Far North Line - Helmsdale

[Carl L]

Quiet spectacular.

[Ultima Thule]

Some more.

[Hound Dog]

Absolutely outstanding - probably the best integration of backscenes that I have ever come across - they make the images look very much like real-life photos + the layout detail is pretty darn impressive too.......great work.

[Mr Bones]

Welcome back and thanks for sharing these stunning photos. The backscene has really inspired me.

[Ultima Thule]

Thanks all - glad they are giving inspiration! I trimmed off the bottom three inches of the backscene to get rid of the greenery and that helped it settle in further north than its origins. John, who was Artprinters at that time, told me it is part of the old CR main line in Strathmore but it has proved a versatile product and I have seen it on layouts based almost anywhere in Britain.

Helmsdale has its model origins in a model started in an uncles's loft half a century ago, but never finished beyond the station track and a building or two. The loft was some thirty feet long and the station needed most of it. This time round I'm squeezing it in to a space just under twelve feet long, so opted for the northern approaches to the station, giving an open aspect to it all, and incorporating the rather sparse goods facilities and the engine shed. The platforms stop at the footbridge, giving about a third of the actual one but is suffices for my needs. Here are a few more of the station.




The above image shows the extent of the modelled station. I have since altered the whole track in the foreground to ease the curves and change the shed layout and will show this later. This was done to allow two brass kit built HR locos I had acquired to transverse the two running lines with ease - they had obviously run on an end to end layout before - but it also looked a bit better to the eye.

[teedoubleudee]

The more pictures you share the more impressed I am by the fine detail you have created. This is one of the best layouts ever to appear on this forum.

[Mountain Goat]

It looks real.

[Ultima Thule]

One of the reasons it looks "real" is using the same lighting throughout the project. The layout is photographed either under daylight or 6500K tubes which have more or less the same spectrum as natural light. All bench and layout work is done under the same conditions, which makes sure that colours will remain consistent, which is an important but often overlooked factor.

More or less up to date with the station now, and here are some shots of the realigned approach and engine shed track, done last autumn and finished off this summer. The original shed connection was from the station loop line just before the crossover and was by a Peco Code 75 3 way point, which looked unsightly and was positioned where it dominated shed yard shots. Plain track is C&L 00 bullhead which gives a far more British look to PW and the Code 75 points had cosmetic chairs added, a process, but which improve their appearance no end. There were also intermittent electrical contact problems with the access point so the shed yard entrance was moved to the end of the loop, using one of two sidings there as the road and the shed pointwork was replaced by Peco bullhead points,resulting in a more authentic representation of the prototype. Here are some shots of the finished job.









The above two pics show the new and old shed access. More of the new track and a peek at some stock in the remaining siding - an ex Pullman camping coach and a six wheel gas tank for refuelling restaurant cars. This was a very much hacked about pair of Oxford tanks on a six wheel chassis.



















I'll take a tour round the shed showing its facilities next.

[Ultima Thule]

A look at the shed area now. It is based on the prototype set up but due to the cramped location of the layout I have to shift things around to get them in, but all they are all there, just not all in the right order...A shot of the actual yard and my interpretation of it to begin with.









Most HR loco sheds were stone cathedrals, but Helmsdale was a noteable exception among the larger sheds, being wooden and rather precarious, having been blown down and rebuilt at least once ending up with a curved corrugated iron roof, probably to deflect the winds. It caught fire again but was repaired this time.







The basic coaling stage and the brick mess/dormitory hut the LMS installed in several HR sheds during the war to cater for the vast increase in traffic here and the subsequent lodging turns required. a bit basic, but enough for the times and no doubt an improvement on the antiquated coaches used as such beforehand.

[Ultima Thule]

Final views of the shed.







The turntable is a Roco 60' model anglised by adding well side girders and 4mm railing and vacuum gear. It runs very well and passes muster if not examined too closely. I had intended using a Metalsmiths kit but the way the baseboard supports were would have resulted in drastic alterations so I stuck with what I had. Here it is in operation turning one of the little HR tanks that worked the Dornoch branch.




And lastly, the ex CR breakdown van that attended to any necessities that arose in the area. It is attached to a MR parcels van converted to a stores van for the PW department.