Great Eastern East London layout in 2FS

[David Eveleigh]

Thank you for your response on my representation of the shipping. One or two points:

The painting at this end is not complete. There is an extension to the backscene board so that when people look beyond the end of the modelled scene there is not a big hole. When I was working on the layout (I have moved onto 4mm scale coach kits and new locomotive kits in the last few months.) I was preparing it for a competition which was to have taken place in June - the competition limited the modelled area to 600 mm x 238 mm so the extension backscene was not admissible. It was not therefore needed and at the moment is just basically sky (with continuations of the lines down to the bowsprit which I will have to remove. The big ugly joint in the backscene will be where I paint the foremast of the ship, thus disguising the joint - and then I will get on with painting aft along the ship

At the moment the masts are rather sketched in - I am grateful for your detailed suggestions, because to my untutored eye they just looked like a mess of timbers, rigging and brailed or unbraided sails. When I get back to this your observations will be useful.

As far as the levels are concerned, it depends on the eye level of the viewer. I imagine the viewing level to be a few inches above the viaduct, thus you are looking down slightly towards the water level a long way in the distance, putting the foreground above water level. However, I also like squatting down and looking across the foreground, up at the warehouses, and the fact that you can still see the shops and premises in the distance above the viaduct would put them on a fairly substantial hill. (In a fully three dimensional view they would disappear as you lowered your viewing level below the viaduct - on a painted backscene they cannot do that.)

I hope I have been able to attach the images I worked from and would welcome your analysis of what is in them. You are right about the jib-boom - I think it is rather ugly.

[Images from 'The Changing East End - Stepney, Bethnal Green & Poplar 1860 - 1960 by Taylor and Lloyd pub. Sutton Publishing, and 'East End Neighbourhoods' by Girling pub.The History Press]

[David Eveleigh]

[drmditch]

Yes - that is a fairly ugly 'spike jib-boom' isn't it.
Old fashioned sailors didn't like them!
But a dramatic picture.

It must be very difficult getting the eye-level correct for the kind of diorama you've built.

Since I have been fascinated by ships for as long as I have for railways, I can get a bit carried away.
Regrettably I haven't sailed for the best part of ten years now, since arthritis and the North Sea son't go together very well.

A lot depends on the date of your model - shipping changed a lot between (say) the 1880s and 1914. After that it changed a lot more, thanks to German submarines.

I'll send you a PM with more details and possible sources.