Black Country Blues

[Oldddudders]

Nice to see this intimate team gelling so well.

[trisonic]

Nice to see this intimate team gelling so well.

 

Is that part of the deal? Intimacy amongst the members of the team? I will not mention any gel....

I note that some of Johnny Gringo's grafitti has had to be covered up.......

 

Best, Pete.

[2ManySpams]

Is that part of the deal? Intimacy amongst the members of the team? I will not mention any gel....

I note that some of Johnny Gringo's grafitti has had to be covered up.......

 

Best, Pete.

 

We don't do 'gelling', we're more into 'structured agreement / discussion'. Intimacy is reserved for people we like!

 

I'm covering John's lines to hide any evidence that i was told what to do!

 

(All in jest)

[2ManySpams]

Bringing folks almost up to date here's a few shots of the far RHS with some mocked up structures.

 

The pub is based on the 8 Locks near West Brom. It is two storey on the road side and 3+ on the canal side and fits beautifully in the space, I'm proposing the start of a third lock just under and to the right of the road-over-canal bridge. The lock will just be viewable from a gap between the road bridge and the side 6" wide vertical fascia trim. it will of course block views of the end of board from under the canal bridge.

 

The road slopes up from the front of the layout at a grade of 1:20, it will crest over the railway bridge and start to drop away gently on the other side. (It's steeper on the first few shots but is 1:20 for the card mock-ups). There's a sloping track from the canal towpath up to the road. The canal narrows to go under the bridge. There are the sites of a couple of industrial buildings marked in some shots and my cardboard cut out lock is in the correct location for the 'middle lock'.

 

Anyway, the photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of thought went into this end. The original idea was the canal going off-stage running parallel to the railway. I mocked that up with card and blocks of poly, but somehow it looked just wrong. Separating the two bridges by curving the canal away was just one option I looked at but seemed to work the best. The first few shots show the roughest mock-up and the later ones the carved blocks and card structures.

 

Right, bedtime.

 

PS, no I didn't use a hot wire to cut the poly. I know others get on with them and they create less mess but I much prefer the more natural shapes possible with blades of various descriptions.

[2ManySpams]

Yawn, must have an early night, almost working on Trisonic time.

[trisonic]

What? I just received a pm from an obviously dope ridden Johnny Gringo, sounds like he's hanging out with Depp somewhere. I had better read it before replying later today........

 

Best, Pete.

Edited August 15, 2012 by trisonic

[wagonbasher]

Chris that looks really good. I like the relationship between the canal and the bridge - canals did try to approach roads at 90 degrees (the road was there first) to reduce the span and that would not have been the case with the first plan. The pub hides the railway exit very nicely. We need some shots of the 8 locks pub in the 1970's before it was covered in baggies branding.

 

Anyone got one ?

 

I am hoping it was a Banks's pub !!

 

A

[wagonbasher]

Chris, Just a thought.. The 8 locks pub at Ryders Green has a horse sized ramp up from the towpath on the other side of the road - have a look on google earth. The Bush had a similar ramp. I am confident these were access for horse stabling at the pubs - canal pubs often provided more than just beer. Can we fit one in ?

 

A

[Oldddudders]

If only half this sort of concept was included in the original submission for Warners, I can imagine the judges would have been blown away by the ideas. This really is going to be a landmark layout. Terribly impressed!

[wagonbasher]

Looking at the shots, I am changing my mind, the bridge is very high (due to the need to cross the railway) - unlike the Ryders green 8 locks pub where the bridge is just after a lock therefore a short shallow slope is all that is needed to get up to the road. Any equestrian trade our landlord wants to do will have to be 'Off board'

 

 

 

Andy

[Mark Forrest]

That's coming along nicely. Like the way the road leads the eye off towards the back corner; is there room for a bus on the bridge?

 

Any thoughts on a cunning way to blend 3D road with 2D backscene?

[wagonbasher]

Only a very big horse chesnut (other trees are available)

 

A

[Andy Y]

Any thoughts on a cunning way to blend 3D road with 2D backscene?

 

Chris has put a rather appealing curve into the road which probably suits a high wall or factory wall at the r/h edge (I've always liked these from delightful Darlo- http://goo.gl/maps/O70b7, an opportunity for some billboards to date the scene too), if there's to be some industry at the back (to the l/h side of the road) a lorry backing in/out of such works is quite typical of any journey through the black country in the 70s/80s to cut the view just before the backscene.

[Indomitable026]

Chris (sorry - spams), thats fabulous.

[avonside1563]

Ah finally it all starts to make sense in a way that drawing on a piece of paper just can't..... Nice stuff Spammage!

[dbanbery]

talking to my mother at the weekend about this thread, and she said that her earliest memories of travelling along the line from Birmingham to wolverhampton was all the scrap metal yards - lots of them, she remembers the orange rust from piles of scrap metal along the side of the lines. she was born in 1960, so its probably mid to late seventies sort of era.

[Baloo The Bear]

You might try the BCN society.

 

http://www.bcnsociety.co.uk/?archive

[2ManySpams]

Thanks Ian, it's an evolving project but we're all trying to push our own standards. Still a long way to go though and everyday is a school day.

[2ManySpams]

Looking at the shots, I am changing my mind, the bridge is very high (due to the need to cross the railway) - unlike the Ryders green 8 locks pub where the bridge is just after a lock therefore a short shallow slope is all that is needed to get up to the road. Any equestrian trade our landlord wants to do will have to be 'Off board'

 

 

 

Andy

 

Andy, you'll note there's a ramp up on the non pub side of the bridge on the towpath side. Will this do? I was planning steps up to the pub on the non towpath side. These are drawn in neatest marker pen on the side of the pub. Is this ok?

[2ManySpams]

 

 

Chris has put a rather appealing curve into the road which probably suits a high wall or factory wall at the r/h edge (I've always liked these from delightful Darlo- http://goo.gl/maps/O70b7, an opportunity for some billboards to date the scene too), if there's to be some industry at the back (to the l/h side of the road) a lorry backing in/out of such works is quite typical of any journey through the black country in the 70s/80s to cut the view just before the backscene.

 

I like those. No rooflines to cause backscene issues. What do others think?

[Andy Y]

No rooflines to cause backscene issues.

 

Both sets of buildings did originally have a roof but one was certainly swept away during the 90s when it became the vogue to get a roof off a building as quickly as possible to reduce the business rates. They'd have still had a roof in the 70s but it's something that could be alluded to rather than actually appear.

[Indomitable026]

Very good. Can I make a suggestion (that unusually has nothing to do with either pies, beer or Johnny Gringo)?

 

Seek out some flightcase recessed/pivoting handles as "Roadie" approved. I think you'll find that ***Andi / Halfwit will have a source/type in the UK........

 

Will make your life easier/more secure. Don't go cheap on me, you'll always be able to re-use them.

 

Best/Pete/

 

 

Edit: ***Sorry I meant Andy/Dagworth!!!!!!!!

 

Mr Trisonic.

 

Do you know what make they are?

[2ManySpams]

I've put some cheap nasty casters on the current box just so I can move it around the garage without doing my back in! These won't be suitable for on-tour though.

 

Glad everyone likes the work so far. Phew!

[Indomitable026]

I've put some cheap nasty casters on the current box just so I can move it around the garage without doing my back in! These won't be suitable for on-tour though.

 

Glad everyone likes the work so far. Phew!

 

Do we want the facia to go on before Geoff has the boards for track or after?

 

Thoughts peeps

[wagonbasher]

I would say after. we need to cut away some of the lower ply and poly to get point motors and droppers in place so they will be on their sides a bit. So, better later to avoid scratches - do we all agree

 

A