Cramdin Yard

[ElDavo]

No particular progress really just odd bits but I just had to have an excuse to play with a new toy. Purchased a new camera, Olympus SP 560UZ, which provides lots more scope for pictures. It 'aint no top of the range digital SLR but at 8 megapixels and with lots of electronic wizardry it can do a heck of a lot more than my 2 megapixel cameraphone!

Here's a view of the complete scenic baseboard showing there is still rather a lot to do. The shots taken in the fueling point corner can be rather deceptive.



Some of the shots I posted previously have shown the backscene as being extremely blue. With the new camera things look little more like reality but it's probably still more blue than befits a UK summer day.



This is an overhead view of the fueling point and reception road taken from the rear of the layout. Looks like EWS have taken over!



This is the view from one of the upper windows in the factory showing a 56 I have been tinkering with heading off on the up line.



Finally a real close up shot of my particular favourite, 08630. I couldn't possibly have got this shot with the previous cameras.



Now I better get back to doing some work rather than just looking at it.

Cheers
Dave

[ElDavo]

Bit more tinkering done this weekend. Been spending time on and off over the last few weeks trying to get my pointwork to switch reliably. After much messing around re-soldering tiebars, re-wiring diode clusters, and faffing around I find the CDU has gone lame! It used to be able to bang over three sets of points in one go but now can only manage 2 at a time. Bit tricky given that I have some route setting buttons that activate 3. Grrrr.....

As a consolation I turned my attention to some scenery work around the fuel point. It's about time there was some fueling equipment so I set to with my soldering iron, some odd rail bits, some MDF offcuts, wire and some cardboard. The result, a rather ramshackle looking shelter with a couple of different styles of fueling hose. Here' a general view from the back of the baseboard.



Here's a rather closer view. Probably too close but fortunately the poor lighting hides some of the deficiencies.



To round out here are some views of a selection of locos making use of the facilities...





Still work to do to add some junk, warning signs and general clutter.

Cheers
Dave

[Infrontcat]

Looks terrific Dave. Some excellent detail on that shelter

Cheers

Tim

[Blaqkaudio009]

does look the part! nice one! i must say i love the look of the 66's, very nice indeed!

[ElDavo]

Had a day off today so an excuse for a bit more tinkering. Still haven't got to the bottom my CDU/point switching problems. A pair of points switch reliably at the same time but 3 don't have the whoosh to latch over. Tested all the motors individually and they seem pretty much OK. I'm suspicious something in the common return line may be limiting the current flow so that's what I'll investigate next. I hate manky wiring even when it's my own. :grump

In between times I've been tinkering with scenery stuff. The backscene is largely a collage of photographs chopped up and pasted to the back boards. I've added some more bits to try and increase the feeling of depth and industrial nature. Gaps/joins are disguised using foliage but I think I may have to install a tree or two to get some more foreground height. Here's a view along the length of the layout showing there's only a little bit of bare back board left!



I was unhappy with the fueling point in that the roof didn't look to be supported properly and I felt it needed a few more details. In addition I wasn't happy with the fuel crane thingy so I consulted a few more photos and decided to rip it out and rework it. The fuel hose was too thick and there were no counterbalance weights to make it workable so it got a rehash today. It's still not a work of art but I think it's an improvement. I still need some clutter as it all looks too orderly at present as shown by these two shots. Of course number 2 Gronk is far too clean and I'm undecided whether to just dirty it up a bit or convert it to an EWS 09 in grey livery.




Onward...

Cheers
Dave

[ElDavo]

Well you know how it is, start off with half an idea then start tinkering and you end up spending most of the weekend on something. Well I was sorting through the bits and pieces of Linka mouldings I have laying about thinking about how to build the wagon works building for Cramdin Yard. After a while I starting chopping up bits of card and lo and behold, half an idea turns into half a signal box.



After much messing around today it now looks like this...



The idea is that it is a half relief building taking up a vacant plot along the backscene. I wanted to create a derelict signal box that could have been created somewhere in the South. It still needs a heck of a lot more work to make it convincing as it looks pretty crude at the moment but it might get there. I'll have to add the access steps and probably get spray cans out for some grafitti. Who knows I might decide I don't like it and start all over again. Anyhow here it is perched temporarily in the intended spot.



Cheers
Dave

[Infrontcat]

Don't scrap it fella. Considering you've just knocked it up it looks pretty good to me. I'd maybe give a while and a think or two then have another go at it

Cheers fella, nice work

Tim

[GROTLAND]

Yep, don't scrap that box. It's cool, and the roof looks like the next gale's gonna take it away!
Beautiful layout! and some of the best weathering I've seen.

[peak]

Looks pretty good to me!
I wouldn't worry to much about the steps!
They used to take them away when a signal box was closed to stop people getting in!

[ElDavo]

A little more progress. I finally bit the bullet and started work on the wagon works building complex. After finding I hadn't got enough Linka brick mouldings ready I decided to go mad and use some 20th century technology! Even though we are in the 21st century I still seem to largely use rather old techniques i.e. cardboard and glue. Having picked up a selection of embossed plasticard and some solvent at a show a couple of months ago I thought I might as well use it. I've never reall built much from plastic before even though I tinkered with it in the 70s so this will be the first building!

Here's a shot of the general site showing the basic carcass of the main workshop. Not showing any closeups yet as it's really crude.



While working on this which is to represent something built in brick with corrugated cladding it ocurred to me I had the answer to my signalbox problems in my hand. I was reasonably happy with the basic structure of the signalbox even though it is a bit crude. What I was really unhappy about was the "boarded up" effect. It simply didn't work. So a few offcuts of corrugated plasticard, a dab of rust and some glue and I think things have been mush improved. So much so that I even glued the box in place and threw some foliage at it. I think it's here to stay though it needs more weathering to the bricks and slates.



Cheers
Dave

[peak]

Nice start to the workshop!
I always put ribs on the inside on my structures to keep them square!

I like the use of different sizes of corrugated sheet on the signal box, It gives it a more real feel!

[cwignall]

this is in my top 5 of inspirational layouts!!!

what did you use for the fence at the back where the factory etc is?

[ElDavo]

this is in my top 5 of inspirational layouts!!!

what did you use for the fence at the back where the factory etc is?

Gosh

The fence along the back is pretty simple though horribly fiddly. The chain link is a netting product actually designed for the job which I think came in a sheet from Green Scene. I cut this into strips about 6ft scale in height and stitched a length of cotton along the top edge. This was then glued to lengths of scrap code 75 bullhead rail planted into the scenery.

The result was then painted up to make the posts look like concrete with lots of green algae/moss and the wire lightly rusted/weathered by dry brushing in places. The result was far from perfect and suffers in places due to the irregularity of the terrain over which it is strung. To hide the bad bits I stuck on bushes and trees. Where the fence seemed to be falling down due to the inadequacies of my construction I stuck on lots of ivy (more Green Scene I think) to give it an excuse.

As ever I didn't start out with much of a plan but simply tried a few things to see where it would lead. This is a pattern that I follow in professional life as well and it drives some of my colleagues mad.

Cheers
Dave

[DriffCharlie]

This is a pattern that I follow in professional life as well

Love it ... a man after my own... although it was obvious from early jobs that I was "unemployable" as a result and the only solution was to set my own company up.... that way "others" have to put up with it...

But back to the topic, fantastic round of building of late, You're really at the "creating atomosphere" stage now... you lucky *****.

Charlie

[Infrontcat]

Hi Dave

the SB looks excellent now: I'm glad you elected to keep it!

Will be interesting to see how the new building progresses!

Cheers

Tim