Branch Line Terminus - GWR & SR (preserved)

[Tom 71B]

Hi all.

 

Having followed this forum for years now, and having gained a wealth of information and assistance with all things Railway-related, I have now decided it is time to finally join RMweb as a member and share what I have been up to with my own layout. The current layout has been under construction for nearly 2 years now, and in its current state, there’s still a lot to do, but I am happy with progress. However, do not think that I’ll begin this topic starting with today’s progress. Instead, I had the foresight to photograph layout construction from the very beginning, and as a result, over the coming weeks, I’ll release a plethora of posts, with pictures, detailing the processes, thoughts, and workings which have led me to the layout’s current form. Once I’ve completed this phase of ‘catching up’, I’ll carry this blog on in ‘real time’.

Most modellers seem to base their layouts on a point in time, or location, which resonates with them. In my case, I am no different. The only steam locomotives I have ever known and seen in person have resided on preserved steam railways, and as a result, this is the era where I base my model railway.

In terms of where my layout is based, I felt Cornwall was appropriate. I have always collected models with both GWR & SR origins (mainly because the local preserved railways around Bournemouth also covering these two regions) – and Cornwall seems to be one of the only places where these two companies mixed, and sometimes utilised the same stations, so it would be fitting that a preserved line would accommodate these 2 companies also. Very much like the Bodmin and Wenford Railway.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A brief introduction is in order. Having grown up with Steam Railways from a very young age, primarily brought about by my Dad’s interest, the hobby naturally took a grip on me also. If you look in the photo album, and find a picture of me and my Dad, there’s a solid 50% chance that we are either at a ‘real’ railway, or with a model railway. We both had our own layouts in the family home in Bournemouth, mine was constructed at the age of around 4, running around all 4 walls of my bedroom, and my Dad’s had existed for as long as I can remember, making a full loop around the attic, based on a 1960 mainline station in the Southern Region.

Then, once University called, suddenly, I had no room, and other interests and my studies (partying) took over. This led to a period of 5 or so years whereby I had sold most of my stock to fund my education, and seemingly lost interest in model railways. Although I retained my interest in preserved steam railways and frequented the local steam railways when possible with Dad. Once I had graduated, found a job, and moved into my own placed (around 2 years ago) I had the sudden realisation that the hobby could be something I can feasibly get back into.

 

INITIAL PLANS

 

Plans were drawn up for a small branch line terminus, capable of having a loco run around three coach trains, with a bay platform for the auto train, and a good shed for parcels, and a siding for the engine shed & coaling stage. A fiddle yard would be added to create an L-shaped layout. The overall size of the scenic section is 2150mm long, 400mm wide (7ft x 11/3 ft). In terms of elevation, I had plans to utilise some drawer units to bring it up to waist height. The boards are split in half, and joined via baseboard dowel pieces.

 

[Tom 71B]

TWO BRIDGES

I knew from the very start that there was one particular scenic feature I wanted to include in this layout: an embankment at the mouth of the station, with a small stream running under the railway track via one bridge, and a dirt road running under using another bridge. The embankment, I imagined, would act as a sort of pedestal for locomotives as they came and went from the station, and become a feature-point for photography. Inspiration for this sort of scene came from Somerset MRC's Oake layout, picture below:

 

 

RAISING THE TRACKBED

In order to achieve this, I raised the trackbed on the second board to around 8cm higher than the base, using small blocks of wood to provide the elevation. Something which proved rather tricky during this process was cutting the trackbed wood to a curved shaped (I had no vice, workbench or jigsaw at this time, my collection of DIY items only had the essentials at that point in time). My impatience got the better of me one evening, and a coping saw was purchased to complete the job, along with several saw blades…

 

FASCIA & BACKSCENE

I suspect, given the task again, baseboard construction would have been much prettier, but considering the tools, space & £££ available I am generally satisfied. Moreover, a front fascia painted in black chalkboard paint (very matt) seems to hide any unsightly joins rather well, and the 6mm MDF backscene provides another clean line to provide the illusion of a well put together piece of woodwork.

 

Trackwork, ballasting & static grass to follow shortly...

Edited February 6, 2019 by Tom 71B
spelling

[Tom 71B]

TRACKWORK

The track is all Peco Code 100, chosen primarily to assist in getting track laid quick, and give me little to worry about regarding electronics. DC control is all that is required for normal operation, pointwork is laid in such a way that I can isolate  At the time, I did not feel the need to install point motors on the layout. I’d never had them on my childhood layout, nor did my Dad. So, the skills and knowledge required to install just did not exist at the time of track laying. Furthermore, the layout is small, and so operation could be achieved with manual operation of points, all whilst sitting down on a bar stool, or standing. Having operated for 2 years now, I do regret this choice, and my haste to get the trackwork laid and have trains running prevented more time being spent on this decision. I believe, having assessed the situation, that there is the scope to install point motors post-construction. More to come on this when I can be bothered…

 

BALLASTING

Preserved railways tend to have rather clean ballast, rather than the dirty colours seen with layouts set in the heyday of steam. With this in mind, I opted for the Woodland Scenics Light Grey. The fine grade was chosen to represent the correct stone size, medium seems way too large for 00 gauge. A test piece of track was laid on a block of scrap wood, track was painted with Railmatch Sleeper Grime paint, tops of the rails cleaned, and once dry, ballast was spread into position, being careful not to add too much at once. From various topics I’d read on the forum, it seemed that the best way to glue the ballast down was first to drop isopropyl alcohol onto the ballast to wet it, and then drop a mixture of 50:50 Mod Podge Matt and water (with a drop of washing up liquid) until sufficiently coated. Once I was happy with the process, and practiced until confident to do the same to the actual layout, ballasting commenced, but I was careful to avoid the inside rail where the platform would meet the track, as I was unsure how platforms would be made at this point. The goods yard area track was filled in with polyfiller, to ‘sink’ the track into the roadbed, and create a more realistic scene.

 

 

 

STATIC GRASS

I made a visit to the Taunton RailEx in October 2017 (I think) and came across the Greenscene stand. It was here that I was first introduced to the concept of static grass. Up until this point, I had seen it on layouts at exhibitions, but had never understood how these static grass machines were used. Following a quick demonstration, I made the purchase and have never looked back since. What this creates, in terms of realism, is next level. Here’s what the test track piece looked like after ballasting and flocking:

 

 

[Tom 71B]

Hi all,

 

Once the trackwork had been laid, and ballasting & static grass application had been sufficiently practiced, it was time to start on the actual layout. I used Greenscene's light earth textured paint for a base layer on top of the bare baseboard, followed by a layer of mod podge matt medium, and then the static grass. Ballasting was completed for the 1st board, being careful not to ballast the inside of the platform tracks. These parts were avoided to prevent the platform installation requiring the time-consuming task of excess ballast removal.

A small point lever for the loop was also installed. The base being made from balsa scraps, and the point lever from Springside. 

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

 

 

[sjrixon]

That's progressing nicely Tom. I agree with your idea of the small bridge, that way you can get the camera right down and take pictures up at the stock, works really well and something I wish I could do. 

 

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the story develop. 

[Tom 71B]

Thanks Scott, much appreciated, more to follow shortly...

[Tom 71B]

The next tasks involved creating the road surfaces around the goods shed & the back of the station building. The narrow road from the goods shed to the coal merchants was achieved with Woodland Scenics gravel road dust, highlighted with some weathering powders. Eventually, this road will continue past the coal merchants and I'm thinking of creating a classic car workshop scene (in line with the preserved theme). The back of the station (effectively the station car park) utilised Noch's cobblestone sheets. These have a sort of 3d texture printed onto them, ready coloured, but look even better with a spot of weathering via the usual powders. I also have a go at creating some of the first bushes and shrubbery on the layout, around the buffer stops and behind the goods shed. These were done using the WS Corse Turf, with a selection of Olive Green, Light Green, Medium Green & Dark Green creating the necessary variety to add to the realism. In time, fine, coloured foam (flowers) will be added to the tops of these bushes in a random fashion. 

[Tom 71B]

For those of you who have a better sense of colour than me (pretty much everyone, I'm colour-blind…) you may be shocked by the bright sky that I've got on that first section of layout. Fear not, however, as this has been dulled down now with a more 'natural' sky blue. 

 

P.S. the idea behind the backscene being mainly sky was to give the illusion of the station being on a cliff. More to come on this in due course...

[Tom 71B]

Landscaping was the next task, starting with the embankment. Formers were made with foamboard, and glued into position with gorilla glue. A lattice was then created atop these formers using strips of card, glued with a glue gun.

 

 

Then, plaster cloth was wetted and draped across the contours, with around 3/4 layers applied, before being left to dry, creating a rock-hard shell.  Where harsh edges existed, this was smoothed over with a cottage cheese like substance called Sculptamold. This was then painted with a base paint (Greenscenes Light Earth), followed by Static Grass.

 

 

 

 

A stream was then created flowing through the small bridge under the railway line, and towards the imaginary Atlantic Ocean... As you can see, a small footbridge was also installed, as well as a wishing well. These are added before the scenery to allow the scene to be built up around these items, making their placement easier once grass etc. is placed down.

 

[sammyboy]

This is going to be one of the nicest layouts that is based on a preserved railway that I have seen on this forum.

 

Sam

[sjrixon]

On 11/02/2019 at 17:04, Tom 71B said:

For those of you who have a better sense of colour than me (pretty much everyone, I'm colour-blind…) you may be shocked by the bright sky that I've got on that first section of layout. Fear not, however, as this has been dulled down now with a more 'natural' sky blue. 

 

P.S. the idea behind the backscene being mainly sky was to give the illusion of the station being on a cliff. More to come on this in due course...

Me too! Makes the hobby fun doesn't it! I just make sure I only buy paints and grass that are nicely labelled with the colour.

[Tom 71B]

21 hours ago, sjrixon said:

Me too! Makes the hobby fun doesn't it! I just make sure I only buy paints and grass that are nicely labelled with the colour.

It can make colour selection quite the lottery. Bushes have been known to turn out red before...

 

Most paints I have are labelled, but even this doesn't help all of the time !

 

My other half seems not to mind though, when I inevitably run to her, clutching 5 or so colours of paint or scenery product, asking which would be best to replicate X, Y & Z.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

[Tom 71B]

Comparing the two boards, with the 2 backscene colours, allows for easy comparison.  I think the lighter one is much more pleasing on the eye and realistic, the bright blue is too cartoon-like, but would welcome feedback.

 

Scenery, at this point, is cracking on nicely now that the basic structures have been built and positioned. These structures include:

• Ratio kit barrow crossing was installed across the track at the ends of the platform, suitably weathered with Railmatch acrylics 
• Platforms were created with the Peco platform edging, topped with thin balsa sheet, painted black for now
• Station building (Skaledale) is GWR in design
• Back of the station there are some scratch-built steps leading down to the car park, which itself is made from a sheet of Noch cobblestones. A bicycle shelter (Scenecraft) also exists here
• Water crane and fire devil built from a Ratio kit, painted in GWR colours, and positioned at the end of the platform
• Engine shed positioned (Hornby Skaledale item)
• Coal merchants (Skaledale) & Coal Staithes (Ratio) positioned next to the Goods Shed (Skaledale)
• Lineside fencing (Ratio) started along the front edge of the baseboard
• Yard lamps (new Modelscene) will be installed around the, you guessed it, yard area 
• The 2 bridges are both Ratio kits, the girder bridge and cattle creep versions
• A small footbridge over the stream was built from a laser-cut wooden kit from Scale Model Scenery
• Some rocks have been cast using Woodland Scenics embankment molds, and cast with WS Hydrocal plaster. These have been suitable painted in a variety of grey paints, starting dark, moving lighter, with dry-brushing being the preferred method here, finishing with a very, very, light dust of white

 

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by Tom 71B
Hadn't finished post before uploading

[Zomboid]

Personally I prefer the brighter blue. It puts me in the mind of a hot summer, whilst the lighter colour is a cloudy feels-colder-than-it-is kind of day. At least in those photos.

 

Since it's set in the UK, "hot summer" might be a bit far fetched - you'd have to run diesels because of the fire risk

[Tom 71B]

17 hours ago, Zomboid said:

Personally I prefer the brighter blue. It puts me in the mind of a hot summer, whilst the lighter colour is a cloudy feels-colder-than-it-is kind of day. At least in those photos.

 

Since it's set in the UK, "hot summer" might be a bit far fetched - you'd have to run diesels because of the fire risk

Thanks for the feedback. I think I may find a colour in between the two shades. Think you're right about the lighter shade looking more cloudy. 

 

Cheers,

 

Tom