Phred's hodge-podge

[Phred]

Thanks everyone for your kind remarks. It's very encouraging.

Here is my version of a coaling tower:

The logs are twigs off the mango tree in the back yard.

Here is the diesel motor that drives the coal lift:

Hard to get a clear photo of the lift buckets but they can just be seen in this shot:

[heda]

I'm loving this thread, great imagination and fantastic detailing.
Dave

[Phred]

Thanks Dave! I just learned from one of Lofty’s threads that you can click on the photos to see them more clearly. Never too old to learn...

I painted the dog (talking to the man sitting on the log pile) to be a pretty close replica of my son's beagle, Jack. I move him around the layout so that my grandkids can play 'Where's Jack' when they visit.

Here is a small fueling station. I'll get around to adding some hoses to it one day. The open manhole is guarded by a portable frame made of florist wire. Florist wire seems to be a part of most things on here. Very handy.

A small diesel shed with more florist wire for handrails on the steps.

[Lofty]

I just learned from one of Lofty’s threads that you can click on the photos to see them more clearly. Never too old to learn...

I sometimes forget that myself

It’s all in the little details, your pile of pallets next to the shed are very realistic

[Richard08]

It somehow captures the quirkiness associated with the more detailed LGB outdoor layouts, I can't put my finger on quite what. The quirkiness/originality is great to see.

[glencairn]

A unique and quirky layout that shows so much. By the time it is seen life drags me back without really commenting.

Thanks for posting.

Glencairn

[Phred]

Cheers Dave-00.

your pile of pallets

I was laboriously cutting strips to make pallets when the thought occurred to me that my wife's paper trimmer/cutter might cut thin balsa. Works perfectly and saves heaps of measuring and messing about.

Thanks Richard08 and glencairn.

captures the quirkiness

I mostly start thinking up these structures when I'm in bed trying to sleep. I concentrate on solving some modelling task so as not to think about other things. Maybe that accounts for the quirkiness, kind of a half dream where things sort of seem right but are oddly different at the same time.

[Phred]

Speaking of pallets (previous post) I've saved a lot of time by making various tools/jigs to allow for cutting multiple identical pieces without constant measuring. I can't quite remember what they are all for as I made them up as and when a need arose. Here are some of them:

The one on the right is for making pallets.

[Phred]

I realised early on that track needs regular cleaning. I tried all kinds of methods, even the electronic pulse whatsit that only seemed to make things worse.

I use Chux Magic Eraser mini blocks from the supermarket. Cheap and easy to use. But I can't reach the back of the layout easily, and certainly not inside the sheds. So, starting with a couple of spare bogies, the following came into being:

A basic 'drag' with a section of Magic Eraser set into a box. It works very nicely when pushed along by one of the lovely little 08s. Of course it has to look like 'something' so that I can enjoy playing with it while it's cleaning. I don't know where the stock crate came from. Some long forgotten toy. The nuts supply downward pressure.

Old tap washers are perfect for the bogies to swivel on.

A guillotine using an old mini craft knife blade slices the Magic Eraser blocks to perfect size. One block sliced into quarters gives eight good cleans.

[Phred]

Having run out of room on the main board and wanting to try some OO9 modelling (inspired by some of Mountain's posts) I started a 1200mm X 600mm board which will sit alongside the main layout and run off the same controllers. I want to try some actual scenery on this section. Years later I'm still working on it. It is called Little Addon for obvious reasons.

This is the baseboard with N gauge track (in place of proper narrow gauge) fixed and ballasted.

Everything has to be demountable so that it can be stored away when not in use. To that end the processing plant slots into the grey 'concrete block' base and just lifts out.

Here is a closer look at the plant.

I don't know what the plant processes or what the various things on the roof do but it looks like something that would employ a narrow gauge railway. I emailed a photo of it to a friend of mine who commented that he liked the dust extraction unit. I didn't know it had a dust extraction unit!

Anyway, I'll post more when I get around to building more. The grandkids want a model farm that they can play with.

[Lofty]

That fits in lovely in the corner, and is a very interesting structure.

[Dad-1]

Phred,

Why did you lurk so long.
This is all really good modelling, quite inspirational.

Geoff T.

[Bigmet]

...I didn't know it had a dust extraction unit!...

You clearly have good instinct for the kind of tackle that so often ends up festooning the exterior of process plant. What's it processing? - that's strictly on a 'need to know' basis. We drop stuff from quite a height and use a fair amount of water, as you can see from the external fittings: but all else is for us to know, and you to figure out if you can.

[Phred]

Thanks Lofty
The inside corner of the plant will be filled with miscellaneous smaller structures one day.

Thanks Dad-1. I lurked so long because I'm lazy and joining a forum seemed like some sort of commitment. I'm enjoying the interaction now though.

Bigmet wrote:
We drop stuff from quite a height and use a fair amount of water,

That will be my standard reply to the 'What does it do?' question from now on!

[Mountain]

Yes. A fun layout with lovely buildings, and the great thing is with using littls 0-4-0's and stock is they are reliable and simple, and really suite smaller layouts.