Hennock

[richbrummitt]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

Some 100' tall trees - Poplar? Elm? Just borrowed from a box of wargaming scenery I'd had squirreled away in the loft (more on that anon) - though 100' is well within the expected height of any number of UK trees, I'm not all that sure this is a good idea...

 

Bravo. My opinion is that many layouts have trees that are far too short! You have the height on your backscene so why not use some of it. 

[Donw]

The tallest tree in England is quite near to us at about 60m it would dwarf quite a few viaducts. In truth tall trees are more common iin groups of trees where they grow tall tring to get more light that those round them. A singleton tree in a field is often not quite so tall but will have a wide spread to gather the maximum amount of light. Populars do not have a wide spread and will usually be taller than other species.

 

Don

[TomE]

I agree with Richard that trees on most layouts are significantly smaller than they would be if done to scale. The key thing is consistency. If you have a lot of smaller trees and only a couple of tall ones, it might look a bit odd!

 

Tom.  

[Caley Jim]

While 100' is perfectly feasible for the height of many trees, within the space on a small layout they will tend to overpower and dominate the scene.  I found when I was doing the trees behind the colliery sidings on Kirkallanmuir something around a scale 60' looked best.

 

Jim

[CF MRC]

4 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

Some 100' tall trees - Poplar? Elm? Just borrowed from a box of wargaming scenery I'd had squirreled away in the loft (more on that anon) - though 100' is well within the expected height of any number of UK trees, I'm not all that sure this is a good idea...

They could be made into passable elm trees, which are seldom modelled; I suppose that many do not remember them. The green foliage should be thinned out a bit and be more dull with some scraggy leaves coming directly off the lower trunks to make them more realistic for an elm - the far tree looks quite good. Another way to represent the twigs that grow from the trunk is to glue carpet under felt to the trunk and then rip  it off.  If the pair were sighted at the front on the left  in a hedgerow they would help to draw the eye away form the hole in the back scene.  They are too big to be behind the line, where a bit of perspective might be useful.
 

Tim

[Lacathedrale]

Thank you all - I hadn't really intended to use these on the layout but maybe there is some mileage in them after all?

 

Some detail parts laid in place and the platform wrapped up:

 

An 8750 sets back past the 1-ton yard crane

 

The 8750 continues its reversal further back onto the mainline, under the loading gauge

 

In the background of both, you can see the platform, now finished other than some weathering.

[Lacathedrale]

It feels as though after literally a year of suspended animation, having a working loco and a little time has allowed me to progress this layout quite rapidly.

 

I've finally put some water in the river bend at the front of the layout - I used two part epoxy resin for the water and sellotape for the 'dam', coating the inside contact edge of the sellotape and the outside with PVA to ensure no leakage. This is an awful close-up (and shows the wicking of the resin, which will be touched up with paint, then groundcover and reeds) - but hopefully catches the gentle ripples I've added with vallejo gloss gel medium:

 

 

The pool itself is dark brown, the reflection of blue is from 'the sky' - exactly as I'd hoped!

 

INow that's done, I've also finally been able to cut the front fascia and attach it:

 

 

 

[Lacathedrale]

A wooden platform shelter modelled after those on the Culm Valley Light Railway and some standard GWR fencing represent the platform complete structurally. It does need a little weathering, though!

 

 

This is my first ever scratch-built building, measured out from photographs to be as accurate as possible - you can even see the bench seat inside which I'm quite chuffed with.

 

 

[CF MRC]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

A wooden platform shelter modelled after those on the Culm Valley Light Railway and some standard GWR fencing represent the platform complete structurally. It does need a little weathering, though!

 

 

This is my first ever scratch-built building, measured out from photographs to be as accurate as possible - you can even see the bench seat inside which I'm quite chuffed with.

 

 

Next stop Paddington then, William?

 

Looks good

 

Tim

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks Tim, it's obviously not complicated or flashy - but I'd like to think I did all the things one could hope - finding photos, counting rows of planks, hypothesising dimensions of standard lumber and so on. Here's the inspiration, such as it is:

 

Disused Stations (http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/coldharbour_halt/)

 

I'm mostly just pleased that it came out the size I'd planned and looked how I envisaged it to look!

 

I've attempted some weathering on the building and fence, with a dun wash followed by a light drybrush of Vallejo Sunny Skin + White.

 

 

I'm not altogether convinced - but ever onward!

 

 

[richbrummitt]

In that photo the coach is incongruous with it's out of the box appearance. 

[Lacathedrale]

Hi Rich - That's very kind of you to say - hopefully some of your Siphons will grace the layout soon - but in the meantime, what can I do? I have a Dapol B-set and this Autocoach.

 

Right now, it seems Heki Autumn Grass 2-3mm is completely sold out everywhere so groundcover is going to have to wait a little longer, I think.

 

 

[richbrummitt]

2 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Hi Rich - That's very kind of you to say - hopefully some of your Siphons will grace the layout soon - but in the meantime, what can I do? I have a Dapol B-set and this Autocoach.

 

Right now, it seems Heki Autumn Grass 2-3mm is completely sold out everywhere so groundcover is going to have to wait a little longer, I think.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what would have it blend it in better to my eye, perhaps a roof less white and some other. The rest of the scene is progressing well and far more layout like than I have ever achieved in this scale.

[Lacathedrale]

Goods shed, save for some final fit and finish is more or less in-place:

 

 

Unfortunately, as you can see there is a slight dilemma - the short siding off the loop is for a cattle dock (whose ramp has a direct gate onto the road), and so in its current position, the goods shed isn't actually road accessible.

 

Options:

1. Add some gravel texture to the foreground infront of the shed and have it represent another access from the road on the right.
2. Have a crossing over the rails from the existing road to the rear of the shed.
3. Swap the location of the cattle dock and the goods shed

Any thoughts or suggestions gladly taken!

 

 

ps. would a GWR Mechanical Horse be the lorry used for customer delivery in the late 30's, or would it be horse and cart?

[Donw]

The cattle dock definitely needs road access so swapping the Shed and cattle dock would not solve the issue. On the I wouldn't start from here... The shed road could have been further forward to enable the shed and crane to be on the inside the access road then being between the two sidings. I suggest I wouldn't go to the trouble of slewing the track now so the option is either a second road access or a crossing over the line between the crane and the shed. Which is probably what I would do.

 

Don 

[richbrummitt]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

... slight dilemma - the short siding off the loop is for a cattle dock (whose ramp has a direct gate onto the road), and so in its current position, the goods shed isn't actually road accessible.

 

Options:

1. Add some gravel texture to the foreground infront of the shed and have it represent another access from the road on the right.
2. Have a crossing over the rails from the existing road to the rear of the shed.
3. Swap the location of the cattle dock and the goods shed

Any thoughts or suggestions gladly taken!

 

 

ps. would a GWR Mechanical Horse be the lorry used for customer delivery in the late 30's, or would it be horse and cart?

 

3. wins for me. For me the goods shed doesn't work there. If it were my layout I would ditch the goods shed altogether.

 

If you mean the Scammel type then I think a mechanical horse might be a bit modern in the 30s for what seems a backwater. I've not read enough of Atkins GWR goods cartage vols and can't remember his GWR goods services well after 15yrs to be more helpful. 

[bécasse]

I am fairly certain that all four of the main line companies used Scammell Mechanical Horses for deliveries from the mid-1930s onwards. However, they were quite slow and were usually used only in towns big enough to require a dedicated town delivery (and pick up) service, where their ability to manouevre outweighed their slow speed. The GWR "lorry service" used for deliveries of less than wagon load consignments in country areas would almost certainly have used lorries, probably petrol-engined pre-war, although it shouldn't be forgotten that the term "lorry" originated with horse-drawn vehicles and some may still have been in use. Certainly some private traders were still using horse-drawn vehicles until the end of the 1950s.

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks @bécasse - I just happened to see the oxford diecast model and wondered if it would fit - given that it's cheaper than the horse and dray from Langley, I thought it might be worth a punt.

 

@richbrummitt the layout's track plan is lifted from Hepton Wharf. I find it (as an armchair modeller most of the time) effective to have view blocks both sides of the railway line to chop up the view of the trains.

 

I think the easiest option is to add a track to the goods shed from the front of the layout - there's already a smooth area there and it will just need some appropriate gravel colouring. Or alternatively, take inspiration from Culmstock (whose cattle dock I'm going to pinch) here, and have the gravel straight over the track: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/culmstock/index3.shtml 

 

Here's a shot with the mocked-up cattle dock in-situ:

 

 

Both tracks extend off the right of the layout, with a pair of road crossings a-la Hemyock - which is my justification for the bifurcation of the yard. Planks of wood by the crane, coal staithes adjacent, the cattle dock and then some gates and a fence. I feel like front-right is a good spot for a crossing keeper's house...

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Lacathedrale

[Lacathedrale]

The cattle dock is built and laid roughly in-place - obviously it needs a good deal of fettling, not least scribing the corners and the paving in the pens - but seems to fit well enough:

 

 

Coal staithes will go a little further inward, on the foreground track most likely...

 

 

[Donw]

Coming together nicely. I find doing a 3D sketch of how it will look helps. Not that I feel obliged to stick with it rather it gives me some idea how it could turn out.

 

Don

[richbrummitt]

Ah, I see. Hepton wharf has road access to the other side of the good shed as a through shed. It makes some sense now. I had been thinking about what was going to catch the eye and frame the right hand side. A building there seem like a good idea. The low level picture that you posted most recently is a better viewpoint for your aims. My current layout ideas all have significant view blocking buildings to the front so I can understand where you're coming from in that respect.

[Nick Holliday]

14 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

The cattle dock is built and laid roughly in-place - obviously it needs a good deal of fettling, not least scribing the corners and the paving in the pens - but seems to fit well enough:

 

 

Coal staithes will go a little further inward, on the foreground track most likely...

 

 

Most likely a GWR BLT wouldn't have coal bins, at least not alongside the track. Wagons would usually be unloaded straight to the delivery vehicle. The presence of the modellers' favourite would severely restrict access to the track for other traders to unload, and I think would clutter up your layout. If you want a bin as a scenic item then find a slightly remote location that fits your scenic thoughts and the final access proposals.

[bécasse]

6 hours ago, Nick Holliday said:

Most likely a GWR BLT wouldn't have coal bins, at least not alongside the track. Wagons would usually be unloaded straight to the delivery vehicle. The presence of the modellers' favourite would severely restrict access to the track for other traders to unload, and I think would clutter up your layout. If you want a bin as a scenic item then find a slightly remote location that fits your scenic thoughts and the final access proposals.

Historically, coal bins usually only occurred where coal was delivered and stored for an industrial user whose location was remote from the railway, although odd exceptions could be found even in the Edwardian era. The situation changed during WWII when it became important to smooth out coal production and transportation year round, and that meant that significant quantities of household coal, even with the limitations of rationing, had to be stored close to the point of final use for months on end - hence the creation of storage bins from whatever material was available at the time.

[Nick Holliday]

5 hours ago, bécasse said:

Historically, coal bins usually only occurred where coal was delivered and stored for an industrial user whose location was remote from the railway, although odd exceptions could be found even in the Edwardian era. The situation changed during WWII when it became important to smooth out coal production and transportation year round, and that meant that significant quantities of household coal, even with the limitations of rationing, had to be stored close to the point of final use for months on end - hence the creation of storage bins from whatever material was available at the time.

There were quite a few exceptions in the south east of England by Edwardian days, such as shown on this OS map, courtesy of NLS, of Bexhill West station in 1909, but seen on a number of SECR, LBSCR and GER stations. There was very little heavy industry near these stations, and the pens were generally the preserve of the local merchants.

[Lacathedrale]

Thanks @bécasse and @Nick Holliday - I'm quite happy with not having them, I hadn't originally planned any, not sure from whence that mindworm arose. BLT-itis?

 

As an aside, it seems Bromley North had a huge selection of coal bins way before speedlink coal was a thing and AFAIK had no heavy industry either:

 

Question though - how would a loaded P.O. coal wagon (i.e. loose) be unloaded into sacks at a siding where there was no staithe to shovel into? Surely it wouldn't be bagged in-situ?