It's a warm, sunny August evening in an unspoilt rural corner of south-west England about 50 years ago, on one of one of those endless hot summer days everyone remembers from their childhood. Though the fields are parched from lack of rain the hedgerows are still a riot of colour, wild flowers jostling for room with brambles and longer grass. In the dappled shade of an old elm tree a family of rabbits play, undisturbed. Overhead, high above the treetops, a lark sings in the clear blue sky and from somewhere along the lane the plaintive song of a blackbird drifts on a gentle breeze.
Add to this tranquil scene a small, sleepy railway terminus, all but devoid of human presence or activity, except for some faint snatches of tuneless whistling emanting from the open door of the booking office. Picture the neat platform, complete with painted name board, benches and well-tended flower beds. The inevitability of closure, only a few years away in reality, somehow seems impossible - the railway feels like it has always been here and always will, as timeless as the landscape itself.
Suddenly the peace is shattered by the shrill sound of a bell ringing in the signal box, followed by the clatter of levers; then shortly afterwards a distant whistle echoes down the line. A porter and a couple of passengers - locals probably, travelling home to the next village after a day's work - emerge expectantly from the waiting room.
Moments later the sound of the approaching train can be heard, it's rhythmic exhaust beats echoing across the fields and lanes, mingling for a few moments with the chimes of a church clock in the village nearby. Closer, louder now, then a plume of smoke rising above the trees, and finally, rounding a curve the train comes into view - a work-worn tank engine with a couple of elderly maroon coaches.
As the train approaches the platform, the driver shuts off the regulator and the engine hisses, and clanks it's way past the entrance to the small goods yard, past the starter signal, and into the platform, coming to a halt some yards from the bufferstops. Doors open and a handful of passengers alight while a few crates and trunks are unloaded from the guards compartment.
...and so I could go on! But for now that's just a glimpse of the sort of scene I want to try and recreate in model form on this layout.
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Monday, 23 July 2007
The question of location (continued)
An interesting point came up in a recent piece of correspondence with Chris Baker... the idea of superimposing a fictional geography onto an existing region, thus making the whole question of location a lot simpler. Chris has done this with 'Much Meddling', choosing an area south-west of Gloucester in the Forest of Dean and then simply making up a route and the various places around and along it, without too much concern as to whether it fits into the actual geography of the area and existing/historical rail network, beyond the main routes and larger centres of population at least. I like the idea of this a lot, as it provides much greater scope for the imagination and creative freedom (although the other side of the coin of course is that you have to work harder to establish a convincingly coherent scenario with building styles, landscape etc., but I think that's a price I'm happy to pay).
I suppose at the end of the day there are no rules here. It's whatever works for you. Horses for courses. If you can't abide the idea of modelling anything short of a precise actual location in all its prototype details, then good for you. If you're happy to create a total fiction based on nothing like any prototype that ever existed then go for it! Personally I fit somewhere in between the two extremes. If I could find an actual location that met all the criteria for a perfect layout in the available space then I might be prepared to follow that route. But as it is I haven't, so I'll let the creative juices get to work!
I suppose at the end of the day there are no rules here. It's whatever works for you. Horses for courses. If you can't abide the idea of modelling anything short of a precise actual location in all its prototype details, then good for you. If you're happy to create a total fiction based on nothing like any prototype that ever existed then go for it! Personally I fit somewhere in between the two extremes. If I could find an actual location that met all the criteria for a perfect layout in the available space then I might be prepared to follow that route. But as it is I haven't, so I'll let the creative juices get to work!
00-SF
In the process of preparing to start track building I went back to Ian Rice's "An Approach to Finescale Track" for a bit of a refresher course. In the process of mulling over the various critical gauges and dimensions required, I found myself searching around the various forums etc. on the web for some more advice, and stumbled across a thread discussing 00-SF (otherwise known as 'EM minus 2' apparently).
I have to confess that until now I'd not really pinned down an exact set of standards to use, beyond the vague notion of '00 finescale' and had shied away from further investigation in the slightly foolish hope that I might be able to get everything to work purely by a process of trial and error (for which you might like to read 'wing and a prayer'!). So I was immediately grabbed by the proposition that here is a set of track standards that allow one to run R-T-R locos and stock (at least of the more modern varieties, which is all I will be using anyway) without any re-wheeling or re-gauging (again, something I have no desire to get into at the moment), on hand-built track that has considerably improved appearance and running quality over 'standard' 00.
Without getting too technical, this is achieved by using a minimum track gauge of 16.2mm (EM minus 2mm) with crossing flangeway gaps of 1mm. For more information, see the 00-SF Yahoo group. At first it may seem perverse to further reduce the gauge of what is already under-gauge track, in the pursuit of enhanced realism, but actually when you understand it it makes a lot of sense. Actually, the 0.3mm reduction in gauge is only a 1.8% reduction, so not really noticeable to the naked eye, but the real difference is in the 1mm flangeways, a 20% reduction which makes a noticeable visible improvement and apparently leads to much smoother running through turnouts.
This all seems to fit the bill quite nicely for what I'm looking to achieve, so I've made some enquiries on the 00-SF group about getting hold of some gauges so I can start building to this gauge. I've also re-jigged my Templot plan using the new gauge specification as for some reason I had it set to the BRMSB standard before (although, having already printed out the track plan and started cutting and sticking it into the various sections required for construction, I need to check whether its worth reprinting it or not - I may be able to get away with the BRMSB version and simply rely on the track gauges to achieve the correct measurements, as at first glance the actual flow and radii of the track etc. appears largely unaltered with the new settings).
I have to confess that until now I'd not really pinned down an exact set of standards to use, beyond the vague notion of '00 finescale' and had shied away from further investigation in the slightly foolish hope that I might be able to get everything to work purely by a process of trial and error (for which you might like to read 'wing and a prayer'!). So I was immediately grabbed by the proposition that here is a set of track standards that allow one to run R-T-R locos and stock (at least of the more modern varieties, which is all I will be using anyway) without any re-wheeling or re-gauging (again, something I have no desire to get into at the moment), on hand-built track that has considerably improved appearance and running quality over 'standard' 00.
Without getting too technical, this is achieved by using a minimum track gauge of 16.2mm (EM minus 2mm) with crossing flangeway gaps of 1mm. For more information, see the 00-SF Yahoo group. At first it may seem perverse to further reduce the gauge of what is already under-gauge track, in the pursuit of enhanced realism, but actually when you understand it it makes a lot of sense. Actually, the 0.3mm reduction in gauge is only a 1.8% reduction, so not really noticeable to the naked eye, but the real difference is in the 1mm flangeways, a 20% reduction which makes a noticeable visible improvement and apparently leads to much smoother running through turnouts.
This all seems to fit the bill quite nicely for what I'm looking to achieve, so I've made some enquiries on the 00-SF group about getting hold of some gauges so I can start building to this gauge. I've also re-jigged my Templot plan using the new gauge specification as for some reason I had it set to the BRMSB standard before (although, having already printed out the track plan and started cutting and sticking it into the various sections required for construction, I need to check whether its worth reprinting it or not - I may be able to get away with the BRMSB version and simply rely on the track gauges to achieve the correct measurements, as at first glance the actual flow and radii of the track etc. appears largely unaltered with the new settings).
Sunday, 22 July 2007
If you're visiting this site for the first time, allow me to welcome you and introduce myself. My name's Matt and I've been writing this blog for the past 18 months or so, primarily to document the process of planning and constructing a model railway.
As you will soon discover, I'm not one of these people who can rustle up a complete layout in a couple of months! In fact, I haven't even laid any track yet, and (while the track plan is firmed up and the baseboards built) the prototype location is still up for grabs!! Although a lot of this is down to the fact that I like to 'dip in and out' of my hobby as and when I feel like it, I have discovered that much of the enjoyment of this hobby of ours is in the planning and research itself.
Part of the reason I started this blog was because I felt there was a big 'knowledge gap' between those who have been modelling for some time and those, like me 18 months ago, who were quite new to the hobby (at least the more 'serious' side of it anyway), and I thought it might be of use to others in a similar situation to be able to read 'first-hand' the trials and tribulations of someone else on a similar journey, warts and all.
The result, then, is more a collection of sometimes related, sometimes wildly unrelated, ramblings, but which hopefully, over the course of time, will tell a reasonably coherent story of the design and construction of a model railway, with all the bits in between that so often get missed out in those magazine articles and the like that make it all sound a lot more straightforward than it actually is!
As you will soon discover, I'm not one of these people who can rustle up a complete layout in a couple of months! In fact, I haven't even laid any track yet, and (while the track plan is firmed up and the baseboards built) the prototype location is still up for grabs!! Although a lot of this is down to the fact that I like to 'dip in and out' of my hobby as and when I feel like it, I have discovered that much of the enjoyment of this hobby of ours is in the planning and research itself.
Part of the reason I started this blog was because I felt there was a big 'knowledge gap' between those who have been modelling for some time and those, like me 18 months ago, who were quite new to the hobby (at least the more 'serious' side of it anyway), and I thought it might be of use to others in a similar situation to be able to read 'first-hand' the trials and tribulations of someone else on a similar journey, warts and all.
The result, then, is more a collection of sometimes related, sometimes wildly unrelated, ramblings, but which hopefully, over the course of time, will tell a reasonably coherent story of the design and construction of a model railway, with all the bits in between that so often get missed out in those magazine articles and the like that make it all sound a lot more straightforward than it actually is!
Monday, 16 July 2007
The question of location
There's still one pretty fundamental aspect of the layout that remains undecided and which needs to be resolved rather quickly. In fact, until it's been decided I can't even start on the trackwork....
It's just the small matter of location!
I can't seem to come to a final decision about where exactly I want to model. There are several prototype scenarios that appeal, most of which I've already written about at one time or another.
Although the exact location of the model is going to be fictional, I still need to have a fairly good idea of location - and region. My first allegiance has always been to the WR. However, the SR also appeals, and to a lesser extent the LMR. The obvious conclusion of this would be the S&D with it's joint railway status seeing locomotives and rolling stock from all three of these regions. However, the thing that slightly puts me off is the difficulty in coming up with a convincing enough scenario for a branch terminus without blatantly copying Chris Nevard's 'Combwich'! Maybe I'm not being imaginative enough but I'm just not sure.
I've already toyed with the idea of basing a layout on Llanfyllin in mid-Wales, but this layout is just too small to get away with a convincing interpretation, even acounting for modellers license.
Then there's the Bude line, and the Southern branches around Hampshire and Dorset...
Even if I don't quite pin it down exactly yet, I really do need to decide whether or not the line is in ex-GWR territory as this will determine the type of chairs used on the track. But I'm not even really sure about this!
HELP!!!!
It's just the small matter of location!
I can't seem to come to a final decision about where exactly I want to model. There are several prototype scenarios that appeal, most of which I've already written about at one time or another.
Although the exact location of the model is going to be fictional, I still need to have a fairly good idea of location - and region. My first allegiance has always been to the WR. However, the SR also appeals, and to a lesser extent the LMR. The obvious conclusion of this would be the S&D with it's joint railway status seeing locomotives and rolling stock from all three of these regions. However, the thing that slightly puts me off is the difficulty in coming up with a convincing enough scenario for a branch terminus without blatantly copying Chris Nevard's 'Combwich'! Maybe I'm not being imaginative enough but I'm just not sure.
I've already toyed with the idea of basing a layout on Llanfyllin in mid-Wales, but this layout is just too small to get away with a convincing interpretation, even acounting for modellers license.
Then there's the Bude line, and the Southern branches around Hampshire and Dorset...
Even if I don't quite pin it down exactly yet, I really do need to decide whether or not the line is in ex-GWR territory as this will determine the type of chairs used on the track. But I'm not even really sure about this!
HELP!!!!
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Baseboards
...again!
Decided to bring the baseboards in out of the garage this week so I can make a proper start on the layout, having figured that the additional woodwork (addition of backdrop, fascia, proscenium arch etc.) can be carried out at a later date without requiring too much serious manhandling.
I really need to make some sort of portable stand(s) so I can work on it at a comfortable height - I just need to make a trip to B&Q. The plan is for 3 or 4 hinged A-frame free-standing supports on which the layout will simply rest, possibly with some sort of makeshift effort to prevent it getting knocked off if needs be!!! All a bit Heath Robinson-ish I know, but if it works...! Ideal viewing height for me is probably around 4'6"-5' but I may need to make a bit of a concession to make working on the layout more practical. Anyway, for now the basebaords are sitting on the floor in the spare room!
I've covered most of the surface with 1/8" cork sheet to help absorb running noise and also provide a slightly raised sub-surface into which the buildings can be set.
During the process it became obvious that the surfaces of the two boards weren't actually lining up quite as accurately as I'd thought, partly due to some minor warping of the ply (which worried me a little - hopefully bringing them in out of the garage should prevent this worsening) but mainly due to the horizontal placement of the alignment dowels being slightly off. Rather than try to realign the dowels (it was enough hassle just getting them lined up with each other, let alone trying to get the surfaces level as well!!) I decided the simplest option would just be to build up the surface of one of the boards where it was a couple of millimetres lower than the other, using layers of paper roughly torn to shape and glued down one on top of the other. I know it's a bit of a bodge but it seems to have done the trick OK and having laid a few lengths of track over the join to check it, it seems to be quite adequate.
Next job then is to make a start on the trackwork. I've printed out two full-size Templot track plans. One of these will be glued to the baseboard surface as a guide, the other will be cut into sections and used to build the track in manageable chunks away from the layout, which will then be pieced together on the layout using the guide trackplan to line it all up. That's the idea anyway! As with everything on this layout, it's going to be a case of trial and error.
Decided to bring the baseboards in out of the garage this week so I can make a proper start on the layout, having figured that the additional woodwork (addition of backdrop, fascia, proscenium arch etc.) can be carried out at a later date without requiring too much serious manhandling.
I really need to make some sort of portable stand(s) so I can work on it at a comfortable height - I just need to make a trip to B&Q. The plan is for 3 or 4 hinged A-frame free-standing supports on which the layout will simply rest, possibly with some sort of makeshift effort to prevent it getting knocked off if needs be!!! All a bit Heath Robinson-ish I know, but if it works...! Ideal viewing height for me is probably around 4'6"-5' but I may need to make a bit of a concession to make working on the layout more practical. Anyway, for now the basebaords are sitting on the floor in the spare room!
I've covered most of the surface with 1/8" cork sheet to help absorb running noise and also provide a slightly raised sub-surface into which the buildings can be set.
During the process it became obvious that the surfaces of the two boards weren't actually lining up quite as accurately as I'd thought, partly due to some minor warping of the ply (which worried me a little - hopefully bringing them in out of the garage should prevent this worsening) but mainly due to the horizontal placement of the alignment dowels being slightly off. Rather than try to realign the dowels (it was enough hassle just getting them lined up with each other, let alone trying to get the surfaces level as well!!) I decided the simplest option would just be to build up the surface of one of the boards where it was a couple of millimetres lower than the other, using layers of paper roughly torn to shape and glued down one on top of the other. I know it's a bit of a bodge but it seems to have done the trick OK and having laid a few lengths of track over the join to check it, it seems to be quite adequate.
Next job then is to make a start on the trackwork. I've printed out two full-size Templot track plans. One of these will be glued to the baseboard surface as a guide, the other will be cut into sections and used to build the track in manageable chunks away from the layout, which will then be pieced together on the layout using the guide trackplan to line it all up. That's the idea anyway! As with everything on this layout, it's going to be a case of trial and error.
Friday, 13 July 2007
Goods yard office
Finally got round to putting the finishing touches to the goods yard office which I must have started about 6 months ago... suffice it say that I haven't by any means been working on it for all that time! It's been a case of little and not-very-often I'm afraid!
Well, here are some photos, so you can judge for yourself whether it was worth the wait!
The window frames are made with Evergreen styrene strip with clear plastic sheet for the glazing. The rows of tiles are made from strips of paper with the individual tiles cut into their lower edge, then stuck down with the bottom row first, and each successive row overlapping the previous. (I printed the outlines for the tiling strips on the computer.) The ridge leading was formed from a strip of paper folded over a piece of styrene strip. The leading around the chimney stack is also paper cut and folded to shape then glued into place. The chimney and guttering are Wills, and the downpipes (which I'm especially proud of!) are scratch-built from plasticard.
I'm pretty happy with the end results, although being the perfectionsist that I am, I know there's still room for improvement, in particular the paint finish on the brickwork and the overall crispness of the detail. In hindsight I also wish I'd taken the time to add some interior detailing, even if only for my personal satisfaction (although if I was really bothered I suppose I could try to manouevre a few pieces of furniture through the door!!)
I might still add a few more external details - perhaps a lamp over the door, a sign/noticeboard on the wall. Maybe a little moss on the roof or around a leaky section of guttering etc. But basically, that's it, ready for installation on the layout.
Well, here are some photos, so you can judge for yourself whether it was worth the wait!
The window frames are made with Evergreen styrene strip with clear plastic sheet for the glazing. The rows of tiles are made from strips of paper with the individual tiles cut into their lower edge, then stuck down with the bottom row first, and each successive row overlapping the previous. (I printed the outlines for the tiling strips on the computer.) The ridge leading was formed from a strip of paper folded over a piece of styrene strip. The leading around the chimney stack is also paper cut and folded to shape then glued into place. The chimney and guttering are Wills, and the downpipes (which I'm especially proud of!) are scratch-built from plasticard.
I'm pretty happy with the end results, although being the perfectionsist that I am, I know there's still room for improvement, in particular the paint finish on the brickwork and the overall crispness of the detail. In hindsight I also wish I'd taken the time to add some interior detailing, even if only for my personal satisfaction (although if I was really bothered I suppose I could try to manouevre a few pieces of furniture through the door!!)
I might still add a few more external details - perhaps a lamp over the door, a sign/noticeboard on the wall. Maybe a little moss on the roof or around a leaky section of guttering etc. But basically, that's it, ready for installation on the layout.
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