Glen Ogle

[clayliner]

Yes - it's welcome back from me, too. I'm sure you will find some modelling therapeutic. My 'News' hasn't arrived yet but I'm intrigued (I had thought of keeping it unopened until Christmas Day as a treat but I'm not sure if I'm strong willed enough!)

Have a great Christmas.

David.

[petersmith1942]

so pleased to see your post Brian after quite a break
Peter SMITH

[gtmspyder]

Good evening, here's a further instalment of the Glen Ogle Saga.

The first picture showed the 600x600 board, stripped of all it's original forestry scenery.

I have decided to use modellers licence and try and depict a scene on the line some eighteen miles prior to glen Ogle and near the start of the line in Callendar, where the line skirts a lock as it tries to find the least cost option for it's shareholders, as it roughly parallels the A84 trunk road, necessitating many twists and turns and a few bridges before reaching the sharp climb that is Glen Ogle with it's viaduct up the Glen side of Glen Ogle.

Now this is all fiction, and any purists who tend to think that if you are trying to model a real area traversed by the railway, you should only model what is there, I don't like the strictures this imposes on the modeller, so I tend to ignore them if it suits me.

So this next section of line leaves the new Glen Ogle passing loop station, and instead of passing through a man made forest of Fir Trees, as it would were it still in operation, it will now circle the start of a loch, which disappears off scene over anyone's feet who gets too close while viewing the layout.

Here a section of the original baseboard has been cut away and the cuts have paralled the track with two cuts forming the bed of the proposed two girder bridges which are being laser cut at the moment, some where in Wales, by a very obliging model shop owner.



It crosses two girder bridges abutting each other to accommodate the very tight radius of the track, as it heads towards the back of the layout to return, out of site, down the length of the layout to reappear at the Lochernhead station.

The start of the loch has a small ruined castle on it's shore line, shades of Eileen Donan castle a little further North, which is the intended scenic element of this additional small extension of the layout.



The castle is one of those cheap wooden interlocking kits, which arrive as several A4 ish sized pieces of thin plywood, with sections of the models shape stamp cut into them, these shapes can be carefully pushed out of the sheets and are designed to interlock with each other to produce the model depicted, in this case, a castle.

As you can see in this first view of the model castle, I have not bothered to complete it, nor will it ever be completed, as it is my intention to do an Oliver Cromwell , and knock-it-abart-a-bit.  To this end, I have glued all the abutting sections together, and when dry, all external tabs , designed to hold the model together, will be cut off plus, various structural sections to reach the ruined state of a lot of these old Scottish castles seen today.


Then, rather ambitiously, I hope to cover all that is left with DAS modelling clay, and scribe the stonework at a rather more 4mm to the foot scale.


Now this might seem to you super duper modellers out there as cheating, but at my age and in the present state I am in, I'm a Tesco modeller, "Every little helps"

.

Well that's about it for this episode, I do hope those who read it in the magazine, find the story of the Glen Ogle build of interest.


Kind regards,


BrianT.

[gtmspyder]

To continue:-

Very little has been achieved today, the picture below shows the sum total of the progress.



Some more of the original base board surface has been cut away, leaving the track like last years Devon floods on the south West coast mainline through Dawlish, swinging in the breeze.

The reason for this little bit of butchery, is to accommodate the two girder bridges needed to span the gap made to accommodate the line crossing the inland end of what has to be a sea loch to fit in with the story of my castle as you will see later.

The bridge is manufactured from laser cut parts supplied by Hippo toys of North Wales, ( Hippo Toys, 20 Conway Road, Colwyn Bay, N. Wales, LL29 7HS)  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Model-Railway-Layout-Laser-Cut-Warren-Girder-Bridge-2-Sides-3mm-MDF-Various/111914105129?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D42294a4cdd7e49108e67c416651504d4%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D381553596747

I think the above gobeldigook has a name, but I don't know what it's called, but if clicked on, will get you to the ebay site of Hippo Toys

All I can say is that they are a superb company, I telephoned them 01492-544617 with a query on Sunday 18/12/2016 as I was not sure exactly what to order from the extensive range available, and I spoke to the gentleman who does the laser cutting, sorry I have forgotten his name.  He listened carefully to what I required, and was doodling my proposed bridge as I spoke, he took a card number, address etc. and told me the very reasonable price of less than

[Graeme Dunbar]

Some more of the original base board surface has been cut away, leaving the track like last years Devon floods on the south West coast mainline through Dawlish, swinging in the breeze.

Echoes of Abergeldie Castle?


It even had a bridge many years ago:


Found through: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=abergeldie+castle&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=974&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS8rzwhYrRAhXDcFAKHTaKAL8Q_AUICCgD&dpr=1#imgrc=-j-JmVAzx2Tl8M%3A

The layout is looking good! I'm glad you have returned to it.

[gtmspyder]

Hello Graham, and thank you for the link to Abergeldie castle, it is very interesting, and this links to many other Scottish castles which will help me in my modelling.
Now I'm not sure whether to  model the castle as derelict or not? Agh decisions decisions :)

Kind regards,

BrianT.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Derelict gives flexibility in the surroundings and the opportunity to be picturesque, gothic even.

There are many examples about. One not far from here is Gight Castle, childhood home of George Gordon AKA the mad, bad and dangerous to know Lord Byron.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gight+castle&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFkfSG_orRAhXcclAKHU7SBEwQ_AUICSgC#imgrc=o-rNYObnFnafGM%3A

Other ruined castles in the area are Tolquhon
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kildrummy+castle&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=494&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-r4mp_orRAhUDNVAKHYRxANgQ_AUIBygC
and Kildrummy.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kildrummy+castle&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=494&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-r4mp_orRAhUDNVAKHYRxANgQ_AUIBygC

from this I invented what I thought was a fictional location - Kilquhon, only to find it has a family name link.

The most famous round these parts must be Dunnottar.

[gtmspyder]

Hello Graham, thank you for you research into Scottish castles, the more I see, the more I realise that the model I have partly built will have to have considerable modifications to look any thing like  a Scottish castle.

The square turrets on the front are going to have to go to start with, all the Scottish castles seem to have round turrets, so I'm going to have to go out and purchase a packet of Pringles to butcher, and remove the square appendages on the castle front corners, oh goody goody, more work.

Right, to get on with the present state of the work so far:-

I have now removed most of the existing base board top except for the section supporting the rails. I have fitted a 6mm MDF base to the bottom of the 50x25mm (2"x1") softwood framing with glue and screws.   the remaining track support base has had some 50x50mm blocks glued between the new base and the old top base.



The  bridge gap has had a new decking made, and fitted with the laser cut girder sections glued to the edges of the decking. and three sections of 50x50mm softwood pieces cut to act as bridge supports, These have been covered in DAS modelling clay scribed to represent stone work.



The DAS clay was purchased from a shop called "The Works" which is a cheap source of goods useful to modellers.  The clay was cut into handleable sections, kneaded to make it workable, and rolled out with a plastic pipe rolling pin to a useable thick ness.



The three bridge support pieces were coated in PVA and laid on the DAS, which was then formed around them, with the excess cut off.  



The Clay clad pieces were then put to one side to harden, and were then subsequently scribed to represent the stonework. Whilst not completed yet, I couldn't resist putting the bridge in place to look at the results of my labours.



A second view with the as yet unbutchered castle roughly placed in the position it will be when fitted.



That's all for today folks.

Regards,

BrianT

[Jeff Schumaker]

Very nice work. Looking forward to seeing how things progress.

Jeff S.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Hello Graham, thank you for you research into Scottish castles, the more I see, the more I realise that the model I have partly built will have to have considerable modifications to look any thing like  a Scottish castle.

The square turrets on the front are going to have to go to start with, all the Scottish castles seem to have round turrets, 

I would not get too concerned about "type" as there are so many. Excluding the famous ones like Edinburgh and Stirling, most are or were family homes. Quite a lot of the turrety-bits and crenelations are Victorian affectations and not defensive.

Towie Barclay (owned by one-time member of Fairport Convention Marc Ellington) copies Prince Albert's liking for sticking round fiddly bits on top:


If you want square - try Kisimul Castle on Barra:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kisimul+castle&safe=off&biw=1024&bih=494&site=imghp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk5e3i0pbRAhUNdlAKHcV3BNAQ_AUICCgB#imgrc=gaipk7Gqjs8WXM%3A

If you want pepper pots, then the most local one to here is Barra Castle at Oldmeldrum:


Where there are significant defensive towers they are quite often buried under later additions such as Crathes Castle (wonderful gardens and near the heretical Deeside Railway):


Then you can take it too far as in the totally un-Scottish-looking Culzean Castle!


(did I say I like castles?  ;D )

[Hugh Norwood]

Palm trees?? (last photo) The West Coast, I guess?

[theelliotts]

West coast of Ayeshire at the entrance of the firth of Clyde

David

[gtmspyder]

Hello again, I hope you have had a good Christmas, and are looking forward to a happy new year.

I have not been idle, and done a little more work on the Glen Ogle extension board, thank you to all the castle picture contributors, I really appreciate them, and have tried to alter my model accordingly, there is still a lot to do, but I will get there eventually.

The model bridges have been more or less completed, and they have been installed on the layout with the three supporting pillars, only a little more tarting to do.



The 6mm additional base has been painted a rather lurid blue, and the sides between the top track supporting board and the new bottom board has had a squirt of builders foam to start forming the banks down to the loch water.



The open area under the point has been left to enable me to install a point motor, which when in place, will have a cardboard box cover, and a final squirt of foam to model the sea loch bank side.



The castle had been suitably knocked about by the English Navy a long time ago in retribution for some perceived naughtiness by the Scots.



It is to be placed on a small island near the inland end of the sea lock where this picture shows.



There's still a lot of modelling to do, but progress is being made, I think??

Regards,

BrianT.

[gtmspyder]

Good morning each:-

A lot of in my head planning overnight, the N gauge setrack will have to go, when I originally laid it, this board was to be covered in forest and was merely a ploy to get the tight circle required to return the track round to the rear of the layout and back to the bottom, so I used N gauge setrack for convenience.  But now most of it is on view, it's beginning to aesthetically jar, so I will have to go and get another length of narrow gauge track and re-lay it, the lengths of setrack crossing the girder bridge will have to remain as I don't want to disturb the bridge itself.

The castle looks a little dark as well, so I think a repaint is on the cards to lighten the stone work, to match the several castle building Photographs so generously supplied by members on the forum.

So things may be a little quiet on here while I get busy.

Regards,

BrianT.

[gtmspyder]

As you can see, a visit to my local model shop, Marcways of Sheffield has got me a length of Peco mainline narrow gauge track, I have lifted the two setrack number one curve sections at the girder bridge and the old length of Peco mainline track upto the PCB baseboard joint, and laid the new section of track in it's place, held in position with Peco Lill pins temporarily, these will be removed when the ballasting has dried and set.  I have prepared the necessary tools etc. required to ballast the new track, these are my spray can with a dash of washing up liquid added to the water contents, this helps break the surface tension of the water allowing it to flow more readily rather than pooling, a very dilute mixture of PVA glue and water, a spray can lid used as a container for the "N" gauge granite ballast I have always used, and two small paint brushes I use to tease the ballast into position around the sleepers.



I'll get to the assorted wires further down the page, have patience. The granite is poured onto the track and brushed into place using the two artists paint brushes, the larger size to brush the ballast roughly into place, and the smaller brush to tease the tiny granite chips off the tops of the sleepers and away from the sides of the rails.



I've just realised I have not shown the smaller brush in the picture, sorry, but it is used.  Bellow shows finished ballasted track showing the still wet ballast, I hope correctly laid with no flange catching chips that I usually find when the first piece of rolling stock circumnavigates the track, now isn't that a lovely word, I could have said when the first wagon runs along't track sithy, but for our posher Southern members, I duh mih best.