Northport Quay

[Northroader]

Global warming in action, and the layout arrangement looks good.

[KMCE]

On 4/5/2022 at 7:55 PM, David Holman said:

 This means that Belmullet is now an island, not a peninsula and Achill Sound is likewise too wide and deep to cross by causeway. There is actually a short canal at Belmullet, linking Blacksod Bay with Broadhaven, but under my new scenario, both Achill Island and Belmullet can only be reached by boat, for which my coaster will eventually be ideal. Like as not, there will be steady trade along the whole coast from Ross Port all the way to Westport as shown by the dotted lines on the map.

I can see many years in the future, some kid in school doing a geography project about the west of Ireland, finding Davids map of how the coast "used" to look, and proceeding to wow the teacher on how climate change has affected the area!!!  There will be more kids protesting & going on strike from school...

[David Holman]

It is a bit scary when you research something obscure, only to find not far down the listing, your own 'might have beens ' staring back at you!

[David Holman]

A bit of gentle fettling for the area around the ground frame this week. Chinchilla dust on gloss black paint for the ground cover, subsequently gone over with acrylics and weathering powders when dry. The water tank has been fixed down and any gaps fills with DAS. On the platform ramp, made a gulley, down to a raised drain to take away excess water when loco tanks are being filled.

 As for the signalling, you can see the ground frame hut has been finished off & now sports a porter, leaning on his broom, as suggested by Mayner. On the other side of the track, the point rodding has been boxed in, Sligo Leitrim style - my excuse is that it protects the metalwork from the salty air, plus being a lot easier to make...

 Spent this morning trying to make the signal work, though it still needs to be hooked up under the baseboard as well as needing a repaint and the all important ladder.

 Given the recent photos of MGWR locos, thought I'd include another in that glorious green livery, so here we have Achill bogie 'Wolf Dog' and a short mail train, which will grow after reversing at Northport/Belmullet, for the trip to Ballina & Claremorris.

[Galteemore]

Wow wow wow. Couldn’t resist putting that last pic through a sepia filter…..absolutely wonderful atmosphere.

[David Holman]

With the left hand baseboard going fairly well, it made sense to try and finish it, so that meant addressing the quayside and ground cover. First though, I finished off the above ground parts of the signal, by adding the ladder and finial, before touching up more of the paintwork.

 The idea for the ground work was that there would be substantial stone blocks making up the harbour wall itself, with various sized stone setts filling in between the tracks. In practice, that has meant a lot of scribed DAS clay. Began with a foundation of mounting card, to bring the ground level up to about 1.5mm below the rail tops. This was fixed down with contact adhesive, which was then lightly painted with PVA, before smearing/thumbing on the DAS to about 1mm thick. I smoothed the surface and rubbed it down once dry, but the surface is far from even. Ok, the variations are probably only +/- 0.25mm, but that is enough to create a bit of texture.

 After that, came the laborious process of scribing in all the setts and stones. The tools for this are very basic - a square and a scriber, plus a rat tailed file for making some of the scribed lines a bit wider/deeper. An old toothbrush is also important for clearing away the dust. Half an hour in, it occurred to me that some of you out there would be contemplating laser printing various sections, but once you get in the zone, it is a pleasantly mindless operation - although best done in chunks of no more than half an hour or so. I used a straight edge for the long lines, but everything else was done by hand in a deliberately random fashion. Smaller setts go parallel to the rails, with larger ones at right angles in between.

 For the harbour wall, the large stone blocks have much smaller gaps between them, while I have added some 5mm square strip wood to act as a barrier to any craft moored against it. The not insignificant task of painting everything comes next, but thus far, it seems to look the part.

[2996 Victor]

Fantastic work on the quayside inset track, David, and the harbour wall! Scribing in the stones is quite cathartic, but as you say best done in chunks

Cheers,

Mark

[David Holman]

 I seem to have spent the last week or so being busy to little effect.  It's been all about painting the quayside surfaces, using multiple washes of acrylics.

 Started by using a mix of black and Tamiya 'deck tan', which worked well enough, but then, in trying to get a darker mortar colour, I used too much black and had to start again - including lightly sanding the surface back a bit. Half a dozen new washes takes to what you can see in the photos. Not exactly a huge change, with the wooden posts probably the most noticeable. There's also been some tidying up around the edges, including the base of the signal post.

 To brighten things up, have  included a WL&WR train in the scene, with Richard Chown's superb model of 'Shannon' [now nearly 50 years old] at the head of a 'Mail Goods', comprising three scratch built vehicles of my own.

 Am starting to get a bit bored with all this scenic work of late, but what this area now needs is a range of details/cameos, so am off to explore various websites for things like packing cases, barrels and so on in the hope of bringing the scene to life. Am also wondering whether it is time to have a go at the travelling crane too. Did a sketch of what one might look like a few months ago, so let's see where the Muse takes me!

 

[2996 Victor]

Beautiful work, David, as always! The time taken pays handsome dividends in the atmosphere of the whole scene.

Cheers,

Mark

[David Holman]

 Not sure if this is layout or workbench territory! The painting certainly took place on the workbench, but the work is all about trying to create a busy scene on the quayside and nothing is stuck down yet. Indeed, most of the clutter will probably be focussed on the other board, with a steam powered crane taking centre stage on its own short track on this board.

 Anyway, have spent a fair few hours over the last few days painting the bits and pieces I ordered from Skytrex. Very nice they are too, including fish boxes, luggage and various sizes of crates, barrels and parcels, plus the all important buffer stop - though in actuality, all this does is protect the cliff face.

 There have been some useful articles in MRJ of late on creating & painting this sort of stuff, so have been leaning heavily on these [& Martyn Welch's bible on weathering], using artist's acrylics - mainly black, white, ochre and a little burnt sienna.

 There's also the weighted point lever, with the frame made from plasticard and the weight from two washers sandwiching a piece of brass. Took more time than I'd hoped that bit and one or two rude words in the process.

 Am still playing around with where things might go & the scene certainly needs a few figures [though no action poses!], plus maybe a road vehicle or two, all of which need to be period related. So, we have a 1950s scene here. SLNCR 'Small Tank' Enniskillen has arrived with a mixed train. The local fishmonger is looking at the morning's catch, while the donkey cart is ready to take some of it off to the village.

Edited May 29, 2022 by David Holman

[Galteemore]

That’s wonderful David. Lovely atmosphere, and the whole mise en scene  blends in together so well. What are the MRJ issues please ? The SLNC loco looks fab with the red rods and nameplates, but I suspect it’s Fermanagh rather than Enniskillen;) 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Oops! - really should know better...

MRJs 264 and 276

[Galteemore]

Thanks David. As luck would have it, I have those 2 in a batch someone gave me. I had a good chat with Richard Ellis at Kettering trade show a few months ago and saw some of his own stuff- very tempting. 
 

Perhaps you have an ‘Enniskillen’ in progress on the bench ?  

Edited May 29, 2022 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Far too many things on the list before I do another Sligo 0-6-4T - Sprite and the pay coach, a GSWR 4-4-0, a WL&W 4-4-0 [and maybe a 2-4-0], the coaster, a steam crane, the C&VB 2-6-0T...

... but you never know!

[jhb171achill]

On 29/5/2022 at 6:20 PM, David Holman said:

Far too many things on the list before I do another Sligo 0-6-4T - Sprite and the pay coach, a GSWR 4-4-0, a WL&W 4-4-0 [and maybe a 2-4-0], the coaster, a steam crane, the C&VB 2-6-0T...

... but you never know!

A GSWR 4.4.0 of some sort is definitely needed as a RTR loco!

[David Holman]

Very much work in progress at the moment, doing the ground cover on the right hand baseboard.

First up, used some DAS to bring the approach road level with the board crossing, then painted it [and the area between the track and the sea wall] with gloss black, before covering with chinchilla dust.

 Next came an attempt to create some steps leading down from the quayside to what will be the embarkation point for the small passenger ferries to offshore islands. As can be seen, this has been built up from wood strip & will eventually be covered [like pretty much everything else] in more DAS.

 Currently am building up the rest of the ground cover, as per the other board, with two layers of mounting board, which will then be given a layer of you know what, before scribing commences for setts & so on. Hopefully, you can see narrow troughs have been cut into the card to represent drainage channels. Not exactly pretty at the moment!

[David Holman]

 Slow progress, but the right hand board is starting to come together. Mostly, it has been a case of more of the same: gloss paint and chinchilla dust for the road surface and the 'cess' alongside the track, plus lots of DAS [and even more scribing] for the quayside. 

 However, the warehouse is pretty much finished and has certainly been fixed down. There has been a small addition too in the form of a 'lucam' - the hoist at the top, which enables goods to be moved up to/down from each floor.

 Another small adaptation has been to the mobile crane. After brooding over how the real thing might have been powered, have come up with the idea that, like the Giant's Causeway tramway, it is deemed to be electric. Somewhere out of sight is a hydro electric generator, which feeds power to the rails that the crane runs on. Workmen get a measure of protection from the wooden boards that shield these, plus of course, power is only on when the crane is working. Not entirely sure how plausible this is, but the crane is essentially just a different type of view blocker, hiding the exit along the pier, so hopefully this will do. Speaking of view blockers, a piece of plywood has been added to the front of the far right side, which, when a top pelmet is eventually added, will frame the overall scene.

 As for the train, it is the 1950s this time and my J19 has appeared with the fish train, the latter an eclectic mix of pre-grouping stock, including one of the MGWR four wheel hearse vans, which were later used for parcels and fish. Like the loco, it is an Alphagraphix kit, while the wagons are scratch built.

[David Holman]

Nothing much to report, except that this is the first modelling I have done for a month! Rare for me, as I like to keep the pot simmering, as it were. However, a holiday, followed by that spell of inordinately hot weather was not exactly conducive to creative pastimes. Forgive the prose - 'Emma' is on the TV...

 Anyway, am trying to finish off the right hand quayside [yet more DAS], while the 'water' surface needed attention, so much use of car body filler and sanding smooth afterwards has been a gentle step back into things creative.

 

What I am looking forward to it getting to grips with the Langley 'Clyde Puffer' kit. Bought this before Christmas & it has been mostly sat on a shelf since then, becoming ever more an itch that needs scratching. Whether a Puffer would ever have got to the west coast of Ireland is a moot point, so the aim is to adapt it to a more conventional coaster outline. An ideal prototype for this resides in Chatham's marina in the form of Vic 96. Built as recently as 1948, but looking at least 50 years older, these 'victualling ships' were used to provision larger craft off shore. Around 20 feet longer, the heritage is nevertheless easy to see. I actually prefer the high forecastle and especially the fact that the funnel sits behind the wheelhouse.

 So, photos have been taken and sketch plans are starting to be produced, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can get started.

[David Holman]

 Well, it's been a while - getting on for six weeks in fact, which must be a record for me. However, a combination of the hot weather and catching up on travel [post Covid], put modelling on hold for much of the summer. I did do a bit of other modelling work - no, not the catwalk - as at the Chatham Club, we managed to set up our 0 gauge layout in full, so some of my BR engines and stock have been going through the works so they can run for the first time in quite a few years.

 Anyway, back to Northport Quay, which has proven a bit of a pain this week, as I attempted to paint all the setts and sea walls of the quayside. Originally, I'd thought to do these grey, though not sure where I got this from, because subsequent research has shown such things to be more of a beige/deck tan colour - at least as far as recent pictures I took at Chatham and Portsmouth dockyards are concerned.

 So, I rubbed down the dark grey setts, nicely leaving the mortar lines and set about painting each stone individually. As you might expect, that didn't last long! Salvation came from remembering how to paint brickwork: you paint on the brick/stone colour, ignoring the mortar lines, then when dry, you hold the work at about 45 degrees and run in a dilute solution of [in this case] dark mortar colour. This meant tilting the whole baseboard and then, once half dry I gave the areas a hefty dusting with weathering powders, which adds a nice bit of variety. Still not sure it it is right yet, but it certainly feels better.

 The photos hopefully illustrate the changes, while I've also added more wooden posts to the quay wall. Another small change has involved painting out the rearmost hillside on the lefthand baseboard, to give more sky. It is the late 1950s, with SLNCR Railcar B on scene. Felt duty bound to include this following Galteemore's splendid recent Sligo models - not that I really needed an excuse!

 

[Galteemore]

Lovely work David. I imagine there’d be a scramble for the front seats on Railcar B to enjoy the lovely scenery ! 

[jhb171achill]

Wow! Yet another masterpiece! The scenery, the rolling stock, the setting, the concept; absolutely perfect stuff.

[jhb171achill]

On 8/5/2022 at 6:18 PM, Galteemore said:

Wow wow wow. Couldn’t resist putting that last pic through a sepia filter…..absolutely wonderful atmosphere.

Looks just like a Harold Fayle photo found in the depths of the IRRS' catacombs!

[David Holman]

Finally getting back to doing things on the new layout, spurred on a little that it is the Uckfield Show next weekend and it is booked to appear there next year...

 It's been little bits and pieces mostly - trying to complete key bits of the scenery, prior to building the coaster. So, we have the [non-working] weighted point levers, handrails to the steps going down the quayside and a new set of buffer stops by the tunnel mouth. All very much hand made.. 

  The weights on the point levers are a couple of washers soldered together, while the pivot is a short piece of brass wire and the side frames are plastic sheet, filed to shape.

 The step hand rails use locomotive handrail knobs and brass wire. Where the handrail rises above the quayside, I've contrived a couple of large wooden block to put the top knob in, because it is right on the baseboard joint. This will hopefully be less likely to be knocked off than a wire post - or indeed to puncture the hand of anyone assembling the layout!

 The buffer stop meanwhile is recycled from Arigna Town & is very much a locally made affair, as were so many around Ireland. I've also painted out a section of hillside with sky, as it was rater dominating the backscene.

[David Holman]

After several workshop posts, thought it was time to look again at the layout as a whole. Various small bits of work have been going on, notably painting, positioning & fixing of various scenic items, mainly to try and create a busier quayside, with various cargoes ready to load/unload.

 Several figures have been relocated from the platform on Belmullet/Northport, where, with the layout being turned round are no longer easily visible. The rather portly, dishevelled looking gentleman is a bit of a favourite, while readers of the Arigna/Belmullet threads may remember what happened when I went on line to look up details for painting the two nuns - suffice to say the search also threw up some interesting options for dressing up at the weekends!

 

Another figure is the fishmonger, or maybe he is a high end restauranteur [sort of Irish Rick Stein], looking at the latest catch?

 The Acla has also received a bit more attention, with mooring ropes toned down to look less bright. It still needs some weathering though.

 In the general scheme of things, the left hand siding, nearest the tunnel, will only ever hold open wagons, so as not to block the view with taller vans. Hence there are lot of barrels waiting on the quayside, along with a few smaller packing cases. The track in front of this siding is where the rail mounted crane will be, so it is important to leave this space clear. The Irish Shell tank wagon may well be for fuelling local fishing boats.

 Similarly, the right hand siding, behind the Acla, is actually more of a shunting neck, to allow wagons from the off stage pier to be swapped with those from an incoming freight. Hence this needs to be left clear, which is why the various bits of loose cargo are stacked between the siding and the 'main line'. Given the recent Railcar thread, it was hard not to resist including Railcar 2b, though where it gets turned is current still a mystery!

[Rob]

Great variety and such detail- so realistic

[Patrick Davey]

Superb - great to see an update!

[KMCE]

Love the details - people and cargo really bring the scene to life.  Acla is really looking good, and weathering will really help to improve it even further.  Keen to see how the crane will integrate into the scene.

Excellent work, as per usual!!

Ken

[murrayec]

Stunning

Excellent work David

Eoin.

 

[David Holman]

Thanks folks - much of what I do is inspired by everyone else on this forum. 

[David Holman]

With the missus laid up with a broken foot for at least a couple of weeks [no, she didn't kick me, nor me her], apart from being chief cook, bottle washer and general dogsbody, there has at least been time for multiple short modelling sessions in between the chores. A good chance therefore to experiment with some weathering of various kinds.

 Weathering in more ways than one, as I've attempted to create things like seaweed and the green patina you get on sea walls. Various acrylic washes seemed to be the way to go, but also noticed there can be orange brown stains [rust?] higher up. Got a bit heavy handed with this, but found that I could sand it back with some fine wet'n'dry. 

Seaweed comes in various colours [you can Google pretty much anything of course], so went for my finest grade of dark green crumb along the join between water & quay wall, with strands of weed done with long static grass fibres, flattened down & held with dilute pva. Not sure about this at the moment & may well need longer [& thicker] fibres, like painted sisal perhaps?

 The Acla has received a bit of weathering too - a mixture of dry brushed rust coloured acrylic and weathering powders. It may need a bit more, or even some of the powders removed. I find such things need going back to multiple times before I'm happy, so the last few days [and the next few!] are ideal for this sort of thing.

 Finally, felt a figure was needed amongst the cargo on the right hand quay and found a nice  one of a chap leaning against something, holding a mug of tea.

[Galteemore]

Looks good David. Hope Mrs H recovers quickly. 

[leslie10646]

Yes, best wishes to Mrs H, no matter how it happened!

Lovely scenes David.

What breed of fish in the boxes?

[David Holman]

A mixture of crabs, flat fish and silvery fish, Leslie! Courtesy of Skytrex Models, as is most of the other cargo.

[J-Mo Arts]

Looking fab David and wishing Mrs H well. 

If I may offer a slight piece of constructive commentary, I think your water could benefit from a few ripples, if it is possible to add them at this stage. I like the effect of the seaweed, perhaps some more brown tones mixed in could look good to represent kelp/decaying seaweed washed up against the wall?

[David Holman]

Looking into both - including an email to Gordon. If anyone knows, it's him!