Obermatt Swiss N gauge layout

[Gordonwis]

On 08/02/2022 at 19:06, Frutigen said:

. All I need now is a NPZ driving trailer.

 

 

 

 

After a panic when the site disappeared I got in contact with the  proprietor and it turned out the hiatus was temporary while he set an new stand of RTR models (so far doing the SNCF Sausage coaches and Nord express coaches) , but the OL.D MOdeles web site is now back up and running selling bodyshells. So the 3D SBB BDt is available.

[Frutigen]

6 hours ago, Gordonwis said:

 

 

After a panic when the site disappeared I got in contact with the  proprietor and it turned out the hiatus was temporary while he set an new stand of RTR models (so far doing the SNCF Sausage coaches and Nord express coaches) , but the OL.D MOdeles web site is now back up and running selling bodyshells. So the 3D SBB BDt is available.

Thank you Gordon, that’s excellent news. One of those would be just right if I can get it painted to a good enough standard. 

[Frutigen]

Here's a new video to celebrate the fact that the layout has had its spring clean, not to mention the return of the FLIRT and the RBe540. Rather than my usual close-ups* I'm treating you to some long shots. It was the first time I've tried to film with one hand while controlling the trains with the other and I'm starting to see why people use tripods.

 

Those logs will feature in a forthcoming production starring the Fleischmann Ae6/6.

 

 

* OK, it does start with a close-up.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Frutigen

[Samedan]

I really like the progress you’ve made with the layout. It’s good to see the FLIRT and the Rbe540 running. I have a bit of a “thing” for EMUs and railcars.

Looking at your backscenes, I’m impressed by the way the scenery stretches right up to the top in places and blends in. This is the approach I’m planning to take with my HO layout. I want to avoid photographic backscenes if possible, as I’m not convinced that the perspective works all that well in the flesh, although I concede they can be amazingly effective in photographs, where the angles and composition of view can be controlled. The way you have created the sculpted flat sections of backscene, to resemble a rock face, is interesting. Are you going to add bits of vegetation to them?  

[Frutigen]

Thank you, Samedan. 
 

I do think I need more vegetation on the back wall but it will be a while before I get to it as the whole layout has to be turned around so I can reach the back scene. It’s a bit awkward to turn it in the space I have so I don’t do it very often. I’m happy with the overall height of the scenery when viewed in the room, but certain members of this forum have challenged me to do a painted scene above it for photos and video, so I might just have a go at that. I certainly like the examples that others on here have done for their layouts. 

 

The back scenes are built up from a base of aluminium mesh covered with layers of toilet paper and dilute PVA, which is then poked, prodded and massaged into the general shape when dry. The big rocks are bark from local trees destroyed by storm Desmond in 2015, I left the pieces to dry for a year then sealed them with dilute PVA before sticking them in place and building up the ground around them with papier-mâché (<<< my auto spell did that!) or plaster of Paris. 
 

The vertical crazy paving rock face is plaster of Paris with added acrylic paint and PVA poured into a mould made of crumpled up kitchen foil. You have to use 3 layers of foil stuck together as the weight of the plaster would just press a single sheet almost flat again. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Frutigen

[Frutigen]

In response to a long-standing request, here’s the Fleischmann Ae6/6 in action. It’s another video where I was holding the camera in one hand and the controller in the other, this time with the added complication of shunting and operating the points, and it shows. Additional sound effects courtesy of our creaky floor. 
 

The title is a nod to the “The Logs”, a daily Colas train of cut logs from Carlisle Kingmoor to Kronospan at Chirk. 

Edited March 6, 2022 by Frutigen

[Frutigen]

It's been almost a year since I did any scenic work so it was very satisfying to finally do the water where the stream under the village empties into the lake. Well, hint of a lake - I was originally inspired by places around Ligerz and St Saphorin but somehow it ended up like this. As with many scenic features on Obermatt, I started with whatever method I found on the Märklin of Sweden Youtube channel and then winged it.

 

Before

 

 

And after (still needs more veg)

 

 

With a peep under the bridge

 

 

[Frutigen]

I've been working on a catenary system since the last update, so here's a quick view of how it might look in place. It's work in progress at the moment and these are mock-ups, lots of detail to be added. I'm documenting the catenary build in a separate thread here.

 

 

 

[Busybeas23]

Keith, 

 

This is an absolute gem of a layout, really captures the Swiss scenery, now I can view the restored images.

Loving the long track runs and sweeping curves.

 

So much in such a small space, it really is quite remarkable!

I hadn't realised just how compact it actually was until I saw the overview photos. the camera work makes it look so much bigger!

Great too, watching long trains run in the scenery, lovely modelling.

 

With such an inspirational layout, if I weren't so heavily invested in HO, I think I'd be really tempted to do N Gauge!

 

Well done on the you tube videos too, they really bring the layout to life, much more so than static pictures.

A real treat to watch this is, so thank you👍

 

Best Regards

Steve

 

[Frutigen]

11 hours ago, Busybeas23 said:

This is an absolute gem of a layout, really captures the Swiss scenery, now I can view the restored images.

Loving the long track runs and sweeping curves.

Thank you, Steve, for your kind and encouraging remarks. I’m always glad when others get some pleasure from the layout. 

 

I’ll be doing another video once I’ve got the catenary masts up, along with some other detailed improvements to the station. 
 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Frutigen

[Frutigen]

Just a quick photo update on the layout now that the catenary is in, and a big thank you to everyone who has commented, contributed, liked, advised and supported over the last 12 months. It's been a pleasure being part of this community and I'm looking forward to 2023 when I'll ask my next question. 

 

I hope you have a good time over Christmas and New Year.

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cornish trains jez]

Hi Keith,

 

Hope you had a good Christmas.

 

Nice set of photos and the catenary looks really good and completes the scene nicely. Looking forward to seeing more photos and videos of your fantastic layout.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

[Frutigen]

3 hours ago, cornish trains jez said:

Nice set of photos and the catenary looks really good and completes the scene nicely. Looking forward to seeing more photos and videos of your fantastic layout.

 

Thank you Jeremy. I've got a couple of locations where I had to hack the scenery to fit the masts in against an embankment, so they need to be made good. After that I think I'll focus on getting people, signs, street/platform furniture and some more vegetation into the scene, plus I have at least 3 locos/emus that still need rehab. I'll keep the photos coming and plan to have a video once the scenic damage is fixed.

 

And I did say I'll have another question in 2023....

[Frutigen]

 

Back after far too long, here's the latest video update from Obermatt. I've focused on the station area to try and give a feel for the difference the catenary system has made to the overall atmosphere. 

 

Also new here is the island platform roof. I'm calling it temporary but I suspect it could be here for a while. It's made of cardboard and retired Dapol catenary masts, with roofing paper made from a photo of the awning on the station building. I'm looking at adding station furniture and signs, along with trackside signs, once I find a convincing way to do it.

 

For filming some shots I used a Joby bendable tripod to hold the phone steady. I also used the buttons on a set of earbuds as a remote trigger for the camera, but I forgot to hold the mic up so it could record the sound of the trains. I didn't think it worked as a silent movie, hence the home brew Muzak which started life as one of my modal jazz exercises.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Frutigen

[Samedan]

It’s looking really good with the catenary and other details. The view at 1.55 is really effective. It’s good to see nice, scale speed running. There are a couple of Facebook groups where I just have to stop myself jumping on the comment button every time I see a small rank engine and a few wagons doing a scale 200mph! 

[Frutigen]

7 hours ago, Samedan said:

It’s good to see nice, scale speed running.

Thank you for the kind comments. Yes, speed is something I’m fussy about, especially on a layout that represents a secondary line. All my locos are calibrated to run at around 60mph max (which just happens to be one full circuit in 60 seconds) when the throttle is at max (126 on the WiThrottle). But I generally run at around notch 100 for my own entertainment, because anything faster makes the transition from straight to curve too sudden. However, for the videos I’ve discovered that notch 85 is about right, anything higher looks a bit rushed on video. 
 

Proper transition curves would no doubt help but this is set track and you have to work with its limitations. 

[Frutigen]

I've been thinking for a while about how to create greater visual separation between the two levels at the front of the layout using a screen of trees. The idea is to draw the eye into the scene in question and to limit awareness of other scenes nearby. The trick is to avoid obscuring the station area. This evening I decided to experiment with a sparse line of trees of different heights and it seems to have some promise. Perhaps it needs more trees, or perhaps there are already enough there to achieve the aim. Time will tell. 

 

 

 

Not at all sure about the 2 trees at the very front. I feel they add something but maybe they're in the wrong place, or I need three?

 

Once I'm happy with the placement I was going to darken the cheap trees with a thin wash of black and add some grass or foliage material to vary the shades and reduce the obvious voids. I've done that elsewhere on the layout but they're very prominent here so maybe I need to invest in good quality trees for this location. Any recommendations?

 

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Frutigen

[swisspeat]

This is coming on so well Keith.

 

I think you are right. It might be best to position 3 or 5 trees at the front of the layout.

 

In my experience some of the best quality trees for Swiss layouts are made by Primo. Have a quick glance at my Blausee Mitholz thread on page 2 to see if you think they look suitable for you.

 

Peter

 

 

[Gordonwis]

On 18/01/2023 at 20:36, Frutigen said:

 

 I've done that elsewhere on the layout but they're very prominent here so maybe I need to invest in good quality trees for this location. Any recommendations?

 

 

 

Your trees seem to have weird gaps between each level of foliage so I think good quality would look better. I always buy from the Model Tree Shop which frequents (at least they did pre-Covid) south east England shows. They make specific varieties of tree, rather than generic. I don't know if they still offer the service but they used to make bespoke trees to order. They made me a very tall fir tree designed to hide the small vertical gap between backscenes on my two-baseboard RhB layout

 

https://www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk/trees.html

 

Another thing I would say is that when creating Alpine layouts, it is often overlooked that not all trees are pine/fir/spruce conifers. Alpine valleys where main line railways usually are also contain plenty of deciduous trees

 

 

.

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Gordonwis

[Frutigen]

Gordon, thank you for that link. I’ve already ordered some trees from Model Scenery Supplies but I may well need more as I’m thinking of upgrading the existing tree stock where I’ve used the generic cheapo plastic trees from Amazon. As you say, those are just too sketchy to be front and centre and, although they do work in groups towards the back of the layout, I think I can do better. 
 

You make a good point about deciduous trees being most common alongside the main lines and many of my wooded areas are just that, including some where, to quote the man from Märklin of Sweden, you don’t model the trees, you model the woods. These areas of dense woodland are made from balls of microfibre covered in Woodland Scenics foliage material. And hairspray.
 

The scene at the front of my layout is somewhere I’d prefer to have deciduous trees again but the site is tricky, as I need tall slim trees to fit in the narrow space and still provide the height I need. I’ll experiment and if nothing else works I might need to get the hairspray out again. 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Frutigen

[Gordonwis]

9 hours ago, Frutigen said:

Gordon, thank you for that link. I’ve already ordered some trees from Model Scenery Supplies but I may well need more as I’m thinking of upgrading the existing tree stock where I’ve used the generic cheapo plastic trees from Amazon. As you say, those are just too sketchy to be front and centre and, although they do work in groups towards the back of the layout, I think I can do better. 
 

You make a good point about deciduous trees being most common alongside the main lines and many of my wooded areas are just that, including some where, to quote the man from Märklin of Sweden, you don’t model the trees, you model the woods. These areas of dense woodland are made from balls of microfibre covered in Woodland Scenics foliage material. And hairspray.
 

The scene at the front of my layout is somewhere I’d prefer to have deciduous trees again but the site is tricky, as I need tall slim trees to fit in the narrow space and still provide the height I need. I’ll experiment and if nothing else works I might need to get the hairspray out again. 

 

 

 

One place that always comes to mind when I look at your layout is the line between Reichenbach and Frutigen alongside the upgraded main road:

 

There is what almost amounts to a 'hedge' between the road and railway, but there are also some small thin trees 

 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/JozQGETAPZztUVJRA

 

 

 

 

[Frutigen]

Thank you Gordon, I like that. 

[Frutigen]

On 23/01/2023 at 17:16, swisspeat said:

In my experience some of the best quality trees for Swiss layouts are made by Primo. Have a quick glance at my Blausee Mitholz thread on page 2 to see if you think they look suitable for you.

Thank you for the tip, Peter. Those trees look very good, I’ll check them out. 
 

[Frutigen]

Falling back on my “use what you already have” strategy and Inspired by @Gordonwis image of a scrubby verge in the Kandertal, I decided in the end to use up my pack of “thicket bush” material branded Footpath from Model Scenery Supplies. It appears to be made from sea foam and there were enough clumps to make up a few trees of the size I needed. I’ve coated them all with hairspray for a bit of resilience and some are built up in place from fragments which are then held together with the hair spray. 
 

I had previously tried and removed a number of other cheap deciduous type trees I had in my box but they weren’t up to the job. I think these will do for now as they manage to draw a visual border between the upper and lower scenes without drawing attention to themselves. Thanks to everyone who suggested potential suppliers, I’ll look into them in more detail to try and source some feature trees to replace the odd plastic individuals that are still lurking amongst the sea foam. 
 

 

 

 

[swisspeat]

Those new "trees" look superb! Well done.

 

I find that any of the Filigree Bushes from Busch or Mini Natur or MBR are first class.

 

Those by Model Szene are not so realistic.

 

Of course most of these are basically Sea foam with scatters glued to them.

 

One think I do when using Sea foam is to use a first layer of mixed Woodlands Fine Turfs (two greens mixed in equal proportions) then once it it fully dried lightly spray again and sprinkle on Noch Laub (leaves) which are available in a couple of colours. This second step elevates the look of such bushes/trees and works just as well in N scale. Just be careful not to smoother the Sea foam with Laub or they lose their realism.

 

Regards,

 

Peter