Although I've been calling my layout "Sherton Abbas" for at least a year now, the name hasn't appeared anywhere on the layout apart from on the signal box name plate. The platform definetly needed some name boards so passengers had a clue as to where they had arrived at! :-) I made the name boards using Slaters Plastikard sheet, microstrip and a set of their styrene lettering. Fortunately Slaters manufacture their sheeting in a variety of colours, so I used black as a background colour which contrasts nicely with the white edging and letters, making it easier to position them accurately and saves painting later!:-)

I started by using sellotape to fix a steel ruler in position on top of the black plastic card in order to give me a straight edge to follow. The letters were then positioned against the ruler and once happy with their placement, a tiny amount of liquid poly was applied with a brush to the top of each letter.

Positioning the letters

Applying the liquid poly

The ruler was then removed from the sheet and more liquid poly was applied with a fine brush, relying on capillary action to fix the letters permanently in position.

Micro strip was used to form the edges of the name board and once again held in position with the addition of liquid poly.

Microstrip edges

Once everything had dried the excess black plastic card was cut away from the white edging using a scalpel. Posts were made from lengths of square section brass tubing with tapered ends formed from Milliput epoxy putty. The posts were then painted in Great Western dark stone using Railmatch enamel paint.

Completed signs

The signs were fixed in position on the platform behind the benches using epoxy resin. I still need to find some decent gas lamps to finish the platform off and have so far found little success in sourcing some! I'd really like to find some brass examples, any pointers in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Name boards in situ on the platform

Station Name written in rocks

I've seen old pictures of stations that had their names spelt out using white washed rocks and I thought this would make a nice addition to my layout's foreground. I printed out "Sherton Abbas" in various sizes onto an A4 sheet of paper, then cut out the names and tried them for size on the layout. Initially I had the two words next to each other, but decided I preferred them one below the other. Once happy with the position and appearance of the lettering I used PVA to fix the template in place on the embankment.

Template in position

The stones that I used to form the flower bed surrounds on the platforms were a bit too big to use to make the lettering, so I crushed some up using a pair of old pliers. These smaller stones were then glued directly onto the template using PVA, tweezers were used to ease them into the correct position.

Stones glued to template

Once the lettering was completed I decided to edge the wording using larger stones similar to the ones on the platform flower beds.

Stone edging in position

I painted the stone lettering with matt white Humbrol enamel to simulate whitewash and then used "ballast" to fill in around the stones and form a background to the wording. Hopefully the ballast will prevent 7mm weeds growing around the letters, well the Station Master certainly hopes so!:-)

Ballast infill

I'll add static grass around the rocks which hopefully will settle the name into the embankment nicely. I'm toying with the idea of a including a vegetable garden on the flatter ground above the station name, I'm sure a few potatoes and runner beans would have been a welcome addition to the station staff's tables!:-)

Dave