As a bit of relief from pictures of grass and hedges, I thought I'd include a few pictures of actual trains!
I've also added a few images into my gallery http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/3811-train-spotting-at-sherton-abbas-september-1905/ which I hope people will like!
Best wishes
Dave
I've continued to work on the layout's scenery, laying more static grass fibres at the back of the layout. I want to have a hedge running alongside the lane that leads down from the road bridge into Sherton Abbas, so armed with some rubberised horsehair I made a start. The horse hair was cut into strips and then teased apart to make a loose open latticework of fibres.
Rubberised horsehair after teasing apart
In order to represent fine twigs, 6mm long static grass fibres were applied to
At long last the time has come to make a start on the scenic side of my layout. The last time I built a layout was in the early 1990s and Barry Norman's excellent book on landscape modelling http://www.amazon.co.uk/Landscape-Modelling-Barry-Norman/dp/0906867444 was recommending the use of lint bandage to simulate grass. Hours of fun was had dying bandage green and then gently laying it on a bed of PVA glue, before ripping off the backing once it had all set. Although this technique worked well,
Archibald Freeth, "Archie" to his friends is one of the signalmen who works Sherton Abbas signal box. He resides in the small town of Ivell about 4 miles from Sherton Abbas and has recently invested in a bicycle. He's a fairly frugal chap and put off by the prices of the latest models on the market decided to buy something second hand. After much searching he found something suitable which although nearly 15 years old had been well looked after and was best of all reasonably cheap! His commute t
Well I'm pleased to say that the last signal has been installed on the layout. Once again I used one of Jurassic Models socket and servo mounts to install the signal onto the baseboard and a GF controls module to control the movement of the signal arms. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-15869-signals-for-sherton-abbas-part-3-the-bouncing-arms/
There's a considerable amount of "gubbins" required underneath the baseboard to control the signal arms, but the use of the
To complete the signalling on my layout I need something to control the exit of traffic from the exchange siding across the double slip. One route leads out onto the main and the other onto a short head shunt, so two arms would be required. I could have employed another twin arm siding signal similar to the one that controls the exit of the loop, but liked the idea of a ground signal to add a bit of variety. As my layout is set in Edwardian times it predates ground signals using discs to indicat
I had a very enjoyable time at the Telford 0 gauge Guild show and amongst the bits and pieces that I bought for the layout were some rather nice buffer stop kits. Ragstone Models produce some lovely looking castings that once assembled make a variety of buffer stops from different railway companies, they also produce some very nice water cranes:-) Before I can finish ballasting my layout the buffer stops need to be installed in position, so a start was made on building the kits.
Ragstone mod
As a bit of light relief from the rigours of ballasting which I'm glad to say I've almost finished, I decided to make a start on the retaining wall at the front of the layout. The retaining wall supports the earthworks that the exchange siding runs along and will eventually have water modelled running below it. The first decision was to decide what type of material such a retaining wall would most likely be made from. Initially I thought that a wall constructed from old sleepers might be possibl
Since the last update, some progress has been made, albeit at a slower pace than I'd planned! The point rodding is now a rather fetching vermilion colour, it will need a little judicious weathering as its a bit "in your face" at the moment! I've also made a start on the ballasting and installed one of two ground signals. Ballasting is one of those tedious jobs that I find you have to be in the right mood for! This is my first 7mm scale layout and I definitely found ballasting this scale far more
I've just looked back through my blog and was surprised to find that it's been nearly 2 years since the last update on my goods shed! I've still got work to do on the interior, but at least it's received a coat of paint:-) As I tend to mix my own colours the main problem was getting a finished result that matched, or at least blended in with the completed station building. Humbrol Enamels were used in the main, with some use of colours from Railmatch. I've also spent some time facing the foam bo
Once the construction of the signals had been completed, I needed to install them on the layout. At a recent local show I had seen Derek Mundy demonstrate working signals that had a rather nice "bounce action" to the semaphore arms when they were returned to danger. They were controlled by a module from G F controls and powered by miniature servos. I was really impressed with the setup so decided to use this method of operation for my signalling. I placed an order with Geoff and Frank at G F con
Before I could begin painting the signal box a number of detail components needed to be constructed. The gutter down pipes included in the kit were of course designed to fit a ground level type box so were no longer long enough to reach ground level. The pipes were extended by inserting sections of suitable diameter plastic rod between the moulded down pipe fittings included in the kit and then attached to the building using liquid poly. A name plate was made using 2mm Slaters Plastikard letteri
Before I moved onto step and handrail construction, I decided to make a start on the roof. The roof components that the kit provides were assembled together with Liquid Poly and once dry tried on top of the signal box. To my eye the overhang on the roof looked much too wide and gave the building a strange continental appearance.
Overersize roof
I measured the overhang and calculated that it worked out as a scale 18 inches all round which sounded far too much. I decided that the easiest wa
Well its been 10 weeks since my shoulder operation and I'm pleased to say that I've more or less got two functioning arms again! The operation went well, but I found being stuck in a sling for six weeks was a very frustrating experience. I've still not got full mobility or strength in the joint, but having regular sessions with a fierce, but very pretty Physiotherapist is definitely helping my recovery!
It's still uncomfortable reaching across the layout baseboards, so I've decided to have a
Well it's been a long time coming, but here are some pics of the finished William Clarke station building. Its painted using Humbrol and Railmatch enamel paints, with the colour being built up in a number of washes and then followed by some dry brushing. I followed the discussion on the forum about GWR window colours in the Edwardian period with great interest. I found the evidence presented highly convincing, so have consequently painted the windows chocolate. To my eyes the black and white pic
During the time that I've spent pottering along doing my point rodding, as a bit of light relief I've been making progress with the signals that I need for the layout. In part 1 of signal construction http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-14441-first-signal-for-sherton-abbas/ I'd built the Platform Starter, but needed to tackle the construction of the Siding signal. Parts were once again used from the Model Signal Engineering range of components. I needed a signal to contro
Well I've seen the consultant and been told that I need to have surgery to fix my damaged shoulder :-( I'm on his waiting list, hopefully it's not too length a wait! I've wanted to start forming some scenic contours for the layout for a while now, but the limited movement in my shoulder means that I can no longer reach the back of the layout with my right hand. Now I don't like having my modelling plans thwarted at the best of times, so I needed to find a way to overcome this problem! I had
Well there's not been any progress on the signal front or much other modelling come to that! At the beginning of August on my way to work, a half asleep motorist pulled out of a side turning and knocked me of my motorcycle. He was very apologetic, a classic case of "I'm sorry I didn't see you mate!" I suppose I should be grateful that he was insured and has accepted liability, but the upshot is he's b#ggered my Summer! The bike's a right mess, but at least it can be repaired. I've been left w
Now the track laying has been completed, its time to make a start on the signalling and point rodding for the layout. Despite reading numerous books on the subject, I must confess that I find comprehending the mysteries of signalling to be one of the more challenging aspects of the hobby. With this in mind, I decided it would be a good idea to get some expert advice! Fortunately for me, Mike (The Stationmaster) was a fount of useful information and clarified what was needed during a very enjoyab
Close up of torn canvas on a Slaters Plastikard Cattle wagon
I've had a few positive comments about the torn canvas on the roof of one of my cattle wagons, along with a request for the method I used to model it. I'm not sure how well the method would translate to smaller scales than 7mm, but this is the technique that I used.
1. The area on the roof where the canvas is to be to torn is scribed with plank detail using a compass point or needle, held against a steel ruler.
2. A fibre
Before I can finalise the height of the backscene at the point where it curves around the front of the layout, I need to work out the contour of the landscape in this area. During the planning stage of the layout http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-9648-mock-up-completed/, I decided to have a twin arch road bridge that would act as a view blocker between the off stage area and the main layout. The height of this bridge will dictate the profile of the land around it, so be
I tend to find wiring a layout one of the more tedious aspects of railway modelling, a job that "needs" to be done rather than enjoyed! On this occasion however it all seemed relatively painless and didn't take as long as I had feared. I'm still undecided about the merits of DCC, it all seems a bit too much like computer programming rather than playing trains for my liking! I do like the idea of sound in my locos though, so I may have to overcome my prejudices and embrace digital control at some
I'm glad to say that laying the track work has almost been completed! The back siding still needs to have its other rail installed, but as I've run out of C&L's plastic chairs, it will have to wait. I've placed the station building and goods shed in roughly the position they'll be on the layout, in an attempt to help keep my enthusiasm going during wiring! I want the private siding to look as if it's been laid with less care than the G.W.R. track, so I've introduced a few direction changes a
Thanks to a timely intervention by Buffalo who pointed out my error in assuming that my track should be built from 60 foot panels http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-13638-track-laying-part-2/ , a slight rethink was nessessary! My project is set in 1905 and as 60 foot track panels didn't come into existance on the Great Western Railway until 1929, this length would be completely inappropriate for my layout. Thirty two foot rail sections first appeared on main lines in the
Once happy with the alignment of the paper template, the "flow" of the point work and I'd glued the cork underlay in position, permanent track fixing could begin. The paper template was cut from under the points and then each point was put back in position on top of the cork. When building the points I deliberately left the rail over long, to allow for some fine tuning of the point's relative positions.
Point and Double Slip with over long rail
The rail was trimmed back to the correct
