Fault Lines - the layout build

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi all.

I'd like to share my current small layout I am building to display at local train shows in the coming years.  Its been on-going, but with major gaps interspersed, for over three years now.  Some of you will have seen this before.  I'll briefly get you up to speed, then get back to building!

Well, after our Feb 2011 earthquake I felt the need to build some bench work (a bit of therapy!  I later found out I was by no means the only modeller who did this.) After seeing a rehashed version of John Allen's original layout in an edition of MRR, I decided to try my own hand at something similar. I particularly liked the way a view divider was placed long ways splitting the layout into two uneven sections. I further complicated things by reducing the layout down to a size that would fit under a single bed (all be it a high one). The final dimensions were 6' by 3' 2". I am using peco setrack and points with the smallest radius being 14 and 5/8".

The gradient is 4%, apart from the spur leading to the highest point on the layout (where the mine will be), which is 5%. I like to confine myself in as small and difficult space as I can.  I guess I like the challenge of creating something believable in as smaller space as possible. I think its also a neat idea to make an HO layout that could slide under a single bed (it is housed in our garage on the top part of a bunk).  I guess I see this project as the sort of thing a father and son could build together without the need for any extra space. The central backwoods town part of the layout has my version of a combination of two shunting puzzles that I found online - timesaver and Inglenook. The original combined plan was done by Jack Trollope. I'm trying to do this layout on a budget, and all the timber was scrap or leftover from work.  This layout will also give me an opportunity to practice techniques on first before trying them on 'Tellynott' (my home layout).

Image 1 - the plan.
Image 2 - the bench-work taking shape.
Image 3 - the backwoods town side of the layout - mocked up with some structures.
Image 4 - the mine side of the layout and a view of the layout on the bunks.
Image 5 - a close up of the mine side at the left end opposite the mine.  One of my goals is to investigate just how smaller width of isle space I can use to make a believable mountain scene.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[S&S RR]

Mark

It's great to see a new build thread! I'm looking forward to following along.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Thanks John.

I was busy editing while you posted so there is more in my initial post now.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi again.

Here is a before and after shot of the front left corner of the backwoods town side.

Image 1 - benchwork.
Image 2 - The stone viaduct in place and painted.
Image 3 - The two sides of the viaduct being glued together.

The Viaduct was a major project.  I rolled out air dry das, imprinted it with texture using a rock, let dry for a couple of days, then marked and cut out individual stones.  These were slowly glued in place using tweezers over a plastic former made from sheet styrene and downpipe brackets and then 'spliced' together over the timber framework.  There was a LOT of fitting and tweaking involved.  Mortar joints were added using water putty and the joints re scribed.  Once in place it was painted using woodland scenic colours, and dusted with white chalk.  The inner was done using a flexible soft styrene brick product.  The city viaduct to the left was done by kit-bashing a Micro Engineering viaduct.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[cuse]

Wow...what an ambitious small project. Great description of the viaduct. I've always loved that plan. Thanks for documenting - I love a layout "documentary" (mine seems to have stalled for now) 


John

[GPdemayo]

Looks great Mark.....glad to see you posting over here, I'll be watching.

[ak-milw]

Great looking stone viaduct. I can't say I have ever seen one like it before.

[ACL1504]

Mark,

Fantastic layout and eye appeal! I'll be watching with the others.

Tom

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the input Gregory, ak-milw and Tom, and thanks for following along everyone else. 

Well - here's a bit more of the story...

So ... the larger side of the layout will be a tiny backwoods mountain town - a few tiny shops and industries, and winding steep dirt roads. After rereading the MRR issues featuring Malcolm Furlow's San Juan layout, I went down to my local hobby shop and bought a few Woodlands Scenics white metal structures, and went through my stash of DPM models to see which ones could be cut down to suit the look I wanted. I also have a couple of suitable Campbell kits, and will scratch build a couple. I guess for me, the most important part of what I do is the composition. That's what brings the scene to life. But I have to remember that I work slowly. If I rush things I just end up with a mess and a waste of energy. Another thing that happened recently was a friend visiting with a three year old boy. I could see how well the framing of scenes was working. Jack just loved the mine side of the layout, where the train popped into view on a lower bridge and then disappeared into a tunnel before popping into view on the upper bridge a few seconds later. I had my recently finished wooden scratch built structure in position in the front left corner of the layout. Although no damage occurred, there were a few dodgy moments! I have decided to try to put all finer built structures within the loops of track, so they will be more likely to be out of harms way, and will replace this structure with a small metal crane and wharf. I really want to let the public get up and personal with this layout, and Jacks reaction was exactly what I was hopping for.

Here are some pics. I've tried to keep the same views into the scene, but have used the mountain scenery to direct the eye. Its all just polystyrene and taped together structures and mock-ups at this stage.

Image 1 - is a view showing the shape of the facia at the left end. The valley directs the eye down the curving dirt road and into the backwoods town scene. I have decided to keep the other end blocked off, and will paint a waterfall and distant mountains behind. This is to help stop viewers looking at each other and ruining the illusion.

Image 2 - is the same view in closer.  You get more of the feeling here of how the shape of the facia around the road in the valley should direct the eye into the scene.

Image 3 - shows the layout from the front.  White medium density polystyrene is placed to show the mountains and I have mocked up the town with some of the Woodland Scenics, DPM and Campbell kits.

Image 4 - is a closer view.   I'm trying to follow Malcolm's advise, and group the structures together somewhat.  You can see the viaduct here carved out of poly to give me a feel for what it will look like.  I left the timber supports in place and worked around them.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Part 1 - A couple more pics to start.

Image 1 - Here is the right end of the layout. I've tried to frame a view through to the tunnels with the contour of the land. The mountain at the front to the right also disguises a support for the ceiling.

Image 2 - And here is my first kit-bash for this project. I tried to look for kits that could be reduced in size without too many problems. DPM's Seymour block was a good candidate, and gave the added advantage of a nice angled structure to fit on a corner site. I used the street front side and corner walls and the back wall, so still have the long front and side wall left.

Image 3 - Looks like a 'first national miners bank' or something of the sort.

Image 4 - And a view from the other end. The back is detachable at this stage for glazing and the like.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi again.

Part 2.

I bought a couple of Campbell kits off ebay, each containing two small structures, and these seem to fit right in. I have several Woodlands Scenics white metal kits as well. The two storied Pharmacy I have split in half (I'm using the back as a front) to get two structures. I also am using one wall from my recent 'boneyard casting' purchase from Randy (Downtown Deco), and managed to swap some of his larger walls for the RDA stone and brick factory shown in the second pic. In front of this, and next to the river, will sit the Campbell Grist mill, complete with its water wheel and aerial water race. There is also one small 2-storied DPM structure and a kit-bash of a 'Gruesome Casket' kit. This kit-bash will sport a two story balcony, and will be a hotel. There is also one casting from 'Rusty Rails'. The feed track for the yard will also have a small industry at its end and this will be two storied with a square hip roof. The track at the left front of the layout will have a small wharf and crane. I'm pretty happy with the placement of things at present. There may be one or two very small structures added, and perhaps one or two swaps. Sounds like a lot of fun. Mainly fairly budget starter kits with a few small craftsman type kits. One of the aims is to show that model railroading is within the grasp of many who don't believe it to be so, and I hope this selection will help to show this. The layout feels so much more gelled together now.

My wife bought me a copy of Jonathan White's 'Majestic Wilderness' for my birthday. It features large colour prints of 52 paintings he did over several years of Fiordland's west coast sounds - some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery to be found anywhere in the world. The area features the type of terrain I hope to convey on both this layout, and the future extension of my Tellynott layout - Shadowlands. This book should prove not only to be inspiration, but I also hope to be able to use the paintings to help me paint my own backdrops.

Image 1 - View through one of the cuttings

Image 2 - View of the grist mill and RDA industry

Image 3 - Front on view showing the small steep road sharply curving its way up the hill from the wharf to the main road

Image 4 -  view under the upper track rail bridge

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Part 3.

I spent a great weekend away in Timaru (two hours drive south) at a modelling meet (basically, a group of friends modelling together on individual projects or in small groups). It was a lot of fun and I spent my time making trees.

Here's a few pics of my efforts. It gives an idea of the look I'm hoping to achieve. It will use a lot of trees!

Images 1-3 - trees mocked up in the front right area of the layout - backwoods town side..

Well, the jigsaw is slowly coming together. I've been working on the tunnel areas on the mine side of the layout. As there is so much hidden track, I decided I needed some access to the tunnels for cleaning and other emergencies. With so much track crammed into such a small area (6' by 3' 4" in HO scale) the clearances are very tight - both horizontally and vertically, and so what might normally be a fairly easy job is quite complex! So here is a series of photos showing the layers - over two posts.

Image 4 - Here is a view back towards where the mine will be, looking into the tunnel entrances. You can see my home made tunnel sizer on the tracks. There are notches in the bottom so it runs along the track.

Image 5 - Here is a view from the top with the plywood base for the mine removed.

Image 6 - Here the removable section is sliding out.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[gnatshop]

Mark, I've loved following along on this awesome and artistic project, and I'm really glad that
you're taking the time and effort to post it here! 
I know that takes time away from modeling! 

But, this forum seems to have become the 'the ol'e family gatherin' spot!'. 
And, you're part of the family!!!   

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks David!  I was a bit late to the party!  I guess that comes from living on the other side of the world and not being up with the goss.  But when I found this site a saw so many familiar cyber friends I just had to start this thread here!  I hope to meet many of you in person in the coming years, and have a trip to the States tentatively planned.  I hope to attend a convention, visit the F&SM, see some sights, and put a few faces to names.

Part 4.

Image 1 - And here is a view with it removed.

Image 2 - Here is a view from the side showing the access acquired.

Image 3 - And again from the top, this time with another piece removed.

Image 4 - The removed piece (pretty complex!)

At the other end of the layout where the tunnels go under/ through the backdrop, I played around with a drawer, but couldn't get it to work.  The space was just too restrictive and it meant the sacrifice of the shape of the facia on the mine side of the layout (I find the shape aesthetically pleasing and nicely balanced).  On the other hand I really wanted access to those hidden tracks.  After much head scratching I came up with the idea of building a box over the tunnels with an access hatch underneath the layout.  As the tracks curve into the tunnel, viewing into the tunnel to the point of being able to see the void will be impossible.  Problem solved!

Image 5 - a view of the box, backwoods town side right end.

Image 6 - a view from underneath the layout.  I had to re-route some wiring.

Well - that's it for catching up this weekend!
More soon, cheers, Mark.

[ACL1504]

Mark,

This is really a great thread. I'm glad you started it here. I've pretty much moved all my threads here. I'm looking forward to you bringing the layout together. Great job on all of it.

If you live on the other side of the world, that means we live on the other side of the world as well.

Thanks for sharing with us!

Tom