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Ian Holmes

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Blog Entries posted by Ian Holmes

  1. Ian Holmes

    A visit to Pendon

    By Ian Holmes,

    I'm just back from my holiday to England. As per usual it was all too brief a visit.
    But I did get a chance to do something I've always wanted to do.
    Visit Pendon.
    I've wanted to go there ever since I was bitten by the finescale bug and heard about the place. But whilst living in England I never got a chance to go. From the East Coast of Lincolnshire to Oxford is a long drive and the day was never long enough to go there and back in a day. So when I discovered that Pendon was only 8 miles from the hotel I had booked in Oxford. I had to go. The wife was agreeable. The visit was on.
    However with the heavy snows on Saturday in the Oxford area I was concerned that perhaps the country roads to Long Wittenham would be blocked. I needn't have worried though for as we made our way over there the snow was melting to slush very quickly.
    But other potential visitors to the place must have thought the opposite and didn't venture out that afternoon so Lorrie and I got what amounted to a personal tour, especially of the magnificent Vale scene.
    The Madder Valley was excellent to see.
    The Dartmoor scene was super.
    But the Vale.
    If you are seeing the Vale for the first time, Nothing. I repeat NOTHING. Can prepare you for what you will see.
    Stunning just doesn't go far enough. When you reach the top of the stairs and see approximately 15 feet in depth of 4mm scale countryside in front of you that contains nothing but a few trees and a railway embankment. The "nothingness", the space, is almost overpowering. We are so used to seeing layouts where selective compression is the norm that to see scale countryside with little or no compression just boggles the mind. (first picture below)


    This view above with just a bus in the scene was a favourite view of mine.

    Then there are the cottages, stunning examples of the model makers craft. I often wondered in my younger days if I could do that. I saw cottage modeller extraordinaire Chris Pilton do a demo at a show once and was amazed. My guide around the Vale scene was most insistent that I could do it, the wife thinks I could too. Perhaps I could...


    This farm scene is beautiful.

    Even though a railway runs through the Vale scene I have to say I barely noticed it.

    The final picture shows the full length of the scene. The back wall is over 70 feet or one scale mile away.
    I came away inspired.
    Even my wife thought it was excellent. Even for a modeller such as myself who generally models tiny layouts I'm sure there was a lot for me to learn with the use of the space and the detailing of the models.
    There we go then, You've probably heard this a hundred times before but if you haven't been to Pendon. You really should go. You won't regret it.
  2. Ian Holmes
    Look at that, six and a half years since I posted to this blog.
    Is it worth it? It's not like I've been inactive.  I have blogged in the old places, posted on the forum side, and kept active on Facebook too. I just didn't use this blog.
    Six months after that last post here, I had a nervous breakdown, so my mind was a mess anyway. But I have that mostly sorted out. 
    I still see too many inspirational photos of things that I feel I must model. So my mind is still messed up in the same way it was before.
    So, rambling thoughts about a baseboard, using a 30" x 20" sheet of cork faced foam core board. 
     
    First, using 5mm black foamcore, make the frame for the outside of the baseboard. The baseboard will sit on the ledge, hopefully flush with the top edge of the frame, depending on the skill of my cutting.
    Frames glued in place and pinned whilst the glue sets.
    A bit of extra bracing underneath, and its a flat, light, rigid baseboard.
    Not totally 100% sure what I'd like to do with it yet. 
    There's space aplenty for 16.5mm gauge track. Some kind of 4mm scale quarry loading thing perhaps. I found some very interesting pictures of APCM quarries online.
    Or the same sort of thing in O16.5.  Or 1/32... or 1/35... (please excuse the views of the stalled Gn15 project in the background)
    Then again, so does some 32mm gauge track... 
     
    So, right now. I don't know. I just don't know.
  3. Ian Holmes

    A Workers platform

    By Ian Holmes,

    So, quite unsurprisingly after the previous post I disappeared into the basement and into the model railway room to work on the layout The idea of a workman's halt really appealed to me so I set to on the project. Mostly it was a "make it up as you go along" project using embossed styrene sheets I had to hand. The working out and building of the structure grabbed my attention so much that other than a trip up to the kitchen for a cuppa (which actually was two trips as the first time I switched the kettle on and went back down to work forgetting about my brew and made a second trip an hour later) I stayed working on the project until it was done. Five hours later.
    Enough talk. What does it look like?
    Like I said it was a make it up project. It was built mainly on memories of timber platformed halts on the Cambrian coast line and other old pictures lodged in my memory. Despite that I think it looks quite convincing and once painted, and with some extra details will really fit in quite well I think.

  4. Ian Holmes

    Continued progress

    By Ian Holmes,

    Safely returned from my trip home, recovered from Jet Lag and inspired by my visit to Pendon. This weekend I set to and did some more work on the APA box layout. Two of the three structures were ready to visit the paint shop for a coat of primer the third, and largest one still needed some work to get there. So I grabbed my scriber scribed some sheets of styrene to the pattern I needed. A long task, but inspired by what the chaps at Pendon do it wasn't really that difficult.
    With the third structure clad it was time to prime. Luckily it is unseasonably warm here in Minnesota this year so I was able to spray in the garage in relative comfort. The warmth would also be good for the paint finish too.
    So here then are a few views of what I have done so far today.

    This view shows how the perspective backscene is going to fit in. The road works quite well but I feel that the structure needs to be continued onto the backscene too. That's another Photoshop skill to learn then..

    Step back a bit to see how the two structures on the left hand side fit in to the scene. Quite well. I'm very happy with the way they work. The small warehouse with the cut away open front will have a detailed interior (Pendon inspiration again) and you will be able to look through to the open door at the back to see a freight car arrive.

    Front right. The wagon view block will work very well though I'm on the look for a cheap Hi-Cube car to hide the exit to the fiddle yard better.

    Step back to see how the right side works. Being inspired by the Deltak facility, this structure is white, so once I'd popped some white on it I figured it was good to go. Got a few more couple of details to pop on later tonight when the paint is fully dry. This view also stresses the importance of getting a curve in the corner of the backscene.
    There we go then. Good inspiring progress for me.
  5. Ian Holmes
    I had a vision of a small layout came into my mind at work today and filled full of admiration for the latest iPad works of Art by David Hockney I thought I'd try sketching it using the Adobe Ideas App. I've been messing with Adobe Ideas for a while off and on and I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm still "drawing" using my finger rather than a stylus which can be a bit annoying when the line doesn't quite go where you want it to.
    The idea is basically Purfleet Quay in Kings Lynn http://binged.it/yaTLNr

    So this is a test of the technique to see if it works and to see if you can actually understand what I've drawn.
  6. Ian Holmes
    Too long. Almost 7 months since I made an entry on here. There was a time when I'd post all over the forum - daily.
    Not that I haven't been doing anything. Far from it. I've been working on projects that fire my imagination without making any concrete progress on a proper layout.
    To that end I'm currently working with Z scale . For what started out as a bit of fun to go with the T scale layout, I'm actually finding the scale quite rewarding. Which quite surprised me to be honest.
    This layout started out as nothing more than a fun display to go alongside the T scale to illustrate the difference in size between the two scales. But having watched the layout at a recent show I found that I was getting more from it than that.
    I think Z is stepping in to fill a modelling need I have. I like my HO scale shunty plank but it doesn't allow me to run long trains like I see on the main lines around here which as time goes on I find myself wanting to do. So I'm carrying on working with Z right now trying to find out if this is right for me.
    Flitting around all these scales may seem like a pointless exercise (and waste of money too perhaps) but when it comes right down to it model making is model making be it 1:450, 1:220 1:87 or whatever takes your fancy. So skills are skills. Skills that I had working in 4mm scale have been sharpened working in 1:450 and are starting to come together in 1:220.
    I don't doubt that at some point I'll want to slide back into 4mm scale British outline at some point like in the sketches I posted almost 7 months ago, but not right now.
  7. Ian Holmes
    So, another Granite City train show is in the books, and once again a great time was had by all. This little layout was probably the most labour intensive of the layouts I've shown there. The coal loading really making it a 2 person operation for smooth running. The working coal loader really grabbing peoples attention. A couple of people asked about the rolling stock as it was British outline, but most people were just content to watch the layout work.
    The coal loading was, as I've said, quite a labour intensive operation. We found it worked best with one person operating the railway watching the position of the wagons under the dispensing chute to see when they filled, and the other person actually doing the filling.
    Something that definitely needs to be worked on is cutting down on the spillage around the chute. This led to a lot of derailments very quickly and many breaks had to be taken to clear the coal away from the rails.
    Another thing I learnt is that the couplers on the Dapol hoppers were not as effective as the Bachmann ones in constant push-pull situations. The direction to take with the uncouplers needs to be worked on. I made a couple of hand uncoupling tools out of styrene before the show and they certainly did the job. I'm sure I'll get well meaning suggestions to use "Sprat and Winkle" or some other auto uncoupling brand, but they'd have to be shipped over from the UK and when you have to pay more for postage than the item its just not cost effective. I could use Kadees but they don't look right on 1960's UK stock. The Bachmann ones are surprisingly unobtrusive so I might just stick with them. There is a supplier in Canada that I get my Bachmann stock from.
    The next plan will be to rebuild the loading screens out of styrene and get a bit more detail into the structures.
    A fiddle yard rebuild is also on the cards. It was just a tad too short as it was. I'll try to rig up a three road sector plate for the next time.
    The next Granite City Train show is on November 15th so there is plenty of time.
    All in all, a good day out. I did come away with an O scale US outline boxcar kit. Who knows where that will lead?

    Above: The layout all set up before the show started. The layout stands on 2 plastic crates that we transported stock and tools in. The whole layout set up and knocked down in about 10 minutes.
    Below: A few shots of the loaded hoppers. The pictures were taken at the end of the show so some of the structures are showing a few "battle scars"



    Huge thanks, as per usual to the wife for being the joint operator. With the layout being so labour intensive there wasn't a relief operator.
  8. Ian Holmes

    Photoshop fun

    By Ian Holmes,

    I am not the greatest photoshopper in the world. Unlike some members of this forum who add snow and smoke and even themselves to their pictures.
    My abilities stretch to cut and past and crop and tweaking colour a bit.
    But that doesn't stop me wanting to have a go and do something really neat on the backscene.
    The only part of the backscene that really needs some detail is the section with the road between the two buildings. So for a while now I've been looking around for suitable scenes, which is not as easy as you'd think. Most roads into industrial parks are four lanes. I've only got enough space for two lanes. There is one road close to work that I two lanes. So I used that for a starter.

    So. I just sat down measured up, cut and paste, flipped things and copied things.

    and I ended up with something not unreasonable. All good practice. Proving that photoshopping is not all that difficult.
    The section is only about 8" x 4" so any dodgy pieces of cutting copying are not that noticeable.
    It will work for the moment though but I think in the long run I'll wait until the spring and the grass is greener before I produced the finished item.
  9. Ian Holmes
    I've mentioned more than a few times in blogs and postings about how my office building overlooks a rail served Industrial Park. So I thought I'd get out and about and photograph some of the structures and the locale to give you a feel for the area.
    First up here are a few views of Deltak. Deltak make heat recovery and pollution control equipment. It is a rail served industry but it is actually quite difficult to photograph the rail side of the structure due to trees and bushes surrounding the property. I have seen extremely large loads on flat cars in the yard but it's been nigh on impossible to get pictures. I also think they have a trackmoblie on the premises too... (Think... It's winter now there won't be any foliage on the trees)
    I just took a peek at the structure on Google Earth and the factory floor part of the building is about 525 feet x 120 feet, with the offices addition an extra 160 x 130 feet. So a H0 scale model would be about 1.8 metres long. Not small by any measure but with plenty of scope for selective compression and certainly a very simple structure to model.

    West side of the structure that faces Xenium lane

    North west view. The north face is alongside the tracks there is also a siding in the yard along the north face of the building.

    South side of the building has the offices and in this view you can easily see the big HVAC ducts on the roof.

    The bushes and trees hiding the premises. the curving road accesses the property.
    The structure being so basic is an easy project and with these photos and the dimensions I've given you, you could get started right now.
    Incidentally,Deltak actually has some significance for me, for when I had my first job in the USA working in a local sign shop I installed some of the signs on the premises (No, not the big lettering on the building side)
  10. Ian Holmes

    One week to the show

    By Ian Holmes,

    One week to the Granite City Train Show. There hadn't been much progress over the past few weeks. The Winter Road Rally season had been in full swing and the wife and I had been competing and organizing around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Highlight of which had been sliding into a snow bank on a forest track that when I got out to push turned out be a three food deep ditch full of snow!
    But I digress...
    Today I was lucky enough to be able to devote the whole day to working on the layout. The important thing was to wire up the fiddle yard and get the layout running. Which was achieved without too much difficulty. Then, as per usual I got carried away creating a whole boxed up self contained system.

    This first picture shows the boxed up state. The fiddle yard tray sits ontop of the roof which when inverted and placed at the end of the layout forms the base of the fiddle yard.

    The lid comes off, the front protection door unscrews, opens and then screws to the fiddle yard base. An operation that only takes a couple of moments. then you wire up the layout pop some stock on the track and away you go. Total time setting up the layout? Five minutes maybe.
    LED lighting will be added and the bare wood will get a coat of paint tomorrow
  11. Ian Holmes

    New Year, New Start

    By Ian Holmes,

    Another year and I'm going to start off with the best of intentions of keeping a layout building blog going on RMWeb. I haven't done terribly well at that in the past.
    To set the scene, in the middle of last year I discovered the APA box from IKEA and presented it as a possible model railway baseboard structure. It's fair to say that many modellers have jumped on the product and are using it. So I thought it was about time I got in on the act.
    I was also recently asked to be a part of the Micro Model Railway Cartel blog project. Which has also fired up my enthusiasm for the APA project.
    So, when one member of the Cartel recently presented an APA box scheme. It immediately grabbed my attention as it reminded me of several schemes I'd got in my pile of sketchbooks from the past so I adapted it to incorporate some of those ideas.

    I was interested enough in the idea to reach into my spares box for old structures from previous layouts to verify if my 2D thoughts translated into 3D as well as I thought they would.

    This first mock up above was enough to convince me that I was very probably right. I could see that the structure on the left was too tall and too dominant . So I reached into the spares box for something lower...

    A big improvement on the overall effect I think you'll agree. Using half a car as a view block on the right is also going to work well I feel
    So that's where the project sits at this point in the day. As you can see I've cut some holes in the side walls of the box so I think there's really no going back now.
    My New Years resolution was to use RMWeb more I'm off to a good start...
  12. Ian Holmes

    Update

    By Ian Holmes,

    It's been a very busy few weeks. Not all model railroad related. Things were coming along very nicely with the APA box layout then we had a flooding in our basement. Luckily the layout was not damaged but quite some time was spent sorting the mess out. Which, of course left me precious little time to get the layout ready for the Granite City Train Show. I kinda sorta had it ready to exhibit. There was a bit of a bodge job in the fiddle yards but everything worked OK on the day and the layout impressed many people. In fact you can read a bit about it here at a friends blog - http://look4trains.com/2012/04/granite-city-in-rain.html
    It impressed one person enough to invite me to another show in Alexandria , MN next weekend. So, I'm working pretty hard to sort out my previous bodge job and get everything ready to show again. Perhaps when things have calmed down after next week I can write more at a more relaxed pace.
  13. Ian Holmes

    Loads of loads...

    By Ian Holmes,

    OK only two...
    I thought I'd take time to share a few pictures of some outsize loads I've made as traffic for the APA box layout.
    This first one is based on a picture I found on the internet somewhere, I've lost the link now but it was built to fit the car it's on the proportions look about OK. So I'm happy with it. It looks a bit over simplified but that's pretty much how the inspiration looked. Besides its only a load on a freight car it will be moving all the time folks are looking at it...
    The other one was based on some oversized loads I saw in the yard at Deltak (Now Hamon Deltak) across the road from where I work


    Its a rather large heat exchanger. Like with the other load I just modelled it to look right and fit through the doors and exits on the layout

    I don't know if I have time before the next show on Saturday to work out how to model the strapping down of the loads so that a load can be placed and removed in seconds but we'll see.
     
    Ian
  14. Ian Holmes
    I really like this. I really, really like this. The tall low relief structure in the middle needs its "other half" but that will have to be stuck onto the backscene so that will have to wait until the end. As you can see, the corn field is becoming less and less noticeable.
    Its been a worthwhile couple of days work.

  15. Ian Holmes

    The History

    By Ian Holmes,

    For the benefit of those who weren't around during the earlier days of RM Web (RM Web 2 I think) Here is the alternative history reprinted.
    1. The East Lincolnshire Light railway 1895-1970
    The route.
    Diverging from the Louth to Mablethorpe line at Saltfleetby. This railway was close to 12 miles in length with stations at Saltfleet, Skidbrooke, North Somercotes, Grainthorpe, Marshchapel and North Coates. In addition there were 2 freight only extensions, one a branch of just under a mile to the harbour at Saltfleet Haven and at North Coates the line extended on to the RAF base from the village station. There was also a branch line of just under 6 miles from North Somercotes to Covenham with an additional station at Conisholme. In addition to this several sidings were constructed at the larger potato farms around along the line.

    A Brief History.
    With the completion of the branch line from Louth to Mablethorpe in 1877 the communities of the East Lincolnshire coastal plain felt that a railway would be beneficial to them. Indeed the construction of a section to Saltfleet, including the Haven and on as far as North Somercotes was authorised in the 1877 act of Parliament at the time of the construction of the Louth - Mablethorpe line but this had not proceeded with so farmers, townsmen and bankers from the area approached firstly the Great Northern Railway where their plans for the line fell on deaf ears.
    In 1892 a new act of Parliament was passed authorising the construction of the East Lincolnshire Light Railway. With no major earthworks to be constructed on the route construction was swift and the line was passed as safe for operation in early 1895 by her majesties railway inspector. The first day of operation was March 20th 1895.
    The line was an immediate success with the trains to Louth on Market day a huge success. These early years were to be the lines golden years. Many of the potato farmers in the region who already had 2??™ or 2??? 6??? gauge lines working their fields found it to their advantage to ship the potatoes away from their farms on this new railway line.
    Robert Caldwell had many farms in the Grainthorpe and North Somercotes area with 11 miles of trackage linking them alone. He had a siding connecting to the E.L.Lt. Rly at Haxby field close to Grainthorpe Station. Another farmer S.S. Mossop, had a siding built at Clyde house farm near to Marshchapel.
    Like all railways the line struggled through the first world war. Many people fearing that they would loose the railway after the cessation of hostilities in 1918. The services were cut back but the large quantities of potatoes alone (potato farms were producing as much as a ton of potatoes per acre in the post war years) coming down the line was enough to convince the management of the L.N.E.R. that the line still served a valuable purpose when it took over the line in 1923 under the railways act of 1921.
    The branch line down to the Haven was built with the intent of harnessing the potential of the small fishing fleet harboured there. Though it did not cause the hoped for expansion in fish landed at the Haven there was enough landed for specific fish trains to be added to the timetable.
    Passenger traffic between the wars was not as heavy as it had been before 1914. Improvements in the roads and the increase in the use of the motor vehicle first put paid to the branch line to Covenham in 1930. Though the still huge volumes of potatoes being produced meant that the lines future carrying freight was pretty secure.
    Shortly after the start of the second world war the line as a whole closed to passengers. Though it was hoped that might be a temporary measure the line never reopened for a regular passenger service. Though freight services were continued especially with the R.A.F. Station at North Coates at the end of the line. Some airmen were bought into the station by train.
    But this stations spotted operational history was to cause problems. The station was closed and reopened several times and by the late 1950??™s it was feared that the line would close for good. One leg of the wye junction down to the Haven in Saltfleet was lifted. The daily goods service train was cut to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and then cut to only on a Wednesday.
    With the announcement that the Louth to Mablethorpe line was to close in 1963 it seemed that this would be the end but once again R.A.F. North Coates was to be the lines saviour. It was to become the first base for a Bloodhound missile squadron. Our first line of defence in case of attack from the communist bloc. 25 squadron reformed at North Coates on 1st. October 1963.
    Once again the line was very busy with armaments, munitions and all kinds of supplies on the line as the developments took place at the base. The line was even upgraded due to the heavy weight of the traffic. The light railway standard that the line was originally laid to was not good enough to take the heavier more frequent trains The villages along the line also saw a freight service start up again and several unsuccessful attempts were made to start up a passenger service. With only the market day trains being utilised.
    The earlier lifting of one leg of the wye in Saltfleet meant that trains had to reverse down the line to the Haven before heading up to North Coates, as one particular farmer had ploughed over the old track bed after that piece of line was removed.
    Alas, all good things must come to an end and with an improvement of the roads around Grimsby and Cleethorpes not so far from North Coates, coupled with the forthcoming closure of the station in 1971 the R.A.F. opted to bring any supplies in by road and without that traffic to sustain the line it closed for good in 1970.
    Track lifting was swift and thorough and if you were to travel to North Lincolnshire today You would see no remanants of the railway at all. Though those of a keen eye and a good imagination might well be able to trace where the line ran down to Saltfleet Haven

    Stations and Mileages.
    Saltfleetby (junction for the E. Lincolnshire light railway)....0 miles
    Gowts Farm Junction (junction for the Haven)...................1.9 miles
    Saltfleet Station .............................................................2.4 miles
    Skidbrooke....................................................................3.7 miles
    North Somercotes (junction for Covenham).....................4.7 miles
    Haxby’s Field siding (Cauldwells Farms)....................... .....7.25 miles
    Grainthorpe....................................................................7.4 miles
    Clyde Farm siding (S.S. Mossop farm)...............................9.4 miles
    Marshchapel...................................................................9.6 miles
    North Coates..................................................................10.5 miles
    North Coates Airfield......................................................11.9 miles

    HAVEN BRANCH (miles from Haven Junction)
    Saltfleet Haven..................................................................................0.9 miles

    COVENHAM BRANCH (miles from N. Somercotes)
    Covenham Branch Junction.................................................0.4 miles
    Conisholme......................................................................1.6 miles
    Covenham......................................................................5.7 miles
  16. Ian Holmes

    Presidents Day off

    By Ian Holmes,

    Thank goodness for American Presidents! Without them I wouldn't be gifted another day off work!
    So once again I'm making good use of the time off and working on the APA Box layout.
    Today I've done lots of little jobs.
    I made an abortive start on the fiddleyards, that got aborted when I discovered I didn't have enough 2 x 1. A case of not measuring twice I'm afraid. So after that I set to and sprayed the track, gave the ground a basic coat of earth colour, rounded the corners in the back of the box (so I won't have any corners in the sky later when I put the backscene in). Started painting the HVAC units and extractor fans and vents for the roofs and started messing around with the road too...
    Here's the results so far...

    1. Overall view. I have to admit to being a bit miffed that I managed to spray a little track colour onto the APA box frame. I was going to leave the box its natural colour for the show. Still I'm sure the overspray will sand out.

    2. View down the road to the backscene

    3. Inside the small warehouse. Here you can get a feel for the effect I'm aiming for being able to see cars arrive through the open door.

    4. The big structure. I must admit to being quite pleased with the way this one has developed.

    5. My favourite view into the left rear corner
    Anyway, I've still got a couple more hours before wife gets back from work so perhaps I can get a bit more done
  17. Ian Holmes

    Hop(per) to it...

    By Ian Holmes,

    Much of today has been spent working on the working hopper system. It's very much a bodged, cobbled together system that developed as I worked on it. It's a fairly simple idea. Coal or ore (or whatever) will be poured into a receptacle behind the backscene which is then tipped into the wagons through a tube and... Well, I think the picture illustrates the idea well enough.

    Overall, how does the layout look? Like this.

    Looking like a layout and now looking "bare". The structures need staircase and walkways and pipework and suchlike. The yard needs clutter, like the porta-loo's and skips. Some wire fencing would be good too. You know what they say. The last 10% of a layout takes 90% of the time.
  18. Ian Holmes
    I have way too many blogs. Four on RMWeb and about six on blogger. All to do with various different layouts and schemes. Not to mention facebook...I've come up with snappy names and titles to suit concepts which have then run out of steam, (pun most definitely intended) I need to cut down.
    So I've retitled this blog "4mm scale agonies" because that was one of my favourite titles. So this is where I will blog about the upcoming 4mm scale APA Box layout.

    This is a rendering (it's not good enough to be an artists impression) of the new layout.
    Built inside an IKEA APA box, it will be a scene inspired by the famous British Oak Coal depot in Yorkshire. So please follow along.
  19. Ian Holmes
    The title of this entry does not allude to any forthcoming trip back to blighty, (oh that it did) but the desire to build an English outline layout. I've been umm-ing an ah-ing about it for a long time. I even joined the Scalefour society in the hopes of being able to start a finescale 4mm English layout. But with no 4mm finescalers in easy reach to talk to the enthusiasm faded. So I periodically find myself being blitzed with the urge to model in English 4mm scale and not being able to do anything about it. People like Chris Nevard and others have shown time and again that finescale fidelity is not needed to build a realistic layout. So perhaps the key is to forget the finescale idea and just get out there and build.
    My latest research led me to discover Berwig Halt and Vicarage Crossing on the Minera Branch near Wrexham.
    http://www.disused-s...wig/index.shtml
    http://www.disused-s...alt/index.shtml
    I spent a couple of years in the Wrexham area at college there so I had a familiarity with the area.
    The first picture on the Berwig page was dripping in atmosphere for me. I felt it was the kind of image that would have graced the cover of Great Western Railway Journal.
    The pictures of Vicarage crossing had a grimy run down feel that I love, so typical of that rundown early 60's era. So I'm thinking of some kind of cross between the two.
    I have plenty of unused baseboards in storage so today I took a look and doodled on the face keeping the photographs in mind. Why the baseboard is triangular is a long old story that I shan't bore you with. The idea looks interesting and has me in mind to investigate it further.

    The ground level will rise from below track level at the front, to above track level at the rear. How much, I don't know. That's one of the things that needs investigating. I've got a Ratio Tin Tabernacle" that would fit on the layout nicely. The rest of the structures would have to be scratchbuilt. I have procured plenty of rolling stock over the years that could suit a mid 60's period layout. So at the moment expenditure would be minimal. Most of this is stuff that I bought because I liked it and has no regional consistency to it. So the layout would just be something to show off British trains to punters at US train shows.
    I'll let the idea brew a bit and see what transpires.
  20. Ian Holmes
    It had to happen, a weekends hard work and some good progress made. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. Then the doubts started to come.
    It concerns the single storey warehouse, front left. The one that I planned to have the detailed interior in. I'm thinking it's not right for this small layout.
    Getting down close to the layout and looking at the close up views of other shots have caused this re-think. Take a look at these pictures below. All are lit in the same way...

    My feeling is that this end if the layout feels closed in by a dark lump. Perhaps things would be improved with lighting inside the building to show off the detail in there.
    So I experimented. What if I had a small propane storage facility there instead? Tank cars would make an interesting change from all the box cars that would be seen on the layout if the warehouse was there. Don't forget I already have a dedicated boxcar spot at the larger structure. I blocked in the idea with a couple of aerosol cans.

    I don't think one long tank alongside the track works too well. Yes, it certainly opens the left hand side more. But there's something wrong about it. Perhaps I just have it sited too close to the track. There would have to be an unloading point alongside the track this would push the tank further away from the track. An unloading tower could also be used to obstruct the exit to the hidden sidings.

    However, a couple of tanks placed at right angles to the track looks much better. This end of the layout now has a light airy feel to it, that right now I much prefer.
    So anyway, the warehouse might be history. It's too early to tell yet. More research into propane unloading facilities is needed, so I can produce a more accurate model of what I'd like to see there.
  21. Ian Holmes

    gotta baseboard..

    By Ian Holmes,

    These two baseboards were built with the P87 project in mind but I'm not averse to using them on the P4 layout.
    Makes for a total layout length of 5' x 19" at the deepest, with the shorter dimension being 13".
    Built from 3/16" ply strips 3" deep on the sides and 1/4" ply on the tops. They are rather light and strong.
  22. Ian Holmes
    It had to happen. Didn't it?
    There I was happily messing around with my iPad sketching out ideas for APA Box layouts and I had to go and test fit the Purfleet Quay idea into in APA box and see if it would fit.
    In P4.
    Now I happen to have quite a bit of P4 stuff tucked away in a bag ready for when I start the project that keeps on getting aborted, so a test fit was not difficult A class 08, some Bachmann 16T mineral wagons and Parkside box vans all running P4 wheelsets, five yards of track (assembled) and some P4 track Company pointwork. All just waiting for that project to start.
    But there's always something that gets in the way. Last time round it was couplings and buffers. You know, the sort of thing that you modelllers located in the UK take for granted.
    "Ooh, I haven't got any 3-links to finish this kit off. I'll just nip down to the hobby shop to get some."
    My local hobby shop hasn't even heard of 3 link couplings let alone stock them. Having small things like these shipped to the US is kind of awkward too. They don't cost all that much but with the shipping and exchange rate thirty quids worth of three links and buffers is soon costing you about $50! So tiny stuff like that has to wait for me to come back to England for a visit so I can pop into Dave Hewins in Grimsby or B&H Models in Lincoln.
    Which I to be doing in a couple of weeks!
    Now there's a co-incidence..
    So you'd think that returning home from the UK all stocked up with 4mm bits and bobs I'll be building the P4 APA box layout. But not so fast. Even though I have laots of handily pre cut strips of 3/8" ply available to construct the quayside to drop into the APA box just like that. Said wood is actually trapped behind my MGB wich is stored for the winter and the wood can actually be glimpsed behind the car here in this photograph.
    So something else gets in the way of my P4 project again...
  23. Ian Holmes

    Guyers

    By Ian Holmes,

    Guyers is yet another one of those soulless concrete structures that are absolutely essential to re-create if you are going to accurately model the modern scene.
    The structure is called Guyers, but Guyers as a tenant have been gone for several years I believe and the rail connection to the rear of the building gone even longer by the looks of the pictures. Guyers were a builders suppliers so this building is principally another warehouse structure. When I was out walking past there on Friday workman were in cleaning and doing construction work. So perhaps a new tenant is on the way. (Yes, every time I see that communications tower behind the building there I think "they peel them with their metal knives")

    The face of the building presented to Xenium lane. Another feature worth noting here is the landscaping outside. The trees do look very nice in the summer. It's all there to make an attractive proposition for potential tenants.

    The Southern face of the building alongside the railroad. You can see the severed connection to the railroad and a steepish grade up to the siding along the building face.

    Further along the building there is an addition where the material of construction changes totally. Makes a nice change from the endless concrete.
  24. Ian Holmes
    Today it happened. I put knife to foamcore and started construction on the structures for the layout.
    The research pictures I've posted earlier in the week have shown that the structures in the area are all big concrete boxes faced with diiferent materials so construction of those is going to be pretty simple. Todays mission then, was to cut all three shells in preparation for facing them with styrene sheet. Really it was just a question of cutting the foamcore to size and fitting the shells in place and seeing if I was happy with the finished result. So after a couple of hours of measuring, cutting and sticking I got to here.

    Overall, I'm liking what I see. The structure front left could be a little less tall I think. Perhaps it was a bad idea to measure it up against an excess height box car. The rear of this building will be a spot for a boxcar. You will be able to see its roof when correctly spotted like in this view. I'm thinking that the office annex added to the main structure should go too.
    The structures at the rear feel OK.
    The main structure rear right is planned to be a steel distribution company. Watching the local steel distributors from my office window I have seen that deliveries come in flat cars and coil cars. With my artistic licence I'm adding a loading door on the outside wall to give another spot for switching cars to. With another spot (or more) "inside" the structure. That gives three (or more) spots for cars to play your switching games. Another thing to consider is that more than likely a hulking big Class 1 railroad locomotive would not be allowed inside the building so a reach car would be needed to access cars inside the structure. Your reach car could be anything in your freight stock collection
    The principal reason for the tall structure at left rear will be to hide the operating mechanism for the Atlas #5 turnout in front of it.

    Oooh... Now look here. I like this view. A lot. The road receding at an angle is a very powerful device from this view and will benefit from well created perspective on the backscene. Working crossing lights will look pretty effective here. Also in this view you can see that the grain hopper makes a very believable view block hiding the entrance of the trains into the scene.

    This view looking towards the right side shows the grain hopper view block works well. Perhaps an excess height box car would work better. But I like my excess height boxcars and would be loath to cut one up.
    There you have it then construction underway. Time to check my supply of styrene for cladding materials.
  25. Ian Holmes
    I've been reviewing this section of my 4mm scale agonies blog
    http://4mmscaleagonies.blogspot.com/search/label/plans
    I can't believe that in the space of less than 2 years I came up with 20 schemes for layouts.
    Looking at them all again after not having seen them together in a year makes me realize that I'd still like to model them. All the concepts, Nuclear flask terminal, scrapyard and of course the Haven.
    Sometimes I wish I wasn't so creative
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