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Layout design

Second bite: "The depot"

Hmmm, now what can we build here?   I've decided to move ahead with the next installment in the series of micro-layouts based on the fictional Farthing station. Again, it's Edwardian GWR during the period 1904-1908. Here's a rundown of my thoughts so far.   Concept The basic idea is to model the inside of a large Edwardian goods depot. Or rather: just a section of it, showing maybe 3-4 busy loading docks. I envision an overall roof structure extending over the entire lay
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Mikkel in Layout design

15
Misc.

Signs, posters and adverts

Here's a selection of the signs, posters and adverts that I've used on "The bay" to help enhance the ambience.       The station sign for Farthing, summarizing the fictional geography of the old N&SR line. The sign is printed, a temporary measure that may become permanent now that the RMweb competition is tempting me to move on quickly to the next layout in the series. I intended to use Smiths 4mm and 2mm etched letters for the job, although testing suggested that it
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Mikkel in Misc.

42
Stories

The trials of Mr Bull

Here are some progress shots from "The bay", the first of the Farthing layouts. They mainly show the platform as I still need to detail the yard behind it.     Mr Bull waits impatiently for his train on platform 2 at Farthing station. Behind him, 517 class No. 835 rests quietly in the bay with a newly arrived stopping train. The loco is an Alan Gibson kit that I bought secondhand in a rather unusual condition, sporting NER fittings and numbering! I returned it to running orde
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Mikkel in Stories

10
Musings

My friend the operating chair

Before you think RMweb has become a dental forum, I am referring here to a new chair that gracefully supports my backside during layout operating sessions.     Strangely, neither my wife nor teenage kids have been able to mobilize any enthusiasm for this great find - I guess they have finally given up hope in me. So here it is on RMweb, a place where people are able to appreciate the finer things in life. It is in fact an old hydraulic barber's chair that the founders of my w
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Mikkel in Musings

2
Coaches & Browns

Low-tech pre-grouping stock

My ability to build brass kits is limited, but I've decided that I won't let it keep me from modelling the pre-grouping world that I find so fascinating. Instead I try to make the best of whatever skills and means I have available. Here's a few examples of what I like to call "calculated bodging"!       1. Simple kits. Above is a Toplight Composite Slip to diagram F15, built from an ex-PC Wheeltappers kit. These feature pre-printed sides, which gives a quickly finished c
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Mikkel in Coaches & Browns

8
Misc.

Sprat & Winkle couplings

Shunter George "Bulldog" Mullins critically eyes stock fitted with Sprat & Winkle couplings. His shunter's pole is legendary among shunters for being rather crude!   The following notes on Sprat & Winkle couplings seemed to generate some interest when first posted over on gwr.org.uk, so perhaps they are of of use to someone here also. I have taken the opportunity to take some new and better photos for illustration.     Hooked   Although the latest
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Mikkel in Misc.

49
Scenery

Platform trolleys and barrows

I've been enjoying myself assembling a variety of 4mm trolleys and barrows for "The bay".     Platform trolleys from Coopercraft, with loads from the Monty's range. The one with the milk churns is a bit of a cliché I'm afraid, but I can't help liking it and it was a very common sight it seems. The heavy load of luggage on the other trolley belongs to the party of Mr and Mrs Longbottom. They have yet to discover that the maid has forgotten to pack their pajamas.    
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Mikkel in Scenery

9
Horse-drawn

Horse-drawn parcels van and coal trolley

Here are a couple of horse-drawn vehicles for "The bay".     This GWR parcels van is based on No. 131, representing a type introduced in the 1890s. It was made using a Langley kit.         The lettering is based on photos from the period (including the use of different fonts), and drawn up in Word with a brown background to match the van colour. It was then printed on thin paper and stuck to the van side. This shot is ruthless but from a norma
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Mikkel in Horse-drawn

3
Figures

Backdated Monty's figures

Off with their heads! Farthing is set in Edwardian times, but good figures from this period are not easy to come by. I've therefore been doing a bit of backdating to the excellent Monty's range of 1930s-50s figures from Dart Castings. The photo above shows a rather gruesome selection of body parts left behind from butchering and modifying the Monty's figures.       This lunar landscape shows my preference for blu-tacking the figures to inverted cups, so I don't have to h
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Mikkel in Figures

9
Structures

Simple structures for "The bay"

In keeping with my happy-go-lucky approach, the buildings and structures for "The bay" were kit-bashed, scratch-built or otherwise put together using whatever materials, kits and parts I came across (you realize of course that this so-called "approach" is really just an excuse for my limited modelling skills). The parcels & cloak room seen above is loosely based on the wonderful wooden building style so typical of Didcot station. This was done by scoring the cut-to-shape plasticard sides and
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Mikkel in Structures

8
Track & Traversers

C+L underlay and Carr's ballast

For what it's worth, here's a quick recap of some of the products I tried out for the underlay and ballast on "The bay".       C+L foam underlay. I used neoprene foam from C+L Finescale for the underlay. This was of 5mm thickness, although I believe they now also have an 3mm version available. The foam may at first seem rather sensitive: Even a light prod of a finger leaves a noticeable hollow. However, the foam eventually evens out, and in any case becomes much less sen
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Mikkel in Track & Traversers

7
Layout design

First bite: The bay

"The bay" was the first of the Farthing layouts. The layout portrays the bay platform for the GWR Overbourne line at Farthing. It is inspired by the bay platforms at Newbury and Didcot, and combines selected features from these.         The trackplan is very simple, but allows reasonable scope for operation. The bay platform and its canopy is positioned at the very front of the layout, in order to provide a viewblock which forces the onlooker to look beneath the can
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Mikkel in Layout design

10
Intro

How to eat an elephant

Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time     "The Farthing layouts" are a series of OO micro-layouts that depict small sections of the same overall junction station. The period is Edwardian, although I occasionally have heretic out-of-period operating sessions. The layouts are operationally independent of each other, ie they are not connected or modular. In this way, I can explore my interest in larger stations in a very limited space. In other wo
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Mikkel in Intro

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