Having been prodded, pushed and shanghaied into this on the NGRM forum, I have finally taken the plunge to build Creag Dhubh Summit as an entry to the Dave Brewer Memorial Challenge, to be contested at Expong next October. This will be the terminus of the mountain tramway that starts behind Rae Bridge station:
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The plan for the terminus is shown below. The dark grey area will be the subject of the challenge, a lift-out unit built around a carved styrofoam block. I plan to glue 5 sheets of 50mm sheet together and face them with thin ply all round. The rear face will be the backscene, which will extend to 25cms above the base level. No more, or it will rear its head above the Glenclachan backscene behind.
The plan shows the station on a 1 in 25 gradient, but that isn't really necessary - it may become level as this enables me to store stock in the siding, or possibly the siding will be on the level. I'm still working on that. For purposes of the challenge demonstration I will add a short stub track to enable a tram to run from one track to the other. The approach line will be modelled using the same materials as the 'challenge' scene.
The plan is loosely based on the Snowdon summit station, only it will be an overhead electric adhesion line, and I will model the landscape as fancy takes me. I am thinking of a rock face down the front which will cover the front supports over the fiddle yard below, and a rocky slope behind the station with a path up to the summit, which will blot out much of the backscene. For the backscene I can use photos of the view from Snowdon made last April when we climbed it. Why is this called The Ridge? That will be clarified later.
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The terminus will fit over the Glenfinnan branch fiddle yard. This at present contains five tracks, one of which is only used for storage and never in actual operation. So it can go and make room for the inclined approach line shown in the light grey area in the plan. Below is an early sketch of the proposed arrangement, showing the existing fifth track in the fiddle yard on the left:
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This will be at a 1 in 15 gradient down to the level of the present tram fiddle yard under the hill at Rae Bridge. Here I still have an unused point that may be connected to a new switchboard (seen dimly in front of the support in the distance in the photo below). There is just enough space to fit in a third line between the vertical support and the present tram fiddle yard:
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The clearance under the tram teminus will be in the order of 7-8cms, which is enough to allow the branch trains to operate normally and, if necessary, be saved in case of a derailment.
Here is a photo of a trial run of a tram up a temporary line laid at a 1 in 15 gradient from the point in the tram fiddle yard. Both the Bachmann conversion and the box cab and Atlas coach made the gradient all right.
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I find the old Snowdon summit station (http://www.enterexit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Snowdon-Summit.jpg) very attractive, and the model may resemble it vaguely, although I'm not thinking of representing a tearoom/hotel at the top.
I have read up on the Snaefell Mountain Tramway in Robin Winter's book. There are some similarities to the CDMT, but I found the bow collectors on the Snaefell line are nearly twice the size of mine! In addition, I find the summit station on Snaefell singularly unattractive. The overhead wire arrangements are very interesting to study though. And no, there won't be working overhead - it can be done using trolley poles as Don Sibley has shown, but in operation, some of it remotely controlled, it would be far too complicated. So it will be fishing line again.
Since this is only a small layout, I suppose weight won't matter too much. I think I have a plaster casting mould somewhere, a good idea to try that for a change! Otherwise, crumpled aluminium foil may come to the rescue.
Something that nagged me in the plan above was the bare tracks of the branch fiddle yard in full view in front of the tramway down the hill. The solution was to turn the approach tramway scene into a downhill view, with the hill rising towards the front, over the fiddle yard. The tram can then be viewed against a mountain diorama in the distance - photo backscene?
After a few hours doodling I came upon this:
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You'll see that the tramway enters the permanent area at a low level, about 2-3cms over the fiddle yard baseboard. Then as the fan of sidings widens, it goes towards the backscene, but it is climbing all the way at 1 in 15. Eventually it is far enough above the sidings to cross them and come forward to the summit terminus. The brown line in each cross section gives an approximate level of the scenic base.
There is a dotted line above the fiddle yard tracks which can be brought forward if possible, provided I will be able to access the track below. Also note that the scenic base drops down over the edge of the terminus board to exploit the full 25cms width of the challenge area. The rectangles in the cross sections show the approximate envelope of each - 22-23cms wide for A and B, 25cms wide for C, and all are 25cms above the fiddle yard base.
I have to lay the approach track first before I can determine the exact height of the summit station over the track base below. Therefore preliminary work will be done first, before the construction of the Challenge entry will commence.
First I did some work on the incline from the tram storage yard. Here are the ply base and the softwood supports positioned in place for trial running:
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Trial running worked as before - the trams slow a little but I don't see a trace of slipping in the curve, which should be enough. So I set to work gluing down the softwood supports and the ply track base. I put all my heavy tools - a heavy block plane, wrench, hammer and a chisel - on top of the ply to keep it down, as it is a trifle springy:
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Next will be a ply contour strip along the track of the fiddle yard, which will act as a support to one side of the ply surface of the scenic portion of the tramway on the mountain (the approach to the Summit station which is the real subject of this thread).
The views above give another idea of where exactly the tramway will be built in relation to the rest of the layout.
The idea is to create a tramway crossing a ridge. Hence, the title of this thread is The Ridge. On the left, the slope will be down and the backscene will show a view not unlike that from Clogwyn ridge on the Snowdon line. On the right, the slope will be up. The station will be perched on a steep slope with a rock face falling away in the foreground, and a footpath running towards the actual summit, which may possibly be represented on the backscene.
Here are a few more construction photos. I spent several hours measuring and cutting pieces of 4mm ply to build up the box structures for the two layout units. Here are two strips at a 1 in 15 taper for the base of the tramway leading to the summit:
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Note that I used the height of 'Robert the Bruce' as a reference. This is one of my tallest locomotives which has to go under the tramway when it crosses to the front of the layout:
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This is the base of most of the tramway. Note the patches on the left which I marked for cutting out, since these will have a falling slope towards the backscene:
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A view of the box cab and the observation coach on the new track base, showing how steep the incline is.
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I wanted to use a piece of styrofoam as a 'splint' to extend the base for another 20cms to complete a 75cms stretch of baseboard. However, cutting styrene is not too easy and I cut it far too low to use as a 'backbone' for the entire layout unit. I fitted a piece of softwood as a brace between the two strips of ply at the far end, and glued the lot together, after slipping in two sheets of paper to prevent the unit from being glued to the baseboard of the fiddle yard:
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Several hours on, I had cut the parts for the Challenge unit, and a strange arch shape that will serve as the front of the other unit. I will need an end face to the unit near the camera to preserve rigidity. The large open space between the arch and the track base will be covered in with a curved piece of stout card, preserving the hill contour, so I can reach the fiddle yard tracks underneath. The card is suitable as a scenic base:
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Most of the parts are still loose and rather warped, but I found that gluing them together and pressing them down on a flat surface will produce a stable box shape.
I will do some catching up on this thread later.
The next job was fitting end faces cut to the contour of the mountainside to both units. In addition, I made the rear faces of the units - in the case of Summit station this is a pretty tall sheet as you will see in the photos.
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I cut the end face of what I will refer to as the 'ridge' unit which will have a view similar to Clogwyn ridge. Note that this will slope down from the front to the tramway and the backscene immediately behind:
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Next I completed the work on the layout bases, excluding the curved card fill piece planned for that great big hole over the fiddle yard pointwork. Note the tall hillside at the rear end of the station. The visitors to the summit will have to climb a few more feet to reach the pinnacle on the top:
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And here is the joint between the ridge unit and the summit station unit, which is the subject of my challenge entry:
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The square corner fill pieces came from the shaft of a rocket I found in the front garden on New Year's Day. Both the baseboard units have been glued and pressed together using weights, props and clamps. They are now reasonably square.
I forgot to show you a few construction details. Here is the end of the Challenge unit, with the aperture for the fiddle yard tracks below:
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And here is an underside view of the 'ridge' unit, still waiting for that card infill:
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Next will be fitting the card cover of the hillside on the ridge unit, and styrofoam landscape bases.
Here are two views of the Ridge as the cardboard scenery base is being installed. Note the fiddle yard tracks under the hill.
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Here is a view of the construction method - cut to size, bend, trim further, then glue down with thumb tacks holding the piece in place till the glue sets. Note that several of the pieces have been cut to a lens shape to follow a land contour:
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The Ridge is a place where the tramway crosses from one side of the mountain to the other. You look down into the abyss from the tram as it emerges from Ridge Tunnel, high on the mountainside. Then, as it climbs at 1 in 15, it crosses over to the other side of the mountain shortly before entering the Summit terminus.
The Ridge as a layout is mainly backscene, with a look down the slope on to the tramway as it perches on the edge of the cliff. It is 21cms wide and 75cms long, and I plan to model the hillside with rock debris and crags based on the scenery I saw at Snowdon summit when we climbed it last year. I will probably use it as a test site for rock moulds, and indulge in another backscene.
For those interested, here is a bit of history on the Tramway.
The influx of tourists, as the C&DR evolved into a public carrier, prompted a Glaswegian businessman to propose a scheme for a mountain tramway to the top of Creag Dhubh, which in fine weather claimed a view of the Hebrides stretching 50 miles away. His Lordship's son, who had succeeded the old laird, had been to the Isle of Man where he had travelled on the Snaefell Mountain line, and he applied for Parliamentary authorisation to build an electric tramway in 1905.
This started from a small timber-built depot built on a piece of wasteland between Rae Bridge railway station and the river, and ran through the main road in front of the church until it turned off the road and started the climb to the top. The trams enjoyed a few years' prosperity before the Great War broke out and all tourism came to a premature end. The Royal Navy however took over the tramway to build a U-boat observation post on the summit which they kept manned until the end of the war.
The Ridge in place, with the summit station behind. Note the temporary mountain panorama, which I made using three A4 size prints of photos taken from the top of Snowdon. Not yet sure how to tackle this:
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The shape of things to come:
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This is the view from above, which at the moment looks rather unnatural, with the hard edge very visible against the backscene photo. As soon as the edge of the layout has been modelled with rock chips and castings, and the rather flat backscene brightened up, it should be very different. Note the lens-shaped card infill:
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This is what the backscene should look like - a photo taken from Snowdon, from a different angle:
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Quote from: tedp on January 20, 2016, 13:53
I find the old Snowdon summit station[/url] very attractive, and the model may resemble it vaguely, although I'm not thinking of representing a tearoom/hotel at the top.
According to your own description of Rae Bridge, "At the top of the mountain there is a tearoom," :D
Tim S (founder of the Hungry and Thirsty Creag Dhubh climbers club)
Aha! You caught me out! Perhaps I will open a tearoom in the station building, if space permits. I suppose space will permit, if I look at the tiny, but highly successful tearoom at the Bredgar & Wormshill Railway which caters for huge numbers of visitors!
Yesterday night I set to work laying track, and the good news is that the line is open! Although the track in the summit station is temporary and there is no wiring yet such as point control and overrun protection, it is smooth and the baseboard gaps are in place.
Here is a short video of the running trials. Note that the layout is partly dismantled so I can get at the track base.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYksECxh-0g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYksECxh-0g)
Have fun!
Today I had a look at how to switch the tramway tracks. First, here is a diagram:
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The old storage yard will now probably be renamed something like 'Half Way Yard' and receive coal wagons to power the generating station halfway up the mountain. This is positioned half way up to prevent power losses at the low 550V DC supply. I believe the Snaefell line did something similar in the old days. The coal generating plant will in due course be replaced by water power from a nearby stream, but that is way in the future right now, since we are still in a pre-WW1 time frame.
In addition, Half Way Yard has a second car shed, since the accommodation at Rae Bridge has become a little cramped.
In the diagram there are two feeds - a green one for the C&DR station at Rae Bridge, and a blue one for the branch and the tramway. The green one doesn't concern us as it is quite separate. However, if a branch train goes up to Glenfinnan (the fiddle yard), the blue section is switched to the same controller as the green one. Points 4 and 5 are fed from the toe. These take care of track switching to provide a continuous section on the branch. The tramway and the tram terminus are now switched out to prevent conflicts.
Now we change to tram operation. Point 4 is now set for the tramway, and point 5 for the tram terminus. The blue section is fed from a separate controller. Again, points 4 and 5 ensure continuity over the entire tramway, and the branch is switched out. The extra point 2 hasn't yet been connected up, so this needs a control switch, as does the point in the Summit station. There are section push buttons in the Half Way Yard including track occupancy LEDs that glow when you turn up the controller.
The Summit station will be wired the same way as the Half Way Yard. Later I will publish a wiring diagram showing what will be done.
In addition, I am considering a local shunting controller for both the tramway (the Ridge and the Summit units) and the Glenfinnan branch yard. I have a Minitrains controller that will probably work OK on a short piece of track. Providing a simple local changeover switch on a panel in the aisle adjoining the tramway and the fiddle yard will do the job.
Finally, here are a few photos of the trackwork laid yesterday night, showing the baseboard joints where the track is soldered on to PCB sleepers, and the temporary point in the Summit station:
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There is no reason not to suppose that something like this:
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http://www.floienfolkerestaurant.no/ (http://www.floienfolkerestaurant.no/)
might not be just around the corner out of sight of the station as it is here. The photo of the outside does not do it justice. It has the most amazingly ornate toilets I've ever seen (can't vouch for what the Ladies restroom looks like) - even down to the carved wooden alcoves the urinals are set into. It is like taking a pee in a cuckoo clock.
Quote from: GraemeD on January 21, 2016, 14:14
... It is like taking a pee in a cuckoo clock.
:o :D
I'm afraid there won't be such a grand affair at the bleak windswept summit of Creag Dhubh. What I would like better is this:
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But even then there won't be any space on this tiny layout. Probably I'll fit an extension to the station marked 'Tea Room' and that will be it!
I am impressed with the quick progress you are making.
Jeff S.
I like the different perspective and behind the scenes views too. It has such an organic feel. I can imagine a tramway running along the ridge.
Perhaps a path and a sign "To the observation point and tearoom"? There could be a hint of a viewing platform.
For my opinion the higher you go - the more bleak and basic the toilets are... :)
This is my experience as an Austrian.
Norway may be an exception.
I like the idea of the tram extension. Also it gives Ted the possibility to model the landscape of a mountain peak. Looking forward for more!
Gerhard
Thanks, all - bleak and basic would be my idea!
I have been wondering about the backscene. My backscenes elsewhere have been painted, and I am willing to give it a try. But since this one plays a very important role, I suppose it might be a good idea to have it printed professionally from a panoramic photo that I can make from a series I made on the top of Snowdon.
Tonight, after clearing up the mess in the railway room, and remembering that 'Caledonia' is supposed to have been used up Snaefell during construction of the tramway, I indulged in a little fancy. I ran 'Brutus' up the hill, pushing an open wagon with PW materials and the mess van, and took a few photos. One of these I gave a good working over with Photoshop, mixing in part of a photo showing the ground cover beside the Snowdon line near the top.
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It's a hoax, of course, but it gives an idea of the impression I'm after. Now I need to reproduce that ground cover!
Anyway, it was nice to indulge in a bit of fun... ;)
Perhaps just a Police Phone box on the summit with a notice next to it saying "Teas" ???
Ah memories, Crib Goch in the background, are there any ridges like that in Scotland. I spent 5 years at University in N. Wales way back in the 1960s
Makes a good back screen though.
David
Sharp ridges such as this in Scotland? There must be plenty. In the Northwest, or in the Cuillins. I didn't climb any mountains yet in Scotland to take appropriate photos, but I think Snowdon will do as a replacement...
Quote from: theelliotts on January 23, 2016, 17:28
are there any ridges like that in Scotland.
David
Have a google images look at Suilven in the north west of Sutherland for starters, that is a ridge and a half!
Mick
Looks like someone pitched a huge brick into the soil, with one corner sticking up!
Quote from: tedp on January 23, 2016, 23:02
Sharp ridges such as this in Scotland? There must be plenty. In the Northwest, or in the Cuillins. I didn't climb any mountains yet in Scotland to take appropriate photos, but I think Snowdon will do as a replacement...
Is this ridgy enough for you?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ_IQS3VKjA
Nice video. Makes me look at my bike...
Quote from: GraemeD on January 24, 2016, 17:52
Quote from: tedp on January 23, 2016, 23:02
Sharp ridges such as this in Scotland? There must be plenty. In the Northwest, or in the Cuillins. I didn't climb any mountains yet in Scotland to take appropriate photos, but I think Snowdon will do as a replacement...
Is this ridgy enough for you?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ_IQS3VKjA
Not bad. Good inspiration to use some rock moulds!
Tonight I had a look at Creag Dhubh summit station again, after many weeks. Recently, my good friend Jan van Mourik sent me a Peco 009 point to replace the temporary N gauge point I had put in. It still needs a little fettling, but it's far better than the one I had.
In addition, I found a Peco point motor which I fitted under the baseboard. I extended the drive pin by removing a few millimetres, adding a brass sleeve and soldering a brass extension into the sleeve, so it would point through the ply baseboard. Then I drilled a few holes to be able to glue the unit under the baseboard surface, with the pin in place in the point's tiebar.
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Leaving it to dry, I set to thinking about the station building. I will have to carve a little more out of the hillside, but the old Snowdon summit station was built into the slope, so I can do the same:
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http://www.enterexit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ (http://www.enterexit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/)
What I really want is a long, low, narrow building that may not be similar, but in much the same style. One end would be given to the tearoom, and include a chimney. Since there will be very few travellers starting from the top, the guard can issue tickets. What is needed is a ladies' room and gents' toilet, at the other end of the building.
I found some of the remains of the Ratio Castle Cary station kit that was used for Inverlochan station many years ago. It took some fiddling to arrive at the window and door layout I wanted, but in the end I got there. I made up a baseplate 54mm wide and a rear wall, using 1mm styrene. I also found a complete sheet of Kibri corrugated asbestos, which at this altitude will be more durable than a slate roof.
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The front wall was cut from the Ratio parts, to slightly less than the length of the Kibri sheet. I made the cuts along the stones lining the doorways, in an attempt to camouflage the cuts. If I cannot close the cuts well enough, I can always add a downpipe to hide them.
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Left to right: two windows for the tea room, the entrance to the tea room, the ladies' entrance and the ventilation window to the gents. Note the part kept for the end wall. This has one more doorway which will be the gents' entrance. No outside facilities in the kind of weather that may be expected up here, from time to time! The end wall has to be extended up with another piece of stone sheet by Wills, which I found in the scrapbox.
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Well - this is as far as I got tonight, but at least something is moving on the summit. I have windows and doors by Ratio as well, so many parts needed for the building are ready for use.
The blank end wall to the left will include a chimney, and I suppose a second chimney must be provided to keep the ladies warm as they wait for the tram down the hill. The gents can be expected to bear the freezing conditions and grin....
Typical, the gents have to suffer from the cold. But probably they serve something warming other than tea in the tearoom. :D
Looks good, looking forward to the next stage..
By the way - why did you have to extend the point lever ? are you are using a thicker board?
regards
Gerhard
They serve an excellent single malt in there, produced at Rae Bridge! The point motor is designed to clip on to the base of the point, but then you need to cut a big hole which I wasn't prepared to do! This is much neater.
This morning I cut some of the styrofoam hillside, and I added a strip of styrofoam to the front, to cut the rock face from. The usual mess resulted, but I cured that by waving a hot air gun over the surface. This seals the crumbs that will otherwise keep falling off. I also cut the footpath up the hillside to the actual summit, off the stage.
The station building is progressing well - I just need to make the blind end wall, possibly with a narrow window so the passengers can see the tram coming up the hill, add the chimneys and some interior bracing, then cut and assemble the roof.
Photos later.
Tonight I had another go at the station building. The roof parts are now cut to size - they fit, but final fitting and detailing has to wait till the doors and windows are in.
Then I started the first phase in painting. The walls were made up from different stone patterns, so they need some work to tie them together. I first sprayed the entire structure dark grey (with the roof off):
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The grey is an undercoat for the next stage. First I painted the chimney dark red brown. Then I decided to try something new which I was very pleased with. I took artist's acrylics and put green, dark brown, white and black on the palette. Then I brushed the walls with a rough mix of this.
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Of course, this is far too rough despite the fact that some stones were accidentally and rather nicely picked out. After letting this dry, I took some Tamiya colours and started picking out the individual bricks and stones in alternate colours, trying to break up the pattern.
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It doesn't matter if you hit the next stone with the brush - that will all disappear once the mortar goes in. I think the brick can use a few flecks of yellow, as the three hues of reddish brown are too similar:
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In the next photo the effect of picking out the individual stones can be seen better. Note the lintels etc which were painted a slightly lighter colour of grey-green:
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The corrugated asbestos roof has got its first coating of light grey. Plenty of work to be done there still. And note the platform faces in place. The platform covers will be card.
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It still looks pretty drab, but that will change once the mortar is applied to the courses. More soon.
Lovely work. You can be proud of yourself. Looks pretty much like the real thing. Looking forward to the next report.
Quote from: tedp on March 18, 2016, 10:04
This morning I cut some of the styrofoam hillside, and I added a strip of styrofoam to the front, to cut the rock face from. The usual mess resulted, but I cured that by waving a hot air gun over the surface. This seals the crumbs that will otherwise keep falling off. I also cut the footpath up the hillside to the actual summit, off the stage.
What an excellent idea. I have never thought of re-melting the stryofoam crumbs. I've always just tried to sweep them up, or vacuum them up, both of which result in electrostatic bits of styrofoam attaching themselves to whatever I am using as my cleaning device.
Quote from: tedp on March 17, 2016, 23:35
In addition, I found a Peco point motor which I fitted under the baseboard. I extended the drive pin by removing a few millimetres, adding a brass sleeve and soldering a brass extension into the sleeve, so it would point through the ply baseboard. Then I drilled a few holes to be able to glue the unit under the baseboard surface, with the pin in place in the point's tiebar.
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Leaving it to dry, I set to thinking about the station building. I will have to carve a little more out of the hillside, but the old Snowdon summit station was built into the slope, so I can do the same:
When new all the Peco point motors I have came with a brass sleeve and an extension pin so they could be mounted below the board.
I have found that fixing the peco point motors in place on the underside of the track bed with no way to adjust them is not ideal.
If you intend to fit the Peco accessory switch for frog electrical switching you will find that you will have to adjust the point motor position relative to the point blades so that the switch works. (This needs to be tested before the switch is wired to the track.)
I use the Peco point motor adapter base, but with extend the screw holes so they are slots giving some adjustment. The small brass screws are just the right length so they hold the motor in place but do not go all the way through the 1/4 ply track bed.
Here is a photo. (The Peco accessory switch is also held in place with two wires.):
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But you may not be fitting frog switching and if you do you may have another type of switch in mind.
Brian Meldon
Thanks, all.
One change that will be made is the roof, which must be finished as corrugated iron. Corrugated asbestos, as Michael Campbell pointed out to me, is far too modern. So the sheet edges must be thinned down and the surface finished with rusty streaks.
Melting the surface of the styrofoam is one way of doing it. Richard Glover cuts the stuff with an old knife which he heats on the gas ring. But this came to me naturally - never done it before.
Finally, the point motor. This doesn't need to be adjusted as I checked its throw and the point's throw before gluing down. This is easy because the tiny layout unit can be put on end. For the moment I'm not going to fit a switch, but if it is needed, I can fit a microswitch directly under the baseboard, with an extended operating arm driven by the point motor's drive pin.
When is the railway set?
Asbestos cement roofing goes back to the 1900's, though I don't know when it was first available in corrugated sheets.
It is supposed to have been opened around 1900, so that's fairly early for a corrugated asbestos roof. I decided to change it to wriggly tin by chamfering the edges, as soon as I get round to detailing the roof.
Yesterday I spent at the Valkenburg museum, doing my obligatory First Aid and firefighting course. Each of us in turn extinguished a petrol fire set up in a tray of water, with a cut down drum inside, also filled with water. Half an inch of petrol on top made an impressive fire with 10 ft flames. The way to attack this is to use a CO2 extinguisher, and cooling it down to the point where the evaporation of the petrol is down to a lower level, and it won't self-ignite when you stop the CO2 'snow'.
Anyway, I digress. Today was a quiet day which gave me a chance to do the next step in constructing the Summit station building. I needed to make the foundations of the building at the downhill end, since these will be visible above the platform level. I used some offcuts of Wills dressed stone sheet, and treated them much the same way as the walls:
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The next stage was adding mortar to the stone wall courses. The Ratio walls have a deep pattern with rounded stones, as opposed to the end wall at the downhill side. So I thought I would need a good depth of mortar to even them out a little. I started with a tray of plaster, water and a bit of black paint.
Here I messed up, as I normally use watercolour, but I couldn't open the container so I used acrylic paint. An error, since this created a tough coat of paint and plaster on the stones themselves, which was difficult to eradicate at the cleaning stage. However, the process will become clear from the ensuing photos. Only don't use acrylic paint!
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Here the first coat of plaster mix has been applied. The colour is very dark, but it will brighten as the plaster dries:
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Here is the result after two coats of plaster mix. The courses are now filled with the mix, and it is time to start cleaning the faces of the stones:
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This is after the initial cleaning stage with a damp cloth. Note the plaster residue on the window sills:
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In the end I had to resort to hand soap and water under the tap, and I finally got back some of the old pattern. Regrettably some of the black acrylic has settled on the stones and obliterated the stone painting work I did on Friday:
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Not too bad a result, after half an hour of furious scrubbing. I really detested that acrylic I used!
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Next, I fitted the door and window frames (which had been painted buff beforehand) and I put the building on the layout to check on its looks:
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Today I had an on/off day with several distractions, but since I was at home I managed to do some work on the Summit station building. Late yesterday I had painted and fitted the doors and windows, and this morning I chamfered the edges of the roof so they started looking like wriggly tin. This was rather a tedious affair, since the material is very thick, so a lot of it has to be filed off. The workshop floor is now a regular desert. In addition I fitted an interior partition between the Ladies and the Gents, to preserve decency:
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A close-up of the door and window frames, which I painted buff beforehand, and the door to the tearoom which is open. I lost the other Ratio doors, but I made up new ones to the Ladies and the Gents from Evergreen sheet:
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Here is the building in place, with the platform surface installed. The thin roof edges are evident, although they need to be sealed off underneath:
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That was halfway the afternoon. Tonight I fitted window panes and I made up signs for the station building. The signs were made in Paint and the bitmap tweaked a little until it looked right in MS Word. This allows you to reduce the image to suitable proportions:
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Next, a few close-ups of the signs and the doors and windows. Note the frosted glass in the Ladies and the Gents:
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The building still needs more attention - the roof is still unweathered and as I said before, the gaps need to be sealed. Also, the ridge needs a capping strip. More work ahead!
Looks great. I love the plaster effect on the stone walls. And you are a speedy builder!
I just saw something that looks like a diode between the sidings. Is it a diode and what is the function you get from that?
Thanks
Gerhard
Thanks Gerhard. Once I get going I keep going, but often the problem is to get going!
The diode is temporarily rigged. It protects the end of the platform road against overrunning, since in normal operation the summit station functions as a 'blind' terminus. I cannot yet see the trams entering the station - I need to install a mirror. Eventually I will also fit the siding with a diode, but first the rails will have to be properly gapped and I will have to put in wiring so I can remotely operate the point and the dead sections.
OK, Understood. you run into the siding - the diode interrupts the power - you change polarity - you can drive out again. Means all your trams/locomotives have to run into the same direction.
Will there be a chance one day to see your black rock mountain tramway in an exhibition (not too far away I hope) ?
Gerhard
I was thinking "of course they run in the same direction, it is a terminus" but I realized you mean the locomotives are all wired "right rail positive" (or left if one doesn't follow the norm) for forward direction. :)
All my stock indeed is wired the same way - right rail positive.
Gerhard - I may exhibit the tramway at the Valkenburg show, but not this year. Part of it goes to Expong, for the Dave Brewer Challenge.
Last Monday, after a very busy Easter weekend, much of which was spent volunteering at the Valkenburg museum, I managed to do a little on the station roof. I put on a paint pattern of rectangles, suggesting individual sheets of corrugated iron. Initially it looked a bit like WW2 camouflage:
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Then I started to tone it down with grey and black washes, and I added rust brown to the dark grey sheets, suggesting one batch of the sheets had started to rust from the bottom end up. The bottom end over time would be wetter than the top end.
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Two more views from a normal angle suggest it looks better than you'd think. However, I still need to weather it more subtly before I'm satisfied, and the ridge has to be closed still:
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The roof still needs more work. The harsh initial photo was taken under direct light. It needs toning down - umber may do the trick, and at that altitude the main growth you will see on a roof is lichen. I will have to take a close look at the photos I made of rocky patches on Snowdon summit.
Yesterday however I have been working at something new. I'm not yet quite happy, but I think I am slowly going somewhere. I assembled a photographic panorama by stitching together several photos taken from Snowdon summit. The sky and the foreground needed a huge amount of editing. I spent a lot of ink doing small test prints and then found that the two parts of the backscene (behind the Ridge and behind the summit unit) somehow were at the wrong level. More editing still... The present file is 13548 x 2107 pixels, a jpeg of 13.4Mb!
The idea is to have a photo quality print made which is bright enough to resemble the mountaintop light. Here is a small size copy of the entire panorama:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2Fz-edit15a.jpg&hash=f4d85a6c704d020c07b2a382ad3b8e82dee9dfa9)
And here is the backscene part for the summit station, following furious editing of several source photos of Snowdon - the scene is hardly recognizeable. Most of the rubble will be hidden behind the scenic contours. The tiny figure on the skyline is my wife - that part of the photo was taken when she was on her way to Snowdon summit:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2Fz-edit15b.jpg&hash=27ced52b246a532d502c374848c7930e0fde30bc)
And finally, here is the backscene for the Ridge, assembled from several photos, with a section cut out between the view down to Clogwyn and the view down the other path, which will be obvious for those familiar with Snowdon summit:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2Fz-edit15c.jpg&hash=e4048fea863d3596a438febd721b4b70fa1e5771)
The idea is to have a trial print made on low quality paper, and check that by fitting it behind the layout. After adjustments I hope it will be good enough to make a high quality print for the backscene.
Ted
I know you are basing your mountain railway with some Isle of Man influence as well as Snowdonia but there is some bad news from the island. Just seen on the north west regional tv news is a report of one of the Snaefell tramcars derailing and overturning up the mountain. The pictures show a complete wreck. Fortunately the report mentioned there were no passengers on board. I suppose you could say it Fell off, sorry.
Roger
I just searched for 'snaefell mountain railway derailment' and up came this: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/pictures-runaway-mountain-tram-crash-drama-1-7824668 (http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/pictures-runaway-mountain-tram-crash-drama-1-7824668)
The news item starts saying 'Tramcar number 3 had been parked just short of the summit station this afternoon when it ran away out of control and crashed north of Bungalow station.'
Fortunately no loss of life, the car is a complete write-off. I have a hunch it wasn't put on a handbrake properly, but that's conjecture.
Bad news all the same - you must be shocked even more than any of us, being descended from a Manx family.
Off thread it is the Steam Packet that interests me. Just found out the First Minister is in talks with Liverpool regarding the siting of a new IOM ferry berth down river from it's current berth in front of an iconic 'World Heritage' site. The Liverpool ferry is currently in a Birkenhead drydock having sustained bow damage while berthing in Douglas. What with the tram and the ferry they say everything comes in threes. Let's hope the third is not the Douglas horse tram already under threat of permanent closure.
Roger
A bit late now, but the Wills SSMP223 Corrugated Glazing is a lot thinner than the SSMP216 Corrugated Iron and once painted looks the same. It would need bracing though as its too flexible without support.
Yes I know about the corrugated glazing - regrettably all I had to hand was Kibri corrugated sheet, not even the Wills stuff.