Dargan

Hi Folks.

Just back from a pleasant Sunday outing with local friends from our car club and to see your very much appreciated comments just tops up a perfect day.

Thanks again and very best regards

Richard.

 

Thanks Dan and Gary.

It has just dawned on my dumb self that I will need to keep efforts up to a new standard. Oh well that is life.

Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard

 

Hi Folks

I have just completed a lighting module for a new building that is almost ready to be installed on the Dargan layout. There are 32 leds in this module.

Any idea what type of building? Gary is precluded from a guess as he has insider knowledge!



Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard

 

Hi Folks

Progress Update # 10

Time to reveal the new building which is obviously two stories and has taken a little more time to complete than first expected. Yes it is a place to stay in Dargan and therefore its first hotel.

In Australia and and particularly in rural areas, we do not seem to have embraced the UK tradition as regards the naming of hotels. We do not have such exotic pub names like "Sparrow and Hawk" or "Fox and Hounds" but have adopted a standard series of basic names which are repeated in just about every place in most rural areas. Most common would be "The Royal Exchange" , "The Commercial", "The Travellers' Arms" and of course. "The Railway Hotel". For Dargan it just had to be "The Railway Hotel".

So here she is in all of her rural splendour, quietly nestled beside the intersection of the mountain road and the main road via the level crossing and just a short distance from the actual station.






This was my first attempt at weathering a corrugated iron roof. I am satisfied with the final result and future buildings should be a little easier. Note also that the City Fathers in their wisdom have commenced the installation of proper kerb and guttering and also street lighting. They have noted that the lamp post to the left of the hotel needs to be a little more vertical and have taken steps to severely admonish the contractors so involved. (note to modellers...I use a simple dab of blue tack to hold lamp posts in place, much easier to replace when, not if, they fail).

The lighting module has again worked quite well and here I have used the yellow tones of leds to better simulate incandescent illumination:



A broader view. Note the first illumination of the street lighting:




First a note to Toto...much earlier in my thread you asked for some pics of illumination. Then camera could not do this. New equipment is fantastic and I do not know why I did not get the latest Canon EOS earlier.

Now the confession as to why it took a little bit longer than planned to complete the hotel. This was a laser cut kit with the warning that it was for competent and experienced modellers. I thought no problem there but what I did not see was that it was a relief backdrop only whereas I wanted a full sized building. So I had to build the rest myself. Structure behind the white parapet is my addition:



Well we all live and learn but I did enjoy the experience. A view from the rear and naturally I had to include illumination of the new bedrooms in my lighting
module




Well folks, I have to say that I am really enjoying the development of Dargan, employing many of the suggestions on modelling techniques I have received from our members or seen on the various threads, the comments I receive from your good selves to my posts, but above all, the good fellowship that I perceive that occurs between all members in the conversations within the various threads.

Well done to you all.

Cheers

And happy modelling

Richard

 

Thanks Ian and Pete. I will just have to get moving on a few neighbours as the pub is probably feeling a bit lonely.

Cheers

Richard

 

Thanks Toto and Geoff.

Would you believe I had one or two quick snorts during its construction?

Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard

 

Thanks Gary

There is a reason for all the lights being on in the Hotel and that will be evident in later posts.

To allow for that type of flexibility, I have cabled the layout with several circuits so i can have some buildings lit and others not or a mixture of a few selected or portions of each. Like the Post Office, a future building and also the local Bank would only have security lighting and not internal illumination. But I might want the whole thing lit up for New Years Eve celebration or whatever so as it is only a few more bits of wire and the spaghetti wiring is already quite impressive I have put that flexibility in already. I can assure you that my dear old back is still suffering as are a few burn marks on my forearms where the odd bit of solder has been dropped!

Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard

 

Thanks Tony

I think you will see that the future neighbours will have no cause for complaint, in fact it could be the other way around if the hotel guests start to become annoyed by the proximity to other activities....but then they are yet to be installed are they not?

(but construction is well under way)

Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard

 

DARGAN INVADED

Hi Folks

Marcus Amann is one of the most knowledgeable exponents of DCC installations and operations and has helped me a great deal as I have moved forward with the dark art so when he contacted me to see if I would like to show Dargan to a a few Queenslanders it was a chance to assist him in some small way. There was a modelling convention here on the 19th May with the theme modelling the railways of NSW and they had traveled down for this event.

Come the big day as this was the first time Dargan had been shown to any visitors. Much photography took place and the modelling conversation was virtually non stop for the duration. Dargan's operation was flawless until Murphy's law struck with a derailment but that was the only minor blemish. They also got to see a few new buildings that are almost complete and temporarily placed on the layout to show a bit of the future. Quite an exciting couple of hours and something that I look forward to repeating in the future. Nothing quite like a good old chin wag with fellow modellers.
Marcus has his own blog and I can recommend that you visit his site and particularly have a look at "Modelling the Main North", his very extensive layout.

Here is a shot of the group:

i

Marcus is on the far right.

Cheers

and happy modelling

Richard