CazRail Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 Came from work today, and decided the silicone sealant water had to go. The effect I'd achieved with it was ok, but it was just too cloudy- like dirty bath water. So i peeled it off and re-painted the base, sprinkled some fine ballast on it, then once dry, I poured clear Gloss Medium over it. This seems to level out similar to resin water, but is Acrylic. Whilst it was still wet, I added stones. Ill use the Structure Gel then to add the effect of a running river, with the water flowing around the various obsticles in the river. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 Bit of an update this afternoon after work... The new board has been connected to it's neighbour, using dowells and latches. I then used an old piece of flexi track to form the alignment for the track. Once the new track is initially in, fine adjustments can be done simply by moving the cocktail sticks. So now I know fairly accurately where the track will go. Ive decided to replace the rails and chairs on the baulk timbers, so that its as smooth as I can get it. I can add cosmetic joints in later, which i could also make fine cuts in the railhead to get the 'clickerty-clack' of the real thing. Ofcourse all this now depends on the water, and if im happy with it. So far it is still setting, hopefully by Sunday itll be fully cured the way it looks now, im very happy, and quite confident I can detail it further even with the bridge fitted. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 2mt tank 41233 taking a spare brake van to Llannerch-y-medd goods yard to work an additional goods train to Llandudno Junction. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 An unexpected delivery today of my hot wire foam cutter, which I had lost hope of arriving, so i got on with sculpting the rest of the board's landform and covered in Sculptamold. As you see, temporary track now removed. This was to facilitate the work on the river, which has now come to an end; meaning we're now ready for trackwork! Once i was done, I decided to plant a tree to get a feel for it... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 Painted brown this morning before work... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erixtar1992 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 This looks incredible!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 49 minutes ago, Erixtar1992 said: This looks incredible!! Very kind! Thankyou Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 Decided to do some more this afternoon, so connected the new board to the last to see how it matches. Not bad as it turns out, just needed a bit of the hill on the older board thickening out. Easily done with Sculptamold. I then got the cork bark out to install the rock face cuttings, and found i didnt have any suitable bits, so used Sculptamold again! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 I used Humbrol weathering powder to finish off the walls, firstly a brown then a smokey black, which went into the mortar joints nicely to create depth. I then used PVA and Noch Leaf Foliage to put ivy on the walls and capping stones. 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 14, 2019 Author Share Posted June 14, 2019 Hopefully be getting a length of track for this board tomorrow, if so a fair bit of progress can be made tomorrow. As far as the bridge is concerned, as its a fairly fragile structure, the rails will be glued to the baulk timbers, but the timbers wont be glued to the girders, and the girders won't be glued to the abutments. It means should the layout be dismantled, the bridge structure will simply lift out of its housing once track is lifted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 Track! Went to Rhuddlan Models today along with my daughter and my brother, to buy a length of Peco Bullhead, and when I got there, I asked my self "Why the bloody hell haven't I been here before?!" A fantastic shop full of everything that youll need. Superb. So when I got home, began to lay it. This was not as straight forward, as 16 sleepers needed the ends and centres removing to leave me with the chairs. This to accomodate the bridge. (The original plan was for the rails to be seperate, but for smooth operation decided to run the one length of flexi track straight through) The PVA holding the track went off very quick(both through the thin layer and heat in the conservatory) so ballasting was started. More later. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 22 minutes ago, CazRail said: Track! Went to Rhuddlan Models today along with my daughter and my brother, to buy a length of Peco Bullhead, and when I got there, I asked my self "Why the bloody hell haven't I been here before?!" A fantastic shop full of everything that youll need. Superb. I was in Rhuddlan Models today too, and yesterday. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 I pass it every now and then when im working that end of the coast, today was my first visit. So ive finished for today... Very happy. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Looks great. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Today ive wired the board and it's operational! Decided to test the '70' on it, as along with the 66, is probably the fussiest of locos I have trackwork wise. Things didnt start too well this morning, as I had to re-install the dowells as something had gone wrong with them somewhere along the line, but all is well now and the alignment is the best it could be. Possibly some more appropriate 'era'd' photos later on... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Got a little carried away taking photos of 66101 and 70006 on the layout, I totally forgot to give the DMU and 2MT a go ! Decided to bring 66101 out for a little photo shoot with the better camera. Led to me placing a few trees just to see what I could achieve with them. Then 70006 turned up. Hopefully in this coming week I can sort the scenery on the join between these two boards then they can be seperated and focus work on the river board. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 This afternoon I did a spot of work on the rock cutting 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 Just plodded on with some scenery work as and when I could, hoping to connect up to the staging board soon, so i can run trains staight through the board. Ive added some cinder at the edge of the ballast, and will do this to the rest of the boards where i see fit. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Its coming on nicely, great work. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 25, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 25, 2019 Very very nice mate! I'm loving the balk track on the bridge. We all know it's supposed to be there but how many of us bother to model it properly? It's just lovely, well done that man! Regards Lez.Z. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share Posted June 26, 2019 Thanks guys. Comments much appreciated. Yeah I felt a need to model the balk road, as I already have a ballasted deck bridge on the layout(which in real world is a cast in-situ concrete structure), so wanted the balks to add variety. I was hoping to add some more structures, but havent found the space for them, things like culverts or retaining walls. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 Been a quiet few weeks on the layout, having turned my attention more to running trains and implementing track layout changes on Marshfield Junction. So tonight, Ive been removing bushes, and adding static grass in their place as part of my quest to upgrade the layout's scenery. I think it looks better with less bushes. For example you can now see the fence. Then a little mini-project before bedtime, which was to add whistle boards, speed boards and limited clearance signs for the new board. The whistle boards are for the rock cutting, limited clearance for the bridge and ive put a line speed of 25mph over the bridge. The signs need the posts and backs painted to finish them off, but a nice bit of detail added. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Happy to announce that the layout has been invited to it's 2nd exhibition. Won't yet say where it is, however it's on 4th and 5th of April, and is quite a trek! There will be myself and one other operator so hopefully will be a good weekend. So, in light of this, the layout will undergo a program of improvements over the next 6 months to prepare it for action! They will be... - Finish all work currently needed (scenery mostly). - Tidy up and paint layout fascias, gloss black prefered colour. - Replace the bus wire connections between boards with something more suitable and convenient. - Add baseboard-mounted legs using hinges. - Add layout backscene. - [Desirable but not essential] replace lake water with Woodland Scenics Realistic Water. Some work to do then! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick G Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 8 minutes ago, CazRail said: Happy to announce that the layout has been invited to it's 2nd exhibition. Very good, are you coming to see mine at Craig y Don, Llandudno next weekend. Could probably get you an invite for that in the future and Prestatyn. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 45 minutes ago, Nick G said: Very good, are you coming to see mine at Craig y Don, Llandudno next weekend. Could probably get you an invite for that in the future and Prestatyn. Yes Im planning to go, been looking forward to it for a while! Have only seen your layout in magazines or on here so looking forward to see it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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