Garden Railway Forum

As I said a couple of days ago, most of my projects just 'growed', and a small sub-project has just done exactly that over the last couple of days.
Following a brief exchange on Phil's (Lonsdaler) thread about his bridge refurbishment, I was using Sketchup to play with designs for a concrete 'stone' bridge. These were little more than concept doodles since I don't have any actual data with me, other than the nominal width of the concrete track bed, and a photo. Nevertheless I came up with a design that looked about right and which I rather liked. So far so good.
Now, previously I've only ever used Sketchup for producing the drawings for my 3D printing, and although I know it has the ability to cope with really complex stuff, I've never had the need/drive to investigate and learn what it can really do. I started by simply colouring the bridge stonework to see how it might look, and things kinda went from there, to .......
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https://youtu.be/QVliq2-lIyI

The slight jerkiness is due to the stop-frame scene animation in SU and I haven't found a way round that, sorry. The sharp eyed amongst you may also spot one or two holes in the ground, sorry about that as well! The rocks etc are only intended as a general indication, not actually the way it will be in reality, and the plain triangles represent where mortar gap filling might be used.

Anyway, any thoughts for improving the bridge itself will be gratefully received, although as it stands I think I know how I can cast it in concree, in situ and in one piece, so please don't suggest too many fancy mouldings, etc! However I am hoping to colour the concrete to this sort of colour but the stonework will be 'rougher' cut.

I never realised Egypt was such a boring place to visit with nothing to do except doodle on laptops! On the other hand it is clearly inspirational and brought out the creative spirit in you Philip. I like the look of the bridge design and how it sits in your virtual landscape.
Thinking 'outside the box' as I do, I could see a garden railway with elaborate Egyptian steam locomotives and stock running through a desert landscape with ancient structures in the background. A feeder line with industrial equipment carefully transporting artifacts from excavations to warehouse full of crated items waiting for export
Just think of the scenic structural possibilities.
Perhaps its me?????

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:06 am I never realised Egypt was such a boring place to visit with nothing to do except doodle on laptops! On the other hand it is clearly inspirational and brought out the creative spirit in you Philip. I like the look of the bridge design and how it sits in your virtual landscape.
Thinking 'outside the box' as I do, I could see a garden railway with elaborate Egyptian steam locomotives and stock running through a desert landscape with ancient structures in the background. A feeder line with industrial equipment carefully transporting artifacts from excavations to warehouse full of crated items waiting for export
Just think of the scenic structural possibilities.
Perhaps its me?????

No Peter, not just you. I'd like to incorporate a small area to include some Egyptian features. I was planning on naming a station phebes, the original name for Luxor.

I like the idea for your bridge Phil.

You could always base it on the Egyptian Delta Light Railway - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_ ... t_Railways
Some really interesting prototypes on there
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Rik

Just wondering how much SRB would be needed to hold the Sahara in place?

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:06 am railway with elaborate Egyptian steam locomotives and stock running through a desert landscape with ancient structures in the background.

Talking of ancient structures and railways, Luxor station is a beautiful Egyptiansed Art Deco building, designed to look like 'ancient Egypt' with stylised lotus columns and the wings of Isis (with the head of Horus!) on the facade. The semaphore signals are pure British with Lattice posts and lower quadrant arms. Although most have been replaced by colour lights now. This "elaborate Egyptian loco" is a Class 66 diesel.

It looks as though the drivers of those locos don't want sand (or camels) thrown in their faces with the bars on the screen..... unusual feature but hardly 'elaborate.
What I meant was something like this.....

Great photo's Phil. I had no idea Egyptian Railways still had any mechanical signalling. Is that a calling on signal lower down the post? If it is I'm guessing their Rules and Signalling Regulations must also bear some resemblance to our own.

Fascinating stuff.

Andrew

Andrew, tbh, I'm not certain about the lower arm but it certainly looks like a calling on. I'd guess that their Regs would be based on British practice originally, since the contractor for the first Egyptian railway line, which started from Alexandria in 1851 (and eventually arrived in Luxor by stages built by other companies)in 1898, was no less than good ol' Robert Stevenson himself!

Peter, I'd have thought this one might appeal to your more esoteric tastes? It was allegedly the first loco in Egypt.

I could very easily live with both of those locomotives running on my 'Heritage Railway', I wonder when Roundhouse will produce one of them?

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:36 pm

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:06 am railway with elaborate Egyptian steam locomotives and stock running through a desert landscape with ancient structures in the background.

Talking of ancient structures and railways, Luxor station is a beautiful Egyptiansed Art Deco building, designed to look like 'ancient Egypt' with stylised lotus columns and the wings of Isis (with the head of Horus!) on the facade.
Luxor_Station.jpg

The semaphore signals are pure British with Lattice posts and lower quadrant arms. Although most have been replaced by colour lights now. This "elaborate Egyptian loco" is a Class 66 diesel.
Luxor train Cl 66.png

Class 66 and IE Class 201 are both variants on the GM-EMD JT42 design, which also appears in Norway, Israel, etc.. seems to have sold well on the international market. The Irish version had some wheel/bogie issues as I don't think EMD were thinking about sustained 90-100mph running when they designed them. The signals look UK c.1900 so the 'dotted' miniature arm is most likely a calling-on arm of some sort.


Peter in Va

Thanks Peter.

Well after this lengthy journey down the branchline to Egypt, I'd rather like to head back along the main line to my stream, please guys!

By chance I just came across this video showing how somebody else did a stream. As always, each to his own, but it it doesn't look half a scenic as Rik's is, and I hope mine will be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5hT0AIhsgU

philipy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 22, 2018 4:17 pm
Well after this lengthy journey down the branchline to Egypt, I'd rather like to head back along the main line to my stream, please guys!

Well you've only got yourself to blame - you led us there Phil!

philipy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 22, 2018 4:17 pm
By chance I just came across this video showing how somebody else did a stream. As always, each to his own, but it it doesn't look half a scenic as Rik's is, and I hope mine will be.

Reluctant as I am to criticise someone who works with a pint pot of beer beside them, I must agree with your comments about the water feature in the clip. It's a good effort but not a patch on Rik's superb piece of work. In my humble opinion yours is much more realistic than this one too.

Speaking of which - any more photos of yours Phil? Have you fully commissioned yet?

All the best,

Andrew

Speaking of which - any more photos of yours Phil? Have you fully commissioned yet?

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Andrew,
Nothing has happened since the photo I posted on 10th Sept on page 2 of this thread. The branchline to the real Egypt got in the way of doing proper stuff!

Egypt had a rich history of 2' 6" lines (although none survive now), always tempted to do an Egypt based 009 layout set in the 1920s based on a fictional narrow gauge line from Port Said or Alexandria to Faiyum via Giza

Ooh, I'd not got the notifications for this thread and missed all the Egyptian stuff - those Sentinels are wonderful! And the carriages! One day, maybe, although I agree that vast amounts of SBR will be necessary, otherwise the poor 16mm versions of the Egyptian Delta railway are goingto grind themselves to bits after just a few runs round the sandpit...

Thanks for both the diversion and inspiration,

Andrew.

Guys, I really don't want to appear churlish, but can we stop the Egyptian stuff on this thread please? I know I contributed at the beginning but it has got a bit much now.
Back to stream construction and related stuff only now.

Phil, this is the first time i have seen your thread on building your stream, sorry after being ill, I am just trying to catch up on things I have missed.

Your plans for the stream are very impressive mate, I wanted to have a stream after reading Rik’s Blog also, but it got waylaid with the hospital. But your’s will look just has good has Rik’s I think. Just give it time and a few alterations and other things which you will come across can make it into something really unique I am sure. Putting a little bridge over it will also make it come alive and your plan for a bridge is really great.

Both Anne and I don’t want to spend our hard earned money on some other country’s economy. Not that we have anything against those that do go abroad, we find a lot more inspiration from visiting places in the UK.

Looking forward to more of your building of the stream Phil…Any name for it yet…

All the lines on the forum are worth a visit too hopefully……

FWLR wrote: ↑Tue Oct 02, 2018 9:26 am Any name for it yet…

Rod,
Nothing definite yet, I'm currently torn between two thoughts, but it could end up as something entirely different. The two current options are : 1)"Solstice Brook" since the cottage is called "Solstice Cottage" or, 2) "Cuttle Brook" since I have a copy of the will of one of my 10xgreat grandfathers, dated 1680, in which he describes one of his fields as being bounded by "the cuttle brook". Although 'our' land is long gone, Cuttle Brook is still there and still called by the same name 340 years later and I thought it might be a nice idea to perpetuate the name.

However, gotta build it before it can have a name!

'Cuttle Brook' works for me, with such a wonderful family connection and an unusual name it is sure to draw interest from any visitors to your line.