Glencoe 00 scale 1965-1985

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Just over 2 years ago I finally got serious about a layout that would test my skills. An interest in all things West Highland (inc C&O) meant that the region was straightforward, but what to do? The space I had didn’t allow for a massive effort but I did have 3 Tim Horn baseboard kits already built. 
 

What follows is a roller coaster of build, rebuild, extend, rebuild, extend etc, right up to current day! 
 

The back story is that the Ballachulish branch was extended to Glencoe village in an attempt to capture some of the Aluminium traffic from Kinlochleven plus a grand but ill fated attempt to run a line through the glen towards Bridge of Orchy. At the same time, the NB extended the line down past Corran, over Loch Leven and joined on with the C&O at site of the current road bridge, thus creating a triangle. 
 

Trains operate to both Oban and Fort William in both eras (1965-70 and 1983-86) with enough suitable traction now available. 
 

Below is a selection of progress shots up till about a month ago, when the latest rebuild started! I’ll deal with that in subsequent posts.  
 

Please be kind, it’s still a massive work in progress and I do suffer from large blocks of inactivity due to my work and motivation levels! 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

So, about a month ago, I really struggled with mental block on the layout. It was not going as I had hoped and I was losing interest rapidly. Not sure what happened but I realised that if I changed the backscene, I could gain quite a bit of extra scenic space. 
 

Well, it was out with the multi tool, chisel and handsaw and what you see below is a work in progress to rebuild the back area of the layout into a more spacious area. Long way to go, but I finally have some direction again. 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Whilst all this is going on, the fleet has been deployed to the far side of the forest moon…….oops, wrong film!  It’s actually all been abandoned on my other WiP layout (Leysbourne- more of that at a later date!) 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Some more of the technical stuff - Glencoe measures 9ft by 2’ 6” on the main bit (the quarry siding is about 3ft by 4 inches) and has a 4ft sector plate at the end. It’s all powered by a Digitrax Super Chief set and point control is with Tortoise point machines (operated with DPDT switches). I have a couple of Dapol semaphore signals worked from a TrainTech controller but the plan is to fit something a bit better in the long term. It does give a bit of play value though. 
 

Stock is the usual mix of stuff but I have recently started building approx 20

wagon kits for both layouts. 
 

 

[Hunslet 102]

Nice fleet! The original layout looked good and was shaping up nicely from the photos, but sometimes there is just that wee thing that bugs you and you have to make the change. 
Look forward to more updates 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Thanks. 
 

Yeah, it’s probably the balance between track and scenery that wasn’t quite right in my mind. This extra space will give me more scope to create that feeling of spaciousness…… hopefully 

[Clive martin]

Your layout looked fabulous before you started the rebuild of its scenic section ,it looks like it is coming on very well ,all great layouts evolve over time !

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Kind of you to say that. What I’ve come to accept is that there were some parts of the scenery which I could have done better. For example, the area in the foreground was done after the previous version of the back hill and it showed. I used better materials and the colours are more subtle. Hopefully this new section will take on what I’ve learned so far. There is also a severe lack of trees on the layout, but not huge amount of space to fit them. This expansion should address that going forward 

Cheers

[BoD]

I like your backstory and look forward to seeing  how the layout now develops. I agree with others, the original layout looked very good too.

 

As for mental blocks and feeling things aren’t quite right - you aren’t alone in that.  I think every \railway modeller goes through feelings like that at some point.

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Little bit of progress today on the new scenic section. I’ve filled in the last piece of Celotex and covered the whole lot with plaster bandages. Once these dry later, I’ll pop back out to the shed and give it a quick coat of brown paint. Then tomorrow I hope to add the next level of ground on the right hand side of the scene. 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

I’ve also made a start on the Peco station building. It’s a bit tricky but with a little patience it’s going to be a decent wee kit. 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Quick coat of brown paint (including free splashes onto the backscene!) tonight. Once dry, I’ll test out where the cottages will go and then I can sort out gardens etc. 

 

I’ve also made more progress on the station building. 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Today didn’t quite go to plan but so still managed a little bit of time in the shed. Started adding some relief to the hillside and gave it a quick coat of scatter, more just to see what the contours look like. Plonked the cottages back on but soon realised that I probably need another 2 pairs for a decent representation. 
 

Still a very long way to go but looks like the mojo is coming back. 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Just a wee update pic. Started adding the trees and bushes to the extension. Very early days yet but it’s starting to return to something viewable again!

 

I’ve also started working on the 1980s rakes of stock to work out what gaps need filled. 
 

 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

First section of rock face has been installed and blended in with Sculptamold. It was then all painted and the first coat of greenery added. Much more to do but it’s starting to return to something like what it should!

 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

Been far too long since the last update on the layout. Scenic work stopped for long enough and eventually I decided to create a double track circuit for Leysbourne so this meant creating a false backscene for Glencoe. Once all this was installed, I could then get back to reinstating the hillside. 
 

Fast forward to this week and I have done just that. Obviously it’s only the initial coverage of scatter etc, and more will be added but it does start to bring the layout back to life. 
 

As part of this process, I have created a new area for the cottages to go onto, but unfortunately it’s only big enough for two buildings. Again, it needs more layers of greenery added and further detailing but it’s given me the motivation to push on. 
 

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

In a terrible turn of events, Glencoe has suffered from an attack of some mouldy growth. Investigations have concluded that the plaster cloth has never dried out and as a consequence, the boards are probably needing replaced. So, it looks like its days are over and I’ve started removing the damaged parts.  A rebuild of the baseboards is likely going to be done at the same level as Leysbourne and therefore an extension for that layout. 
 

 

[BoD]

That is sad to hear…

 

… but good to see that you are determined to reconstruct it and include it as an extension to another layout.  Look at it as an opportunity.

 

[Glencoe Model Railway]

I’m totally seeing it as a positive learning experience. Mistakes were made, it wasn’t particularly fun to operate and a bit restrictive so extending the other layout means I can move the skill levels on a bit further. 
 

Cheers

[Glencoe Model Railway]

And just like that, Glencoe is no more.  The frames will be started for the Leysbourne extension later today and hopefully get the mainline circuit back running soon.