A new Railway is Started

[Riograndad]

Smart building,great use of usable space,its only if you build the prototype and stand the two together that anybody will know,,,shhhh,I wont let on

 

[dunnyrail]

Last few pics of the Workshop. I discovered a real bo bo, my DR Ciaches will not fit as the door is a little low. Made it work for a Van so it is now just a Wagon Workshop! Last few pics. The doors have beenfitted now so that is probably about as much work as will be done on it. Though I have not fitted fake Door Hinges. Og and I forgot to mention that the windows were printed from a Cad Drawing that I did. The woodwork has been weathered with a wash of Matt Grey whilst the brickwork has been picked out with a thin wash of white wiped over to allow the mortar lines to show better. Roof has. Been made to look like felt by the addition of 30mm wide strips of cut wet n dry sandpaper overlaid to be around 25mm wide. The roof top has 3 similar srtips glued onto the ridge, though it certainly blunts the craft knife pretty fast when cutting into long strips.




Next up to attend to that little building to the right hand side. This is a MDF and ply monstrocity from out of my head. Seen below on the workbench awaiting a paint and roofing job.

Finally from post 164 some more updated pics of the new rockery, the replacement height in the form of a tall Bamboo in a pot is test fitted and reference to post 1 on page 1 of this thread you can see the Tree that it emulates to replace to the left and just behind my friends Goldies. That is a pic of the Garden taken just after I moved in in 2012. A little has occured to the Garden since then!



Just. Few bricks, concrete of the top stones in and some more planting afte additional earth put in place to do.

Finally from last year the new corner has grown somewhat. Though the Box is taking its time to recover after being moved from the front Garden.

JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

I have also been thinking hard about the Gernrode Engine Shed. Many moons ago back when I lived in Hemel I had creted a facsimile of the real one. Here are some pics of the realmthing in recent visits. Note that in 1981 the verticals were Brick as in recent years they have converted it to sliding drop down doors. The last pic shows with the original yptype of doors.






Sorry about the Shiny Scan using the iPad.

Below are a couple of pictures of my Half Relief (roughly 4 inches deep) fake of the Shed. As you can see more liberties have been taken with the prototype. In truth I never have had space for more than 2 Tracks either here or at Hemel so 2 Tracks it had to be. The original was made out of MDF cos I had loads of off cuts and I started using Dolls House Slip Bricks to detail it. Though they look very nice in truth it is more than tedious to glue each one in place, so ovr the eight or so years that this has been in existance I have never got round to finishing it.

I sprayed the inside Matt Black and this had caused a satisfactory spoof that the Shed was longer than it in reality was, in fact a friend came over recently to play trains and thought that I had drilled through the back of the Shed!



Here is the Shed on the workbench after another 10 or so rows of slip bricks had been added to the Right Hand Pillar. Enough so thoughts turned to Hips. Guess some of you guys would be using Plasticard Covered Foamboard, but for inside work In find that Hips works for me.

So after just a Mornings Work the replacement was made, scribe bricked up and sprayed undercoat. So much quicker and easier than the slip bricks.

The 2 side by side, anyone want a 4 inch deep shed with a small tub of slip bricks?

Old one will probably go in the bin, lucky old bin I say.

Just a bit more detail, may use some slip bricks to detail the bottom of the windows. Paint up the brickwork, glaze the Windows and bkacken inside of the Shed.

I would like to fake up the i side with a picture of the real inside to give the apoearance of a longer shed than just a black back. Sadly although I bunked the Shed in 2010 I never took a pic of the inside. I need a view roughly with ones back to the doors and only one engine or at least one road empty. Can anyone help please?
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

Finally finished off the Loco Shed today. Jobs completed since the previous pictures:-
Roof - Plasticard sanded to look a little like felt and scored to represent the different rolls.

Paint - Sprayed Halfords Matt Red Primer (actually a Brown Bauxite Colour), matt white thined wioed on with a Sponge to pick out rendering. Some bricks picked out in Black Red and other highlighting colour. Sides Halford Matt Grey Undercoat with some weathering.

Windows - Plastic Glasing Material with Glazing Bars made from Slaters Microstrip, weathered by applying Liquid Glue to them.

Put in place.

Side views show Glazing after weathering. 2 views not easily seen by ooerators of the line.



Thought I had finished then took my picture down from the Workbench to realise I had forgotten the Doors. I used the pieces that were cut out from the openings. Scribed to represent the various detail as seen on the picture with a good bit cut off the bottom. What would be the front has been scribed to represent the Wood that the doors are made from using a Hacksaw Blade to get the Wood Grain, though his is not seen! Was just going to glue them in place but then I decided to use small Nails to help them sit in place. In the end the doors are just held in place with these shortened, pushed into the side of the doors offered up using the cut offs of the door bottoms then shoved into the walls. Simples and removable if I wish to do so.



The Black Blobs inside the Shed are for Couplings to sit undervso that they Hooks are not bent down when stock is stired in these roads during non running days.

Next stage will be to detail the ground in this Shed. As can be seen I have already removed some Sleepers when the track was laid to allow for a Pit.
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

Many posts back on this thread I talked about how I used some Insulation to create a row of hills. At the time I was advised that the stuff I used was not the best thing and would break down. This never happened so bad as advised, but I always thought it looked a bit like a 3 humped Kamel no matter how much I cemented Strata on it. So a plan was hatched a while back to sort it out. Today was the day that this projects round-to-it came in. In truth it was such a nice warm sunny day that a bit of a job like this had to be started to enjoy the day. How many more warm ones like today will we be getting this year?

I have written about Cement Mountains in the past, though probably in the Mad Days. But I have not shown a complete job so this may be of use to beginners and those that have missed others on the Forum doing a similar job.

This was Humpfree before start of the work.

The plants that would be affected were taken out and placed in Nursery Pots for future return to the sight. Much of the earth was removed as were the Rocks and Stones, Mr Lumphammer comming into play as required.

Here I have started the woodwork bracing and test fitted pots that will be used for subsequent planting. These will in effect be giving zones within the mountains that will represent growth of varying kinds.

Close up showing Chicken Wire that is fitted to the woodwork using my trusty staple gun.

Mire views of the trashy wire work and support, the basis of this is not too important, I am just making a support for the Cement Finish that will come later. If the wood rots away as it will the Cement will,be self supporting.



Sadly I was on such a roll that I omited to take a picture of the surface cover. I would normally like to use Witney Blankey or some such natural material which is best if you have some old natural sort of material. When using this I put a slop or two of cement really wet to make a firmish start to the work that will come later.

But here I was using what I had to hand which was a roll of the Modern Equivalent of under tile felt. It is ideal but being man made will not take a sloppy mix of Cement well. But it will take Post Crete which has been thrown onto a wetted surface (use a good dollop of Washing Up Liquid in the Water) sprayed on to get the surface good and wet before slinging the Post Crete onto the surface. Wide surfaces take it is just dropped over, but the Vertical Surfaces need it to be Flung in Place. Please use Glives when doing this. Remember to cover your Track if working in close proximity as I have done here. Postcete takes some cleaning off after it gets dried on Track!



So the basis has been started, I may need to do some more Postcrete tommorow before the next stage. Also this is Stage 1 of what may be three stages to get this job finished. I will not be doing the other side as can be seen the planting has well taken care of that issue.
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

More work has been ongoing to Huphrey. A Concrete Mix of 2 Parts Sharpe, 2 Parts Building 1 Part Cement a drop or two of Washing Up Liquid and some Exterior PVA has been mixed up to a Creamy Mix then applied with my old trusty Plaster Knife which has Rounded off ends to get the Strata effect shown in the next two pics. Note the difference of Colour between mixes, not a problem as that will be resolved in the final stages.



Yesterday the final two Humps were Wired up, nite the Red Wire that has been pressed into the original Insulation to hold it in place.

This time I used old Cotton Bedding that had been used as a Dust Sheet, cut into Thinish Strips, dunked into a Bucketbof Water and plonked in place.

The Wetted Sheet has now had a dusting of Postcrete, if possible it is best to loose all signs of the Sheet.

Plants have been protected by a cut up Postcrete Bag. Inevitably some Cement will get on them but it will do little damage and be gone by Spring.

Finally a before just after the Mountains were put in place.

And how they look now before the next and final stages.

Interesting for me to see the differences over 3 years that the above 2 pics show.
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

Finally managed to get a bit more done yesterday and today.

Yesterday consisted of finishing the Strata Work and adding some Weathering This consists of Sulphate of Iron (used for feeding Azalea's - must give my one some before I use it all) mixed with water, brushed on and then heavily wetted. The same treatment was done immediately after with Wicks Concrete Powder similarly mixed with water and well slopped over the now dried Concrete. The Sulphate goes Green before turning Brown and this can be seen in the following Pictures.

Strata before completion and weathering.



All the Strata work has now been completed and you can see the Green Tinge of the Sulphate of Iron, the Wicks Concrete Black Powder has nicely toned down the harsh Concrete Grey.

I think the Middle Mountain on the Right here should be called the 'Devils Nose' ?

Plant Pot holes still to be filled with Soil and removed plants replaced. All are plants that likes well drained soil so the previous mix with its added Alpine Grit will fit that bill nicely.

Pic below.
One plant remained in Situ, its roots are actually below the Mountains so I hope it survives OK.

Once the Rain Ceased today I was able to do a bit. Plants put back into the area once the Holes were filled with soil.



Devils Nose again.

Final job will be to put Alpine Grit into the area to discourage weeds and hope all the plants take, next Spring will show how it has all gone. Rockery Plants are generally pretty forgiving in this respect.

Any questions re Concrete Mountains please do not hesitate to ask.
JonD

 

[dunnyrail]

So having sorted the middle part of the Gardens Humps, it was time to have a go at the Shed End. The Mountains at that end were the other side as it were of the Cut Out. At the Shed End the planting had got overlarge and the House End was pretty well I accesible without clambering over the Station area so something had to be done. My initial thoughts was a Road and a modest Village, all rather care worn as might be the case in the days of Communist East Germany. Work started back in that nice spell in February, I could have started last year but did not want the Garden to be a Building Site for the Christmas Day Milk Train last Xmas.




















This Picture shows part of the Hills after Cement and with some only having had an initial application (right) of Postcrete to strengthen things up before the application of Strata.



I like to add notes to each picture to show what is going on at each stage but with a lot of pictures that are just shown with differing names in this part compared to below it is a bit of a faff. So what occurred was to create a good base for the Road, to do this I used old steel from a Trashed Gazeebo to make a hopefully non sinking Pad the length of the Road. This had lots of cement and rubble to get a good base. The Hills from the Celtic were then fronted with more of the Steel to act as a Frame for Chicken Wire and Blanket much in the way the previous Hills were done on the previous postings in this thread.

Buildings were freshened up or repainted as necessary before planting on the Layout. I hope the process can be defined from the pics. Eldon Manor (the Red Roofed Building in the Hill) was placed up high and back as the Scale is somewhat smaller than the other Buidings. This was to create some false perspective. Also to be seen is the base of the Mill. This will be talked about on the next posting.

A couple of the smaller Pictures below have crept in of the next stage of the Project.

 

[dunnyrail]

Once the Magdesprung Side was completed it became the turn of the Drahtzug area to be redone. Part of this work required that the Mill be moved to a location where water from the Reservoir would be circulated via the Water Course and a Rill be used direct the Water to turn the Mill Wheel. This involved much thinking about how said Rill would be constructed. As ever it turned out to be less of an issue than I thought, shortish 6-12 inch Timber Sections were covered in Plastic Sheet to create a Cemented Rill that would be cast onto Butyl Pond Liner to create a Water Course to the Mill. G4 seals the Concrete from the Water to prevent too much Lime getting into the Reservoir and Pump.
Pic 1 shows the Mill test fitted into Location to get a feel for how it would fit and the Hill work to be done around it.

The next 3 pics show the Rill under construction.





Plants taken out were potted up for a short period of storage prior to starting work. In the previous post they can in some of the pice still be seen in position.

Once the Rill had been cemented up it was the time to Render and Stratify the area in front to look as if we were looking at a Hillside that had had the Rill fashioned out of it.

Once this work had been completed yesterday became the day for sorting out the Plants prior to inserting back in their old but slightly moved home. Much cutting and chopping down was also carried out and the Plants have all been mounted in Pots to in effect tame their rampant growth.

Planting out is always an exiting time, will they survive and be happy in their new location? Well they have 2 choices, thrive or die.


As can be seen the Mill has had a repaint with Stone Paint Match Pots.

After planting out a good watering was carried out to reveal some area’s that had not got Earth properly filled in round the pots. This was attended to this morning prior to Plastic Barrier for Weed Supression and Water Retension purposes. It is pushed into the Earth by the Plaster Knife somthat edges will not be seen ready for the Grit.

Final job is to put Potting Grit as a surface. This latest stuff has real possibilities, much of it looks ideal as Ballast if sifted out. Vastly dirterent to the last lot I got at my Local Garden Centre. In fact they only had Rounded Grit so I had to go further afield to get what I wanted. Such is the world of the Retail Experience.

 

[casey jones snr]

A very interesting project Jon. Great pictures and informative notes.

 

[JimmyB]

Jon, very nice, you mention G4 could you expand please

 

[dunnyrail]

Jon, very nice, you mention G4 could you expand please

Ok G4 is a Cement Sealant that is put on Cement to seal from Limescale and Chemicals in Cement Ponds or Water Courses that can be detrimental to Fish,Frogs or Newts. Available in Clear or Black. It is very tricky to clean off Brushes so I tend to use Sacrificial Poind Shop Ones on each coat, also best to wear latex Gloves under thin old Gardening Gloves when applying. Tends to look like Oil if any gets into a Wet Pond then congeales to clog up pumps so important to apply to a Dry Surface and let dry off. Last time I got a 1kg Tin it was about £30 but does go a long way even with the recommended 3 coats. I get it from a specialist Water Garden Etsblishment. Oh does no damage to Butyle Liner in fact any cement on the liner you can seal the Joint with it as I have done on my Rill and around the Water Mill where the Water runs to get into the Small River. Hope that helps Jimmy.

 

[JimmyB]

Jon, many thanks, hope to start my water project this year!!

 

[dunnyrail]

I have made a short vid if the Rill and Mill,under Test. Not the best but it does Show the arrangement and how the circulation is carried out.

At around 30 secs I look at the small river that returns water to the Tank seen later. The Water Wheel is a poorly constructed thing that came with the Shop Bought Mill. Will be making a new waterwheel at some stage, ge_rik’s one will give me inspiration. Solar Cell in Temp position for the Tests but it all works just fine and I can even have a bypass of water via the original course though not with quite the amount of Water. That small Solar Pump is limited by the lift of a couple of feet but does better than expected.

 

[dunnyrail]

Decided this morning after posting about the Mill and Rill to make a new Wheel. Unashamedly copied Ge_riks methods to make a new one out of Plasticard as he has. I have put a couple of 00 Brass Bearings for the Wheel to trundle around on some 1/8th KS Tube and am pleased to report that it works just fine. First pic shows the Wheel drying in the sun. Is have sprayed some Green to represent the Moss that would be present on a Wood Wheel.

Second Pic shows the Water Flow sans the Wheel.

This picture shows the Drop of Water in the Tank when the pump is running, some 2-3 inches from what is a pretty large Tank.

Next pic shows the Narrow Water Course that returns the Water to the Tank. In my world this is the Selktal River.

Another pic of the River showing the Old Mill Wheel unceremoniously dumped in the River with some old Wagon Chassis, sort of thing used to happen in the bad old days of East Germany when under Communist Control.

Finally a pic of the Wheel in place and a short Vid of it running.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Decided this morning after posting about the Mill and Rill to make a new Wheel. Unashamedly copied Ge_riks methods to make a new one out of Plasticard as he has. I have put a couple of 00 Brass Bearings for the Wheel to trundle around on some 1/8th KS Tube and am pleased to report that it works just fine. First pic shows the Wheel drying in the sun. Is have sprayed some Green to represent the Moss that would be present on a Wood Wheel.
View attachment 250270
Second Pic shows the Water Flow sans the Wheel.
View attachment 250271
This picture shows the Drop of Water in the Tank when the pump is running, some 2-3 inches from what is a pretty large Tank.
View attachment 250272
Next pic shows the Narrow Water Course that returns the Water to the Tank. In my world this is the Selktal River.
View attachment 250273
Another pic of the River showing the Old Mill Wheel unceremoniously dumped in the River with some old Wagon Chassis, sort of thing used to happen in the bad old days of East Germany when under Communist Control.
View attachment 250274
Finally a pic of the Wheel in place and a short Vid of it running.
View attachment 250275

You need a slomo on it, Jon

 

[dunnyrail]

You need a slomo on it, Jon

Could be right, I perhaps need to play with the flow rate. Ow that I have 2 water runs from the pump less may have that equivalent. If it is sunny enough to get the thing working maynplay a little today.

 

[dunnyrail]

View attachment 178803

What 5 years of growth has done to those Conifers and Box, a little trim required me thinks!

 

[dunnyrail]

View attachment 229478
Finally a before just after the Mountains were put in place.
View attachment 229481
And how they look now before the next and final stages.
View attachment 229476

Fff

 

[dunnyrail]

Grrrr trying to edit my post. I wanted to show the Bridge before and after.

So the last two pics on the previous post show what I am referring to prior to these mods. This small Viaduct was built using a single Cellcon Block many moons ago. It is quite narrow, barely just enough for the Track so needed some blocking out. I used some offcuts from a UPVC Bargeboard to make square Section pieces that 3 deep each side pulled the Outside to where the Wire Fencing is. The. The Sides which were cut out of the Centre from a Trainline 45 Bridge that I Modified for a friends 0 Gauge Layout where the width was insufficient for Double Track. This left a long middle section that has been cut in two lengthwise hence the odd ends and added to each side of this Viaduct. Never ever chuck anything out!



The other recent job has been at Harzegerode where Road No.4 used to be a bit on the close side to Road 2. Wagons in the Siding if incorrectly spotted would get a side swipe from a Big Loco running round. So I have widened the board by the amount shown below, roughly 1.5 inches.

More of a job than it looked as the Trunking for Wiring and Air had to be moved out as well, plus all to reballast with scenic Ground Stone and greenery. Final pics show the satisfactory clearance now achieved and some of the way that it has all be reblended back in.





Piko 2-10-2 can now run round without fear of a Wagon taking a near 4ft nosedive to the floor.