I purchased what looks to be a rather good book at Warley - "BR Steam in Dean - the photographs of Ben Ashworth" published by Lightmoor Press (a publisher I've not been all that familiar with until now). From the quick flip through I have had so far it features some of what are, to my eyes at least, the most atmospheric and evocative scenes of the closing years of steam on the Forest of Dean railways.
This once complex rail system serving the communities and industries of the Forest of Dean has only recently come to my attention as being a worthy subject for my modelling focus. Particularly in this period of decline it sums up the very essence of what, to me, makes the perfect subject for a model railway - ex-GWR steam, goods, rural industry, overgrown and decaying railway infrastructure, decrepit and worn out locomotives and rolling stock, and a kind out of the way, half forgotten sort of feeling.
In fact, it has pretty quickly demonstrated itself to be a perfect subject on which to settle for my current, albeit rather 'in limbo' micro-layout. It may well be that having a clear prototype focus like this may just be the spur into action I've needed.
(Oh, by the way, if you're interested in the book, I was told that the copy I bought was the very last one, meaning it is now officially out of print, although there may be a few still floating around in shops here and there!)
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Warley
Despite having felt a bit under the weather for the last few days I decided to head over to the Warley Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC today.
I last attended Warley three years ago, and as I commented at the time, was a little undecided about the experience as a whole.
Today?
Well, for one thing I felt there were a lot more 'normal' people around - maybe that has something to do with the Sunday exhibition demographic, maybe I've just grown older...!
The size of the event (it was held in Hall 5 this year, the largest of the NEC exhibition halls) while obviously a draw in certain respects, also has its downsides, chiefly the fact that you really can't hope to give as much attention to things as you'd like - unless I suppose you buy a two-day ticket. I was there for 4 or 5 hours but only really managed to pay fairly cursory attention to much of what was on offer. In retrospect, I always think it would have been nice to be able to linger a little longer at this layout or that demonstration or delve a little more deeply into what some of the traders had on offer.
Warley is obviously an 'all things to all men (and women)' sort of show, so the quality and appeal of the layouts and other exhibits, from my own point of view at least, is always going to be a bit variable. Call me narrow-minded (I fully accept it!), but I'll freely admit to merely a sideways glance at a fair few layouts and stands. However, a few layouts that did stand out for me were:
Askrigg Bank (4mm/00) - Absolutely stunning scenery, and what appeared to be a consistently high standard of modelling across the board. I wish I'd spent longer observing this one. The photos on the link don't really do it anything like the justice it deserves.
Worcester Road Diesel Depot (1:32) - A photo or two of this have recently appeared in MRJ. It's an amazingly realistic diorama (I suppose there is an unfair advantage of working to such a large scale though!) featuring the inside of a small diesel depot. It's a great idea for a small space, although I'm not sure it would work as well in 4mm given that the viewing 'window' would be pretty small although I have a feeling something like that (in 4mm) has been featured in MRJ in the past.
East Lodge (4mm/EM) - A really nice, well executed, GER layout (see photos at the end of this RMWeb post).
County Gate (009) - I've been impressed by the pictures on the website in the past, but it doesn't disappoint in real life! It's a large fictional representation of the Lynton & Barnstaple with some outstanding scenery.
I was looking forward to seeing Blea Moor, after the impressive photo feature in MRJ 194, but I have to confess I was somewhat disappointed when seeing it 'in the flesh'.
I'm sorry I don't have any photos to post but the lighting in the hall was pretty poor, unfortunately, and I couldn't seem to get the combination of flash, white balance and ISO right, so I gave up on trying to get any decent pictures pretty early on in the day. To be honest though, it's sometimes better just to enjoy the show without worrying about capturing it on camera!
I last attended Warley three years ago, and as I commented at the time, was a little undecided about the experience as a whole.
Today?
Well, for one thing I felt there were a lot more 'normal' people around - maybe that has something to do with the Sunday exhibition demographic, maybe I've just grown older...!
The size of the event (it was held in Hall 5 this year, the largest of the NEC exhibition halls) while obviously a draw in certain respects, also has its downsides, chiefly the fact that you really can't hope to give as much attention to things as you'd like - unless I suppose you buy a two-day ticket. I was there for 4 or 5 hours but only really managed to pay fairly cursory attention to much of what was on offer. In retrospect, I always think it would have been nice to be able to linger a little longer at this layout or that demonstration or delve a little more deeply into what some of the traders had on offer.
Warley is obviously an 'all things to all men (and women)' sort of show, so the quality and appeal of the layouts and other exhibits, from my own point of view at least, is always going to be a bit variable. Call me narrow-minded (I fully accept it!), but I'll freely admit to merely a sideways glance at a fair few layouts and stands. However, a few layouts that did stand out for me were:
Askrigg Bank (4mm/00) - Absolutely stunning scenery, and what appeared to be a consistently high standard of modelling across the board. I wish I'd spent longer observing this one. The photos on the link don't really do it anything like the justice it deserves.
Worcester Road Diesel Depot (1:32) - A photo or two of this have recently appeared in MRJ. It's an amazingly realistic diorama (I suppose there is an unfair advantage of working to such a large scale though!) featuring the inside of a small diesel depot. It's a great idea for a small space, although I'm not sure it would work as well in 4mm given that the viewing 'window' would be pretty small although I have a feeling something like that (in 4mm) has been featured in MRJ in the past.
East Lodge (4mm/EM) - A really nice, well executed, GER layout (see photos at the end of this RMWeb post).
County Gate (009) - I've been impressed by the pictures on the website in the past, but it doesn't disappoint in real life! It's a large fictional representation of the Lynton & Barnstaple with some outstanding scenery.
I was looking forward to seeing Blea Moor, after the impressive photo feature in MRJ 194, but I have to confess I was somewhat disappointed when seeing it 'in the flesh'.
I'm sorry I don't have any photos to post but the lighting in the hall was pretty poor, unfortunately, and I couldn't seem to get the combination of flash, white balance and ISO right, so I gave up on trying to get any decent pictures pretty early on in the day. To be honest though, it's sometimes better just to enjoy the show without worrying about capturing it on camera!
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Scenic inspiration from RMWeb
I've been registered on RMWeb for some time but haven't really got on there much in the past. This evening I 'popped in' and stumbled over some really inspiring stuff.
First up, I found this picture of Andy Jones' 00 layout 'Summerborne' which I have to say has some of the most realistic looking model grass I have ever seen:
(more photos from the same thread here).
Andy has a really good photographic 'how to' showing how he achieved this effect using a combination of hanging basket liner, Woodland Scenics foliage, and static grass here, which I shall certainly be trying myself.
I spent a fascinating hour reading through the entire thread (all 17 pages of it!) seeing how the layout has evolved to this stage from fairly humble beginnings a year or so back.
I also came across another layout thread, 'Sparky's EM gauge 'Penhydd'. I haven't read the full thread (18 pages) but looking at the earliest photos and comparing them with the most recent ones the transformation is again pretty dramatic. I love the effect he's acheived with the grass-grown trackwork here:
and here:
(See the rest of this post here and the full thread here.)
What really stands out for me, in the case of both these layouts, is that you don't have to get everything looking perfect immediately - in fact looking at the early photos of both layouts you might not think much would come of them, but with lots of work, general tweaking and incremental improvements over time, things can really come together to look the business. What's also evident is the way that, particularly with scenics, you can just keep adding to it, adjusting it, playing around with it until it looks right, much more so than is possible with other areas.
I shall be visiting RMWeb rather more frequently from now on I think!
First up, I found this picture of Andy Jones' 00 layout 'Summerborne' which I have to say has some of the most realistic looking model grass I have ever seen:
(more photos from the same thread here).
Andy has a really good photographic 'how to' showing how he achieved this effect using a combination of hanging basket liner, Woodland Scenics foliage, and static grass here, which I shall certainly be trying myself.
I spent a fascinating hour reading through the entire thread (all 17 pages of it!) seeing how the layout has evolved to this stage from fairly humble beginnings a year or so back.
I also came across another layout thread, 'Sparky's EM gauge 'Penhydd'. I haven't read the full thread (18 pages) but looking at the earliest photos and comparing them with the most recent ones the transformation is again pretty dramatic. I love the effect he's acheived with the grass-grown trackwork here:
and here:
(See the rest of this post here and the full thread here.)
What really stands out for me, in the case of both these layouts, is that you don't have to get everything looking perfect immediately - in fact looking at the early photos of both layouts you might not think much would come of them, but with lots of work, general tweaking and incremental improvements over time, things can really come together to look the business. What's also evident is the way that, particularly with scenics, you can just keep adding to it, adjusting it, playing around with it until it looks right, much more so than is possible with other areas.
I shall be visiting RMWeb rather more frequently from now on I think!
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Switch blades
I had quite a productive modelling session yesterday afternoon - at least by my current standards -getting the remaining four switch blades filed up and ready for installation.
Filing switch blades isn't a particularly difficult or even time consuming task, but does require a bit of care. By the time I got to the fourth blade it took me about 10 minutes to make. The process is nothing revolutionary, but for those who are unfamiliar with it, here's what's involved:
First the rail is cut to length, allowing for a small (0.5mm - 1mm) insulation gap at the heel and for the toe to be flush with the leading edge of the first slide-chaired timber. Depending on the curvature of the turnout, one switch blade will be marginally longer than the other, so it's important to remember which blade you are working on.
After cleaning up the rail ends with a file, the rail is clamped to the right hand edge of an offcut of veneered chipboard, leaving a couple of inches of rail free to work on and with the end of the rail flush to the front end of the board. Using a small flat needle file, a taper about 25mm in length is filed into the head of the rail only (taking great care to avoid the base of the rail). The taper should just cut into the web of the rail at the extreme end.
Then, using a small pair of pliers, a very slight bend is made in the rail at the end of the taper, so that the tapered edge lines up with the straight edge of the rail - a bit of eyeballing down the length of the rail is called for.
The rail is then turned over and clamped down again but with the protruding flare of the rail base slotted into the groove so it lies flat. A full-width taper is then filed into this side of the rail, the length determined by the angle of the turnout (for a standard 'C' turnout this equates to around 33mm - at least for the GWR type I model). The rail should taper to a fine point a the end, with just the base on one side protruding.
Finally, the end of the blade is rounded off slightly at the top, and cleaned up ready for installation.
Filing switch blades isn't a particularly difficult or even time consuming task, but does require a bit of care. By the time I got to the fourth blade it took me about 10 minutes to make. The process is nothing revolutionary, but for those who are unfamiliar with it, here's what's involved:
First the rail is cut to length, allowing for a small (0.5mm - 1mm) insulation gap at the heel and for the toe to be flush with the leading edge of the first slide-chaired timber. Depending on the curvature of the turnout, one switch blade will be marginally longer than the other, so it's important to remember which blade you are working on.
After cleaning up the rail ends with a file, the rail is clamped to the right hand edge of an offcut of veneered chipboard, leaving a couple of inches of rail free to work on and with the end of the rail flush to the front end of the board. Using a small flat needle file, a taper about 25mm in length is filed into the head of the rail only (taking great care to avoid the base of the rail). The taper should just cut into the web of the rail at the extreme end.
Then, using a small pair of pliers, a very slight bend is made in the rail at the end of the taper, so that the tapered edge lines up with the straight edge of the rail - a bit of eyeballing down the length of the rail is called for.
The rail is then turned over and clamped down again but with the protruding flare of the rail base slotted into the groove so it lies flat. A full-width taper is then filed into this side of the rail, the length determined by the angle of the turnout (for a standard 'C' turnout this equates to around 33mm - at least for the GWR type I model). The rail should taper to a fine point a the end, with just the base on one side protruding.
Finally, the end of the blade is rounded off slightly at the top, and cleaned up ready for installation.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
For those of you wondering where I've been for so long, I must apologise. On top of the ongoing demands of fatherhood, which has limited the amount of free time I have for active modelling over the past year already, I'm having a very busy and stressful time at work at the moment which leaves me quite honestly feeling like just collapsing in front of the TV most evenings!
The layout is still little more than a baseboard and some unfinished track. As an example of the rate of progress, I fixed down about a dozen chairs last night in the first piece of actual modelling for about 3 months! Unfortunately, even when I feel like doing some modelling, there isn't usually enough time to really get stuck in to anything.
While the actual modelling has been pretty stationery, I do still find time to dip into my ever expanding collection of railway books and magazines. A recent source of inspiration was Paul Clarke's 7mm Debenham featured in MRJ 112. A minimum-space 1950s depiction of a Mid-Suffolk Light Railway might-have-been, it is one of those layouts that manages to evoke a real sense of atmosphere and realism despite being small in size and simple in concept. The Martyn Welch influence is definitely in evidence.
As an aside, I do sometimes wonder if I'm really a 7mm modeller trapped inside a 4mm modeller's body - I think most of the models that really inspire me, with a few notable exceptions, are 7mm scale. Speaking of which, Iain Robinson, on his blog, had a piece about Chuck Doan, an American modeller working predominantly in the larger scales, that has produced some mind-blowingly realistic work - have a look at his site. Guaranteed inspiration!
The layout is still little more than a baseboard and some unfinished track. As an example of the rate of progress, I fixed down about a dozen chairs last night in the first piece of actual modelling for about 3 months! Unfortunately, even when I feel like doing some modelling, there isn't usually enough time to really get stuck in to anything.
While the actual modelling has been pretty stationery, I do still find time to dip into my ever expanding collection of railway books and magazines. A recent source of inspiration was Paul Clarke's 7mm Debenham featured in MRJ 112. A minimum-space 1950s depiction of a Mid-Suffolk Light Railway might-have-been, it is one of those layouts that manages to evoke a real sense of atmosphere and realism despite being small in size and simple in concept. The Martyn Welch influence is definitely in evidence.
As an aside, I do sometimes wonder if I'm really a 7mm modeller trapped inside a 4mm modeller's body - I think most of the models that really inspire me, with a few notable exceptions, are 7mm scale. Speaking of which, Iain Robinson, on his blog, had a piece about Chuck Doan, an American modeller working predominantly in the larger scales, that has produced some mind-blowingly realistic work - have a look at his site. Guaranteed inspiration!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Nice weathering!
Class 45xx 4567. Swindon (scrap). 26 April 1964
Originally uploaded by ricsrailpics
Nice example of the sort of run-down look I'll be aiming for with my 45xx (but with numberplates).
GWR Steam Locomotives on Flickr
I've set up a new Flickr group called "GWR Steam Locomotives" to collect together photos of, you guessed it, GWR steam locomotives! I thought this would come in useful as a resource, not only for myself, but other modellers (and of course anyone interested in the subject more generally).
There are currently somewhere in the region of 350 photos, ranging from old black & white photos from the 60s through to the present day and the preservation scene.
Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/groups/gwr-steam-locomotives/
You don't have to be signed up to Flickr or be a member of the group to view the photo pool (although you do need to have a Flickr account if you want to add photos, comments, or participate in discussions).
There are currently somewhere in the region of 350 photos, ranging from old black & white photos from the 60s through to the present day and the preservation scene.
Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/groups/gwr-steam-locomotives/
You don't have to be signed up to Flickr or be a member of the group to view the photo pool (although you do need to have a Flickr account if you want to add photos, comments, or participate in discussions).
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
More permanent way
Another 3 feet or so of trackwork have been completed between the weekend and this evening. The 45xx chassis has also gained brake blocks since I last posted and received its first coat of paint - or should that be grime? I'll post some pictures eventually, I promise! The Bachmann brake rigging is also being 'adjusted' to fit the wider chassis.
One thing I'm learning is that for me to actually make any progress at all, however slow, I need to plan ahead. Not just in terms of 'track needs finishing' etc. but breaking each job down into its smallest constituent parts and then tackling each of these one at a time as time permits. This way, even a spare half an hour is sufficient opportunity to complete a small task and is at least one small step towards completing a larger job. The more I am able to do this the more progress I think I will actually make as I will at least be doing something rather than just procrastinating, It's also more rewarding to work this way as each task, however small, once completed provides a sense of acheivement - which is important when on the face of it it's taken me longer than it takes some people to finish a whole layout just to get to the stage of a baseboard with a few feet of unfinished trackwork...!
One thing I'm learning is that for me to actually make any progress at all, however slow, I need to plan ahead. Not just in terms of 'track needs finishing' etc. but breaking each job down into its smallest constituent parts and then tackling each of these one at a time as time permits. This way, even a spare half an hour is sufficient opportunity to complete a small task and is at least one small step towards completing a larger job. The more I am able to do this the more progress I think I will actually make as I will at least be doing something rather than just procrastinating, It's also more rewarding to work this way as each task, however small, once completed provides a sense of acheivement - which is important when on the face of it it's taken me longer than it takes some people to finish a whole layout just to get to the stage of a baseboard with a few feet of unfinished trackwork...!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
New railway titles at The Works
I picked up some great bargains from 'The Works' a couple of weeks ago:
They've also got another old OPC re-release which I didn't buy but I'm tempted to - 'An Illustrated History of British Railways' Workshops' by Edgar Larkin, I think also priced at £8.99 (RRP £30).
As well as the 'Then and now' book for the GWR they've also got the LNER, Midland and Southern ones in stock. I'm not usually all that bothered by these sort of books but the GWR one at least is quite fascinating - many of the the old photos depicting stations across the BR(WR) mainly during the 50s and 60s are previously unpublished, and there is something rather intriguing about seeing how these locations look 40 or 50 years on.
- 'The Great Western at Swindon Works' Alan S.Peck. 278pp. Hardback. £8.99 (RRP £30)
- 'Around the Great Western Railway Then & Now' Laurence Walters. 256pp. Hardback. £8.99 (RRP £35)
- 'The Great Central from the Footplate' Robert Robotham & Frank Stratford. 112pp. Hardback £6.99 (RRP ??)
They've also got another old OPC re-release which I didn't buy but I'm tempted to - 'An Illustrated History of British Railways' Workshops' by Edgar Larkin, I think also priced at £8.99 (RRP £30).
As well as the 'Then and now' book for the GWR they've also got the LNER, Midland and Southern ones in stock. I'm not usually all that bothered by these sort of books but the GWR one at least is quite fascinating - many of the the old photos depicting stations across the BR(WR) mainly during the 50s and 60s are previously unpublished, and there is something rather intriguing about seeing how these locations look 40 or 50 years on.
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