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GWR Branch - Castle Down. Mostly GWR with an odd SR working


sjrixon
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  • 5 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

I've been continuing my odd jobs around the layout, so while having a bit of a track clean I took a few shots..

 

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I felt the section behind the station was still a little lacking. I've now added a small fence and stile to frame the road better. I've also painted in a path leading off scene. I've still some more work here as I feel the area needs to be a little more rough and ready, the grass is still too perfect.

 

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The Pannier moving the trucks so I can clean the rails.

 

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The bank has had a little work, I've built a small hedge to hide where the edge meets the backscene. The large tree also tries to hide where the road goes to nowhere over the bridge. 

 

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And a tree has sprung up by the dairy. I'm starting to try and plan a few view blockers in the foreground. But most of that will come from the bare section at the very front.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

I've been (very) slowly working on the coal office and surrounding area. It still needs a little work, but actually quite pleased with it so far. The office was a building that's been kicking around for years, so I took a little time to strip the paint and tart it back up. 

 

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This end of the layout is really starting to have some character about it. Although I think what I've realised is you need to keep coming back to add more and more detail, just keep layering it up.

 

 

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I took this casual shot of the Dean sat ready to take the milk tanks on the morning local.. 

 

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Makes me realise it really needs a crew and that the handrails need a splash of back paint to tone them down. Time to get people painting then! 

 

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I've been (very) slowly working on the coal office and surrounding area. It still needs a little work, but actually quite pleased with it so far. The office was a building that's been kicking around for years, so I took a little time to strip the paint and tart it back up. 

 

attachicon.gifIMG_9960.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_9958.JPG

 

This end of the layout is really starting to have some character about it. Although I think what I've realised is you need to keep coming back to add more and more detail, just keep layering it up.

 

Now you need a 'Rixon & Daughters' PO wagon (or two!).

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

I really like the ModelU figures, they paint up nicely and look the part. There is plenty more to do with the dean good, but I've blacked out all the really stark handrails and I think it looks much better.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Gold

Anyone who enjoyed this hobby and has a young family knows how hard that it can be to carve out some quality time to work on the layout. When my wife said 'Why don't you take your Birthday off for once?' I knew it was time to start a plan......

 

There has been two big jobs that I've been putting off. This front section was built up a while ago, but still just a lump of wood! The idea at the time was to build a section that would help mask the baseboard joint, I also toyed with having it smaller, so it could double as an entry in the cake box challenge. Well, that never happened did it!

 

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The old horny coach is destined to be a camping coach and the road needs to continue around and to the front. The plan was to use the air dry clay to give some texture as it worked so well in the yard and would make closing the join up a little easier.

 

The second job that I have really been putting off is the back siding. If you flip back through the pages you will see that I've already had a go at this once and I'm still not happy. 

 

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I lifted the siding to change the transition angle as longer wagons were clipping the platform. While this worked, the angle is simple to sharp, stock looks horrid and some jump the tracks. What I need to do is what I should have done the first time, Make the platform thinner and lower the angle.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

With the track back in place I thought the best way to test it was a nice running session! It's been a while, so I lifted all the stock, cleaned the track and then setup with my cards system for a proper session. I managed about an hour of really running trains.

 

Firstly the morning parcels arrived. The Pannier needs to clear the bay so the full brake can be put in for unloading. 

 

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Then the fruit will be moved and put into the loading dock while the other brake will sit at the end of the platform for unloading. 

 

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With all the stock out of the way, the morning auto coach trains pulls in. They bay doing its job and now holding the stock it was designed to!

 

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The Pannier then puts the parcels back together for the return trip. This time an empty fish van is taken away. Just before departure, a Dean Goods appears with a short goods train.

 

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A busy moment, the Dean has shunted all the trucks away and idles in the siding while a Collet arrives with a local train. The Siphon on the rear needs to be swapped with the tankers in the diary.

 

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The Collet adds the Milk to the train and gets ready to depart.

 

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The Dean then sorts out the trucks and gets ready to leave.

 

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Hope you enjoyed the little session. I'm now running to an order, and the trucks are working quite well with the playing cards. During this hour I only ran one of the two goods trains, I don't rush shunting the yard so it can take quite a while. Very therapeutic after a manic Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

I've finally found time to update my Pannier, the main loco for Castle Down. I wanted to switch out the shirt button with a full 'Great Western' and she has also been running around with the plates saying one number, while the buffer beams have the old number on.

 

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Still some work to do.. As it still needs lamps, fire irons and some light weathering..

 

While I was at it, I decided to have a play with sound. This is something I'd, to be honest, was trying not to do, but seeing the short videos people post on this forum of locos with I really wanted to have a play. Well, it's amazing! This one has the youchoos Pannier sound kit. The sounds make you drive it much more realistically. They sound setup even has some random playing sounds when the loco is sat idle, it's pretty amazing. 

 

I'll need to do some better video work, but I wanted to grab something quickly today.

 

Edited by sjrixon
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I'm really enjoying the sound with the Pannier, let's see how long that lasts, but it adds so much to the driving I think on my small layout, it should be quite a while.

 

I grabbed the last copy of BRM and have started painting up the BRM crew to go on the layout. Not my best work and needs a splash of varnish, but quite good fun :)

 

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Why are they in a line? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/140747-brm-february-19/page-5&do=findComment&comment=3436209

 

Then I need to start looking at this section that I started a long time ago. This Hornby coach is an ideal candidate to be turned into a small dwelling. 

 

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The clips have been removed off the bottom, I scrapped the metal footholds off the side too, I understand these wouldn't have been left on when the coach is handed over by the railway. I used some plastic square section to make a base before it got a spray of primer. It's then sat on good old coffee stirrers. 

 

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The plan is to build out a small veranda with a corrugated roof. I'll then add a small work area, also under a corrugated roof as I've some nice junk and bits I think would add to this scene. This comes out of the layout, so I can build most of this up off the layout, which always makes life easier. 

Edited by sjrixon
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You and your bright ideas Richard! I've only got one Hornby coach to donate, but you are right, so maybe if we find another one I might be able to put something together. 

 

A busy evening with plastic strut and some wills sheets and I think I've got what I wanted. 

 

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A little more progress, I'm starting to stage some bits in the area, also the fence now has been completed. 

 

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Waiting on some glue for a little static grass, so I thought I'd get a quick tree in. I've some people on the bench ready to saw that wood and chop the other bit. I'm also thinking of adding one sat on the veranda by the bucket. There is also a wagon that I want to use, but I feel that could do with a splash of paint (blue?) to bring some colour into the area.

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So the reason I cleared the desk, was because I'm fed up with the mess in my modelling room. I've treated myself to some new HobbyZone units to sit in the corner and clear up the mess. I've a few draws with bits and pieces in, I can never ever find what I want. My paint is all in a drawer next to me, again they get mixed up and I can't find what I want. 

 

Making the 4 base units took under an hour, they go together really nicely with a little glue.

 

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The draws I then did while watching TV and let them dry overnight. 

 

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I have to say the slim draws are really good, as you have lots of little spaces to put things and the dividers come out. I've got one with a bigger space for plastic strut, as they are not very deep you are not wasting space with separating things.

 

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The deep corner one is an odd size, I'm not quite sure what's going to happen to that one. But I love having all the paint on top and in view, quick and easy to find what you want.

 

Certainly worth a look, as you can buy the sections you want to make it the way you want. The cost added up quickly, but I just couldn't really find anything else that wasn't going to be a compromise in my space. 

Edited by sjrixon
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