Code 55 has its advantages and disadvantages, it is far more robust, on code 80 the rail could spring from the chairs, especially if you tried sharp curves,  with part of the rail buried in the sleepers it's almost impossible for that to happen, however it does make it much stiffer to persuade round curves.

[user=878]Gary[/user] wrote:

What about this instead Marty…??

Marty, will you be using Peco Setrack for the curve as Gary outlined in his plan above?   It apparently matches well with Code 80 and I think I will use this on my extension.

Ken

Hi Ken,

No. I've been brave and ordered the double slip and all 3 points required in finescale code 55.
The anyrail file has been updated with long finescale points but as there is such a small difference I didn't bother uploading it.

Although the long points reduce the loop length a little the smoother, larger radius (largest without hand laying?) on the main line should improve the running of main line trains as they come off the bend. That's the theory anyway. We shall see.

Hopefully the few older Farish loco's that I have will cope with the shallower rail depth.

Timber shopping this weekend once I've worked out the Llandyfriog sub-board size. I'm going to have another go at making it removable to facilitate wiring and scenery construction away from the main baseboard.

Henllan was built the same way with reasonable success. I think I can do better.


Cheers

Marty

No timber shopping last weekend, well, not for the railway anyway. 
Built a new compost bin out of old pallets and cast off ply and did a lot of gardening.

That's not to say things weren't happening on the railway.
There are several things on the go at the moment, one of them being Orange trees.

Actually, not so much ORANGE trees but trees made from an orange trees roots. Part of the gardening was planting some lemon grass into a pot that had a few weeks ago contained a self seeded orange tree that had grown from a pip. I'd let it go 'cause it was green and there was nothing else to put in the pot. Grown from a pip like this they are just root stock, all thorns and no fruit.
The root ball was left to dry out in the hot Aussie sun for a couple of weeks.
Now…. carefully selected collections of roots are being tested as trees for the layout.Here is the first, dipped in a 50/50 pva/water mix and left to dry. I'm hoping that the layer of glue will help slow down the eventual decay.





Then some Skale Scenics Foliage Fibre clusters - light green (fine) teased out in little pinches from the main bundle (N scale remember) and glued on with super glue. Less is more in this case. Finally, a dusting from some super hold cheap hairspray and a sprinkle of fluoro green scatter.








It has a definite lean and a bare backside but variety is the spice of life so they say…. let's plant it up into the layout….





Yes, quite pleased with the result. You can see it compared with the twisted wire trees just behind it and in the background on the hill side are all of it's brothers ready to be copsed.

cheers
Marty

Lovely tree Marty,Those roots are ideal.
Cheers,
Derek.

Cheers Derek, 
Very pleased so far. I've got a big bit hanging up in the garage drying after spraying it with matt medium from an aerosol. I'm hoping that I can make a reasonable Oak out of it.

This photo is a better one for comparing I think… the root tree is just miles better to me.





cheers
Marty

:doublethumbI agree Marty,Those roots will also save a lot of messing with wire.

Lovely scene by the way.

Cheers,

Derek.

Another tree…

Once again the roots of the orange tree, quite a big bit this time that I hoped might be made into an Oak but I think has just turned out as a generic "tree".
Sprayed with matt fixative rather than coated in 50/50 water/pva mix this time, mainly because it was quicker and easier.First photo is branches only, placed on top of the hill on the right as a tester….





Then four painstaking, but strangely therapeutic, sessions of 15 to 20 minutes each gluing foliage fibre onto the branches in small clumps… for a feature tree, which I think this is, it's worth the effort. Trees further back in the canopy of a wood for example will, I think, have the foliage spread out over the top most branches only as you won't be able to see below the top storey anyway….





Finally, super hold hair spray again, two different scatter colours, Woodland scenics coarse turf light green followed by more hair spray, a dusting of Skale scenics fluoro green to represent new growth and then more hairspray.
The tractor at the base of the tree gives a sense of scale… about right I reckon.





A lot to be said for using natures own rather than twisted wire. Hopefully the organic material will last.I've got a bunch of roots from the orange tree to use but I'm going to need a lot more trees before this layout is finished… 

cheers
Marty

Great looking tree Marty. :thumbs I can easily say that I needed to look hard to find the tractor ! ;-) 

I guess that these 'more detailed' trees are at the front of the layout, rather than the rear ?

Cheers, Gary.

Looking good Marty :thumbs

I have been a bit wary of using anything organic despite the obvious advantages, but if it's covered with enough preservative (glue, varnish) it must be ok.

After all, fossilised trees and wooden ships are often discovered and treated so they can be preserved.

Must have a hunt around the garden when it gets warmer.


Ed

I have trees made from twigs and other bits of woody plants that are over 5 years old and they are still fine.

Similar method to yours, first coated either in PVA or some form of clear varnish

Lovely trees Marty, the depth of the landscape and feeling of distance in that last picture is wonderful.

I'm always keen to use natural materials if I can and like you if they are fully dried, treated and kept dry they should last for many years, as you know I use the natural stuff for the groups or densely wooded areas as it disguises any irregular shapes, mind you any tree fighting for space and light usually ends up an irregular shape anyway.

For a feature tree in 4mm I still prefer the wire and plaster method though.


Thanks for posting.

Jim

ps. You do know you are tempting me to make another but I haven't the space yet!!

Thanks for the comments about the trees guys, I'll persevere with the roots from the orange and see how I go.
The jig is up.
After what seems like an extensive exercise in patience the jig I designed to help with the construction of the GWR Standard Halt support timber work appeared yesterday. I'm not complaining mind you, it was a nice gesture from my mate to sort it for me and it didn't cost me a cent, I've just been looking forward to seeing if the concept worked and with getting on with the build.

Here's the jig, laser cut out of 1mm stainless steel.






Slide in the plastic square section and cut…






The different lengths are cut accordingly….






…. and dropped into the template in the centre to be glued with Tetra…. I'm using a sheet of glass as a backing piece (not the cutting mat as shown), once dry the support structure just peels off. You can see a completed set on the jig. Took me about 10 mins to put it together.





cheers

Marty

That's great Marty. Very useful indeed. :thumbs

Only if your mate could have made a kit for me when I was building the station building for Kelly Bray ! ;-)

Cheers, Gary.

Its good to have friends Marty,
That jig will sure come in useful,
Cheers,
Derek.

Always nice to have someone in your corner :lol: 
I don't know how many more halt's I'll make, at least one more for the layout at this stage I think…. haven't thought that far ahead. 

More thought and research HAS gone into Llandyfriog Junction. Research into track layouts and signalling showed that there has to be trap points between the yard and the passenger lines and I've had a shot at the signalling.
As always there just isn't the room to leave the proper distance between the distant and the home signals or indeed enough room to push the advanced starters out far enough to shunt longer trains inside.
The tunnel mouth has been pushed back to give a bit more room, it's not enough but that's just going to have to be part of the compression that we as modellers with restricted spaces will have to put up with.






I'm no expert and am just applying what I've read. Any thoughts anybody?

cheers
Marty

 G`day Marty,
 Damn fine trees Marty.!!!….there is something about natural materials…….first and foremost they have the right texture…….excellent result there.!!
 I do like your jig as well……life can be so much easier with a jig for repetition cutting. I reckon you could possibly take the design a step further by trying to make it into a universal tool for making scratch built model buildings???….you`re most of the way there by the look of it.!!!…..Well done and very ingenious!!
:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

:cheers Gormo

That jig looks to have come out really good Marty and, as Gormo intimates, it could well be a saleable product.
I like the look of the new Llandyfriog Junction extension. Compromise is something we are all burdened with but I think it will turn out well and become a great addition to Newcastel Emlyn.
Keep up the excellent work.

[user=1224]gormo[/user] wrote:

 G`day Marty,
 Damn fine trees Marty.!!!….there is something about natural materials…….first and foremost they have the right texture…….excellent result there.!!
 I do like your jig as well……life can be so much easier with a jig for repetition cutting. I reckon you could possibly take the design a step further by trying to make it into a universal tool for making scratch built model buildings???….you`re most of the way there by the look of it.!!!…..Well done and very ingenious!!
:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs:thumbs

:cheers Gormo

Interesting thought about a scratch building tool Gormo. I'll let that one tick away in the back ground for a while.

The Jig has made building the supports quick, easy and accurate, 5 supports made so far and all looking the same. Well worth the effort and wait.


Cheers

Marty

[user=946]Chinahand[/user] wrote:

That jig looks to have come out really good Marty and, as Gormo intimates, it could well be a saleable product.
I like the look of the new Llandyfriog Junction extension. Compromise is something we are all burdened with but I think it will turn out well and become a great addition to Newcastel Emlyn.
Keep up the excellent work.

Thanks Trevor.  Fitting the junction in and allowing enough room for the station on the level above is going to be a little tricky. I think I'm going to have to draw up Newcastle Emlyn station in anyrail as well to ensure that everything I want to do is going to fit.

Such a hardship

:lol:

Marty