2mmfs Kyle Of Lochalsh (an Extract)

[rosspeacock]

Lovely work Pete
Welcome to the forum... Ross...

 

[BCN-Pete]

Thank you once again for all your kind comments. I haven't quite got the hang of how to reply to everyone individually yet in one post but the layout was photographed in natural light with a Nikon D3100 on a tripod, and the track was built using the new 2mmFS easitrac. As mentioned, the quality of rtr N gauge rolling stock has improved significantly of late and all my stock is rewheeled to 2FS standards and uses DG couplings.

As an Architect, I like to sketch out my ideas and make 'mock up' models to test the ideas before building. The first mock up was made from brown corrugated card, the second more detailed one was made from 1mm white card and the final layout was made from a mixture of card and foamboard to keep down the weight.

I will post a link to the thread on the RMweb at the bottom of this but should anyone be interested to see how it started I have included a snapshot of sketches, mock ups and progress shots here - sorry about some of the quality of the photos as my external hard drive broke and I lost the originals...



Overall idea and thoughts on layering in the boxfile...



Looking at the dimensions available to be able to close the lid...



Fiddleyards and stock trays stored beneath scenic sections...



Turnout operation using slide switches concealed in the depth of the platform...



The scenic sections of the first mock up inside the boxfile...



Which gives this when assembled...



Second, more refined mock up...backscenes are stored upside down on the top...



The two scenic boards unpacked...



Joined together giving this...



The two backscenes boards are then attached to the rear...



The trackbase is started using Easitrac components...



Track painted and holes cut in backscenes for access to switches and uncoupling magnets...



Plan shot once assembled...ramp and station conceal the switches in the platform...



With base scenics added...the old backscene was a bit crude...but it served a purpose...



Components laid out - In the end a second boxfile was used for the stock/fiddleyards...


The link to the RMweb forum outlining the upgrade of this layout from boxfile to IKEA shelf is here:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/944/entry-7682-an-upgradefrom-boxfile-to-shelf/

Pete

 

[Dog Star]

As if the photos of the layout were not good enough... your sketches are brilliant.... I like the thought that has gone into the design, especially the idea of hiding the fiddle yard "inside" of the scenic sections for storage of the layout.

I was surprised to see, in the most recent photos, how little track figues in the scenic section - the smart angles for the initial photos hide that fact.

Well done, thank you, Graham

 

[SteveO]

Beautiful simplicity and very clever use of space. I thought there was an architectural bent to you judging from your other layout in-progress. Are you an urban residential specialist?
SteveO

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Thank you once again for all your kind comments. I haven't quite got the hang of how to reply to everyone individually yet in one post

Having hit the reply button, either at the end of a message or just to the thread, place the cursor where you want the quote to be, then click on "reply" in the message you wish to add.

 

[BCN-Pete]

As if the photos of the layout were not good enough... your sketches are brilliant.... I like the thought that has gone into the design, especially the idea of hiding the fiddle yard "inside" of the scenic sections for storage of the layout.
I was surprised to see, in the most recent photos, how little track figues in the scenic section - the smart angles for the initial photos hide that fact.
Well done, thank you, Graham

Many thanks Graham - I normally only get to model for an evening or two during the week for a couple of hours so I like to use the time between to work out what I am going to do in advance...rather than sit and scratch my head in front of the layout!

Beautiful simplicity and very clever use of space. I thought there was an architectural bent to you judging from your other layout in-progress. Are you an urban residential specialist?
SteveO

Thanks SteveO - I think my architectural work methods feed into my railway modelling and vice versa back into my architectural work...a continual exchange between the two. In terms of profession, I was working as an Architect with Norman Foster for almost 11 years before we came to Barcelona 5 years ago and I have set up a small office with my wife (also an Architect) and we have started on small residential projects...but economically its very difficult here at the moment...

Having hit the reply button, either at the end of a message or just to the thread, place the cursor where you want the quote to be, then click on "reply" in the message you wish to add.

Thanks Simon...With this entry, I believe I have now cracked it...

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Thanks Simon...With this entry, I believe I have now cracked it...

Great, all we need now are for a few well-established malingerers from the back of the class to try it out!

 

[Pennine MC]

Having visited by train back in the day, (it wasn't entirely sunny )

It certainly wasn't:



26033, 17.8.81

 

[Jordan]

It certainly wasn't:

View attachment 10893

26033, 17.8.81

Ah, the 'Classic' view of Kyle of Lochalsh....
Y'know it took me years to realise there was a whole 'other side' to that Station, beyond the approach ramp - and by the time I got to see it myself in person, of course most of it had disappeared....

Great, all we need now are for a few well-established malingerers from the back of the class to try it out!

Not me, Sir..!!

 

[BCN-Pete]

Y'know it took me years to realise there was a whole 'other side' to that Station, beyond the approach ramp

Likewise...and when I did, I was considering installing a mirror as the backscene...

 

[Simon]

Great picture Ian

It's a lousy picture but here's our return train to Inverness back in the summer of 1974. After a sunny start to the journey and a long wait in the loop to cross an Inverness bound train at Achnasheen (admiring the highland cattle) the weather had deteriorated to the wet and windy state seen here. Proof if any were needed that those Southern PMVs got everywhere!



This was the view looking the other way, signal "off" for our train:



Simon

 

[Simon Dunkley]

This was the view looking the other way, signal "off" for our train:

Do you have a picture of it departing without you, too?

 

[28ten]

Personally I think the rainy grainy shots are more appropriate than anything sunny

 

[peter trisonic]

LO Pete. Welcome from another newb to this site - great photos of great models!
Best, Pete.

 

[BCN-Pete]

Thanks for posting those pictures - always happy to see a bit of BR Blue me...especially at KoL

LO Pete. Welcome from another newb to this site - great photos of great models!

Hi Pete - Many thanks indeed - I recognise you from another site... Pete

 

[Steve Cook]

... but the layout was photographed in natural light with a Nikon D3100 on a tripod....

Thanks for answering the photography question Pete
Love the sketch book photos and the story of the build through mock ups etc, really interesting to see how you went about it
Steve

 

[Pennine MC]

Ah, the 'Classic' view of Kyle of Lochalsh....
Y'know it took me years to realise there was a whole 'other side' to that Station, beyond the approach ramp -

What an old mate of mine always referred to as a 'place feet here and point camera' location I think it was Model Trains mag back in the '80s that first mooted the idea of using half the station as a layout idea - the far side at one time had sidings curving off to a further quay, at about the point where the lefthand side of my image cuts off.

Simon - that BMC van on the loading dock in your top pic looks a bit ill, doesnt it

 

[BCN-Pete]

Thanks for answering the photography question Pete
Love the sketch book photos and the story of the build through mock ups etc, really interesting to see how you went about it

Thanks Steve - All my layouts seem to go through this process...its a type of 'thinking out loud' kind of approach and I think its always good to question ourselves and what we are doing - I would try and bounce the ideas off my wife...but she is 0% interested in my train stuff...at least she is tolerant of it though...

 

[Jordan]

I think it was Model Trains mag back in the '80s that first mooted the idea of using half the station as a layout idea...

The August 1980 issue, in fact (yes I still have mine!)... Chris Ellis did a whole series of "Scottish" articles, including pictures of Kyle, and the Loch Tay branch, and converted a Lima Class 33 to a 26.
Useless Trivia Time:- That very model ended up in Lima's UK office, and was the reason Lima later released a 26 and 27...

 

[BCN-Pete]

The August 1980 issue, in fact (yes I still have mine!)... Chris Ellis did a whole series of "Scottish" articles, including pictures of Kyle, and the Loch Tay branch, and converted a Lima Class 33 to a 26.

It would be rude of me not to ask if you have a scanned copy of that...notwithstanding copyright rules etc...