The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (and St Nicholas's Junction)

[Gypsy]

Life has rather got in the way of things recently, and the return of the black dog has just compounded that.

 

Nonetheless, its the First of December, so, can you tell what it is (going to be) yet?

[Gypsy]

Nearly two months...

 

Belated Happy New Year!

 

A combination of working away, the black mutt and post strikes conspired against my efforts to finish Project Xmas by Xmas despite giving myself four months to do it. C'est la vie.

 

What it did do was generate considerable excitement in the wider Gypsy household/family – and teach me a huge amount.

 

In particular I (re)learned that prior planning and preparation prevents p*** poor performance. I thought I had planned, but clearances were still too tight for decent running with all but the Hunslett running light engine.

 

I also (re) learned that I’m still terrified of soldering, electronics and particularly wiring points – which is why it had none of the first and last and very little of the second.

 

So, time to stand in the door and jump into the slipstream, and then worry about what happens next. I know that I can’t do what I really want to do justice (yet?), so I clearly need more practice.

 

So, continuing the Xmas theme for the time being, I give you Saint Nick’s Quay. The moment of clarity, revelation, divine vision or whatever else you call it came when I was idly researching shuttles (I want something that I can leave running - hence the pizza that was Project-X - but equally don’t want something that looks like a pizza….). That took me to @Phil Parker’s Ruston Quay’s.

 

I envisage something very different in my mind’s eye, but the trackplan does what I want – it forces me to face my fears and the upper level could be a nice shuttle through a station halt. So, not wanting to bite off too much, I’m thinking about doing it in stages, modules or whatever. First bit is the station – a slight change from @Phil Parkers design stolen from one of his other layouts – Ferness Quay (albeit not as a quay, as a halt with an engine shed).

 

After thinking about it for a bit I wondered whether it needs a passing loop. My gut feeling is, no, a small narrow-gauge halt doesn’t. But will I regret not putting one in later on?!!

 

So, which one?

 

 

[Phil Parker]

Nice to hear that my efforts are inspiring you - keep up the good work.

[Gypsy]

Colours....

 

I drove past a real model shop last week - yep bricks and mortar, it seems they still exist.

 

I bought a few bits and pieces in the hope that they would boost my mojo - and they have 😀

 

So, a couple of ideas for the 'corporate' colour scheme for Port St. Nick. Bear in mind that the overall 'ambience' is cold. Granite rocks, dark pines, snow, frost (if I can work out how to do it) etc. Scotland, if not Scandi/Canada... All a bit different from the Restaurant, but that will continue in the background while I polish my skills on this.

 

Please excuse the 'Jimmy, aged four and threequarters' paint job on the framing - it needs a lot of touching up. Both need some washes and light weathering, but this is about deciding on a scheme and then practicing techniques on...

 

So, all over red with green wriggly tin? Gave me a brief flashback to the Falklands (the place, not the war, I'm not THAT old) but I think with snow on the roof, frost on the walls and some low 'winter' light it might take the edge off the overall grey...

 

Or a bit more trad? Quite chuffed with the plum slate although it needs more work, but is it a bit too 'standard British freelance model railway'???

[Schooner]

On 23/01/2023 at 15:11, Gypsy said:

So, which one?

Bit of a tricky one for anyone else to answer really! They can give their opinion though :)

 

Mine is that, if you have the width, it's easier to plan for a loop and take it out if you never use it whilst playing trains*.  Is there any downside to including it?

 

Glad to hear the mojo's back, long may it last!

 

*In your head for planning, or in the flesh - nobody ever said layouts can't develop!

[Gypsy]

Its a very fair point - opinions is good!

 

Something like this?

[Gypsy]

Decided that the red and cream WAS too standard British branchline - the background pic is a Canadian Pacific station - not sure I'm going to use quite that much snow on the rooves though...

[Gypsy]

As mentioned on @MrWolf thread (thank you) one of the next bits will be a water tower (very) losely based on the insulated versions on the Canadian Pacific.

 

I've aquired an HO Atlas kit which must be nearly as old as the real thing to nick the water spout and mechanism from. The rest will be probably Wills clapboard and square rod...

 

If anyone wants what's left of the Atlas kit, please shout (I have the timber frame and base too)!

 

Also any advice on handling prehistoric decals (the gauge) would also be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Gypsy

[MrWolf]

I do like the old style water towers from across the pond. I think it's a hangover from watching westerns as a kid, but only really paying attention to the train action and the gunfights.

It looks like you have waterslide transfers there and they don't look curled up and yellow which is a good start. I think that there's something in the technical section on "reviving old waterslide transfers".

[Gypsy]

Cheers!

 

For anyone else looking its here...

 

Microscale Liquid Decal Film ordered from the Bay of Fleas - who seem to be getting a fair bit of my hard earned at the mo'

[Gypsy]

I'm working away (again) but a second HO scale Canadian Pacific water tower is nearly finished. It’s far too big but clearly an insulated tower will be bigger than the normal narrow-gauge job seen in the UK and it will be good practice...

 

Also been playing with the track plan and need some ideas. A look at the West Highland thread and some pics of Garelochhead (traumatic place though it was - not the station, I don't remember ever going there, the training camp) reminded me that I want more of a 'line in the landscape' rather than a station on a board - and that I was going away from that. I'm wondering about Y points rather than left and right to give more 'flow'...

 

I've also bought five laser cut cottages as a scratch aid for the backdrop. What doesn't work in my mind's eye is the passing loop. It takes too much attention from the halt and backscene. I could put it in a tunnel under the cottages - but is that too clichéd?!

 

Excuse the PP scribble, I use a Mac so can't use AnyRail...

 

Any suggestions gratefully received.

[Gypsy]

Onwards and upwards...

 

Five of these to build and cover with Redutex. Beginings of the embankment that they'll sit on behind under the books. And the waaaaaaay too big Canadian Pacific water tower that will need some kind of shrink ray - or a scratch built replacement.

[Gypsy]

So.... I was thinking (dangerous, I know)...

 

Will these pass as olde worlde leaded windows with a bit of dark grey paint?

 

And if I put them in square(ish) - they're held on with Scotch Tape at the mo.

 

 

[Gypsy]

So, I give you 'Railway Cottages', for want of a better street name...

 

Rooves need doing (obviously), thinking of York Model laser cut slates as looking at some real world examples the Wills ones look far too thick.

 

The tea lights are to judge how much light insulation I need - and which rooms to light with LEDs when I get that far. Thinking most but not all lit...

 

I'll scribe the doors today, then I need to decide between green and red. Red being the railway's colour, I'm veering to a darkish green, but I do wonder if Post Office red would 'pop' more...

 

Windows either white or dark grey, I was thinking black/grey 'leading' but the frames are far too big for that so I may just leave them a slightly grubby white.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Gypsy
forgot the pic...

[Gypsy]

and a bit more...

[Gypsy]

So… I dug out what points and bits of track I had left from previous disasters, downloaded a few Peco templates and had a play…

 

A few thoughts, queries and ideas. In no particular order.

 

·      The track will be offset to the baseboard so there are no parallels – and to give the halt a longer run of track.

·      Station building to be cut into the rising ground to the right of Station Cottages.

·      Water Tower to the right of that so that through trains can top up without needing to leave the ‘main’ line.

·      Covered coaling stage - because the crew want to be shovelling coal, not snow – next to the 2-lane shed.

·      The ‘garage’ on the left is veering to becoming a livestock dock to leave that side (where the track will exit in a cutting) a bit more open.

·      Exit on the right will be a tunnel mouth until I have a better idea.

·      Cobbled path in front of Station Cottages running downhill to the station building. Possibly a set of steps to the other end of the platform too?

·      Pub/Hotel on higher ground top right.

 

Feasible, reasonable and doable?

[Gypsy]

Track plan slightly updated as per my planning thread...

 

Now need to work out power feeds and whether I can just use the supplied wire with the peco points or whether I need to butcher and solder them first.

 

In the meantime it has also been a brown box day 😀 so need to set up a new running in circle.

 

I have also been painting cows...

[Gypsy]

A cruel closeup of the coos. Bit more work needed me thinks...