young37215

Minimal progress with building the baseboards, I am trying to get the height of the supporting trestles right first to get the baseboards at the optimal height. Much experimentation so far, not much tangible achievement! Lots of time spent planning, current focus on WHL station buildings and signal boxes at present. Can anyone advise the name for the revolting green colours that were used to paint the stations and signal boxes in the early 1980's? Thanks in advance for any guidance Rob

The new loft looks a fantastic space for your extended layout and it will be interesting to watch it develop. One point of interest, I cannot see any insulation other than that on the floor? I recommend that you think long and hard about insulating the modelling area because the extremes of temperature (both hot and cold) that a cold loft is exposed to will not do your rolling stock or track any favours.

From the 10,000 plus hits on my old Blog http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1892-west-highland-line-v3/ the West Highland Line still commands many peoples interest. I have created this Thread as I start the construction of a new WHL based layout with the predictable name ‘WHL4’. Having completed the sombre task of dismantling WHL3, I have commenced the more cheerful challenge of planning the initial development of WHL4. This will be similar to my previous WHL layouts with several stations in scenic sections interspersed with hidden fiddle/storage yards over 2 levels. The layout will be DCC controlled by my existing Guagemaster Prodigy. Operations will again be based around the early 1980’s with steam heat locos and coaches the norm operating the full WHL timetable. The major difference with WHL4 compared to my previous efforts is one of scale. I have a newly converted 14m by 3m loft space in which to model which is both exciting and daunting in equal measures. My draft plan comprises scenic sections for 6 stations with extended approaches at each section end so as to maximise running and thereby enable me to enjoy my sound fitted locos to the maximum. In order to make the construction manageable and avoid getting overawed by the size of the task, construction will be broken down into a number of projects. The scenic sections will each have: · Peco code 75 track and electrofrog points · Servo driven point motors and semaphores · A Megapoints driven master control panel with individual stations having their own individual panel/signal box. This involves duplication of panels but I like the operational flexibility this creates. Each of these are new territory to me so much learning fun and games to be had! To keep costs under control the fiddle yards and hidden sections will use recycled: · Peco code 100 track and insulfrog points from WHL3. Most of the track is at least 25 years old but it still works well. · Peco solenoid point motors driven by a Guagemaster transformer and CDU · Solenoid point motors will be controlled from the master panel. The first station project will be Crianlarich in its pre-RETB condition. In my draft plan Crianlarich adjoins the main fiddle yard which means I can get something up and running quite quickly thus allowing for some playtime in amongst all of the development work. Track laying planning has already commenced I intend charting the evolution of WHL4 on this Thread. At this time my overriding emotion is one of intimidation supplemented by excitement and anticipation which I hope to translate into something tangible in the coming months.

Hi Mark I would like the benefit of your experience in having built the (superb) station building and signal box for Rannoch. I doubt that I have the skills or patience to create anything close to what you have achieved but, before I rule out having a go, I would like an indication of the time that you spent creating your masterpieces. I have read your resume of development but cannot see any indication of the (significant I suspect) time you spent. I ask because, as I am sure you know, Rannoch's buildings are prototypical of many found on the WHL. As I plan my new WHL layout which will have several stations requiring both building and signal box, I want to get a flavour for the time it might take if I were to try and build my own. The information will also give me a starting point for estimating what having these professionally made might cost which, I suspect, is the route I will follow. I am hopeful that there are cost savings to be achieved by commissioning a laser cut specialist to produce suitable kits. regards Rob

I have spent a lot of time planning WHL 4 of late which has whetted my appetite for some operations. Quite literally I dusted off WHL3 and managed to have something of an operating session. The levels of dirt still on the track meant that I had a number of stalls and power disruptions but as the pictures are silent and static, you cannot tell from the following: 37027 at Garelochead with northbound sleeper 37014 reverses 8D10 out of Mallaig Junction yard to join the main line 20184 trundles light engine through Mallaig junction yard en route to Corpach 37191 at Ardlui with northbound freight 7B02 37192 waits departure from Fort William with 1T24, the first southbound service of the day 37039 arrives Garelochead with 1B08 37108 rests at Ardlui with 1T16 37014 through the trees and bushes north of Bridge of Orchy with 8D10 37192 passes the oil terminal and crosses Mallaig junction with 1T24 37191 departs Bridge of Orchy with 7B02

The lack of car parking comes as little surprise, unfortunately the communists on Bristol city council seem to hate the car even more than those they rip off with their exorbitant council tax charge. Absent a comprehensive public transport system in and around Bristol, there is little alternative for most other than to have to drive of they want to get somewhere. The muppet politicians cannot work this out for themselves and simply obstruct normal people trying to live their lives.

Finally I have managed to find a video with the steam service on P2 at Fort William although, admittedly, it is mid 90's. It is on Road to the Isles Part 1 and can be found at 1 hour 26:30 into the video. I am not sure how relevant this is anymore but I am glad to have scratched the itch that has been niggling away for several months!

Most of the time a new loco dropped onto the rear of the stock either to take the ECS to Cowlairs or to form an outward working which, for many years until the early 80's, was assisted by the inbound loco up the Cowlairs incline. There have not been run round facilities at QS for years, certainly since the late 70's and if they ever existed I am ignorant of the fact.

The lack of updates of late have been due to a number of factors, one of which has been the construction of a usable space in my loft to where I will relocate my modelling. I had intended to do so gradually over the winter months but, upon my return to WHL3, I find that the dust and grime caused by the building work has had a seriously detrimental effect on electrical performance. This means I either spend a sizeable amount of time on cleaning track and rolling stock or I bite the bullet and re-locate now. I have chosen the latter which means this will be the last post for WHL 3. I feel very sad to be facing the destruction of over 5 years of modelling during which I have re-kindled my interest and developed my skills to a level I never thought I was capable of. Despite their development, my skills have a long way to go before I would consider myself anything other than, to use Railway Modeller vernacular, an average modeller. I look forward to the next step in my development and the evolution of WHL 4 which I will chart on this forum as a new thread rather than a blog. Nearly 9,500 views of my WHL3 blog suggests that the West Highland Line still commands peoples interests. I hope that the following pictures taken during WHL3's development provide an appropriate epilogue to the hours of entertainment it has given me. Garelochead station basks in the afternoon sun awaiting the next arrival 37026 awaits departure from Garelochead 37 approaching Ardlui from the south 37039 arrives at Ardlui with a northbound freight Southbound passenger service at Ardlui Passenger trains cross at Bridge of Orchy Bridge of Orchy station looking south 37003 approaches Bridge of Orchy with Alcan hopper empties Fort William station activity pauses between services Class 37 potters in Mallaig junction yard

Great historical pictures, this one in particular interests me. I have in my record of west highland information that Morrisons store commenced construction in 1982. Given this is 1985 with no sign of the store I suspect my information is incorrect. Can anyone shed any clarity on when Morrisons was built?

I have just spent the last few hours drooling over the variety of pictures contained in this thread. Please keep them coming. On a point of detail, it seems clear to me that DOCJACOB enjoyed his student days as appears to struggle to recall his time on the West Highland line!. I say this as I am pretty certain that the 37 is at Garelochead heading south and not Ardlui.

Power issues at Fort William resolved. These appear to have been caused by inadequate sized BUS wire where increasing capacity from 16/02 to 32/02 wire cured the problem although it was a painful and time consuming learning experience. Much has been justifiably written about the scenic splendour of the WHL. Trying to capture this in model form with limited space is an impossible challenge although with a little thought it is possible to create the illusion of the line and the vast open spaces through which it traverses. The following pictures are some of my favourite of the hundreds I have taken of WHL so far: 37022 approaches Garelochead with a southbound service from Oban 27032 south of Ardlui with a Mossend bound freight 37108 arrives at Ardlui with an Oban service 37026 pulls away from Ardlui with a Mallaig Junction to Mossend freight 37's cross at Ardlui 37049 and 37003 double head the empty Alcan hoppers as they return to Blyth 27041 about to depart to Corpach from Mallaig Junction yard with a trip working Boarded crossing at Mallaig Junction yard

There are 5 scenic sections on WHL 3, 4 of which are the station areas. The station platforms are simple scratch built representations and not scale sized replicas. As I have learnt and gained more experience each station in chronological order of construction has improved in quality. Fort William and Ardlui were the last two built and are closer in terms of track orientation and visual appearance. Garelochead and Bridge of Orchy are much less so in both respects, essentially they comprise simple, generic island platforms with little resemblance to the real thing. Compromises are made with the typical Swiss chalet station building found on the West Highland. Nothing that feels or looks chalet like is produced by anyone and at this time I do not feel inclined or sufficiently confident to attempt a scratch build. Therefore I have settled on a compromise for the buildings at Garelochead and Bridge of Orchy where I use the Pola Mortimer station painted in the green and cream colours used on the WHL in the early 80’s. It is a long way from the actual but is the best I can do at this time. Fort William is an even more simple approach with the station building comprising part of the hand painted backscene. Signal boxes are Hornby level crossing signal boxes from the Skaledale range. They are closer to the real thing than the station buildings although there is still a major dollop of artistic licence in using them. Underpasses used to gain access to the island platforms are Peco's. Garelochead, Ardlui, Bridge of Orchy Fort William. Mallaig Junction yard makes up the fifth section.

Hi Lee I agree with you but, in all honesty, I cannot be arsed with the effort! WHL 3 will be ripped up later this year when I move from a 13' by 11' room into a 45' x 10' loft conversion. When WHL 4 gets off the ground, I will record its evolution as a thread rather than a blog. regards Rob

Fantastic video and music. From what I could see I reckon that the time is late 70's rather than early 80's given the use of 27's and buffet cars. Both had disappeared by the 80's.

I have now completed Fort William station with the addition of the canopy. It is scratch built using plasticard and plastruct materials. I am rather pleased with the results, doubly so as this is the first serious attempt I have made at scratch building anything. On the downside, the Fort William station section is suffering with electrical problems on the power BUS and point motor alignment. What is doubly frustrating is that I tested all power and point motors on the workbench before returning the section and re-connecting all cables. Despite my extensive vocabulary of expletives, I am struggling to find words that reflect my thoughts! Initial canopy before painting Progress, the canopy stands up! What I want to re-create Painted canopies Station name boards added Station returned to Fort William section with 37049 testing the power and point motors Looking good so far Loco stall and errant point motor will not budge! Given up on electrical problems and started running instead, 37039 crosses 37191 at Ardlui Just for 'Healey Mills' Lee. Yes I have an ETHEL for the air con sleeper.

OK Back home and had a look in the 1984 wtt at the steam service. Return Fort William 15.24, next service train not until 17.20. This suggests minimal pressure to exit the platform. However no detail on which platform was scheduled. Question therefore is was it always P1? I will raise the question

There are a host of reasons why I model in general and the west highlands in particular. One of these is an attempt to recreate images in my mind of a period in my past where I have fond memories of sitting in a mark 1 coach watching the world go by in what seemed a timeless and carefree period of my life. Doing so in a 13 foot by 11 foot room carries obvious challenges although reference to videos and pictures found in books and on the internet help jog my memory. Essentially incorporating these pictures into cameos on my model enables me to create an effective illusion of what I recall from my bashing days. The following selection of pictures reflect some of what I have seen in books and other media. They portray what I consider the quintessential WHL: 37 approaches Ardlui surrounded by greenery and with a backdrop of mountains In bright early morning sunlight, freight trains pass each other at the typical WHL island platform of Ardlui 37 threads its way through the landscape as it begins the climb towards Rannoch moor with late afternoon light reflecting off of the coaches, a 37 descends from Rannoch moor towards Bridge of Orchy 37 approaches Bridge of Orchy in remote terrain 37 rounds a tight curve through a cutting on the approach to Garelochead classical shot from the footbridge at Mallaig Junction yard looking towards Ben Nevis Class 27 shunts the typical small WHL yard at Ardlui

Hi David I am glad that you like WHL3, it is has provided me with hours of trials and tribulations as well as a great deal of enjoyment. To clarify and put your mind to rest, there is no wrong way running on WHL3 because the semaphore signals still control the line. As you observe, wrong way running started with the advent of RETB. I bought the green and cream coaches in a moment of exuberance on Ebay. They are the first incarnation of the two sets of Mk1's painted for the steam service and just about fit my period modelled. I will defer to those that know more than me about the steam services regarding the platform used at Fort William because I know little about them. In my mind I recall a video showing a departure from P2 but I cannot recall which video it is! However I think that in the early days of the reinstated steam service the timings allowed more time for clearing the platform. I am away from home at present and so cannot check my WTT's to clarify but I will when I get home. Whilst WHL3 is a representation and not an absolute facsimile of the west highland line, I would not want to operate inaccurately. As for my dreams of a K1 in green, I am happy to admit this running in the 1980 and 1985 period is pure fantasy on my part because the K1 did not arrive on the line until 1987. Nevertheless, in the event that Hornby produce the K1 in green I will be in the queue for it. Thank you your kind words, good luck with your own modelling.

Like buses, you wait for days for a post and then several turn up together! An enjoyable days operations resulted in the following pictures: Tamper sits in the sidings at Garelochead as 8B05, the 14.55 Mossend to Oban passes 37039 at Garelochead with 8B05 37039 departs Garelochead Class 20’s sit idly at Mallaig Junction Yard awaiting their next turn of duty 37085 at Ardlui with 7D12, 12.30 Corpach to Mossend 37014 arrives at Ardlui with 7B20, 13.50 Mossend to Corpach 37191 at Bridge of Orchy with 1T45, 12.45 Mallaig to Glasgow 37264 arrives at Bridge of Orchy and passes 1T45 37085 departs Garelochead with 7D12 27105 arrives at Fort William with the ECS for the 16.30 to Mallaig 20045 draws the ECS of the steam service out of the platform and back to the carriage sidings

Significant progress made with Fort William station and the backscene at long last. This finalises the major development of WHL 3 leaving me only with the typical ongoing activity of additional detailing. The pictures below show the various stages of development comprising: · Track and platform weathered · Several additional droppers added to the power BUS · Wooden platform edges replaced with Peco ones. · Station detailing added, the canopies covering the first part of the platform remain under development · Lochaber area backscene finished Additionally the framework on which Fort William station sits has been adjusted to ensure stability and to avoid fouling locos climbing to Bridge of Orchy on the incline which sits below Fort William. I also had to re-visit the Bridge of Orchy section module where a recurring point motor alignment problem has provided much frustration. Having lifted the section on several occasions, I appear to have finally resolved this. The surrounding scenic sections have been restored to their rightful positions, now for some running action…. Old station and lack of backscene Station trackwork after weathering and re=ballasting Updated station with backscene Updated station with trains! 37191 awaits departure for Glasgow 37049 crosses Mallaig Junction with the steam service 37049 arrives at Fort William 27105 substituting for a failed 37 awaits departure with the 16.30 Mallaig service

Although the class 37’s had taken over day to day operations on the West Highland line by the early 1980's, class 27's still put in appearances when there were class 37 shortages. The harsh winter of 1981/2 meant that a number of 37's required extended works attention for a wide range of frost damage resulting in an increase in outings for both 20's and 27's. Below are a series of pictures showing examples of such workings on WHL3. Note 27105’s appearance having been released from its Glasgow to Edinburgh push pull duties by the introduction of 47/7’s but before its further renumbering to 27049. My fleet of 3 class 27’s are Heljan models fitted with Loksound soundchips. 2 have Howes sound and the third has Olivias; for me the Howes version is the superior by a distance. The 2 class 20’s are Bachmann offerings also fitted with Loksound soundchips. Sound comes from 1 each of SWD and Howes and are of similar high quality. Both locos are currently going through a renumbering and detailing programme hence their appearance without numbers. When finished they will be numbered 20045 (disc headcode) and 20184 (centre headcode) which were both WHL regulars in the early 1980's. Both have just been fitted with working headcode and tail lights by Jason Edmunds of Stickswipe fame which bring them into line with the rest of my loco fleet. 20184 enters Mallaig Junction yard with the tribometer train. Bit of artistic licence here, I doubt that the trib ever did the west highlands but, since I have the rolling stock, who cares? 27032 at Ardlui with an engineers ballast train 20045 at Bridge of Orchy collecting engineers mess coach 27105 arrives at Ardlui with a short Mossend to Oban freight 27041 at Garelochead with southbound Oban Glasgow service Preparation for the winter, 27041 and 27105 move the snow ploughs at Mallaig Junction yard

After a number of days spent primarily on development work, some running seemed in order. Apart from reminding myself that running is an important part of what I enjoy about modelling, it enables me to further test and prove the enhanced power BUS. Frustratingly I have found that the more power droppers I install, the more I seem to need! It may be that the lack of running means that both track and loco wheels are in need of a good clean but I am still disappointed by the number of power drops and/or interruptions which adversely affect the sound fitted locos. The locos either stall, shut down or disrupt their sound continuity which is irritating. At the current rate of adding droppers, I will end up with power direct to each length of rail. On the positive side, the days running provided an interlude and an opportunity to draw breath before I bite the bullet and lift the Fort William station section for refurbishment. After reference to the Class 37 Loco Groups website, I identified that most services on 28/7/82 were hauled by locos in my fleet. I therefore borrowed the space/time displacement machine of Dave from Waverley West fame and programmed it to return to 28th July 1982. With a little artistic licence, the following workings were seen. 20045 shunts the Fort William oil terminal 37192 runs 1T45 over Mallaig Junction en route to Fort William 37192 arrives at Fort William station 37049 replacing failed steam loco on Mallaig service and 37192 on 1T45 both await departure from Fort William. (Time displacement failure noted here as steam service did not start until 1984!) 37022 brings the midday Oban service from Glasgow 1B11 into Ardlui 37022 awaits departure from Ardlui with 1B11 37049 heads the steam service to Mallaig through Mallaig Junction Yard 37108 arrives at Garelochead with 1T32, the afternoon service to Glasgow from Oban 37264 on 7B13 arrives at Garelochead and passes 1T32 37264 departs Gare4lochead with 7B13 37085 arrives at Mallaig Junction Yard with 7D12, the midday service from Corpach to Mossend

It is the new sidings on the Severn Beach line off of the single line section between St Andrews Road and Severn Beach.

Mojo has been low in recent weeks resulting in little time being spent on WHL 3. Consequently only modest progress has been made with developing the remaining Lochaber scenic area. Father in laws recent visit helped me resolve a soldering iron problem, a £60 outlay later means wallet feeling lighter but I do have a new and more powerful iron. This has helped tremendously with the soldering of the droppers to the track for connection to the power BUS and I am seeing the results of the BUS with better electrical continuity and reduced numbers of dropouts. I am now largely finished with Mallaig Junction scenic section and am about to start work on Fort William station. Lighting for Mallaig Junction remains an issue because the area is furthest from the window and my shadow blocks out the light from both the room light and the window. I have not found any model form yard lighting that looks sufficiently representative of the original and so intend fixing a new light high up on the wall above the area to shine down on the area. The backscene has been developed and whilst not perfect as yet, it now creates much of the ambiance that I seek. There has been little running of late but I captured the following movements: 20048 rests at Mallaig Junction yard in between trip work General view of Mallaig Junction yard TTA’s sit in oil terminal siding View of Mallaig Junction signal box and crossing 37264 waits at Ardlui with a short engineers train