The Broc Branch in Om scale - an ambitious project that stalled for a decade but is now reawakening

[Mol_PMB]

I'm really enjoying this! Still on the learning curve but making good progress. When I woke up this morning this was just an idea, and now I've got this far:

[Mol_PMB]

I think I've made all the bits that can be laser-cut, and assembled them.

I robbed some wheels off a farm implement that I got in a job lot, and was the wrong scale.

I need to find roof tiles, guttering and make a drawbar from wire, but I think I'm nearly done now apart from painting.

 

Here it is in situ:

 

[chb2488]

That was quick! Laser Cutting is something I‘d be interested in, there‘s a dearth of standard residential houses in Swiss H0. Any insights into designing would be very welcome!

 

Best regards

 

Christian

[Mol_PMB]

8 minutes ago, chb2488 said:

That was quick! Laser Cutting is something I‘d be interested in, there‘s a dearth of standard residential houses in Swiss H0. Any insights into designing would be very welcome!

 

Best regards

 

Christian

I'm definitely still on the learning curve, but I'm using Coreldraw to do the drawings and then saving them as a pdf to transfer to Lightburn, which drives the laser cutting machine. Once I'd got through the initial calibration and worked out suitable cut rates for the materials I'm using, it's been pretty intuitive so far.

 

I've built a few of other people's laser cut kits in the past, so I'm borrowing features from them (layers, joints etc) and applying them to to the designs I need. Next up will be some shelters for the lineside halts, and then I'll start looking at more complex buildings like the stations.

 

 

[Mol_PMB]

A bit of ironwork to complete the chassis, soldered up from scrap bits:

 

And a coat of primer on everything:

 

Remaining details to add include the roof tiles (I have now found my sheet of those), gutters and perhaps a representation of hinges and handles on the shutters.

Also various painting stages on the main body.

 

This machine seems to have lent me almost Darius-like superpowers in making nice things quickly!

 

[40 058]

That thing is brilliant! And your skills with it and the designs are amazing too. I didn’t even think you could buy such things for home use to be honest. Always thought it’d be £megabucks!

 

That first building you’ve done really looks great, if you hadn’t said you’d just done it yourself you could be forgiven for thinking it was a kit.

[Mol_PMB]

6 minutes ago, 40 058 said:

That thing is brilliant! And your skills with it and the designs are amazing too. I didn’t even think you could buy such things for home use to be honest. Always thought it’d be £megabucks!

 

That first building you’ve done really looks great, if you hadn’t said you’d just done it yourself you could be forgiven for thinking it was a kit.

Thanks! Until recently, I hadn't realised that they were affordable for home use (still not cheap, but equivalent to a loco or two rather than impossibly expensive). A generous special offer (and good reviews) encouraged me to buy this one, and so far I'm very pleased with it - easy to use and produces a quality output. It also has an extractor fan and a hose that can be poked out through the window, so avoiding any smoke/fumes in the house.

 

Fortunately I can use the same design software that I am familiar with for the transfers and occasional custom etches, so I don't have a learning curve there. The ability to draw something on the screen, and within a minute or two be holding the part in my hand, feels quite remarkable. Most of my projects will be one-offs so I can design as I build, to some extent.

 

I haven't tried it on plastic yet, I'm going to do a bit more with wood first. It won't do metal.

[40 058]

23 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Thanks! Until recently, I hadn't realised that they were affordable for home use (still not cheap, but equivalent to a loco or two rather than impossibly expensive). A generous special offer (and good reviews) encouraged me to buy this one, and so far I'm very pleased with it - easy to use and produces a quality output. It also has an extractor fan and a hose that can be poked out through the window, so avoiding any smoke/fumes in the house.

 

Fortunately I can use the same design software that I am familiar with for the transfers and occasional custom etches, so I don't have a learning curve there. The ability to draw something on the screen, and within a minute or two be holding the part in my hand, feels quite remarkable. Most of my projects will be one-offs so I can design as I build, to some extent.

 

I haven't tried it on plastic yet, I'm going to do a bit more with wood first. It won't do metal.

Good that it uses the same design software, certainly saves messing around with others.

 

I imagine having that tool and the ability to use it so well, it potentially opens up options to make it pay for itself by making and selling things! You could design your own range of kits, made to order?!

[Mol_PMB]

4 minutes ago, 40 058 said:

Good that it uses the same design software, certainly saves messing around with others.

 

I imagine having that tool and the ability to use it so well, it potentially opens up options to make it pay for itself by making and selling things! You could design your own range of kits, made to order?!

That's true. And in previous cases where I've done custom etches I've wondered about offering copies for sale.

But in any medium, there are also a fair number of other people with a lot more experience in this field that I would be competing with, and I wouldn't want to tread on their toes.

Also, it's just a hobby for me, alongside a normal job, so I'm not sure I could provide the speed of service that most people want these days!

But if other people wanted copies of some of my designs, that would be a possibility. Let me get a few more under my belt first...

 

 

[Gordonwis]

Great fun!

[swisspeat]

That looks superb! Well done.

 

because you are modelling in a large scale I presume you will be making models of flying bees next with your new equipment?
 

:-)

[Mol_PMB]

18 minutes ago, swisspeat said:

That looks superb! Well done.

 

because you are modelling in a large scale I presume you will be making models of flying bees next with your new equipment?
 

:-)

I don't think drone technology has got quite that small yet, maybe in the military sector? ;-)

[Mol_PMB]

A couple of projects finished, or nearly so. 

Firstly, the GFM bus, I'm declaring this finished. It's on an empty run to collect a load of tourists.

Not 100% accurate or perfect, but I think it captures the style of the prototype well enough for my purposes.

 

Secondly, the beehive hut that I started yesterday as a test project for my new laser cutter. This is nearly done, still needs final assembly, minor details like shutter hinges and gutter downpipes, and a bit of weathering. But it's very nearly there now:

 

 

I also need to plant some bigger weeds around it! It is prototypical that the front wheels are up on blocks to level it. I think it's one of those huts that dodges a load of regulations by being theoretically mobile, but in practice it hasn't moved for 30 years!

[Mol_PMB]

Now, another project that I can't quite decide whether to start yet, or whether to do another laser cutting project first. I think the Volvo Trucks project needs a bit more thinking.

There are 4 parts to it, I want to end up with 2 very different truck and trailer combinations. 

The first one isn't for my Swiss layout at all, it's for my Manchester Ship Canal interests, and I made a bit of a start on this ages ago. The idea was to produce a Manchester Liners Volvo truck and skeleton trailer, pretty much like this one:

I bought a Volvo F88 / F89 artic tractor unit (the white and red one) and started dismantling it with a view to fitting an older cab which I had 3D-printed. The fit proved more challenging than I expected, and my attempts to buy a suitable trailer failed. The bits all got put back in the box.

 

Now I have a desire to build a GFM truck and trailer for the Swiss layout, and they had some Volvo F88 / F89 types like this one:

 

Actually what I want to model is the combination in the top right of this photo, dropside truck and trailer with canvas top:

 

For the truck, the yellow and blue one on the right here is pretty close:

But it would be better if I swapped the cab from the tractor unit on the left, to get the right grille.

And it would be better still if I swapped the canvas top with the Edeka one on the right of this photo:

So that's the truck sorted, swap those bits around, strip the paint and repaint in GFM livery.

Now for the trailer I'm thinking I can rehash the chassis components of the Edeka truck into a trailer chassis. I may need to rob the front wheels off the light blue Volvo (which I stole the milk tank from in the VW-MAN project). But I'll need another canvas top of the Edeka type. @40 058 has a spare one of those that would be suitable.

 

Now that then leaves me with the question of the skeleton trailer for the Manchester Liners truck. The back end of the former milk tanker has a pair of suitable axles and some nicely shaped mudguards, as well as a load of other bits and pieces like suspension, tail-lights and bumper etc. Together with a bit of scratchbuilding, that could be the rear half of the skeleton trailer. But what I'm missing is anything suitable for the front half - swan-neck, landing legs etc. I've bought too many trucks to want to buy another one for parts of its trailer - I'm going to end up with one and half spare F89s as it is!

 

I think I'll mull this over while I make another laser-cutting project!

 

Here's the excessive array of Volvo trucks:

 

And a nice little detail etch I found on ebay:

[40 058]

40 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

A couple of projects finished, or nearly so. 

Firstly, the GFM bus, I'm declaring this finished. It's on an empty run to collect a load of tourists.

Not 100% accurate or perfect, but I think it captures the style of the prototype well enough for my purposes.

 

Secondly, the beehive hut that I started yesterday as a test project for my new laser cutter. This is nearly done, still needs final assembly, minor details like shutter hinges and gutter downpipes, and a bit of weathering. But it's very nearly there now:

 

 

I also need to plant some bigger weeds around it! It is prototypical that the front wheels are up on blocks to level it. I think it's one of those huts that dodges a load of regulations by being theoretically mobile, but in practice it hasn't moved for 30 years!

Love the bus! Looks absolutely brilliant, the colour scheme suits it too. 
You’ve done a superb job on that bee house. Looks just like the original one. 
 

If you need some passengers I’ve got a load of sitting figures from those Bond cars laying around here. Obviously you’d need to persuade them to put their guns down!

 

There are rather more spares for trucks here than I thought! There’s bits of little trucks everywhere! I’ve a few bodies very similar to that Edeka type (including two of those exact ones with tents).

These are all donors, mainly for their chassis to re body:

 

 

 

 

 

[Mol_PMB]

1 hour ago, 40 058 said:

Love the bus! Looks absolutely brilliant, the colour scheme suits it too. 
You’ve done a superb job on that bee house. Looks just like the original one. 
 

If you need some passengers I’ve got a load of sitting figures from those Bond cars laying around here. Obviously you’d need to persuade them to put their guns down!

 

There are rather more spares for trucks here than I thought! There’s bits of little trucks everywhere! I’ve a few bodies very similar to that Edeka type (including two of those exact ones with tents).

These are all donors, mainly for their chassis to re body:

 

 

Thanks!

I've disarmed (as in removed their guns, not their arms) and used 3 of my 4 Bond villains now; I could certainly find seats for a few more. I do have various plastic moulded passengers from other sources, but there's a strange satisfaction from re-using unwanted bits in unintended ways.

One of those Edeka bodies would be much appreciated, spot on for Switzerland.

What plans (if any) do you have for that very orange artic trailer? That looks like it might have some bits underneath that would be useful to me for the Manchester Liners skeleton.

Like you, I've bought rather too many road vehicles recently and need to get a few more 'processed' into the required models for the layout!

 

 

[40 058]

2 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

 

Thanks!

I've disarmed (as in removed their guns, not their arms) and used 3 of my 4 Bond villains now; I could certainly find seats for a few more. I do have various plastic moulded passengers from other sources, but there's a strange satisfaction from re-using unwanted bits in unintended ways.

One of those Edeka bodies would be much appreciated, spot on for Switzerland.

What plans (if any) do you have for that very orange artic trailer? That looks like it might have some bits underneath that would be useful to me for the Manchester Liners skeleton.

Like you, I've bought rather too many road vehicles recently and need to get a few more 'processed' into the required models for the layout!

 

 

Im not sure what to do with that artic trailer to be honest.

It’s a sort of livestock trailer by the look of it but has a canvas style top. The chassis is the usual style for these, main spine of the trailer with axles, suspension etc in metal and the rest is plastic parts screwed on. It doesn’t look quite as long as most either. There is a gooseneck of sorts to its chassis but it’s not very big.

I might be persuaded to part with it…

[Mol_PMB]

I've made a start on the next laser-cutting project, which is the halt building for Les Marches. Eventually I'll need two very similar buildings as the one at La Tour-de-Treme was the same design.

I had drawn this up a few months ago intending to get someone else to cut it for me, but that never really happened. I've had to tweak the drawings a bit based on what I now know about the cutting process - I did that last night. This morning I have been cutting.

 

I started with the basic inner shell of the building in 2.6mm MDF. This is just for structural strength, you won't actually see it unless you really peer inside:

Then I did the roof. This was an area I redesigned compared to my original drawing, to improve its strength. There is an inner skeleton which supports the two main panels:

But I also made a mistake. Not in the original drawing but when positioning the drawn parts for cutting. I managed to move the outlines without moving the slots, with the results that the slots ended up in the wrong place. I didn't realise until I'd cut the parts and tried to fit them together.

So I thought I'd try and cut a second set of slots in the parts, which required very careful realignment of the parts and the drawing on the bed of the laser cutter. I might have just been lucky, but I got them both pretty good and the roof then fitted together. The extraneous slots aren't a problem here as they'll be covered with tiles.

 

Next I tried cutting the outer overlays which provide the detail. I've designed these with two layers - 2.4mm ply for the planks and 0.8mm ply for the ribs.

Neither of these was initially satisfactory. It turned out I only had a tiny piece of 2.4mm ply in stock, not quite big enough for one end. Still, I thought I'd do one end as a trial to check the settings, alignment, size etc. I have more ply on order.

Then I did the 0.8mm overlay which is quite filigree. Again I used an offcut which was just big enough, but I had my first major fail:

I think what's happened here is that one of the waste cut-out parts has tipped up and been struck by the laser body as it moves on to another cut, which has then moved the whole job so the cuts all ended up misaligned.

I tried again, using more closely spaced supports, a larger sheet weighted down away from the cutting area, and keeping an eye on progress. It's possible to pause the cut, reach in and us tweezers to extract an errant offcut, and I did have to do this once. Then, success, here are the pair of overlays for one end:

Together they look like this:

I can continue to make more of the 0.8mm overlays but I can't finish this until my new stocks of ply arrive on Tuesday. So I'll have to find something else to make for the bank holiday weekend.

A reminder of the prototype:

 

 

[Mol_PMB]

An approximate recreation of those prototype photos:

[Mol_PMB]

Here's a couple of little sheds I might tackle this weekend, as I need them for the part of the layout I'm working on at the moment. These are located where the line leaves the roadside and heads off to Les Marches halt.

I took this photo in 2012:

 

And they were still there in 2024:

How about the 1980s, period of my layout? Yes, then too, you can see both their rooves behind the small trees just to the right of the Panoramic Express driving trailer:

I'll have to estimate the dimensions but I'm sure I can mock something up reasonably well. They were probably a bit less decrepit in the 1980s.

[Mol_PMB]

Well a day's work has created me a pair of little sheds, as well as most of the station halt building.

All just the laser-cut wood bits, I haven't done any detailing or painting yet.

Here are the two small sheds:

Theese have been a bit tricky. In reality they are on sloping ground, but for 'fitting it in the room' reasons decided a decade ago, the model has a steeper slope than reality here. So I've had to compromise some of the dimensions to get them to fit the existing landscape. However, I think that some judiciously-placed foliage will hide the worst of the problems (like having to be a dwarf to get in the back door of the right-hand one).

I think with a bit more growth on the bushes and hedges I'll get away with it, especially if I make the vegetable bed cameo in front as a distraction to the eye.

 

 

One of the best rural photo-spots on the layout will have the opportunity to feature these huts in the foreground, like this. I'll make sure I get them both properly vertical when they are installed!

I wonder if I could laser-cut that wooden fence behind the huts too? That might be a job for tomorrow, along with the tiled roofs and some painting.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Having served my apprenticeship on wooden huts, I think I'll move on to a more ambitious project.

The CEG (predecessor of the GFM) held an architecture competition for station building designs in 1901, with various categories of building needed.

The Fribourg firm of architects 'Broillet & Wulfleff' won the competition for the smaller 'Third Class' stations, which were initially all the same. Fortunately some drawings survive, as well as many of the stations including Broc-Village and Broc-Fabrique which were built to the same design a decade later. Over the years, all the stations were modified in one way or another, but remain similar. So I'll need two of these buildings. Actually it's one and a half, because the Broc-Village station on my model will be in half-relief against the backscene. I'm going to start with the drawings for that one.

Happily, a search through my GFM literature has found the following drawings:

 

Here's Broc-Village station when it was still pretty new, in some ways even more ornate than the drawings (look at that chimney!) and there are some differences on the end of the upper storey:

 

Here's what Broc-Village looked like in 1978, around the start of my modelling period. The goods shed has been extended, and on the main building the protruding beam ends just below the station sign have disappeared. It didn't change much in the early 1980s. (photo from the SBB archive).

And another 1978 view from the wonderful polier.ch website:

By the time I was visiting regularly in the 2010s, it had been refurbished and some of the original details reinstated:

 

The design of this drawings promises to be quite a challenge, but all those fiddly details are ideal for the laser-cutter.

The good thing is that once I've done Broc-Village, Broc-Fabrique should be a fairly easy adaptation of the design.

I may be some time...

[Mol_PMB]

Having three different drawings of the building I'm modelling sounds great, until I find they don't match...

Two drawings have overall dimensions written on them, while the third one was captioned at 1:200 in the book (and I have previously found the printed scales of drawings in that book to be trustworthy).

 

The dimensions on the drawings agree that the main part of the building is 10m long and 8m wide, and in both cases those dimensions appear to be over the masonry bottom part of the walls.

I have scaled the two dimensioned drawings so that the 10m section is 222mm (correct for the model, 1:45 scale).

The 1:200 drawing I scaled up by 444.4% which should also be to 1:45, and indeed the building length comes out at 222mm.

Those three 10m = 222mm dimensions are shown by the blue bars in the image below.

 

Looking now at the 8m front-to-back dimension, this comes out correct on the plan view (green). But on the end view (red), it's less than 8m - more like 7.6m  (a difference of 8mm on the model)

Given that 8m is a written dimension on two of the drawings, I'm reasonably confident in that, and perhaps I'll need to scale the end elevation horizontally.

 

The overall length including the goods shed is dimensioned as 14.5m, but this isn't consistent with any of the three drawings as actually drawn. The orange bars are the scale equivalent of 14.5m long. The lengths as drawn are all slightly different but 14.0m would be a closer match to what's drawn. Perhaps there's an error in the dimension text? This doesn't worry me too much as it the Broc goods sheds have both been modified significantly.

 

 

Then we get to the height. On one drawing this is dimensioned as 11m to the top of the roof ridge. The purple bar is 11m high to a scale consistent with the 10m horizontal dimensions. None of the elevations match the height of the purple bar, and there's a clear discrepancy between the heights of the two drawings. Most of the discrepancy seems to be in the height of the second floor. The ground floor and roof aren't so different.

 

I've put in a pink bar as a measure of the eaves height in an attempt to compare to photos, but I'm aware this is a very unreliable approach!

 

To be honest, I think a model built to either drawing or somewhere in between would look 'right enough' but I'll have to start by drawing some outlines with consistent dimensions before I work on the individual parts.

 

Sorting out stuff like this takes much more time than actually cutting the wood!

[7mmin7foot]

Stunning, rapid  progress matey, well done!

There must be a huge sense of achievement and satisfaction making your own kits.

Brings a totally new aspect to  your modelling... and going thro' the errors and learning curve will get you to where you want to be.. and quickly too, at this rate !

 

Amazing stuff ! 👍

 

Steve

[Mol_PMB]

Today's progress with the drawing, which is far from complete but looks reasonably pleasing. I've been studying numerous photos as well as the various old drawings, and trying to come up with the most accurate representation that I reasonably can.

 

To finish this evening, I tried doing the front of the building on some scrap card - it's quite big:

Also as a little demo to take in my wallet to the (imminent) pub meeting, I made a window shutter with the ornamental fretwork just like the real ones. I think I made the holes a bit too big, but it's not bad:

 

That's all for now...