brylonscamel

Allan that's such a lovely supportive message - you probably saw the thread but I was persuaded to rethink the embankment (something that was already bothering me) by a chat on this forum. The modelers here are proving very helpful. Even the criticism is pitched nicely - and the rethink was just what was needed. It's given much more interesting angles on the railway and you're right, it now reproduces just the sort of space-starved scene that I was trying to achieve in the first place . I put the little Andrew Barclay over the new card structure this evening and it looks cute-as-a-button ;-)

Well here's the result of an evening re-imagining the scene with an arched railway embankment. I like the change - it has even introduced an interesting space at the rear of the canal house. Plenty of room to maintain the rear of the building and give access to the railway structure. An unsatisfactory part of the story has been edited - I think the new chapter is a better read! Thanks all ...

Lovely image ... I was curious about the inclusion of a fish van (with Eastern region number) on a Southern freight. As always, someone has written a good article! I found one on the Bluebell Railway website and it was fascinating reading. Turns out the dominance of the North sea ports meant that the vans inevitably carried and Eastern Region number. From what I read, forward journeys from Holloway meant these vans turned up on the South East . So there you go - not only a good photo but I've learnt something along the way.

... lovely job on the loco! Those ModelU figures are popping up everywhere - they're such a good set of figures for manning the footplate.

.. oh! I'd better watch out as I'm often to be found whizzing along abandoned railway line cycle paths. I tend to shy away from Tour de France speeds though ..

Thanks - its good to have other modelers pass comment - constructive criticism is really helpful. I was already scratching my head and needed a bit of a nudge to rethink what I was doing.

Well I think its fair to say this has moved me on a bit with this project! What with the wonderful viaduct modelling in John Dave's reply and the initial observations on my implausible setting for the canal house ... As a result, I arrived home and ripped out the sloping embankment, leaving me with the job of creating an arched alternative. I've just popped a rough paper outline of some arches against what remains of the embankment just to get a feel of what is needed. A couple of steps back but it actually feels like progress. There is space around the buildings and it feels more 'right' .. it also looks like I'll be carving more cobbles!

.. oh sorry - you've lost me there!

You chaps know your railways - and guess what, the real location from which I took inspiration features and arched embankment ... I should have stuck with this and not imagined my own environment ...

Cheers for the drawing and the photo - I can see how it would open up the whole area and make the scene more plausible. It's also less stressful to hack the railway walls about than to remodel the canal building ...

Ah yes - it is the same thoughts I had when designing the layout! It's difficult to justify something so tight to the wall. Even if the canal building was built subsequent to the railway embankment, I'm not sure how it could have been constructed. I am working with a small space (it is only a 3 foot x 2 1/2 foot box) and wanted to squeeze in an interesting foreground scene. Artistic license might excuse the gap between the back of the building and the retaining wall as it is largely concealed - but the little forge on the right can't really work. Although I've been making buildings for a while, making the whole landscape (especially with lots of different levels) is a newer endeavour and another learning curve! I'm going to look at it again - maybe see if I can create space to the right of the little forge. If I get that solved and the paintwork and scenery right maybe it'll be more convincing. As always - these discussions are much appreciated - it'll help me up my game.

I don't think I've posted anything about this structure? It's a canal building (based loosely on on at Bowling Wharf) that I'm adding to my diorama model 'Caledonia Basin'. It's only at the sheet styrene phase but I thought it worth sharing as I rather enjoy other people's work-in-progress photos Here is a photo of the building in-situ ...

I couldn't resist putting this new purchase (Hatton's wonderful little Andrew Barclay) straight onto the test track with some fresh Aberdeen Gas Board coal wagons just to see how it all looks ... well we need some crew and some weathering but it does look rather lovely in the sunshine.

Sometimes life throws things at you and the model making slows down. But I made a bit of progress on a canalside building. It now has a roof (no tiles yet!) With chimneys and dormer windows. And the little forge gets a nice tall brick chimney. I made sure the roofs are removable to allow for lighting in the future. Thankfully my thumb is healing nicely so I can handle fiddly parts again - I'm paying much more attention to knife-safety since I stuck the Stanley blade into my thumb!

Your website is well worth a visit .. great photography of a very varied selection of layouts.

... always superb photography from the edge of the Fens!

This is just a Black 5 on a grassy embankment - but I like the colours in this and it could pass for a stationary loco on a hot sunny day.

Here's a fanciful image based on a photo of our Bachmann 4-MT passing through Braeside with a mixed goods. A friend suggested it might pass for a picture in one of those old Bradford Barton photo books in the seventies/eighties. For a bit if fun, I had to play with that idea as well - so here are the results ...

I just stumbled on these photos - what a great bit of work, the lighting really helps (that's a very nice real-life backdrop you have available to you!) and the work on the bogies, chassis / engine etc. is beautifully done - really convincing paintwork!

I haven't been busy with Braeside (although there is much to be done!) as I've been sidetracked with a couple of other, smaller projects and I stuck a Stanley blade into my thumb. But here is a little DCC programming track / photo track that I made from a baseboard off-cut, a DAS stone wall and a bag of static grass.

Well spotted John - it's a hull that I have earmarked for another idea (based on an Aberdeenshire harbourside. The hull was made by a lovely chap called Edward Smith from Moray who trades in paintings/prints and fishing boat models - here's his website: http://www.scottishfishingboats.co.uk/ He makes boats for largely ornamental use but they are authentic in shape and could form the basis of a more detailed model for use on a layout. He has been very helpful in his communications and everything is beautifully made by hand.

One of the great things about this forum is the amount of work that you can see evolving - I've picked up plenty of tips on model making.

I used a metal scriber that seemed the ideal tool .. its nothing fancy though

I haven't signed up for one but it would be a GREAT locomotive to see crossing the bridge!

Thanks! .. I'll certainly keep this thread updated with progress ..