Marlott - N Gauge Billy Bookcase Layout

Tree

My inspiration for model railway trees dates back to the 1970s. We always believed that, no matter how good the track, stock, buildings and scenery were, model railways were always let down by the trees. There did not appear to be a good way to build a realistic tree. Then I saw Pendlebury by Bert Topping in a couple of magazines of the day. There is a picture of one of his trees here on rmweb. Page down through the post. As I remember it, his methods involved blitzing (using a blender) dyed, fr

March 1, 2022

Planning

Track Plan

The proposed model is not based on a prototype. I have a lot of admiration for modellers who create accurate representations of real locations and often find them the most interesting layouts at exhibitions. Part of the enjoyment for me however is to decide what I want and where I want to put it. I do however want to create something that is at least credible; allowing for space compression! I have spent much time studying other layout plans, internet resources and experimentating wi

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May 7, 2018

Track

Track Laying

The track is glued to the foam board cover on the baseboard using water proof wood working adhesive. Testing was completed bit by bit as the track laying continued.

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November 18, 2019

The Yard of God!

My 9 year old daughter has a new name for the fiddle yard. We have talked about the "hand of God" descending on our layouts for years. The fiddle yard is the natural home of the hand of god so it has now become known as "The Yard of God" in our house thanks to our daughter Eleanor!

May 8, 2022

Planning

The Project

This blog will cover the development of a very small diorama type N gauge model railway. The subject matter is to be the ubiquitous Great Western branch line terminus. It was chosen due to space restrictions, some existing stock from a previous layout years ago and the wealth of information available on the subject. It is a pilot scheme. If time allows, all goes well and my re-kindled interest from childhood actually results in a finished working layout then I may progress to somethi

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April 1, 2018

Weathering

Subdued Colours

I was pleased to get a comment from Mikkel on the subdued colours I had used on the engine shed. Despite not achieving his amazing standards I thought I would share how I do it. Subdued colours are something I am aiming for on the layout as I always like the layouts with subdued colours at shows. On the engine shed I used The Gimp to subdue the colour of the printed Scalescenes Red Brick, however on the other areas and all over the rest of the layout I use pastels. I have two sets that I rely on

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December 1, 2020

Stirling Engine

A bit of a diversion. Here is a little video of a solar powered Stirling Engine that sits on the window ledge next to Marlott:

December 24, 2022

Inspiration

Some Inspiration

Here are a couple of photos from a visit to the Warley Exhibition this weekend. I should have taken more. There was lots to see.

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November 25, 2019

Signal Box

The signal box is made from the excellent Severn Valley Models etched brass kit. The kit is assembled using cyanoacrylate glue and goes together very well. I used Deluxe Materials Glue'n'Glaze to attach the window glazing. I struggled with one or two of the small parts, particularly in the stair case but that was more my one-eyed ham-fisted approach than the kit. Once complete it was primed and then painted with Precision Paints light stone and dark stone plus Humbrol for the walls, windows and

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March 26, 2020

Scenery

The size of the layout means that scenery is at a minimum. I do however want some different levels in the ground, raised behind the station building with a slope down to the yard, raised behind the yard and raised more to the right where the trains disappears back stage. I have used two approaches. The raised areas behind the yard are so small that they do not warrant traditional methods like mod-roc. Instead I have built them up using DAS modelling clay, glued down with PVA.

March 23, 2020

Pub: The Albion 86 Armley Road Leeds

The pub in my previous post is the former Albion at 86 Armley Road in Leeds. This is what it looks like now: This is the Google Maps reference: https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7972561,-1.5723353,3a,75y,33.46h,97.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sR3k-CLrmyuA9zxl5DT2Eew!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 This is a Google Maps shot from a few years ago when it was still a pub: I have only been to Leeds a couple of times and I have never been to the Albion.

March 21, 2020

Pub

I never got back to posting after Christmas. First a job change and now ... So here is something I did earlier. Not my best modelling but I am curious to see who recognises it. If you do recognise it perhaps it looks a bit different.

March 20, 2020

Presentation

To support the back-scene, control the viewing angles and support the lighting a presentation box was required. This is constructed out of the same plywood used for the baseboards plus a few odd bits of wood found lying around the garage. It is held together by half round moudling and glued with water proof wood working adhesive. It fits snugly round the outside of the based board and is bolted to it using large bolts with glued captive nuts. This works because the design of the Billy Bookcase m

November 30, 2019

Control

Point Control

Last year I was asked a question about how I intended to actuate the points. Unfortunately I missed that question and so have only just responded. Apologies to Jack Benson for that. Here is the explanation I promised. I am using stiff push/pull wires under the baseboard as shown here: The other components in the design are choc-box connectors. The brass insides of the choc-box connectors are used as joiners for the wire to allow the system to be re-configurable (see 1). T

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December 24, 2020

Platforms

The platforms use Peco platform edging with a cardboard top. The fact that this is a terminus means that the platforms meet at one end. To avoid joins in the surface, I cut all the platforms from a single sheet of cardboard using a template marked on tracing paper laid on the baseboard. The surface is airbrush painted with a Humbrol grey and then weathered using pastels.

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December 18, 2019

Marlott

No time like the present

There is no time like the present so track has been bought from Cheltenham Model Centre. I am ready to go.

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May 13, 2018

Yard

New Roof for the Coal Office

I am working on a new roof for the coal office. I have succumbed to the point of view that says, "a viewer sees more of the rooves than anything else" so I have decided an upgrade is in order. The tiles are 2mm wide which makes them 12" to scale. I have tried to make some of them slightly uneven to make it look more natural by slipping some by 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3mm. This is the effect so far: I still have the ridge tile, painting and a new sign to do. If this wor

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May 30, 2023

New Modelling Tool

My latest little investment is shown here. Despite appearances, it is not a phaser! It is a small vacuum cleaner for cleaning up the layout, amongst other things. For years I have struggled to clean the layout with a larger vacuum attachment. It works but it is easy to break something along the way. This is rechargeable via USB, quite small (it is sitting on n gauge track) so easy to manipulate, and works really well.

December 4, 2022

Marlott on a late summer Friday afternoon

A new picture for no better reason that it is a Friday. Not a train in sight! Below is a photo I took of some long grass during a cross country walk in the summer . It is my inspiration for what might go in the foreground in the above image.

December 9, 2022

Long Grass

In my last post I said I was aiming for long grass in the foreground. These were my inspiration shots from a walk in late summer: Armed with a mid-green for the base at 1mm and a straw colour at 6mm, here is how I got on. First a close up attempting to show the detail: A wider shot: One thing I learned is that it is not easy to get a photo that reflects the actual colour of the grass. It looks a bit more vivid in the photos

December 17, 2022

Lighting

After a long hiatus I have finally got round to another post. I often find that some of the layouts that stand out at shows are those that are well lit. I think it is particularly important in small cameo layouts. I am also struck by how much layouts of this type look similar in dimensions to home aquariums. Home aquariums always seem to be well lit. This set me thinking. So I visited my local aquarium supplier with the dimensions of my layout noted. In addition to seeing

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November 7, 2021

Laying Grass

Following up on Long Grass, here are some shots of the messy business of laying the grass. Looking back at my inspiration again: I see a greener layer under the straw coloured grass. With anything that is not stuck down removed, I marked out the boundaries of the grass lightly with a pencil, making clear the areas that should remain as path. I then started by laying a short green layer first painting the area to be grassed with PVA and then using the Flockit t