Welcome back!

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The loop line crosses over a vally on a viaduct and then enters a tunnel before returning back towards the station and fiddle yard.

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I will say that I very much like the changes in levels with the hillside, valley and castle atop, it flows nicely!

Regards,

Cameron.

 

Welcome back!


I will say that I very much like the changes in levels with the hillside, valley and castle atop, it flows nicely!

Regards,

Cameron.

Hi Cameron, Thanks for the kind comments. I am pleased with it so far, I was taught woodwork at school far too many years ago but I won't call myself a joiner, more a higher class of wood butcher! The track is on the level and I managed to drop the level too make a valley for the viaduct to cross. I have cast some rock faces from moulds to place at the back of teh valley below the castle. The castle was a christmas present and fits in well on the hill top. You can see where it will go in this picture.

More to come soon I hope,
Chris

 

Just a few more pictures of the viaduct area. I forgot to mention that the layout is set in the West Country, probably in Somerset and is an unlikely blend of GWR, S&DJR, LSWR/Southern. On processing the pictures I realise I need the duster out! Photographs really show what you don't "see".

GWR Railcar crossing the viaduct, I ended up with 2 of these via a duplicate order. They are the only diesels so far.

S&D 7F with a coal train and cobwebs!

I liked this composition so have included it even though there is camera shake, I must have bumped the tripod, must try harder!
Chris

 

Nice job and coming along very well, those SDJR locos are very nice I have 5 of them and a kit built older one, quite a nice idea to fuse the three lines and why not, I was disappointed to find that the MSWJ was not closer to the SDJR and of course that would introduce GWR locos as well, anyway I went with the GCR in the 1960's to get maximum choice of locos.
Great looking shed too shame about the doors and somewhere you have to have a duck under whatever you do.

Hope you keep the pics coming
Kris

 

Thanks for the comments Kris. I changed the format from Roundy Roundy to get rid of the duck under. Here is a very rough diagram of the layout, not to scale, this is a quicky, I have forgotten how to draw curves with this programme and the online help link isn't working so forgive the roughness and straight lines where there ought to be curves.

The sidings labelled as carriage sidings where the original fiddle yard which was to have been loops on both the up and down lines but they would have been too short to be any practicle use. i removed one side to make room for the engine shed and turntable but left the others in place. I hope to complete more of the scenery around the viaduct tomorrow if I have time.
Chris

 

Hi Chris It's good to see you back and with a new layout and layout (room) which looks great and i'm liking your progress. There are a lot of similarity with what I am doing and considering doing. I like your theme of area and mixture of companies . I get the duck under thing, nearing retirement it is in my thoughts as well. Keep posting please. Jim

 

Hi Jim, I lived with the duck under for about 3 years but I kept bumping my head as well as finding it a bit more of a struggle to get into the middle to operate the layout. Now I can just walk round and it also gave me more usable storage space underneath to keep my G scale outdoor rolling stock. It was getting too much trouble to drag the stock boxes out and under the baseboard to run trains outside, the object of the game is to be able to run trains and not make it more difficult! Not too much progress at the moment, all the hedges need trimming ( I have about 400' of hedge some need both sides so it takes a few days now). At the moment I am trying to make a river under the viaduct. I made the shape by cutting away some of the foam insulation used as a scenery base to make the water course. The bottom has been painted with dark green shading to yellow ochre at the edges, I have also glued some "pebbles" sold as a stone wagon load along the edges to make a shingle edge. I am now giving it several coats of clear varnish, so far so good. The water will appear to come out of the cliff face at the back (no pictures yet) as per Wookey Hole in Somerset.
I hope to have a few more pictures soon when teh varnish dries, it is white at the moment but will go clear by tomorrow.
Chris

 

I've not been to Wookey Hole since childhood Chedder caves although some time ago is more recent. I thought my hedges were a pain but nothing like 400ft sounds like it keeps you busy and active. Very important something i've been thinking about a lot just lately . Look forward to more pictures. Jim

 

It's about 12 years since I visited Wookey and Cheddar, we stayed at the Caravan Club site near Burnham. You can't find much of the S&D left there, most of the station seems to be a car park, the old "jetty" is still there of course.
Finished the hedges this morning and had a break from gardening to do a bit on the layout. I am fitting surface mounted point motors at the moment. I had several left from the previous layout and have carried on with them as the baseboards are mounted on kitchen cupboard units and it is awkward working underneath. The baseboards were built in situ so I can't turn them over to work on them. I can live with them and will try to hide them as best I can, for instance the points for the double junction are hidden behind the signal cabin from the viewing side. I have also repaired a couple of signals built from Ratio kits and placed them today, now the junction is protected by a home signal.

N15 no. 771 Sir Sagramore on the viaduct. I have processed this to look like evening light. The rock face is nearly finished and the water is coming on. I used a rather deep coat of varnish on Tuesday and it still hasnt dried completely clear yet, I will add more coats as thinner layers when possible.

Another shot of 771

This is the goods yard and station, much still to do here! The back scene is an old rather tired one temporarily tacked in place, it will do for now.

Looking along the track into the station.

4050 on the turntable. This is a second hand Hornby unit bought "untested". It worked! I had to come up with a way of powering it as it is designed to work off the dc track supply. I use dcc so this wasn't going to be any good. I had a Hamment and Morgan rheostat type controller which must be 60 years old but works. I powered this from a plug/transformer saved from some computer equipment, it gives out about 9v dc so the turntable rotates nice and slowly. I am still thinking of a way to disguise the plastic box housing the motor and also the black plastic base. I can bury that under scenery i suppose.
The water tower is only placed there temporarily. The hut in teh background hides a tag strip which connects 2 point motors.
Chris

 

Neat installation of the turntable, 'sunk' in that way. I would infill with loose 'cut to fit' corrugated card pieces - a little tedious agreed - and top with brown paper lightly secured with PVA, as the base for scenic treatment. The 'why' of this is easily removeable in the event of need for access.

 

Thanks for that. I had thought about using some of the cork covered corugated cardboard you can see on teh left of the picture. This was part of an old display board and I have enough left I think.I didn't want to cover it so well that it is impossible to get at if the turntable needs any repairs so the idea of lightly fixing paper over the outside edge seems a good idea. I will see how that looks.

 

I should have suggested an alternative adhesive for securing the paper - expensive for a small one off project - but it works so well. That's 3M spraymount, (doubtless there are equivalents) also good for mounting pictures, putting up backscene, and for an excellent wheeze from another modeller, on underboard point motor access.

Drill a half inch hole for the actuating rod, get it all set up and working, and then before ballasting take a square of brown wrapping paper about 40mm on a side, slit it just over half way across, and open the slit very slightly in the centre to allow free movement of the rod. Mask off the slot, then spray the paper with adhesive, lift the point slightly, slide the paper into position sticky side down, recheck the action and once sure the location is correct, press down to secure. This way there is no trouble with the drive aligment adjustment, and no gaping hole for loose ballast to fall through.

 

I should have suggested an alternative adhesive for securing the paper - expensive for a small one off project - but it works so well. That's 3M spraymount, (doubtless there are equivalents) also good for mounting pictures, putting up backscene, and for an excellent wheeze from another modeller, on underboard point motor access.

Drill a half inch hole for the actuating rod, get it all set up and working, and then before ballasting take a square of brown wrapping paper about 40mm on a side, slit it just over half way across, and open the slit very slightly in the centre to allow free movement of the rod. Mask off the slot, then spray the paper with adhesive, lift the point slightly, slide the paper into position sticky side down, recheck the action and once sure the location is correct, press down to secure. This way there is no trouble with the drive aligment adjustment, and no gaping hole for loose ballast to fall through.

I have some 3M spray mount, I use it for picture mounting and have used it for fixing downloaded printed kits onto card before cutting the pieces out to make buildings. This has lasted several years on some buildings I have made. The only problem I have found is that you need good quality paper or the ink gradually fades and changes colour. I found that out the hard way.
Chris

 

I have been working on more scenery since last Friday and have just about completed the rockface behind the viaduct. The rocks are a mixture of plaster formed in a mould and bark from a dead willow in my garden. I sprayed the lot with grey acrylic and then dabbed on yellow ochre with a final wash of black. I am pleased with the look. The conifers are from a "learn to make trees kit" from Woodland Scenics and look a bit like Lodgepole Pines from North America rather than the sort of pines you might find in the West Country but the look good. The river is a bit of a problem at the moment, I bought Ronseal Clear Varnish to make the water. I was a bit dubious when I opened the tin as it was milky in appearance. I tried a thim coat and after a few hours it seemed to dry clear. I painted on 2 further coats, still ok. I then added a thicker layer and it now has a slightly milky appearance after about 4 days. I can only wait and see if this is due to it not fully drying yet ( the nights are colder and damper so it might take a long while), or if it doesn't clear I shall have to repaint the water and try another varnish.

I took a couple of pictures of the viaduct as below.

Collet Goods which seems to have a problem, I didn't see that I had dislodged the tender when I took this but thought I would show it anyway as how not to do it.

Here is a better result of Drummond T9 and train.
Chris

 

I am gradually installing surface mounted point motors using up some old Peco ones from a previous layout and I have been trying the items from Rails of Sheffield. At first I had a job getting the Rails one in position, they seemed to need to be exactly in the right place whereas the Peco ones are not so critical. I found most of the trouble was that the Rails motors have a joggle in the actuator bar to accomodate for a track underlay. I hadn't noticed this at first, failing eyesight, when I did I cut away some of the underlay to mount the motor directly onto the baseboard and all was well. The bar didn't keep coming of the point tiebar etc. The only criticism I would have for the Rails motors is the tiny screws supplied are not up to good quality plywood. I had to use larger brass screws instead but these will tone down. The Rails motors are slightly smaller than the Peco ones and as they are mounted lower should be easier to disguise with ballast etc.
Chris

 

I like the way the railway bridge masonry detail references the Castle crenellation. That was typical of the style of the C19th architects, looking for some relationship to past structures. Not like today's 'I can make it ugly, any way I want'.

 

That was purely by luck as they are both Metcalf kits but let's say it is a happy accident. I am glad you like it.
Chris

 

Small update: I haven't achieved a great deal recently, mainly due to weariness after my 4th Covid booster about 4 weeks ago. I have ballasted a bit more of the main line and at last cleaned the track again so that running is ok over the ballasted section. One point was being cussed and took a lot of cleaning to get continuity between the switch rail and stock rail reliable again. I nearly resorted to putting in another jumper cable to bond the two rails. I may do this anyway to ensure continued reliability.
The slope of land by the viaduct appeared too steep so I have put in a rock outcrop here. This was made from bark obtained from the dead willow at the bottom of the garden. I sprayed it a pale grey with acrylis paint then dabbed sandy colours over it and a wash of black over all. A bit of static grass at the top and a couple of bushes complete the scene. As you can see from the picture I have finished the baseboard edge with some yellow plastic corrugated board.

The river still needs some work yet.

Number 693 a "Black Motor" on a goods train over the viaduct. I don't think the gunpowder van would be marshalled next to the loco in steam days!

I have made a little bit of progress with the farm next to the castle above the return loops. A bit more walling to install and some trees and bushes needed plus a few chickens etc.

A bit awkward to photograph this as this side is up against the wall. I held the camera near the wall and hoped it was pointed in the right direction, after a few trys this was the result. This is the beauty of digital cameras, you can see what has been taken at once, no more waiting to process the film and then having to try again.
Hopefully more to come soon.
Chris

 

nearly resorted to putting in another jumper cable to bond the two rails

I always do this on my loft layout since I had one point 'go bad'. It was a <&&&£> to clean. Never again ....

David

 

Hi Chris. Some nice shots and a bonus that you got some tree bark locally sourced for free. I like the hay wagon the barn and the farmhouse all looks good . I had my fourth covid jab and felt a little under the weather for a day. Look forward to more updates. Jim

 

That's the advantage of a large garden, plenty of plant material. I had read years ago that modellers used bark for rock faces but was always a bit wary of using it as I wondered if it would rot. I recently watched a video by the cheery chappie "Marklin of Sweden" and he showed it in use on his layout. An American had told he had been using it for years on his model railroad and it lasts very well.

I have managed a bit more on this part of the layout. I made a better tunnel mouth where the line goes under the castle. I found an old plastic Hornby one from an old trainset. i had to cut it down on one edge as the tracks are a bit close to the baseboard edge. I covered it with stone paper which hides the plasticy toy look.

Not a great picture, I placed the camera on the track and used a cable release tp take the shot, a few goes and this was the best result.

This shows the junction and the LSWR type signal cabin.

I am extending the scenic area to the side of the castle, Liz said the other day "haven't you got a church? it would look good next to the castle as there is often a parish church associated with castles and large houses". The church needs a bit of repair so watch this space.
i have settled on a name for the main station at last. it will be Siddermorton from H G Well's The Wonderful Visit. He set most of his stories in Kent or Sussex but I think the name sounds West Country enough. That will make the junction Sidder Junction.

Chris

 

A tiny bit of progress over the last two weeks or so. I have extended the scenic area behind the Castle and farm just a little, I now have room for a church beside the Castle. I made a frame of some 45mm square wood left over from making an outside run for our cats. This supports a 2 inch foam base for the scenery and more useful, a shelf for a 12v battery. I am trying to go off grid in the cabin at least. The battery was in our caravan and 12 months ago it appeared to not hold charge so i replaced it. I never got round to taking it to the scrap man and checked it with a meter early in the week and it still reads 11v. I have ordered a solar panel and battery charger, if the battery appears ok then with an inverter I can run everything in the cabin, hopefully including some heating off it. Back to models: the church is placed more or less in position, the dry stone wall needs moving a bit, plus grass etc.

The farm has come on a bit too, the trees around it are only placed there at the moment, I have run out of glue at present.

On the other side of the layout in the corner by Siddermorton Station I am making an elevated area for a row of cottages on one side and over the roadway will be a small workshop building. I am still thinking about how the road over the bridge can be brought down to the goods yard level without looking silly. It may look better to just carry this across to the baseboard edge and imagine the access is off stage as it were.

I will have to build up the landform at the front of the picture and move the track on the left over a bit. This is a spur from the turntable.

 

I thought it was time for a progress report. As per my other recent thread, I have rebuilt thte fiddle yard to make things easier to use and give some slightly longer storage roads. I experimented with making uncouplers in the track. The first try was using a shaped plywood ramp which looked like it would work until I screwed it down. This distorted the thin ply so that the locos hit the end, no good. I found some perspex offcuts which were the right thickness but again I couldn't fix these in place. I bought Peco uncoupling ramps which are a partial success. Most locos will run over them but a Bachman Jinty stalls because there is very little clearance underneath it and the wheels lift off the track. It just needs a little push to get over the ramp and leave the stock behind. The other slight snag was that the Peco ramps are designed for Streamline or Set Track. During the lockdown I had bought a few yards of Bachman flexible track ( no Peco track was available then ) and used it in the fiddle as first built. The sleeper spacing is closer than Peco so I have had to cut some sleepers out to fit the ramps.
Not much other progress yet, the garden is demanding attention and we have been busy with our cats, with kittens and Cat Shows. I have made a start on a barn kit from Scale Model Scenery to go in the valley near the viaduct. So far I am very impressed with the kit and it is all going together very easily.
all for Now, Chris

 

I love that dual line turnout in the previous post.

 

I have only just caught up with this layout topic, but sorry I missed it.

Lovely work there, Christine.

 

I hace just completed a stone barn from a Scale Model Scenery kit ( Polsue Barn ), I wanted it to go in the valley by the rock face. A very sturdy building and easy to make. The pictures show it placed in position, I need to blend the scenery around it when I have finally decided the exact place for it. It will need some sort of dirt track leading to it through one of the arches etc.

I think it looks good as a finished model. Perhaps some "farm junk" might add something but I don't want to overdo it.

I am trying to decide if the barn next to the farmhouse is to tall. The doors work out at a scale 25 feet high. I know some barns are huge but the ones where I live, that is, ones still in use as famr buildings and not turned into designer homes, are much lower with doors about 12 to 15 feet high.

It actually doesn't look so bad in teh photograph but in real life it looks out of proportion to the farmhouse and dominates the area. As it is one of teh Scalescenes downloads I can make the sides and doors a bit lower and remake the barn without too much bother so it could be a project for the darker nights.
Thanks every one for the kind thoughts

 

Hi Chris,
Really like the latest building addition, looks like well put together and ideal for the location.
Good luck with the “discrete” track / road in too.
On the Barn Doors, unless it feels wrong to you so much, wouldn’t say change; lots of the similar ones down here or have seen, use the roof purlins for the support, to give maximum Barn / Hay openings?
Keep up the Enjoyment / Modelling, Cheers for now Norm

 

Lovely work!

 

I really like your scenery,the rocks,the water,very nicely executed