Keith Addenbrooke

Street lights will go at either end of the bridge and are re-painted Hornby Skaledale.  They look quite attractive, but the bright red (which is quite a bit brighter than the photo shows) doesn't fit the more sombre grey colouring I'm after for the module, so I've repainted them black (the photo was taken part way through this process).  As a 4mm scale product I was concerned they'd look too big, but putting them next to one of my HO Preiser figures suggests they're closer to being too short.  I'm not trying to make the lights work, as my scene is set in daytime - and I've never experimented with electronics.

I've been fortunate to have suitable HO Preiser figures - the clothing looks suitable for my theme: the hat is obligatory for the era and US setting.

One thing not showing in the photos is the telegraph cable I think I should have alongside the retaining wall - I'm not modelling the usual detritus often found along urban tracks, because everything will get reflected, but cabling would be expected.  At the moment I'm struggling to get a suitable thickness wire to lie straight.  That's the next challenge.

I've printed some street name signs - they're stretching the limits of my printer, but I don't need them to look pristine.  I need two, but they're so small I printed three to have a test / spare.  These are above the level of the mirrors and facing outwards, so won't get reflected, avoiding the problem of reversed text.  The second photo was taken through the magnifying glass - and this is in 3.5mm scale, not smaller.

Progress on 49th Street Bridge. 

I've been looking at the BRM Billy Bookcase thread over the past couple of weeks, as I'm looking to go larger for my next (2nd) attempt at a scenic composition.

It'd be good to complete my cakebox on time though, so it's back out of the box.  This is the final time the component parts all fit into the cakebox, as the box itself lacks the rigidity I need to hold everything in place when in position, so I'm going to fix it all in place now.  I am sticking to the 7" x 7" x 6" tall dimensions I've used throughout.

So, onto assembly and detailing...

Comparing the constraints that apply to standard gauge layouts / dioramas in 4mm scale (including my own simple suggestions) with some quite spacious ideas for 2mm scale does leave me wondering what can be achieved in 3mm scale? I expect there are some very effective models in this space (or similar), I'm just wondering if there are some that could be linked in here to add to this conversation? It could be a very good advert for 3mm modelling.

I enjoyed it - it also worked technically and sounded fine (it seems I have to pedal my laptop quite fast these days for it to keep up with what's available, so it was good to find this wasn't a problem when I clicked on the link). 

In terms of feedback, I think it helped that I knew something of the subjects being raised, so I suspect it might appeal more to people already involved in the hobby in some way, rather than as a total introduction (if I was aiming at complete newcomers I think I'd want something visual, so probably wouldn't go for a podcast for that purpose anyway).

With regards to topics for future possible editions, I think there are some good suggestions above - perhaps the key thing is to have a theme that hangs it together (especially for those of us who may be half-listening while also doing something else).  Certainly worth a try as far as I can tell.

20 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

I've made a start on the new version of the garage.

 

I love the atmosphere this scene is generating, I think the narrow gauge line works really well in the space, and the lane and run off area to the side come across really well in this view - very effective.

Just wondered, is it an optical illusion, or is the garage door narrower in this garage than in the other one with the double wooden doors? It may just be my eyesight of course - counting the squares suggests they're the same. Just curious.

9 hours ago, MAP66 said:

 

Excellent modeling and a story to tell!

Looking at these photos on a small screen (a phone) I just wonder if it might be an idea to have a plain white backdrop behind them for clarity - I didn't see the lamp at first. Just a thought: the detail is fantastic throughout.

With just over a fortnight to go, could I ask how the submission process will work this time round?  I've not been involved in any previous challenges, but noted when the challenge was introduced that further instructions would be issued when we got nearer the deadline.

PS: This DOES NOT mean I'm anywhere near finished - just that the diary for the next two weeks looks a bit busy already.

PPS: I also suspect there my be technical issues preventing me from receiving RM Express again (despite Phil Parker's personal help previously), so anything in RM Express may pass me by...

Thanks, Keith.

To complete my submissions for this exercise, I converted my favoured designs into Anyrail software format.  I wanted to suggest 4mm scale layouts that offer an alternative to the excellent micro-layout industrial plans in the Spring BRM.  I had to add fiddle yards to make them work, so they'd either need to be on top of the bookcase or be removable for operation, (or else you'd need to make a hole in the side of the furniture, I guess).  I've used Peco Streamline Medium or Large Radius Curved points in these ideas, as I'm not trying to replicate tight industrial layouts.  While limits operation, larger locomotives can be displayed on these layouts.  Finally, I've tried to give some thought to the visual impact of these ideas from further away, using either multiple levels, or a centrepiece building.

1. Station Pilot

A busy station pilot shunts carriages and parcels stock around this town station.  A low level road (or canal) to the right means the station itself is on the middle level of this plan, with a high level town centre to the left (including static inset tram tracks in a road, with low-relief shops at the end of the layout).

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

The fiddle yard is a traverser to the left of the station.

2.  Quayside Station

A seaside branch terminus with a quay at the front - space to model water or even a small boat.  Tracks again disappear under the road bridge to the left, as the town snakes up the hillside from the coast.  Regular trains are limited to an autocoach or similar, with space for some goods traffic serving the quay too.

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

3.  Birmingham New Street

With a centrepiece of the impressive 5-storey "Brutalist" 1960s signal box as a signature feature, this layout offers a genuine mainline prototype in 4mm scale that fits on a Billy bookshelf.  The two sidings are locomotive stabling sidings; they are under wire, giving the opportunity to model catenary.  Interestingly, the signal box is outside the fence, but I've moved the tunnel entrance closer to give an exit to a right-hand fiddle yard.  No platforms are shown (we're beyond the end of the platforms, which are to the left and below the module). A hint of platform could be included where I've placed a dummy track at the far left.

From memory, loco movements included engine swaps on diesel hauled trains that had come from Leamington Spa via Coventry and were heading up the WCML, on North-West / South Coast on Services now handled by Voyager units.  It means there was regular movement of mainline locomotives in and out of these sidings, giving a modeller the chance to put on display some of the larger engines from the BR blue period, with a big city backscene framing the layout.

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

My final offering is this one - although I don't have a photo to illustrate the idea, I'm hoping it's a well-enough known prototype not to need one:

Birmingham New Street Station in the blue-grey electric WCML / diesel era has been modelled successfully in larger spaces.

There wouldn't be room for much of the station on a bookshelf, but you could fit the two short loco stabling sidings emerging from the tunnel and in front of the signal box into the space we have, with a running line in front of them to represent the rest of the 12-platform behemoth.  The sidings were used for stabling overhead electrics, and would make an instantly recognisable model for anyone who knows the station, as well as giving the opportunity to practice modelling catenary.  It could be a valid 4mm modern-image model of a busy mainline prototype in 76cm by 26cm.

I've continued playing around with some 4mm scale ideas - though I doubt I can come anywhere close to the "Wow!" factor of the Hotwells concept above.

My first idea is called "Station Pilot" and models one end of a town station - to the left platforms disappear under the town centre, with an elevated road (carrying inset tram tracks and shops), while to the right there is a lower level road (or canal).  The lower level means that the station itself needs to be raised above the shelf, making it more visible from across the room.  Operation is made possible by a fiddle yard (traverser?) to the left, and consists of a station pilot shunting carriages / parcel vans between the two platforms and a bay.  There's a signal box and station building to model, along with a town backscene.

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

My second suggestion is for a smaller, seaside terminus on a curve.  There is a single platform station (again disappearing under a roadbridge) and a short quayside siding.  This has deliberately been drawn as a quick freehand sketch to encourage me to brainstorm away from straight lines.  This means the proportions aren't quite the 3:1 (length:depth) of Billy in this concept drawing, but I've laid it out with 2 Peco Streamline Curved point templates and it can fit.  Again, having the quayside at a lower level raises up the station itself, with the overbridge adding further height.

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

15 hours ago, BackRoomBoffin said:

Fascinating - I'm not sure you mentioned the tunnel mouth entrance to the station in the write-up, but that's another gift to space-starved modellers from this prototype, and for the ambitious structure modeller I guess a representation of the Suspension Bridge could be added to the right hand side as well (or for the artists - painted onto the side backdrop).  I've had a look at the map suggested, and if I'm reading it right, the track plan it's showing might even have a small engine turntable that saves space at the head of the station (the track layout looks a bit like Bembridge IOW in that respect, but with platform and buildings distinctively different).  It could certainly make a show-stopping model in a tiny space - though I doubt it would be a quick build: pre-grouping 2mm stock would be just one of the challenges!  What a wonderful idea.

4 hours ago, johnsmithuk said:

Dare I throw an idea at you?

 

How about an angled mirror on the bottom of the shelf above the layout, so that seated viewers get a sort of bird's eye view of the layout?

An interesting thought - if the shelf being used is like the one in my sketch earlier, then a mirror could be fastened to the underside of the shelf above.  It might not distract close up operators as much as we'd expect, because they'd be looking down. Some modellers use mirrors to see into hidden sidings / fiddle yards, as well as those used in the scenic areas of layouts and dioramas.

It would be worth testing such an idea before committing to it - I know I benefitted from experimenting with the mirrors I'm using in my current cakebox before I finalised the design, to avoid unwanted reflections in the final model.

8 hours ago, BackRoomBoffin said:

And one more ... coming tonight (when I get home from work) ... my last attempt: a prototypical GWR/MR branchline terminus based on an actual location in minimal space with passenger facilities, quirky shunting, entry road at the front of the layout, and something Keith could definitely see from sitting position if on an upper shelf.

 

This is fun.

I'll admit I've tried guessing where this might be since I saw the post at lunchtime, but haven't come up with a suggestion (might depend if MR means Midland or Metropolitan Railway - I know very little about the latter, and not enough about the former).

1 hour ago, Howl03 said:

 

Thank you Keith. All the stock is 3-link. Hand of God was cleaverly edited out.

 

Regards Paul.

Thank you - I've never been brave enough to try changing couplings before - I think you've convinced me the effect is worth it.

If I could ask the logical bonus question: where / who would you recommend as a source for 3-link couplings? Thanks, Keith.

Fantastic model and a lovely atmosphere in the photos and on the video - I think the 'extra' height (ie: ratio relative to footprint) works really well in the images shared on the thread.

Could I just ask how the coupling up works - the rolling stock looks to have 3-link couplings, but seem to couple automatically? My guess is that uncoupling could be done on the fiddle stick, with wagons then just pushed into place.

Thanks.

Returning to this thread, I think there are some wonderful suggestions in 2mm scale - reworked favourites and new ideas: it'll be interesting to see which way Mr Parker goes with his 3rd layout.

Having suggested two very conventional ideas in 4mm scale, I've come back to the question of viewing angles after reading a description of a Cameo Layout, where there is a reference to 'a "natural" viewing height'  ('What is a Cameo Layout?' in the relevant Special Interests thread on RMweb),  It's fair to say that my ideas take an operator's eye view as "natural."  What this means in feet and inches can vary considerably of course, and is a question of accessibility.

One of the potential aspects of a bookshelf model for home use is that multiple viewing points become available: as well as my operator (in this case the figure on the right below, who happens to be standing), I also have a seated viewer across the room (on the left below).  They are viewing the same model from a distance.  How might I best use this?  [At an exhibition there may be other people getting a close up view, creating an artificial maximum viewing distance].

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

As well as distance, the challenge for the layout designer in my example is that the green shaded area is invisible to a seated viewer - but at the same time is the area most easily viewed by the operator.  How might I make more of the "shop window" or "display cabinet" aspect of this project?

I wonder if there's space within the 26cm x 76cm space to be more creative?  In a larger space (and scale), one of my favourite BRM Layouts did just this, Macclesfield Model Railway Group's Hammeston Wharf (BRM Feb 2007).  They had four separate levels from front to back (including Narrow Gauge and trams), but I think they had a scenic area some 36' x 3' in total (in 7mm scale).

(Sorry, picture no longer available)

49th Street Bridge - painting track.

Before fixing the module's elements in place, the final task was to paint the track.  It's not something I've been looking forward to - I'm not much use with a hairbrush, let alone a paintbrush (and I've never touched an airbrush), but I think even my beginner's attempt has made a difference.

I've just used a standard modelling brush, and a simple mix of brown / red paint.  My first mixture was too bright (too much orange!), but I re-mixed it with a darker red after my test pieces were too bright.  These aren't the most exciting photos ever, and there's plenty of room for improvement of course.

The first two show the final piece side-by-side with a spare piece of Settrack - the rail and sleeper profiles are identical, which says it all as far as I'm concerned.

The next two show just the final piece.  It helps that I'm working in HO Scale, but I'm satisfied with how even this Code 100 Settrack has turned out.

49th Street Bridge - taking shape. 

Not so much about modelling progress, but testing the concept now it's coming together.  I've added a couple of pre-painted Preiser HO figures, painted my spaghetti (the bridge railings) and added capstones to the bridge and a small filler wall at the end of the fence (to stop people falling at the end of the bridge).  The main purpose of the update is to test some photos before detailing.  At this stage the elements are only loosely positioned, so there are visible gaps.

The first three photos are quite straightforward:

Taking photos from the bridge end is proving more difficult (I can see the view I want, but am finding it difficult to capture).  The track looks alarmingly wonky, as the mirrors aren't quite aligned - but for test purposes it show the reflections.  The final photo may not look obvious, but shows the concept: the bridge being looked at is the bridge from the where the photo has been taken, the tracks start to disappear into the distance - from where a train can be heard approaching.

With a bit of free time this evening I had a play with a couple of ideas for a 4mm scale / OO Billy shelf design.  The first was based on an unbuilt Metcalfe Brewery Kit I have (now discontinued).  There'd need to be a "fiddle-stick" added to one side.  Points were Peco Streamline Medium Radius.  A siding disappearing between the brewery buildings stopped at the end of the shelf - one end of the layout would have inset track, something I'm keen to try.  I've been given some old unused "Townscene" backsheets, which I included to see the effect, while some low relief terraces were ones I'd already made (Metcalfe again). 

I quite liked the scene, but it seemed a bit closed in given the narrow width (10") available.  I tried reversing the backscenes to show a plain white mock-up, and this seemed to open up the scene.  There's nothing radical here, but I was quite happy with the basic idea.  

My real interest is passenger operations, so I also had a very quick go at a GWR station too.  I used a paper template to represent the footprint of the Ratio Castle Cary Station kit (used by Phil Parker on the BRM Edgeworth Project Layout).  The point was Medium Radius Streamline again: there isn't room for the large radius that would enable the bullhead rail to be used instead.  This module needed two entry tracks to one side (unconnected on the layout) - one feeding the platform and one two short sidings.  There wasn't sufficient width for a run-round track serving the platform, but an Autocoach with the 14xx would work (rather than the Ratio 4-wheelers I used). 

My signal box (another Metcalfe kit) was probably too big for this station, but I enjoyed building it, and it has provision for point-rodding.  I put another carriage in the first siding, but in reality it would probably be a goods loading dock rather than a bay platform if it was a branch terminus.  

What did I learn?  There are options for a 4mm layout in 30", but for the kind of ideas I'm drawn to, an additional fiddle yard would be necessary.

1 hour ago, Alister_G said:

 

Given the radical surgery, I think anyone would look pale after that!

 

at least he's upright...

 

 

Al.

Another piece of impressive modelling - try as I might, you can't see the join.

I think I've heard that before somewhere...

A question for those who understand these things (ie: who've built layouts): is there something about a bookshelf layout that means there are multiple viewing points - close up (as usual) and from across the room (seated and standing)?

I'm currently sitting 8' away from Billy and 2' below the eyelevel shelf. That's over 200 scale yards (4mm) on an upwards diagonal.

What will be eye-pleasing at this distance, I wonder?  (I imagine few photos in BRM are taken from here).

Just a thought.

On 03/03/2019 at 11:32, Izzy said:

 But I do think that perhaps 'less is more' is the key whatever.

I think there's much wisdom in that observation - trouble is: I've already got too much.

Further progress on 49th Street Bridge (3 of 3)

I need an open railed fence across the railroad bridge to give the best viewing angle while waiting for a train, so I need a simple way to make one.  Parapets are card offcuts with printed paper from the Engine Shed Office kit wrapped around them, measured to be just over a scale 4' high (capstones for each parapet are to be added - if I remember - when I get to detailing).

In case I need more than one go, I used my original paper template for the bridge to measure the parapet spacing.  To give a bit of strength, I've glued the four parapets to a card base for stability.  The railings themselves: spaghetti, each end dipped in glue then lined up with the stones on the parapets using tweezers.

This will be left to harden before painting.  I'd not expected it to work first time - had I known it would, I could have painted my pasta beforehand!

___________________________

Finally for now, a first picture of the module with all the key elements loosely in place together.  I've already learned from basic kit building that there's still a lot to do to produce a finished model from this point, but with four weeks to go it should be achievable now.  And then we'll just be waiting for a train.

Further progress on 49th Street Bridge (2 of 3)

Next job, add a fence on top of the retaining wall, again with pieces from the BRM Engine Shed Office Kit.  Without a parapet to fasten the base of the fence to, I included a pavement inside the fence (in the alleyway).  This gives enough of a profile for the glue to take and keep the (thin) card fence suitably vertical.