MrTea

Quick try out of the bridge on the layout:

Here's a view of tonight's progress: It's all an approximation in terms of measurements but I think it'll capture the essence of the real structure when it's installed on the layout.

Evening Jon. Small world eh? You don't happen to remember what the bridge is like on the top do you? At the moment I've guessed and used a mirror image of the metal plate on the outside for the inside face. The fence will be installed in a future session once it's had a coat of paint.

Made a start on building the bridge near Crestas last night: Greyboard structure wrapped in a photographic print similar to previous structures on the Veja Megstra side of the layout. Wrap applied to the downhill face. Next steps are adding the main arch liner and the railings and fencing along the sides of the track way. The fencing is quite ‘rustic’ so I think it’s going to require separate styrene strips to replicate the planks.

I hadn’t thought of it like that but I reckon that could work. I think it’s a farm track rather than a road based on what I can see from Google Maps? Managed to squeeze in an hour’s modelling before dinner yesterday - it was even nice enough to be outside! Tempted to have a stab at the backscene in the next few days if I can pluck up the courage...

Bit more progress on the layout this afternoon: This is the other corner board which is going to become a representation of the entrance to God Tunnel. The test print (courtesy of Streetview) really helped get the slope leading up to the tunnel portal looking believable. There's been some condensing of the distance between the tunnel and the overbridge but I think the overall impression will be ok. The satellite view doesn't really show how much the land slopes down to the North West and how hard the line has to work to climb the valley side. The yellow line represents the approximate area represented by the new segment of scenery. At the top corner I've relocated Plaz Tunnel closer so that the line has another suitable scenic break. Mock up of the overbridge. This was printed approximately to scale size to help with forming the land around. All being well the bridge abutments will help mask the baseboard joint here. I think the bridge will be a fun structure to model as it's higher on one side than the other and all three arches are different sizes. At this rate it won't be long until the plaster bandage goes on!

The cardboard Alps continue to grow: This packing material is turning out to be a quick and lightweight way of building up the terrain. Last night I brought the end board out so I could get a feel for how the contours should flow from the tunnel at the far left towards the bridge in the middle. It’s coming together.

That's really coming on. The tree looks great - I had to click on the pic to see it full size! How did you do the ploughed field in the foreground?

Managed to squeeze in some more work on the layout last night: This is the embankment leading to the mini viaduct over the road. What started out as a four-arched bridge looks like it’s going to become a three-arched one to better replicate the real location and also fit the lie of the land here. In other news I’ve decided that this section of the layout will definitely be modelled in winter time. Fabio (Calandmountain) the RhB driver recently posted a video of a cab ride between Bergun and Preda which gives some great reference material: I’m going to replicate this level of snowfall wherever I can, which is perfect because the tracks are free of snow and it doesn’t appear to be in many of the trees. Perhaps it hasn’t snowed for a week or so? I know @PaulRhB and @ the Goblin have or are modelling the RhB in the wintertime. I’d be interested to know from others on the forum who have modelled snow how they went about it, what products they’d recommend and what lessons they’ve learned. Until next time. Stay safe and thanks for all your updates and input on here! Ian

So, inspired by Paul’s suggestion of the area above Bergun, I’ve taken the plunge and started the scenic work on the other side of the layout. First there was a now obligatory trip on the section of line on Streetview to gather reference photos and get an idea of the lie of the land. Because I’ve already got the track layout fixed this will be a representation of the area rather than an attempt to replicate the scenery in 1:150 scale. However I think the overall impression should be recognisable. Certainly I’ve found it’s easier to be inspired by a real location than making it up completely from scratch. Luckily for this project, before Christmas we had an IKEA delivery and so I’ve got a stock of cardboard packing pieces available that can form the foundations for the scenery. The first area I tacked was the roadway leading down the mountain towards Bergun. I figured that with this in place I can work the rest of the embankment and hillside around it. The contours here are pretty complex so I’ve used a top layer of strips of thin corrugated card which bends to the required shape. On this photo we’re looking up the gradient in the Preda direction (although at this point the line is heading north west - completely the wrong direction!). I was fortunate to have different thickness of packing pieces that could be hacked around and glued together to form the required shapes. I used a mixture of PVA, Roket card glue and track pins to fix the different elements in place. Here’s an overall view of the work to date. Not bad for an afternoon’s modelling. It feels good to be making some progress again. One of the lessons I learned from the Veja Megstra side of the layout is that I shouldn’t work on the boards in isolation - it makes blending the scenery at the edges much harder. So on this one I’m working from the middle out and for the next modelling session I’ll need to attach one of the end boards before adding more of the subterrain layer. Hopefully there will be more progress to report during the week.

Hi Steve, That looks really promising. Have you seen the RhB lines on Google Streetview? You can drop a pin on the lines and explore. And also this invaluable website? http://rhbstations.co.za/ Ian

Here are the next two areas I’m planning to focus on: #1 I’ve narrowed the roadway to a more scale 1:150 width but the slopes either side of the bridge need some more texture. I’m also planning to add a few trees in the triangle between the bridge, roadway and main road to help break up this section and mask the splicing together of Veja Megstra (based on Muot) and the Toua tunnel section, which in reality is a few km further up the line towards Preda. #2 I’ve never been 100% happy with this join between the boards. The photo backscene was only ever really a temporary print before I realised I could do a reasonable job with watercolours. The trees also stop rather abruptly and I’m pretty sure I can do a better job at masking the line on the hillside. After these are done I really do have no excuse for not getting on with the other side of the layout! Debating whether to try a wintery scene there as I’ve never attempted to model snow.

Couple of shots from the running session over the weekend: Looking down over the loop from the mountainside above Veja Megstra. Ge 4/4 iii passing an Allegra service. Evening light over the layout.

RhB Ge 4/4 iii 642 on a southbound service in the evening light at Veja Megstra. Appropriately the loco is decorated in a promotional livery commemorating 100 years of the Albula line.

That's a fab video Keith. I love the way the trains negotiate their way around the sweeping curves at the rear of the layout. I think you're right showing the full length of the freights, especially given the variety of wagons in the consist.

Managed to get some more time to work on the layout after work yesterday. I've planted a few more trees on the valley side of the layout so that's now more representative of the valley side at Muot, the location that inspired the station area. I also spent some time improving the ground cover on the baseboard join between the Chanaletta Gallerie board and the station. The additional trees are by the Czech firm Model Scene. They sit pretty well alongside the existing firs from Noch and Busch. It's been harder to find trees where the trunks are visible, Busch make some nice 'realistic' trees but they're around a fiver each. View down the station board looking south. The trees on the right frame the tracks nicely (although it does make photographing the trains little bit more difficult!). If you look carefully you can see the 'slick' of watered down PVA to the left of the turnout. Driver's eye view at the top of the passing loop looking north. At some point I need to lower the insulators on the cross spans. Allegra waiting in the loop. I've also started adding some small details such as drainage covers to the trackside. These are laser cut MDF and card by scalemodelscenery.com. I guess I could have made these from scrap card but there's a level of detail on the laser cut items that's hard to match, particularly with things like grilles.

ABe 8/12 'Allegra' awaiting a southbound service at Veja Megstra.

Hi Steve, I’ve had a similar experience to you and Keith with voltage drops and Unitrack. In the end I had to solder a number of the joints on my layout. It seemed to get worse after I painted the rail sides and ballasted around the track. Despite the issues I still rate Unitrack as an option. I’ve always liked the way it clips together and also the way the turnouts have their motors integrated. There’s something very satisfying about throwing the points remotely with a Kato lever. You've made some really good progress on your layout in the past few weeks. Ian

I notice that Traintrax have the newly announced baggage car and EW1 re-runs available for pre-order.

Here’s what the Mafen SBB type signals look like when installed and lit. Green aspect Red aspect The only thing I’ve added is the white identification plate, printed using a suitable font on our home printer. Overall view for scale: I do need to try and find a suitable 3-way switch to manage this end of the loop. Although it’s a nice idea I think interlocking with the turnout might be a bit beyond me.

This weekend saw the first Allegra service through Veja Megstra. The passengers reported that the ride was excellent and that the unit appeared to have plenty of power in reserve when climbing the gradients. Here’s the northbound service returning later in the day: There has also been some additional tree planting on the western slopes below the passing loop. This does obscure the view of the station area somewhat for photographers but it is a feature of the location that is the inspiration for the model. A few more trees will be added as soon as they come into stock! The panorama coach also had a visit to the station but couldn’t be hauled by the new unit as the Allegra needs to have its dummy coupling replaced with one of the mini couplings supplied.

Morning. Just seen this thread has started. You’re making good progress already! Not sure what plans you have for scenery and what time of year you’re planning to set the layout in but you might enjoy this clip I stumbled upon on YouTube over the weekend: https://youtu.be/Ow3T1plrZfM It’s of another n scale Kato RhB layout set in the depths of winter. Looking forward to seeing how Nussbach develops over the coming months. Ian

Hi Nigel, I reckon that’s not too bad. I also know what you mean about scaling down from 4mm to 2mm. Maybe try dry brushing a bit of mid grey on top just to see if you can tone down the texture a bit? Good luck!

Postie’s been The panorama coach is crying out for some passengers to be added.

Not a chance! You know it make sense