kingfisher24 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 how is the helmsdale aprt of the layout coming along, i like the subtle way that your buildings have been weathered, especially the concrete store in the yard. gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hi Richard, I think the overall effect is pretty good! here's the spot you're talking about, in July 1975: I wonder if someone knocked down the yard lamp with the Coles crane, or if it was "under maintenance" ? Please keep posting your photos, they are highly nostalgic! regards Graham Thanks for the photo- it shows what I am trying to capture- I lost interest in railway photography around 1975 as the whole spectrum of operation and variety of stock shrank, but of course, on reflection I should have been more active with the camera. I have plenty of pictures of goods traffic c1970, when the yard was still busy, and I must scan these sometime, but the decline in this soon left me uninterested in recording engine workings. Ah well..... too late now...... The knocked down lamp post reminds me of the time later on, when an attempt to put a Class 37 through the terminus buffers was partially successful- AFAIK, the full circumstances behind it escaped officialdom- probably wouldn't get away with such escapades nowadays I am at the early research stage of my layout based on the HR/LMS Looking at Aviemore Forres maybe making a loop back to Aviemore via the GNoS to Boat of Garten. Your pictures are a big help, thanks..and hope to see more. Glad they are of use, and hope to see some of your work on here sometime, steam HR layouts are rather scarce on the ground, and it would be good to have more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 how is the helmsdale aprt of the layout coming along, i like the subtle way that your buildings have been weathered, especially the concrete store in the yard. gary Work has stalled this last week or so- I have been seconded to, long ignored, household repairs and upgrades , but the wife is away this week coming, and back at school in another three, so progress should resume soon! I have been mulling over the engine shed area at Helmsdale, specifically the turntable, as to a direction to take. As you all know, there is no such thing as a good R-T-R british outline model, and ATM I have a SE well in situ, waiting attention. I did contact Metalsmith, who say they may do a 60' Cowans Sheldon sometime, but I need something in the near future, to get this all tidied up.So, after much thought, I have ordered a Roco one- cost ?- don't ask , but it will work perfectly at once- it's the same one as at Thurso, and although will never look British, but with some added well brickwork will do for me. As I am now in the happy position of not needing any more locomotives, so am immune to the temptation of any new releases, I felt that for the cost of a couple of bigger engines I could have a fully working turntable, and have saved probably two or three weeks work of attempting to get some , relatively,poor product to work half heartedly. While this is waiting to arrive I have gone back to the workbench to do some more buildings- a lean-to for Helmsdale shed, some asst. brick and wooden huts for the same area, and a nondescript building for the mart area at Thurso. Some disguise for point motors are also needed here as well, so things are going to be quiet for a while. " i like the subtle way that your buildings have been weathered, especially the concrete store in the yard." nothing to do with me,I'm afraid- straight out of the Bachmann R-T-P box- but it is rather a nice model, and again will save a lot of building time. There is nothing much to add photo-wise ATM, but here is a Helmsdale view showing the unfinished shedwork. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Oops, posted the wrong photo up in the last post- there is a more current one of the same scene, so here it is. I have also trimmed the overhanging top of the fencing at Thurso, making it a bit less Stalag looking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Work this last couple of weeks has been at the bench, coupled with a bit of thought about Helmsdale's shed layout. I am still waiting for the T/T to arrive, and cannot do much until it gets bedded in, but I have had a Mk11 thought about its facilities. The LMS had a programme of upgrades to the Highland line during the war, with additional mess/dormitory accomodation at various stations affected by the upsurge in military traffic. The most obvious relic is the volunteer's dorm at the Strathspey Railway- just north of the engine shed- but Helmsdale also got its share of attention, with a brick mess building and a couple of sheds to replace the usual collection of huts that graced any HR station of any size. Unfortunately, they seemed to have been built in 1949, long after they would have been of any value, and had a short working life- the shed closing in 1961- but I decided to expand on the main building I had already built. The previous photo shoes the messroom plonked down at the head of the sidings, but I decided to move it to a more prototypical setting and also provide the other two huts as built- a PW trolley shed and what appears to have been a general purpose one . They show in various published photos, but Ernie has a rather clear image of them after the shed was demolished - http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/5648402951/in/set-72157626440055275 so the main hut was moved to the end of the basic coaling stage and the two smaller huts were put in its place. I am waiting for brick paper, so they are ATM, shells, but the photo will show the general outline. I have also added a lean-to to the main shed- because of track I have had to put it to the rear but gives the shed master and fitter somewhere to work from..... At Thurso, an approximation of a mart building has been knocked together, and this, along with a copied shed from the backscene will tidy up this area to my satisfaction. The other camouflage work was done at the shed, to hide two point motors, and a semi- copy of the small brick mess shed at Tain has been built to hide them. Again , a bare carcass, but an idea of things to come- I must get suitable add-on backscenes for these shots sorted out. That's it for now; hopefully the next week or two will see these two sheds more or less sorted out and some more sleeper type fencing prepared for Helmsdale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack P Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Every-time I read this thread I think of the song Northern Line by Jamie T. On a side note, love it. Absolutely love it! Jack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Not sure about that one- must look it up, but here is a tune that could have been written for the line- The Train Journey North http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDf8yO14RM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portchullin Tatty Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Not the right Pipes though Richard! The connection suggests that they are "lowland pipes" - which I have never heard of before but they look like Northumberland pipes to me; so north means maybe Waverley! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
benachie Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Not the right Pipes though Richard! The connection suggests that they are "lowland pipes" - which I have never heard of before but they look like Northumberland pipes to me; so north means maybe Waverley! The "cauld wind" (i.e.bellows rather than blown) pipes were quite common in the Lowlands in days gone by and are coming back into fashion. Unfortunately the train journey in question was from Dublin to Belfast! Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 "The Train Journey North" was written by Pipe Major Tom Anderson of the Cameronians, so I expect it was written for highland bag pipes. The problem with highland pipes is that they're a bit er.... strident in a confined space like the back room of a pub, so most folk groups use one of the numerous variations of lowland pipes. http://www.heraldsco...derson.14120444 Edit - Although, having just actually read the whole of the obituary I linked to, I see he was born in Selkirk so who knows ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Thanks for the piping replies- you beat me to it. Fred is also very proficient on the Great Highland Bagpipe as well and has won gold medals at the top competitions, but prefers the smaller pipes these days. The tune was composed for bagpipes and is popular amongst pipers, and I daresay will in time be taken to refer to one of the Highland journeys, as have many older tunes that develop lives of their own. For instance, the song "Freedom , Come All Ye" has as its tune a march from the Great War- "The Bloody Fields of Flanders". Anyway, I digress.... Still beavering away at details, with nothing finishable to photograph really, but here are a couple that I took as samplers. I am also working through the various buildings, finishing off the bits like glazing and chimney pots that were left undone at the original builds, rather than never getting round to it as has too often been my default position in the past I have also got round to doing something about the T/T- after what?, fifteen years... in an attempt to hide its Austrian origins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artizen Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Does that turntable really not line up across the tracks in the last pic? I can see that you're having fun with this layout! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 No, due to space problems there is not a through run from the T/T- keeps the driver alert though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 A couple of shots, showing the type of add-ons that I am doing just now- the coaling stage at Helmsdale is now walled, and the base of the coal pile- Sculptamould left over from a landscaping session is slowly drying off. The brick huts are now clad and one is waiting rails leading to it for the PW trolley. In the background the sleeper style fencing has now been extended to meet the wire fence at the end of the goods platform- out of shot- and has been held in place with hot glue. The ground base will be built up to meet gaps. Cutting all the sleepers to points is a tedious task, and I still have the nearside fencing to do- six feet of it , so this will be a task done in stages! It's getting there, and thanks again for all the encouragement- definatly a spur to progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfisher24 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 its does look a lot better with the blue brick added to the well of the t/table. gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Indeed,- its something I ignored when the T/T was at Kyle, as it was not featuring in many photos, and usually could be kept out of shot, but here it was too obvious to do nothing about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 A productive day spent on more detailing and painting, mainly at the terminus with lots of bits and pieces being attended to. I am now thinking about the next stage- adding the signals and how to approach the various poles that grew around the two yards. The signals aren't going to be a problem, with a grand total of two being required between Thurso and Helmsdale, but both stations had distinctive, and different, yard and platform lighting and a good degree of cobbling together is going to be required here. The next stage of greenery is also looming large but will wait until I have finished the nearside Helmsdale fencing. I took some photos today, but the computer is playing up with regard to uploading images and some haven't been transferred for some reason- I'll try again tomorrow after switching the machine off- but here are one or two from today. They show the sort of small jobs that I have been working away at- for example,the goods platforms have started sprouting grass- to cover the gaps where the cobbles didn't butt up to the platform edges; the copied mart shed has been put onto a backing board and stands proud of the ID backscene and the PW trolley shed has had rails laid to the main line track. The stone wall behind the goods yard has also gained a backing and some relief in front of the backscene. Lots of little things that I tended to put off on the last layout but which I want to sort out now on this one. The sun caught the end of Thurso platform this afternoon, and I took these while it was there. The 0-4-4T is going to be a regular but I have plans for Thurso and Black Fives- like Kylesku, events took a different turn in this part of the world Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danemouth Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Ben, Lovely pictures - the layout has a great "feel" to it, I can almost smell the steam and smoke! Regards, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 What he said, Richard! Very nice backscene too (or is it photoshopped). Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Thanks for the comments- time here will be limited for the next few days due to son returning home to recuperate from a losing fight with a horse, and thus catching up on four months missed Facebook. Meanwhile, here is one of the missing photos from yesterday's shoot- another Black Five, showing the improved smokebox appearance after cutting away what Hornby didn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Ben, Lovely pictures - the layout has a great "feel" to it, I can almost smell the steam and smoke! Regards, Dave What he said, Richard! Very nice backscene too (or is it photoshopped). Best, Pete. Thanks, both- the layout is starting to take on a semi-finished appearance now, and it is good to be able to take shots that don't show raw groundwork! The backscene at Thurso is the ID Into The Town one, not entirely area appropriate, but the best available, and hopefully will blend into the background as more activity takes place in the station area. The mart building is an approximation of one that was at Thurso, squashed to fit the space available and the corrugated shed alongside is from the original backscene and photographed and blown up to suit. The stone wall at the head of the goods yard is a photo of the wall behind the actual station, so all in all, its a bit of a dog's breakfast, but that's how it worked out. I must say, I do like this generation of photographic backscenes, as I think that they can give a feeling of space relatively easily to a layout- it takes real artistic skill to achieve this with paints, and is beyond many modellers abilities- certainly so in my case. Some more pics from the other night before I fall silent again to finish off some more odds and ends. The last one is of the two brick sheds that were added to the shed yard at Helmsdale as part of the war-time improvement scheme, and are waiting ,like the rest of the area, for the T/T to arrive before I finish this part off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted August 21, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 21, 2012 I must say, I do like this generation of photographic backscenes, as I think that they can give a feeling of space relatively easily to a layout- it takes real artistic skill to achieve this with paints, and is beyond many modellers abilities- certainly so in my case. I agree with you Richard. I've now seen the "Hills and Dales" ID backscene used on several layouts on the Forum and it is way better than anything I could hope to paint myself. I'll be getting a copy shortly, having recently fitted the backscene boards. Your layout continues to inspire. Keep up the good work! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kirk Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hi, Superb work and so much of it! You seem to have built this whole layout in the time it has taken me to descide what to do. Seeing your photos, here and on the old layout helped in the decision making process though. Not EM but 00 using SMP and modified code 75 points. Main line Kirkcaldish layout, attic 30x12 on hold, better start something much smaller and increase the likelyhood of getting it finished. Making a decision is one thing, getting down to it is another. So far only progress is modifying the door of my 8ft6 x 9ft office so that it opens outwards. I will continue looking on here for inspiration/motivation. best wishes, Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Thanks once again for the kind words- if I do inspire anyone to get building, then it is from many years of snail like progress on my part. When I look back at my modelling "career", the amount of time frittered away and projects put on hold for decades,astounds and embarrases me. The pile of unfinished/untouched WM loco kits, for example. The one saving grace about that one, though, is the knowledge that I was far from alone in being guilty of that . Mind you, I left them long enough for a fortuitous mixture of pragmatism and availability of decent loco drive chassis to solve that problem.... I am certainly not a rivet counter modeller, and anything like a wider track gauge would have made sure that next to nothing ever came to pass. Actually, the genesis of these two stations goes back many years, and I have had a hankering to make them for a long time, so much of the research was in place, and the availability of treasure troves such as am Baile and Ernies Archives made finding answers a lot easier than the last time I was constructing a layout.I set myself a timescale for this build, and have stuck to it to the exclusion of any other modelling, and even trimmed back my visits to the cask ale tap, which has resulted in a rate of progress far beyond my usual speed, but am now at a stage where I can feel that perhaps I can allow myself some distractions- I have two 16xx's and a Stanier 2-6-2T demanding attention, and I might tackle them soon- we'll see...... Some Helmsdale shots I took as a comparison to earlier ones, and kept- the digital camera has been very helpful in preparation and building, in showing potential problems and glitches that before often only made themselves visible when they needed much remedial work, or were just left and got on ones nerve as another frustation about ones building abilities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted August 24, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 24, 2012 There is something extremely aesthetically pleasing about curved structures, and your station (Helmsdale) has appealed to me since you first put it down on your layout. Lovely set of curved-track photos, Richard. Have you much left to do on the layout? Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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