GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

 This earlier shot shows the street leading from the wharf coming to an abrupt end!



Much needed Road Materials have now arrived from Cornwall and been quickly pressed into service.



The area beyond the viaduct, adjacent to the lock, has been built up with foam board and the road climbs gently up to it. I felt it was important to do this so that the upper lock is part of the overall topography. 

The gaps and barebits will be filled with grass etc but that will only happen after the water is poured and the bridges are bedded in permanently



Looking from the other side you can see the foamboard and also some plastic off cuts which have been glued down to provide the foundation for pavement and the local pub



This shows the foundations and an area that will be the pub yard with an outdoor gents etc

Here is an initial (out of focus) shot of the Star and Dragon

 




This is another Langley kit that I have had for a number of years……you will see plenty of the pub before I am done, hopefully in sharper focus

The reason for including it now is merely to serve as an intro to yet another example of Dew's folly 

The back and one of the sides are fine




Yet again I mistakenly thought I could save time by leaving one side unfinished (and in this case wrongly clad…..I guess I ran out of stone)

 




Fortunately with the road material came some Slaters Walling sheets so it should be a fairly quick fix particularly as not too much can be seen once the bridges are in place



I must say I am quite chuffed at the way the various elements are now beginning to come together

I think this last shot, although clearly unfinished,  is getting close to the atmosphere I want to reproduce

Great!:thumbs

Thomas

JD -  I think this last shot, although clearly unfinished,  is getting close to the atmosphere I want to reproduce

It's already the sort of place I wouldn't visit after dark!

D

This layout gets interestinger and interestinger.  The lock and gates are something completely different, John.  :thumbs

a nice bit of modelling,and as mentioned with atmosphere,lovely jubbly,
as for the pub could you not just paint the backwall ? as you say it is mostly hidden.
o.k it`s a cop out but it will save time and pennies.
:thumbs:lol::lol::cool:

John, it's looking very good.

When I use Wills Sheets like that, I generally try to marry them together with some very fine shavings or file dust flooded with liquid poly before painting.
I expect you've used this method but others may not have tried it.

Great job.
You seem to have tackled and overcome the little problems which are bound to arise with a project like that.

That's really coming on a treat John.  I particularly like the pub, it captures perfectly the sort of slightly seedy establishment that is to be found in that sort of location.

Love this layout John :lol:.  Now I know that you are a Formby boy, I am sure like me you have had many walks on the tow path of the old 'Leeds & Liverpool' & I think you have captured the atmosphere perfectly of when it went from open countryside into towns & cities.  Well done!  Mal

Love the work on this layout and some weird place's after dark on it as well, cool.

Phill

Thanks Guys lots of useful comments…….much appreciated

[user=394]ddolfelin[/user] wrote:

When I use Wills Sheets like that, I generally try to marry them together with some very fine shavings or file dust flooded with liquid poly before painting.
I expect you've used this method but others may not have tried it.

Thanks DD……. I had read about that but now with your recommendation I will have a go………….I tend to use lots of PVA which creates a shiny appearance and fills in the adjacent moulding detail………..your idea sounds a better bet 

You seem to have tackled and overcome the little problems which are bound to arise with a project like that.

Tackled…..yes……………..overcome…………not quite:lol: 

[user=312]dooferdog[/user] wrote:

JD - I think this last shot, although clearly unfinished, is getting close to the atmosphere I want to reproduce

It's already the sort of place I wouldn't visit after dark!

D

Particularly as its so close to Liverpool (see the Otterspool Thread)

[user=363]Janner[/user] wrote:

That's really coming on a treat John.  I particularly like the pub, it captures perfectly the sort of slightly seedy establishment that is to be found in that sort of location.

Thanks Janner……the model is a little battered but your post is a timely reminder that I need to tone down the fascia paintwork which is too pristine for the locale

[user=15]owen69[/user] wrote:

a nice bit of modelling,and as mentioned with atmosphere,lovely jubbly,
as for the pub could you not just paint the backwall ? as you say it is mostly hidden.
o.k it`s a cop out but it will save time and pennies.

Good Call Owen……I may be able to get away with painting the side grey and the top bit which is the only part one can see is stone….just needs detailing………….thanks for the idea

 

If you are going to try it, John, the method probably works best with file dust - I usually file a piece of scrap for the purpose.
If it's to be painted, it doesn't matter what colour.
It's important to fill joins proud before applying the poly.
You will find there is a short window of opportunity when the mixture is mallable to align, in this instance, the cobbles.

The method is also useful to fill any unexpected gaps in building corners etc.

[user=394]ddolfelin[/user] wrote:

If you are going to try it, John, the method probably works best with file dust - I usually file a piece of scrap for the purpose.
If it's to be painted, it doesn't matter what colour.
It's important to fill joins proud before applying the poly.
You will find there is a short window of opportunity when the mixture is mallable to align, in this instance, the cobbles.

The method is also useful to fill any unexpected gaps in building corners etc.

Or there's Milliput……………………….:roll:

John, this corner of your layout is really interesting and extremely well thought out.  The industrial canal scene is beautifully depicted.  That last B/W shot could be a scene from "The Blue Lamp" or some "sleezy" area where "Bobbies" always went in pairs !!!

I'm very, very impressed. :thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

Milliput is useful but it doesn't meld to existing plastic in the same way.

Those little life belts look good. As far as clutter goes I am not sure there would be too much around the lock itself as it would get in the way of operations. Maybe some people such as the lock keeper and other locals. You could consider some repairs being done by a team of workers?

Bob(K)

John you are correct about the locations and uses of lifebelts and the way that the board mounted one would be used.  I am not sure if they were around in 1947 though, my Dad was not even born then!

[user=200]Christrerise[/user] wrote:

John you are correct about the locations and uses of lifebelts and the way that the board mounted one would be used.  I am not sure if they were around in 1947 though, my Dad was not even born then!

Thanks Chris…..the board mounted one puzzled me…..never seen anything like it


Richard, my Canal guru, assures me they were not in use in 1947. He has given me grudging permission to use them but only  by invoking the " Its my layout" rule   :lol::lol:……………..I am still wrestling with the dilemma having spent an age painting them

my Dad was not even born then!

That makes me feel even more ancient than ever…….I was ten in 1947 but I didnt live near a canal………..or a GWR line for that matter :lol:

Regards

 

Lovely models John, You have really captured the canal atmosphere in a builtup area .
As a youngster in the early to late 50s I spent many hours fishing along the Grand Union Canal Greenford Middlesex area, must confess I cannot remember seeing any life-belts.
Authorities in those days probably took the view, If you go near the water you should be able to swim!
regards,Derek

… but hopefully, not in the Grand Union in the '50s.

Over three weeks since I updated the thread although I reported elsewhere the successful filling of the canal with Magic Water

I will re post the shots here so they are part of the layout thread

This is the before with the road and tow path laid but no water



And the after 



 



Now the water is poured I can start bedding the bridges in and actually laying track!

This is a reminder of how the first bridge (which I omitted in the photo above) used to look



Now I have laid track and started cladding the walls



I havent been quite as liberal with white glue as the photo suggests…….but perhaps I did use too much in my anxiety to lay the 24" radius correctly

Change of scene from the seemingly never ending line of Langley Walls . These are Wills Kits which are more complicated to build but more rigid and robust 



I had all this from the previous layout so it just needed trimmming a bit. I like the brick because it kind of links with all the brick terraced houses

Once the track is painted I will complete the top walls. The joins will be concealed by drain pipes and the base with foliage 

I still have to detail the lock area with bollards etc…..once done I hope to get some cool shots of the canal and bridge




I did the road markings on the centre line before I realised the bridge was skewed! Then I realised that the road was too narrow and the bridge too low to accommodate two lanes of traffic………..so I have started painting them out but I think I need a few more coats. You can just see my solution to the traffic problem thru the bridge……single lane with a stop line controlled by traffic lights which I happen to have from another project.

With the water poured all sorts of doors have opened…….obviously I want to complete landscapng and detailing the canal module but my first priority now is to extend the track I have just laid to join up with the branch storage at other end of the room by the brewery. This will be the first opportunty to run a train right round the room

At the same time there are the last two pieces of landscaping to do on the branch side



The "building site" in front of the viaduct was originally intended to be a timber yard but I have decided to can that even though I have all the stuff made up and build a Creamery there instead……this will enable me to do all sorts of interesting routines with Milk Tankers and Siphons being shunted back and forth and then taken up to the terminus at the back of the B Set

I will have to relay the siding but I think I can squeeze another siding in although I will have to surface mount the point motor

 



But the big question is what to do with the gaping hole  between the branch line and the coal line.





You may be forgiven for thinking it is the victim of an over active beaver………..not so…….more the victim of an over active imagination

Way back when I had the baseboards in…..screwed down as per the best French Style…..and the track laid I had the bright idea of cutting these holes out so I could run a road under the line in the foreground and hook right thru 90o and join the road at the canal level…………..so out with the jig saw…….:twisted::twisted::twisted:

The concept……linking the higher level with the low level canal…..was good in theory but totally impractical…I now realise that the support structure for the baseboards makes it impossible to create a plausible bridge and roadway……so now I am left with these holes:hmm


The one in the foreground I am just going to fill in with foamboard and  add foliage . The one behind is more of  a problem because as you can see it opens out on  to the canal board. My current solution is to create a sort of ravine effect at the top and fill the gap at the Canal End with a derelict rusty Indusrtial Building that I will knock up with some Wills Sheets. and this at least would go some way to integrating the low level with the main base boards..

If anyone has an alternative cheap and cheerful (and quick) solution I woul love to hear about it.

 

How about a water tank/reservoir feature, especially if you have some of the magic stuff left, on the road side a thick wall with white leaky streaks, some pipes cominig out and disappearing into the ground….


Fawtful Doof…