A layout in progress, slow progress...

Hi Michael

I have never used a static grass machine - mainly because they are hazardous to some electronic gizmos associated with Railroad&Co.  My friend Hutch destroyed several such devices that way.

I simply apply the PVA to the ground, press a few pinches of grass on top and then use a vacuum cleaner to suck it up into its erectile state, (at the same time collecting the excess).

I use a 12 Volt car vac running from my battery charger.  I keep the car vac clean, just for scenery; emptying the reclaimed grass threads, back into the container.  (Or ballast, in the case of my "special" treatment of turnouts).  But that's another story.

Cheers

I've not tried it but a balloon rubbed on your jumper is supposed to work in the same way it makes your hair stand on end

Apologies everyone once again for the delay in responding…. I’ve been getting some more ‘fresh air’….but after three days hard graft in the garden clearing up all the thinned saplings on the bank which were rapidly becoming serious trees, time for a break.

On to the lichen – Dave, yes, it is not the most robust of materials, but I reckon it is worth the effort. I’ve found at least five distinctish varieties in the woods here…



At the back is the most common type, which by the time it reaches this size it is probably not that useful – although back in the day I seem to recall seeing packs of dyed examples of this type being sold as bushes. Front left is, I think, a similar type but much smaller ‘leaves’ – possibly a younger example, front right is the most rare around here, and my choice for hedges, the middle two are ideal for bushes. All of these are in their natural state, some have been parked on the layout longer than others and some have bleached more than others.

Barry, not heard that before – but there’s plenty of stuff I’ve not heard about, there again we’re in very rural mid Wales, so I doubt if any bacteria would survive in all this fresh air. They say that lichen only grows in clean air…. whatever that means.

Michael, many thanks for the suggestions, using a vacuum cleaner to pull the grass straight is an idea, but I can see me just ending up with a vacuum cleaner full of static grass…. the hairdryer seems to be the safer (for me) option. I’ll experiment with that.

Max, as you will have read, being it would seem a devout Luddite these days, I don’t have any electronic gizmos to worry about; and Barry, I can understand the balloon idea and it should work.

Anyway, in the odd hour I’ve had in the loft I’ve had a go with the rubberised horsehair. I’d ordered some hedging kits from WWS. Must admit the strip of horsehair was much bigger than I expected, so I may have rather more than I need. Anyway for a test I cut a 6” strip in half, noticed that the centre of the strip was touch less dense – so I’ve used that edge for the base of the hedge. That should give a more realistic mature hedge look, as usually hedges have quite noticeable gaps at ground level, I also took off the ‘corners’ from the top edges to give it a less uniform look…



and sprayed it dark brown, when dry I sprayed some adhesive and sprinkled some woodland floor mix over it, to give it a more natural look – the woodland floor mix is probably to use on the ground under the hedge, but I thought I’d try it on the hedge itself.



…. and finally, more adhesive and some light green/dark green leaves. I’ve tried to create the type of standard hedge, with some obvious thinner parts, which has been trimmed in the not too distant past. Here it is, not in the final position, but for now in my sole scenic area…..





 
So, not too bad for a first attempt, when I get some proper time in the loft, I’d estimate August the way things are going just now, I will make a better job of it…. there’s also the small matter of getting trains running too…. which is most important!

Keith

Keith

I finally got round to taking a couple of photos of my rubberised "hedge" and the lichen found last week. It's since mostly been carefully taken off the wood - some of the pieces would seem to be more useful than a few of the larger pieces, though I think the large clump may cut down somewhat.

I think your hedge looks the part and fits in nicely. Looking forward to spotting where the lichen appears.



Here's my 'attempt' at the rubberised hedge just outside the John Street terminus - no paint was used in the making of the example! Just a sprinkling of Gaugemaster leaves and a bit of Woodland Scenics Dark Green Underbrush and some WS Light Green Foliage.

And the picked bunches of lichen (below), as yet untreated in any form - I found the Terrian Tutor you pointed me to - thanks - useful information. Now I have an idea of what I need to be looking at doing with it.



Probably the two lower central pieces will be first to be looked at and maybe a couple more pieces when they get taken off the twig. I'm certainly going to be keeping my eyes open a bit more for some more of the stuff.

  In the meantime, it's back to the usual run-of-the-mill everyday life; hopefully, I'll soon be able to get some more time in the "train room" to progress things further. I hate starting something and then having to break away and forgetting where I was at and what my train of thought was when I find another snippet of time to get back in there.

Such is life I guess! Cheers for now.
Dave

 

Dave

These hedges look great!

Barry

S’mae Dave / Barry

  More time in the garden… mutter, mutter…. run-of- the-mill indeed – just a bit worried about ever cashing in all these brownie points before they become worthless…. Glad you like the hedge, not quite your standards yet, but there’s hope for the future. Yes, Dave, I too spend many an hour in the loft trying to recall my most recent 'siding' of thought, never organised enough to get to the train stage!

  That’s a decent collection of lichen, some of those examples must be earmarked as ‘bush’ material – I’ll probably have a go at a couple of the examples in my last post – as soon as I can get back in the loft for more than the odd ten minutes – glad to see I’m not the only one being dragged away from their railway. I would also like to progress the timetable if possible – at least that can be done in short sessions, and is relatively easy to pick up after a short break.

  Just an example of why I bang on about running to the actual timetable, the recent pics of Woodside station showed it with all five platforms in use – this I took a not long after now shows Woodside station, less than twenty odd minutes later, deserted save for the same motley collection of passengers and the recent arrival of a 2-car DMU from Helsby – to where it will return.


  
  Since the last photo, three trains have departed (Chester, Helsby and Shrewsbury), the DMU from Helsby being the only arrival. The stock from the Llandudno and Wrexham services has been shunted by the station pilot into the carriage sidings and the engines have headed off to 6C to be fed and watered. If it was just me running the layout I’d never consider all that activity over such a short time…. but, that was how it was at Woodside back then, so the layout has to be able to cope. The miracle of course is that, apart from a couple of occasions at Hooton, it does. The first example of that happens in about 10 minutes (layout time) when I have to run a Helsby bound train two minutes late, as it is scheduled to arrive and depart Hooton while the Shrewsbury train waits, possibly for loading parcels. If only I’d had space for a four track main line at Hooton! It will be interesting to see how the layout copes with the ’56 timetable, when the West Kirby branch was still fully open to passengers – but that I fear is still quite some way in the future.

  In the meantime, I’m told, there’s other stuff I could be doing….

Have to mention the brilliant Reds!  - the European Cup back in the City again.I fear it may be a few years yet before the Blues get their name on the trophy, any trophy…. but I can dream!

  Keith
  

Keith
Without getting you sidetracked away from hedges and running trains etc, can I ask if the canopies in the last photo are the Peco ones and if they are, do you think that they would span between two platforms with 3 running lines between?  All the pics I have seen suggest not but I have not ever held one in my hand to be able to assess the question for myself.

Still loving the timetable by the way :):)  

Barry

S’mae Barry

Rest assured you’re not getting me sidetracked away from running trains… I've given up trying for now…  and the only hedges I’m dealing with just now are in the garden – that said, recent changes in the weather look promising.

Yes, the canopy at Woodside is Peco. A single span is 7½ ” (190 mm, if you prefer) – the three track mainline section on the layout, set at standard Peco spacing for code 75 track, is just 5¼” (128mm) sleeper to sleeper. So it would cover it, no problem. All depends on the station layout – as it wouldn’t leave much covering the platform. I used some of the spare glass panels to produce the cover for platform 5 at Woodside, and did something similar on the other side to bridge the gap between the canopy and the station building…



I'll tidy up that back edge sometime too, but it's almost impossible to see it in that far corner of the loft, so low down the priority list. Another view in the gallery… the Peco roof does lend itself to a bit of modification. One day I’ll get the station building weathered (must admit, when I built it, I’d not even thought about weathering Metcalf kits) and fit the chimney pots – I never add the pots until I’m sure I have actually finished the building….

Glad to hear you’re loving the timetable…  please continue, you never know it could catch on!!

Keith

Thanks Keith
I might take the plunge and get a couple to see what I can do with them.  I am liking your side extensions - they look like they are part of the kit!!

It might just be me being daft but have you posted a track plan of Woodside anywhere?

Barry

S’mae Barry

For Woodside I used five kits, producing two canopies 46 ¾” (1190mm) and 49 ½” (1260mm), with a couple of intermediate trusses unused. For the extension and canopy I just made a simple frame with Plasticard, and used the surplus glazing units from the kits. Peco were (don’t know if they still are) quite generous with the glazing units – I used 42 on the canopy and extension – and I’ve still over 30 which will eventually appear on the layout somewhere.

Now, I fear you may well be being a little bit daft asking me about a track plan….. in fact any plan! Please check my first post of this thread, I have just noted one error in that post – referring to the Marshalling Yard panel – it should read “bottom centre to bottom LEFT”… which may have caused some confusion, apologies for that.

I never produced anything which could be even loosely described as a proper track plan – as you can see, my hand written efforts do leave a lot to be desired…. but that’s the way I work. Initially I decided that with the space I had to get something which may work, I’d need three levels. So I started with the bottom level, the fiddle yard. My only thought was – as much track as possible in a relatively small space – so sidings for the rolling stock and shorter sidings with a turntable for the ‘shed’. I was still in the Triang Standard Track era, didn’t appreciate that Code 75 and 100 points would take rather more space than I’d thought, and the final result gave me sidings OK, but rather on the short side. Wired up all the points, track breaks etc. Tested it and then moved on. Next the main line up to, and, the second level – this was to have a continuous loop (for engine testing), storage for trains waiting for their due time either at Woodside or Hooton – and Hooton Station (on the loop). The track as laid for Hooton only envisaged a single island platform, the third platform was an afterthought when I decided that siting the main station building separately and beyond a goods siding may look a bit odd – that was a fortunate decision, as without the third platform at Hooton the timetable couldn’t have worked – but I hadn’t even thought about the timetable at that stage. Track laid and tested and on to the run up to (with a passing loop on the down line) and the top level. That was done in two stages, first the marshalling yard was laid and ballasted, as I knew it would be a bit of a stretch to get to the far siding once 6C was in place, then the rest of the back board – marshalling yard junction, goods shed, factory, oil depot and 6C, finally Woodside Station itself. The only thought for the station was that all platforms had to be accessible to the up and down lines – thought that would be handy… and it was! The top level is some 8” above the fiddle yard, so the main line is a steady down gradient from Marshalling Yard junction, down to the first points in the Fiddle Yard – bypassing Hooton Station. That is basically it, no real plan, just some ideas, with the overall thought of getting as much track down as possible. As I’ve mentioned before the fact that it does manage the timetable is nothing more than a total fluke. Hope that gives you a better idea of the layout of the layout, if you see what I mean.

Keith

Thanks Keith
You may berate yourself for not having a plan whereas I plan absolutely everything to death to make sure it’s right.  Let’s compare how much of my “Going Large” system exists vs Woodside……

I wouldn’t change if I were you….

Barry

S’mae Barry

I do admire anyone who can sit down and quietly plan, in some detail, the next project… with the resulting trouble free build and a working finished product. Apart from the lack of planning, I also suffer from another ‘P’, or lack of it, that being patience. Once I’ve got an idea I just have to try to get on with it – possibly in my more recent years not such a bad thing, as with my memory an idea could be forever lost/forgotten by the following day. So fear not, I won’t change, and neither should you, or anyone else for that matter, each to his own has always been my mantra – there’s room for all of us!

Not that keen on the comparison idea, it will be a long time before, if ever, Woodside could possibly compare in any way with Yarslow, and your attention to scenic and operational detail, I must have a word about the signals sometime! Couple of things that will meet with your approval when they do eventually appear on Woodside are the correct lamp codes for the locos and crews, and hopefully all the extra bits will be added to the locos too. I bought some Springside lamps ages ago – they’re in a box somewhere, of course, along with the crews….. and some other ‘stuff’, no doubt.

One day…..

Keith

More than a month has passed since the last post, so time for a progress report…. best summed up as ‘not a lot’. Like many of us at this time of the year I am working through a list of jobs (not one of my lists regrettably)…. classified as ‘must do’, then ‘should do’ and finally ‘could do’. Before the end of the summer any outstanding jobs are normally reclassified as ‘must be done before the bad weather starts’..…

Time in the loft has consisted of the odd hour when I have just concentrated on pressing on with the timetable. I really need a decent session to make progress with the static grass on the green bits between Hooton and the main line as I intend to take them off the layout (so the mainline section has to be removed first). It will take longer, but far less messy and hopefully I’ll be able to make a better job of it. At least I can report that the rush hour has passed, and some freight is finally moving. Here a WD with a set of vans bound for a trip across the Pennines slows on the main line for a signal – and a slightly different view of the layout.



Also just waiting on the exit from the fiddle yard a Stanier tank has the morning coal train, bound for 6C, dropping a few wagons en route at Hooton for the Coal Merchant there and another on the West Kirby branch. Not the normal motive power, put that down to the fat controller misreading the rosters…  Eventually there will be removable loads in the wagons so that northbound they’ll be full and southbound empty – that of course is for later, when I get around to that particular list. I know I did buy a bag of coal many moons ago, so it will be in one of my many boxes under the layout, and there’s plenty of polystyrene in the workshop. More in the gallery.

The bracket up starter at Hooton had been playing up for some time, and a couple of weeks back it failed completely – so I did spend  a couple of short sessions sorting that. All semaphore signals (apart from the two Dapol examples with the lights) are operated by Peco point motors and w-i-t. For each arm the wire is joined under the baseboard to allow for minor adjustments to be made without attacking the signal or the motor – the wire being joined using 2amp wire connectors. I thought that would work, it does, but a bit fiddly to say the least. I did experiment with two connectors, with a bigger overlapping section which again I thought was a good idea…. anyway, the up starter at Hooton is one of the two connector types. The problem was (and has always been) the overlong section of wire not in the tube flexing too much, the two connectors were supposed to avoid that problem, but that hasn’t proved to be the case. After much fiddling and querying the sanity of the idiot who dreamt up this idea in the first place, all sorted now using a piece of a broken clothes peg, with a notch carved in it – as always I go for the most high tech solution. 



… a bit on the limp side but it’ll do, for now.

Looks like more good weather this week… oh joy…

Keith

Nice shot of the Stanier and its rake of vans. The layout is looking good, especially the semaphores.

They (whoever "they" are) always say the the simplest way of doing things is usually the best. I sometimes wonder if they knew what they were talking about - it doesn't always follow. Sounds a good move with the clothes peg and the 2Amp connectors to get things to a working state. I always believe in the KISS methodology - or is that just 'cos I'm lazy. Don't answer that, thank you!

I certainly think all this warm weather is just no good for hobby activities especially if you have the layout in a loft area - boy can it ever get HOT up there! I find the best time of day is first thing in the morning - before SWMBO decides to rise - never mind the sun getting going.

Soon be autumn with the cooler weather and better working temperatures. Then winter when it'll be too darn'd cold. Can't win!

Keep up the good work Keith.

Dave

When in the UK it was different weather that restricted my modeling, like rain or just cold making going to the garage less appealing. Now in Spain and a big space in the house allocated to the railway - wow what a bonus. But then from mid June to Mid September it will be 30 deg C and rising by 11 o'clock so it's all swings and roundabouts.

Thanks Dave, glad you liked the photo, it’s getting harder to find a new angle for photos. KISS – wouldn’t argue with that at all. The loft does get a bit on the warm side when the mercury tops 85 degrees (30, if you must). I did insulate the loft before I started, which does a good job in ‘normal’ summers, but this silly weather is just a step too far. I’ve had two fans running, but they can’t do much about the humidity – and that’s the killer. As to rising earlier…. personally I’m more of a night owl, I leave the early rising to SWMBLT, she’s much better at that than I will ever be! At least the loft remains cosy enough in the winter with the panel heaters, and also the ’jobs’ list is usually a lot shorter, so I can get on with things.
Dave H – yes, space is always a problem, another one of those things that you can never get enough, sounds like you’ve got things totally sorted. At least here the 85/30 temperatures don’t last for three months – I don’t think I could cope with that, three days is too much for me.
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Some welcome rain here meant a couple of hours in the loft, still a bit on the sticky side – but I wasn’t complaining. After the chaos of the rush hour, it was time to get the fiddle yard back in order, before starting on the next section of the timetable.  
For what follows I’ve included this pic of the fiddle yard board again to avoid the necessity of checking back to the first post… I’ve just noticed that itis not all that clear, hope you can make out FY1 top left, P5 just before the point, FY12 third down on the right. The uncouplers are marked with a ‘U’…



…..some very strange goings-on in the fiddle yard to report…..

As you can see the yard is split into the north side (RHS) and south side (LHS) – and I operate it with two pilots, the North pilot lives at the end of FY1, the South pilot anywhere it can. Most rolling stock in the South yard is passenger/parcels and in the North yard freight, but by the end of the rush hour stock is left… anywhere. I needed an extra coach for the next train from Helsby (mainly down to the fat controller deciding to put an extra coach on the previous train from Helsby, just to see what happened – the layout coped… just). So standard shunt procedure – North pilot goes off to pick up the coach – behind another Composite brake in FY12 – pilot picks up both and returns to FY1. The North pilot is then isolated so the South pilot can couple up to the two coaches. Power back with the North pilot so both  engines and coaches then move out, stopping with the couplings between the two coaches over the uncoupler ramp – approximately where the ‘P5’ power input is indicated – standard Peco RH type, SL-29. Using the mirror/lights (covered in post 38, page 2) I can see the roofs of the coaches. Power off the North pilot, just a nudge from the South pilot and the coaches are uncoupled. Done this hundreds of times, works every time, but this time try as I might I couldn’t separate the coaches. Eventually I gave up, tried another siding, another ramp, and it worked first time. Obviously something wrong with the uncoupler.

Another session in the loft… two in a week, in the summer! So I decided to check what was problem with the uncoupler ramp – that involved removing lots of ‘stuff’ on the floor first. Eventually I could reach up to check the uncoupler ramp…. no ramp there! Time to check with the mirror…. and there was the uncoupler ramp some six inches down the line still fitted properly in the track!  Checked it with a couple of other coaches, working fine. So now I’m searching for an explanation as to how a Peco SL-29 ramp can move six inches along a section of code 100 track and still remain operational. I could just about accept possibly a faulty coupling had somehow caught in the ramp, but no derailment and to then to drop it perfectly six inches down the track???!  So that was a couple of hours, or so, which has left me totally baffled…. Gremlins… the only rational explanation!

 
Weather has taken a slight turn for the ‘better’, perhaps more time in the loft? – don’t be silly….

Keith

Hi Keith.  No not Gremlins? But it could be “ The Signal Man “ . The one Charles Dickens wrote about.But seriously I haven’t read much of your progress recently, but, you are certainly building a fine layout, with working signals, a timetable, and all.   Best wishes Kevin 

S’mae Kevin, Usual apologies for the delay – I’m afraid any literary references are lost on me. I never really got to grips with English Literature at school, very early on the teachers spotted a total philistine and it was just accepted that I was a lost cause. You haven’t read much about my progress of late chiefly because there hasn’t been much, so whatever it is I am building…. it is happening very, very slowly!

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Not a lot of time in the loft of course, but I have managed to do something. All this time outside, I’ve been keeping an eye on an old buddleia which is just about hanging on, produces very large, uniform flowers. Thought I’d revisit the idea for trees, which I first saw in Dave’s Langley Junction thread a while back, and have another go. Last time I used the heads from another buddleia, which produces smaller and less uniform flowers, and after the seeds had started to form, as usual I was a little late starting. This time I wanted to try to produce a more ‘bushy’ tree rather like the large oaks we have near the house, so I used the flower head as soon as the petals had turned brown, before they had started to drop, as Dave had done.  I started with this…



… as this flower is in total about eight inches long, I only used the lower part of the main ‘flower’, the remainder will become a smaller tree and perhaps a different sort of bush from those using lichen. This time, as with my recent attempted hedge, I just gave it a good spray with brown paint, and while the paint was still wet bent over the top ‘branches’ to give it a more rounded look. Once dry, another good spray this time with adhesive, and then my usual mix of light and dark green leaves sprinkled over the whole thing. Finally, as last time, I fattened up the stem/trunk with some kitchen towel, painted that brown, and added some black, to give a ‘bark’ effect. It took less than 40 minutes over three sessions. The result was this….



  ….planted in the only bit of the layout which has any of what I call ‘scenery’, and not a permanent location. There are more pics of the intermediate stages in the Gallery. It remains to be seen whether or not the dried petals stay in place, but I did give it a real soaking with the brown paint, so I’m hopeful. There are a couple more flowers to have a go at yet anyway. Overall it has produced a more ‘leafy’ tree than my first effort, if not quite the shape I was looking for, so as ever, it’ll do. I'll leave Phil to add the grass at the base of the stonework and around the signpost, that's still on another of my lists….

With the onset of some ‘changeable’, or what I would call ‘better’ weather, I may soon get to run some trains…. If I can avoid any inside winter jobs being added to the summer list, which I’m sure is not in the rules….

Keith

Hi Keith.  I have never read the book, but I have seen the film, from way back. It was on the telly last year. As for your buddleja if you lived in London? you would see that it is destroying Railway Viaducts.everywhere . Best wishes Kevin 

Just catching up on a few bits and pieces after the summer lull in activity Keith and came across your buddleia tree - looks good; you done a good job on that. Interesting use of the kitchen towel to fatten up the trunk; I've been using masking tape to do the same job. Gives a smoother bark effect and it at least sticks to the base stalk without getting the fingers gunked up in the glue. Each to our own, of course, and which ever provides the desired effect.

As Kevin says, the stuff is rampant, even up here in the north, and can be seen alongside almost any railway track and/or structure. On the approach to Doncaster station from our side of town the stuff is all over the place - but the butterflies love it. So I guess it's good that it has a presence on our layouts as well, even if appearing in disguise and posing as some other tree structure.

I've come across another bush in my garden, the flower heads of which will be pressed into duty before much longer. No idea what it's called but has a flower head that resembles a broad topped tree. I've had a look around the plant/bush identification sites and can find nothing. I'll post something on my (John Street) pages when I get harvesting and spraying a few heads. It's always a bit of a gamble as to the "when" do I harvest the heads.

In the meantime, keep up with the buddleia 'trees' - as I say, it looks good and blends in nicely.

Dave