Durrington Central. A fictional town somewhere in The North West of England (more than just a station).

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

1 hour ago, lezz01 said:

I'm not particularly fond of Metcalfe myself but that does look the part. It's a very convincing station building. Good job mate.

Regards Lez.  

Thank you very much.  Hopefully I can make more progress tomorrow night.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

A little bit more work done to the station.  Definitely looks better with a bit more relief to it.  Replaced the side of the platform which was red brick to dressed gritstone which blends better with the station building.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

A list of some jobs done today.

 

1. Plaster cloth some contours of the land.

2. Done the gardens of the 2 remaining railway cottages.

3. A bit more detail added to the side of the station.

4.  Made and painted my canal narrow boat which is a craftline model.

The narrow boat sits too low in the water and it is going to take a fair amount of realistic water to get it up to a reasonable level so I may have to add some wood to the bottom of the canal.  The narrow boat has turned out ok, not bad for £6.

 

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Garden wars at the railway cottages.  I quite like how the flower pots have turned out on the L/H and R/H cottages.  One cottage has a rockery which is just some fish tank gravel glued amongst the flowers and bushes.

Some company in the garage tonight!  The contours of the land have had a thin layer of poly filler.  I am waiting for some acrylic paints to come, some brown and orange as this hillside drops to a sandstone cliff edge on the R/H side of the photo.  Then there will be a sandy beach and the tide will be in view.  I have a few ideas for the seaside but I will have to have a think and a practice to see if I can pull the ideas off.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  I've gone off on a slight tangent tonight, the bare wood was getting on my nerves somewhat so I went for some black paint and, with the help of The Missus, set about painting.

Below is a photo of where the coast and beach scene will be.  It is not a massive space and that's probably best as i do not want to have to try and model too much sea!  So to the right you can see what will be the sandstone cliff edge.  The train will be running along a short stretch of sea wall.  I have an idea of doing a footbridge (just to the left of the cliff edge) which leads to a few pastel coloured houses nestled in the hill side.  There will be a sandy beach and then a small representation of the sea!

Still waiting for acrylic paint to arrive so I can paint the poly filler cliff then the area may start to spring to life a little.

 

Loads to do over the bank holiday!

[Croesnewydd Diesel]

Pete. Glad to see you've started again, and the bits and bobs i gave you are coming into use. I'll keep watching this with pleasure.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

7 hours ago, Croesnewydd Diesel said:

Pete. Glad to see you've started again, and the bits and bobs i gave you are coming into use. I'll keep watching this with pleasure.

Many thanks pal!  Thanks for those bits n bobs you gave me too.  Keep popping on for a look mate.  Also get some photos of these trains ripping through that countryside up there!

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good afternoon.  I have just given the sandstone cliff a coat of orangey brown paint. 

Whilst waiting for it to dry I noticed that some areas of scenery make a back scene for other areas due to the shape of the layout.  Here are some examples below.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  Just a quick update.  So the sandstone cliff and hillside has been painted.  This leads to the seaside area.  Looks very orange but this will be covered in most areas by bushes and chopped lichen.  As  you can see contours of the land have been formed on the left side and modrock applied.  A layer of poly filler will go over the top of this and then also painted the same colour.  Again, it will be covered with bushes and chopped lichen.  I've done some blasting here and mixed some brown ballast with the grey which I hope looks ok as we head to the coast and salty air!

 

That's it for today.

Thanks for the views likes and comments and followers so far everyone really much appreciated.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good morning everyone.  Up n at em early this morning so the modrock has had a coat of paint.  With this to be mostly covered in vegetation with some rocky edges showing on the steep sections I think it will look ok.

I may get chance to do more later.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  I've given some of the sandstone cliff a 1st layer of vegetation.  In view are other areas of static grass and foliage at different stages which need blending in.

Don't be freaked out by the ghostly figure of my son in the photo above!

 

Here are some photos of Freightliner 70006 on a container working photographed at other spots in and around Durrington.

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  No work has been done on the layout today but here is a new video featuring Direct Rail Services 37 and 68.

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  I am at the stage where I am having doubts about the layout. 

 

I did manage to get some lichen so quite reluctantly I went in the garage for an hour or so and this was chopped finely and I have started to cover up the sandstone rock faces. 

 

Is it just me that starts a layout and think yeah it's looking quite good so far for a novice then one day look at it and think no, not keen on what I've done!!!!????

[Jack374]

10 hours ago, Powerhaul 70 Pey said:

Good evening.  I am at the stage where I am having doubts about the layout. 

 

 

Is it just me that starts a layout and think yeah it's looking quite good so far for a novice then one day look at it and think no, not keen on what I've done!!!!????

Nope, I get those thoughts too Pete, and for me my modelling taste changes constantly so sometimes I want a little depot to show off locos and sometimes I’m dreaming of a WCML roundy-roundy!!

 

Regarding what you’ve done, it looks excellent and you’ve squeezed so much into a small space with lots of different scenes - instead of thinking of starting again (which you’ve done before!) why not make what you’ve done so far look right to you?

 

I think you need a good session of running trains!

 

Jack.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

On 04/09/2020 at 08:33, Jack374 said:

Nope, I get those thoughts too Pete, and for me my modelling taste changes constantly so sometimes I want a little depot to show off locos and sometimes I’m dreaming of a WCML roundy-roundy!!

 

Regarding what you’ve done, it looks excellent and you’ve squeezed so much into a small space with lots of different scenes - instead of thinking of starting again (which you’ve done before!) why not make what you’ve done so far look right to you?

 

I think you need a good session of running trains!

 

Jack.

Thanks for some words of encouragement Jack!  You are right I need to get the 2 sets of lines connected so i can run trains properly without reversing them back.  I have a few hang ups at the moment and they are:-

 

I have transitioned from farmland to coast, I will then have a sea wall and beach but not sure how to transition out of it as I don't want too much sandstone cliff.

 

I now have a final stretch of track to complete and that will be the 2 sets of tracks joined but I definitely want some sidings to an aggregate yard and maybe a depot.  Again, I would like to keep the track work simple as I hate derailments.

 

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good afternoon everyone.  Below are some photos showing a little progress on the seaside town.  Last night I painted some Metcalfe low relief terraced houses some wacky colours following some Google searches on colourful seaside houses.  This morning I've modified a Metcalfe footbridge that I had and this will span from the seawall to the row of colourful houses.  I also think the church will look quite good up this end of the layout.

Don't worry the beach will be real sand!  Ive just painted the board as bare wood is getting on my nerves a little!

 

I broke away from the layout to go and see this at my nearest spot on The West Coast Main Line.

37667 leads the 5Z47 Crewe to Appleby empty stock through Balshaw Lane junction in Lancashire.  This is Rail Charter Services who are currently running trains from Appleby down the Settle and Carlisle Line to Skipton.  

 

[Les1952]

On 03/09/2020 at 22:24, Powerhaul 70 Pey said:

Good evening.  I am at the stage where I am having doubts about the layout. 

 

I did manage to get some lichen so quite reluctantly I went in the garage for an hour or so and this was chopped finely and I have started to cover up the sandstone rock faces. 

 

 

Is it just me that starts a layout and think yeah it's looking quite good so far for a novice then one day look at it and think no, not keen on what I've done!!!!????

 

Trust me, you are not alone!

 

The trick is to keep on until it looks better, and only when you are convinced you have reached a dead end start a section again.  I learned the hard way binning a lot of layouts before getting the first exhibition layout done.  Having a deadline also concentrates the mind....

 

Les

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

7 hours ago, Les1952 said:

 

Trust me, you are not alone!

 

The trick is to keep on until it looks better, and only when you are convinced you have reached a dead end start a section again.  I learned the hard way binning a lot of layouts before getting the first exhibition layout done.  Having a deadline also concentrates the mind....

 

Les

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement Les, much appreciated.  I have decided to crack on for now with the layout and see how it ends up.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  Here are some photos of the start of the sea wall scene.

I will use real sand and this will not be flat, it will gradually slope from the wall to the sea.  I have some black fencing that will segregate the footpath from the railway on the sea wall.  So far so good I think.

 

I've also connected up one track so the circuit is complete and I am pleased to say that the 1st test train (the 56) has been from end to end light engine, hauling my mixed set of coaches and with 4 KFA intermodal containers without too much of an issue.  I need some more flex and set track to complete the other line.  I've also put in a set of points to an aggregate terminal where trains will pull past the points and reverse over a crossover and into the aggregate terminal.

 

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  I have not done too much on the layout recently but I have managed to now connect both tracks so I can finally run trains end to end.  So far no real hiccups with locomotives and rolling stock derailing which is good.

Here are some photos of some progress on the sea wall.

The sea wall has increased in length, the footbridge is made, the colourful seaside houses are set up in the hillside along with the church.  The idea is for the hillside to drop down to the left of the yellow house and there will be a hotel and 2 shops.  I will paint the Modrock, which has has a layer of poly filler tomorrow night if I get chance.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Powerhaul 70 Pey

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  Managed to paint the poly filler tonight.  I need lots more lichen to finely chop and cover up the majority of the sandstone hillside.

Below is a photo of the tracks finally joined up and boards cut.

In the distance you can see the aggregate siding.  I am hoping to get a nice effect of gradients here as the aggregate siding will be on the level and the 2 main lines are on a gradient from where the 2 tins are up to the set of points.  The long trains look quite good on the gentle flexi track curves on the gradient.

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good evening.  Some minor progress after work tonight.  I've started to make the footpath from the footbridge on the sea wall to lead to the colourful houses and the church.

I've cut one of the boards for the aggregate terminal but I need to cut another due to the length of the stone trains that I intend to have but they will be dictated overall by the length of the fiddle yard sidings to hold the stock.

A mock up with some Caterpillar wheel loaders and a 730 articulated dump truck!

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Good afternoon.  This morning I have glued down a small section of sand on the beach to see what it looks like. 

Other jobs done are:-

 

1st couple of pieces of fencing fitted.

Footbridge glued in position.  

A gravel path around church

Static grass applied to church yard

 

Still loads and loads to do!  This is all currently drying out!

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

Here is a video of Hornby 50040 Leviathan with a TTS sound decoder fitted on 1Z50 "Hoovering around Durrington" rail tour.

 

[Jack374]

Very nice Pete, lots of different scenery snippets in a (relatively) small space. It’s coming along nicely!

 

Jack.