ScR steam in the 50's

Some trial photos from the last few days- please ignore all the unfinished bits-

Gems!  What unfinished bits.  quest:

:doublethumb

Background works very well. I see a lot of great model railway pictures coming!

Thomas

Hi Ben

I have just come across your thread and must say it is looking very good, Now on my watch list!

Thanks guys,- the backscenes have been a godsend, esp. for Helmsdale, and are an integral part of the whole set-up. My last build had them as an add-on, and were sloped in parts because of the shape of the attic roof, and never worked as well as I had hoped. Mind you, they were a lot better than nothing, which was what I put up with for years. One of the reasons for rebuilding was to take advantage of the range of scenic products that have come onto the market these last few years, and also to provide photo opportunities, with the digital camera providing a service unheard of with film. I am sure that there are going to be a lot more pictures where these came from!Also things like fences, signals and more grass- this is just the first covering to get away from cork and Sculptamould.
Watch this space…….

Comments are appreciated, both to spur me on and give food for thought- after all, that's what these forums are for.

Cheers,
Ben Alder

A couple of shots showing the latest work- the engine shed at Thurso has  had its first coat of ground cover.

Looks good Ben!

That second shot is really very nice, Richard.  :thumbs

Superb rich colours Ben.  It almost makes me want to come back to UK…………………. almost :roll::roll:

Like Max, I love that 2nd shot.

The turntable looks good - what make is it ?

Thanks for the comments- apologies for the terse intro to my last post- I had written my usual one fingered  efforts, and had done an extended post about my recent work, previewed it, sent it, only to see nothing but img- appear on screen. This has happened with almost every entry, and is not condusive to me expanding on my modelling efforts. Can someone perhaps explain what I am doing wrong-simply- as my computer knowledge is limited and my tolerance of glitches such as this is low-grumpy old man mode fully engaged-.

I have been trying out different exposure settings and some adjusting of backlight, hence the varying visual effects, finding out how the covered surfaces photograph. These are just trial images, of a barely started scenery, so things will improve over time.

The turntable is a Roco model, and is more or less a 60' diameter, and works beautifully, although is nothing like a British T/T. I am going to see if I can brick the well sides to disguise the segments that are attached to allow indexing, but I can put up with the poor appearance in return for the faultless working.

Cheers,
Ben Alder

Hi Ben

No idea what you are doing wrong - maybe not double spacing between text and inserting a pic?

Anyway, I modified a Peco turntable by using some embossed plasticard, needed to remove a little portion of the end of the deck as the extra thickness fouled smooth operation!
Also added an end platform, winder and vacuum pipe, brake levers and railings.

The turntable looks good, certainly an improvement on the rather basic Peco offering- this is a real weak point in 4mm modelling- the lack of a decent R-T-R British type T/T. I have, over the years, attempted to make most of the offerings operable, and usually retired defeated. It's the amount of time put in vs. the less than satisfactory running achieved that grates, and today I decided to order another Roco T/T for Helmsdale rather than spend probably two or three modelling weeks on trying to get another poor kit working. Sure it's the price of three engines(big ones!), but adding another loco is not usually the subject of great soul searching, but I know that this one will work perfectly, and I don't really see the need to do the sort of bodging that we had to put up with until ten or so years ago to get a poor product working badly and think that was railway modelling.

I look forward to whoever takes the plunge into releasing a quality turntable- it must be bubbling away somewhere….

I agree with you Ben. :thumbs

When you think of the resources expended on designing and manufacturing a new loco or rolling stock, it's amazing that the simple turntable had been almost completely overlooked.  Maybe because it's not very glamourous …………..

In the case of rolling stock, the market does have a limit - I, for instance, wouldn't buy Southern stock, no matter how good, because it's not my region.  Virtually everyone modelling the steam era could use a turntable.

In these days of PIR technology and "home programming" of other electronic gadgetry,  I'd have thought a sensibly priced operating TT would be on some manufacturers "to do" list somewhere ……………

Unfortunately the same argument about Regions also applies to some extent to turntables. Fortunately the differences are not too glaring for most people. Western region in particular did things differently (as usual!).

There are metal kits you can buy although I have never tried one. At present I have obtained another, probably Continental, model and and trying to "improve" it but as you say it does take some time. I am not getting very far!

Western Region ALWAYS did thing differently Ray.  They even tried to get away with track half a mile wide …………..:roll::roll:

Fortunately, along came LNER and LMS and sorted things out. :thumbs

A byproduct of tonight's work-some more platform facings- and a few WIP shots to check how it looks; a couple of 16 tonners with  coal waiting to be unloaded.

The weathering on those wagons looks good Ben - particularly the grey one. :thumbs

Some detailing has been started, with fencing salvaged from the old layout appearing at Helmsdale- it needs more grass cover, but that will follow…..

That backscene certainly does make the layout come alive in the pics, especially the one of the sidings!

Great stuff.

G'day Ben,
 
The layout is coming along very, very nicely.

Couple of questions,
 
1. Is the platform surface plasticard, with  scribed  edge stones ?
2. Is the face of the platforms just printed paper or is it embosed card ?
3. What type/brand of ballast did you use ?

Again, great pics and looking foward to more !

Cheers, Gary.