Sedbergh, as a preserved railway

[Firecracker]

A few more bits...

More figures on the layout.

 

The next batch of figures on the bench (mixture of unknown, the two other BRM figures and Dapol).  Also showing how I attach a wire spike to one leg to secure them.

 

The yard groundframe

 

The lowmac seen earlier weathered with the games workshop paints

 

 

Owain

 

[Firecracker]

A bit more wagon weathering - part ‘work in progress’ and part ‘that worked better than I expected’.   The item is a Hornby shark brakevan.  So before.

 

After a grey wash, excess removed with a cotton bud.

 

Then in an attempt to create the suggestion of wood under the aged paint, dry brushed vertically with humbrol 121.  Handrails, ploughs, duckets and anything metal on the body (lamp irons, brackets) touched with games workshop Typhus Corrosion.  Humbrol 121 (becoming my go-to colour for aged wood) on the floorboards to suggest wear.  

 

Rather taken with the result.  The handrails are going to get bare metal highlights with another recently discovered games workshop product, ‘Leadbelter’ which I love for polished steel.

 

Owain

Edited April 7, 2019 by Firecracker

[Corbs]

Loving your work Owain. I know some people prefer the 'moment frozen in time' for figures and layout items, and it certainly works for photos to convey the feeling of movement, but for my own stuff I agree with you in that I prefer to show people in a state of relative stillness, as if they could be about to move, but are currently relaxing/reading/watching etc.

[Firecracker]

Thank’ee  Corbs, too kind.  Glad you like it, I’m learning, rediscovering and trying new stuff constantly.  I remember (many years ago) seeing a layout (can’t remember who’s or the name) which had hardly a single figure visible.  Yet due to the signs of life, discarded tools, open doors, vehicles etc. it felt like any minute someone would appear.  Now I can’t do that with a preserved railway, to be realistic there’s got to be some passengers.  However in my mind it’s early-mid June, during the week, so not many families with kids about, visitors are tourists, adults, oap’s and maybe a school party.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A brief update - first the ongoing weathering of the 350 shunter.  A few washes to highlight the doors, still needs a bit of work around the grills on the generator area.  Also handrails.

 

Second - for anyone who is interested, here’s a shot along the layout, to give an idea of progress, overal length and track layout.  Those platforms are getting nearer the top of the priority list...a roof on the goods shed would be an idea as  well.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A bit of diesel action, for a change.  First up, a southbound PW train passes the 25 sat on the shed line.  There’s going to be a ground signal just in front of the 25, controlling access to the station.  With the 31, the idea is after fragonset went belly-up, some of their locos were bought by a spot hire company with connections to the railway.  Following the traditional horse trading, the 31 is on loan for PW work, hence the tatty paint job.  The railway has a mainline connection at Low Gill, so an idea forming is that occasional demics are stored somewhere on the railway (Sedbergh MPD, Middleton....), delivered by rail.  It’ll make for a different working, one I can’t say I’ve seen modeled before.

 

And the scruffy shed pilot collects two wagons of pallets from the goods yard for use as lighting up wood.  Again, an ex EWS/DBS/BR purcahse that needs a paint job.  Also shows (comparison with above) the joys of working under fluorescent lights, in daylight it’s paler.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

‘Where the ‘ell yew bin, Firecracker?’

 

‘Sorry mates, reallife (tm) got in the way (again).  I do like living indoors and not eating out of dustbins, as you know.’

 

Appologies for the absence, I’d love to show mounds of bits, but there’s not much that’s not 12”:1’.  First up, the results of years of skip raiding and packratting have been thrown together to produce the extract fan for the spray booth shown earlier (ignore the lousy ally brazing, it’s been several years since I last did some).  Motor off a dead vacuum pump, centrafugal fan of unknown source, the remainder finest botchery.

 

A grubby coach (plus playing with back scenes).

 

Some figures (all Monty’s Models).  Playing with washes and dry brushing on these, just got to come up with a way of doing the faces I like.  

 

 

There’s been other fun and games, dissecting the 350 seen above to improve its pickups (running on the wheel treads, seriously WHY?), random smaller detail bits (some junk for the yard, LNWR water crane for the platform end), a bit of work on the goods shed, mocking up the station building to estimate sizes, early adventures in airbrushing (spelt ‘nothing that’s seeing the light of day’) plus the fun and games of adding a regulator/water trap onto the workshop airline system (is using a 2HP, 3phase 8CFM compressor to drive an airbrush overkill?), learning the different connectors (what size is that supposed to be, Paasche?!) and in an entertaining 2 seconds unintentionally covering a window in grey acrylic.

 

Owain

 

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

And a few more bits...

 

A manky chicken hut (think woodland scenics).  Not quite sure where it’s going to end up, using it to try out different weathering finishes on different materials.

 

The Pway department (mixture of ModelU and Monty’s) hard at work, or hardly working....

 

And a new water crane (Skytrex models)

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Two more photos - a little bit of scenic work.  First up, whilst idly leafing through Western’s book on the line, I found a photo I’d never noticed before, showing the region from the end of the platform to the road under bridge.  This showed that there is a grassy bank rising behind the track, so out came the foam and hot melt glue.  Primed with a coat of acrylic paint, here it is with the water crane posed in place.  Yes, I know that point rodding is crap, it’s the first bit I laid and is getting renewed.

 

 

Second, the cutting.  I mentioned earlier that I want the track here to look like it’s been relaid recently.   Whilst riding up to Goathland earlier this year, I noticed where the track was relaid over the winter the cess had been excavated.  So break out the games workshop textured paints (Stirland Battlemire and Agrelian Earth) and make a mess.  I fancy adding a new drain manhole in front of the PWay gadgie, to give a reason for the mess and excavation.

 

 

Owain

Edited May 29, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

And just for a bit of fun, here we go.  First up, the photo taken from Western’s ‘The ingleton branch’.  This also lead to a sudden realisation why I couldn’t spot where the point rodding went on the water column side to the signal box/ground frame hut.  There isn’t a crossover at the southern end of the station!  It’s a diamond crossing on the northbound line and a trailing point on the southbound! Hence, only one run of rodding.

 

 

And for fun, here’s an attempt to replicate the viewpoint on the model.  Now there’s a different track layout, because on the model I’ve decided that south of Sedbergh it’s single line.  Hence, the crossover and the ground frame controlling access to the yard.  The former northbound line is access to the loco sheds (shades of Grosmont) (and yes, I know about the ski jumpon the shed line, that’s due to a lack of glue and is due to be sorted).

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Right, a bit more.  First up (and no photos) but a bit of light civil engineering, rectifying some minor lumps and bumps in the track, mostly due to expansion with the garage being warmer and a lack of glue in stray spots.  So wait until it’s nice and warm (ie it’s expanded as far as it’s going to) then ease up the track, add suitable glue and relay with plenty of weight to make sure the little tinker goes down and (hopefully) stays there.  So that ski jump on the shed line should be gone (plus a slalom course that appeared at the end of plat 1.)

 

Also, as mentioned on my blog, I’ve got another new toy

 

 

And I’ve been playing with it.  Think the line in plat 2. needs to be a little blacker and more blending on the points, but love the effect.

 

 

Next, inspired by the superb Shwt, I’ve been playing with the static grass again.  I’ve changed to Green Scene’s flock cement, works far better than PVA.  So making the headshunt look a bit more overgrown and a bit round the platform ramp (plus fence) just needs an anti-trespass grid at the track edge, plus some kerb stones on the platform edge.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And a couple more.  A bit more static grass around the hut and the headshunt (plus some rail chairs dumped in the long grass)

 

The start of the bridge - plasticard girders based on a design found on the web for the ‘Network rail box girder bridge’.  I’ve decided to use this design on the basis of the bridge is a relatively new build, so it’ll probably follow a modern design.  Plus it’s something different and has track laid in ballast over it, so I don’t need to relay the track on waybeams.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And finally, some of the figures seen earlier have been planted.  First up, the state of the nation, the lamb prices at Kendal mart and who’s paying for what with these drainage repairs.

Grabbing a selfie

Working up to some precision agricultural engineering (ie heat it to cherry red and beat the stuffing out of it).

Finally, the chicken hut seen earlier found its way to here.  Rather like it.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And a bit more.  First up, the bank seen earlier has had its first coat of static grass.  The point rodding in front has been gently breathed on.  This needs to turn through a right angle, cross the running line, and join the rodding in the 6 foot between the platform roads.   At this point I realised the angle cranks to do this would be exactly where you’d stand to operate the water crane.  As a result, I decided these would be hidden under a deck of sleepers.  So find some strip wood and trim to suitable sizes.  Just needs the rodding under the rails and another bank of angle cranks (incidentally, the logic behind three runs of rodding is that one’s a point lock, the second operates the points and the third is linked to a detector bar, due to the crossover being out of sight from the box - based on the north end of Goathland).

 

 

On the opposite side of the line, the ground frame (yard access) has shifted slightly (note the earlier hole filled with clay) and the rodding has started to be linked up (just the point lock run to add).

 

 

Finally a start has been made on the second platform.  The idea is that the flags are the original platform (when built these were only 2 cars-ish long) so some Wills York stone paving is sliced up to give the edging stones and the paving.  The cutout is for the station building.  The extension to this platform and the opposite platform are intended as new build tarmac.  They need edging adding, it’s on the list.

 

 

Owain

Edited June 6, 2019 by Firecracker

[11B]

Wow. Stunning layout.

 

I was looking at Sedbergh as a layout myself a good few years ago. There was a local railway photographer from Grange-over-sands called Peter Robinson had a large number of photos on a photo hosting web site, but the pages seemed to disappear after he passed away some years ago. Some of these photos are still available on the Cumbrian Railways Associations pages.

https://cumbrianrailways.zenfolio.com/p72499230

https://cumbrianrailways.zenfolio.com/p487055379

 

I look forward to watching your layout develop.

 

Kind regards

Ian 

[Firecracker]

Ian,

 

Thank’ee, too kind.  It’s not too bad, it’ll do!  Thanks for the link to those photos, the name Peter Robinson vaguely rings a bell, but those photos are mostly new to me (and have answered several questions).  I try to update when reallife(tm) doesn’t get too far in the way, glad you like it.

 

 

Owain

 

[Firecracker]

And now for something a little different (if it works), moving pictures.  A short video of the pannier on a southbound passenger train departing Sedbergh.  

 

 

Enjoy.  More videos to follow...

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A few more piccies.  The standard tank brings in the lunchtime Westmorland Pullman (the idea is the BG is a pantry/store/brake, the Mk1FO is added to give none-dining accommodation)

 

 

The repair on that JCB’s still ongoing.

 

 

Did Mr Saxon win? (If you didn’t watch Tennant era Who, this means exactly nothing)

 

 

And a pigeons eye view.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

As if one wasn’t enough, there’s more moving pictures!  The rail bus trundles into Sedbergh,  then once tokens are exchanged the pannier departs with a southbound passenger.  Enjoy.

 

 

Owain

[Corbs]

Lovely, very KWVR-esque

[Firecracker]

Thanks Corbs, Keighley is definitely one of the influences (weed growth in the goods yard was actually based on photos of Oakworth yard).  There’s a bit of NYMR, Embsay, L&HR and SVR as well.  

 

Next big hit is to get some buildings sorted, the goods shed has been sat on top of the spray booth for three weeks now (and precisely nothing has been achieved on it).  On the plus side, the photos Ian pointed me at above have finally yielded a photo of the trackside wall, so the model also needs slight modifications, to add some windows.  I also need to start to convert the foam core board mock-up into a station building.  Those platforms need finishing (anyone got any of those platform edging strips scale model scenery (I think) released that I saw reviewed in on of the comics?) (again Ian’s photos have shown the detail of the original platform walls), that 350 is steadily infuriating me with its pickups, the track needs weathering, coaches sorting, locos weathering and I keep thinking of a fourth board to go onto the north end of the station.  It makes sense, except that it won’t fit in the garage then.

 

In short, I need an eighth day in the week.  There’s nothing for it...

 

Owain

Edited June 13, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

A bit more paint has been wafted over the track with the airbrush (which I’m slowly getting the hang of, both operating and cleaning).  Colours used are a mixture of games workshop Dryad Bark and Abaddon Black with more black added for the dirtier regions, let down 50% with thinners.  Air pressure 15psi and rather pleased with the results.

 

 

On the running line, the idea is to suggest that the concrete sleeper track has been relaid recently, hence the clean ballast.  The ballast shoulder on the far side still needs a little work.

 

 

The bridge girder has has more detail added and given a coat of primer.  Billy Armstrong’s cattle float is on the list of things that need a little weathering.  Need a gate as well.

 

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And a couple more, started to convert the mock-up station buildings into something a bit more realistic.  It isn’t an exact replica, due to a mistake when laying the track out the platform is too narrow, hence the station house gable end is closer than it should be to the track (plus the building isn’t quite as deep as it should be).  Materials used are styrene, (both plain and wills embossed) and various windows (some Ratio, some unknown).  Building scaled by working off photos, mostly from Western’s book.  It’s intended to be semi low relief, hence the truncated walls.

 

 

And what it should look like.  Walls are a mixture of cement render and stone.

 

Owain

Edited June 16, 2019 by Firecracker

[Firecracker]

And a bit more, with my attempt to replicate the photograph above (which I suspect was a view for a postcard, it’s a very commonly published view of the station).  Ignore the gaps in the platform, the roof gaps (which is currently just sat in place) and the missing detail.  The structure is currently in three pieces, this is for ease of handling during construction.  It’ll eventually become one structure for painting.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

And the more I look at it, the more I think both roofs are at the wrong angle, one too steep, the other too shallow!  I’m also convincing myself over the height of the building, I’m not sure that isn’t a HO door I’ve fitted.  Also I think the door on the prototype had a fanlight above it (if so, that would correct the proportions of the door to the roof).

 

Stay tuned....

 

Owain