Rustons Sidings.

[sb67]

I've done a bit of work on the other side of the bridge. There's still more to do maybe but I think I'll have a tidy up, leave it there for a bit and move on to something else. 

I need to replicate rough industrial ballast so maybe the mix of earth and ballast I tried earlier. I also want o fit a small water crane or tower in  and coal stage on the kick back siding.

 

 

 

[chuffinghell]

That looks fantastic, very nicely done Steve 

[sb67]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

That looks fantastic, very nicely done Steve 

 

Thanks Chris, I'm pleased with how it's turned out, hope I get the look I want with the ballast.

[sb67]

Done a bit of ballasting, in keeping with a rough industrial line I used some woodland scenic fine brown ballast mixed with some dried earth from my garden 

 

 

[sb67]

I've finished the yard area as well. I wanted this to be a more compact surface with the sleepers half buried so DAS clay was the order of the day. I'm not sure yet how to deal with the rest of the layout. The kick back and the siding leading to it would have more loco activity so that will probably be more like pure ash or DAS again with ash over the top. 

 

[sb67]

Nice thing about a micro layout is you can sit down with a cuppa for an hour  and the radio on then before you know it all the ballasting's done 

I'm sure it will need a bit of tinkering when the glues dried.

 

[chuffinghell]

looks great Steve, really coming together nicely
 

I’m beginning to think a micro layout (or two) would have suited me better

[sb67]

Thanks Chris. I like micro Layout's as they suit  my ''butterfly mind'' Already looking at ideas for the next one!

[Adrian Stevenson]

I must agree with Chris. The ballasting has really transformed it. Coming on great.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[47137]

Thinking especially about the sky, the bridge and the ballast, I do hope you will take this layout to a local show one day. It is going to be great.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. 

I've been getting things running again after ballasting and had a bit of a play, which got me thinking! If I  put a coal and water stage on the layout it kind of ties it to steam trains with the odd diesel appearing. I was wondering if I could get away with something else which would allow me to run different stock, or am I best sticking to a narrower time frame. 

I'm afraid I do this with all my layouts, try to make them able to run a wide range of stuff!

I resisted the temptation to run an 08 on there! 

 

 

 

 

How big do those wagons look! 

 

 

 

[d&h]

Don't forget that  "industrial steam" ran into the 1970's and even if the local steam engine had been retired it is quite unlikely that "good" money would be spent removing the old infrastructure, 

[47137]

Many industries need a supply of water so I'm sure you can allow yourself a water tower if you want to have one. Old infrastructure can hang around for ages - the base of the water tower at Chelmsford was demolished in the last few years. Indeed, the remains of the signal box is still there, slowly dropping to bits.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

23 minutes ago, 47137 said:

Many industries need a supply of water so I'm sure you can allow yourself a water tower if you want to have one. Old infrastructure can hang around for ages - the base of the water tower at Chelmsford was demolished in the last few years. Indeed, the remains of the signal box is still there, slowly dropping to bits.

 

- Richard.

 

I didn't realise that had gone. I always thought it was listed, took a few pics of it a few years ago in case I wanted to model it. 

[Sweet pea]

Steve nice work on the ballasting, I like your selection of locos and rolling stock.

[sb67]

I'm not having much luck with the static grass so I tried some hanging basket liner, glued down then once the glue has dried it has been ripped off and trimmed. I like the look in certain places but not really sure about the look.

 

 

 

 

[1722]

On 14/02/2020 at 06:15, sb67 said:

 

 

 

Excellent photo. Excellent work on the iron ore wagons too.

[Dzine]

Fantastic job Steve, loving the attention to detail.  Kind regards Paul

[Stubby47]

17 hours ago, sb67 said:

I'm not having much luck with the static grass so I tried some hanging basket liner, glued down then once the glue has dried it has been ripped off and trimmed. I like the look in certain places but not really sure about the look.

 

 

 

 

 

You don't need neat and tidy grass, that looks just right to me.  May be a few coloured flower heads (depending on the time of year), as Sheepy Bloke does.

[sb67]

5 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

 

You don't need neat and tidy grass, that looks just right to me.  May be a few coloured flower heads (depending on the time of year), as Sheepy Bloke does.

 

I agree with you Stu. I had another go with the static stuff, I'm not convinced so I might add some rough bits to it or even take it off and start again.

 

 

 

 

 

[Stubby47]

Do you add earth powder after the grass, whilst the glue is wet?

 

It's a tip from Simon on Heaton Lodge Jcn, and really makes a difference. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Stubby47

[sb67]

Yep I did, just sieved some as gently as I could over the top of the grass then after a few minutes held a vacuum cleaner nozzle a few inches away to encourage the fibres to stand up, some did a lot didn't. They were 4mm fibres, maybe the tea strainer couldn't cope with them. 

[47137]

On 19/02/2020 at 19:58, sb67 said:

I'm not having much luck with the static grass so I tried some hanging basket liner, glued down then once the glue has dried it has been ripped off and trimmed. I like the look in certain places but not really sure about the look.

 

30+ years ago, before static grass was invented, I remember putting Evo-stik contact glue onto the layout and applying medical lint. Waited for the bond to hold and then ripped away the backing of the lint leaving hundreds of white fibres. Then dyed the lot with a dye for clothing. This made a "grass" with the right shape and texture but not necessarily the right colour.

 

With static grass, try applying a second coat before getting out the nail scissors. This can make for more "body" and if there is too much body you can pull off unwanted strands. As Stu says, adding some earth afterwards can help. I suggest, especially  for locations where there is a bit of grass growing but it's far removed from a field or a lawn.

 

The nice thing is you can experiment and re-do areas without spoiling anything, but your work so far looks so good I'd suggest you try a test area before ripping up what you have done so far.

 

- Richard.

[sb67]

39 minutes ago, 47137 said:

 

30+ years ago, before static grass was invented, I remember putting Evo-stik contact glue onto the layout and applying medical lint. Waited for the bond to hold and then ripped away the backing of the lint leaving hundreds of white fibres. Then dyed the lot with a dye for clothing. This made a "grass" with the right shape and texture but not necessarily the right colour.

 

With static grass, try applying a second coat before getting out the nail scissors. This can make for more "body" and if there is too much body you can pull off unwanted strands. As Stu says, adding some earth afterwards can help. I suggest, especially  for locations where there is a bit of grass growing but it's far removed from a field or a lawn.

 

The nice thing is you can experiment and re-do areas without spoiling anything, but your work so far looks so good I'd suggest you try a test area before ripping up what you have done so far.

 

- Richard.

 

Thanks Richard, my plan is to rough the area up a bit and scrape some bits away to expose some earth below then add another layer randomly using some beige grass fibres then see how that looks. 

A question I'd have is if I do random areas that are not connected where do I ground the nail? 

[sb67]

This bit seems to have stood up a bit better, the only difference being I didn't 'wet' the glue at all when I pained it on I just used it straight from the pot neat.

The right hand half is the original bit. 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by sb67