Sunny weather at Beaver Creek Quarries

[beavercreek]

Well it was was sunny and work just had to wait. Had a little play on the Quarry line. The Shay and Climax had their newly installed sound systems (the Climax was a tight fit with the on/off switch, volume control, back-up battery and charging jack but it all went in).

First though, was the case of the fat controller having a kip

The little Climax carrying out its duties shifting the scree

Passing the not too pleasant 'restroom'. The guy seems to be taken aback by the 'ambience as he opened the door!

The mechanic tries to repair an air purification plant that is way past its sell-by date.

The Climax passes a Shay pulling a works train

The Shay pulls out

 

[trammayo]

Looks really great - a hive of activity - like the road too.

Mick

 

[beavercreek]

Thanks Mick
At the moment the Quarry section works as a little switching line or as a point to point auto reverse when I just want to sit back and enjoy. The Mainline is based on the Rio Grande, and the name Beaver Creek is based on my good lady's maiden name and also a place that is on the northern area of the old D&RGW line. I run a Californian Zephyr Express (F3 ABBA + streamliner cars) and one of the actual 1:1 scale baggage cars was called Silver Beaver and another car was called Silver Creek!

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together

 

[trammayo]

Its nice line Mike - and also nice to have raison d'etre for its existence! I have never been to the US but am interested in Denver & Rio Grande. I was at a show in Gort (Co.Galway) yesterday with my trailer layout and met a chap who had worked on that railroad in the seventies and early eighties - he had plenty of praise for old company was extolling the virtues of the scenic beauty of remaining sections. Small worlds I suppose - but always interesting!

Mick

 

[beavercreek]

Its nice line Mike - and also nice to have raison d'etre for its existence! I have never been to the US but am interested in Denver & Rio Grande. I was at a show in Gort (Co.Galway) yesterday with my trailer layout and met a chap who had worked on that railroad in the seventies and early eighties - he had plenty of praise for old company was extolling the virtues of the scenic beauty of remaining sections. Small worlds I suppose - but always interesting!

Mick

We are saving up for a trip over there to ride the Cumbres and Totlec, the Silverton and Durango and a couple of others.
I have, for some reason, always been fascinated by the Rio Grande and although I never had a real train layout as a kid, later in life I made HO logging and mining diaramas based on pictures of lines on or near the Rio grande itself. It was only natural that when I delved into the world of G scale that the Grande would figure largely :love::love:
I bet the guy had a few good tales to tell of the Grande as it lurched towards its status as a fallen flag. It is possibly the most lamented line to have gone, now just part of the Union Pacific empire

Just a few shots that I have posted before of parts of the mainline

 

[CoggesRailway]

A really really nice railway!!

 

[trammayo]

Hi Mike - he mentioned hauling coal but apart from that, he was very enthusiastic about the museum lines you mention. I bought the book about the Rio Grande (a facsimile reprint - poor quality illustrations) - now there really was some wheeling and dealing - real subterfuge!

Don't particularly like flying (or is it landing?) so may never get over there. Seen it in Scenic Railway Journeys, noted a 21 day railway holiday. Its on my wish list!

Interesting footage on Horse & Country (Sky 280 I think) each Thurs at 3.00PM (former Rural TV stuff) have it bookmarked!

Mick.

PS. Great pics again - how do you ger hold of the sunshine? In very short supply here!

 

[beavercreek]

Hi Mick

I will have a wee look at the Horse and Country.

As to the sunshine, well East Anglia is supposed to be the driest part of the British Isles and we have had a pretty good hot dry summer so far, although August has been a bit wet in parts. The dry weather has caused a few problems though, with the line, as the track fixing stakes are buried in the soil and it is clay so it 'contracts' and 'heaves' with the change from wet to dry weather and then back again so I have had to do a bit of track correcting this summer.
Luckily the Quarry section is actually just laid on a concrete pad covered in loads of slate bits of varying sizes. This, once the track pieces are clipped together, makes for an easy to maintain line and also one that is easy to change!

 

[beavercreek]

A really really nice railway!!

Thank you Ian for your encouraging comment.
There is a thread 'BeaverCreek in the sun' on page 11 (365 day setting!) of this 'Pictures' forum which has a few more shots of the line as it was last year. I have added a few things since then so will post some piccies soon to bring it up to date.

 

[Alec K]

I've viewed all these wonderful photos with a mixture of admiration for their convincing
air of reality and creativity, and mild depression because it's unlikely I will ever be able to achieve a close second! A real pleasure to see, seriously, and thanks very much for posting these pictures.

Regards

Alec K

 

[beavercreek]

Hey Alec, many thanks for your lovely comments
not achieve a close second........don't you believe it.
A lot of G scalers do not want to 'restrict themselves to a specific Railroad livery let alone a specific area of that line.So they make up a convincing 'freelance' line, either Eurpoean or American or even just to run any train - even a mixture of euro/american.

I found it easier to do my line due to the resource material available about the Rio Grande, looking at American layouts on YouTube and 'Garden Railways' maga zine (and also a book by the same publishers called 'Gorgeous Garden Railroads') and also by looking at the US HO modelling magazine "Model Railroader'. In that magazine there are often layouts (indoor of course) that just blow your socks off. They, and the 'special' other garden layouts, gave me inspiration to try to emulate the look but outside (and of course that brings a lot of compromises!).

Choose a line and have fun researching on the web..you will have a lot of satisfaction as you build up your railroad either based on the real line or a 'freelance' interpretation of it!

 

[Alec K]

Mike, very generous of you.

My efforts (so far) can be seen on the 'Caradon Branch' thread on this forum; like you, I have been motivated by trying to capture the essence of a real but defunct line. The reason I know I'll never match your achievements is, in addition to talent, that I've constructed my line 2'6" above ground level on decking. Entirely my choice, and with the realisation that my back isn't what it used to be! The compromise is that I'm restricted to small cameos of, wherever possible, prototype buildings that are long gone from the landscape, and trying to recapture something that's lost in the mists of time.

You're working on a literally broader canvas, and, my goodness, incredibly skilfully.

All the best, and thanks,

Alec

 

[beavercreek]

Just a peek at your Caradon thread.
Nice one Alec
Well considering the tight dimensions for adding scenery on the elevated trackbed, it certainly is very evocative! I really like the way that the buildings that you have used for the housing of point and block controls actually looks like they were purpose made!
Also the buildings seem to utilise the plants and trees around them so if you did not know that it was a couple of feet or so off the ground, your eye would deceive you into thinking that the line passed by scale plants.

I am now going to add a few more piccies of my line as the weather is good and I have been playing about with my Photoshop settings for black and white or 'antique' photo effects!

 

[Steve]

Brilliant pics Mike a real credit to you and an inspiration to all.

Just one question does it all stay out all year round or do you bring some bits in for the winter .

 

[beavercreek]

A few little shots. Playing around with my settings...

Some details of the Aroowhead of old, soon to be totally redeveloped,....that is when I finish the garage conversion :wits:

The heat gets to everyone

 

[beavercreek]

Just a few of me venerable Accucraft K27. She just loves the sun..makes her feel she is real and back chewing up the rails running alongside the beautiful Colorado canyons.

 

[beavercreek]

Just one question does it all stay out all year round or do you bring some bits in for the winter .

Hi Steve

In the first year I wasa little precious about some of the vehicles and people and took most in. But I was a bit disappointed with the look of the layout without too many people around so in the following years I have left a lot of folk out and treated quite a few of the vehicles undersides and interiors with spray silicon (the sort that is used for aircraft..I think it is AFX50).
The wooden buildings have light plastic covers made from polytunnel and dark green garden rubbish bags so that they don't look too noticable.
I have left a few freight cars out to 'weather' ( but all others and locos are in the dry) but everything else is open to the elements all year round. I had to do a repaint of a lot of figures as they had faded over the thre or four years of exposure. I had weathered a ot of the plastic buildings and the sun just seems to help that along!

 

[Tony]

Mike think il just give up now and bow to your skill and vision
fantastic railroad mate
Tony

 

[Richie]

Hi Mike
How nice to come back from a short break away to Stratford and find some cracking photo's of your line love the golden / white photo's look like the old pics from the 1800's :love: Hope to get the log yard built on my line in the near future would love it to look like your Arrow Head are the gantry's you have made by Aristo ? Got a log skidder the other day just needs weathering not sure yet to weather my Shay but after seeing your climax loco which looks fantastic i might have ago . Got the green light from Marc with the plow article most have been your pic of my plow on your line that made him say yes love too
Keep the pics coming Mike would love to see one of your SD70

Regards Richie

 

[beavercreek]

Hi Mike
How nice to come back from a short break away to Stratford and find some cracking photo's of your line love the golden / white photo's look like the old pics from the 1800's :love: Hope to get the log yard built on my line in the near future would love it to look like your Arrow Head are the gantry's you have made by Aristo ? Got a log skidder the other day just needs weathering not sure yet to weather my Shay but after seeing your climax loco which looks fantastic i might have ago . Got the green light from Marc with the plow article most have been your pic of my plow on your line that made him say yes love too
Keep the pics coming Mike would love to see one of your SD70

Regards Richie

Thanks for the comments about the photies. I was just playing around with levels, saturation and colour balance. Some work better than others I particularly like the Bachmann K27 453 (it accidentally got in with some of the Accucraft K27 463 shots) and the lady waving her handkerchief, all it needs is a little bit of steam added....mmmmmm a little more playing!
Good to hear about the article! We will soon be associates of a published railroad modeller . That reminds me I had better contact Tag Horton as I think he might have given up on me!
The timber mill crane gantries are customised Aristo signal ones. I made (non functioning at the moment) lifting motors, that slide along underneath the span of the gantry, with chains to move the logs off the cars onto stacks.

I am after a skidder also, how much did you pay for yours? Was it from Steve (Back2bay6)

I finished the weathering on the Climax after I fitted the sound card last week. Now its time for the Shay! I will work on the two-truck first and use chalks and pastels again so that if it goes wrong I can make amendments before fixing it. Oil paints are good for the glossier oil and grease marks whilst the pastels and chalks are great for the everyday dust, rust, coal and water-limestone marks etc. I always coat the loco or rolling stock witha thin spray coat of Testors Dullcoat to give the pastels a 'key' to 'hold' onto, it also helps with the smearing and also starts off the weathering process as it dulls off the 'shiny' new-look appearance of fresh out of the box locos (of course the real locos were very glossy when freshly out of the workshop!)

I forgot about a photo of the SD70 heritage...will make amends very soon!