North End Road - WCML in N

[shanks522]

It would definitely make a good video watching the same train traverse all our layouts. 
 

Back on topic the dogfishes look excellent Dave. 
 

Graham 

[scottystitch]

Law Junction. 
 

Best

 

Scott. 

[njee20]

2 hours ago, scottystitch said:

Law Junction. 
 

Best

 

Scott. 

Last one on Dave's list  

 

Awesome idea! Has to be a Pendolino, surely!? Or era-appropriate substitue perhaps! Andy Armitage has a stunning model of the 'southern section' of the WCML, but it's (whispers) BR blue and grey era. I shalln't hold it against him though!

[scottystitch]

7 minutes ago, njee20 said:

Last one on Dave's list  

 

Awesome idea! Has to be a Pendolino, surely!? Or era-appropriate substitue perhaps! Andy Armitage has a stunning model of the 'southern section' of the WCML, but it's (whispers) BR blue and grey era. I shalln't hold it against him though!

So it is. I missed that first time then, or it was added later.  No matter...

 

Best

 

Scott.

[Padishar Creel]

20 hours ago, njee20 said:

Last one on Dave's list  

 

Awesome idea! Has to be a Pendolino, surely!? Or era-appropriate substitue perhaps! Andy Armitage has a stunning model of the 'southern section' of the WCML, but it's (whispers) BR blue and grey era. I shalln't hold it against him though!

 

Andy Armitage shows his private layout on the 'Modelling BR Blue' FB group, based on Watford Junction and surrounding area

 

es grüßt 

pc

[DavidMcKenzie]

On 02/12/2021 at 18:12, Padishar Creel said:

... Kings Park

 

es grüßt

pc 

Two great additions to the list, I didn't know of either before seeing your post so thanks for sharing. Always nice to find new layouts, 

mit freundlichem Gruß

 

On 02/12/2021 at 18:26, cornish trains jez said:

 

I will start this layout again one day....

 

Look forward to this Jeremy, it is a wonderful and incredibly ambitious project. But until then I am very much enjoying following your progress on your swiss layout. 

 

On 02/12/2021 at 18:29, shanks522 said:

It would definitely make a good video watching the same train traverse all our layouts. 
 

Back on topic the dogfishes look excellent Dave. 
 

Graham 

Thanks Graham, plenty more dogfish to do to finish the rake, but it was nice to see them out on the layout. I am setting myself a little goal for this winter of trying improve my skills at making wagons (and the odd loco) look old and a bit beat up without over doing the weathering. 

 

On 02/12/2021 at 21:15, njee20 said:

Last one on Dave's list  

 

Awesome idea! Has to be a Pendolino, surely!? Or era-appropriate substitue perhaps! Andy Armitage has a stunning model of the 'southern section' of the WCML, but it's (whispers) BR blue and grey era. I shalln't hold it against him though!

Pendolino is a good shout, but it still does not fit into the era of a lot of the layouts. It might be possible to shown the development from the APT through to the Pendolino? Shame the Royal Scott working stopped in ~2003. 

A class 86 is possibly the only loco to span the complete time frame of all layouts (but I might be wrong)? even then the livery has changed a number of times since the early BR blue days.

My knowledge is not good enough to be sure, but maybe something completely left field like an 08 shunter, a tamper machine or a steam special might the only 'real life' working to have run through all eras from the BR blue to present day?

 

On 02/12/2021 at 21:24, scottystitch said:

So it is. I missed that first time then, or it was added later.  No matter...

 

Best

 

Scott.

Sorry Scott I might have chucked you a curve ball there by adding it to the list a few mins after the original post, can't believe I missed it, it is one of my all time favourite layouts. 

 

 All the best,

Dave 

[bmthtrains - David]

Oops! I hadn’t intended my post to hijack your threat thus, but to cap it off I think running the principle express of each layout’s era would be best - Pendolino turning into an 87 in IC livery, then to BR blue etc… 

 

I wonder if everyone’s layouts are oriented the same way to do it ‘correctly’, as in South on the right North on the left or vice versa!

 

David

[DavidMcKenzie]

A tiny bit of extra detailing on the platform over the weekend. The vertical faces (sorry I don't know the technical term) look too dark and had the 'mono colour' look that is hardly ever how the real thing is:

 

 

Putting some lighter weathering patches in and adding some small details made it match photos of the real thing a little more closely:

 

 

A longer shot with more of the background in is maybe less cruel than close ups tend to be:

 

 

An overview photo to give an idea of the layouts new home and the longer term plan. Excuse the bike, it is only temporarily stored there until it has a hook to go on nextdoor, but at the back where the bike is standing will be a fiddle yard. The modelled section I am thinking about trying to make interchangeable to be able to always use the same fiddle yard, but create a number of different modelled scenes to make best use of the space available and give the ability to model a 'country side' or a 'depot' type section of track in the future without having to overload one layout to fill it all in. First job before anything starts on the fiddle yard will be to paint the back wall and get the bike stored in a permanent place 

 

All the best,

Dave

[MarshLane]

11 minutes ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

An overview photo to give an idea of the layouts new home and the longer term plan. Excuse the bike, it is only temporarily stored there until it has a hook to go on nextdoor, but at the back where the bike is standing will be a fiddle yard. The modelled section I am thinking about trying to make interchangeable to be able to always use the same fiddle yard, but create a number of different modelled scenes to make best use of the space available and give the ability to model a 'country side' or a 'depot' type section of track in the future without having to overload one layout to fill it all in. First job before anything starts on the fiddle yard will be to paint the back wall and get the bike stored in a permanent place 

 

Hi Dave,

Interesting idea, having 'swap out' scenic boards. Stops you getting fed up with a layout too

Rich

[njee20]

Looks great Dave; and nice Capra 

[Swifty11]

Looks superb! The detail makes the layout look so much larger than I thought it was.

[DavidMcKenzie]

On 05/12/2021 at 22:39, MarshLane said:

 

Hi Dave,

Interesting idea, having 'swap out' scenic boards. Stops you getting fed up with a layout too

Rich

Yeah hopefully it'll leave me with plenty of modelling options without having to overdo one layout and make it unrealistic and overloaded with too much. See how it goes in reality.

 

On 05/12/2021 at 22:44, njee20 said:

Looks great Dave; and nice Capra 

Didn't expect anyone to recognise the bike , just noticed your profile picture though. Very happy with the Capra, although I've switched to the hardtail for winter now trips the Alps and northern Italy are over for the year. I am guessing you are into your bikes as well, WCML modelling and mountain biking  we have very similar hobbies . 

 

On 07/12/2021 at 12:32, Swifty11 said:

Looks superb! The detail makes the layout look so much larger than I thought it was.

Thanks, very kind of you. Somehow it's a nice spiral effect because the smaller layout gives time to spend on the details. Tried to keep it unclustered as well which helps give it a bigger feel I think. 

 

Been slow and steady progress this week because our daughter was born on the 10th, but all is well with both her and mum which meant I managed to grab a half hour to start on grinding a taper into the dogfish wagons. Not perfect but a big improvement. I think once painted and weather it should be enough to stop it standing out so drastically on what is otherwise a pretty reasonable model in my opinion. Ground on the left and original on the right.

 

 

All the best,

Dave 

[bmthtrains - David]

Congratulations! Though with a new baby you can now expect progress on the layout to grind to a halt for about 10 years! 
 

David 

 

 

[njee20]

5 hours ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

 

 

Didn't expect anyone to recognise the bike , just noticed your profile picture though. Very happy with the Capra, although I've switched to the hardtail for winter now trips the Alps and northern Italy are over for the year. I am guessing you are into your bikes as well, WCML modelling and mountain biking  we have very similar hobbies . 

 

These days I spend far more time on the road, life and what not getting in the way, but I spent 15 years trekking up and down the UK racing XC. Not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but these days trains have taken over as the main hobby, shamefully I've ridden my mountain bike twice this year. Funny how often cycling and railways do seem to be common hobbies!

 

Congratulations on the new arrival! 

[DavidMcKenzie]

On 16/12/2021 at 16:50, bmthtrains - David said:

Congratulations! Though with a new baby you can now expect progress on the layout to grind to a halt for about 10 years! 
 

David 

 

 

 

Yeah it will definitely be considerably slower progress from now on. But that's part of the reason for a much smaller layout than last time. It's also not a race and I appreciate and enjoy the modelling time even more now than before. 

 

On 16/12/2021 at 22:30, njee20 said:

These days I spend far more time on the road, life and what not getting in the way, but I spent 15 years trekking up and down the UK racing XC. Not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but these days trains have taken over as the main hobby, shamefully I've ridden my mountain bike twice this year. Funny how often cycling and railways do seem to be common hobbies!

 

Congratulations on the new arrival! 

 

15 years of XC racing sounds like it can only be a good thing . Some people spent those 15 years on the sofa, great that you got out there and have some memories and experiences even if life has moved on for you now. 

 

 

The dogfish wagons are progressing slowly. It was starting to turn into more of a production line than something that needed thought so I have mixed up the modelling time a little and pulled the class 31 I started a while ago out again. The cab fronts have been modified with wire handrails and what I guess must be little boxes below the cab windscreens that are maybe something to do with windscreen cleaning? 

 

 

And finally the first bits of weathering on the body sides. The remaining transfers and bogies roof and cab fronts are all still to do, but it was nice to get it started again after a long pause. 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

 

Dave

 

[Davexoc]

10 hours ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

The cab fronts have been modified with wire handrails and what I guess must be little boxes below the cab windscreens that are maybe something to do with windscreen cleaning? 

 

Yes, windscreen washer nozzle covers. Don't know the reasoning for them, but on a 31 it would hardly be needed for anything speed related...

[DavidMcKenzie]

Happy new years. The holidays have allowed a bit more modelling time than usual. The 31 and dogfish wagons are both almost finished (update to follow soon hopefully), but the 92 is finished first. I am looking forward to getting it out and running on the layout. 

 

 

 

All the best,

Dave

[cornish trains jez]

54 minutes ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

Happy new years. The holidays have allowed a bit more modelling time than usual. The 31 and dogfish wagons are both almost finished (update to follow soon hopefully), but the 92 is finished first. I am looking forward to getting it out and running on the layout. 

 

 

 

All the best,

Dave

Hi David,

 

Happy new year! That 92 looks sensational, very nice work my friend!
 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

[DavidMcKenzie]

16 hours ago, cornish trains jez said:

Hi David,

 

Happy new year! That 92 looks sensational, very nice work my friend!
 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

 

Thanks Jeremy, I hope you are well.

 

The 92 has come out nicely, but I must say most of the credit there lies with the guys at revolution who have put together a brilliant model. When first opened, the model almost had a 'toy' look about it. I don't mean that in a bad way, but the more modern locos tend to look that way (in my opinion at least) when modelled well and completely clean and new. The model has taken very well to a light weathering. 

 

The class 31 below is probably a slightly worse final model, but somehow I am more proud of this one because it needed a lot more effort with wire hand railings on the cab front, washer nozzel covers, bufferbeam and boggie modifications. All of which are at the absolute limit of my modelling skills, but have been a fun challenge, even if not done perfectly. 

 

A huge thanks to Duncan for this model as well, both in help with sourcing the correct transfers and tips he gave a while back about roof detailing which were put to good use on this model. 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to getting them both out on the layout before long. 

 

All the best,

Dave 

Edited January 2, 2022 by DavidMcKenzie

[87023Velocity]

19 hours ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

Happy new years. The holidays have allowed a bit more modelling time than usual. The 31 and dogfish wagons are both almost finished (update to follow soon hopefully), but the 92 is finished first. I am looking forward to getting it out and running on the layout. 

 

 

 

All the best,

Dave

Hi Dave,

 

The 92 looks spot on, great weathering.

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Duncan.]

10 hours ago, DavidMcKenzie said:

 

Thanks Jeremy, I hope you are well.

 

The 92 has come out nicely, but I must say most of the credit there lies with the guys at revolution who have put together a brilliant model. When first opened, the model almost had a 'toy' look about it. I don't mean that in a bad way, but the more modern locos tend to look that way (in my opinion at least) when modelled well and completely clean and new. The model has taken very well to a light weathering. 

 

The class 31 below is probably a slightly worse final model, but somehow I am more proud of this one because it needed a lot more effort with wire hand railings on the cab front, washer nozzel covers, bufferbeam and boggie modifications. All of which are at the absolute limit of my modelling skills, but have been a fun challenge, even if not done perfectly. 

 

A huge thanks to Duncan for this model as well, both in help with sourcing the correct transfers and tips he gave a while back about roof detailing which were put to good use on this model. 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to getting them both out on the layout before long. 

 

All the best,

Dave 

Happy New Year Dave. Thanks for the mention re 31. Both the locos are looking very good. I totally agree with the toy train feel with the straight out of the box locos.... especially the 92. I very lightly weathered my 92 ... takes away that plastic look and makes the loco look 'heavier'. I attach photos as a comparison to your model

Cheers

Duncan

 

[DavidMcKenzie]

The 31 and 92 along with a few of the dogfish managed to get out onto the layout. 

 

The 31 on an engineers working

 

 

 

The lack of OHLE (or 3rd rail) is a bit of a give away with the 92, and hopefully it will look more at home when I get far enough to get the wires up, but good to see it out on the layout. The pictures of it on the layout highlight a few tiny things that are out of place and need small improvements, I gave the headlight covers a black wash to take away the plastic look, but they are too black now and need a very light going over with some dark brown power to take the edge off. The pantograph is still the wrong colour and very silver and one of the insulators on the roof is the wrong colour. I didn't notice any of those details until seeing the photos on the big screen . The close ups are always harsh aren't they. 

 

 

 

All the best,

Dave  

 

[njee20]

I'm moderately ashamed to bring my 92 to the party, as Mercig did mine, but in the interest of suggestion only...! He cleaned some flash off the headlight lenses so they sit more flush (some seem worse than others 'out of the box'), he also repainted the blue partially, as there's a tiny gap between the blue and the cantrail stripe.

 

It also seems to be the case that the panel of blue immediately adjacent to the yellow stays cleaner than the rest of the roof - I've not looked at photos of 003 to see if the same was true. Just an unreasonable number of photos of 041!

 

[DavidMcKenzie]

On 06/01/2022 at 21:31, njee20 said:

I'm moderately ashamed to bring my 92 to the party, as Mercig did mine, but in the interest of suggestion only...! He cleaned some flash off the headlight lenses so they sit more flush (some seem worse than others 'out of the box'), he also repainted the blue partially, as there's a tiny gap between the blue and the cantrail stripe.

 

It also seems to be the case that the panel of blue immediately adjacent to the yellow stays cleaner than the rest of the roof - I've not looked at photos of 003 to see if the same was true. Just an unreasonable number of photos of 041!

 

 

That's a brilliant model Nick, it will look right at home on your rugby layout. 

 

Good spot on the panel of blue adjacent to the yellow. I had missed that and included it in the small changes below.

 

Before

 

 

And after a small amount of dirt added to the headlights to dull down the black, the panel adjacent to the yellow 'less dirty' after Nick's observation, the shine removed from the pantograph and the insulator on the roof changed from white to brown.

 

I don't know the significance of the different insulator colours (some are white and some are brown), or even if 92003 is identical to the picture below, but the best photo I could find of the roof is also linked below and was used for the colour reference. 

 

https://www.transporttreasury.com/p271471728/hD5DE47D6

 

 

 

On the layout some additional walls have been added to both the station and above the tunnel and the signals are now in place (although a lot of work is still needed to make them look a bit more realistic). 

 

 

 

 

All the best,

Dave

[njee20]

Both the 92 and the station are looking superb!