So what to do with the two Melcalf over-scale buildings? Plan A was to box them up and stick them on e-bay, but then I'd put lights in one. So Plan B, move them to somewhere where the distance from true scale things wouldn't be so obvious. This wouldn't work on the current layout, but I figured a raised extension would work well enough.

So, the extension. The houses will made to look like they are then ends of roads where it all gets a bit badly surfaced and slips into scrubland. Between the houses will be a gate to a yard of some sort to avoid trying to be artistic with a backscene.

Doing this introduced a chance to do some more vertically inclined formation than had been intended. So, a steep bank with some sort of steps up them, leading from the prototype barrow crossing I can't get off the sleepers. This goes to a footpath beside the headshunt that heads 'north'.

I extended the raised bit 'south' along the board, where the land keeps about the height of the extension before descending down to the yard formation level. There will be a stone wall alongside the tracks.

Two bits of card to get the profile of the steps. Cut and bent to shape, with spacers glued in between to keep the width

The intention is to create a flight of steps that have been there some time, so everything has settled a bit and is no longer 'perfect'. The treads a literally sleepers, Peco running track size, that used to be sold as point timbers (yeah, I fell for that eBay sellers thing) chopped up. All I did was measure the first few, and then when my eye was in chop out the next level with wire cutters as required, allowing for turns and some post installation settling.

And there we go.

Some paint. I spent a while looking of photos of real installations before choosing a base of Hubrol Dark Earth, with white brushed in wile still went, followed by some very light black dry brushed on. I'm happy with that for a first go at such things.

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