A return to Nantford Spinney

[AndyB]

23 hours ago, Darwinian said:

Or perhaps a dilapidated jetty or groyne, I’m thinking timber rather than stone. That would be lower keeping the more open feel. 

 

I like the idea. Nice and unobtrusive and should do the job. Technically, as groynes are intended to stop long-shore drift, in reality it'd sit perpendicular to where I've shown the creek and got the boats moored. But perhaps this is where modeller's licence kicks in.

One feature of the groynes where I grew up was a long pole with a (weathered) green pyramid on top. Be nice to get that detail in. 

Thanks for the suggestion. 

Andy

 

[AndyB]

Evening all.

One of the disadvantages of using J clothes as a scenic bandage is their strong colour. And as I found in doing the valley scene I had to  slap several thick layers of paint on to disguise that. 

 

 

So this time I covered it all over with a thin layer of Polyfilla.

 

There's still a bit to do where the rock face was originally cut back by PW engineers to make way for the railway. A final layer of Polyfilla will need striations scored into it. 

 

 

Sometimes people find that, later on if a bit of plaster is chipped off, then it leaves a noticeable white mark in the middle of their scenery. 

 

What I've done is give the Polyfilla a coat of paint before it dried. Don't know if that will soak in or not; we'll see, I guess.

 

It did help smooth the plaster out as I worked the brush in. So there shouldn't be too much more work to do before adding grass etc. 

 

 

Anyway that's all for now. 

Thanks for reading.

Andy

Edited September 22, 2021 by AndyB

[AndyB]

Hi all,

Just a quick update to show progress on the hill behind the station.

This is still early days, but hopefully you can see what I'm aiming for.

 

 

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

2 hours ago, AndyB said:

Hi all,

Just a quick update to show progress on the hill behind the station.

This is still early days, but hopefully you can see what I'm aiming for.

 

 

 

I like it - nicely understated to make the best of use of N Gauge in a scenic setting.

[CameronL]

23 hours ago, AndyB said:

Hi all,

Just a quick update to show progress on the hill behind the station.

This is still early days, but hopefully you can see what I'm aiming for.

 

 

 

Love it. A real case of "less is more". Are those black boxes on the hill representing future buildings? If so, what? I'm intrigued. 

[AndyB]

21 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

I like it - nicely understated to make the best of use of N Gauge in a scenic setting.

 

44 minutes ago, CameronL said:

Love it. A real case of "less is more". Are those black boxes on the hill representing future buildings? If so, what? I'm intrigued. 

 

Thank you both for your kind comments.

I've now added "hedges" - hopefully not so many as to make it look too fussy and spoil the look that you liked. 

 

 

 

 

Cameron, yes, the black boxes are to suggest the future placement of a building. 

 

I'm thinking just to have one in the grassed area on the far right of the scene. Partly to disguise where the lane down to the cattle pens goes into the backscene. But also to to justify having a lane there in the first place; the cattle pens on their own didn't quite do that for me.

 

Now for the "what". I'm thinking maybe a very small farm house with cottage garden, with the rest of that area left as a paddock.

 

But if anyone has a better idea then shout out! 

 

I'm also looking for suggestions for a prototype on which to base the station building and station master's house. I don't know if these would have been combined into old building. So any thoughts or ideas would be most welcome.

 

I've now got 4 days off so am hoping to make steady progress. 

 

Cheers for now. Andy

[CameronL]

It's a bit out there , but as your layout is a coastal scene, how about a pillbox? There were 28,000 built in the UK during WW2. Having one wouldn't tie your layout to any geographical location - SWMBO and I love Trearddur Bay on Anglesey, and there are plenty around there. Quirky, unusual and with a very small footprint it could be just what you need.

 

As always, feel free to ignore completely.

 

Best wishes 

 

Cam

 

[AndyB]

15 minutes ago, CameronL said:

It's a bit out there , but as your layout is a coastal scene, how about a pillbox? There were 28,000 built in the UK during WW2. Having one wouldn't tie your layout to any geographical location - SWMBO and I love Trearddur Bay on Anglesey, and there are plenty around there. Quirky, unusual and with a very small footprint it could be just what you need.

 

As always, feel free to ignore completely.

 

Best wishes 

 

Cam

 

 

 

Thanks Cam,

I like that idea; not as obtrusive as a house and it might have been put there to help guard the railway bridge.

 

If you check back to page 3 I've put one down by the big girder bridge. 

 

Andy

[CameronL]

Oops, sorry. Missed that. Pillboxes were everywhere. Not just to guard a bit of infrastructure but in case the Germans picked a particular bit of coastline as a site for Invasion.

 

Love the way this is progressing.

 

Best wishes

 

Cam

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by CameronL
Typo

[stivesnick]

Hi Andy 

 

Thinking about the lane to the cattle dock, if you assume that it was there before the railway arrived, even if just a simple track, it would have extended into your town area. When the railway arrived, it may have been diverted a bit to allow for the railway and the railway company may have improved it to give better access to the cattle dock. 

 

Something to think about, or ignore completely, Up to you.

 

Regards 

 

Nick 

 

 

[AndyB]

Evening all,

 

A week or so back you were kind enough to offer suggestions about the side-scene that will box in the creek.

 

None of that was forgotten and I've been pottering away at it today.

 

 

The first version was fairly rectangular which I subsequently trimmed down with a second curve at the front. I think it works. 

 

 

I liked the idea of a groyne proposed by @Darwinian. For this I cut out a card template to get the general stepped shape and then added some trimmed down matchsticks. 

 

 

Just waiting for everything to dry so I can paint a diffuse sky and low-lying mud flat onto the side-scene. 

 

Anyway thought you might like to see this work in progress. 

Cheers. Andy

[AndyB]

Morning all,

So, this is the scene coming together. I've tacked the backscene on but not made good with gaps yet; want to get used to it for a while first.

 

A couple of contributors made suggestions for a corner filler. I'm minded to have a loading dock wide enough to cope with a couple of wagons. 

 

But I've not quite figured out quite what industry it would be yet. I guess as seafood is a bit of a theme it'd make sense to link to that. But without over industrialising the overall feel of the place. 

 

One thought was maybe to take a look at Darwinian's idea of a small jetty; I could imagine the "factory" going closer to the water's edge and a hoist jutting out?

 

Whilst the groyne is a nice way of disguising where sea meets the side scene I can't help but feel that it's not prototypical. If at all it should really jut out from where picnic benches are - at right angles to the creek. Not parallel to the ebb and flow of the tide.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by AndyB

[Keith Addenbrooke]

15 minutes ago, AndyB said:

Morning all,

So, this is the scene coming together. I've tacked the backscene on but not made good with gaps yet; want to get used to it for a while first.

 

A couple of contributors made suggestions for a corner filler. I'm minded to have a loading dock wide enough to cope with a couple of wagons. 

 

But I've not quite figured out quite what industry it would be yet. I guess as seafood is a bit of a theme it'd make sense to link to that. But without over industrialising the overall feel of the place. 

 

One thought was maybe to take a look at Darwinian's idea of a small jetty; I could imagine the "factory" going closer to the water's edge and a hoist jutting out?

 

Whilst the groyne is a nice way of disguising where sea meets the side scene I can't help but feel that it's not prototypical. If at all it should really jut out from where picnic benches are - at right angles to the creek. Not parallel to the ebb and flow of the tide.

 

 

 

 

 

I like the scene and the way it is developing.  But I am inclined to agree that the groyne, though well made from the matches, doesn’t look quite right.   I make no claims of expertise here (I just live near the coast).  Prototype photo needed? Keith.

[AndyB]

5 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 

I like the scene and the way it is developing.  But I am inclined to agree that the groyne, though well made from the matches, doesn’t look quite right.   I make no claims of expertise here (I just live near the coast).  Prototype photo needed? Keith.

Thanks Keith.

Agreed, it's not right.

 

I shared a picture a while back of Leigh Creek. There weren't groynes there - well, not until you went about half a mile downstream to the beach. And they were to stop drift along the shore.

 

I'll mock up a jetty and see what that looks like. 

 

Andy

[The Stationmaster]

What is very obviously needed is a proper net drying shed.  like these at Hastings -

 

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/black-fishing-sheds-in-hastings-uk-gm604339586-103760197

[AndyB]

2 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

What is very obviously needed is a proper net drying shed.  like these at Hastings -

 

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/black-fishing-sheds-in-hastings-uk-gm604339586-103760197

 

I'd definitely agree if these were found in the West country!

 

I think (sadly) my Pannier tanks might look out of place amongst oast houses, a Deal Timeball and Hastings net sheds. Much as I would like to add some of the Postcard models to my Christmas list! 

 

But if someone has seen a net shed "out west", then do shout out!

[The Stationmaster]

This is one at Polperro -

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polperro-looe-and-whitsand-bay/features/the-net-loft-restoration

 

Mullion Cove -

https://www.downthecove.com/net-loft-mullion-cove/

 

Cadgwith Cove -

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-02-17/community-fundraiser-launched-to-save-cadgwith-cove-fishing-lofts-in-cornwall

 

Clovelly (I mihjt have some photos of my own of this one possibly) -

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1164714

 

St Ives -

https://m.facebook.com/kresenkernow/photos/a.243111329145311/3243697699086644/?type=3

 

[stivesnick]

Hi Andy 

 

Have been doing a quick zoom along the coast to find a town similar to your model. Think I may have found something. Polruan in Cornwall, opposite Fowey could be a mirror image of your layout.

 

A railway line could cross a branch of the River Fowey before running in front of some trees/fields on a slope to the station. Beyond the station, the railway crosses the main road through town to reach a small square shaped port area. The area between the station and the sea looks like boatyards and related industry. There is even a small ferry across the river that you could model. 

 

Very simple sketch enclosed showing how the railway might fit into the landscape. 

 

I hope this is of use, but feel free to ignore and do your own thing.

 

Nick 

[AndyB]

@The Stationmaster & @stivesnick

Thank you for those two really helpful and interesting posts.

 

Mike, some lovely looking buildings; I'm spoilt for choice now. Albeit my scratchbuilding talent when it comes to making buildings is zero. Expect a few duff efforts before I get close to anything presentable.

 

Nick, I like where you're coming from; could Polruan be the might-have-been prototype for Nantford Spinney?!  I'd certainly got in mind to create a boatyard or two along the front of the layout. I've got one workshop in situ already and have in mind to make some small boats at some stage. No doubt much whittling of balsa will be needed.

 

I'm sure there are many websites derailing this area, but this one from the Cornwall Railway  Society captures some lovely scenes. 

 

One thing I do want to look at today is the sidescene. It doesn't feel quite right so I'm going to try an alternative. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by AndyB
Link added

[AndyB]

Picking up on Mike's suggestion (links in his post above) I happened to be rooting through my small pile of unmade kits and came across the Bilt-eezi smithy. This kit comprises two buildings; a house and the smith's workshop itself. And both are in a colour in keeping with what I'd be aiming for.

 

 

So queue a bit of a light bulb moment.

I need a station master's house to tuck behind the station. And the smithy could pass for, or be adapted to make, a sail loft. 

 

I started with the house as it was basically 4 walls and a roof. A good way of getting my eye in...

 

 

The chimneys are the fiddly bit and will need caps and pots on the top; those provided were a tad too fiddly for me. 

 

And this is roughly where it'll sit. I'll make a vase for it so I can add detailing more easily. 

 

 

If you can ignore the red-brick Metcalfe kit for now, which I'm only using to give an idea of the size and shape of the eventual station.

 

Thanks for taking a look. 

Andy

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by AndyB

[AndyB]

Or, alternatively, as the (semi-finished) kit together...

 

 

 

I quite like this arrangement. 

Andy

 

[The Stationmaster]

On 29/09/2021 at 16:24, AndyB said:

Or, alternatively, as the (semi-finished) kit together...

 

 

 

I quite like this arrangement. 

Andy

 

So do I - looks very much in keeping with the scale of everything else at that end of the layout and doesn't overpower anything else.

[AndyB]

As you can see I'm trying to make this end of the layout bustling, as per Nick's Polruan, but not dominated by any particular feature. 

 

Not much progress to show since my last update as life is getting busier again, and will be for the next month.

 

But as a teaser of things to come I've decided to move the woodyard into this corner. It'll largely be obscured by the two buildings to the seaward side of the headshunt and (appropriately) uses off cuts from the Biltezzi smithy kit. Not sure, but it may need a private siding gate to the right if the van?

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

If it isn't a private siding then it doesn't need a gate and if it is a private siding then it does need a gate.  And in this situation it would really need a bit more than a gate because it is on the shunt spur to run-round any arriving train and a gate won't stop anything - it would just be demolished if hit (as many were over the years).  So as an absolute minimum wheel stop blocks either side of the gate and preferably a trap point to protect the railway (and it's a passenger line of course) from the private siding and to protect the private siding from 'shunting errors' (plus the gate between the two traps).

 

On the other hand it might not be a private siding but if vehicles are going to be left there it would still need to be trapped to protect the passenger line (e.g. Looe)

[AndyB]

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

If it isn't a private siding then it doesn't need a gate and if it is a private siding then it does need a gate.  And in this situation it would really need a bit more than a gate because it is on the shunt spur to run-round any arriving train and a gate won't stop anything - it would just be demolished if hit (as many were over the years).  So as an absolute minimum wheel stop blocks either side of the gate and preferably a trap point to protect the railway (and it's a passenger line of course) from the private siding and to protect the private siding from 'shunting errors' (plus the gate between the two traps).

 

On the other hand it might not be a private siding but if vehicles are going to be left there it would still need to be trapped to protect the passenger line (e.g. Looe)

 

Thanks Mike.

As ever you're a font of knowledge; much appreciated. Sounds like I need at least one trap.

My attempt at fitting a cosmetic trap on another part of the layout left room for improvement. Something to return to in the future as (hopefully) my skills improve!

Andy