Tetbury

[Chris Chewter]

Christmas time. Mistletoe and wine. Ready to look after children of mine!

 

My Christmas annual leave has commenced! Hurrah!  Squabbling children to look after. Joy to the world!

 

With Christmas upon us, I thought it would be so busy that the railway wouldn't get a look in, however I've managed so far already to get a few hours in here and there, so things are looking hopeful!  However because I'm looking after the children whilst my wife is working, I've had to look for railway jobs that I could do in the house where little fingers aren't going to prod and poke, and jobs that can be dropped when a little darling decides to hide behind the Christmas tree and threaten to give it a shove!  I remembered that I needed to think about the rock formations for the cutting.  I've been thinking how best to do this, and decided to go with Woodland Scenics rock moulds.  So today, I've been getting plastered (Have I used that pun already?) 

 

Rocktastic!

 

As I'm not too sure how aggressive multi-purpose DIY filler is, I've been using Woodland Scenics Hydrocal plaster.  Anyway, it says its also lightweight, so I thought it would be useful to stop the blessed things from falling off the model cliff face. Well I was pleased when it set within the 40mins it said on the pack, so at least I'd get a few done today.  However in trying to release the plaster from the deep rock mould, the mould split.  Nothing that a bit of tape hasn't solved for the next few, so no big issue, but I'm surprised it failed so early!   You can see in the photo that there are a few air holes that have managed to creep in, so some strategic plants will need to be glued into place, and the plaster needs a good tamp to get it to settle.  I just need to decide whether to paint them in the house or not.  However lack of supplies has now stopped play, as I've managed to get through a whole carton of Hydrocal!  A good excuse to visit a local model railway establishment to replenish supplies.  But before I jump into the car, moaning kids in tow, I think a test fitting is now required to calculate how many more plaster formations I need, which will also enable me to buy the right amount of plaster!

 

"No more plaster at the inn"

 

[Chris Chewter]

The plan was a simple one: Breakdown the layout into pieces, and tackle it task by task, area by area.

 

I've worked out I have the following:

 

1/ The bank to the rear of the layout.

2/ The riverside cottage

3/ The river

4/ The prefab

5/ The coal yard

6/ The cliff face

 

Well, I decided to tackle the bank as it is at the rear of the layout, and it make sense to reach the farthest parts of the layout first.  

 

The area forms the bottom of a row of gardens from dwellings further up the hill.  Presently the area is heavily overgrown.  The boundary is delineated by a dry stone wall which runs on the edge of The Splash.

 

 

Firstly, the dry stone wall.  i considered different techniques, and decided that the Harburn Hobbies walls would lead to the best result.  i concluded that it would take less time and look better than manually cutting up small sections of air drying clay and becoming a miniature dry stone waller!  Job done its onto the grass.

 

My preferred method is static grass where I've had some passable results (See post 17).  However I concluded that to tackle this layout in static grass would flippin' expensive, so i decided to try something cheaper.  Armed with a video of Tony Wright, I set to work covering it with hanging basket liner.  if its good enough for Tony...

 

Firstly the ground was covered in Dulux "Muddy Puddle" brown.  When dry its a little light in colour, but I concluded that if an areas became exposed, it would look like it says on the tin, a patch of mud. (Its also easy to remember when stood in the paint section of the DIY store.)

 

I them set to work gluing bits of hanging basket liner onto the land using PVA glue.  Nice and simple, if only a little time consuming.  I understand that there are several ways of applying the liner.  Backing up, backing down, or remove the backing.  I elected for the latter, although I'm not too sure there's a difference between the various techniques!

 

 

From a distance, it doesn't look too bad, until I look at it through a camera, and it looks odd! I'm hoping this is because I have yet to shave my grass.  Checking it this evening, the PVA is still curing and it needs to set before I start attacking it with a pair of clippers.  Hopefully when I do, things will start to look...erm... Grassy.  

 

Well with Christmas upon us, and with numerous family visits scheduled, my plan is to let it set over a few days, and attack it before the new year.  Lets see how that goes before I resort to stripping it all back and warming up the static grass applicator!

 

As for the trees, well lets leave  that issue for another day!

 

[Chris Chewter]

Well after an "interesting" Christmas following an accident with an x-acto knife, and some emergency surgery, things on the layout have unfortunately had to go on hold.  Instead of being able to crack on with the layout, instead I've had to sit about with my hand in a bandage letting things heal.  Now that I've got enough movement in my hand back, plus clearance from the doc that I can do "whatever feels comfortable", I've decided that if I can go back to work, i can get back on with the modelling!

 

Well, yesterday I decided to trim the grass, with mediocre results.  I wanted to model scrubby grassland, but I'm left wishing that I went for static grass.  Its left me with the choice to tear it up and start up the static grass applicator, or accept it and move on.  There will eventually be a row of trees behind the stone wall so hopefully it'll tone down.  It has shown that its important to remove any stray felt backing. That'll have to be hidden below a few scrubby bushes!

 

 

Well lets sleep on it and take a view tomorrow...

[aac]

Well after an "interesting" Christmas following an accident with an x-acto knife, and some emergency surgery, things on the layout have unfortunately had to go on hold.  Instead of being able to crack on with the layout, instead I've had to sit about with my hand in a bandage letting things heal.  Now that I've got enough movement in my hand back, plus clearance from the doc that I can do "whatever feels comfortable", I've decided that if I can go back to work, i can get back on with the modelling!

 

Well, yesterday I decided to trim the grass, with mediocre results.  I wanted to model scrubby grassland, but I'm left wishing that I went for static grass.  Its left me with the choice to tear it up and start up the static grass applicator, or accept it and move on.  There will eventually be a row of trees behind the stone wall so hopefully it'll tone down.  It has shown that its important to remove any stray felt backing. That'll have to be hidden below a few scrubby bushes!

 

Grass1.JPG

 

Well lets sleep on it and take a view tomorrow...

Why not add static grass to the existing layer? It would start to look like the foreground in the first photo of #52 - some lying, and some standing which would seem quite natural.

 

aac.

[Chris Chewter]

Isn't it funny how when you model a real location, you remember things incorrectly.  Its probably the same phenomena that causes us to recall our school days as the best days of our lives, when they were probably fairly dreary!

 

Today I decided to model the goods approach road.  After lots of sawing, cutting and throwing polystyrene and Mod-Roc about, I started to spray down some expanding foam to form the embankment.  However this was when I had a bit of a blonde moment.  I couldn't quite recall from memory how the embankment went.  So instead of looking through some photos, I decided to do what I thought looked right, with the knowledge that with a sharp knife, you can cut it back to the desired shape.

 

This is what I modelled:

 

 

This is reality:

 

 

Looks like a bit more cutting back that I thought, but nothing that can't be sorted. However it does go to show how important reference material like photographs are.

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

In case anyone was wondering, I wasn't going to leave all that expanding foam left blobbing all over the place!  Today I took a knife to it to shape it back (And I've still got ten figures at the end of it, which is always a bonus!).  What I've got is a compromise somewhere between reality and what looks right on the layout.  The area was seldom photographed in railway days, and its hard to get a good idea of the gradients due to the heavy number of trees.  Once planted out, I think it'll do the job!  A bit of sanding tomorrow to remove any significant lumps and bumps, and it'll be ready for a coat of brown emulsion.

 

 

I also decided that I didn't want a repeat of the grass fiasco again.  With ballasting on the horizon, I've been trialling ballasting and track weathering.  The ballast is laid using a Prose ballast applicator, and the ballast stuck down using Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement.  I know its just diluted PVA, but it seems to apply a lot easier than when I dilute my own PVA concoction! Whatever is in it, after 24 hours the ballast was stuck fast.

 

I found an interesting technique in the January 2017 edition of Model Rail magazine where Chris Nevard uses car primer sprays to start the weathering off, and I thought I'd give it a go. So after a lunchtime trip to Halfords, I got busy with the spray.  Its worth noting that if using masking tape to create a ballast shoulder, remove the tape before weathering otherwise you get some bright bits of ballast showing. Looking back at the photos in the magazine, I think I've been a little too light with the misting! Lets try a little bit more tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[Chris Chewter]

I managed to get nearly four hours working on the layout last night and thought I'd post an update.  However please note that the hanging basket liner still needs to cure, so it hasn't been trimmed.  I also didn't smuggle out the dyson, so there was basket liner fibres everywhere, including all over myself!

 

 

The goods approach road has been planted out.  With a trim and some trees it'll look the part.  The road is to be painted in Green Scene Light Tarmac, however I ran out half way through, so the road is still on the "to do" list.  I did think that the cinders in the coal yard could be modelled using the Green Scene paint, or even just a layer of Sandtex would probably do, however I have a big tub of Woodland Scenics cinders, so that'll be laid down. Another job on the "to-do" list.  

 

You'll also notice that the Coopercraft Bedford ML has also been repainted.  After making it 12 years ago, its lived in a box ever since, and has survived at least two previous model railway projects.  Its a little crude, but looks good if you don't inspect it too closely.  I felt that its paint job of matt Khaki looked a little boring, so after a Google session, found a fetching example painted in Red and Blue.  I have no idea from Randolphs book what Dolphin Coal used to move coal around, but the Bedford can now help give a bit of brightness and variety to the scene.

 

 

The engine shed, coal stage and temporary cattle dock area was also laid.  However I'm not happy with the abruptness of the top of the embankment in the lower left hand corner of the photo.  I'm hoping that once the grass has been glued down, that won't be quite so obvious.  The water in the splash is going to be modelled using Woodland Scenics E-Z water once I've tested it out.  Until then, the Splash shall have to remain dry.

 

 

At the top end of the layout, with the old quarry and cottage, things have also progressed.  However the lawn to the cottage on the right doesn't look correct. I wanted to model a well tended lawn, but ended up with a surface that looks like snooker oasis, and is anyway too dark.  So another layer of light green will need to be sprinkled over the top after its been hoovered!

 

I also made progress with the cliff face, and used another carton of Hydrocal shaping the face, and sticking on plaster rocks.  However I didn't grab any photos of the work in progress.

 

Feeling good that the model is moving forwards, and looking forward to it getting to a point where i can detail it whilst allowing regular running, without pots and glue everywhere!  Looks like I might need to start thinking about how I'm going to make the trees!

 

[Chris Chewter]

I've been trying to work out why the embankment by the engine shed looked wrong.  It was only whilst studying some photos of the area, I realised I had the bank alignment wrong.  After much slicing, I think I've got it sorted now!

 

 

I also decided that the car spray track weathering technique looked a bit rubbish, so I decided to try the woodland scenics weathering pens.  I quite like the effect, although the ballast looks a bit too clean.

 

 

I've just applied a diluted black wash to a short section to see if that looks any better. I'll take a look tomorrow once its dry.

[Chris Chewter]

Well that looks alot better with a black wash over the ballast! I think that with the Woodland Scenics track pens seems to be the way to go.

 

 

 

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

Unfortunately not a huge amount to report tonight that's particularly photogenic.

 

Now that the cliff has been sorted, the grass has been finished in preparation for the plaster rocks to be coloured using Woodland Scenics earth pigmet washes using the method described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SfP4RpcDYw. However before I go that far, I need to do a bit of tidying up of the embankments as the photo below shows that its looking a bit wild!

 

 

I've also been fitting the stone retaining wall beside the splash.  This is what I'm trying to achieve: 

 

 

All those pots of paint propped up on the left hand side are trying to stop the Wills stone walls from springing away.

 

I'm still waiting for the textured paint for the road to arrive, so things have temporarily ground to a halt whilst the glue cures.

[The Great Bear]

Taking shape nicely.

 

Having used hanging basket liner on my layout, yes it gets everywhere!

[Huggy]

Just caught up with your thread, great stuff, both the layout and the way you've presented it here. Very inspirational

[Chris Chewter]

Model Rail magazine March 2017 edition is running a series of articles on branchlines.  On p36, they have a brief one page article on Tetbury.  I picked up a copy to compare the track plan, but its basically a simplified reproduction of the plan in Randolphs book.  Theres no new information that Randolph hasn't already extensively covered, so instead I'll have to make do with a nice photo of a 14xx!

 

 

[DCB]

Well that looks alot better with a black wash over the ballast! I think that with the Woodland Scenics track pens seems to be the way to go.

 

Capture Track Dirty.JPG

My recollection and observation of remaining ballast locally is the ballast edge was very clearly defined till the end even after the track was removed, very few stray stones.  Nice crisp cinder paths beside the ballast as walk ways were handy for cycling on the old MSWJR after closure and track lifting and can still be seen on the MSWJR in the nature reserve near Chedworth Roman Villa. 

 

The scruffy scatter ballasting seems to be a feature of the diesel era where no one gives a king hoot whereas people took a pride in their work in years gone by.

[Chris Chewter]

Thanks for the comment David.  

 

When I made up the second test piece, I forgot to put down the masking tape to give it a sharper edge.  However I had forgotten about the cinder walkways. I might need to rewatch the Right Track 5 DVD again as they run through the different features of modelling permanent way.

[Chris Chewter]

Whilst shopping around on eBay, I came across the Hornby Skaledale R8585 lamp hut, and was struck how similar it was to the engine-mans hut at Tetbury.  Apparently this building housed the signing on point for the engine shed. I was thinking that I would have to buy a wills lamp kit kit and cut in the windows, but when I came across the Skaledale item, it was a bit too good to miss!

 

 

All I need to do now is give it a coat of cream paint!  

[Chris Chewter]

Things have been a bit stressful at work this week, so the thought of working on the railway in the evenings hasn't appealed.  A trip to Reading and another to Newport haven't helped either. However I have been able to do a few little jobs in the evenings.

 

Firstly the lamp hut has had a coat of cream paint.  I managed to take a quick snap to see how it looks.  I only put one light coat as the actual lamp hut was fairly shabby.  I know the grass needs trimming and its next on the to do list.  The water crane also needs a bit of TLC!

 

 

I've also been trying to work out how to model the coal yard.  There are very few photos in existence. The best are in Randolphs book, and the two on page 69 are especially useful.  One of which is replicated on the Tetbury Raillands website: http://www.tetburyraillands.com/content/history-tetbury-goods-shed-and-rail-lands

 

There is also the briefest of glimpses on the B&R DVD Gloucestershire Byways

 

 

The closest I've found to the Dolphins office is the Dapol coal yard office.  I've added in an additional window to the rear and lowered the sign.  The colour is a little subjective as I've only got a black and white partial image of it.  Unfortunately the model is a little crude but it'll do until those raised window surrounds get annoying.  The kits aren't too expensive, so I can easily pick another up with a packet of Wills windows and try again. The resin garage model may get clad in wills corrugated steel.

 

 

Also a little update on the lorry.  I found mention in Tetbury Through time by Lynne Cleaver that the coal was moved around by horse.  However on p70 of Randolphs book, there's a tantalising glimpse of the rear tyre of a lorry in the coal yard, so I think the Bedford can stay!

 

I decided to take the plunge and open up the Wills semi-detached stone cottage kit to start next.  However being a craftsman kit it does give me the heebie-jeebies a bit! Perhaps I might finish off the cattle dock next...

Edited March 4, 2017 by Captainalbino

[Chris Chewter]

I've been steadily working away ticking off various bits on Tetbury.  The most pressing is to sort out "The Splash."

 

I've been experimenting with different water techniques.  After finding that Woodland Scenics Realistic Water only works on flat surfaces, I realised that I need to try a different method.  The most suitable would be Woodland Scenic's Deep Water product, but its only available in the USA. Over here we have Woodland Scenics E-Z water.

 

Basically it consists of a load of pellets that you melt via heating in a disposable container (not supplied), and you pour into place.  But be careful.  Stir too fast and you add bubbles in the mix.  Pour as its cooling, and you get bubbles on the surface that are a pain to remove.  The best way is to get it as hot as you dare, and pour in a quick and efficient manner.

 

I've followed Barry Normans advice to use Raw Umber as a colour base.  I've experimented with adding in some Talus to give it a bit of visual interest, but I think less is more here!

 

 

The other piece didn't come out so well. This used Dulux Muddy Puddle as a colour base and lots of Talus.

 

 

I'm reasonably happy with the first piece. With some PVA ripples, I think it will look the part.  However I'm open to suggestions before I make the pour! 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Captainalbino

[Chris Chewter]

I haven't posted for a while because i feel that I'm in the middle of some sort of model railway scenic nightmare!  Here's why...

 

I've proceeded to pour the water following the technique explained above.  As suggested by Barry Norman, the base has been painted in Raw Umber.  A light amount of Woodland Scenics Talus was laid, and the Woodland Scenics E-Z water was melted down (Not suggested by Barry Norman, but I wanted to get the depth without using acrylic sheet).  This is where things went wrong.

 

During the pour, I ran out about 3/4 of the way through on the right hand side.  Probably the most visible part as well.  So I had no choice but to melt a second batch and see how bad the transition lines were, and they were bad! So bad, I didn't take a photograph out of sheer embarrassment.  So how could I sort this out?  I decided to paint over the E-Z water with a dilute green paint to give it a bit of murkyness, and wiped some of it off with some Humbrol thinners.  This hid the transition layers around the edge, and gave a bit of variety.  Because the paint was matt, it needed a layer of Woodland Scenics Realistic Water over, and it seems to have worked. Phew!

 

That's three packs of E-Z water pellets and nearly a bottle of Realistic Water used.

 

 

The current problem is that the raised parts of the bank painted in raw umber needs a bit of grass stuck down.  Not a major issue but i thought I'd explain why it  looks like a five year old has painted along the bottom of the wall (Next time I'll be painting the base plaster in Raw Umber throughout!)

 

However I'm also not happy with the road.  It just looks too rough! i need to think about that one.  I've used Woodland Scenics Smooth-it, as well as Hydrocal and household filler.  Nothing seems to be working at the moment. Time for a think on that bit!

 

I have also decided that knowing the platforms were constructed from brick, I'd reface the Ratio stone platform edges.  Simple.  However after taking a few photographs, I've noticed that one of the corners is damaged and needs to be adjusted. Another job on the to-do list!

 

 

Thankfully, when you step back and take a look, its taking shape and looking Tetbury-ish.

 

 

Lets see what I can get done over Easter.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Captainalbino

[Chris Chewter]

Tonight on model railway nightmares: Ballast

 

 

This is the result of a total of 4 hours worth of ballasting, a tub of Woodland Scenics Medium Light Grey Ballast shaker, and I think two bottles of Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement (Basically watered down PVA)  I used a sprayer to apply the glue to the ballast.  With hindsight perhaps not the best idea as its disturbed the ballast and lifted some of it up over the top of the sleepers, so perhaps a pippett may have worked better.  When its dry, I'm going to have to start scraping anything off the top of the sleepers.  I also forgot to protect two of the points.  So I'm going to have to pick bits of ballast away to get it working smoothly again. What fun!  Perhaps some of you may wonder why I've used Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement instead of watering down my own PVA.  Basically its because someone else will have measured the consistency instead of myself.  Lazy I know, but it saves me a bother!

 

Anyway, it needs to dry overnight.  Lets see if its set by the morning!

[Chris Chewter]

With Easter Day upon us tomorrow, I'm aware that when my father visits, he'll ask how I'm getting on with the layout, so I thought I'd better give it a quick test. To my surprise, other that a loose wire on the common return, everything worked great with exception of some dirty track post ballasting. Even the points I forgot to protect worked! I just need to give the track another clean. However it's great to see the wheels turn again!

[Chris Chewter]

I managed to get an hour today whilst the kids watched something boring on telly, so I decided to see how far a thinned tin of Humbrol 33 would go towards weathering down the ballast. The answer is not as far as I had planned!

 

 

Looks like I'd better pick up a couple more tins when I next past a model shop!

 

Happy Easter!

Edited April 16, 2017 by Captainalbino

[Chris Chewter]

Started to wind together some tree armatures tonight.

 

 

I've used the thinnest gauge florists wire from Hobbycraft, available only in black. It's also covered in oil leaving my hands black after making a single tree! This is a 60 strand tree which makes a decent height model. After watching a variety of YouTube tutorials, the plan is to coat the trunk with latex and spray. Foliage is to be supported on rubberised horse hair with flock held on with spray glue or hair spray.

 

Interestingly, Barry Norman suggests painting trunks grey, not brown. I have some smaller 30 strand "saplings" to experiment on. More photos as my tree modeling adventure progresses.

[danstercivicman]

Such a cracking layout

[Chris Chewter]

I always hate it when a layout stagnates slightly.  Tetbury is currently giving me a number of different headaches!

 

Firstly the goods yard was giving me a few troubles.  The only image of the goods yard came from the B&R video Vol 116 Gloucestershire Byways.

 

 

As you can see, the goods yard is covered in fairly black cinder.  I considered using real ash, however I read reports that this is slightly corrosive, therefore thought better of it.  So a sprinkler tub of Woodland Scenics Cinders was upturned, and this was the end result. Other techniques such as using air drying clay didn't come to my attention until after the Woodland Scenics cinders was laid.

 

 

I did think it didn't look quite right in reality, however I don't think it looks too bad in the photos, which has helped to spur me back on track.

 

The trees have also put me off slightly.  After using two reels of florist wire to make half a dozen tree armatures, I probably need to invest in a florist wire factory to finish the layout. However I just need to remind myself that Rome wasn't built in a day, and this is a marathon and not a sprint.

 

Fences are also on the radar.  There is a multitude of different fencing used at Tetbury and have been mapped using Randolphs book.  This ranges from timber post and wire, timber post and rail, and concrete post and wire.  I just need to get myself into gear and paint the posts before fixing into position.  However playing trains keeps on getting in the way!

 

Another deviation has come from Modelu.  As you can see from the pannier in the goods yard which has been kitted out with a Modelu crew, the figures produced are second to non and look absolutely superb.  However everyone who visits the layout asks whether the figures in the locos are actually me, especially as I'm a volunteer fireman!  So I thought I'd splurge and get myself scanned!

 

 

The idea of a miniature version of myself in some of the locomotives on the layout appeals to my level of vanity!

 

 

Now to get busy with the paint, or should I start with trees... or the fences.  Where to concentrate my efforts next is probably the reason why Tetbury has come to a bit of a halt.  (I knew it was a mistake to clean the track!)