Well , not exactly... Springs in limestone formations are not uncommon - they tend to form where limestone (permeable) overlie clays (impermeable). As water percolates down through the limestone, it hits the clay then follows the clay to where it can continue its downward journey. Okay Geology 101 finishes..

I needed an excuse to bring water to 'the works' to a) fill the stationary engine (via a water-softener) and B) to provide coolant for the stone saws. So the appearance of a 'spring-line' needed to be shown. One would be purely scenic - the otyher would be 'tapped at souce' and piped to where needed (more on that in a later episode). So on to the modelling -

The 'spring follows a fault in the geology, appearing high up on the cliff-line. Practically, this involved dribbling 'Revell' polystyrene cement (the 'Professional' version with the needle applicator - its more fluid than the tube variety) down the run. It did of course replicate water finding it's own path... One warning - if using the same styrene landforms that I used - make sure it is well-covered with paint otherwise the 'water' will do what it often does in limestone - DISSOLVE IT!.

I actually ran the cement down a couple of times to ensure a nice glossy surface.

Where water flows, greenery & mosses etc will follow, and this was represented by various lengths of flock varying from 0.5mm (almost a dust) up to 6mm long -

and thats it, really.... Another method might be to use an acrylic gloss medium - but I didn't have any to hand at the time.

I'm putting 'Ambridge' away now for a couple of weeks and returning to 'Box' for the rest of this week. More tracklaying....

Regs

Ian