West Highland Line V4, a 1980's West Highland Line layout

[6990WitherslackHall]

On 19/10/2023 at 06:58, young37215 said:

One of which is 37264 where I already knew my version was incorrect for the early 1980's, just prior to its late 1983 visit to Crewe works from which it emerged as the first official class 37 in large logo.

 

 

 

 

 

That model looks great. Love the weathering on it too. Looks just as good as the real thing!

 

[meanach]

On 16/10/2023 at 13:00, thegreenhowards said:

I think they are Spruce. Douglas Fir is a possibility but is fairly rare in Scotland - it likes milder weather. The other common tree is Larch, but that is deciduous and its needles would be a lovely light emerald green in the May picture. Trees will normally have foliage and branches all the way down unless they have been grown close together for forestry purposes. I’m this case the lower branches don’t have enough light and drop off. This is deliberate as branches create knots in the timber. 
 

Primo do some lovely Spruce trees. I’d put those at c.50feet tall, so you would need his 20cm trees which would look very impressive…at a cost!

 

I was also at GETS yesterday and admiring his Birch trees. I was going to buy some for Glenfinnan but he’d sold out of the 14cm ones which I need to represent a 20’ tree in O gauge.

 

I was very impressed by Tulloch Bridge at GETS. It’s too late an era for us but the presentation was superb.

 

Andy

 

 

I have been championing his trees for quite a few years . We first got talking at model rail Scotland a few years ago (pre plague era) . I have about 20 Primo trees now .
 

He’s a very approachable, nice guy. He has agreed to design and make some smaller versions (14cm) of the double silver birch trees. If any of you are interested then I can let him know that there is a broader market. They won’t be available until after Warley as understandably he’s busy making stock. 
 

They are a bit pricy but not in comparison to the growing cost of rolling stock. Once you’ve planted them they really grow on you and you want more! You have to think that certain rolling stock may only be in action now and again but the trees are a permanent fixture.  Also , he’s a bit of a perfectionist and if you ask, at exhibitions, he has a side box of ‘seconds’ at 20% off. No excuse not to branch out into the designer tree market. 
 

Ian 

[young37215]

The Primo firs arrived at the weekend and will get installed in the next few days. At first glance they look very good although a little uniform which means I'll need to tweak them to try and create some noticeable differences. 

 

At Garelochead 8D09 was booked to pass 1B15, 1823 Glasgow to Oban captured on the approach to its Garelochead stop headed by 37112. 

 

 

 

 

[young37215]

The Primo Spruce have been planted but not fixed in place as yet, the uniformity needs breaking up.  The trees are certainly imposing being about twice the height of the previous trees.  

 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

They look great Rob. I think they’re a good representation of what was there in your photos and about right in terms of scale.

 

Andy

[37Oban]

Hi,

 

people forget just how high trees really are!  100ft is a good average height for mature trees, although some can grow to 150ft or more!  That's 600mm in 4mm scale!  It's why you so rarely see mature trees modeled to scale, unless you are very careful, or chose the species carefully, as they can easily overpower the scene.

 

Roja

[Vecchio]

@37Oban I think the reason for not seeing scale high trees is the price.... 😁

 

@young37215 I think the 3 trees look great, well snipping out or bending a few branches may help to add more realism. 

[thegreenhowards]

On 24/10/2023 at 09:44, 37Oban said:

Hi,

 

people forget just how high trees really are!  100ft is a good average height for mature trees, although some can grow to 150ft or more!  That's 600mm in 4mm scale!  It's why you so rarely see mature trees modeled to scale, unless you are very careful, or chose the species carefully, as they can easily overpower the scene.

 

Roja

I agree. As a forester I get quite upset at the pathetic size of some trees on some layouts. But as an O gauge modeller I get quite scared at the size of the trees I need! Having said that 100ft is quite large. I tend to harvest my spruce at age 30-40 when it is typically 20-30 metres tall. This is the maximum height, it will spend most of its life rather shorter. Certain prize trees do get to 150ft, but not much taller as they tend to blow down in our windy climate!

[young37215]

19 hours ago, Vecchio said:

I think the reason for not seeing scale high trees is the price.... 😁

 

Hear Hear. There is no getting away from the expense of trying to to create life like lineside greenery. I am currently planning how the southern approach to Arrochar should be modelled where the number of trees and bushes required is frightening and, no doubt, the cost of modeling it eye watering. The number of trees that I used at Ardlui was far greater than I had anticipated and even now I question if I have added sufficient. As afternoon draws on 37108 is pictured departing Ardlui and winding its way south along the banks of Loch Lomond as it heads to Blyth with 6E46 comprised of empty hoppers returning for refill. It is not just Ardlui, all of the landscape could be more densely populated and just needs the weeks Euromillions numbers to match my selection so I can afford to do so!

 

I am still working through the wagon fleet checking the back to back gauges and was surprised to find the Lima hoppers in these pictures which have been rewheeled with Bachmann wheels, were particularly tight. My surprise was based on my experience of running where they are probably the least likely wagons to derail and that on a layout where derailments are surprisingly few is saying something.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by young37215

[young37215]

In between operations I started the scenic work at Arrochar yesterday. By the end of the day I had largely completed the embankment to the front of the station that runs down to Loch Lomond using polystyrene and Sculptamold. Hopefully it will have dried overnight and be workable later today.  

 

37049 and 37014 arrive at Garelochead as they head back to Glasgow with empty Mermaids having discharged their loads somewhere to the north. 

 

 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

I’d be interested to see pictures of your work in progress on the embankment.

[young37215]

23 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I’d be interested to see pictures of your work in progress on the embankment.

 

I'll post something when I am a little further forward but it is the same method that I have used elsewhere on the layout. As is often the case in my experience, the Sculptamold was too damp to work with yesterday meaning I had play trains instead of working on Arrochar. It's a tough life I know but better to let the embankment dry out rather than let my impatience end up making a mess of it.

 

In an effort to create some variety to the ususal angles for pictures, I set up the tripod to the side of Crianlarich to see if I could create the impression of being up above the station. 37033 was captured departing north with 7B02.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Module00]

Amazing compositions ! Real pleasure to watch your trains and layout. 😃

[young37215]

 

The evolution of the landscape at Arrochar station in pictures. First, earlier this year with polystyrene placed loosely on the embankment. 

 

 

 

Next step was to glue the polystyrene in place using PVA glue. Once this had dried I mixed up some Sculptamold which was used to create a rough skimmed embankment. I'll need to add some more to smooth out and complete the edges but as a first step, this was sufficient for my purpose. Once I am happy with the outline I'll add plaster cloth over everything. 

 

 

 

 

[coronach]

17 minutes ago, young37215 said:

 

The evolution of the landscape at Arrochar station in pictures. First, earlier this year with polystyrene placed loosely on the embankment. 

 

 

 

Next step was to glue the polystyrene in place using PVA glue. Once this had dried I mixed up some Sculptamold which was used to create a rough skimmed embankment. I'll need to add some more to smooth out and complete the edges but as a first step, this was sufficient for my purpose. Once I am happy with the outline I'll add plaster cloth over everything. 

 

 

 

 

I really like the station building. Is it a kit or have you scratch built it?  It looks just right. 

[young37215]

23 hours ago, coronach said:

I really like the station building. Is it a kit or have you scratch built it?  It looks just right. 

 

The station buildings and signal boxes are all scratch built mainly from card by a gentleman in Northern Ireland by the name of Ed Hall.  

 

The Sculptamold finally dried sufficiently to enable me to work with it which allowed me to add a little more to infill gaps and tidy the area up to a level I was happy with. I then decided that plaster cloth was unnecessary and simply painted the damp Sculptamold using a cheap acrylic burnt umber paint which will get dressed with scenic material once the remaining station area landscape is completed. All in all I am quite pleased with the outcome although the driveway at the southern end of the station looks wrong and needs more work. Now I can attack the mountainside rising to the west of the station (the area to the right in the first picture) at an approximate 50 degree angle. I am still uncertain about how high to raise the landscape so I will start by creating it in such a way that I can increase the height at a later stage should I feel the need. 

 

 

 

 

By way of comparison, this was the station entrance mid 1980's.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by young37215

[Module00]

How much railway stations have you on the layout ?

Edited October 30, 2023 by Module00

[young37215]

7 hours ago, Module00 said:

How much railway stations have you on the layout ?

 

Only 6, I ran out of space to build more! The 6 are Garelochead, Arrochar, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Fort William and Mallaig.

 

At this time of year the sun, when it shines, creates some interesting images at Crianlarich as well as showing off the new trees.

 

 

 

[GordonC]

The photos always look really impressive! how big is the room the layout is in?

[young37215]

On 31/10/2023 at 09:25, GordonC said:

The photos always look really impressive! how big is the room the layout is in?

 

The space is about 14m x 3m but never feels enough.

 

I now have 3 BSOT's in operation, numbers 9000, 9001 and 9015 with 2 more BSO's acquired waiting to undergo conversion. Two are in Oban rakes with one now added into a Mallaig rake which is the first time that I have used the BSO/BSOT in one of the Mallaig rakes and it meant removing a BSK to keep the load at 4. The Oban rakes have 2 brake coaches but I did not want 2 brakes in the Mallaig rakes and longer trains will not fit at Mallaig that easily which means as usual, a compromise is required. 9015 was the first BSOT to reach Mallaig seen arriving with behind 37175 and the 0837 from Glasgow which then formed the 1610 return. Both this and 9001 have yet to be completed either internally or externally but the lure of running meant they entered service partially complete. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Edited November 3, 2023 by young37215

[GordonC]

14m!!! I'm jealous!!!!

 

[Dunalastair]

2 minutes ago, GordonC said:

14m!!! I'm jealous!!!!

 

 

There cannot be many on here who are not guilty of breaking the tenth commandment when they read those dimensions:

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s layout room"

 

Says he who builds dioramas on boards less than 14 inches long ...

[Module00]

On 31/10/2023 at 08:10, young37215 said:

 

Only 6, I ran out of space to build more! The 6 are Garelochead, Arrochar, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Fort William and Mallaig.

 

At this time of year the sun, when it shines, creates some interesting images at Crianlarich as well as showing off the new trees.

 

Incredible layout with six stations, it's amazing, a pure pleasure to watch your layout representing my favorite line. 😍

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Module00

[young37215]

Moving on I managed to get some work done whilst watching the rain yesterday. Although a filthy day we were fortunate having seen some of the flooding and upheavel elsewhere, in getting off lightly. I glued about 2M of insulation board down and added plaster cloth to create the landscape to the immediate west of Arrochar which dried quickly allowing me to splash some 30 year old brown poster paint over it. Initial reaction is the end result looks OK although I still need to get my head around how this area will also tie into the upper level. I think what I have done is a step forward and even managed to remember to cover the track before laying the plaster cloth which meant that the track bed did not get contaminated. 

 

The first metre of landscape begins to take shape

 

 

Looking north, the height will get raised in time 

 

 

The landscape to the southern end of the platform gets a coat of paint

 

 

Looking south the profile of the mountainside begins to take shape.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by young37215

[ISW]

8 hours ago, young37215 said:

Looking south the profile of the mountainside begins to take shape.

 

That's some mountain! Going to look mighty impressive I'm sure.

 

Ian