at Highley, Bewdley, and dent Stations. Ok, a lot more stations then  that, even. lol So, if anyone needs pics of any of those station or any of the others I took, just let me know.

 

 

 

[Jaz]

Jaz, thanx for the kinds words. As I think I mentioned before, my layout was predominately designed to interest US modelers in British modeling. Second was to create my little bit of Britain here for me. 

 

Having Great Waterton was born  out of two things. One was that Hornby made so many of the buildings from Great Waterton. The Station, Waterton Butchers, Ben's Books, Post office, blacksmith and garage. The blacksmith was just way to overscale to use and there was noo room for the garge. That was a good starting point. I got as many pics  on line as I could find for it and tried to recreate a somewhat realistic simulation of a real fictitious animated location. The other thing was that I wanted to use Thomas as a way to draw people into the layout in a way that they could relate to, which works especially well with kids and their parents.

 

Once again, with Harry Potter, Hornby made, both a few years ago and recently, the main buildings for Goathland. I happened to get Hagrid's Hut on eBay and that was the icing on the cake. It was easy to find details about Goathland before I even visited there, and as with Thomas, Harry Potter was a way to really draw teenagers and adults  into the layout. 

 

The war memorial in GW is from Harburn Hobbies, and Ye Olde Fighting Cocks was sited as close as possible to the landscape, (for my layout,) of the original Birch Hall Inn. 

 

Unfortunately I could not find any other older pics of Goathland. Here are some I took last summer but don't know if they will help at all. I took around 120 pics last summer and would be happy to email them to anyone who is interested. I also took tons at Highley, Bewdley, and dent Stations. Ok, a lot more stations then  that, even. lol So, if anyone needs pics of any of those station or any of the others I took, just let me know.

I will be quite happy to see your reference photos....populate slowly on here. A few now and then would be lovely. When you have a lull in conversation a couple to more things along would be great. Silk_Jack and mkwolf1877 have both holidayed here. So also have useful photos. I would absolutely love a picture of the weir looking from the other direction...probably from the slope.....so if u have anything of the weir from the other direction ...that would be lovely. Otherwise just as they come. All at once am sure o miss stuff, where a few at a time,,,, gives you a chance to look properly and take some details in. Do you want me to add the links for other people work. graham and silky_jack are already up on rmweb. mkwolf1877 I think is waiting for more advancement before he posts. Boris has a thread and takes an interest in anything NYMR. Clays (graham) has some lovely Harry Potter reference.

[Jaz]

 

I now have Inspector Morse, Sergeant Lewis and the Jaguar from ‘Inspector Morse’ to add to the layout. Any suggestions to where best site them? I must confess I do not know the series well enough, (OK, not at all,) as to know where they might be found.  Meeting at the Prince Albert pub, perhaps? They need to be visible and yet not conflict with any other cameo figures.

 

if near a pub.....Morse will be expecting Lewis to buy him a pint. possibly sat out in a pub garden.....although you could have them investigating the derelict farm.....although Stonehenge is a long was from Oxford...their usual stomping ground.A lot of the series is set around the individual  colleges of Oxford University. Wadham might lend it self to being modelled.....it has a great quadrant. 

[Thom]

if near a pub.....Morse will be expecting Lewis to buy him a pint. possibly sat out in a pub garden.....although you could have them investigating the derelict farm.....although Stonehenge is a long was from Oxford...their usual stomping ground.A lot of the series is set around the individual  colleges of Oxford University. Wadham might lend it self to being modelled.....it has a great quadrant. 

The layout is done for now and, until I can add an additional 4' to it, I have no more room, so that's why I placed them getting out of the car at the Prince Albert pub ready to head inside.

[Thom]

Shuld clarify that last summer I took pics at a lot of preserved railways and have tons of pics if anyone needs any. I recently discovered, (on line,) Berwyn Station on the Llangollen Railway, and now want to make a diorama of it. What bums me out, though, is that I drove right past the station on the A5 last summer and had no clue I was going past such an awesome station.

 

Here are the stations I have pics of from 2013:

 

Brighton

Rowlands Castle 

Swanage

Corfe Castle

Dawlish

Torquay

Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway

Paignton 

Saltash

Bodmin on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway

Penzance

Woody Bay on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway

Norchard on the Dean Forest Railway

Tintern (now a park)

Cranmore on the East Somerset Railway

Castle Cary

Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway

Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway

Highley on the Severn Valley Railway

Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway

Llangollen on the Llangollen Railway

Carrog on the Llangollen Railway

Llanuwchllyn on the Lake Bala Railway

Barmouth

Porthmadog for the two narrow gauge railways

Holyhead

Liverpool Lime Street

Laxey on the IoM

Douglas on the IoM

Bury Bolton Street on the East Lancashire Railway

Ribblehead

Dent

Garsdale

Carlisle

Haltwhistle

Newcastle

Hawsker (now a bike rental)

Goathland

York

Louchborouch on the Great Central Railway

Quorn & Woodhouse on the Great Central Railway

Rothley on the Great Central Railway

 

It was a long road trip. 

[Jaz]

Wow your going to be popular....

[Thom]

Some more pics of the layout. The entrance to the canal tunnel. There are two hikers resting with one of them sitting on a log. Lots of ducks and even a black swan. The narrow boat coming out  of the tunnel is a Hornby model cut in half and repainted and detailed. A weathered Hornby ex GWR railcar heading onto the viaduct.

 

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub with Winston Churchill tipping his hat to Mr Bean. I still need to add windows to the upper level end of the pub. 

[Jaz]

nice canal....looks like a love boat entrance......

 

and the bridge near the 'Birch Inn' and love the waterfall.

 

We too have Mr Beans car ...should their not be an armchair on top????

[Thom]

Inspector Morse and Lewis getting ready to go into the Prince Albert pub for a pint.

 

Mr Bean first had an orange Mini that was crashed at the end of the first episode. His second Mini was the greenish yellow color that is most common. It, too, was destroyed, in this case by an army tank at the end of the third episode. For the final episodes he used an identical car, possibly the one was intended to be desproyed by the tank. As for the chair on the roof, it was not always there. Also, I do not have a padlock on it nor is the steering wheel removed even though it is parked. 

 

 

[Thom]

The other week I replaced the brick water tower with this one. It is the Hornby GWR water column that I detailed and repainted to be in SR colors to match Great Waterton Station. Passing through the station is the Tidmouth Belle hauled by Winston Churchill. A friend is making a proper headboard and coachboards. I have the water crane that came with the water column but have no idea where it could be placed at the Great Waterton Station.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Thom

[Thom]

I have been doing the tedious work, this past week, of cutting and glueing figures to make the Beetles crossing Abbey Road. (I had the white metal figures but they didn't look right at all so that's why I did the chopping that I did.) It was tedious, but I think they look pretty good, although clearly not perfect, especially their heights. I worked off the album cover to get the figures as close as was possible with what I had to work with. My biggest problem was that the only place I could place them where they could be clearly viewed was a narrow back street that wasn't the right direction to view properly. So, that is why they are where they are and why I placed them on a slight angle going across the zebra crossing. And, before anyone asked what figures I started with, I just used figures I already had and do not know where they all came from, but they were all walking figures.

 

I do have a white VW placed there but had to use Herbie until I can source a plain white one in HO since Oxford doesn't do the right one. I will be adding the black van on the opposite side of the street soon.

 

Of course if I tried to replicate it with them walking back across the street after the album cover photo was taken, I could skip the black van but would then need the bus. By the way, here is some trivia for you. The man standing on the right on the album cover just happened to be there and had no clue what the photo shoot was all about. He found out later after the album came out, and for the record, he was an American. I will repaint and reposition the figure I have there once I get the van.