PaternosterRow

Hi Mark, like many, I've come to this late. This is a great scenic layout that's been nicely framed and well proportioned. Love your track side scenic work and the use of the store as an exit point. Great workmanship and think your photos are brilliant too. More pics please. Mike

A very fine layout, Sir. Agree with the above, a build thread would be great as there some stunning scenic work and an explanation of your methods would undoubtedly inspire others. Regards Mike

Hi Pete, agree with above - it cutting it means keeping it then go to it. Kyle is too good a layout to let go completely even if it just becomes a scenic plank on a shelf. Maybe an IKEA trip for a suitable display cabinet!! Love the sketch of the saw and bins - brilliant! Mike

Cheers, Pete. Wouldn't worry too much about keeping me away from the big stuff. Julie's been working overtime telling me that we don't have that kind of wonga!! If I do decide to daly that way I'm going to have to end up scratch building everything myself and I simply ain't that good yet. But Live Steam really is seductive stuff and I can't shake the images of a Roundhouse chuffer coming round the corner on a cold winter's day, great clouds of steam and the smell of oil and butane from my head!

Hi David It was advertised in the local papers, but I gather in a bit of a hurry - I only found out by word of mouth. The Irish group is only just starting up and only had a couple of weeks to throw their own layout together for the exhibition. It was a great effort given the speed of the build. The Chester layout will be housed there permanently from now on and will be open when the Windmill Museum is open. April to October - 9 till 5.30 everyday. Closed over the Winter. The museum is 2km West of Tralee on the N86 en route to Dingle. It was an extremely generous gift by the Chester MRC and the intention is to give the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway Group a bit of a lift as much interest has been lost in the section of preserved line due a lack of funds. As you're aware, we simply don't have the footfall here in Ireland and it's hard to keep these type of things going, but combining it with the Windmill museum can only be a good thing as it's a well established tourist attraction. Here's hoping for the future. Mike

Hi Job. Yes, can't tell you brilliant they are and the photos simply don't do them justice. Simon explained that their are the culmination of a life times work.

Thanks Mikkel - just a reflection of the great day I had. Both John and Neil are really nice guys - no airs and graces - surprising given their level of skill and experience. They were only too willing to talk and explain their methods. You know, you think you're getting good at this modelling lark until you get to see work like theirs close up. I also had long conversations with Simon (Chester MRS) and Vincent Hayes from the Irish group, also incredibly nice guys. It seems that the vast majority of railway modelers are a really great bunch of people and I certainly hope the Irish group takes off and thrives - it'd certainly be nice to get involved somehow. Although the distance from where I live to Blennerville is about an hour and ten minutes by car. Such are the inconveniences of country living - it ain't all roses! Mike

Brilliant stuff as per usual, Mikkel. Top notch modeling with the cranes - exactly as per the prototype. Agree with the rest of the comments re weathering - can't for the life of me see why you think it's too heavy. I'm sure white walls got incredibly dirty, especially around openings. As you have previously suggested about using photos in the warehouse openings to create depth instead of mirrors, I bet one of those pics you posted of the crane build (the one with the model crane placed in front of a photo of the real thing) would look the business. Using photos is a clever idea and will really give a sense of a world beyond.

Spent a great day out yesterday at the Chester MRC's event in Blennerville, County Kerry. The group have generously donated their model of the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway to the centre. This will hopefully provide a great boost to the fledgling Irish Railway Society that have recently started up. Some pictures of what is an already well known and highly crafted layout. John Campbell and Neil Ramsay were also in attendance with their fabulous collections of 16mm live steam and rail car locomotives. All hand built to extremely high standards, the locos on show were a real treat to look at. A video of John running one of his superb engines. John is from Cradley Heath and we spent a lot of time talking about Birmingham and the Black Country (I hail from Perry Barr, Birmingham originally). Julie, my wife, was quite captivated by live steam and I was nearly on the point of convincing her what a good investment a garden railway would be. That was until John mentioned costs and her jaw dropped to the floor! Looks like I'll just have to stick with 4mm for a while yet. I think you'll all agree that John's work speaks for itself - they are finely crafted locos of high quality and it was a real privilege to see one of them running. The next few pics are of Neil Ramsay's brilliantly hand crafted 16mm narrow and broad gauge models. Neil must be the only man in the world who runs them on a accurately scaled version of Irish Broad Gauge track in his garden. The railcars have been built from 3mm ply - unbelievable how he has managed to get ply to look like metal! Really skillful workmanship. The Class C Metrovick has directional lights, real smoke exhaust and a working extraction fan - it is battery operated and is correctly gauged to 79mm (5ft 3inch). This last shot is of the Blennerville windmill just outside Tralee. It is a working mill and actually does grind corn for some local bakeries. All in all it was a great day out as I don't get to meet many fellow railway modelers here in Ireland. I'm still working on Julie about the many advantages of live steam - wish me luck!

Thanks very much Eric & Gripper. Keep watching as the roof cladding is about to go on over the next week or two. That'll be the real success or failure of the illusion. Regards Mike

Love that collection of line side sheds. Brilliant layout.

That warehouse is simply stunning, Ron. Outstanding craftsmanship. You certainly don't let the grass grow under your feet! Progress is phenomenal there in sunny Spain and I certainly wish I had your stamina! Mike

Now that's a clever idea Mikkel. I really like that type of photo-realistic effect especially if you get the sizing of the photo right.

Thanks so much for that. I haven't laughed so many in a long time. Mike

Thanks very much Dave. I think it's that symmetry that makes these type of places so appealing to me. It's the same with large Victorian termini. Having lived through the concrete age of the 60's and 70's it's heartening to see the efforts architects now make to restore and incorporate those brilliant roofs into station re mods.

Nice shots Pete. You ain't half managed to squeeze a load of depth out of this one and I love those brutes at the end of the platform.

Many thanks Job. Photography is fast becoming a second hobby for me and what a great afternoon can be had by combining the two!

Many thanks Mikkel - some of the inspiration for this model came from the pics of your warehouse. Particularly the accuracy of your build and it certainly spurned on my efforts to get everything as square as possible. That's why I was so annoyed about the small height discrepancy mentioned in my first blog - even at this scale any deviation can potentially spoil the overall illusion. If the baseboard is out just by a small amount the error seems to get magnified as the build progresses. The long wires on the support structure just represent electrical conduit for the overhead cranes. It was usual to have switch blocks on every pillar if the cranes were worked from ground level hence a lot of cable runs. Some of these runs were also electrical pickups for the different motors on the crane - hence the multitude of 'Live OH Wire' signs in these type of places. The wires could represent either really so it's just one of those added details that helps overload the viewers eye and gets them to do a double take. Another illusion trick will be the use of mirrors in the arch openings on the far wall. There's a picture of Swindon works in the aforementioned magazine that makes it look like a giant aircraft hanger that's full to the brim of locos - it just goes on forever - amazing place. I'm hoping to get a bit of that 'sprawling' workshop effect with the mirrors. As mentioned before in my other blogs, I'm more into the representation of things rather than trying to slavishly copy a prototype so everything is taken from photos from different loco works. This pastiche modelling isn't everyone's cup of tea but it seems to work for me. Hope all that makes sense?

Cheers Pete. Yes, even I thought that Warship looked good after reviewing the pics off camera. Can't wait to get the roof covered so I can see what effect natural sunlight coming through the roof lights will give! Way to go yet though.

State of play thus far with 'The Works' - new wire roof fitted before covering. The roof is designed so that it can be removed for track cleaning and loco placing. I've tried hard with this one to get everything straight and square. I'm trying to achieve something like the roof at Loughborough Works. This photo is from The Railway Magazine (Nov 2012 souvenir issue) - it show the works in the late 80's building the Class 60. It's a former wagon works, but loco erecting shops and wagon works shared similar architecture. The overhead cranes, however, were much bigger in erecting shops due to the higher loads. Therefore, the running beams were much deeper and chunkier. For the illusion to work it's absolutely essential to get everything in line to form the perfect repetition you get with real factory roof structures. Everything is made from 1mm fencing wire which has been soldered up in jigs. I will be adding two cranes per run (the two would often be used in tandem to lift heavy loads) and all the other stuff you'd associate with works once the roof is covered.

I don't envy you the choosing process Pete, but it would be a huge mistake to ditch any of the Moorswater sections and certainly don't get rid of Kyle! That back scene is too unforgettable. But it's easy for me to say as I'm not the one facing a big move with what sounds like a large railway family with a load of layouts! Good luck with it all at any rate. Mike

Great set of photos Mikkel and a lot of food for thought. I think that if you were to take a snapshot of any railway from any era then you'd find unmatched stock colors, patch up repairs, the odd rotten chair and worn out bits of infrastructure. Maintenance is a constant battle and is often done too late for it to be preventative. I'd say that repair of the permanent way has always been high on the agenda for the obvious safety reasons, but trust me on this in general. I've been in the maintenance game all my life and it has always irked me the way owners and managers seem to put it off till its way too late then try and blame the poor old repair man when something can't be made right again. I like your wry observation regarding attempts of modelling such things and the fact that it would only look like sloppy if tried - think it would take a life time trying to model 4mm scale rust cuts in wagon paintwork anyway. Mind you, can't help thinking that you're just the man to pull it off and that we'll all see it on some Farthing stock shortly! As for trying to model chairs, rail joiners and grease on the points I'm happy to remain ignorant for some time to come with good old Code 75! Mike

Brilliant Pete. Excellent presentation and so, so neat as usual. The lighting and controls at the back are as much a pleasure to look at as the front! Still think the way it packs away is genius. If you're looking for a new user name in the light of your move back to the UK then it's got to be 'NeatPete' from now on. Regards, Mike

Thanks for that link, Job. I read the section on Shadow Boxes and was fascinated by it. That Admiralty scene is just breathtaking. If you can pull this off with your street scene and install some clever lighting it'll be brilliant. Mike

Very interesting scheme Job. Rule of thirds has been used by artists for a long time and is a proven display method. Love the APA box idea as it is quite a handy size for dioramas. Will follow your build with great interest. Regards, Mike