HO Wodorf-am-Rhein.

[Roger Pound]

I am just starting this project after temporarily being absent due to incapacitating illness from the railway modelling front. I wished to get back in to 'the game' with a fairly simple project requiring minimal preparation work. I remembered my Longford and Broadgate 009 layout started a couple of years ago, which became stalled . The unfinished project got stored and was still languishing in my garage until last week when I realised that this could be a simple solution.. Having a modest collection of both H0e and 009 stock -the two scales mix quite readily (to my eyes anyway ), and having a history of modelling the DB and DBAG in H0 in years past, I decided to use the rather large amount of H0 material I still had and to modify the existing layout. The basic track plan survives although some track had been removed for use on the subsequently flooded Cropsham, (now abandoned ).

The adjustments to the existing track plan will be minimal and consist of an additional siding to a military establishment. Anyone who has read my old thread on Whatborough Camp will know of my penchant for militaria. However, this area will be populated by a small collection of the Minitank H0 range and figures. Some very basic work has been started in the alteration and replacement of certain parts of the original structure, but I will detail this in the next post. I would ask for your patience as I now workeven more slowly than ever, but hopefully the tortoise will make it to the finishing line eventually !

Until next time,

Roger.

 

[Roger Pound]

A brief progress report. A few hours work has refurbished the saw-bench type trestles used to support Wodorf including a modest height increase which was quite simply achieved without imposing upon my limited carpentry skills to any great extent. The recovery of the old Longford and Broadgate layout from storage showed an element of decrepitude had crept in to the old scenic attempts and certain buildings had been removed or become detached and, as mentioned on my first piece, a complete branch line from the old track-plan taken up. Anyway, just to give an idea of where I'm starting from here are some pictures of what I have to fix, fiddle with or no doubt even foul up in renovating or replacing at some stage !

This is the town area and it is most likely that the timbered agricultural buildings in the centre ground will go. The half-relief building also has a large question mark over it - it bears several marks of war-time damage moulded on the structure which could just save it, though, as this area was considerably fought over in WW2. The empty area in the foreground is destined to be a military depot of some sort complete with a siding.

This area is open for development - no work was ever attempted on it in it's previous life and the old grey matter will have to be stirred to find a solution.


Finally, this section will possibly be the easiest to sort out as the missing building in the foreground was one of those which became detached and, being appropriate for the scene, can be re-attached. My apologies for the bright flash below the loco shed - the garage door was open and the sun chose that moment to shine in full force, emerging from behind a cloud .


There it is - it will keep me out of mischief for a bit. More pictures and news as and when.

Roger .

 

[Roger Pound]

A little progress at last! Mainly demolition work but elements of the renewed landscape - or at least the underpinning thereof - are slowly appearing (at last...........!)

First of all a bit of the old layout that will, after some tidying up and refurbishment remain in situ. Rarely seen from the normal 'viewing side' of the board, I just thought it would be something a little different as opposed to what is to follow ( ):



2. The new landscape is in formation - very basic, using the old and tried method of expanded polystyrene packing blocks - carefully preserved from a domestic purchase. People complain that they are messy to work with but I have found that the 'crumbing' is minimised by using a nice hollow ground blade kept razor sharp. Some years back I obtained a suitable knife - designed for practitioners of the culinary art - which is ideal for this job. I have long been using this method of creating scenery, like many others no doubt. The paper towels dipped in plaster is next....... . All very old fashioned, but then I am , as they say, of an age!



3. Looking across the yard entrance, which will now be principally for military use, it can be seen that the heavily timbered rural buildings, referred to in my introduction to this thread, have disappeared as has the half-relief shell-pocked plumbers store. More appropriate structures will appear in due course. once some more clearance work on the baseboard surface has been done.


4. A general view of the demolition area.


That is where I am for now. Work is slow, not least because as already indicated I use rather old fashioned methods. I am a great believer in the old adage 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it', and my adopted methods have served me well over many years. I do try to keep up with advancements that are announced but find many of them nowhere near as good as they claim, or merely an old substance being re-marketed under a new name.

As usual, there is a shed-load of work to do yet so - see you next time.

Roger .

 

[Roger Pound]

The recent uplift in the weather has meant that Wodorf has been neglected in favour of horticulture and some of those necessary jobs in the garden completed in the past few days. I had done a bit of dabbling - merely a few minutes at a time trying to keep the project on the move and one of these was to extend the back-board for the scenery. Alas, disaster ! The original was foam board and I had suitably braced it in the original construction. Unfortunately I found myself with only scraps remaining in stock so I put together a sort of patchwork extension. It seemed to be alright initially but as days trickled by it warped despite being well braced. That was it for me - the whole thing was taken out and now a new back-board, this time of three-ply, which I had in quantity, was constructed.

This afternoon was spent in doing that and also re-aligning the hidden track run, which had become dislodged in the removal of the old foam board. I also removed some of the underpinning that was put in for the old layout but much still remains to be done in that area as the pictures below will show. Hopefully the installation of the ply sheet will be completed this weekend, after the suitable openings have been cut to allow passage of traffic to and from the hidden lines. My apologies fr the relatively slow progress but I'm doing my best, guv, honest...!

The relaid track :


The track from the other end. The lift out tray on the right is the 'fiddle yard' and there are two further similar trays available.


Whilst clearance has been done elsewhere, this section remains to be finally cleaned up before re-modelling.


All very much work in progress - hope to get the next piece done a little more quickly......... .

Roger.

 

[jonte]

Stout Fellow, Roger

Just discovered your thread, Roger, and am delighted to see that progress has been made on Wodorf.

You really have been in the wars with this, Roger, and I sincerely hope you don’t mind my saying so, with life in general, so more strength to your bow, sir. You do indeed deserve the very best of luck with this project and I for one will be looking forward to watching and learning your tried and trusted techniques developing this little gem

Good to see your continued use of aluminium angle fiddle yard trays too, which I’m aware you’ve been using to great effect for many years now. As you say: ‘ if it ain’t broke….’

Best,

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

Slowly but steadily, work continues at Wodorf. Various parts have been 'attacked' - I have this nasty habit of doing a bit here and something there, so all areas have received oddments of attention.

The new plywood backboard has now been cut and installed with some slight modification still required to reach even my very free standards ! Removal of the level crossing and old car park area seen in earlier pictures above has been completed and then a test run was undertaken by my faithful little Roco 0-6-0 'Anna'. By a happy coincidence the name carried by this second-hand purchase is that of my eldest grand-daughter - I am blessed with a further three grand-daughters so locomotive names will not be a future problem . The test run itself confirmed a fault I had suspected from the time the original layout was put in store and thus I now need to replace a segment of track where the old level-crossing was sited. By a happy co-incidence this was laid to my guessed estimate of radius 2, and a section of Peco 009 R2 set track has shown itself to be ideal to rectify the rough and derailing section with relative ease. A quick cut and shut job .

Clearance of further ground cover has been started and an small addition of expanded polystyrene has been added to the earlier constructed base for the hill-side. Once the rectification of the defective track and minor modification of the new backboard are completed, then the work of evolving the rock-faced hillside can commence, so stay tuned .

In the meantime, a picture showing 'Anna' at rest on the main line outside the loco depot after initial test running. In the background Wodorf Rathaus. The crew seem to have gone for a swift pint somewhere before resuming work...... .



See you next time - old age permitting .

Roger.

 

[jonte]

Congratulations on your new purchase, Roger

Such an elegant name to match

Pleased too you’ve rectified the annoying little fault without too much interference.

I’m betting it’s a smashing little haunt the crew frequent for a quick shufty or two; let me know the details of the hostelry and I’ll dust off my passport…..and Mum’s the word, of course

Jon

 

[Joe's Garage]

Hi Roger, just as a matter of interest did you write an article about Konigswinter, German outline in the Practical Model Railways, back in 1984?
Interesting article.
All the best
Julian

 

[Roger Pound]

Hi Roger, just as a matter of interest did you write an article about Konigswinter, German outline in the Practical Model Railways, back in 1984?
Interesting article.
All the best
Julian

Julian,

Although I visited Konigswinter and enjoyed a splendid holiday there in the very early eighties, I cannot honestly remember whether or not I wrote an article about it - certainly I do not recall ever writing for Practical Model Railways. Sadly, my memory is no longer razor sharp about my past works, of which there were quite a few, though mostly trivial I would venture. Another of the failings that comes with age....!

I must confess that the only article I can remember seeing about Konigswinter and it's rack line up to the summit of Drachenfels was in the Continental Modeller relatively recently and was written by someone else whose name I did not note, nor can I remember it now. I last paid a fleeting visit to Konigswinter in May 2011 where amongst other things I saw this engineers unit heading towards Koblenz. I do remember that it was going at a rate of knots, literally hurtling past.


Sorry I cannot be of more help but if my aged memories can be of further assistance to you, pm me.

Cheers,

Roger.

 

[Roger Pound]

A further report of the rebuilding works at Wodorf. Work remains rather pedestrian, but more road sections from the original scheme have been lifted and the border of the railway leading to the yard has been re-modelled and marginally adjusted scenically - see photo later. The already installed base of expanded polystyrene has now been reshaped for what is hoped to be its final form and the arrival is awaited of some scenic materials to create this area with retaining walls and a heavily wooded embankment. This situation has occurred in the light of my discovery of a veritable forest of H0 trees I had squirrelled away for a previous H0 layout when 'doing' an SNCF based layout - long past - and their existence had been totally forgotten. As is normal (for me) they came to light when I was searching for something of an entirely different nature . It also means, much to the delight of SWMBO, that I shall not be splashing wet plaster-soaked kitchen towels around and messing up both myself and my surroundings with plaster splashes so a few brownie points gained too !

So, moving on to today's mini-gallery:-
The reshaped hillside base and in the foreground the Peco set-track curves which replaced the rough track at this point which cause stuttering running and derailments in equal amounts - now as smooth as the proverbial silk, !


At an initial stage, the remodelling of the border from the station to the yard - detailing and painting to be attended to as the week progresses.


An gantry crane has been installed in the yard.....this requires further detailing to the lifting gear and weathering. Once again the joint of the replacement set-track is clearly obvious and although the alignment appears on the photograph to be a little out of true, it is in fact a smooth transition.


Apartment buildings for the populace - traditionally classic style as were many re-buildings after WW2 along the Upper Rhine Valley, where Wodorf is very loosely based - oh! the joys of freelancing........!


Well, that's all for this time - I'll let you know how things go when we can get stuck in with the new materials, set to arrive this coming week. Until then,

Cheers, one and all,

Roger .

 

[jonte]

If your progress can best be described as pedestrian, Roger, then mine is quite simply glacial in comparison

At least you’re making excellent advances on more than one level here, with improvements to track, and developments with scenic endeavours, which btw, are providing an excellent indicator of what we can expect to come in this fictitious region of Northern Europe

Your ‘yard’ has purpose and the built environment leaves the viewer in no doubt as to its location, and all this before any stock or accessories come to the fore

I’m glad you’ve managed to achieve domestic harmony once more, unlike some ahum….individual who regularly tests his better half’s patience with his untidiness and slap dash use of materials

Fingers crossed, Roger, your order arrives and on time, unlike mine which failed to appear. At least I received an honest response to my email when I enquired of the goods’ whereabouts, to be told that unfortunately I’d been overlooked…And add that to our recent bed purchase which had also been overlooked. Must be me

Thanks for the update, Roger; hopefully more soon

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

Hello again, one and all. Work is happening at Wodorf, but extremely slowly - more so than usual ! The summer heat can make working in the garage somewhat stuffy, even with all doors open - the window doesn't - but I have managed to install the foundation-cum-former board for the stone wall. This was formed from thin ply and manipulated to compliment the curvature of the track. This was achieved, in my usual bodging manner, by the strategic placing of hammer-heads and other sundry tools that were handy and found suitable for the job. It was secured to the base with Gorilla Glue, which I left 24 hours to really harden off. Cleaning out further traces of the old scenery continues and a new back-board for the side of the base-board has also been sorted and fitted.

The overhead crane in the yard was annoying me. It was a tad wider than I wanted and without great upheaval to the yard itself, which was as I wanted it, the said crane was becoming an itch that I had to scratch. It has been removed and a centre section removed. Rejoining, a full re-paint and re-installation remain to do - hopefully the next report may have a picture or three. Also continuing work will include the fitting of the facing material to the aforementioned retaining stone wall at the base of the hill together with the afforestation of the said hillside. The firm I contacted for some of the materials gave exemplary service I'm delighted to say and ordering from their web-site was a breeze (even for me ).

Apologies for the lack of pictures this time, but bare base and untreated expanded polystyrene expanses have little attraction and most of the area's have appeared above, or at least parts thereof. Non-narrow gauge news from the home of Wodorf ( as reported on BBC North TV News!) does include the report of a thunderbolt which struck a house under 400 yards away (as the crow flies) in the last storm . The house caught fire, but fortunately no-one was in and thus no casualties. Nothing to do with the hobby, but I just thought it may be of passing interest...... It is the second time I have been in a near-miss situation from one of these things - I'm just hoping Thor doesn't get lucky with the third strike......

Well, to quote a well-known cartoon final frame - that's all folks - see you soon!

Roger

 

[jonte]

Blimey, Roger

While surfing t’other, following the earlier evening storms, images of the results of the freak weather suddenly flashed across my screen. One in particular, with its roof ablaze and fire appliances in attendance, caught my attention. When I read of its location, I immediately thought of your good self bearing in mind it’s proximity; I even mentioned it in passing to my other half. If only I’d realised that it had been too close for comfort Pleased of course that you were both none the worse for wear but it just goes to show.

Pleased that your soldiering on despite the tropical conditions, which in the main has defeated me, although not totally, so you’re obviously made of sterner stuff

It’s annoying and off-putting I find when something‘s not quite right, but rather satisfying when rectified so glad that you’ve bitten the bullet and scratched your little itch Inevitably, it generally creates further work as amendments are made, which is not only frustrating but still makes it feel like a backward step, if you follow my drift It’s even more commendable that you’ve addressed this irksome little task despite the heat; it’s bad enough having to do it I find even when things are ambient, when I usually end up doing something else to avoid it - or nothing at all!!!

Pleased that materials to enhance your intended sylvan setting have been secured, and I look forward to seeing the results together with the heavy civil engineering project as you describe

Here’s to Thor finding something more constructive to do with that ruddy big ‘ammer : like taking up railway modelling

Best,

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

Regarding that itch I've been scratching. Although not quite complete the main work is done and the crane temporarily re-sited in the yard, not quite so awkwardly. As said before Wodorf is very much 'work in progress' and very much remains to be done. Without great verbosity as I am a firm believer is pictures being worth a thousand words, here is how it went:-
.
This scene has been shown before - it shows the position and size before butchery by yours truly.


The cutting is over - no pictures of the actual surgery to avoid upsetting those of a nervous disposition - but the amputated bits show the width reduction achieved, approx 25mm or an inch in imperial.


This one shows the cuts - and my clumsy workmanship - together with one of the two strengthening bars (the other one can be made out in the previous picture) cut from plastic square strip. As the crane is non working and these are not obvious to the line-side viewer it was the most satisfying way of ensuring a strong and lasting joint of the two halves of the original. The gaps were filled with plastic putty before painting.


Replacement end bars were also added - plastic rod this time.


The crane temporarily in its new position. The unfortunate weathering attempt means a bit more work with the paint brush - I hate b------ aerosols!

So, here ends today's story of a bodger at work - hope you had a laugh if nothing else, but I reckon with a little more work it will be all right on the night.

With fingers crossed - see you soon,

Roger

 

[jonte]

Hmmmmm……aerosols

Second only to clogged up airbrushes

A robust amendment, Roger, and well done for getting all those angled supports level; stuff of nightmares I’ll bet!

I like your rust coloured paint btw

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

First an admission - I still haven't rectified the paintwork on the yard crane - but it's well towards the top of the list, honest guv, ! Now the better news. Some attempt at the scenic work has been made, following the supply of materials mentioned earlier. In particular I found the grass matting very pleasant to work with and a great improvement on those I had used in the past. Since obtaining this I have also acquired some more three-dimensional matting which will appear in due time on the outskirts of Wodorf as the scenic constructions progress. The photograph shows the scene so far. Some blending of surfaces is required as can be seen, and trees remain to be 'planted' but I must admit that so far it is coming along much as I had envisaged when at the 'back of a fag packet' stage. Of course, some might call it 'bespoke' - not me! No, my friends, it is a good old 'make-it-up as-I go-along' job. That is one of the joys of being a self-confessed bodger .


The building in the yard was originally issued by Faller as a military guardroom, but is now a military bonded store for high security and dangerous materials arriving by rail, of which there will be a regular flow. This will allow the use of some of my Minitank collection to visit the yard to provide onward transportation. As indicated in my opening remarks the yard crane will be re-sited very soon and further scenic development will continue, hopefully apace.

Well, the rain has stopped, the wind has died down for the time being and the garage (aka the temporary home of Wodorf.) calls loud and clear. I'm off to do a bit more bodging .

See you next time,

Roger.

 

[Roger Pound]

It has been a little time since I was able to produce anything upon which to report about Wodorf due to the combination of a multitude of things, most recently a minor accident in my garden which has kept me off my feet for a couple of days (whilst the damaged foot regains it's equilibrium ). Enough of my woes! Some continuation of getting the scenic work looking a bit more like it, as they say, has been done in brief fits and starts since my last post. A picture is alleged to speak a thousand words so I'll cut the chat and here goes with the illustration part :-


Mixed conifers and some shrubs have appeared on the embankment.



A side view revealing that much detailing remains to be done - but I'll get there .......



This is a new matting I am trying and I am well impressed with the three-dimensional surface effect . The matting has yet to be fixed and it goes without saying this are requires much development as yet.



A general view of the Military Bonded store and the developing background.



A general view showing the ongoing developments. As I have said, this is very much work in progress and I admit that although my brain still thinks I am thirty-five, my body continually reminds me to add fifty plus to that figure. Thus one must temper one's ambitions against physical capability - which ain't what it was ! Notwithstanding, I still get great pleasure out of this wonderful hobby and if I need a change - well, back to British standard gauge in the 1940's at Pence East Goods..........!

Back soon with more developments - keep on tracking,

Roger .

 

[Roger Pound]

A further report on the proceedings at Wodorf, which have recently been hampered by your author suffering a couple of falls, which in themselves are not happy events, especially so for someone in the second half of their ninth decade. This, combined with my existing problems to further minimize my skills and abilities on all fronts, reduced modelling output to almost nothing . However, I am pleased to say nature, being nature , has taken it's course and allowed the return of my remaining faculties, such as they are. To this end, I have managed to dos some work on Wodorf. My intention was to get it to a state of relative completion. Yes, I agree no model railway is ever finished but this is now, I hope, almost presentable with just mainly detailing work remaining. The mainly scenic end of the layout to the rear and side of the goods yard has been basically sorted and the 'burned out house' provides a source for lots more interesting detail work. The yard crane has been restored and more trees planted. As I mentioned, the detail work that remains to be completed can be done in short spells of work, which is my preference these days . I intend to adopt the 'do a bit and leave a bit' system now with Wodorf at this stage and try to catch up with some work at Pence East Goods. Any way - judge for yourself :-



There is just one problem I have remaining - the warehouse building adjacent to the loco shed was removed by me to a"safe place" when I first starting modifying this layout to become Wodorf. Now, the location of that "safe place" totally eludes me and the searches that have been made . Senility must have set in..... .


Now who did I say I was - oh! yes,

Roger.

 

[jonte]

Sad in some respects, Roger, that Wodorf is to take a back seat, but pleased that you’ve got it to a satisfactory state of completion such that you can concentrate your efforts elsewhere

I do like the burnt out house effect

Coincidentally, I’m also experiencing difficulty locating ‘stuff’ to the point where I’m convinced I mustn’t have had it in the first place Until, that is, I eventually find it whilst trawling for something else I’ve misplaced…..

Most recently, I rediscovered a cutting tool I’d forgotten all about (one that cuts very small bore brass tubes) after swearing blind that a similar (larger) tool that I could find, once cut smaller tubes than it does.
Now I know why it wasn’t up to the job. Nurse!

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

Thanks to the pleasant, if unexpected, temperatures, I have been delighted to be able to spend an afternoon at Wodorf. As followers of this occasional thread may recall, Wodorf has been taking a back seat as I have been making a clearance of my models and a reduction in time spent in the shed and garage due to health problems of various sorts. This afternoon, I decided to do some 'tidying' and finishing of outstanding bits on Wodorf which were catching my eye - well, more glaring at me - every time I went in to the garage. Happily I was able to start setting up some small scenes which had either been started or planned. The car park next to the hotel has been paved and some development of the fire scene where the area of damage requires making safe are two examples. Vehicular traffic is starting to appear - including a DB bus which runs a connecting service to the nearest DB main line station! This was an added thought from this afternoon's progress - I 'found' this delightful Herpa model in with my other vehicles, having completely forgotten that it was in my collection - !
Anyway - there is a saying about pictures and words so here are the pictures:-

The burnt out Inn and restaurant. A fire service vehicle and a Police car indicate that there is much work to make the building safe once more.



A view looking across Wodorf from the surround hills. A BAOR Land rover is heading towards the railway Depot.


Wodorf Bahnhof. The DB connecting bus awaits the arrival of the next train.



That Wodorf Goods Depot with evidence of military attendance


Finally, a quick look down Wodorf main street- the timbered buildings on the right are the two original remaining structures following air raid devastation during WW2. The hotel and shop and accommodation blocks are all post-war developments, albeit in established pre-war architectural styles.

So there we are for now. I would like to emphasize that this little exercise is just to provide a generic picture and in no way claims nor desires to be taken as an exact replica of any particular area. As a dear friend of mine, long passed, was wont to say, it is a figment of the imagination! What would we do without imagination......?

Just one last point - Wodorf appears a bit of a ghost-town in these pictures - but given another opportunity to work out in the garage, adding more people is definitely the next step !

Thank you once more for following my ramblings, I hope you enjoyed them. No doubt more will be published in due time, but as for when, that all depends on the temperature and weather...

Good Health everyone,

Roger