Dailu-ish Distillery Boxfile

[luke the train spotter]

So with Dalmunach now in storage and a clear work bench (aka kitchen table) it's time to move onto the next project and it'll probably be no surprise that I'll finally be scratching my distillery itch.

 

Background

As you can guess from the title, this layout will be heavily inspired by Dailuaine Distillery, famously photographed by John Boyes in the 1960s and published in numerous books, particularly Iron Rails and Whisky Trails (Ian Peaty) and The Speyside Line A History and Guide (GNSRA). Dailuaine had a set of exchange sidings and a moderate set of sidings/loco sheds to serve the distillery site, see below.

 

 

My last attempt at modelling something Dailuaine inspired was my first go at a 'proper' layout, Distillery Yard, which I started as an end of GCSE reward in 2018. This is what it looked like (I still have it in storage at my parents' though it's buried under piles of unfinished projects. 

 

 

Whilst I am proud that the layout captured the overall impression of a Speyside Distillery the main area for improvement could be the buildings which were built without much knowledge of the whisky making process or different architectural styles. Therefore Dailu-ish aims to rectify that and focus on the actual distillery complex rather than the rural surroundings. 

 

The plan

So this is what I have come up with so far... yes it is super compact and is probably a bit ambitious to fit into a boxfile, perhaps as miraculous as turning water into wine, though whisky would be more appreciated with this project. 

 

 

I think with a couple of scenic fiddle sticks and the super simplistic track plan this could work and allow for a greater focus on the buildings. I'm still to complete a mock up but have a boxfile on standby to see how things might come together. It is important to recognise that there will be a huge amount of compromise and compression.

 

Here is the same plan again with some annotations of particular structures that I would like to include or model in some form, probably using a combination of low relief and compression.

 

[luke the train spotter]

A bit more planning has happened and I have very roughly estimated the size of some of the buildings of Dailuaine using google earth, plans of other distillery buildings and a bit of guestimation. I then compressed some of the larger buildings a bit to try and make them fit in the scene a bit better but these still need a bit of playing around with. The question is though do I want to still try and fit this layout into an A4 boxfile or perhaps utilise a spare Ikea Knagglig crate to allow a bit more space. 

 

Here is the a4 boxfile mock up:

 

 

Versus the Knagglig crate:

 

 

The Ikea knagglig certainly gives more space and depth at the cost of being far less compact and needing some woodwork modifications. Saying that it is more robust than the boxfile though and warping (even though I plan to reinforce the base) is a major long term consideration. More planning is definitely required and I'd be curious to hear other's thoughts, have you used/modified knagglig crates before?

[luke the train spotter]

After a bit of consideration I opted to use the IKEA knagglig crate as the base of the layout. I think the strength it provides as well as the ability to stack the layout on top of other knagglig crates that I use to store my scenic materials in makes this a very sensible choice. To prepare it for layout construction I removed the 2 bottom planks on the front and the 1 bottom plank off either end to allow trains to run through to the fiddle sticks. The crate is a soft wood so pliers and a large flat head screwdriver were only required for this job. Next I lined the bottom and sides of the crate with 5mm foamboard. I'll paint the outside grey probably and it allows me a clean canvas for whatever I do with the backscene.

 

I checked the clearances with a piece of track and a large wagon and it passes through with no issues.

 

The next bit of progress was to start on a building... of course the Doig's Ventilator aka pagoda kiln building is the main focus so a sensible place to start. It is also the largest building (even though it is heavily compressed) on the layout so probably needs to be in place first. This is not final yet but is a 5mm fomaboard shell clad very roughly in das clay. This will be sanded flat and scribed to represent the stonework at Dailuaine. I'll save the roof for a bit later I think. I've also altered its positon on the layout so it sticks out less at an angle.

 

 

The top plank crops out the main ventilator which is pretty annoying but a compromise I might have to make. The cooperage is also taking shape in the centre of the layout being the only building on the layout not made of stone. 

 

 

[Guest]

Luke it will be nice to watch your micro build coming together. Great choice in using the knaggling crate as once lined with choice of baseboard you can build a lovely micro layout.😉

[luke the train spotter]

Thanks to a super speedy track delivery by TMC, Dailuish is now up and running! The layout was super quick to wire up thanks to it only having a single point though both sidings were wired live to allow dcc operation. 

 

 

Grooves in the foamboard base were easily made allowing wires to pass beneath the ground level meaning that no wires will be sticking out through the bottom of the crate. All the wires and wire in tube for the point control sit in the front right corner of the box where there is a basic plug to feed track power to the fiddle stick. 

 

 

Currently the barclay is the tester for the layout though some larger sulzers have had a run to check clearances to maximize operating potential. I should also not that the stonework on the pagoda building has been carved and painted, next step windows and roofing slates. 

 

[1722]

Hi Luke. This is looking good, a good start and looking forward to seeing what you do with it. 
 

As a space-starved modeller myself I’m starting to look seriously at the Knagglig myself. 
 

looking forward to further progress. 

[Guest]

Nice progress Luke it's looking good.😉