Hills of the North - The Last Great Project

[RichardT]

19 minutes ago, coronach said:

We certainly did Richard. You introduced Jeremy D and myself from Nunthorpe GS. 

Ah ha Richard - now I know your RMWeb alter ego! Honestly - hiding behind pseudonyms online…

 

South Devon old boys reunion at York 2024? John still sees Neil Rushby occasionally I believe, so we have the basics!

 

Cheers,

the other Richard

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

4 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

WHAT was a King doing there?  I almost fell off my perch when I saw that! Was ita trick Train to confuse tyhe innocent?

Lovely shots of a lovely layout Graham. 

Also thanks for the Video whoever that was.

Phil

 

3 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

Should have gone to Specsavers, my fast-flighted friend. ‘‘Twas in fact No.7029 in early preservation days, specifically recreating the ‘Castle to Carlisle’ rail tour of 14th Oct 1967 😀

 

I agree with Duck, they all look the bloody same!

 

Being in my period, I enjoyed the proper engines, EE's finest, when they made an appearance.

 

One problem with the coming together of York show and HOTN is that, as I was only there the one day, I would have liked to have seen more of the running sequence but that would have meant I wouldn't have got round the rest of the show because of it's size, and I didn't spend as much time in front of some of the layouts as I would have liked anyway, not a complaint at all, that's life.

 

Mike.

[sjp23480]

Really enjoyed the video and pictures from York, what I noted above anything else was just how good the layout looks in natural light/sunlight - it makes such a difference. The warmth of the sunlight and the natural shadows add an element of realism that doesn't come across in artificial light.  I guess artificial light is too white and tends to bleach colours?

 

Lovely!

Steve

[LNER4479]

More video here:

 

 

[Clearwater]

Hi Graham

 

sure it’s been asked before but what are the dimensions of the layout both scenic and with the fiddle yard?

 

thanks

 

David

[Dagworth]

I’ll add these here too so they stay with the layout rather than get lost in the York show thread. 
 

 

It’s a great layout, and well deserved of the crowd that was constantly in front of it. I was honoured to be allowed inside and shown how Andrew’s fiddle yard wiring worked. 
 

Thanks Graham

 

Andi

[LNER4479]

1 hour ago, Clearwater said:

Hi Graham

 

sure it’s been asked before but what are the dimensions of the layout both scenic and with the fiddle yard?

 

thanks

 

David

30ft x 15ft. Nice n simple.

 

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, RichardT said:

Ah ha Richard - now I know your RMWeb alter ego! Honestly - hiding behind pseudonyms online…

 

South Devon old boys reunion at York 2024? John still sees Neil Rushby occasionally I believe, so we have the basics!

 

Cheers,

the other Richard

 

Perhaps we should start a fresh topic on Tales of the York Model Railway Show...

 

8 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

EE's finest

Deltics?

[Mallard60022]

16 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

Should have gone to Specsavers, my fast-flighted friend. ‘‘Twas in fact No.7029 in early preservation days, specifically recreating the ‘Castle to Carlisle’ rail tour of 14th Oct 1967 😀

Oh dear, so I should. Of course and what a lovely excuse to run a proper Castle up there. Excellent.

Thanks.

P

[Buhar]

30 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Oh dear, so I should. Of course and what a lovely excuse to run a proper Castle up there. Excellent.

Thanks.

P

Castles didn't come south of Perth except the two sent to the Oban line in LMS days.  

Alan

[Mallard60022]

8 minutes ago, Buhar said:

Castles didn't come south of Perth except the two sent to the Oban line in LMS days.  

Alan

I'm backing away slowly...not reverently, just slowly.

P

[RichardT]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Perhaps we should start a fresh topic on Tales of the York Model Railway Show

I’m only trying to step back from RMWeb, not actively seeking to be banned!

 

RichardT

[coronach]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Perhaps we should start a fresh topic on Tales of the York Model Railway Show...

 

Deltics?

There are a few tales in here …. I’ve got John’s copy.  And I once had hair !

Edited April 12, 2023 by coronach

[Barry O]

And even  "Captain Cook" had some left then...

😆

Baz

[queensquare]

Hi Graham,

 

sorry to have missed you at York, the pictures and video look excellent.

 

Quick question if I may. I have a fair bit of dry stone walling to do in 4mm and yours is very effective. Apologies if youve already outlined your technique on the thread, Ive had a quick look but couldnt find it, any chance you could outline your methods or point me in the right direction.

 

cheers Jerry 

[coronach]

23 minutes ago, Barry O said:

And even  "Captain Cook" had some left then...

😆

Baz

He’d be about 50 years old at that time. This was a York Evening Press photo in connection with the York Show - I remember Mike not liking the fact that the loco was being held over the layout but this presumably provided the human interest aspect in support of the article. 

[St Enodoc]

56 minutes ago, coronach said:

There are a few tales in here …. I’ve got John’s copy.  And I once had hair !

Yep, got that!

[Enterprisingwestern]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Perhaps we should start a fresh topic on Tales of the York Model Railway Show...

 

Deltics?

 

Pox Boxes?

Most definitely not!

 

Mike.

[LNER4479]

On 12/04/2023 at 10:37, queensquare said:

Hi Graham,

 

sorry to have missed you at York, the pictures and video look excellent.

 

Quick question if I may. I have a fair bit of dry stone walling to do in 4mm and yours is very effective. Apologies if youve already outlined your technique on the thread, Ive had a quick look but couldnt find it, any chance you could outline your methods or point me in the right direction.

 

cheers Jerry 

 

Well, Jerry - if I did post something before then it's been lost with the server crash so here are the pix again:

 

Firstly, a strip of 3mm balsa, approx 16mm (4 feet) high, is attached to the basic scenery covering (in this case chicken wire, but would work equally well with shaped foam / polystyrene). Note how the balsa is purposely cracked at regular intervals to help it follow the contours of the landscape. It's all a bit wobbly at this stage so ...

 

Cover with Mod-roc (other brands of plaster-impregnated bandage are available) like so.

 

Proceed to add more Mod-roc (or whatever) around it, just as you normally would. Now, the line of the wall is firmly integrated into the landscape.

 

Mix up a mid grey / brown plaster mix as shown. Add wood glue to aid strength and pliability.

 

Also add fine ballast to the mix for texture. You're aiming for a fairly thick, gloopy consistency. You've then got about 20mins for the next stage before it becomes unworkable.

 

Apply mix evenly over the Mod-roc'd former. Aim for about 2-3mm thickness - not absolutely critical and a certain amount of variation helps in any case.

 

Start scribing whilst wet(!) I used a small, slotted screwdriver. Initially, it'll be difficult to make definite lines but it soon becomes workable. Start with the line of the capping stones and the bottom, base stones (which tend to be quite large). Remember that the bottom will subsequently be lost in the scenic cover.

 

Proceed to add the lines in between, then mark out the small verticals to form the stone shapes. Try and add randomness as much as possible, whilst sticking to broadly horizontal alignments. Walls that are going up and down are continuously stepped so it's all horizontal based. Include a few large stones first them link it all up with smaller stones.

 

Final stage is to use a piece of card with a semi-circle shape cut in for the capping stones. This is the last stage and the plaster will be going off by this stage. Once marked, immediately distress random pieces of these stones, otherwise it will look too uniform. Shown here is the length in the shot above, plus a second one done. I did two or three in a session - that was enough! You then have to wait for fully 24 hours to see if the colour dries the same as the preceeding length(!) There was some variation, I used light application of grey primer spray to try and blend in the more obvious mismatches but you could really go to town and embark on colouring individual stones, adding moss and weathering (etc, etc) to your heart's content(!) What I did seems to have worked fine.

 

This was the final length being tackled, approx three weeks before the debut at the 2017 Warley show!

 

And finished! With a suitable method of celebration.

 

I gather it's some form of tradition for dry-stone wallers to signed their work somehow - so I decided to uphold that tradition. If you look closely next time down at the Greenholme bridge end, it might still be there! If nothing else, this cruel close up shows the individual bits of ballast in the mix which create the texture.

 

Hope that helps?

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by LNER4479

[Mallard60022]

11 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

 

Well, Jerry - if I did post something before then it's been lost with the server crash so here are the pix again:

 

Firstly, a strip of 3mm balsa, approx 16mm (4 feet) high, is attached to the basic scenery covering (in this case chicken wire, but would work equally well with shaped foam / polystyrene). Note how the balsa is purposely cracked at regular intervals to help it follow the contours of the landscape. It's all a bit wobbly at this stage so ...

 

Cover with Mod-roc (other brands of plaster-impregnated bandage are available) like so.

 

Proceed to add more Mod-roc (or whatever) around it, just as you normally would. Now, the line of the wall is firmly integrated into the landscape.

 

Mix up a mid grey / brown plaster mix as shown. Add wood glue to aid strength and pliability.

 

Also add fine ballast to the mix for texture. You're aiming for a fairly thick, gloopy consistency. You've then got about 20mins for the next stage before it becomes unworkable.

 

Apply mix evenly over the Mod-roc'd former. Aim for about 2-3mm thickness - not absolutely critical and a certain amount of variation helps in any case.

 

Start scribing whilst wet(!) I used a small, slotted screwdriver. Initially, it'll be difficult to make definite lines but it soon becomes workable. Start with the line of the capping stones and the bottom, base stones (which tend to be quite large). Remember that the bottom will subsequently be lost in the scenic cover.

 

Proceed to add the lines in between, then mark out the small verticals to form the stone shapes. Try and add randomness as much as possible, whilst sticking to broadly horizontal alignments. Walls that are going up and down are continuously stepped so it's all horizontal based. Include a few large stones first them link it all up with smaller stones.

 

Final stage is to use a piece of card with a semi-circle shape cut in for the capping stones. This is the last stage and the plaster will be going off by this stage. Once marked, immediately distress random pieces of these stones, otherwise it will look too uniform. Shown here is the length in the shot above, plus a second one done. I did two or three in a session - that was enough! You then have to wait for fully 24 hours to see if the colour dries the same as the preceeding length(!) There was some variation, I used light application of grey primer spray to try and blend in the more obvious mismatches but you could really go to town and embark on colouring individual stones, adding moss and weathering (etc, etc) to your heart's content(!) What I did seems to have worked fine.

 

This was the final length being tackled, approx three weeks before the debut at the 2017 Warley show!

 

And finished! With a suitable method of celebration.

 

I gather it's some form of tradition for dry-stone wallers to signed their work somehow - so I decided to uphold that tradition. If you look closely next time down at the Greenholme bridge end, it might still be there! If nothing else, this cruel close up shows the individual bits of ballast in the mix which create the texture.

Hope that helps?

Helps me too, but not for the Dry Stone.

Phil

[LNER4479]

Drystone wall nerd alert!!

 

Here are some pix I took at the time to try and get an idea of how the things actually look:

 

This one's fairly straight and uniform. I was mainly taken with the weathering patterns. The lighter coloured areas seem to be dead / dried moss (algae?) which creates a detailed, blotchy pattern. I haven't gone so far as to try and replicate that!

 

This one is literally 50 yards away from the Shap Wells bridge (on the M6 side). REALLY random by contrast. Note the bigger stones at the bottom and a mixture of slab, square and rounded stones. The capping has almost disappeared in this instance.

 

Here's one going up a slope - note the horizontal lines of stones, notwithstanding. The pattern and placement of the capping stones is worthy of note in this example. The colouring is reasonably uniform but some nice subtle variations in there for the weathering fans.

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by LNER4479

[queensquare]

3 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

 

Well, Jerry - if I did post something before then it's been lost with the server crash so here are the pix again:

 

Firstly, a strip of 3mm balsa, approx 16mm (4 feet) high, is attached to the basic scenery covering (in this case chicken wire, but would work equally well with shaped foam / polystyrene). Note how the balsa is purposely cracked at regular intervals to help it follow the contours of the landscape. It's all a bit wobbly at this stage so ...

 

Cover with Mod-roc (other brands of plaster-impregnated bandage are available) like so.

 

Proceed to add more Mod-roc (or whatever) around it, just as you normally would. Now, the line of the wall is firmly integrated into the landscape.

 

Mix up a mid grey / brown plaster mix as shown. Add wood glue to aid strength and pliability.

 

Also add fine ballast to the mix for texture. You're aiming for a fairly thick, gloopy consistency. You've then got about 20mins for the next stage before it becomes unworkable.

 

Apply mix evenly over the Mod-roc'd former. Aim for about 2-3mm thickness - not absolutely critical and a certain amount of variation helps in any case.

 

Start scribing whilst wet(!) I used a small, slotted screwdriver. Initially, it'll be difficult to make definite lines but it soon becomes workable. Start with the line of the capping stones and the bottom, base stones (which tend to be quite large). Remember that the bottom will subsequently be lost in the scenic cover.

 

Proceed to add the lines in between, then mark out the small verticals to form the stone shapes. Try and add randomness as much as possible, whilst sticking to broadly horizontal alignments. Walls that are going up and down are continuously stepped so it's all horizontal based. Include a few large stones first them link it all up with smaller stones.

 

Final stage is to use a piece of card with a semi-circle shape cut in for the capping stones. This is the last stage and the plaster will be going off by this stage. Once marked, immediately distress random pieces of these stones, otherwise it will look too uniform. Shown here is the length in the shot above, plus a second one done. I did two or three in a session - that was enough! You then have to wait for fully 24 hours to see if the colour dries the same as the preceeding length(!) There was some variation, I used light application of grey primer spray to try and blend in the more obvious mismatches but you could really go to town and embark on colouring individual stones, adding moss and weathering (etc, etc) to your heart's content(!) What I did seems to have worked fine.

 

This was the final length being tackled, approx three weeks before the debut at the 2017 Warley show!

 

And finished! With a suitable method of celebration.

 

I gather it's some form of tradition for dry-stone wallers to signed their work somehow - so I decided to uphold that tradition. If you look closely next time down at the Greenholme bridge end, it might still be there! If nothing else, this cruel close up shows the individual bits of ballast in the mix which create the texture.

 

Hope that helps?

 

That’s fantastically helpful Graham, very many thanks for taking the time to post your method

 

Jerry

 

[jwealleans]

 

Quote

And, as promised, some images from Monday morning's photo shoot:

 

 

My noo Patriot, 45518 'Bradshaw' headed the early BR era banked goods, as planned. Other than having to slow down the banking loco (resistor soldered in series with the motor), it performed more or less faultlessly throughout the three days. Now she's (he?!) been seen and photographed for posterity in ex-works condition, a healthy dose of weathering will be applied to portray her in a more typical condition.

 

I've watched the video.   Would you like some heavier wagons?

 

[LNER4479]

16 hours ago, jwealleans said:

 

I've watched the video.   Would you like some heavier wagons?

 

The Patriot gradually sped up as it bedded in over the three days. It was spotted and the resistors in series with the motor of the banker were adjusted accordingly 😉

[LNER4479]

Meanwhile ...

 

(Just bumping the thread on one to get us to a new page, York is now (very pleasant) history. First post of page 96 will be update on the main project. Come back in 15 mins or so ...)