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Dale Green: N Gauge in a box for a camper van - now sold


Andrew D
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Having quietly enjoyed so many people's layouts, triumphs, successes, failures, and excellent hints and tips on this forum, I decided it was time for me to add some content of my own to help redress the balance. 

 

The layout is currently almost finished (January 2021) but I have enough pics to start back at its conception - summer 2019. 

 

Having recently returned to the hobby after 23 years of playing with the real thing, I was most taken with Chris Nevard's layout 'Porth Emmet,' a roundy-roundy OO gauge layout. There's a YouTube video about it here.

 

Spending a lot of time in camper vans and in my caravan, my main requirement was that the layout needed to be portable and compact. I'm also a huge fan of NBL baby diesels, so the discovery of Dapol's Class 22 in N Gauge sealed the deal - it was to be an N Gauge layout ripping off inspired by Porth Emmet.  

 

First purchase was a 70 litre Really Useful Box, giving me a baseboard size of approximately 71 x 54cm. Next up was a Peco Setrack R1 track pack and some extra bits, as well as the Dapol Class 22 of course. Next up, the planning and playing stage on a cardboard template, before coming up with this track plan: 

 

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A carpenter friend of mine had some spare MDF kicking around he could cut to size for me and reinforce with extra MDF strips - heavy, not ideal, but free and cut to size, so that's good enough for me. It does get a better frame later down the line. 

 

I originally wanted a loop instead of a reception siding to allow locos to run around, but the geometry didn't fit. I'm glad not to have that now, as the absence of run-around allows for more interesting two-loco working, where loco 2 has to release loco 1 from its train. 

 

Everything worked fine, so next up was painting the track using spray paints, masking off the point areas of course.

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After a good clean, all still good. 

 

Then I ballasted using the fine sand of the Isle of Barra which actually looks much better than Uist sand. 

 

This is where disaster first struck. The Peco Setrack points no longer conducted reliably to the road to which they were set. No amount of cleaning and fettling would get them to work. It became obvious that the DC wiring was going to be MUCH more complicated than just the main feed with an extra feed for the goods spur. Now I was going to have to add about 4 switched feeds. Grr. 

 

Next job, some buildings. As I'm fairly new to all this and I don't have a printer, Metcalfe seemed to be the easiest choice. 

 

I made the station building for the halt at opposite side of the layout to the yard, and tried it for size on a temporary platform: 

 

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I'm not sure if the building is oversized per se, or if it's just too big for the layout, but it was obvious I couldn't use it so it was a case of 'back to the drawing board.' 

 

So the next update will be all about my first ever scratch build and where the layout gets its name, but I think I've waffled enough for one day. 

 

Thanks for making it this far. 

 

 

Edited by Andrew D
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21 minutes ago, johnsmithuk said:

Following this with interest. 

Cheers John. I'm also just muddling my way through, but I have learned a lot along the way so I look forward to returning the favour to all those folk who take the trouble to document their projects on here for my education and entertainment! 

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Following on with the story of the build. 

 

Being my first attempt at a layout, and a roundy-roundy at that, I wasn't going for anything too prototypical, but the stock I have sets it somewhere in the Western Region. 

 

The inspiration for my first scratchbuild, though, actually came from Scotland. While exploring the long-gone Strathspey Line, I came across Dailuaine Halt: 

 

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I was very taken with this simple little station, and after realising that the Metcalfe model was way too big, I set about making an N gauge version of Dailuaine out of cardboard, matchsticks, and coffee stirrers. For paint, I mix cheap primary colour acrylic paints from The Works (£4 for 6 75ml tubes) and for weathering I use pastels from The Works. The hut is the little extra you get in the Metcalfe Signal Box kit. 

 

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I know it's just a platform, but I'm dead chuffed with it. 

 

After months without a name, we now had one: Dale Green. 

 

'Dail uaine' (as in Dailuaine) is Scottish Gaelic for 'Green Dale', but my friends told me that Greendale is the setting for Postman Pat. So I went for the word-for-word translation of 'Dale Green.' Not that I've got around to any signage yet! 

 

 

More Metcalfe builds later, it's time to start playing with levels, buildings etc to get an idea of exactly what's going where: 

 

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After that, it was time to start the scenery proper. 

 

I used insulation board topped with plaster bandage as the land forms. What a grotty, messy job! 

 

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The road was problematic. I started with a cardboard base which, when covered in plaster, warped quite badly: 

 

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As I wasn't after the Alton Towers effect, I ended up having to use a lot of plaster to smooth out the road. 

 

Once painted, it still looked awful so it then got 'tarmacked' with dried tea leaves that had gone through the blender, and once set in place with diluted pva this was painted up. But it still looked awful. A coat of thin plaster and more painting finally left something reasonable, which you'll see in the 'finished' shots soon. 

 

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Next up was painting the ground brown, and the rock a brown-grey colour. 

 

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Being in the Outer Hebrides during lockdown meant getting creative with many aspects of the build. I experimented making flock from sawdust and peppermint tea, and weeds from beard trimmings (!!!) all with varying blends of the paints from The Works. 

 

 

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Next up, home made trees. I did have a kit from Woodland Scenics but actually found more satisfaction making home-made trees for next-to-nothing. 

 

First off, the skeleton of a dead plant (cow parsley?) from the side of the road, painted brown from a Matchpot: 

 

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Next up, blending up an old dish sponge and making up various shades of green foliage with the paints from The Works: 

 

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And I have to say, I am quite pleased with the results, especially when you consider this is N gauge: 

 

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Once set, it got a blast of hairspray and a sprinkle of scatter. 

 

I also made trees out of dried lichen, but these were obviously very brittle and break easily, so these will have to be replaced. I'm now up to my allowance on images for this post, so I'll call it a day for now and do another update shortly. 

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Kris said:

Great tree.

Thanks! Am very pleased with it. I think the cow parsley skeleton can make for a more realistic effect than some of the plastic ones! And it cost next to nothing to make. 

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Picking up where I left off... 

 

Sharing my disasters as well as my triumphs. 

 

I collected some lichen on a walk and it had grown in a way that would make cracking N gauge trees - or so I thought. I had no brown spray paint, only red oxide, and of course the lichen also went brittle. So the trees came out too red and very fragile - and not terribly convincing either! They were planted anyway, but will have to be ripped up and replaced in the not too distant future: 

 

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Another 'Non-success' was using hanging basket liner on an N gauge layout to represent rough ground. It was massively over scale, and I had to cover it completely with static grass: 

 

IMG_6870.JPG.61cbe33a0bc635cf22cb1e28cacaff64.JPG

 

 

One area I was pleased with - again I'm the first to admit it is over scale - is the wooden support shoring up the bank by the sidings, I'm pleased with the effect of the overgrown rough ground, which is made up with static grass, sprigs of real heather (dried), dyed sawdust, and... er... beard trimmings! 

 

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I started planting the home-made trees (out of cow parsley and dyed kitchen sponge) and was very pleased with the effect. 

 

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The rocks were painted using techniques learned off The Terrain Tutor and Geek Gaming Scenics on YouTube. 

 

All that's left now is to wait for a sunny day with little wind (quite rare in North Uist, even in June) but eventually that day came, and I'll start a new post with how the layout looks currently. 

 

Thanks for reading! 

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Finally, here are some pics I took of the layout in its 'almost complete' form. There are still a few jobs needing doing: 

 

 - The four gardens are pretty featureless and I am stuck as to what to do with them. One I am leaving 'wild' (the slob household!) and one is lawn, but the other two I have little idea. If anyone has any tips for these I am all ears. 

 

 - I cocked up the wiring to the two sidings (to isolate them) so it needs redoing. I clumsily tried to disguise the feeds under piles of ballast under the buffer stops but this looks a bit rubbish, so that is to be redone. 

 

 - Need to find an N gauge ladder for the coaling stage (slightly disappointed that the kit I used did not include one) 

 

 - more static grass and weeds to be planted at the lineside. 

 

Anyway, that said, enjoy the pics which I took last summer. I'm very pleased for a 'first' layout and learned an awful lot. 

 

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Hi Andrew

 

The overall effect of the finished layout looks great - the photos with the real background show how effective and realistic the colouring is. 

 

Regards 

 

Nick 

 

 

Edited by stivesnick
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Cheers Nick! I forgot to explain that, to optimise the use of space, the layout is designed to be viewed from three sides, not just one. Hence there is no back screen - and photographing outside adds the best sky! That said, I guess I was influenced by the local environment when mixing up the paint colours for the scatters etc. Cheers! 

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Another one to show the layout 'in the landscape' - and you can see what I mean about needing to rework those buffer stops and the ballast piles hiding the mess underneath. That is on the 'to-do' list! 

 

 

IMG_7331.JPG.676726bed0a84cc14cae0a8740141578.JPG

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On 23/01/2021 at 17:02, Kris said:

The photos of the layout against a real background show some lovely blending. 

 

Don't they just Kris, I don't really 'do' or read N Gauge threads but having flown in from @Andrew Ds OO boxfile thread I'm VERY impressed. 

 

As an aside Andrew, I reckon those lichen trees looks fab esp for N! I wouldn't be so quick to rip them out with the JCB...

Ralf

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14 minutes ago, Ralf said:

 

Don't they just Kris, I don't really 'do' or read N Gauge threads but having flown in from @Andrew Ds OO boxfile thread I'm VERY impressed. 

 

As an aside Andrew, I reckon those lichen trees looks fab esp for N! I wouldn't be so quick to rip them out with the JCB...

Ralf

 

Cheers Ralf! To be honest I didn’t really ‘do’ N gauge myself, but it was the only way to emulate Porth Emmett and still have something that would fit into a box. Thanks for the kind comment about the trees - I agree they LOOK good (or at least they would had I used brown not red oxide paint!) but they are so incredibly fragile. I have snapped a couple off already unfortunately. 

 

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I have uploaded a video of Dale Green in action - I hope you enjoy it. I overlayed sounds from the Nene Valley Railway over the first half a la Mouldy Raspberry, then left the second half 'au naturel.' 

 

And yes, I know that the Brake Van and coal wagon are three sheets to the wind! Quality Peco wheel sets...  They have since been changed :) 

 

Enjoy the video. 

 

 

 

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On 26/03/2021 at 22:34, Andrew D said:

I have uploaded a video of Dale Green in action - I hope you enjoy it. I overlayed sounds from the Nene Valley Railway over the first half a la Mouldy Raspberry, then left the second half 'au naturel.' 

 

And yes, I know that the Brake Van and coal wagon are three sheets to the wind! Quality Peco wheel sets...  They have since been changed :) 

 

Enjoy the video. 

 

 

 


 

Hi Andrew, Just came across your excellent video when I was browsing YouTube. What a beautifully modelled layout and the details are so well observed. Coincidentally, some of my family from a couple of generations back lived in the cottages above the distillery at Dailuaine. A number of our menfolk had distillery connections in Strathspey, but most were tenant farmers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Like you, I also enjoy exploring the old Highland railway routes!

 

Marlyn

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On 27/05/2021 at 08:41, Marly51 said:


 

Hi Andrew, Just came across your excellent video when I was browsing YouTube. What a beautifully modelled layout and the details are so well observed. Coincidentally, some of my family from a couple of generations back lived in the cottages above the distillery at Dailuaine. A number of our menfolk had distillery connections in Strathspey, but most were tenant farmers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Like you, I also enjoy exploring the old Highland railway routes!

 

Marlyn

 

Thank you so much Marlyn! Glad you enjoyed. I still need to titivate the wiring and clean up those sidings but I'm very pleased with it. I've just been filmed for BBC Alba with it for a Gaelic series starting in September. 


 

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6 minutes ago, Andrew D said:

 

Thank you so much Marlyn! Glad you enjoyed. I still need to titivate the wiring and clean up those sidings but I'm very pleased with it. I've just been filmed for BBC Alba with it for a Gaelic series starting in September. 

 

Excuse the unashamed plug, but if you enjoy old Highland Railway Routes, you might enjoy this video on my 'main' channel: 

 

 

 

Thanks a lot! 

Thanks, Andrew - will check it out. I have never walked the full Strathspey Way, but am familiar with the sections at Grantown, Advie, Dailuaine and Aberlour. Visited the old Grantown East Station a couple of years ago to check out the renovation there. Many happy childhood memories of hot summers by the River Spey, with the occasional sound of the trains passing through on the east and west lines.

 

Marlyn

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It doesn't look like the lost images are coming back any time soon. I'm doing a spot of Digital Decluttering and came across some snaps of the layout, so here they are. 

 

First off, just one of the layout Under Construction: 

 

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And then a fair few of the finished result: 

 

 

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Thanks for looking. 

 

 

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  • Andrew D changed the title to Dale Green: N Gauge in a box for a camper van - now sold

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