West Highland Line V4, a 1980's West Highland Line layout

[Fishplate]

4 hours ago, Dunalastair said:

I don't think we named storms in the 1980s - we just got on with it.

 

From a Guardian article today:

 

A storm is named when it is deemed to have the potential to have a medium or high impact on the UK or Ireland. The Met Office and Met Éireann launched the scheme in 2015 to name storms as part of an effort to raise awareness of extreme weather events.

 

Anyone remember this? Our neighbours chimney came down in the passage between us. We had our roof renewed and two weeks were spent with tiles piled up on the felted roof. They were nailed on just before Mr Fish's forecast. . . .

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Fishplate

[Module00]

Hello, 😃

 

the latest developments in the layout are still interesting. 👍

 

I wanted to know if your station buildings were personal constructions? 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Module00

[young37215]

22 hours ago, Dunalastair said:

I trust that there have been no Storm Gerrit style landslides on the unconsolidated landscaping or fallen trees on the completed sections ... though I don't think we named storms in the 1980s - we just got on with it.

 

No damage fortunately, perhaps the big railway should try using PVA and layering glue! There is a lot of PVA on WHL4, in recent days I have used the last of a 5L container that I bought back in 2016 when I started the layout.

 

9 hours ago, Module00 said:

 

I wanted to know if your station buildings were personal constructions? 

 

The only building I have built is the low relief one at Mallaig, all of the others are custom made from card by the excellent Ed Hall. If I were starting my build now, I would use the Peco West Highland kits which would leave only Crianlarich as needing something custom made.

 

Moving on through the day into early evening and 37017 arrives at Crianlarich with 1T52, 17.55 from Oban to Glasgow. 

 

 

 

 

 

[young37215]

I managed to get a large amount of plaster cloth laid yesterday, 4 rolls in total which covered substantially all of the remaining 2 sections that were outstanding.  I covered the track on both lower and upper levels to avoid contamination which means I cannot run any trains until this is finished. Hopefully this will act as a motivator to get the plaster cloth work finished and meet my year end deadline.

 

37081 and the empty Alcan hoppers, 6E46 Fort William to Blyth seen getting the road and departing Ardlui.

 

 

 

 

[Dunalastair]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

I covered the track on both lower and upper levels to avoid contamination which means I cannot run any trains until this is finished. Hopefully this will act as a motivator to get the plaster cloth work finished and meet my year end deadline.

37081 and the empty Alcan hoppers, 6E46 Fort William to Blyth seen getting the road and departing Ardlui.

 

"Speed restrictions are in place on the West Highland Line until 09:00 on Sunday due to the forecast, Network Rail Scotland said."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67846863

 

But hopefully conditions are better back in the eighties, at least once the plastering is complete. I seem to remember getting plastered (well, tiddly) in Fort William after running a reasonable time in the Ben Nevis Race about then. I don't remember much about the train ride home to Edinburgh ...

 

Keep up the good work.

 

[young37215]

By and large the landscape work is complete, there are still a number af areas where further effort is required but the substance of it is done. I usually wait after I have completed a piece of work to digest how it looks and feels before deciding on how to move on. In this instance my initial reaction is an increase in the height of the landscape above Arrochar station will blend the upper and lower sections together better. I am also considering the potential of adding a small loch in the area below the mountaineous section line. The loch possibility only became clear when looking at my pictures and I would love to add some water to WHL4 if I can make it fit in. I am not happy with the mountainside rising up against the wall and need to give thought to ways of improving it. Better news is by removing the masking tape from the trackbed I can play trains again whilst I ponder.  

 

Plaster cloth applied to remaining sections

 

 

Looking down shows that I still have to join the baseboards together and complete the landscape in the foreground
 

 

South of Arrochar station, I will take 100mm of length off of the sidings which I think looks more prototypical

 

 

The potential loch area in the centre of the picture

 

 

Looking north up the 1 in 60 something gradient towards Arrochar

 

Edited January 5 by young37215

[young37215]

Having slept on it I am pleased with the outcome on the lower level landscape around Arrochar but less satisfied with the upper section. I'll continue to ponder what I need to do to improve the upper section and until I get this clear in my mind, will focus on the numerous other outstanding tasks. 

 

At least the re-opened line allowed me to operate, 37112 heads to Oban with 1B23, 18.15 from Glasgow, captured slowing for its stop at Garelochead.

 

 

 

 

 

[young37215]

Being a passing point, 1B23 was booked to cross 8D09 at Garelochead. 37022 has charge of the freight from Oban to Mossend. I would like to get lower to the baseboard when taking pictures from south of Garelochead but there simply is not enough room to get my Iphone lower with all of the landscape, trees and shrubbery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Module00]

Hi Rob, 

happy new year 2024. 😃

 

who is « the excellent Ed Hall » ? 
Does he make kits to order? Is there a website to view these productions?

 

thank’s 😃

[young37215]

Hi Alain

 

A happy new year to you. Ed Hall keeps a low key profile and has no online presence that I am aware of. As far as I know he is still in business although it it is a couple of years since I spoke to him. I believe that Andy @thegreenhowards had some work done by Ed for him recently and he may be better placed than me to update you on what Ed is up to. I have a contact telephone number for Ed which I will send to you in a PM because I don't consider it appropriate to post it on an open forum.

 

My brain is working overtime on the mountaineous section and the potential for a loch of some description. Until I reach a conclusion I will keep running trains. Below 37049 is seen again heading south with 6E46 alongside Loch Lomond as it heads towards Arrochar.

 

 

 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

I can confirm that Ed was still in business a year ago. He built me Glenfinnan station and signal box in O gauge. He produces beautiful buildings and is very reasonably priced given the work which must go into them, but he works at his own pace and has an order backlog. So you need to be patient.

Edited January 4 by thegreenhowards

[Module00]

Yes it’s possible to have contact ?
thank’s 😃👍

[young37215]

For some variety I have updated and reprinted the 1981 WTT, the first year of full 37 operation on the WHL which although similar in many respects to 1983, has a number of subtle differences that will hopefully keep me on my toes when running. Elsewhere I continue to scour Ebay in the hope of finding a suitable donor coach for Hornby Commonwealth bogies that I require for another BSOT conversion but they are in short supply. It seems that there is a general shortage of supply of blue and grey coaching stock full stop at present judging by the price at which some of the Bachmann coaches are selling for. 

 

The last of the current crop of pictures, 37085 arriving at Crianlarich with a heavily laden 7D13, 15.20 Corpach to Mossend.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5 by young37215

[BoD]

6 hours ago, young37215 said:

Elsewhere I continue to scour Ebay in the hope of finding a suitable donor coach for Hornby Commonwealth bogies that I require for another BSOT conversion

I haven’t attempted it but could you adapt Bachmann Commonwealth bogies?  They are readily available as spares.

[young37215]

4 hours ago, BoD said:

I haven’t attempted it but could you adapt Bachmann Commonwealth bogies?  They are readily available as spares.

 

Nice idea but if the Bachmann bogies are adaptable which I doubt because the Hornby bogie is very different, the task will be beyond my capabilities. In similar vein to buses, I have waited for several months and 6 Hornby Commonwealth's turned up on Ebay yesterday of which I quickly secured 2. They are expensive for what they are and I hope to recover some of the outlay by selling the B1's that I will be removing. If anyone else is considering a Commonwealth bogie fitted BSOT conversion I suggest that they look at the attached link. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225897267486?hash=item349886c11e:g:CGcAAOSw6-1lahjP&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0Bsr%2FX3Bl3wDmJ92%2FmxuzZ7T9cRbBm0hkcHORkxUWSa1soFNQSZSdWiPXmCcRlYqbOJXvjdBNJsxoVu1zA7QmDnkGb4G0Uu5y%2FGOZjLQ%2B%2FxI9gz5anTeT7V3ndKJ8wpsCUiX3e%2FzjX%2B7Jel5s4M%2BAGiiFnzUTZIA%2BrdxdpeOCgdJGp3kRzjif%2FmMj0pB%2BfA6xIJC8gzJgAAiMjU9ZvoAbb0335qCyKGxclrxqn8EG599S8dah9Mo0SiqWYDnVD75UB5HjBlHAicFFzh%2FwxoaiPA%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_TN56qbYw

 

 

 

[ISW]

4 hours ago, young37215 said:

Nice idea but if the Bachmann bogies are adaptable which I doubt because the Hornby bogie is very different, the task will be beyond my capabilities.

 

4 hours ago, young37215 said:

If anyone else is considering a Commonwealth bogie fitted BSOT conversion I suggest that they look at the attached link. 

 

Rob,

 

Crickey, those Hornby bogie spares are getting a tad expensive, far outside my 'acceptable' price range. Time was (not so long ago) you could buy the entire coach for much less!

 

Just as an alternative, have you considered Replica Railways commonwealth bogies:

 

Yes, you do need to provide the wheelsets, but these can come off the bogies you're replacing. I've fitted several to old (~1980s) Lima Mk1 stock (I had to buy some Hornby wheelsets), although they do look better if you raise the coach floor by a couple of millimetres.

 

Ian

[Matt]

11 hours ago, young37215 said:

 

Nice idea but if the Bachmann bogies are adaptable which I doubt because the Hornby bogie is very different, the task will be beyond my capabilities. In similar vein to buses, I have waited for several months and 6 Hornby Commonwealth's turned up on Ebay yesterday of which I quickly secured 2. They are expensive for what they are and I hope to recover some of the outlay by selling the B1's that I will be removing. If anyone else is considering a Commonwealth bogie fitted BSOT conversion I suggest that they look at the attached link. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225897267486?hash=item349886c11e:g:CGcAAOSw6-1lahjP&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0Bsr%2FX3Bl3wDmJ92%2FmxuzZ7T9cRbBm0hkcHORkxUWSa1soFNQSZSdWiPXmCcRlYqbOJXvjdBNJsxoVu1zA7QmDnkGb4G0Uu5y%2FGOZjLQ%2B%2FxI9gz5anTeT7V3ndKJ8wpsCUiX3e%2FzjX%2B7Jel5s4M%2BAGiiFnzUTZIA%2BrdxdpeOCgdJGp3kRzjif%2FmMj0pB%2BfA6xIJC8gzJgAAiMjU9ZvoAbb0335qCyKGxclrxqn8EG599S8dah9Mo0SiqWYDnVD75UB5HjBlHAicFFzh%2FwxoaiPA%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_TN56qbYw

 

 

 

I’m sorry but no. No way. If you can build the layout you show to the standards you seem to, then adapting a bogie should be simple. Or put another way - I could adapt the bogie but my layout standards are years behind yours! 

[young37215]

4 hours ago, ISW said:

 

 

Rob,

 

Crickey, those Hornby bogie spares are getting a tad expensive, far outside my 'acceptable' price range. Time was (not so long ago) you could buy the entire coach for much less!

 

Just as an alternative, have you considered Replica Railways commonwealth bogies:

 

Yes, you do need to provide the wheelsets, but these can come off the bogies you're replacing. I've fitted several to old (~1980s) Lima Mk1 stock (I had to buy some Hornby wheelsets), although they do look better if you raise the coach floor by a couple of millimetres.

 

Ian

 

Agreed the bogies are expensive but given how critical they are to good running, I did not fancy trying to make the Replica or Bachmann options fit. I too remember fondly the days of paying under £20 for a Bachmann Mk1, today you are lucky to get change from £50 for anything remotely in demand such as an SO or an SK. At the end of the day this is supply and demand, after 6 months of waiting I managed to get my hands on 2 Commonwealth bogies at a price I cursed but was prepared to pay. I hope to recover a sizeable percentage of my outlay by selling the BR1's that the Commonwealths will replace, it will also be interesting to see if the remaining 4 Commonwealths sell.

 

We are away now for a few days break. This will not stop my research, any excuse for a wander through Flickr is good news as far as I am concerned. My current focus is on Arrochar and the rodding and trunking that came out of the signal box which I will attempt to replicate on WHL4. (I ignore the signal wiring which I consider too small to be visible). I am clear on the rodding, 2 rods to the north and 4 to the south run to their respective points on the western side of the station. What I am less clear about is the cable trunking on the eastern side that appears in a number of pictures of arrivals from the north. I suspect that this crosses under the track once alongside the platform and runs to the signal box at the base of the platform. 

 

Trunking to the north of the station, lower right of picture

 

 

Trunking has disappeared from view in this picture, I suspect that it is underneath the platform edge out of shot.

 

 

To the south the point rodding is clearly seen on the lower right of the picture but no trunking is visible on either side

 

 

There is no visible sign of any cable trunking running south of the signal box on either side of the track that I can find. This seems strange, on the assumption that the trunking was for power cables I wonder if the south tapped into the existing power supplies that fed the lights in the yard?

 

 

I wont be losing sleep over the trunking. I want to create an impression of the the real Arrochar station and its notable features, not an exact scale model. 

 

[Module00]

Another great pictures of this time passed. 

[03060]

Morning Rob, 2 photos from Flickr that may be of help or at least point you in the right direction.

 

David Ford, Oct 1986.

 

 

... and this photo from Irishswissernies collection which on magnification you can just see 'something' straight in the ballast coming from the other side of the train to both the ground signal and the signal by the lamp store (?) I presume that the yard is hand operated going by the lever next to the nearest visible point.

 

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Ian.

Edited January 7 by 03060
2nd photo added.

[Module00]

I have found the same pictures after read that thread this morning. 🤓

Edited January 7 by Module00

[Module00]

These pictures of the same author, seem interested too. (For my personal layout too. 😇)
 

 

 

 

Edited January 7 by Module00

[Softvark]

On some more remote Scottish lines it was quite common for rodding and signal wires to be covered with planks to protect them from snow and ice. It could be that that is what is seen rather than the tops of electrical trunking.

It’s also a useful excuse to avoid having to model rodding and signal wires!

 

Julian

[03060]

Also by Irishswissernie is this one of the Northern end which I think confirms your suspitions of the trunking crossing under the line before disappearing into the ballast.

 

 

As the date of the photo is 23/3/89 I realise that this is a tad late for your period (and as @Module00 alludes, you've probably found them yourself.) I mention the late date as when I followed one of your photos (with 37020 on it)  back to Flickr the photo next to it was from year 2000 and showed some lovely trunking running South from the yard side of the platform .... but it didn't appear on Ernie's 1980s photo .... so caution must be taken.

 

Regards,

Ian.

Edited January 7 by 03060
More waffle added.

[meanach]

1 hour ago, Module00 said:

These pictures of the same author, seem interested too. (For my personal layout too. 😇)
 

 

 

 

Ooh 9 stanchion Thames water board OTA ! Do you know what year this is please?