Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline - 6 (Schluß)

Two full days of detailing behind me with some more to do, including trying to clean some stray glue out of the signal, making station signage, and some structure weathering....

When I started it was to replace the very basic card model houses and station that I first had as a child and to make the overall scale of things more realistic, nevermind the buildings... As mentioned in earlier posts, kits are all lasercut card from Germany, Joswood, Moebo, and WS-Lasercut based on structures in Germany's mid-50s to mid-80s Ruhr Valley/industrial heart-/wasteland... For inspiration and rea examples I have numerous books depicting life, people, and industry in addition to my own recollections of having lived there in the mid-80s. That said, it's all a bit romanticized, but I'm ok with that.

Welcome to Pappeck.

Trinkhallen plausch (chat) and laundry day...

Chat across the fence...

Chat across the fence with a nice view behind. Where are the "Bullen" heading?

More kitchen gardens... Remember the veggies I assembled? Bunnies, too...

Punks and rockers... Wonder how it will end?

Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline - 5

Gardening in winter? Yes, and about time to be back working on things...

Post Christmas checklist:

1. Dusting? Check!
2. Track cleaning? Check, mostly...
3. Düwag GT6 runs Check, after fixing due to drop...
4. Backdrop fixed after getting bumped during various house construction projects? Check.
5. Pappeck? Long neglected and in need of progress, or even better "completion?"

So, time to work in the gardens and create some scenes... Avoided these  #%$@ Busch kits long enough. On the menu cabbages, broccoli, lettuce, sunflowers and window boxes.

What have I gotten myself into...

Almost there...

The harvest...

Next, lift Pappeck out and bring to workbench and start detailing.
More anon...

Finse – 22.09.2012

First new snow on the mountain tops, old snow still hanging about, beautiful sunshine on this second day of Fall in Finse, Norway.

Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline - 4

Been ages since I worked on the layout (last update on 1/21), but decided it was time to dust some of the cobwebs that covered things and play around with placement of the station that I built up during the spring. Rocking to Ballast der Republik bei the Toten Hosen with its relentless beat and songs like the title track and Schade, Scheiße, Wie Kann Das Passieren. HIGHLY recommend the album for those who understand German.

Have everything I need to finish (this corner) and just need to to get moving. Hard to juggle between this, binding projects, and general malaise brought on by work... Manchmal kann ich das Schwartze vor den Augen nimmer sehen. Aufwärts gehts! 

Model Railways - A look back...

2 really nice English videos explaining the model railroad hobby...

From the introduction by Weslake500 at YouTube where these live:

Originally shown on Saturday mornings in 1975. Part of the 'Model World' series of modelling programs hosted by Bob Symes. The last three programs of the series were all about model railways.

For those of us of a certain age, these programs hosted by Bob Symes, introduced and opened up the fantastic world of models, and for me personally, model railways.

I therefore consider it selfish to keep the now aging vhs tape of these model railway programs (videoed some almost fifteen years ago), to myself.

These model railway programs along with childhood hero Bob Symes (who id still like to meet) remain personally as fantastic and inspiring today, as they were all them years ago as a child.

I hope you still enjoy them today as much as I still do.

Enjoy.

Steamtown in March

It's great to be paid to go on a railfanning fieldtrip to Steamtown USA. Hadn't been there in about 2 years so nice to be back. Due to a derailment, see below we had to go in the long way, through the yard (horrible I say, just horrible ;-) ). Unfortunately, didn't have the camera handy for cleaner shots of the derailment, and by the time we left it had been moved... Did have some time to myself though and had a blast going through the yard...

Delaware Lackawanna #2461, an ALCO C425

Delaware Lackawanna (DL) #2461, an ALCO C425, DL 405, an ALCO C420, and DL 4252, another ALCO C425.

Delaware Lackawanna (DL) #2423, an ALCO C425. In the background derailed DL #3642, an ALCO C636, then DL 211, a RS-32, and finally DL 3000 (a Montreal Locomotive Works/ALCO M630)

A really cool yard switcher moving a Lackawanna coach into the shop. See the video below to watch it move...

A new tender being made for Canadian National Pacific #3254 that runs at Steamtown

A very sad Shay

Front end of a Boston and Maine tender showing the automatic stoker that made the fireman's job much easier...

 Parts is parts...

Watching Trains in Real-time

Watch trains moving across the country in real time with the Süddeutsche Zeitung's Zugmonitor, a webcam of a different kind. Site is designed to show where there are delays, but entertaining none-the-less.

To stop the video and track in real time, click on "LIVE" in the upper right.What this shows: each black arrow is a long distance train en-route. Clicking on it shows the route and on the right a window opens displaying the stations. The arrows surrounded by colored circles are trains that are late. The darker the circle, the later it is. Clicking on one of those also gives the reason for delay at top of the window. Using the (Suche) window, you can also choose the type of trains you want displayed and also select stations.

Site in German only... Click image to start watching.

S-Bahn

You never know who you'll meet on the train... Animation by Markus Neidel.

Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis [1927]

Wonderful railway and urban footage in this 1927 silent film directed by Walter Ruttmann, co-written by Carl Mayer and Karl Freund. The film is an example of the city symphony film genre.^[1] A musical score for an orchestra to accompany the silent film was written by Edmund Meisel. As a "city symphony" film, it portrays the life of a city, mainly through visual impressions in a semi-documentary style, without the narrative content of more mainstream films, though the sequencing of events can imply a kind of loose theme or impression of the city's daily life.

In 2007, a restored version of the film was shown with the fully reconstructed original score by Edmund Meisel. The film was restored by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv in cooperation with ARTE and with funding by the ZDF. The restored version is based on cellulose nitrate copy from the archives of the former Reichsfilmarchivs which was augmented by footage acquired from the Library of Congress.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin:_Symphony_of_a_Metropolis

Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline - 3

And it goes on...Weathering of sidewalks, appying turf and other details, hedges. Still waiting for the station mentioned in the last post, want to detail the spaces between the houses with laundry lines, wabbit hutches, and stuff. Then will close off at towards the front with more hedges.

Put the scene onto the layout after I took these pictures and noticed that the tree blends into the background too well so will freshen up with a darker green turf.  Liking the way this is coming together.

Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline - 2

Lifted the old town out (had forgotten that I can be clever) traced the outline and cut out some foam for the base... Good to start playing with placement of structures and road placement... Ordered WS-Lasercut's Wartehaus Sellin-Ost that I've decided will look and work better as a basic station.Nice compact footprint and appropriate for this kind of end of the line...

Overall view

First attempt at structure placement...
The Magdeburger Reiter statue of HRE Otto I will likely stay (somewhere) on the layout...

End of the line...

The old town next to my n-scale end module. May well keep as a momento of layouts past.

Pappeck Reko-projekt on the Branchline

Between all matter of book projects and The Bonefolder I'm glad to be getting back to the railroad. After the corner by my small harbor, it became time to set my eyes on my branchline station and neighborhood...

View down the street...

View from across the layout...

Siedlungshäuser from WS-Lasercut will replace the Schreiber houses. The difference in scale is scary. Though originally packed close together, putting three here will make things too tight, so I'll likely opt for 2 with more space between/around.

Unless something changes, all structures in this area will be card lasercut kits. It's been really interesting building these - interesting in a good way. The fit is really good, and the level of detail they can get amazing. None of the plastic shine either, though all will get some weathering and other detailing.

• Siedlung Eisenheim on Wiki (German)
• Siedlung Eisenheim (Google to English)
• Lots of pictures of the 87:1 models for  the kits 
• Animated gif showing growth...

New crushing old...

Kits assembled to date...

The stellwerk and magazin (garage/store house) are by Moebo, the kiosk by Joswood. The magazin I may convert into a small station with a waiting room and storage... Then again, may scratchbuild a small station or use one of the "Wartehaus Sellin - Ost" that I just ordered from WS-Lasercut.

Detail of kiosk.

Building the kits with removable roofs so that I can detail interiors... This is the Trinkhalle/Kiosk so ubiquitous in the Ruhr and elsewhere.