Making a New Start

After a long planning, and re-planning, process work has at last started on the Cattewater & Southern layout (mk 2)  The picture shows what will eventually be the yard at Cattewater with some temporary track in place to check spur capacity and clearances. These prove to be rather tight in places, but the structures can be trimmed to suit their new sites.  
   
 
 
Also in view is "Rusty" the ex-Otto body swap locomotive. Apologies for the black bag in the background, but this a work-in-progress shot.

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Looks good Giles - what size of railway will it be ?
Are you building it in an attic ?
Is a Mining theme
thanks
Graham

Hi Graham,
 
Size will be about 15ft by 12ft, U-shaped. Operational plan: fiddle track (timber/mining settlement) - main depot (was previously riverboat landing) - junction - choice of fiddle tracks (farming town or std. gauge intechange)
 
Theme: common carrier with some timber and mine traffic.
 
Potted history: The line is supposed to have been built in 1892 as a feeder to the steamboat company operating on the river, but the arrival of standard gauge in the district early in the 20th century has resulted in most traffic now going to and from this new interchange. Period modelled is c.1941.

After a break away from home I've managed to get back to work on  the layout. The main scenic area baseboards are done and 95% of the track is down, using carpet felt as underlay. This does not seem to stop the points working, but I may put a slip of dark coloured paper below the tiebars, just to make sure they don't get obstucted. With the main baseboard finished there's now space underneath to put away all the household storage, so the room is a lot clearer. 
 
Worst job so far was getting the swinging baseboard that opens for access to a cupboard built, and then laying tracks across the join "on the skew".  Needless to say it comes in the middle of the main depot's yard, so the track gaps will need to be good enough to shunt over. I think today I've finally got it working properly.  Meanwhile I've been scraping all the rail ends on the pre-used track to ensure good fishplate contact, but still need to test track conductivity with a loco and controller with fly-leads - a job for Sunday, I suspect.
 
As soon as I've put up the backscene boards to mask off the unused space in the eaves I'll post more pictures - at present things are still not too photogenic.
 
 

That looks interesting Giles, be good if you have any more piccies

Bram
GSS GSC

In Leafy Warwickshire

Time rich, cash poor but enjoying life 'cos nobody leaves this world alive

Another very interesting topic here on GSC.
 
I have kept hold of some R1 curves and pojnts and keep thing over the idea of a small indoor line to keep me going when its to rough outside to play.
 
Jason.
 

Jason.

The Waterloo Creek Railroad Video Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/jisonga
 
My Partners Animal & Wildlife Video Channel - http://www.youtube.com/wildlifevideo

It's good to have plan B Jason, an indoor layout helps with the testing and the development of ideas

Bram
GSS GSC

In Leafy Warwickshire

Time rich, cash poor but enjoying life 'cos nobody leaves this world alive

I am hoping that now i have got a train shed it should free up some room in the garage to allow a small shunting layout to play with when rain stops play outside.
 
Jason.
 

Jason.

The Waterloo Creek Railroad Video Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/jisonga
 
My Partners Animal & Wildlife Video Channel - http://www.youtube.com/wildlifevideo

Bram
That looks interesting Giles, be good if you have any more piccies

   

Bram,  I'll take and post some more piccies soon, but at present I've just been track-laying and things don't look very interesting (read messy!).  However, here's a shot of where the line runs through Hogwood, just before it reaches the depot.

As soon as I've got the backboards fitted I'll get the camera out again - hopefully next week-end when I hope to get the fiddle yard baseboards built


One photo deleted as they are both the same - as per request by C&S = by Peter Bunce moderator  

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 After a few weeks of work, here's an update on the layout, starting with a view of the end of Cattewater yard and the buildings grouped round the depot

 
Next a view across the yard with some backscene images being tested

 
and a view of the loco shed corner  The main line can be seen immediately behind the brick shed.
 

 
The line then goes through what will be a rocky cutting and over a trestle bridge 
 
] ]
 
Coming into Hogwood it passes a mill and the general store, passing over a grade crossing to reach the depot where there is a water tank and small fuel platform.
 
 
Two views of Hogwood; the rear siding will be the location of a second mill, the freight house and a stock pen - all low relief models - more background images on test. 
 
 
 
Leaving town, the line passes a fuel dealership and reaches the junction where it splits into two staging tracks 
 

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Layout building has had to take a bit of a back seat the first half of this week. However over the past week-end a start was made on the design and timber cutting for the baseboard flap that will carry the wharf siding at Cattewater (if you look at the first picture in the sequence immediately above you'll see the turnout for this spur opposite the depot building). Hopefully this will all be in place by this time next week, ready for another picture.

This is coming together well Giles.Lots of interesting features.By the way got the extending track thank you.Very pleased with it.

wow wow...where did u get all these kits from? loves it.....low relief and kits....what lovely layout aslo loves tht usa ww2 willy jeep!!!!........u are doing good job..loves it..........

Jisonga


I am hoping that now i have got a train shed it should free up some room in the garage to allow a small shunting layout to play with when rain stops play outside.
 
Jason.
 

 
yes tht is good idea for it...same as me making ho layout in my bedroom doing layout on the wall going around across the wall.............good fun..when it rain or very cold outside......

 

steven large
 where did u get all these kits from? loves tht usa ww2 willy jeep

 
I couldn't possibly afford all those buildings if they were kits! Also they'd probably be too big, as the structures came from my small portable layout. I've really cheated with their scale, as apart from two  structures built from published plans, most things have been made slightly smaller than they should be. 
 
All the buildings pictured here are scratch-built with foamboard for the basic shape, overlaid with thin balsa or card strips for planking, or commercially produced brick sheets for the walls. Stonework is either a thin layer of plaster carved when dry, or else some old "miniature pebble" effect wallpaper from a roll I hoarded many years ago. Roofs are tiled in thin card or else with sheets of plastic corrugated iron.  Doors and windows are mostly plasic ones bought as spare parts, ex-kits.  Working indoors has the advantage of being able to build in cheaper materials; for instance the oil tanks are Pringles tubes, while the basis of the loco's water tank was another card cylindrical box that I think had held cheese-biscuits.
 
At present the general level of detailing is quite basic as all the buildings had to be packed separately when the old layout was moved. Now they can be fixed in place there's going to be some scope for adding details like rainwater guttering and downpipes and improved chimneys
 
Well spotted on the Willys jeep. Its a 1940s model and was bought in France, dressed up as a fire truck. All the flashing lights, spotlamps, ladder rack and hose reel were stripped off (the ladders were added to a Toytrain LGB caboose) and a coat of green paint added - look closely and you can still see some fire-engine red peeking out between the wheels. Strictly speaking it's 1:18 scale model, so a bit large, but a 1:22.5 driver fits into the driving seat just fine. You can also see a 1941 Ford saloon in one picture of Hogwood, and I have a small flatbed truck, which started life as a Coca-cola delivery lorry, to dress up the team track at Cattewater.

Today tried test running the first actual train, as opposed to a single engine, between Cattewater and Hogwood. The result was not quite as good as I'd hoped, as although it arrived OK there was a lot of wheel-spin on the final part of the trip. I hope this is down to the fact that the "trestle" is still unsupported track, and so settled a bit under the train's weight, making the last bit of the journey a bit steeper than it should be. The actual rise is about one and a half inches over about eight feet - call it about 1 in 55 - which would be no problem in one of the smaller scales. The train was an LGB Porter and three shortened bogie cars, and in service I'd hope to have a bobber caboose in the consist as well.
 
Obviously more testing is needed, once the sections are wired up and the trestle track is properly supported.
 
On a more positive note, the backscene images has been chosen and given to a friend to manipulate on his computer to blend the various elements from different shots together into a new continuous view. In exchange, I get to build him a boxcab diesel body in 0n30 scale.

Having temporarily blocked up the unsupported track with some cassette boxes I tried another train, and - success! Part of the problem before was that the rear bogie on the drover caboose in the train was derailing and causing extra drag on the "hill" section; I was too busy watching the loco slipping to notice, at first. Track join causing the problem now fettled and all is well. I've also bought the timber for the trestle bridge.
 
Have just heard that the new computerised scenic images are all done. I should be able to pick them up next week-end, so once they're installed that's a definite photo session.
 
Edit -   Back-scenes collected and laid in place temporarily; looking good. Will install properly next week and post pictures asap. Meanwhile wiring work and control panels advancing steadily.

At last, after a period of work too dull to photograph, here are some pictures of the new back-scenes. First up is a shot of the grade crossing in Hogwood before...............

 
.....and after the addition of the back-scene

 
A view of the outskirts of Hogwood behind the stock-pen. This was assembled from parts of four different images.

 
Further to the right of the last image - more rural sheds and barns

 
Finally, Hogwood control panel starting to take shape.

 
 

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The last couple of weeks have been a bit busy with not much model time. However the layout's wiring is all but finished with just the internal connections to make inside the Cattewater panel, and the track feeds have all been tested and proved OK. Also at Cattewater the fold-down wharf board with its two additional car spots has been added.  Pictures soon - tomorrow I have to finish some house stuff.

[size=3 font="times new roman"]Hi Giles, it is coming together well, at least you can make progress out of the weather in your loft. (The track & points arrived safely btw)
[size=3 font="times new roman"] 
[size=3 font="times new roman"]Peter

Looking really great - the backdrops add a new perspective (no pun intended!).

Mick

Mick - always learning something new (then forgetting it).

trammayo
  the backdrops add a new perspective (no pun intended!). Mick

 
Thanks, Mick.  The buildings look a bit wonky in the photos, but better in the flesh; still got to figure out the best way to use the images planned to back the yard at Cattewater.
 
Apart from that, all I've got to do now is get the foreground sorted out!  I've got some dental plaster which sets in about 6 minutes which I want to try out with my rubber rock moulds, to add a bit of drama to the cutting and the area where the trestle crosses Feline Gap (think that's what it will be called, unless I can come up with a better name), and having added a retaining fillet along the front of the baseboard I must order some ballast. 
 
Fingers crossed I can get some more work done after Thursday.
 
Peter - glad the track got to you safely. Having changed my layout design, I was amazed how many spare rails I had, particularly after I'd converted several surplus R1 curves to straights for use in sidings.

Have managed to get a little work done so far this week, the best of which is that the wiring's done and working OK.  Next job is to finish tacking the facia rail round the front edge of the baseboard.  Then the fun bit can start. The backscene at Cattewater is sorted out,  but before I can fix it in place I need to print out some more distant hills or tree-tops to go behind the buildings; only trouble is the printer's dying and picture quality is rubbish at present.
 
I'll try and take some more pictures tomorrow.

Those backscenes are the mutt's nuts, they look very good

Bram
GSS GSC

In Leafy Warwickshire

Time rich, cash poor but enjoying life 'cos nobody leaves this world alive

I see you are thinking of using dental plaster for the scenery, I have always found this and plaster of paris type materials set far too fast to allow them to be worked into shape.
     I prefer to use a finishing plaster from the local DIY store as this has a longer setting time which allows you to blend the various mixes together with a wet brush, fingers etc. For larger areas mix sawdust in with the plaster, this bulks it up, saves weight and gives a nice texture to the finished job. Choose the right grade of plaster and they are also a nice tan colour which prevents all those white spots showing in the months to come!

Many thanks, Bram.  Today I got some work done on the background fill-in behind the general store (seen in post #18), re-modelling some of the images with scissors and glue in the old-fashioned way. I'm almost tempted (but not quite enough) to let them be seen in full rather than glimpsed over the fully modelled structures. Also got as far as working out the townscape at Cattewater when I was called away to go out this evening. Think I've got everything I need to finish off this area, so will try again tomorrow!
 
Re: dental plaster, a quick trial recently showed just how fast this stuff sets - not too good for large areas of scenery, though I think adding vinegar to the mixture might slow it down. Unfortunately I seem to have lost the book that included this tip, so cannot confirm if it's vinegar that is the retardant.  I just thought when mixing small amounts to use in a set of moulds quick setting might be an advantage, as previously it took a long time for each casting to "go off" so a large area to be filled with rocks meant a long period of preparatory work.

At last the backscene is finished, and the other end of the layout can be photographed.
 
Here are some shots of down-town of Cattewater. The white polystyrene tiles form the landscape and bring the ground up to sleeper level, or provide the road surface for the grade crossing where the road enters the station yard. 
 

 
There will be a low relief sand-house to go in the gap in the fence, and the card engine house will be replaced later. 

This is the group of houses where the loco crews live, just behind the engine house on the edge of town.  Some instant landscaping was provided by re-using some of the rocks and rough ground bits from the old layout; just needs a bit of filler and a repaint.  You can also see one of the line's bumper posts, made up from some scrap strip-wood, and based on a design from a friend's 0n30 layout; better than the Peco version that I never thought looked American enough. 

........and this is the view behind the trestle bridge on the outskirts of Hogwood. 

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I've just realised that I've not posted a track plan on this thread. For speed I'll put up one that was drawn some time ago - the present reality is much the same, but there is now a turnout opposite the depot at Cattewater leading to a curved siding running onto a small peninsula baseboard opposite the Ice House. This serves a warehouse and a riverside wharf, though there is no longer space for the model ferry that formed part of the earlier layout plan.
 

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While I was out this morning the ballast arrived. My wife wasn't expecting this and was even more surprised when the driver told her "I've got the grit for your chickens" as we live in inner London.
 
Still, it provided an excuse for a couple of hours work on the track when I got home, the first job being to weather the sleepers of the new track sections and then to paint the brass sides of their rails.  With the ballast put down the areas where the basic scenic shape is finished is really beginning to look the part.  Not sure of free time tomorrow, but I should be able to take a picture on Friday. Then the next task will be to make some experimental rock castings.

Spent the day making a rocky cliff from plaster rock casts. Using dental plaster allowed me to make enough shapes for the job in about an hour; waiting for normal filler to go off would have taken a lot longer. 
    
 
The finished cliff does not show up well in its unpainted form, so here's a shot showing the cliff being tested for clearance before the castings were fixed in place.  You can also see some of the new ballast.

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Big day coming next Sunday when some of the operating team come round for the first time. Consequently I've been working hard any spare time that occurs.  First coat on the rocks - needs more work, plus the grade crossings and wharf timbers have had some attention. More pictures coming, probably next Monday.

Nice rocks!!

DAN PADOVA

DOGS HAVE FAMILIES, CATS HAVE STAFF

Spent Friday covering the last of the bare plywood areas with landscape and grass. Most of Saturday was clearing up and making everything neat and tidy for tomorrow's operating day. Finally unpacked the rolling stock and found that one large card box seems to have vanished - so that's one boxcar and all the mine hoppers missing. I was sure I'd seen it not that long ago, too.

Really sweet work. Really like the way you have used photos as the backdrop. and how you have successfully woven in the perspective.
I am in the process of investigating the making of a couple of backdrops made for me outside layout 'Beaver Creek'. One will be an 8ft by 6ft view of the Rockies to hang behind part of the township Arrowhead that will obscure the fence directly behind, the other will be of rocks and cliff face and go under an arbour behind the tracks at 'Arbour Summit'. They will be printed onto vinyl with anti fade inks and use very high resolution photographs.
Looking froward to seeing your layout complete...you have given me a thought or two about the attic...........

 
Mike on the BCRR Railroad - A little bit of the Rio Grande in north Essex
Videos are shown by courtesy of Tony, who took them whilst visiting.......
http://www.youtube.com/wa...b8&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/wa...r0&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/wa...gE&feature=channel 

quote=beavercreek] Looking froward to seeing your layout complete...
 
Hi Mike.
 
Still not complete, but here are some shots taken today at the first operating session, which we got through with only a little confusion - the cabooses kept turning up in the wrong places, while the lack of power on the wharf spur turned out to be due to an unsoldered connection in the control panel.  But all in all, quite a successful first run through the timetable. Still missing a boxcar and the mining hoppers, though, which is a real puzzle.  
 
First up is a shot of Hogwood where it must have been raining overnight judging by the grass that's grown everywhere recently - the stockman seems somewhat puzzled by it all. 
   
 
 Next is a view of Cattewater; the conductor seems anxious to depart, but the locomotive is still switching the yard. 
 

 
As there's no loop at the depot the crew have to use a chain to tow cars into the facing spurs, if no other loco is available
 
  
Finally ready to leave 

 
Number 7 switching at Hogwood. That cardboard building will shortly (I hope) be the local grist mill. 
 
 
 
Number 7 crosses the trestle, bound for Cattewater.

 
Wharfside activity at Cattewater. 
  
 

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 "Next is a view of Cattewater; the Conductor seems anxious to depart, but the locomotive is still switching the yard"/ "Finally ready to leave".
 
Just had another look at these pictures and saw the Conductor had got aboard the combine in the second one, while he was on the platform in the picture before. Only thing is, I don't remember putting him there myself; also he's got a peg under his foot, so shouldn't be able to stand anywhere without a corresponding hole to slot into.
 
Is something spooky going on......................????

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Looking very, very good. So much interest - good on the eye!

Mick

Mick - always learning something new (then forgetting it).

Sounds like your having fun
 
scenery is an area I enjoy too
 
Cattewater, is there one in US?
 
reading this brought back memories of Cattedown Wharves on cattewater, Plymouth, Coop coal wharfe, 
 
 wait in cab, windows closed till the dust settled, before trimming load & over weighbridge
 
& then deliver all over Devon & Cornwall
 
 

Don.
Stoneycombe & The Penrose Valley Railway in sunny Devon, England
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqXftHeRMUU
"Modelling is not so much an obsession but more of an Observation"

Nice work, that is looking very good, what moulds are you using for the rocks please?