Once Upon a Time.... in the West

[gwrrob]

An absolute pleasure to speak to John and his team today and here are a few of my modest photos.

 

 

 

 

[gwrrob]

Work in progress maybe but still plenty of craftsmanship on shew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy Y]

 

Cheyenne: What the hell is this?

Harmonica: [off screen] Can't you see?

[emerges from behind a pile of wood]

Harmonica: It's a station. And all around it a town. Brett McBain's town.

Cheyenne: [starts to laugh] Was HE crazy, heh!

Harmonica: Yeah in a very special way.

[TrevorP1]

Thanks for the pictures Rob. Really looking forward to seeing Once Upon a Time in the future! Railex at Aylesbury?

[gwrrob]

Thanks for the pictures Rob. Really looking forward to seeing Once Upon a Time in the future! Railex at Aylesbury?

I heard a rumour it's been asked back to next years Warley show.Watch this space.

[MikeHemmings]

There's some nice pic's of a great looking layout John hopefully it will be some where near Milton Keynes area some time.

 

Mike.

[wagonbasher]

last photos from me...  appologies for the shots at the Orange end of the layout

[wagonbasher]

Looking at the way they're treating the Model T, it might end up in there.

I quizzed John about the unusual steering arrangements of the model T.... he confessed that he was too afraid to bend it back in case it fell off.., a warning to us all. A solution was found... It was turned around so you could see the front wheels.

 

I suspect back home on the bench it will receive some careful corrective therapy.

 

Andy

[Old Gringo]

Well the dust has settled after another very successful Warley NEC Exhibition and if you looked around hard enough you could find my layout on Stand A48, close to the demonstration area.

 

Thanks for all the super photographs so far from Damian, Andy and Rob.  A couple of those by Rob and Andy, which start to capture some unusual angles, point towards the atmosphere I wanted to create. 

 

Edit: If anybody else took any photos and they'd like to share them, please feel free to post in the topic.  It's not exclusive and the more visual references of the layout we have at this stage, the closer to the target atmosphere I'm likely to achieve in the future - if I can, of course!

 

Earlier in this topic (post 661), I had suggested that I might post a weekly update from day 100 before the show until loading the van.  However, after only four of these, it was apparent that not everyone was so happy with this approach, in case it raised unfulfilled expectations, etc.  Then it was inferred that the greater part of what had been achieved before day 100 was not produced by me (probably true, but who was measuring and by what criteria?).  So, three weeks after celebrating my 65th birthday and with eleven weeks to go, I stopped posting and knuckled down to modelling!.

 

As a reminder of the target and the prototype inspiration, here's the information which was published in the exhibition catalogue for the Warley NEC show:

 

'Once upon a time . . . in the West' is loosely based upon the junction at Whitewater , elevation 5157 feet, located on a railway across the high desert of south western New Mexico. The branch was built from Deming (a junction on the Southern Pacific's transcontinental route to California) and the short lines served the mining communities at Silver City, Santa Rita, Fiero and Tyrone.  The system was operated by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.

 

All the structures are based upon ATSFR prototypes: Several are built from plans published in the Santa Fe System Standards books, as supplied by the Santa Fe Railway Historical Society.

 

The chosen period for operation is 1919, when the railways in the U.S.A. were still under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, following the country's intervention into the First World War.  This allows the use of some of the latest U.S.R.A. 'standard' locomotive designs, working alongside the ubiquitous 'American' 4-4-0s, Moguls, Ten-wheelers, Consolidations and even a couple of 'Russian' Decapods, all owned by the Santa Fe.

 

It is hoped to create the atmosphere of a lonely little train in a very lonely landscape.  At Whitewater, the railroad has created a small depot amidst the desert, which occasionally bursts into life, with just enough activity to disturb the tumbleweed.

 

The layout is still very much a 'work in progress', so please feel free to ask any questions.

 

So did the exhibit satisfy this information, which was sent for publication in August with 100 days to go before show-time?  Or did it raise expectations above what was presented on display over the weekend?  And what really happened up to and at the Warley Show?

 

2nd Edit: can you tell I found out how to add colour to my posts?

[Old Gringo]

As mentioned in an earlier post 670 (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28773-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/page-27&do=findComment&comment=1998045), I considered what I thought it was possible to achieve by the show. This time bearing in mind that whatever I decided to produce must work as the foundations for my home layout upon its return.
 
Since my last update, I've been helped by a number of friends to bring the layout to the condition seen in the photographs and all deserve special thanks for encouraging me to carry on, even when the situation did look extra-challenging, or frankly flippin' hopeless!
 
There was no way that I wasn't totally committed to putting on a display fit for the country's premier exhibition and I'm especially indebted to Andy York, Mike at Topps Trains, Stafford, Andy Banks, Paul Gallon (Worsdell Forever), Chris Tooth and my brother, Nigel, during the frenetic 80 day run-up to the show.  Thanks also for the kind offers of help from Damian and Stu Hilton (Stubby 47), which I would have taken up had I been more organised with the build.
 
Over the weekend at the NEC, Andy Banks provided maximum support (even press-ganging his wife and daughter into duties on the Sunday), whilst Damian arrived ready for work early on the Saturday.  I doubt whether the layout would have had the back-scene in position and a test set of lights by Saturday afternoon had he not sacrificed a look around the show for drill, screwdriver and spirit level.
 
And how can I thank my friends from Barnstaple enough?  Richard (Mudmagnet), Liam and Ray, who offered their help unstintingly on Friday night, when my spirits were flagging, again on Saturday afternoon with the back-scene and yet again on Sunday evening, to enable a more rapid disassembly.  I am truly grateful for all their assistance and hope that one day I can return the favour.
 
With a couple of days to go, Trevor Binnersley (a 'once upon a time' fireman on Kings & Castles at Wolverhampton Stafford Road shed and Stafford club-member) helped with checking over all my locomotives. Trevor also joined us both on the controls and the van loading on Sunday.
 
Thanks to you all, I believe the exhibit matched the catalogue entry and the expectations of the majority of the visitors were satisfied.  On Saturday, they really saw a 'work in progress' with trains running through extra desert debris!  On Sunday, hopefully they had a glimpse of a 'lonely little train running through a very lonely country'.
 
Thanks also to Paul Jones and John Seward of the Warley club for the invite, which made me drag the "Once upon a time" dream into a reality.  And to all the fellow Warley club members and stewards that I met over the weekend, congratulations on hosting yet another superb show. Special thanks to John Gibbon, who let me get the van as close as possible to Stand A48, in the most difficult conditions.
 
So, how close did I come to complete failure?  More to follow, tomorrow.

[ELTEL]

Well done John

 

From all at SRC

 

Terry

[The Stationmaster]

Lovely stuff John - mind you anything with a  Russian decapod would be likely to be pleasing to my eyes.  But having said that the whole visual impression, even without the backscene when I saw it, captured the idea you were after and it was nice to see those barebones which appeared at Stafford members' day turning into a proper layout.  I look forward to further encounters as the detail develops.

[Old Gringo]

Lovely stuff John - mind you anything with a  Russian decapod would be likely to be pleasing to my eyes.  But having said that the whole visual impression, even without the backscene when I saw it, captured the idea you were after and it was nice to see those barebones which appeared at Stafford members' day turning into a proper layout.  I look forward to further encounters as the detail develops.

 

Thanks Mike, I'm very pleased that at last the idea concocted and begun so many years ago has finally become a workable layout.  Of course, I know it's been through the mincer so to speak, a couple of times in fact.  However, it's good to get feedback that it's perhaps well on the way to looking like the blurry vision that you have when you start to build something a bit different.  And something of which there's virtually no photographic evidence of the period we're modelling.

 

I'm only sorry that we didn't have the chance for a drink and a proper chat.

 

All the very best,

John

[Old Gringo]

So, just how close did I come to complete failure?

 

Well, it sure was a very close run thing - and here's how I think I'll remember it.

 

I finished re-laying and wiring the length of track from the canyon bridge to the Silver City fiddle-yard at 9.40am on Black Friday morning - 27th November (having damaged this length of brand new code 83, just before 00.30 on the night before and retiring to bed briefly in a very 'Unforgiven' mood).

 

Around 10am, I set off to collect the hire van from 'The Professionals' (Afford Rental) in Stafford.  Their office is sited up near the Corporation refuse tip, a bit of an 'Open Range' and definitely 'No Country for Old Men'.  So I soon headed for home, with a 'Ride (in) the High Country' in a brand new Sprinter van, which rode far better than a 'Stagecoach' would over the rough tracks of West Staffordshire.

 

Upon returning 'Way Out West' with the van, all the steelwork and the wood surrounds were checked on the drive-way. Some required adjustment with my trusty saw around 'High Noon'; before I loaded everything and departed along with a 'Fistful of Tuna butties' at 2pm.  From my home, I was driving like a 'High Plains Drifter' under a 'Yellow Sky' heading back over the fields towards the M6 and then the NEC, situated 'South of Heaven but West of Hell'.

 

Staffordshire is not really a 'Big Country' so by '3:10' Yuma better believe it I was sat for almost an hour before 'the Good, the Bad, and the downright Ugly' granted me access into Hall 5.  After unloading and erecting the steel-work canopy, Andy B said 'Adios Amigo' and for a short time, I was 'In a Lonely Place' and these were going to be 'Desperate Hours'.

 

Spirits dropped to an all time low not long after, as it appeared that the baseboards weren't going to fit together as well as they did at home.  Of course, because my garage is only just over 18 feet long and the total layout is 32 feet from FY to FY, it had never been all up before, so why should it, especially on perhaps the only bit of uneven floor at the NEC?  This could have been my 'Alamo' or a really 'Bad Day on Black Friday'.  But then, like the 'Seventh Cavalry' or maybe 'The Wild Bunch', Richard, Liam and Ray, my 'Three Amigos' from Barnstaple appeared as if from nowhere and saved the day.  Although still untested, by 7pm  the boards were at last all erected and close to level.

 

Nearly an hour or so later and about to be on his way home, Andy York discovered me happily slapping grey paint over the woodwork which resembled the 'Appaloosa' stallion, having had all the screw holes covered with filler earlier in the day.  By 8.15pm, I'd had enough and although I hadn't yet tested the electrics, I made my way back home through the 'Dark Passage' that was the M6 North.

 

More to follow tomorrow, if you can stand it, when the first train runs!

[Stubby47]

Sounds like a Bad day at Black ( country) Rock.

[mudmagnet]

Myself, Liam and Ray were very happy to help, afterall railway modelling should be (and for the most part) a hobby shared by friends always willing to offer help and support, as well as the "p*** taking"!

 

From the humble beginnings, out of the back of the van a layout was erected and indeed took one or two small steps along its development over the two days.

 

The back scene (complete with 'war of the worlds' tripods) looked stunning, further setting the scene.

[TrevorP1]

So, just how close did I come to complete failure?

 

Well, it sure was a very close run thing - and here's how I think I'll remember it.

 

 

 

 

At least there wasn't a 'Gunfight at the OK Corral'!

 

(Hat, coat etc...).

[gwrrob]

The chances of anything coming from Mars is a million to one, they said...

 

[Indomitable026]

At least there wasn't a 'Gunfight at the OK Corral'!

 

(Hat, coat etc...).

There has been a bit of gun waving...

[trisonic]

Very good back scene, John. Typical of arid scrub at mid-latitudes for New Mexico. Mountains always seem to be on the horizon......you can drive 20 miles towards them and they don’t seem closer.

 

Good job. Pete.

[Old Gringo]

Thanks, Pete, in fact I looked at that photograph of the high desert that you posted many months ago for quite some time before deciding on a back-scene treatment. 

 

Both Chris Tooth and Andy York had 'googled' Whitewater grade crossing on several occasions and we'd all found that there's actually very little to see but flat, featureless scrub in every direction.

 

However, I found black & white photo with some low hills in the background, on the (now closed) branch to Lake, 15 miles east.  A couple of other shots near Silver City (branch also closed), about 15 miles north, seemed to indicate that a line of mountains in the distance would be part of the surrounding landscape and would look about right to complete our scene.  So, armed with this information I did some scribbling and Andy York brought together all these elements on the computer screen, whilst I pointed and 'supervised' as the picture unfolded before me!

 

On Sunday, a visitor to the show had just returned from crossing the South West of the U.S.A. on the Southern Pacific route and said how much the scene reminded him of the area from El Paso to Deming, which is of course where our little branch starts, 31 miles south east of Whitewater.  So, I guessed we were close to getting it right and your post today is extra confirmation.

 

Thanks once again for sticking with the topic.  It's been a long haul, but now seems worth it.

 

All the very best,

John.

[Old Gringo]

We left this abysmal tale at 8.15pm on Black Friday (27th Nov.), where as you saw in Andy Y's photo (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28773-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/page-31&do=findComment&comment=2106953), I was still giving all the surrounding woodwork another coat of grey paint, just before leaving for a Wild, wet and windy drive up the M6.

After a fitful night spent wondering if the electrics would actually work on Saturday morning, I was up and ready at 06:55am, when Andy B arrived in the car to collect me and set off for the NEC. An early morning drive down the Six had us arriving early and soon into Hall 5.

Now, the key points to remember here and for everyone else in the future to avoid; the complicated first fix wiring on the main three boards was done carefully and with no time pressures by Damian, way back in March. All that was missing was the Bus wire, plus four of the Tortoise motors needed new operating wires to the tie-bars. One pair of points had a decoder fitted and we thought it worked (nobody could remember as it was over four years ago when it was first fitted!).

The next people to have a go at wiring duties was Andy Y and myself, laying in a Bus wire across these boards and connecting to Damian's tag-blocks. Then, Mike Topping came along, over two Sundays in the 75 day run-up period, and added the rest of the decoders and we tested each board separately, but never all three together. I was still building the viaduct and other things, so that board was still electro-naked, plus the lead tracks into the fiddle-yards weren't even surveyed properly yet.

As the deadline crept closer, I wired up all three of these naked boards and not having fired up a soldering iron for years, it was a bit of a re-learning curve and fingers were well and truly crossed and burned. Still no chance of all the boards being stuck together yet, so, even though twos and threes had been bolted ,or screwed together and trucks whizzed across to test accuracy of track, I only had faith that when it was all plugged together it would work.

NB: This method of building model railways is definitely NOT recommended.

So, back to Saturday morning (28th Nov.). Around 8.30am, Andy B plugged in the DCC unit into the power bar and I switched it on. Several of the points along the boards did their merry re-set dance. We placed the 'Russian' 2-10-0 on the aluminium cassette track in the Deming FY, programmed #2554 into the handset and twiddled the button.

IIRC, Nothing happened. Worried looks! We checked that the power connectors between the unit and the Bus wire were all plugged in - yes. We checked the Bus wire was still connected to the tags - yes. We looked at all my soldered connections - blue lead to cassette happily waving into thin air, instead of joining to the lead in from 'town board' to fiddle - fail. So I pushed #2554 onto the town board and wheels began to turn - deep joy!!

Within an hour or so we had worked out; which sections worked well and where there were poor joins in the track, (which were quite easily sorted), that there were no more electrical dead spots (amazing) and how to operate the points from the hand control (learning curve for both Andy and me!). Plus, because I'd managed to lose the diagram of which sets of points were programmed to change together, it seemed not only a good idea to number them up on the boards, but to produce another diagram.

Although the show was now open, it was obvious to the first dozen people that came for a look, that we were nearly there with running and hopefully most accepted that we were a 'come back later proposition'. My apologies to all those who missed out on witnessing a train running - but it really was a 'work in progress' (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28773-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west/page-31&do=findComment&comment=2108065).

Around this time too, a bit like 'Outlaw Josey Wales' arriving on the horizon in the early morning, after the Chief and the women are all tied to the trucks of the nasty-peeps (with the sun at his back, Josey spits, then coolly dispatches the scum and saves them all), Damian arrived at Stand 48 and from then on, all was well in our patch of model New Mexico too!

Andy B fired up his iron and the loose blue wire was corralled, branded with a lazy lizard of solder and burned to Hell.

After one or two false starts The first train to have ever run from one end of the layout to the other of the layout ran at 10.35am on Saturday. Never in the field of my modelling history was so much owed to so many for such a little triumph. And at last I could begin to enjoy the show.

Even more tripe to follow!

[Andy Y]

It's maybe worth inserting the tale of the New Mexican standoff in The Sun Inn a mere 5 weeks before the show.

 

OG: "I want to do the backscene for Warley"

AY: "No."

OG: "I reckon it could be done in time"

AY:  "**** off".

OG: "No, I reckon it can be done. How long would the printer need?"

AY: "A couple of weeks he said"

OG: "Well there's plenty of time then, we'll be able to get it back two weeks before the show".

 

And on the lively conversation continued. I tried to suggest it would be wise to wait until all of the boards were together for the first time. No, apparently that wasn't a good enough reason. "But we need to mark out all of the horizon lines" I protested, "I'll measure it all tomorrow" he retorted. I blinked, that was all it took and the had got me.

 

John's roll of wallpaper with lots of measurements and wiggly lines was converted into points plotted onto a rather large Photoshop file along with a grid.

 

 

Yeah; it's a bit blue. This was an early draft of the image file to be discussed and tweak the features, their position and heights etc; composite layers of an image of real sky, CGI skylines and cloned foregrounds. Add in canyon features below the mean ground level and a bit of wiggle room either side of such features to mean the scene could have some lateral movement. Obviously the print was done without all the gridlines, measurements and brown ground level mask. The finished file was toned down a lot so it wasn't a distraction from the main scene on the boards or too intense in tone. The printers did a grand job with it, a slightly different and more cost effective material than BCB and a better end result. Such is the learning curve. I was a bit twitchy about it as after all it was John's money being spent and I didn't want any cock-ups on measurements but, much as I hate to say it, I think he was right to push to get it done for the show and it'll certainly help with toning the rest of the scenic work.

[Stubby47]

Looks like the view from inside the fence at Area 51.

 

Allegedly. 

[2ManySpams]

Good to see John posting again.