ScR steam in the 50's

I'm still trying to catch up on happenings on here Richard and my word, what a lot I've missed in the Far North.  Sorry to hear you've had a bit of a tough summer and hope you can soon rekindle your railway modelling interests.

I love the detail you put into your shots - many of them could be photos of the real thing.  Oh and by the way, I do like that Black Five. :thumbs:thumbs

The photo of the village in that link is absolutely stunning.  Whilst I caertainly don't envy you your winters, your summer scenery goes a long way to redressing the balance.

When you experiment with the light, where are you doing it all ?  Does your train room have large windows or is it all in a conservatory or something.  The changes in natural light make a huge difference to what you post - unless it's all done by magic …………..:hmm

I'd tend to agree with what's been said about the sky shots although local conditions can often create some very strange looking skies.  I'm a "sun is shining" guy myself so prefer the brighter skies and that kind of lighting sure brings the layout to life.  Had you been modelling an urban sprawl, it would be different but up there where the air is clear and clean ……………………;-)

As Phil said. don't leave it 10 years ……..:cheers

Ben, can you remember where you bought the lamp posts, or are they scratched?

 

Phil

The lighting in the (attic) room is a Velux, and most of the shots are taken in daylight- an overcast sky is best, which can give shadows and contrast in photographs. If it doesn't work I just delete them and try another time…..

For the mo. the original backscene is back in place, but I have an overcast sky from the printers and a Hills and Dales as on the layout, and sometime I will combine the two, which should  give me a bit more sky and retain the current look of the place. Another job for later on…

The lamposts are copies of those at Thurso and elsewhere, put in by the LMS during their war time upgrades, and are based on telegraph poles and Ratio lamps,with brass fittings, and have come out quite well- easy enough to do with a template and Zap a Gap!

A quick New Years post- nothing much to report, but some more scenic additions, which will be all for the foreseeable future, I'm afraid,…








The approach to Thurso was heavily overgrown, even in steam days, and is tamely represented here…..

Ben, what you have given us is railway modelling at its best.  Long may it continue.:thumbs

Terry

Ben that scene of the banking has got to be amongst the best, scenic modelling of a very high standard!

For some reason I haven't picked up on your recent updates but when your thread popped up on the 'Recent' Topics' section this morning I couldn't ignore it. Consequently I've just spent a very enjoyable couple of hours re-reading 'The Far North Line' from start to finish and it has reminded me of just how much I have to do on my own layout. 

Your excellent backscenes and the way the layout is blended into them are only the start of it and it's the host of details which combine to make the scenes so realistic. The thought of modelling all the point rodding in N Gauge is one that fills me with trepidation but, having seen the difference it makes, I'm going to have to give it a go. I'm also mightily impressed with your expanded loco fleet and the detailing you've done to them has, again, made me aware of just how much I have to do.

To cap it all, the whole layout is so beautifully captured by some superb photography and must surely be an inspiration to both newcomers to the hobby and even to more experienced modellers who are looking to take their layout up to the next level.  

A Happy New Year to you Ben and keep up the excellent work.

Great shots as ever Richard. Inspiring for us all and one of my star "reference layouts". :thumbs:thumbs

From your latest post, it seems you've a few "things" to get sorted - I do hope all goes well and that we'll soon see you bouncing back on here. :cheers:cheers:cheers

Thanks all,- appreciated, I can assure you. Here are two more I had taken when adding scenery-  I find doing this helps a lot rather than relying totally on the eye- the camera finds faults instantly! ( The squint shed lampost, for example :oops: )Once I am back in the swing of things I'll no doubt have more to show…..




The shed yard at Thurso.




And a view of the approach to Helmsdale.

Ben,

Wonderful work as always.

While maybe not as overgrown as the prototype your vegetation is very convincing.

I think there is a balance to be struck between modelling the vegetation sufficiently to represent the prototypes enthusiasm for growing over everything, everywhere (certainly the case in West Wales) and  making sure enough of the railway can be seen through the trees.

I'm not sure where that balance is yet. I've seen both extremes on layout, usually less than real life, and will be experimenting as time goes by.

Then, of course, one gets tired of making trees and there never seems to be enough.

Cheers

Marty

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

Ben, can you remember where you bought the lamp posts, or are they scratched?

 

Phil

When adding the extra vegetation at Thurso recently, I removed a couple of the yard lamps for safe keeping, tucked them away and promptly mislaid them , so I have done replacements, as seen here.They are based on Ratio telegraph poles and swan necked lamps-



The poles are stripped down and brass brackets folded up and put into drilled holes in the post.



The shades, and later, the bulbs are superglued on- I drilled a hole through the shade.



Primed and r eady for painting- several drags of colour to try and look like a faded wood that hasn't seen creosote for a long while.



A finished one in position- an earlier one, but it has had a cattle dock added for it to look after- this is something I have done recently- found a photo with enough detail to add this, which I never got round to on the original build.



I also have retired another pre grouping van to PW duties- Helmsdale had a couple of these here, not as mine but these are close enough for me.



And lastly, a view of the approaches with the cattle dock in place- that's about all I've done recently, but I'll post again whenever there is anything new.

It's all looking fantastic, Richard.  :thumbs

Like what you've done with the lampposts Ben. The way you have blended everything in on your layout is brilliant!
 

For me, most people can, with a little patience and borrowed ideas from other modellers, do the "mechanical" bits - converting telegraph poles to lamps is just one such great idea that I'd guess most of us could do.

What, IMHO, sets any layout apart from the rest is the "art".  The ability to visualise the finished scene, replicate that vision, "dress" it with the right amount of vegetation, buioldings and trackwork and, above all, paint it all so it doesn't look as if it's been dipped in a pot of primary coloured emulsion paint.

You excel in that "art"  Richard. :thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

For me, most people can, with a little patience and borrowed ideas from other modellers, do the "mechanical" bits - converting telegraph poles to lamps is just one such great idea that I'd guess most of us could do.

What, IMHO, sets any layout apart from the rest is the "art".  The ability to visualise the finished scene, replicate that vision, "dress" it with the right amount of vegetation, buioldings and trackwork and, above all, paint it all so it doesn't look as if it's been dipped in a pot of primary coloured emulsion paint.

You excel in that "art"  Richard. :thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

Well put.

Like a sailing maxim for best practice  i.e.  'All parts bearing equal strain..' so the Far North Line has nothing that strains to distract ones eye from the whole scene. Railway modelling eye-candy for the aficionado.

Doug

Thanks for the kind words :oops: One fine piece of advice I picked up along the way was from Chris Nevard, who advocates building layouts from the backscene forward, which is how this one developed to where it is, and probably explains the lack of success of the trials of different shades of the same last year…

A couple more shots of recent activity- a coal hut was added to the facilities at Helmsdale, following examination of an online image- it's probably a bit fancy for such a humble piece of work, but ties in with the other PW buildings around it….





A view of the goods siding showing the grounded vans- these were a staple of many stations around here- no doubt partly a response to the weather conditions- it also shows the one remaining Peco buffer stop that I didn't bother replacing with HR or LMS designs because I reasoned it would never really be visible….









And a couple of the shed yard on a sunny afternoon, wit an 0-6-0 between  duties and the coalman seconded to tidying up some of the ashpiles…

Very nice indeed Richard. :thumbs:thumbs

What did you use for the corrugated iron roof on the coal office ?  It looks really good.  The shot of the guy cleaning up the ash is a stunner.  What is he and did he arrive in that pose or have you done some surgery ?  What a difference a bit of sunshine makes - shadows and rolled up sleeves…………….makes me want to get out in the open air. :thumbs

All those shots could easily be the real thing - I do like the long shot with the vans parked in the station.

This isn't a model railway….Its the real thing in miniature !   Just a lovely, stunning piece of work

Thank you for sharing


Matt

Thanks both- as I have said before, model the prototype and copy what was there.It did it better!

The corrugated roof was a scrap piece lying around- no idea whose- given a base coat and a couple of washes to tone things down. The guy is an Airfix track worker- still made by Dapol, IIR, straight out the box- he should really have been weathered as well! It must be the start of his shift in that condition….

The vans are a cattle train- part of an operating session recently- I have a shot of this I'll add up.

 Beautifully done Richard…..as usual.

:cheers Gormo