Southern themed layout in Cornwall

Jonnie · June 8, 2020

Never posted on here before but thought this might be of interest. These are just some shots of a little lockdown project I was able start and keep plodding along with. I've always had an interest in the Wenford Bridge Branch and I had a couple of Kernow Model Centre's Beatties so thought I'd have a go at making my own little piece of Cornwall. With some various purchases still possible, free evenings/weekends and a fair bit of 'stuff' already available I've added this China Clay/Goods Yard type set up onto my Southern themed layout. It doesn't really have a name but when I asked I call this bit 'Wenbury'. (The other side of the layout goes around to a Brewery and SR terminus which isn't really based on anywhere in particular. It sort of goes from GWR (the little halt) and LWSR (the Clay) to LBSCR and SECR at the station, I'm quite a Southern Region fan.

It isn't an accurate representation, nor do I really want or have the space for it to be but I wanted to capture in my own way somewhere that gives me a great interest. There is still a fair bit to do before this section is completed, at the moment the river bed is drying ready to add some 'water' tomorrow evening. The backscene will go on now I've finished spray painting things and then various hills and other greenery will be applied to finish the edges off, the lighting just needs wiring up and then that'll all work. The Cornish Engine House will be sent upwards and a hill built up around it. The track does need a bit of a clean, the photos show up the areas I've added a touch more paint work!

I've various photos of the work but I didn't 'tidy up' to take the photos so it is rather messy! If you want any details on what I've done just ask, track is Peco, point motors are SEEP, it is DCC, I use an NCE Powercab to control it all.

Jonnie

This is my favourite photo of the bunch to be honest.

BobM · June 8, 2020

Lovely atmosphere Jonnie...

Regards

Bob

Torn-on-the-platform · June 8, 2020

Brilliant stuff!

alexross42 · June 9, 2020

Looks great - that low level crossing shot is brilliant!

TomJ · June 9, 2020

Love the shot of the tank squeezing past the cottages over the crossing. Definitely got that Wenford Bridge atmosphere

Jonnie · June 9, 2020

Thank you for your kind words, it's my first real attempt at modelling anything and spending a lot of time getting it right.

Tonight's little bit of work was to wire up the various lights that I've popped up and bring the houses to life. A few areas that need a bit of attention to stop the light shining through and some resistance added to the little Ground Frame hut light, namely the Pagoda on the little halt but overall it's come out in a way that I'm happy with!

There's a layer of water setting on what is becoming a river overnight, once dry another layer will be popped on top to give it a bit more depth (this is a very narrow portion of the River Camel if you want to relate it to Wenford Bridge and why I've done it!) again it really is just imagination and my way of trying to capture a place I have an interest in.

Back scene to go on tomorrow or Thursday evening and then the Engine House will gain a hill and the mainline start to enter a cutting. Once this section is complete the baseboards to extend it by another 7ft will be put into place, it'll continue onwards to a GWR themed terminus and a small branch off to a Quay somewhere along it. Not really basing it on anywhere in particular though.

Here's some pics of the area all lit up this evening.

85 crossing the road in the fading light with a China Clay wagon. That is a spare LED resting in the road and I've only just seen on the camera!

85 sitting at the Dries, the Drivers forgotten to change the head code disk for a lamp! The lamps are DCC Concepts ready painted SR ones, very easy to install. The LEDs which are inside the dries and other buildings are just some warm white ones.

Overall view of the China Clay bit. The layout uses a lot of Bachmann Scenecraft buildings but they look rather good I find when blended in.

Goods shed, few wagons, Ground Frame hut lighting up everywhere a bit more than a real one would! Will hide some of the extraneous light in with card and bung a resistor in to tone down the brightness.

Houses lit up (Bachmann Scenecraft)

Beattie Well Tank 85 appears from between the cottages (the further one is the excellent Kernow run in the Scenecraft range).

The whole China Clay section lit up, Dapol SR Lattice Post protecting the mainline crossing, which will get gates this week.

Little Goods Shed with an SR wagon inside, needs some grass around the base to hide where it is sitting. DAS clay, tapped whilst damp with a nail file then let to dry and a combination of paints dry sprayed or dry brushed on, I'm not really sure what I did on reflection but it came out how I wanted it to! I hadn't thought of adding the Goods Shed originally as it'd normally be gently pressed into the clay so it has somewhere nice to sit.

Rivercider · June 9, 2020

Very nice. I can see quite a lot that says 'Cornwall' to me.

cheers

Jonnie · June 23, 2020

I finally got around to adding an embankment behind the 'mainline' and in the corner. The corner I was in two minds as to what to do with so wanting it to have an element of Cornwall I opted for the disused Engine House on a hill approach, probably nowhere near how it'd look in real life but again I quite like it and it finishes off an area that I was initially at a loss as to what to do with. The disused Engine House building is the Scenecraft one that Kernow have had produced, a great model.

The backboards are painted with a 'Sky Blue' paint mix I had made up using a snapshot of the sky over my house from the past few weeks. It came out once dried as a perfect match! The hills were constructed of various cardboard, newspaper and bubble wrap with plaster cloth then laid on top. Once dried some brown spray paint was added, followed by gluing on hanging basket liner. Once the latter was dried on it was trimmed to give a very overgrown up and down type of feel, this was then sprayed with a PVA/water mix followed by some 4mm static grass applied on top. I personally like the 'Fall' coloured grass rather than bright green grass and in the photos the white you can see seeping through is the PVA whilst it set. It'll get another layer of static grass later this week before final bits of detailing are applied.

Most of the buildings (and the rolling stock in terms of the 3x Well Tanks and China Clay wagons) on this layout are products of Kernow so if anyone from that shop happens to read this, thank you for getting these great models produced!

I was also rather tempted by their GWR 1361 model which has tested perfectly and runs a dream, whilst this isn't 'China Clay', the next board along will go over to the GWR and feature as part of it a Quayside and onwards to a terminus station. The other side of the room (which I'll upload some pictures of eventually but it needs some tidying first) is a Southern Region terminus (LBSCR/SECR) complete with a Brewery in the corner. Completely fictional but captures an area I've always had an interest in.

Embankment with plaster cloth setting.

Other embankment behind the China Clay bit. The little GWR halt can be seen.

Now with hanging basket liner.

\

First layer of static grass.

Cutting with static grass (it needed brushing off in this photo which has since been done)

The little GWR 1361.

4k · June 24, 2020

Very nicely done Jonnie,

Scenics are well executed and it all comes together nicely setting the scene.

Great attention to detail and some lovely cameos.

Cheers,

Mark

Chandwell · June 24, 2020

Just had a read through of this - the layout looks wonderful - a perfect capture of the part of the world in which it is set. Can we have a closer look at the river, and how you did it, please?

Jonnie · June 28, 2020

Thanks for the kind words. I'll take some better pics of the river scene, its not quite finished and is at the moment my least favourite part! In essence though, all it consists of is an extra bit of lowered down baseboard with some sides added that are made out of cardboard slots, newspaper and covered with plaster cloth to give an embankment impression.

The river bed and sides was then sprayed with 'camouflage brown' spray paint from a local bike shop, and sand then put over the top to form the riverbed, this was just stuck down with PVA then the excess brushed off after a good few hours setting. Woodland scenics water was then layered on top of the sand and after a couple of attempts seemed to come out ok, it does run into the sand though and it did react with some green paint which seems to have made it look a bit more 'algae' esk. It needs another layer adding to it really though but I'm waiting to do the Quay to do that bit of it.

The sides were then at the top so far covered in hanging basket liner followed by static grass, which is why it is a lot higher than the baseboard. The riverbank needs some more of this adding to it which will then start to finish it all off I hope.

Jonnie · July 8, 2020

So this post is slightly away from Cornwall and a bit on another part of the layout that was driving me mad, the rest of it all works but various issues kept occurring with some of my stock on the station approach/round by the Brewery so out came the lot and a lot of easing to the curves and lessening of point work.

The area by the double slip to the bottom of the photos goes to the China Clay bit on the middle line, the far left line is the 'mainline' and the right hand line goes around to two goods sidings in the station area and eventually an single road engine shed under the camera. Should hopefully get the track all secured down and ballasted by the end of the weekend.

Brewery, the line the coaches are on and going towards goes to a bay platform the other line to the main platform, the space to run around and get stock in the platform is 2 coaches, the platform overall though is 5 coaches, I didn't take any pics but it is the Scenecraft Sheffield Park buildings and the Shillingstone halt on the platform. Signal Box is the Kernow Boscarne Junction model so it sort of goes from Cornwall to Kent/Sussex in about 3ft! The hole by the Signal Box steps is for the Starter Signal which was taken out temporarily to avoid knocking it!

The Brewery area/new curves. The Brewery and Boiler House/Chimney is the Scenecraft collection, the three main buildings are slightly higher than the track to allow wagons to pass alongside (although not prototypical for this exact brewery). The whole of the Brewery area is clay cobbles or clay block paving, the lights are DCC Concepts and all work, buildings light up too. Needs a bit more detailing on the brewery in terms of some grass tufts, people and a couple of vehicles I think.

Left hand line is the mainline, middle line to the bottom goes to the China Clay Dries or back towards the station (and forms the very long run round loop) the right hand line will go to sidings within the station complex and to an engine shed on the bottom right of the photo.

Jonnie · August 7, 2020

Some pics I took the other day of the whole model layout, quite big and still bits of extra detailing to do.

Station and Goods Yard, the lights are DCC concepts mainly, the buildings are Scenecraft. Goods Yard was DAS clay with bricks scribed in then painted individually. I've no idea why I thought it was a good idea but the outcome is rather nice.

Bit more station with the Drummond 700 and LWSR coaches.

Signal Box/end of station area, need to add the platform ramp. The platform is just a piece of wood I found that was then given DAS clay edges to make coping stones and the gap between filled with fish tank sand for a typical SR effect.

Brewery area with the 33, need to do more static grass on the nearest green bit and the bit along the back, another another touch up of blue paint in places.