Crocodile414

Hi All, Today has seen the catenary begun in earnest. We've deliberately been leaving this job until the end so as to avoid any potential damage when developing the scenery. Our full size drawing from 3 years ago was found and with exception of one or two snags everything has gone together more or less in the intended order/position. A few pieces required shortening to fit the intended gaps between the posts but overall we're very pleased with how it's gone. Once all the droppers had been installed, each piece was loosely hung in position before committing to soldering them together. We've started at the viaduct end and are working our way along towards the control panel. There is still much to do on this section of the build and I am extremely grateful to my friends for helping me today and explaining and demonstrating how all of it goes together. Hopefully, another solid days work will see this part of the build complete - then it's time to plant more trees along the front! Cheers, Nick

Hi All, A very long overdue update but seeing as it's one month to go until the layout makes it debut at the Penarth Exhibition on 2nd & 3rd July, I've finally gotten round to downloading the pictures off the phone and posting a few. With a significant amount of help from my friends, the scenery has been developed somewhat since the last images were posted (I'll try and re-upload these from the earlier posts). The layout is being depicted towards the end of winter, where there is plenty of snow still on the ground, trees & roofs etc but it has started to melt leaving the main paths and roads relatively clear. This has nearly all been achieved with multiple layers of Artex which has been sanded to achieve the various shapes. Trees have begun to be planted today (yes, I know some them aren't straight, I'm waiting for the glue to dry before bending the trunks!) and there are currently about 80-90 of them in situ. Another 40 are being prepared for planting, some needing re-coating from their previous life. The catenary is the next job to tackle - the cross spans through the station loops have been soldered together today and loosely placed on the upright sections. All the various wires and droppers are ready and waiting for installation. I've been going through all the rolling sock cleaning wheels and either adding or repairing the additional detailing parts where appropriate. I will be having a test run soon and hope to record some video clips, which with time permitting, I'll upload into a small film on YouTube. More progress soon.....hopefully! Cheers, Nick

Hi Everyone, Apologies it's been so long in posting the next update. To cut a very long story short, I took a break from Kleine Albula in October 2020 to work on a mid-life rebuild of my OO British layout (which is still on-going!). Throw in a house move as well and it's only the last few days I've actually been able to get started again. I've been working on making rockfaces using the Woodland Scenics rockmoulds, around the viaduct and also the tunnel at the other end. I've also been adding retaining walls where necessary and I've applied a layer of Artex on top of the plaster bandage in preparation for the final scenery. A couple of snapshots are included - plenty more still to do - particularly lots of filling the gaps but I'm pleased to be progressing again. Cheers, Nick

Hoping for the LNER Silver Jubilee and/or the Coronation coaches. Highly unlikely I know but I can live in hope until the 10th! I suspect the railroad range will be strong again, it seems to have been very popular in recent years. Not long to wait now!

Excellent service from Little Dan and the team at Derails Models. Multiple orders placed recently, all arrived safe and well in good time.

Hi All, A very long time since the last update. I've been having a break from the layout over the latter part of the summer but work resumed today. I didn't fancy doing any scenery today so I thought I'd finally get the lighting gantry made. A trip to Wickes and 4 hours later I have a frame which is now mounted (albeit unpainted yet). The front fascia is 5.5mm ply and the frame work is 18mmx44m. It's all held together with bolts and T nuts. I need to get some LED tubes to up inside it now. More news soon.....(hopefully!) Cheers, Nick

Excellent service again from Little Dan and the team - 2 coaches paid for Saturday morning and arrived safely this morning. Thanks guys!

Thanks for all the kind comments, I've really enjoyed running it for the last few days. I'll probably have a few more days playing and then back to work. Cheers, Nick

Afternoon All, After waiting 11 days for my additional plaster bandage to arrive, it was soon put to use and board 2 now matches board 1. After not having run anything for several months and my new heritage coaches arriving from Winco a few weeks ago, I felt it was time to set the layout up and have a running session - it's just under a year since the last video. Hope you enjoy. Cheers, Nick

Board 2 received its first layer of plaster bandage tonight. The second layer will have to wait for a few day though as I'm not confident I've got enough do it so I've ordered a few more rolls. Next job after the plaster bandaging will be back to completing the station car park and the remaining road surface down underneath the viaduct. Cheers, Nick

I installed the masts first for two reasons - firstly I wanted to make sure the full size plan translated to the board, and secondly as Vecchio alludes to - it's a lot easier to do the nuts up on the threads underneath prior to the scenery going in. If I'd done it afterwards it'd be an absolute nightmare and a couple of places would most likely be inaccessible. I also needed to get the wire ramps up inside the tunnels as these are completely sealed now so touch wood I don't need to go back in there with a soldering iron! Apart from stabbing myself on the ends of the masts a few times, they haven't really gotten in the way (so far!).

Landscaping is slowly continuing around the viaduct. I've found this a particularly challenging area to shape but hopefully this board will be ready for plaster bandaging soon. Hope every one is safe and well. Nick

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to see how it all fits once the wires actually start going up. I'll keep you posted!

Apologies for the lack of updates lately. Lockdown has caused some difficulties with obtaining materials. I've also been weathering my British stock which has taken up a lot of time. I'm now on the final section of landscaping around the viaduct. I've cut some very basic pieces so far but I'm waiting for the glue to dry before I go in for a heavy attack carving it all into shape. Hopefully I'll have some more developments in the not too distant future. Cheers, Nick

Looks like you've made excellent progress so far, look forward to seeing your progress

Hi Everyone, I hope you're all managing to survive the current situation as best as possible. A second layer of plaster bandage was applied to board 1 and this has given a lovely solid surface to work with - board 2 remains uncovered presently. I made a start yesterday on the lighting gantry. I've managed to find enough softwood and 9mm ply offcuts for the two end pieces to hold the pelmut up - the first of which has been assembled and installed on the layout. The second one has been cut but has yet to be assembled. As I mentioned before, until I can get some more foam (or a suitable equivalent) I'm slightly stuck with making any further progress so I've been using the time to weather the coaching stock for my British layout, St Kenvince (see RM March 2020). Hopefully Wales will ease its restrictions slightly soon and I can crack on again. Stay safe and keep well, Cheers, Nick

Hi everyone, Just a quick update tonight. Board 1 has had its first layer of plaster bandage today, more is on order to do another layer and the second board. I've temporarily run out of foam to complete the area around the viaduct but whilst that board has been taken down I've been tidying up the wiring underneath with cable ties and clips etc. More news soon..... Hopefully! Nick

Hi Everyone, A little bit more progress to share with you. Landscaping around the tunnel has commenced although as you can see its still very much a work in progress. I'm hoping to complete this section this week and then at least 1 board will be ready for plaster bandaging. I've also been doing a lot of painting on the station building which is nearing completion now - I will post a picture when it's complete. Hope you're all keeping well. Best Regards, Nick

I need to have a proper test run. The layout is currently split due to the scenic work being carried out. Once I've run some locos under their own power I'll be able to be certain if I need to make any changes. I'll keep you all posted!

A bit more progress over the last few days..... The catenary in the tunnels has been installed at either end complete with a ramp to raise and lower the pantographs. This was quite a fiddly job with a lot of trial and error but we got there in the end. Thanks to my mate for making a 300 mile round trip on Sunday to teach me and help me do it. The landscaping is nearly there (apart from around the viaduct). I've also started to build the road today and the level crossing. Following the successful test with the Dapol magentic couplings the front siding has also been properly laid and ballasted. Unfortunately there are too many things with glue/filler etc which are now drying and I will just end up disturbing if I carry on! More news soon!

They are fixed. I did buy the coupling pockets as well but haven't been able to mount them in the right position/height using them. However, this pair manage to go through all my pointwork with no issues and go round the corners fine which are about 14" / 360mm radius approximately.

Afternoon all, Landscaping is still progressing and I hope to show you pictures of this shortly. However, one job that has been bugging me for a while has finally been completed today. One of the trains I intend to run is a mixed train dropping off a few wagons in the siding and pick them up on the next trip. The standard Bemo couplings are somewhat unfriendly for hands free shunting. I use Kadee couplings on my British OO gauge layout but after offering one of these up to a Bemo wagon these were clearly far too big. I've been browsing the web for a while and came across the Dapol magnetic couplings which look and behave very similarly to Kadee's. I ordered a set of magnets and a pair of long armed couplers. To cut a long story short, I've found that if you remove the Bemo coupler & drill a small hole in the Dapol one (which accepts a track pin through the centre) and also drill through the centre of the buffer beam this will set the coupling at the correct height. I've used a tiny drop of superglue with applied with a cocktail stick to secure the assembly in place. I've posted a short video on my YouTube channel to show the operation but there are also a few photos below to show the underside and their appearance once mounted. Hope it's of interest and more progress soon hopefully! Nick

Thanks Jeremy, work is progressing albeit a bit slower due to several other things getting in the way (as they do!). As soon as there is some more visible progress, I'll post another update. Cheers, Nick

One of my operators has used their SBB E/E 3/3 shunter with sound on the layout before!! We generally try and be sensible but we can't help it when it's "happy hour!" Oh.....and no moaning when Thomas comes out to play - it's done for the kids and to get them engaged with whats happening rather than just staring blankly! See you all in the morning! Nick

Indeed - one of Mr Gresley's finest and my favourite member of the class!