Shadowlands and Tellynott

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looks like you have plenty of vertical clearance if the 0-5-0 is required to fix a derail.

dave

Hi Dave.

There are a few obstacles in the way, but generally there is plenty of room for my 0-5-0's.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark, Cheers,

You have some serious cork and future track work here. I do like the design and even though you are changing it as you go, it still works for me.

My track work on paper, never really fit when I started to put the design on the benchwork. Just part of the hobby I guess.

Great work and ides here my friend.

Cheers, Tom

Thanks, Tom.

Yes - the trackwork under here will not be nice as, in places, visibility is not good.  There are areas where I can't physically get my head in to obtain a line of sight.  Some of the benchwork underneath here was put in some time ago, and as the layout developed this has ended up being too low.  I fixed this issue by adding 50mm extruded polystyrene.  In these areas the point motors will have to be fixed directly to the underside of the track.  Peco point motors are designed to do this, but I think I prefer attaching them under the track bed.  We will see when I have done a few.  Track here does not need to be glued or ballasted, so repair work shouldn't be too difficult.

Yes - I've kind of given up on expecting what I have drawn on paper to work perfectly on track.  The 1:1 scale planning is just another stage in the planning process.  I usually get close enough so that with a bit of careful tweaking things will still work as intended.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark,

I have found that planning as I go works best for me.  As Tom said, what I draw on paper never fits no matter how hard I try to draw to scale.  I also like the plan to operate a specific part of the layout while sitting in a chair.  I think that helps make a multi level layout like yours much more operator friendly. 

Thanks, Jerry.

I guess that's me trying to satisfy commandments 7 and 10 - 'Thou shalt be able to reach everything' and 'thou shalt make it easy to run'.  I think this is the only part of the layout where sitting will be appropriate.

I'm still working on the return loop and triangle area.  I've come up with another solution that I think may satisfy all requirements and be far simpler electrically.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

So here is the updated hidden staging, yard and return cutoff plan as promised.  You will see I have done away with the triangle.  I have added a turnout coming off the track running diagonally through the middle of the benchwork.  The upper line here is the continuous run while the lower track is the return cutoff.  The return cutoff is well over my longest train length.  I have extended the break van track - when I discovered there was room to do so.  This will make a good storage track, with break vans at the head.  The runaround is short - only three wagons - but still useful.  The drill track is 1125mm long - a loco and 11 wagons.  Yard tracks 1 and 2 are 1350 long and will hold 18 wagons.  Yard track three is 1200mm long and will hold 16 wagons.  Yard track 4 is 800mm long and will hold 8 wagons and leave enough room for a loco to run around the loop.  I'm undecided as yet about on which way around I will join the fourth staging track, so I have left it in pencil.  Doing away with the triangle makes a lot more sense to me.  Things are far more simple.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.

[ACL1504]

Mark, Cheers,

I like the new plan. Flows much better.

Tom

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark, Cheers,

I like the new plan. Flows much better.

Tom

Thanks, Tom.

Its been a bit of a battle.  A combination of trying to make things work with an existing layout, room/ wall constraints, and trying to understand how operations might work - having never operated.  Then there were the finer points like trying to design a good yard/ yards.  I asked several times online on three different forums about various things.  Sometimes I got a good response and excellent, professional advice, other times I got nothing and had to try to work out my problems on my own.  I did really want to do the design work myself.  At this stage I'm pretty happy with what I have.  The triangle and original return cutoff had bothered me.  It seemed overly complicated and some elements seemed unnecessary.  Now that I have my head far more 'in' how the operations might work, this design seems to satisfy the operational goals in a fairly simplistic manner.

Thanks for checking in on my progress.  I'm enjoying watching your challenge build.  The 'slipped lamination' does bring up the dilemma we face today with the new technology about.  I, too, like to do things old school - but I have several friends with gear and abilities (and generous natures) who can laser, 3D print, cast complex resin castings, even 3D scan.  Trevor, who is part of our possums group, can do all of these.  And try as hard as I might, I can't cut and laminate parts as accurately as they can be printed.  Then there is the whole repeatability issue - or the way the drawings can be so easily 'tweaked' to create subtle changes.  Mark, our honourary possum member, had drawn up and printed off some beautiful, ornate storefronts based on a Dunedin prototype, and he had designed it so the various layers could be easily spliced together, with tab and slots, allowing the modeller to easily paint multiple colours.  The sides and back also interlocked making assembly - getting things square and true - impossible to get wrong.  There is certainly the option to make the most of these new technologies - and we don't all have to buy the gear or learn the software.

Cheers, Mark.

[GPdemayo]

As ever enjoying your journey Mark, very impressive layout and work.....  

[Mark Dalrymple]

As ever enjoying your journey Mark, very impressive layout and work.....  

Thanks very much, Gregory.

I've started my challenge for a change of pace.  I've gone for the entire 288 square inches.  The planning/ mock up process can take a long while.  I'm also thinking I might have to mock up the area between where the South Tellynott wedge will go (my challenge diorama) and the structures to the right.  There is a gap here that I have been calling 'the rat hole' - as my intention is to have a spur going under the road and servicing an industry behind.  There is a great Dunedin prototype for inspiration.  Anyway - I feel I will need to continuity to make sure everything flows.  It will be nice to get a couple more 'chunks' mapped out.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

I've been off on a bit of a tangent designing and mocking up an urban scene for South Tellynott.  For my challenge I have been working on what I have called the south Tellynott wedge, but the area is bigger than the 2 square foot wedge and I've found it necessary to mock the whole corner up.

Photo 1 - Here is the area coming together.  I've been working on the building represented here by a cardboard mock-up, just to the left of the red brick wall standing in front of the MDF former, and behind the cannery tower on the low wharf.


Photo 2 - here are the two front walls.  These were part of a box of plaster boneyard castings I bought off Randy from Downtown Deco many years ago.  The walls had a number of problems, the worst of which was them being a long way off square.  I started by cutting a piece of 3mm MDF to the correct wall size on my drop saw - with nice square corners.  I then used my belt sander and carefully sanded the sides, top and bottom straight and square, using my template as a guide.  This, of course, sanded off the brick engraving on the edge of the wall - but I really didn't see any other option (They were a LONG way off square!).  I had three of these particular walls, so I cut the cornice off one and cut the third story off and cornice off another, and spliced the third story onto the three story wall and spliced the cornice on top, thus creating a four story wall.


Photo 3 - Here are the remaining pieces.  I also used a side wall from Addam's ave pt3, which was also part of the boneyard castings, for the side walls.


Photo 4 - Here is the edge of the four storied wall, with the brickwork sanded off.


Photo 5 - Using a small square and a knife I carefully re-scribed the brickwork.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[tom.boyd.125]

Mark, always look forward to updates on your RR. The scribe lines you added on those walls are spot on...Tommy

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark, always look forward to updates on your RR. The scribe lines you added on those walls are spot on...Tommy

Thanks, Tommy.

Its great to hear you look forward to my updates.  The scribing of the brickwork wasn't difficult to do - but it was time consuming...

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Firstly - I didn't really intend to start a new build.  I was playing with mock-ups, trying various kit walls in position and not really liking anything I tried, when I pulled out my box of boneyard castings.  After deciding that I thought these walls would work I decided I needed to see IF I could square them up for use before building a mock-up.  It kind of all just took off from that success!

Photo 1 - All the openings had flash around them.  The door and large wall pictured here will be modified somehow - as yet still to be decided.


Photo 2 - Here are the openings with the flash filed off with a nail file on the sides and smaller metal file on the top and bottoms.


Photo 3 - I cut up side walls from the left over front and the Addams Ave side wall and glued these to the two front walls before carving the brickwork.  I used two part epoxy for this and added some wooden bracing.  I also added a piece of styrene to keep the joint at right angles.


Photo 4 - I cut up a styrene base and glued the taller front and side wall to this.  I marked where the other front wall meet the tall side wall and sanded the texture smooth until the fit was good.  I then glued the second three story section to the taller section and base.  I also made up a right hand side wall out of 1.5mm styrene and glued this to the front wall and base.


Photo 5 - I made up a central wall, splicing a piece of styrene to a piece of plaster wall.  I cut this from the left over front wall, using the two windows.  I measured up from the base and marked the rooftop height.  I added bracing for this.


Photo 6 - Two roof pieces were cut from 1.5mm styrene and glued into position.  This shored everything up nicely.


More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi again.

Photo 1 - I decided a hip roof would look nice on the larger roof.  This is pretty typical.  Many of these tall buildings actually have hip or gable roofs up there rather than flat roofs.


Photo 2 - Here is the roof from a lower angle.  You can see I put a small edge around the roof.  The roof section was made to leave a 4mm gap around the outside for an internal gutter.  I will attach double sided tape and corrugated iron to the roof.  I will overhang the corrugated iron a fraction.  I will add butanol roofing to the gutters which I will make from high tack painters tape painted black.


Photo 3 - Here is the roof with the 1.5mm styrene cut and glued in position and sitting on the flat roof.


Photo 4 - Another angle.


Photo 5 - I cut caps for the parapet walls from 6.3x1mm styrene and glued into position.  I spliced some styrene together for the side of the wall made with 1.5mm styrene to give the correct thickness.  I added some timber bracing underneath the flat roofs to both support the removable back pieces I will make and to keep the flat roofs flat.  I then made up parapet walls for the back which I glued to the back of the flat roof tops and the ends of the side parapet walls.


Photo 6 - Lastly, I trimmed the ends of the side capping at the appropriate angle and then cut and glued cappings to the back.  In this way the back will be able to be removed without interfering with the visible roof section.



More soon, cheers, Mark.

[deemery]

Mark, on my Lamson build, I compared two approaches to the window openings in the SRMW plaster castings.  I couldn't see the difference between 'window well painted black' and 'window well opened, with black construction paper inside the structure.'    But I did note that Bob VanGelder's approach for opening the windows, slightly dampening the corners then engraving with a needle to carve away the plaster along the edges, worked very well.

dave

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark, on my Lamson build, I compared two approaches to the window openings in the SRMW plaster castings.  I couldn't see the difference between 'window well painted black' and 'window well opened, with black construction paper inside the structure.'    But I did note that Bob VanGelder's approach for opening the windows, slightly dampening the corners then engraving with a needle to carve away the plaster along the edges, worked very well.

Thanks, Dave.

I saw this on your build thread.  I have been watching.  Most of the windows in the DD walls were at least partially broken through, so leaving them intact wasn't really an option.  When I get around to my SRM kitbash I'll take your findings into consideration with my approach.

Cheers, Mark.

dave