mickoo
Western Thunderer
More stuff has been arriving here and there, it's hard not to when it's so damned cheap 
Anyway I figured it was time to actually make something for a change, all these I'm going to do this and that posts. I reckoned it was time to walk the walk or fall flat on my face, bearing in mind the last time I did anything like this was 35 years ago
so the flat on my face is a real possibility.
It started with some wood, actually no, it started before that.
It started with what can I fit in the space I have and keep a working space too, much as I'd love to fill the entire room with scenery and track, that would not please the accountants; so it had to be a compromise; but then most layouts are...actually I'm not calling this a layout.
Layouts are like Heyside, Buckshill and all those other detailed and well executed models, mine is more like a train set; I realized quite early on that flat was not for me, nor was the UK and just one circuit really had no appeal. By chance I came across an excellent trainset (though everyone else calls it a layout) on Facebook and through several rabbit holes, youtube; it had me written all over it.
Essentially it's a stacked shelf concept, narrow but quite tall (relative), it suits mountain regions very well and what I like a model railway to be. I also know it'll not be what the majority of other people like, not here anyway, a couple of people have already said oh no I I don't like that at all, too much like a train set. But, oddly enough, I'm not building for them but for myself.
It's US, it's modern, it'll have CTC, track circuits and dispatcher panel to route set, you will have to drive to the signals. It's currently double stacked on the scenery side and a third layer at the bottom for storage and turn back but I might add scenery there to. It'll have three primary elements, rocks, trees, water; there are no roads planned (maybe one at the main depot or a few dirt tracks up in the hills). Engineering wise, tunnels, bridges and a dam as a scenic focal point/break.
Primarily it's based on the US Northwest, a section of flat water level running, a depot which is basically a main and two passing sidings and a few buildings and then a climb up to a summit tunnel and hidden turn back. Other than the depot and two strategic passing sidings, it'll be single track with CTC signals. A rough calculation shows 70' scenic run with an elevation change somewhere around 28-32" but I'm making that up as I go along.
The scenery has to be semi generic, to cover US and Canadian Railroads, lower level will be 70/30 deciduous/conifer, higher level will be all conifer and I am tempted with some patches of snow up near the summit. Railroads countered for are BNSF, UP, CP/KCs, CN the odd CSX and NS unit will appear in consists.
I have a few set scenes I want from my vacation and from what I've seen on the web so these will form scenic focal points as the line runs up the grade, I'm limited to 17-18' sidings so that limits it to 20-25 cars and three engines (2x1) or for lighter trains just two engines (1x1).
Back to the beginning and the wood, one of the focal point is a long bridge, it really has to be a bridge and go here as there's a great big window in the way, most people who've seen it go, back scene, back scene, where's the back scene, there isn't one (not planned as yet) as I don't want to trade the loss of light for something that isn't that important to me.
This was just a basic try and see to get a feel for the space and what was possible.
Followed by real wood work, essentially it's a shelf on a shelf here as I need to keep some of the bench in the foreground to work on, I will miss the space but not as much as not having a trainset. At the far end is the start of the grade and hence the step in baseboards, it'll climb at a steady 2.5% to the other side of the shed, possibly 3% to gain height, that really depends on whether I want to portray water level route at the far end or more rugged gorge terrain.
I'd managed to save some XPS foam and wall insulation off cuts so decided to try a XPS road bed, it kind of works, rigid enough and easy to form. Originally it was two layers stuck together but getting a smooth grade was just a faff so i ripped it all up and went for a single flat bed and piers to support and set the grade.
At this point the shelf on a shelf was only 10" wide and it wasn't enough, so I traced some more space and puled the whole lot out by 2", that helped with the visuals. Also the sockets needed to be moved under the bench, that was easy enough and why all the electrics are surface mounted and in conduit, you can chop back, move or extend very easily.
Next came the Terra forming, it's all a bit rough at the moment, it's easy enough to hack, cut or add bits as you go along but the first major rock outcrop is in place and houses tunnel #2. Tunnel #1 is where the door hinge is and the descent to the lower hidden sidings level.
Each side of the curved fill will be water and to the back wall a rocky cliff, I have a set scene here based on a location pretty much like this near Cooks, though the lake/lagoon is much bigger but the Railroad essentially cuts the corner off an inlet in the river.
I've pulled the outcrop right to the edge, originally there was a thin sliver of water along the front edge but it looked very unnatural; even though I do have photos of sheer rook faces doing just that in Columbia gorge it didn't sit well here in model form.
The original play session had the tunnel much longer but I decided to cut it back and keep a rocky outcrop to the outside of the tracks.
I may still add a small fillet to the outside right up to the edge to break the long thin water stretch and the outcrop needs some more sculpting to break up some of the more regular angles.
The little notch works well for a photo spot and scenic feature.
Closer to the bridge on the flat section there will be a set of CTC signals for each direction and a relay hut and possibly a UHF transmitter station. Pretty much where the white stripe is on the engine. I still need to fill in behind the tracks and create a little nook for the blind to slide up and down in.
Finally, a low level view of the bridge entry point. As is so typical on Columbia river at these paces, there will be people fishing from flat bottomed boats. The water will not be flat but a ripped chop and a few white horses across this section of the scene, in the curved alcove it'll be less ripped and nearly flat in the lee of the rocky outcrops, either tunnel #1 or #2.
The next step is a tunnel mouth, I'll 3D print one simply because it's easier to let the machine work whilst I earn money at the bench. Once I have one then I'll simply cast the others in polyurethane as the GN used a pretty standard and generic tunnel face along this part of the route and I need at least five for the water level section. Higher up the line I'll change the design a little bit for variety.
It'll be the perfect item to test and play with my new vacuum pot for casting in polyurethane as well as some Jersey barriers and relay cabins for signal locations, basically anything I need multiples of.
All in all not a bad four days work, the foam certainly speeds up the terrain side of things and I've just got my first glue gun.....where were they 35 years ago
just brilliant for sticking foam terrain down.
Anyway I figured it was time to actually make something for a change, all these I'm going to do this and that posts. I reckoned it was time to walk the walk or fall flat on my face, bearing in mind the last time I did anything like this was 35 years ago
so the flat on my face is a real possibility.It started with some wood, actually no, it started before that.
It started with what can I fit in the space I have and keep a working space too, much as I'd love to fill the entire room with scenery and track, that would not please the accountants; so it had to be a compromise; but then most layouts are...actually I'm not calling this a layout.
Layouts are like Heyside, Buckshill and all those other detailed and well executed models, mine is more like a train set; I realized quite early on that flat was not for me, nor was the UK and just one circuit really had no appeal. By chance I came across an excellent trainset (though everyone else calls it a layout) on Facebook and through several rabbit holes, youtube; it had me written all over it.
Essentially it's a stacked shelf concept, narrow but quite tall (relative), it suits mountain regions very well and what I like a model railway to be. I also know it'll not be what the majority of other people like, not here anyway, a couple of people have already said oh no I I don't like that at all, too much like a train set. But, oddly enough, I'm not building for them but for myself.
It's US, it's modern, it'll have CTC, track circuits and dispatcher panel to route set, you will have to drive to the signals. It's currently double stacked on the scenery side and a third layer at the bottom for storage and turn back but I might add scenery there to. It'll have three primary elements, rocks, trees, water; there are no roads planned (maybe one at the main depot or a few dirt tracks up in the hills). Engineering wise, tunnels, bridges and a dam as a scenic focal point/break.
Primarily it's based on the US Northwest, a section of flat water level running, a depot which is basically a main and two passing sidings and a few buildings and then a climb up to a summit tunnel and hidden turn back. Other than the depot and two strategic passing sidings, it'll be single track with CTC signals. A rough calculation shows 70' scenic run with an elevation change somewhere around 28-32" but I'm making that up as I go along.
The scenery has to be semi generic, to cover US and Canadian Railroads, lower level will be 70/30 deciduous/conifer, higher level will be all conifer and I am tempted with some patches of snow up near the summit. Railroads countered for are BNSF, UP, CP/KCs, CN the odd CSX and NS unit will appear in consists.
I have a few set scenes I want from my vacation and from what I've seen on the web so these will form scenic focal points as the line runs up the grade, I'm limited to 17-18' sidings so that limits it to 20-25 cars and three engines (2x1) or for lighter trains just two engines (1x1).
Back to the beginning and the wood, one of the focal point is a long bridge, it really has to be a bridge and go here as there's a great big window in the way, most people who've seen it go, back scene, back scene, where's the back scene, there isn't one (not planned as yet) as I don't want to trade the loss of light for something that isn't that important to me.
This was just a basic try and see to get a feel for the space and what was possible.
Followed by real wood work, essentially it's a shelf on a shelf here as I need to keep some of the bench in the foreground to work on, I will miss the space but not as much as not having a trainset. At the far end is the start of the grade and hence the step in baseboards, it'll climb at a steady 2.5% to the other side of the shed, possibly 3% to gain height, that really depends on whether I want to portray water level route at the far end or more rugged gorge terrain.
I'd managed to save some XPS foam and wall insulation off cuts so decided to try a XPS road bed, it kind of works, rigid enough and easy to form. Originally it was two layers stuck together but getting a smooth grade was just a faff so i ripped it all up and went for a single flat bed and piers to support and set the grade.
At this point the shelf on a shelf was only 10" wide and it wasn't enough, so I traced some more space and puled the whole lot out by 2", that helped with the visuals. Also the sockets needed to be moved under the bench, that was easy enough and why all the electrics are surface mounted and in conduit, you can chop back, move or extend very easily.
Next came the Terra forming, it's all a bit rough at the moment, it's easy enough to hack, cut or add bits as you go along but the first major rock outcrop is in place and houses tunnel #2. Tunnel #1 is where the door hinge is and the descent to the lower hidden sidings level.
Each side of the curved fill will be water and to the back wall a rocky cliff, I have a set scene here based on a location pretty much like this near Cooks, though the lake/lagoon is much bigger but the Railroad essentially cuts the corner off an inlet in the river.
I've pulled the outcrop right to the edge, originally there was a thin sliver of water along the front edge but it looked very unnatural; even though I do have photos of sheer rook faces doing just that in Columbia gorge it didn't sit well here in model form.
The original play session had the tunnel much longer but I decided to cut it back and keep a rocky outcrop to the outside of the tracks.
I may still add a small fillet to the outside right up to the edge to break the long thin water stretch and the outcrop needs some more sculpting to break up some of the more regular angles.
The little notch works well for a photo spot and scenic feature.
Closer to the bridge on the flat section there will be a set of CTC signals for each direction and a relay hut and possibly a UHF transmitter station. Pretty much where the white stripe is on the engine. I still need to fill in behind the tracks and create a little nook for the blind to slide up and down in.
Finally, a low level view of the bridge entry point. As is so typical on Columbia river at these paces, there will be people fishing from flat bottomed boats. The water will not be flat but a ripped chop and a few white horses across this section of the scene, in the curved alcove it'll be less ripped and nearly flat in the lee of the rocky outcrops, either tunnel #1 or #2.
The next step is a tunnel mouth, I'll 3D print one simply because it's easier to let the machine work whilst I earn money at the bench. Once I have one then I'll simply cast the others in polyurethane as the GN used a pretty standard and generic tunnel face along this part of the route and I need at least five for the water level section. Higher up the line I'll change the design a little bit for variety.
It'll be the perfect item to test and play with my new vacuum pot for casting in polyurethane as well as some Jersey barriers and relay cabins for signal locations, basically anything I need multiples of.
All in all not a bad four days work, the foam certainly speeds up the terrain side of things and I've just got my first glue gun.....where were they 35 years ago
just brilliant for sticking foam terrain down.
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