kirtleypete

Blimey, it's sounding like the Archers! I've been busy with an art exhibition over the weekend but in between I've built the turntable and the loco shed is nearly finished. With them in place I can fix down the track and once that's done there won't be room for much scenery. Sorry about the out of focus picture, but it gives the overall impression of this corner. Peter

I've made up the shell of the loco shed, based on Stratford as it's a standard GWR design: It's a lot shorter but there is room for a couple of large loco's all the same. Then I had a thought - there should be room to put in another track like this..... .....to link up with the line through the goods shed and suggest the quayside branch curving away behind the shed. I like this idea if I can fit it in. Peter

I'd have expected the loading gauge to be over track alongside the platform but all I can do is copy the photographs. The golden rule was always that loco's did not enter a goods shed, especially a wooden one, but here they must have done as the left hand track ran right through and connected with the quayside branch. Odd, but as always there's a prototype for everything. Scott, I'm building it like this because I've got no choice, I've only got room to put up three boards at a time. I'd love to be able to put up the complete baseboards and then build the layout in situ but as my customer is in Torquay and I'm in Melton Mowbray that's not an option. I'm basically making it like an exhibition layout, but one that will only be erected once. I'm sure there will be various gremlins to sort out once it's all up, but hopefully nothing too serious. I'm completing a board, then taking it to my storage until to give me room to put up the next one, working my way around the layout. Before long I'll meet myself coming the other way! Peter

Hopefully John, yes, depending on how much space there is. Fingers crossed! I've toned down the windows on the goods shed, and added the cocoa advert that appears in a 1913 picture....it's too nice not to include. I've also added the loading gauge over the nearer track. Peter

The goods shed is coming on..... It still needs weathering lightly and the glazing bars toning down. Peter

I've done the shell of the good shed; only just over half width but the real thing was enormous. Now I know that it fits I can finish it off. Peter

I've laid out the track loosely on the baseboards for this end of the station. The station buildings will be on the next board off the picture at the bottom. To give decent length platforms I'm going to have the access to the goods yard from the other end with the track to the goods shed running behind the platform. I may rethink that, but at the moment it looks like the best solution. Having drawn it out I can now build the goods shed. There will be two tracks running through as on the real thing. The loco shed will have two tracks with loco storage roads running off the turntable. I'm waiting for the turntable to arrive and won't touch this area until i know exactly how much space it needs. The characteristic four tracks running through the platforms fit in with no problems. Peter

Totnes here we come! I've put up two new boards, with room for a third. In the far corner will be a loco depot. The station buildings will move further to the right when the next board is up, although obviously they can't be over the join. Now that I've got to this stage I will be able to work out the room we have for the goods shed and loco shed which until now I haven't been able to build. The answer will certainly be 'not as much room as we'd like' but isn't that always the case. We also planned to have a river and bridge between the tunnel and loco shed but space is very tight and space to store loco's is probably more important. I've got a turntable on order and they take up a lot of room too. Peter

The cars and figures have arrived so I've been able to create a nice scene of the people admiring the view of Totnes station and the loco shed! The cars are from Oxford Diecast, all I've done is given them a spray with Dullcote to kill the shine. Maybe a couple of benches would look nice. I originally put the chap in the blue shirt by the open car, then looked at those bucket seats and thought it would be better to swap him for the thinner bloke. I've also got a little Morris 1931 flatbed lorry and some coal sacks and weighing machines for the coal yard but I haven't put them in place yet because the Ratio kit for the sacks is some sort of weird plastic that seems to be impervious to glue! I expected to be able to use Mekpak but no chance, I've had to resort to superglue. Ridiculous! Peter

It looks a bit better now! I've ordered some cars and figures to go in the area on the right, they should come on Monday. I assuming a road like this wouldn't have had white lines in the mid 30's. Unfortunately the light is coming from the wrong side. I'll do the ballasting when I take the board down, it will be much easier to get at it. Now I can take these boards down and get Dawlish across to my storage unit out of the way. Peter

I've made more progress today; I'm posting these while some paint dries and I'll add more later on. I've put on the facia on these two boards. The curved section was a problem; I tried MDF, hardboard, plastic sheet and aluminium sheet and none worked for a variety of reasons. In the end I've use two sheets of card laminated together and it seems fine. Once it's all painted grey I don't think the different material will be at all obvious. I've covered the Totnes side of the tunnel. Both side are covered with grass mat and the rocks have been added. The road is too wide at the moment, I'll be adding verges on both sides. Although the tunnel is short from this angle you don't notice it as the road forms a natural break for the eye. Peter

I've added gas lamps and the station nameboards: That nasty gap will be sorted out when the layout is erected. The coal yard now has a lorry and a couple of lamps, though the lorry is a bit big and might be better in Totnes goods yard in due course. I've been working on the hillside: The road is a piece of 2mm plastic sheet. The next job is to put on the Sculptamold rocks to make it match the ones around the station. Peter

Thanks Chris. I've been working on the end baseboard this morning. I've spaced out the tracks inside the tunnel to avoid any problems with 70' coaches passing each other. This area is really there to give a scenic separation between Dawlish and Totnes. I use corrugated cardboard for as much as possible in a situation like this; apart from anything else I've got to be able to lift the baseboard, not to mention getting it into a loft when it's delivered! The inside of the tunnel will be sprayed black and then the walls covered with brick or stone paper. I won't bother ballasting the part that can't be seen. The top of the backscene board needs to be cut back as I've made it too high to fit but that will be done when I take the board down. I've put in the basic contours, all from corrugated card stuck using a hot glue gun. I want to have a road running along the top with a lay bye so I can have some parked cars and people enjoying the view. Hopefully then the eye will stop at the road from whichever side one is looking, forming a natural break. The tunnel mouths look a bit odd so close together but there's no real alternative. I've made the main line one in blue engineering brick and the branch one in the same stone as I used on Ashburton to emphasise that they were built at different times. This end will have more of the red rock outcrops to fit in with Dawlish, and the other side will be more pastoral to blend in with Totnes. This is the Totnes side, and once this board is finished I can take down Dawlish and begin work on this section. It won't take as long as all the baseboards are flat which makes life much easier. My aim is to have this section pretty much complete by the end of tomorrow so there will be more pictures then. Peter

The new board is up but the track won't arrive until tomorrow. I've put a facia along the front of the beach section and it looks much tidier. The higher backscene is because I'll want the hillside to go as high as possible to make the tunnel look plausible. We should have room to accommodate the extra height as it's on the end. I got the curve of the baseboard on the corner wrong so that needs sorting out. The fact that the line curves to the right where the sea should be will just have to be put down to modeller's license. While I'm waiting for the track I can be building the four tunnel mouths. Peter

Thanks chaps - as an 0 gauge modeller myself I'm not familiar with some of these firms. I love the little Austin lorry, I'll certainly be ordering one of those. Peter

I know, but we've got 22' to play with not 40' or more which it would need to scale. You do what you can. We were going to use fictitious names but have changed our minds about doing that. I've found a lorry which I can use in the coal yard on Ebay, by a firm called Gilbow which I'd never heard of. Peter

Oxford Diecast are useless for lorries Graham, for any period. They do all sorts of exotic stuff but no ordinary ones. I e-mailed them about it a while ago but got a very negative response. I'll have a look at Langley, thanks for the tip. Added later - I've had a look at Langley, but there's no way I'm paying £30 for a 4mm scale lorry! We'll have to assume he's away on his rounds. Peter

I've pretty much finished these boards now: The next job is to fit the next baseboard which has the tunnel on and build up the scenery around that. However I've run out of track and there's no point ordering more until tomorrow. Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a coal merchant's lorry in 4mm scale, suitable for the 1930's? I've looked everywhere and can't find one. Peter

Hi John, no, I use my hands! I spray the area, put a clump of fibres between my hands and roll my palms together so the fibres drop onto the glue, repeat with a different colour/length and generally a third time as a top coat in a brighter green. I've been working on the scenery again today: I still need to add more trees to the backscene. The new Peco track really is the dog's whatsits! Peter

I've painted the track by spaying it a matt brown; Once that was dry I put the brick paper on the platform edges and then laid the ballast, which is Woodland Scenics medium grey. The great temptation now is to keep fiddling with it but I've learned over the years that it just needs leaving alone so I've shut up the garage for the rest of the day and I'll have a look at it in the morning. It will probably need longer than that to harden off properly, but we'll see. Peter

Things have moved on again. I've put in the platform, retaining wall and promenade using 2mm plastic sheet, and then added the rocky area using Sculptamold. Imagination has to take over at this point, the sea wall at Dawlish goes on for miles. The rocks have been sprayed and a low hill put in beyond them. I've added the wall along the promenade and then the beach could be modelled. I'll add the platform surface when all this is properly dry. Clumps of rubberised horsehair have been stuck in place with the hot glue gun. Then the areas between the clumps have been treated with static grass fibres in three different colours and lengths. Then the clumps were sprayed with Photomount and scatter in various shades was sprinkled on. More was added on the rocks to suggest undergrowth. A facia will be added to tidy it all up in due course, probably when the boards are in place and screwed together. The area in the corner was originally planned to be a dairy but it occurred to us that no one in their right mind would build a dairy at Dawlish! Now it will be a coal yard with the dairy at Totnes as on the real thing. The next job is to paint and ballast the track, but I need to finish the platform first and can't do that until the beach is dry. I'll make the buildings for the coal yard while I'm waiting. Peter

Almost David- I've agreed to build the Ophir loop on the Rio Grande Southern in 1/20.3 scale. Then I can retire!! I've been tracklaying this morning: First it was a case of laying it out loosely to see how it fits. This is the same view with the track fixed down. The branch doubles as the headshunt....I know there was no branch at Dawlish but it allows trains to Ashburton to run away from the main line. On the right will be a dairy. Next job is to wire it all in, then painting and ballasting. Peter

The next two boards are up; I need to let everything harden off before I clamp them and start track laying so that will be tomorrow. I've got room to put up the next board too which will have the tunnel on. Thankfully all the boards from now on are nice simple flat surfaces. It's impossible to model the actual location accurately here, we just don't have enough length. The tracks will curve round at the end and there will be a tunnel to separate the two parts of the layout. I should get all the track down tomorrow and it will begin to look like a station. Peter

Due to the wind and rain I've been working in the house again so this board is pretty much finished. Ball games on the beach. I probably need to add a couple of blokes to even things up! The forecast for tomorrow is better (it could hardly be worse!) so I should be able to put up this board with the two new ones and get the track down on those. Peter

Yes, made from 2mm clear Polystyrene sheet and given a wash of dilute black, mainly to tone down the white glazing bars. They would have been well washed at Dawlish but photo's seem to suggest that they weren't perfectly clean. Peter