Looe SLT

[ajaxjones]

I have started on my Looe SLT!

 

I have a DMU 153, FGW number 153361 to be exact and a 5x1 board. I am looking however for some station plans other than Google earth etc. 

 

I am also undecided at the moment to either have the POV from the river side, or the road side. With the spectator on the road side, it would make the backdrop easier as then it would be just a view of the river. Might be more interesting too as then the DMU would pass in and out of the station and hillside.

 

I'm going back down again to shutta in october and intend to take a survey pole and take lots of pics and measurements, but wanted to start now. Any help appreciated !

 

 

[HeavyDuty]

I've considered doing Looe as an SLT for several years but have never gotten past the thinking stage. (I also keep getting distracted by the idea of Coombe Junction.) I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

[bcnPete]

Personally, I would keep the river in the front as it creates a nice foreground and you can have some fun modelling the water.

 

In terms of plans, there are a number of books on the line which have various drawings which might be of use. The Gerry Beale book on the branch is very good.

 

Hope that helps...

 

(I also keep getting distracted by the idea of Coombe Junction.)

Me too Ken...mine might get reincarnated one day...

[ajaxjones]

I am tending towards the riverside at the front. With the way the road rises as well that will be nice for the left hand side as well with some of the houses in low relief. I might have to rain check that book though, just seen the price !

 

With the narrow width its looking like I'll get the station and car park in with the scrub in front, then as it curves away the water will start for the left hand side. 

[ajaxjones]

Baseboard is now done with the raised section. Next stop is to put in the hill up past Barclays house. Some compression going in to keep the character, and in a few weeks will be conducting an on site survey of the station building and fittings.

[ajaxjones]

Not exactly the most complex of layouts
 

I did see a great layout at the shenfield show however with a DCC loco and sound chip that certainly has made me want a setup like that. 

[Guest 34008Padstow]

Theres a group on flickr with some useful pics of looe. Rail station uk looe.

[ajaxjones]

It's quite interesting that a lot of people stand in the same place to take the pics. Hopefully the sun will be there soon

 

 

 

[ginger j]

I wonder if it says anything about me when my initial thought upon seeing the picture above was "oooh look its a VW Campervan". But with all seriousness, that's some good progress you've made there. I've often thought about building an SLT and I shall watch with interest.

 

GJ

[ajaxjones]

I will of course have to visit the Globe to obtain more perspective on the car park entrance

[ajaxjones]

In between everything else, managed to move on with the hillside. Nothing more than cardboard and PVA at the moment, but the paper mache to go on tomorrow to fill out the hillside. Idea is to just get the contours in, brickwall along the road side and some low relief for the old PO exchange house and new buildings. Some space too for some nice trees and have printed out the national trust tree identify sheets so I can find out what is actually growing down there. TBH I cant tell my Alders from others.

 

 

[ajaxjones]

So far so good, paper-mache and a top layer in white paper. Good footage on YouTube as well when the steam railmotor went down. 

Platform will be able to take the 153 or a 150/2 although I do like the 121 bubblecar as well. Perhaps it does need a fiddle yard..

 

Planning on having the fence down to about halfway along the front and then the speed restriction sign. A lot more trees and foliage than I remember, but makes things a little easier in terms of the hillsides I expect. Also a bus stop to place across the road thanks to google streetview. Temptation is to start the platform but waiting to get there to measure the waiting room and get some closeups of the rail side items. Glad to see the road has about 4 different walls in place, although I am tempted to install the seemingly permanent 1 way traffic light system that seems to have been in place for the last couple of years.

 

 

 

[wombatofludham]

Nice compact layout of a lovely little terminus.  Last time I went down to Looe it was on 117 305 running as a two car set and just transferred from the Midlands where I used to regularly catch it along the Cross City.  It still had Centro publicity notices inside the coaches which amused me as I was working there at the time!

 

Looking forward to see how this progresses.

[Melangoose]

Hi

 

Love the Looe Valley line (my favourite line in Cornwall).

 

Was there last month.

 

 

Will follow this topic with much interest.

 

Regards

 

Nigel

[ajaxjones]

Last time I went down to Looe it was on 117 305 running as a two car set and just transferred from the Midlands where I used to regularly catch it along the Cross City.

Ah the temptation and they also ran 121's , I'd love one of those with a dirty diesel/steam smoke generator on board. Could end up here with a massive fiddle yard, and the original intention was only for a photo plank test track

[ajaxjones]

Moving on have ordered some trees from the model tree shop, beech oak and hawthorn and will be seeing if sycamore are present on East Looe side.

 

Also considering it's an SLT gone for some steel C&L track work as well.

 

Some lineside cabs and modern brass speed restriction signs ordered AFAIK only one sign needed , but trying to source the station lamps. So far the Dcc concept ones are close, but looking for the style that are bent at the top instead of square. Perhaps the DCC ones and rebuild the pole

 

Also looking for modern bus shelter and bench although scratch build is probably pretty easy.

 

De riguer BIFFA bin if anyone knows a good item for that.

[brianusa]

As I am far removed from the current modelling scene, could some one explain why the end of what is basically a siding with basic facilities prompts a model? The original Looe, with a real station and sidings, etc, would present an ideal model and no doubt has been done before.

 

Brian.

[Moggs Eye]

I can't speak for the motivation of this layout's builder, but there is something compelling about a modern terminus like Looe. I always fancied something along the lines of Coombe or Bere Alston so I'd have a set of points and the sheer pleasure of recreating one of those brilliant branchlines. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I hope you enjoy building this layout.

[cold-ash]

Well put Moggs Eye. There's also time, space, money, interest. The list goes on!

 

Looking forward to updates. Attempting something similar to Bourne End in N, so not dissimilar!

[ajaxjones]

Ah, I guess at first glance it does seem a little underwhelming   A single line , with no point work even!.  However I have several threads of interest interwoven to bring it all together. 

 

It is based on a desire to have a go at lots of modelling techniques without an excessive outlay in time, space and money. 

 

Therefore it is more like an experiment of sorts of one off parts. Although there are lots of things to be tackled, the advantage is that there pretty much only one of everything to do and on a small scale .  A single scratch building based on the real one, some scale(ish) track instead of the Peco 100 standard fare, a chunk of densely packed good looking trees, a small portion of water, some lineside cabinets and trunking and some static grass. Also a small foray into DCC with a single sound board (unless the temptation of bubblecars and 150's overtake me). Also  the building of a hillside with some low relief buildings a first as will be the installation of some telegraph poles and power poles with cabling. So really instead of practicing these individually as stand alone practice pieces, by confining them on all on single small board it gives them some purpose (and building the baseboard was an experiment as well of course). 

 

Also the time aspect and the desire to build it and get it all actually finished is a big bonus as well. All of the above would be nice on much larger layout , but would be a bit too much to tackle and would take a lot longer to do. This way I can use each element as a test of skill and to gain some knowledge and also not be too afraid to rip up and start again if I want to improve. 

 

I will also be able to run it at the end as well exactly to a prototype timetable as well

 

Last confession I guess is an overwhelming interest in Looe as I have a place there that overlooks the station

 

Merasta !

[scottishlocos]

Hi

 

This looks really good and is a good idea to experiment and try out modelling skills.

May i suugest to add operational interest a single diesel loco could be used perhaps on a proving run after some flooding an EWS or DBS class 66 or even better a DRS class 37!!!!!!!!!!

 

Regards

 

Dave

[HeavyDuty]

As I am far removed from the current modelling scene, could some one explain why the end of what is basically a siding with basic facilities prompts a model? The original Looe, with a real station and sidings, etc, would present an ideal model and no doubt has been done before.Brian.

I've been interested in SLTs ever since the contest here a few years back. I see them as a way of building something small and highly detailed for a minimal outlay of time and cash. It's also a great way to dabble in something outside my normal interests.

[ajaxjones]

Ah yes, searching through the forum here, there seems plenty of class 37's on the line, driver training and other excursions. It's quite interesting to discover how a fairly simple line ends up with so much variation running on it. 

 

I also came up with a pretty good description this evening when describing an SLT, I called it pointless  

[wombatofludham]

When it's done you could have e bit of fun showing it off at an exhibition, where the limited operational aspects could be countered by running the timetable over several eras - a sequence featuring the last days of first generation DMUs, then Regional Railways sprinters, then FGW, plus perhaps a visit from the weedkiller Railtrack MPVs, or an inspection saloon and a noisy 37, you could even introduce a touch of fiction and have a preserved Autocoach and Pannier running a gala day special, or a top and tail steam/diesel three or four coach special, after all the Railmotor did the branch once, and there was a four car top and tail steam/class 37 special on the line a while back.  There's quite a few opportunities for operational variance stock wise. 

[ajaxjones]

Thanks for the kind comments, just read your posts on Kings Oak and it fully resounds with my foray into small layouts on many levels. Currently laying down colour undercoat and digging out all the old bags of barely used ground cover at present. If anything, there will be a lot of greenery considering the location and receieved the first trees from the model tree shop which look particularly exquisite. The existing ones I have are sadly going to be felled and replanted back onto the 009 layout. Telegraph poles and fitments from express models are also ready for planting so the background components are coming along. I really want to aim for a densely wooded run along the front. Until the field trip to gather photos there isnt too much to do although I'm trying to source some low height chain link fencing instead of the higher security fencing that is around.