Chumley End

[gismorail]

Thanks Andy for your kind comments. 

 

I watched the race at Tina's as she has Sky .....the C4 presenters are far better than Sky, was really disappointed considering the costs involved ..... lets hope its the last bit of luck the red team have for a while   

[St Enodoc]

Thanks Andy for your kind comments. 

 

I watched the race at Tina's as she has Sky .....the C4 presenters are far better than Sky, was really disappointed considering the costs involved ..... lets hope its the last bit of luck the red team have for a while   

Smart thinking rather than luck I reckon.

[wiggoforgold]

Hi Martin. I've just discovered this thread, which I am reading from the beginning, and wishing I had found it six months ago before I started building Upwell Drove, as so many of our ideas seem to be the same! I particularly like your use of aluminium angle in the construction of the baseboards -I wish I,d thought of that. The cassettes look good too, I haven't started mine yet, although the ideas are similar, I'll be studying what you did with interest before starting on mine.

Great work, well done.

Alex

[KNP]

Nice varied roof line and different styles of buildings.

Looking effective.

[shedman]

A lovely rural scene, Martin. Coming along really well. You really need to get something done to that signal box, though, its been derelict far too long! A disappointing end to the race, although you've got to hand it to Vettel, he knows how to use the loopholes in the rules. All the best, Trevor

[gismorail]

Hi Martin. I've just discovered this thread, which I am reading from the beginning, and wishing I had found it six months ago before I started building Upwell Drove, as so many of our ideas seem to be the same! I particularly like your use of aluminium angle in the construction of the baseboards -I wish I,d thought of that. The cassettes look good too, I haven't started mine yet, although the ideas are similar, I'll be studying what you did with interest before starting on mine.

Great work, well done.

Alex

Hi Alex thanks for your kind comments and I can only say that 'great' minds think alike  My previous layout Chester Northgate Shed was built to the open former style but on this layout I came up with the aluminum idea to reduce the weight but to also give some extra strength to the boards. I have also considered any future layout construction and therefore hopefully it will make the boards re-usable. I hope you enjoy the rest of the tale of Chumley End, not that I'm really sure in which direction it will turn as it is very much a 'build and design' as I go along which makes it fun . 

[gismorail]

A lovely rural scene, Martin. Coming along really well. You really need to get something done to that signal box, though, its been derelict far too long! A disappointing end to the race, although you've got to hand it to Vettel, he knows how to use the loopholes in the rules. All the best, Trevor

You quite right about the signal box Trevor and to be honest I've been having trouble with the contractors who I'm believe hail from the Manchester area!!!  . They made an appearance not long after the PW gangs had vacated the station site and the box structure seemed to be constructed very quickly as did the rodding around the station site .My main concern is that none of the work force return back to site after lunch time in the local pub. I did speak to the signal department only yesterday and there seems to be a dispute as to where the signals are to be sited and every time they come up with a plan the beer match on which it has been drawn on gets lost !!!! 

Just couldn't get the staff in those days 

[danstercivicman]

Layout looking great! Canal

Idea is very good

[gismorail]

A quick update just to prove that some modeling has been going on ......  I have obtained a medium yard crane from Mikes Models  (Holt Model Railways Swansea) for the agricultural siding loading dock. These models date back many years but go together well with minimum flash to remove prior to construction which shows what a good model they are as well as being well ahead of their time when first marketed. 

 

 

                                   

 

The model has only had a quick spray of grey primer at present and still needs further painting / weathering as well having the chains fitted to complete. I have made it removable by installing a brass tube into the dock area which the fixing simply pushes into, it's one of those items which could get damaged when the layout is in store or being moved. 

 

                                   

 

 

The cattle dock which is still removable has been masked and the fencing and ramp area have had a quick spray of grey primer which will help the finished painting key in better onto the bare plastic. I will more than likely get this painted and detailed before the whole dock area is fitted to the baseboards this is also true of the agricultural dock area too. As a side note regarding the cattle dock I discovered that nobody appears to make a road going cattle wagon so I managed to get hold of one of Langley Models kits which is only the body which once made up will have to be fitted to a Oxford Bedford TK ...

 

I have started work on the canal scene which I showed for the first time in a previous posting . My original idea was for the road from the Mill / agricultural area which heads towards the main village area was going to cross the canal over a traditional canal over bridge but once I had positioned a mock up I wasn't happy with the general effect so I have decided that the canal will exit the scene via a tunnel with the road disappearing into the back scene above the tunnel. 

 

                                                                                                       

 

At other end of the canal scene I want it to simply blend into the back ground on a curve hence the narrowing of the canal at this point giving the effect of distance and perspective . 

 

 

                                     

 

There is a certain amount of risk I feel about this effect as if it doesn't come off it could look a bit ' contrived ' but hopefully with the correct use of embankments and positioning of trees  & foliage over hanging the canal it could make the corner of the layout a lot greater than it really is. The positioning of the water tower could be quite vital as a scene blocker when the area is viewed from the station area , there is still a lot of experimentation to do here me thinks. I think that a few canal side walks armed with the camera are going to be in order as spring time breaks in the Dee Valley this year.  

 

 

[Andrew P]

Some cracking bits of work going on there Gismo, Will some overhanging Trees help hide the Canal exit mate.

 

Like the Yard Crane as well, it's a  most unusual model.

 

All the best and keep the pics coming.

[KNP]

Very effective.

I do like that crane, you never know one might appear on LM in the near future.

[shedman]

You've an excellent eye for composition with your scenic work, and how to blend it in! Excellent! . Agree with Andy about the possibility of using trees. Love the crane as well. Trevor

[gismorail]

Well it's been a lovely day up here in North Wales which after what seems to have been an never ending winter, it was really pleasant to do some work on the layout today with both sets of doors open and the sunshine streaming into the normally dark man cave   

Now I really should have cut the lawn today and made a start on tidying up the garden ready for some flowers to be planted to at least make it look cared for ...but I've been itching to make a start on the canal embankments to start to get some feeling for the back of the layout and as to whether my ideas are going to give a real depth of field to the station area. Continuing with my wish to try out new ideas I have used insulation board 'Kingspan' to form the scenery contours and I have found it very easy to shape using a plaster-board rasp file all be it a bit messy and I have found it best to do the shaping into a large black bin liner.  I have used 9mm ply board as basic formers to give some extra strength to the formation as well as keeping a guide to the visual effect as I shape the scenery. 

 

                            

 

I have found that it is very easy to shape the insulation board by just marking the end of the insulation with a pencil along the former and simply rasp away and shape the mass into the desired form that you are looking for. The tunnel was very easy to produce in this way and the first part has a brick arch then about a six inch tunnel was shaped by the use of a semi-circular wood rasp and the formed shape painted to give an impression of darkness. The insulation has been fixed with Evo-stick Contact adhesive and the ply former's have been fixed with 'Gorilla ' glue which ensures a very strong bond. 

 

                                                                                               

 

Just a bit of advice about this 'Gorilla' glue make sure that you don't get on your skin as it's the very devil to clean off afterwards and 'will' do damage, so make sure you wear gloves...also this is my second bottle that I have used and I went for the small 60ml bottle as the first bottle went off very quickly once opened and on the smaller bottle there is a metal spike in the top which stops the access hole blocking up. 

 

The photographs do show the start of the scenery in a very raw state and there is still a lot to do before the final shape is achieved but I thought it would be useful for people to see the basic's shown.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shedman]

Hope you enjoyed your hols Martin. Good to see you back, using American ideas from What's Neat! Looking good, I must say. See you Saturday. trevor

[Andrew P]

Morning Martin, you keep that Sunshine out and shining bright ready for my visit to Bala on the 28th.

 

The Canal is looking good, at least you, like me around here have plenty of prototype inspiration to study.

 

Keep the pics coming and get some Sheep or Goats in to do the Lawn, it's far easier mate.

[KNP]

Now I can why were not to worried about the backscene by the canal tunnel entrance.

 

Nice concept forming there which even it's basic form is looking realistic.

 

Can't wait to see the finished result with all those trees in place!

[Donw]

Well it's been a lovely day up here in North Wales which after what seems to have been an never ending winter, it was really pleasant to do some work on the layout today with both sets of doors open and the sunshine streaming into the normally dark man cave   

Now I really should have cut the lawn today and made a start on tidying up the garden ready for some flowers to be planted to at least make it look cared for ...but I've been itching to make a start on the canal embankments to start to get some feeling for the back of the layout and as to whether my ideas are going to give a real depth of field to the station area. Continuing with my wish to try out new ideas I have used insulation board 'Kingspan' to form the scenery contours and I have found it very easy to shape using a plaster-board rasp file all be it a bit messy and I have found it best to do the shaping into a large black bin liner.  I have used 9mm ply board as basic formers to give some extra strength to the formation as well as keeping a guide to the visual effect as I shape the scenery. 

 

Canal Embankments first fix 002 (450x283).jpg                            Canal Embankments first fix 003 (450x337).jpg

 

I have found that it is very easy to shape the insulation board by just marking the end of the insulation with a pencil along the former and simply rasp away and shape the mass into the desired form that you are looking for. The tunnel was very easy to produce in this way and the first part has a brick arch then about a six inch tunnel was shaped by the use of a semi-circular wood rasp and the formed shape painted to give an impression of darkness. The insulation has been fixed with Evo-stick Contact adhesive and the ply former's have been fixed with 'Gorilla ' glue which ensures a very strong bond. 

 

                                                                                               Canal Embankments first fix 006 (208x450).jpg

 

Just a bit of advice about this 'Gorilla' glue make sure that you don't get on your skin as it's the very devil to clean off afterwards and 'will' do damage, so make sure you wear gloves...also this is my second bottle that I have used and I went for the small 60ml bottle as the first bottle went off very quickly once opened and on the smaller bottle there is a metal spike in the top which stops the access hole blocking up. 

 

The photographs do show the start of the scenery in a very raw state and there is still a lot to do before the final shape is achieved but I thought it would be useful for people to see the basic's shown.... 

 

I like the Canal cutting but for the tunnel to look necessary the ground ought to carry on rising beyond the tunnel mouth. If that is not practical you could try making it a bridge (occupation bridge for a farm? no roads needed to it) and hide the supposed continuation of the cutting with trees. 

Nice scenic work.

Don

[gismorail]

Hope you enjoyed your hols Martin. Good to see you back, using American ideas from What's Neat! Looking good, I must say. See you Saturday. trevor

Thanks Trevor had an enjoyable trip to Italy think I'm over dosed on culture for a while spent all the first day visiting the Vaticano . Spent an interesting day going down to Napoli then onto Pompey took the opportunity to use the High Speed train from Rome 

 

              

 

Although the trains are very fast and effective the whole system is very confusing to use and the booking of tickets is an absolute nightmare but I suppose the booking system in our country is not a lot better. 

 

Looking forward to the Liverpool show on Saturday will phone you tomorrow to arrange times etc happy to drive as I'm looking after my grand daughter in the evening 

cheers

[gismorail]

Morning Martin, you keep that Sunshine out and shining bright ready for my visit to Bala on the 28th.

 

The Canal is looking good, at least you, like me around here have plenty of prototype inspiration to study.

 

Keep the pics coming and get some Sheep or Goats in to do the Lawn, it's far easier mate.

It's sure been hot today Andy still haven't got round to cutting the lawn been working all day   I quite often have the odd sheep wander into the garden and they seem to enjoy munching on the nice rich grass on my lawn the problem is the recycled grass that is left after they have gone to pastures new   

[gismorail]

Now I can why were not to worried about the backscene by the canal tunnel entrance.

 

Nice concept forming there which even it's basic form is looking realistic.

 

Can't wait to see the finished result with all those trees in place!

Thanks Kevin yes happy with progress so far ..... seem to have taken up a new hobby which involves taking pictures of trees at the moment , it's a perfect time of year to get an idea of the basic tree shape at the moment before all the leaves come out. 

[gismorail]

I like the Canal cutting but for the tunnel to look necessary the ground ought to carry on rising beyond the tunnel mouth. If that is not practical you could try making it a bridge (occupation bridge for a farm? no roads needed to it) and hide the supposed continuation of the cutting with trees. 

Nice scenic work.

Don

Thanks for you kind comments Don I did try an occupation / road bridge before opting for the tunnel idea and it just didn't seem to fit the location mainly because is was very close to the base board joint. I am not sure exactly the criteria that the canal builders used to justify the construction of a tunnel but I have modelled the one on Chumley End on the Ellesmere Tunnel just after Blakemere 

 

                                                              

 

The photograph is of the Eastern end of the tunnel as there is not a great deal of rising land mass above the tunnel area. In real life there is a road juction where the Whichurch Road joins the main Ellesmere to Shrewsbury Road. There is going to be a slight rising of the land above my tunnel as I intend to join up the village road to the embankment that you can just see above the main approach to the tunnel area although a lot of this effect will be blended into the scene with trees. 

Many thanks for your input though as it is always good to get other peoples view of what one is trying to create 

[Donw]

Thanks for you kind comments Don I did try an occupation / road bridge before opting for the tunnel idea and it just didn't seem to fit the location mainly because is was very close to the base board joint. I am not sure exactly the criteria that the canal builders used to justify the construction of a tunnel but I have modelled the one on Chumley End on the Ellesmere Tunnel just after Blakemere 

 

                                                              Ellesmere Tunnel Eastern enterance.jpg

 

The photograph is of the Eastern end of the tunnel as there is not a great deal of rising land mass above the tunnel area. In real life there is a road juction where the Whichurch Road joins the main Ellesmere to Shrewsbury Road. There is going to be a slight rising of the land above my tunnel as I intend to join up the village road to the embankment that you can just see above the main approach to the tunnel area although a lot of this effect will be blended into the scene with trees. 

Many thanks for your input though as it is always good to get other peoples view of what one is trying to create 

 

I know it well Martin it is a short tunnel through a ridge which would be two wide for a bridge. There is a similar one at Pontrilas station. The things is with the cutting you have created it raises the question why suddenly go for a tunnel either the ground needs to rise higher or there has to be another reason. I was thinking of Elsemere and how trees could make it look like the canal continued on. 

 

Don

[gismorail]

I know it well Martin it is a short tunnel through a ridge which would be two wide for a bridge. There is a similar one at Pontrilas station. The things is with the cutting you have created it raises the question why suddenly go for a tunnel either the ground needs to rise higher or there has to be another reason. I was thinking of Elsemere and how trees could make it look like the canal continued on. 

 

Don

Thanks for you input again Don. The eastern end approach of the canal does go into quite a deep cutting as it parts company with Blakemere and a nice gradual curve develops before the tunnel. I do wander as to whether the road junction above the canal had some influence on the canal engineers final decision all though the roads in those days would have been coaching routes. The western approach is across fairly flat landscape and it is only about 500yds before the tunnel that the land raises quite quickly. Having done some further work on the embankments this morning I was looking at just the point that you have raised and will in fact raise the ground a little further on the next stage of construction. 

[gismorail]

Morning all well I've done it .........    ...cut the lawn for the first time this year     and that was before I had even unlocked the 'man cave'     and the lawn mower started FIRST time   

 

Well after I had enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and several biscuits whilst viewing my handy work (the lawn) and before I dosed off in the sunshine I dragged myself into the shed to do some further work on the canal embankments.  OMG I'm such a martyr to the cause 

 

 

                                         

 

 

                                         

 

I had covered the insulation board with undiluted PVA glue last night and it had developed a good seal. I have now covered the embankments with a ready mixed water resistant tile grout which is also flexible and therefore it shouldn't suffer from any cracking as it dries. Once the mixture was just going off I carefully bushed it smooth with a paint brush which will give a nice strong surface for the scenic treatments once all the areas have received a good old fashion coat of appropriate coloured emulsion paint. 

Following Don's observations about the land rising about the tunnel I will be adding to the general height of the formation and in the second picture you can just about make out an embankment in the back scene which will represent the road disappearing into the distance. There is still further work to be undertaken at the other side of the embankment where the road to the village exits the scene and this will have to be blended into the general effect to complete but I want the grout to set nice and hard before further work continues. 

 

The bridge at the exit of the station end now requires painting and some walling needs to be produced to go around the back of the water tower and once that has been completed I can finish the embankments around this area. Once this has been done most of the land formation work will be completed at the back of the layout which will then allow further work to be carried on the land formation at the front. 

It is indeed exciting times in the development of Chumley End as these are ideas that I have been turning over for some time and it good to see it coming together at last 

 

[Andrew P]

Morning all well I've done it .........  ..cut the lawn for the first time this year  :sungum:and that was before I had even unlocked the 'man cave'     and the lawn mower started FIRST time 

 

Well after I had enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and several biscuits whilst viewing my handy work (the lawn) and before I dosed off in the sunshine I dragged myself into the shed to do some further work on the canal embankments.  OMG I'm such a martyr to the cause 

 

 

Canal embankments 2nd fix 001 (450x309).jpg                                         Canal embankments 2nd fix 002 (450x262).jpg

 

 

Canal embankments 2nd fix 003 (450x318).jpg                                         Canal embankments 2nd fix 006 (450x331).jpg

 

I had covered the insulation board with undiluted PVA glue last night and it had developed a good seal. I have now covered the embankments with a ready mixed water resistant tile grout which is also flexible and therefore it shouldn't suffer from any cracking as it dries. Once the mixture was just going off I carefully bushed it smooth with a paint brush which will give a nice strong surface for the scenic treatments once all the areas have received a good old fashion coat of appropriate coloured emulsion paint. 

Following Don's observations about the land rising about the tunnel I will be adding to the general height of the formation and in the second picture you can just about make out an embankment in the back scene which will represent the road disappearing into the distance. There is still further work to be undertaken at the other side of the embankment where the road to the village exits the scene and this will have to be blended into the general effect to complete but I want the grout to set nice and hard before further work continues. 

 

The bridge at the exit of the station end now requires painting and some walling needs to be produced to go around the back of the water tower and once that has been completed I can finish the embankments around this area. Once this has been done most of the land formation work will be completed at the back of the layout which will then allow further work to be carried on the land formation at the front. 

It is indeed exciting times in the development of Chumley End as these are ideas that I have been turning over for some time and it good to see it coming together at last 

Eya up young Martin,   your working faster than me mate, that won't do   , I'll need to burn some midnight oil to catch up. hahah  

 

Excellent work as well.  

 

Now then, about this O Gauge?