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Layouts

Site seeing – June 11

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The end of an era

Due to my hosting provider changing a bunch of stuff on their backend, the main website of the HVL (HunterValleyLines.com) and the gallery (HVL Gallery) are going away. The website will be there, but the content will not be.

As a result of the changes I am going to begin to move all of my image content, and photo content over from the old site to this blog over the next couple of months. I’ll put these in the gallery section here on the blog, and upload as I go, letting you know when they are all online.

First to move will be the layout designs as these are still getting the largest number of hits on the gallery. I might even get around to writing all the operation plans for the layouts as I said I would all those years ago. If only days were 48 hours long, I’d get so much more done.

Talk to you later.

Layouts

Site seeing – June 9

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On June 1st I posted a wide range of articles posted on Gene’s P48 blog. He’s just added another post on this great scratch-built car. So onto today’s site seeing.

Site 1: Gene’s P48 Blog – Modelling Meat Reefers [+ Link]

This post is about the details of the meat reefer. There’s an AB brake detail set, and the beginnings of the grab irons, and other body and roof top details.

This has been a great series from Gene so far and I’m looking forward to seeing this car completed. Hope that you enjoy it too.

Layouts

Site seeing – June 8 (Ballarat Model Railway Exhibition)

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Each Queens Birthday long weekend (the second Monday in June) the Ballarat and District Model Railway Club [+ Link] opens their doors and puts on their Exhibition.

The club has a selection of club and exhibition layouts. Among my favourite layouts is the Phoenix Electric layout.

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 Image 1: A scene on the Phoenix Electric HO scale layout

When I last talked to the club members in 2014 this layout had been retired. Last year saw the first outing of their N scale exhibition layout. This was lacking from the show this year which I found surprising.

Overall there were fewer layouts this year than in previous years. Visitor numbers however appeared to be up, and the Sunday was very busy. You can see the pictures taken on the Gallery page [+ Link].

Layouts, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Web

Site seeing – June 2

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Small layouts ‘can’ present a problem should the builder underestimate the impact of the types of industries chosen for the layout. For example, a grain elevator may have 20 car spots to be either loaded or unloaded. It sounds like a lot of work to get that grain elevator switched out. However, unless there’s specific switching movements required this job could well be long (as you wait for the first car to be loaded or unloaded, then move forward, and repeat the process over again) and could turn out to be very boring.

NOTE: There is an example of one such elevator in Melbourne, Victoria that I’ll share that proves the exception to the rule.

On the other hand, a single siding with say six spots, each having a specific commodity billed to the spot, can need more brain power and work to complete in a session. This  may provide the answer those who are looking to add more play value in the game that we call Model Railway Operations.

Site 1: Spot order and small layouts [+ Link Here]

Recently on the Port Rowan blog, Chris Mears talked about this same issue. In this post he describes what simply the concept I mentioned above and gives some great references for you to take away and think about for those industries on your own layout.

I hope that you enjoy the read. If you do leave a comment for Chris. He loves them and answers every one.

Layouts, O Scale, Proto 48, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Web

Site seeing – June 1

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Over on Gene’s P48 (Proto 48 – Fine US O Scale) blog he’s building the first of a series of Wilson meat reefers.  Today’s first post provides some information about the series of cars that he is building. The following articles are bringing the build process up to date so far.

While the articles are about building a car in American Proto 48 O Scale there is much to be learned about scratchbuilding from gene that can be applied to any scratch build or bash project you might have in the work. Take the time and take a look around. I’ll be applying the techniques Gene’s been writing about to my future modelling work.

Site 1: Commentary – Meat Reefers [+ Link Here]

This article provides a run down of the types of reefer and some of the inaccuracies in existing models of this type.

Site 2: Modeling: Meat Reefers [+ Link Here]

This is the first article on building the reefer. The focus of this article is on the basics of the design and starting the body.

Site 2 Modeling: Next step on the reefer [+ Link Here]

The second article focuses on the steps to complete the basic body. This includes some really great ideas on how to complete the sub-roof for structural integrity and the visible roof.

Site 3: Modeling: Refining the door and the roof [+ Link Here]

In the third instalment of this series Gene focuses on fixing a problem with the door, take note, after he had already built it, and focuses on refining the final roof structure.

Site 4: Modeling: Simple Fixture for Roof [+ Link Here]

Gene shows the fixture he built for measuring and cutting the roofing boards.

Site 5: Modeling: Wilson Underframe Construction [+ Link Here]

Gene goes on with the build this time focusing on the under frame.

Site 6: Modeling: Progress on the Wilson reefer [+ Link Here]

Gene continues with the under frame, focusing on building the bolsters.

Layouts

More that I thought was lost forever

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One of the main reasons I got into smaller more focused layouts was Blair Koostra. If you don’t know who Blair is, then you are in for a treat. Chris Mears found his new blog (about a Texas lad, modelling outback NSW Australia) as opposed to a NSW Lad, modelling Central Texas!

Follow through Chris’ blog post and visit Blair. Tell him I said hi!

Chris Mears's avatarPrince Street

I remain a very big fan of Blair Kooistra’s website, built to chronicle his work on researching and modeling the Walla Walla Valley Railway. It was among the first sites that I discovered that really focused in on produce traffic on a railway. The more I read his website the more I saw things that felt so familiar. I’ve maintained a link out to his from my website hoping someday it would return (wwvrailway.com). Quite by accident I stumbled across this:
http://northofnarrabri.blogspot.ca/2011_02_01_archive.html

I’ve only just discovered the new blog. The particular link I’ve included above discusses his previous work. I’m looking forward to stepping back from these archives and to seeing what he’s up to now. I still miss his old stuff but I have a feeling he’ll extend that same interest to Australian HO.

(He published some really truly outstanding research on car demand, traffic patterns, and loadings…

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Layouts

Quebec South Shore inspiration

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Chris points out a great blog, where the modeller, Matthieu Lachance, is building a perfect, small and operationally interesting layout, from what he’s seen in his area.

If you’ve not seen this blog before you should go to the link and take a look at his track planning and layout build threads. Very interesting and really well done.

Chris Mears's avatarPrince Street

I was cruising around the ProtoModeler forum and somehow found my way to a blog that introduces itself with these words:

April 1986, CP Rail’s local switcher is busy working on St. Pamphile Spur on Quebec Central Railway’s Chaudière Sub while talks about abandonment are heard…

That’s a pretty easy sales pitch. The blog itself is titled Quebec South Shore. I’m only just starting to reading through the posts and looking forward to learning more about it. You should too:
<http://theendofsteel.blogspot.ca/>

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Exhibition, Layouts, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Web

Sight seeing – May 26 (Albury, NSW)

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Apart from better weather, warmer temperatures, gentler breezes and being in NSW, Albury has nothing on Ballarat. Well except for the better weather, warmer temperatures, gentler breezes, being in NSW and the recent Murray Valley Modellers exhibition that was held last weekend on 22-23 May 2015.

One of the junctions on Town and Country

Image 1: My current favourite exhibition layout – Town and Country

It was a relatively large show, for a country show, with a lot of vendor support from around the region.

Layout’s of note

1. Town and Country – HO scale – Gavin Shuttleworth

Town and country is a fictional HO scale layout of the Victorian railways 1970’s to 1980’s era where the country meets the city with a suburb in between. The structures are either scratch or kit built from timber and styrene while the power is from a mixture of analogue and DCC with computer controlled automation.

I think the best part of the layout is that we have electric heavy rail, running under wires. There’s a lot of pictures for you to see, as I took quite a lot of the layout this time. I only managed to get a few shots in when I first saw the layout at the Geelong West show in January.

You can see all of the photos here [ + Link ] .

Batlow - in HO Scale model form

Image 2: the standard of modelling on Batlow is outstanding

2. Batlow – HO scale – Andy Lawson

Batlow, a small town in the foothills of the snowy mountains is famous for its apples.
Featuring a packing house and cannery as the two main industries as well as the goods
yard this small layout has lots of shunting to be done. This layout depicts the railway
as it was from the mid 1960’s following the days of steam.

Image 3: a track diagram of Batlow (Source NSWRail.net)

The only issue I had was with the control of the layout. It looks like the layout is DC controlled; the lack of DCC and sound really hampered the layout in gaining my vote for best layout.

The shunter (a new model Alco 48 class) shot off from a standing start, screeched to a stop and had all of the problems of those nostalgic layouts I remember from my youth. The modelling however was first rate. As you’ll see in image 4 below.

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Image 4: The packing house

For the Batlow gallery click here [ + Link ]

If you got the chance to go, I’d be interested in finding out what you liked.

 

Layouts, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Web

Site seeing – May 22

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Off to the Albury model train show this weekend (a 4.5 hour drive north of home). Looking forward to that. If you get the chance drop in. I hope to be there on Saturday morning. I’ll be the big boof-headed Ballarat bloke wearing a big green hoody. Say hello. More on the layout next week.

Site 1 – Murray Railway Modellers [ + Link ]

Yep – it’s on again this weekend, and I’m going. Could not get there last year, but this year I am going.

You can see the program here (a very forward thinking club they’ve put the program guide online as a PDF – well done that club). Saving paper and time as you know what’s there before you go.

Layout Design, Layouts, Personal Layouts

Why I chose not to design my layout – Part 6

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Image 1: Ballarat station awash with a heaping helping of Vlocity sets (Wikipedia photo)

April and May have been  a modelling wasteland. Easy to say, but hard to stomach. So in the mode of personal repair this week, I headed into Melbourne on the train to do a bit of business and add to my track hoard for the layout. I hope that you’ll remember that I was short some track and needed to get some before the dreaded ‘kidney stones from Hell’ incident.

Now I spent more than I probably should have, however, I now have two Peco curved code 83 switches, two left and one right #5 Peco code 83 switches. I was going to buy some more Peco code 83 flex, but while at the Hobby store I had a look in the bargain bin and lo and behold there was some Atlas code 83 on sale at $AU 5.85 per length (about $AU2.00 cheaper per piece than Peco). 10 pieces later on and some code 83 rail joiners and I was on my way out the door – my wallet significantly lighter.

Off to the Albury model train show this weekend (about 4.5 hours north of home). Looking forward to that. If you get the chance drop in. I hope to be there on Saturday morning. I’ll be the big boofheaded Ballarat bloke wearing a big green hoody. Say hello. More on the layout next week.