Tanking along

I have been working on some rolling stock recently in preparation for taking Dunbracken to Narrow Gauge South in early April. The main focus at the moment has been on some Innisfail tramway coaches.

I have also been refining the North British tank loco design to the point where I've now resolved all the issues that would present a problem with the design in real life and I'm ready to get it etched (well, once all the changes are accounted for on my etch sheet drawing I am).

I'm really pleased with the result and am looking forward to getting it done. This will be one of my main projects after Narrow Gauge South. I also have Easter weekend pencilled in for loft clearance with the assistance of my fiancée which means it might get done this time!

Armadale Trackplan

Here's the definitive plan for Armadle, I've taken the old plan for Port na Cailliche and flipped it over with some other minor alterations. This has interpolated quite well to the landscape of Armadale and could easily represent how the village might have developed had the railway arrived.

There's a link to a larger image at the end of this post. Any larger and it doesn't all appear on my blog without cutting off the right hand end!

There are only two times where I've had to apply modeller's license:

1 - The Plockton-esque frontage remains as this would locate the centre of the town near the station, this would mean a slight movement of the road towards the sea.

2 - The headland at the right hand end of the plan, this does exist in real life near this location, but in real life would be slightly further to the left. This area has been foreshortened to create a visual barrier to mask stock exiting to/entering from the fiddle yard.

Here is a link to the original image on Flickr which has notes on it. These indicate what is what on the plan and show the inspiration behind the buildings/objects on the layout.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16967289@N02/4449679845/

Very Proud

Whilst exhibiting Dunbracken at Expo Narrow Gauge (ExpoNG) late last year I was asked to write an article for the French modelling magazine Voie Libre. When I spoke to them they promised me a couple of free copies of the magazine. I received them this week and was very pleased with the article.

What was the really nice surprise was that Dunbracken made the feature photo on the front cover!! The photos that François took of the layout at the show are superb and certainly reproduce well in the magazine.

François also produced a very nice trackplan of the layout, much nicer than the crewd one I drew in Microsoft paint!!

Large version here: 4438073631_db2b3183a2_b.jpg

Remote Research

Being (very) remote from my chosen modelling subject has the disadvantage that if I want to go and have a look at something I can't just jump in the car and go and have a look. Well, I could but it takes a little more organising than that to sort out the time for the 11 hour drive!

On Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling online recently a discussion thread was started about various NG trains spotted on Google Streetview. After looking at some of the preserved lines in the UK I wondered how useful it would be for looking at the Isle of Skye for research purposes for Armadale to help me refine the track plan and surrounding topography. I wasn't expecting great coverage on Skye yet, but it turns out that the marjority of the route of the proposed line has been covered already!

Here is the bay at Armadale:

View Larger Map

They quay on the right hand of this shot is going to be a mineral and general goods quay, whilst the passenger platform will be off the right hand foreground of this shot where the modern day ferry terminal is.

This is the location of the goods yard and the sidings down to the quay.

View Larger Map

This is the last section of the station looking towards the fiddle yard. The line here is intended to run between the road and the sea. I am going to try and include some of the curves in the road which are off in the distance, but that depends on how it all pans out when I produce a full size plan. If this works then I will create a headland on the seaward side of the road to act as a view block to allow the train to exit to the fiddle yard in a little less conspicuous manner.

View Larger Map

I'm busy getting Dunbracken ready for Narrow Gauge South at the moment, building stock and making some alterations to the fiddle yard. When this is finished I WILL move on to loft clearance and then the full sized plan for Armadale. It does feel like a big upheaval from what was the rather finalised track plan of Port na Cailliche, but I think portraying a real location will be fun!