“Oh-oo-oh you’re in the Army now…”

[HillsideDepot]

Ever since Hornby announced their Ruston 48DS I knew that I’d be making a purchase. Industrial locos and their railways have always been a fascination, but it has very much been a side-line for me, a world only occasionally glimpsed. The wonderful Allied Marine & Locomotive Company layout by Allan Sibley and Brian Dorman which featured in the November 1978 issue of Railway Modeller made a lasting impression on an 8-year old as to the possibilities of the industrial railway world.

 

Looking at Hornby’s planned liveries I soon decided that the colourful John Dewer & Sons example would have a place in my plans, and as an alternative the plain green Army example could play a useful secondary role. Both are plain liveries, ideal for use in settings other than their own, and as an added bonus my selected liveries also represented both cab types.

 

Various ideas have passed through my planning software, based on the idea that the John Dewer loco is the site’s main traction, and kept in good condition by its driver, with the open cab version being the “last resort” spare loco and in a very decrepit state.

 

But, with lots of people on here extoling the virtue of their little Rustons, I wanted to join in the fun with a quick, simple layout of my own. So, why not give the Army loco a moment of glory and build part of a military depot for it to shunt? What follows is a brief summary of how my little Ruston "joined the Army".

 

My first thoughts, drawn up on AnyRail included a number of semi-low relief Ratio Nissen Huts, and the idea that the Ruston would stand aside as a larger loco swapped empty and full vans.

 

Thoughts developed though, and the short Ruston siding was straightened and extended to the fiddle yard to be one side of a run-round loop which made more sense operationally. The Nissen huts didn’t really achieve the background I wanted and became large storage sheds instead. The narrow-gauge transfer facility remained, although not quite as originally envisaged.

 

The inspiration for the large sheds came from Ludgershall, and a quick “visit” via Google Maps showed that the sheds had gone but using the timeline option on Streetview gave two sets of photos of the sheds. A further Google produced a Wessex Archaeology report written ahead of the demolition of Corunna Barracks Central Vehicle Depot. As well as some more photos, crucially this document provided dimensions of the building, from which I could plan a model. The actual sizes were tweaked slightly to better suit the model, and to allow use of the Auhagen corrugated sheets which I had in stock.

 

A chance visit to Cheltenham Model Centre a few years back enabled me to pick up a good number of EFE lorry semi-trailers at a very good price, although with no better idea of what to use them for than "they'll come in handy, one day". These are all-over black, in both 1 and 2 axle variants. A quick wash of a wood colour over the trailer planks and several were added to the scene, fortunately the deck height of the trailer matching the floor of a railway van meaning the platform could serve both without any alteration to the road level.

 

 

 

[TheQ]

I shall follow this with interest, as I used to cycle past the Ludgershall depot, between scorpions ( prototype), Stalwarts and other assorted machinery on the way to school.

Also an uncle worked at the depot.

I'm in the early stages of modeling Ludgershall station but in an earlier vintage..1940.

Edited December 20, 2020 by TheQ

[Bungus the Fogeyman]

Ooh you tease Ada!!! About time this popped up on here! 

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

[HillsideDepot]

4 hours ago, TheQ said:

I shall follow this with interest, as I used to cycle past the Ludgershall depot, between scorpions ( prototype), Stalwarts and other assorted machinery on the way to school.

Also an uncle worked at the depot.

I'm in the early stages of modeling Ludgershall station but in an earlier vintage..1940.

 

I hope my attempt does it justice. I like to try to take actual buildings as my inspiration, even if I then have to adapt them slightly to fit the space (or my modelling skills!).
 

11 minutes ago, Bungus the Fogeyman said:

Ooh you tease Ada!!! About time this popped up on here! 

 

Disgusting of Market Harborough

 

Sorry, its taken longer than both it should have done and than I'd have liked.

[HillsideDepot]

Inspired by photos on RMWeb I had, some time ago, built a large concrete stop block out of Wills cement render sheets and a spare beam from a Lanarkshire Models GWR stop block kit, but had no use for it other than being a simple, fun, project. The rear siding seemed the idea place for it.

 

Also visible here are some of the doors on the Ludgershall shed. The grey of the plastic sheet was weathered with silver paint to get somewhere close to the effect visible on the real doors as seen on Google Streetview. It did occur to me that the doors on Streetview were weathered and peeling, not as they would have been when the site was in use, but rather than correct my mistake I left them as they are as I like the effect. The bracing was added from numerous lengths of Plastruct, which would be beyond my painting capability to finish without straying on to the corrugations. To the rescue came a fine point Sharpie pen which did the job well, albeit there are a few areas needing more attention in the photo above.

 

With things progressing nicely on several fronts it was time to consider the concrete road surfaces, and for that I decided to try a well-known technique, but one that was new to me. That's the great thing about "micro" layouts they give the opportunity to try new ideas without risking messing up a large project. And, indeed, they can offer the chance to do something which doesn't otherwise fit with the era or area of one's main project.

 

So, for the concrete surfaces I used decorator's wall filler. Nothing novel in that, but something new for me. I found it easy to lay and get fairly smooth by using plenty of water. Then, once set, it was easy to smooth off the higher areas, and to cut nice straight edges.

[HillsideDepot]

Originally, I'd used a piece of N-gauge track for the narrow-gauge line, but that didn't look right. Nor did Peco's "crazy track" 00-9 offering look right for a well-maintained military establishment, so I was pleased to discover that they also do a "mainline sleeper" version, which is much more like I had in mind. The buffer stop still looks rather too "rural" even after a good going over with the file in an attempt to tidy it up.

 

 

Things are starting to come together, although there is still plenty to do.

 

[37114]

Nice little project Adrian, looks fun to shunt as well.

[F-UnitMad]

On 20/12/2020 at 15:02, HillsideDepot said:

The wonderful Allied Marine & Locomotive Company layout by Allan Sibley and Brian Dorman which featured in the November 1978 issue of Railway Modeller made a lasting impression on an 8-year old as to the possibilities of the industrial railway world.

I still have my copy of that article   and a second one they did a bit later that focused on some of the cameo detail scenes on the layout.

[HillsideDepot]

Like many of my projects this one stalled for a while. No real problems, but with a few tasks I wasn't sure about, and some where I wanted to make sure I had them in the right order. Eventually enthusiasm returned and work resumed. The edges of the wall filler were trimmed to a proper straight edge and much to my relief didn't break, flake or crack. A few tentative joints were carefully scribed to represent the joints between the concrete sections, and again all worked well. Maybe my procrastination was paying off and the filler had had time to harden properly.

 

 

 

[happyChappy]

That's a lovely little Ruston. Would really look the business with a couple of VEA (ex Vanwide) vans in tow.

 

By coincidence I also have a very small layout which is the exact opposite of your's - a single standard gauge track against an exchange platform to narrow gauge (009) very loosely based on MOD Dinton which is not that far from Ludgershall. All my narrow gauge locos are diesels mostly in a similar livery to your Ruston.

Edited December 22, 2020 by happyChappy

[KeithMacdonald]

Any candidates for the best track plans for Ludgershall?

[HillsideDepot]

6 hours ago, happyChappy said:

By coincidence I also have a very small layout which is the exact opposite of your's - a single standard gauge track against an exchange platform to narrow gauge (009) very loosely based on MOD Dinton which is not that far from Ludgershall. All my narrow gauge locos are diesels mostly in a similar livery to your Ruston.

 

Ah, Dinton. Funny you should mention that....

One of the major inspirations for the layout was the TeleRail video tape (yes, I've had it that long) of the military railways at Marchwood and Chilmark which also briefly covers Dinton. The transfer shed at Chilmark (an RAF depot rather than an Army one) provided detail for my, much smaller, model version, while two other Chilmark buildings provided inspiration for the building at the front of the layout.

It might be unusual to have a building right on the front of the layout, but I wanted a view blocker for the fiddle yard entrance. A single-storey building is enough to block the ground level view, but something taller is needed to complete the block. Fortunately, the Google Streetview car wandered up the lane alongside the old railway and a tall building with an even taller chimney was visible further up the valley. It was just what I wanted, and an on-line search produced a few more, closer, photos of it.

[happyChappy]

A view-blocking building at the front seems like an excellent idea. Your single story building looks just like the gate/guardhouse buildings at Chilmark and Dinton which have that distinctive open central porch area. For me it's all about creating an atmosphere that transports our imagination to the place in question and your layout is certainly achieving that.

 

Another view at the bomb storage magazine side of the layout. Unusually busy with 2 locos in operation. I suspect this would be very rare in reality.

[HillsideDepot]

2 hours ago, happyChappy said:

A view-blocking building at the front seems like an excellent idea. Your single story building looks just like the gate/guardhouse buildings at Chilmark and Dinton which have that distinctive open central porch area. For me it's all about creating an atmosphere that transports our imagination to the place in question and your layout is certainly achieving that.

Thank you for your kind words. I always find it easier to copy or adapt something from reality rather than designing my own, but there is always the risk that the result is a mis-matched muddle rather than a convincing "might have been".

 

The Ludgershall sheds now have a roof, and numbering to suggest they are part of a larger building as well as safety notices regarding their fragile roofs. 

 

The transfer shed is getting there, but still needs more work, It is viewed here from the "off-scene" end

 

The Guardroom and Boiler House is complete and fixed down. Not particularly noticeable in the photos, but some of the windows have a frosted/opaque look for which I've used the thin packing found between slices of some types of Aldi cheese!  It is semi-transparent, glues well and, I think, gives the effect. 

 

One of the noticeable aspects of the RAF Chilmark site is (was) well kept grass alongside the line; mown but not manicured. The TeleRail video mentions the wildlife on site, so a sprinkling of white and yellow flock added a few daisies and buttercups. 

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Nice modelling Adrian, the layout is coming together nicely.

[john new]

On 22/12/2020 at 12:51, KeithMacdonald said:

Any candidates for the best track plans for Ludgershall?

Probably the OS maps on the Nat Library of Scotland web site for free.

[HillsideDepot]

Having used wall filler for the concrete road areas, I had to scribe it into the various sections of each "pour" as it was laid. It's one of those things that we are aware of from an early age - the children's game of not stepping in the joins -  but how actually are the sections laid out? How big are they? What about irregular shapes? If anyone was to ever analyse my Google search history they'd find some bizarre topics!

 

Marked out with a thin biro and the scribed with a panel pin held in a pair of pliers the concrete area was divided up. The joints hardly showed up, so a wash of black paint helped highlight them by representing the muck and fine debris which collects there and, although it was well wiped away on the concrete itself, it also darkened the concrete down a few shades. 

 

Then I applied some weathering powder, another first. A few experiments soon got me sorted, and with an effect I am pleased with. Another plus for a small layout; its not a huge area to cover and not a big disaster if it all went wrong. 

 

 

Although there are no photos, as I was completing this stage of the build a large parcel arrived from a certain Widnes emporium containing, among other items, some Corgi Oriental Omnibus tri-axle Olympian buses which after unpacking were parked in the corner by the buildings - it looked rather as if the site,  disposed of by the MoD had been taken over by a bus dealer who had re-imported these  vehicles and was preparing them for sale into the UK market!

Edited September 2, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Spelling

[KeithMacdonald]

2 hours ago, john new said:

Probably the OS maps on the Nat Library of Scotland web site for free.

 

That's usually my first stop, but sadly in this case, because of the age of the Ludgershall sidings, not much shows on the 25 inch plan. The 1937-1961 1:25000 map seems to be the best available.

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=51.25642&lon=-1.62808&layers=10&b=1

 

Anyone found anything better?

 

[HillsideDepot]

And here is the whole layout.

  

 

There are still a few things to do, not least the connection with the fiddle yard, hence the two tracks over the edge of the board to enable lining up across the joint. Its been a fun build so far, and will hopefully provide some fun "table top" shunting, and be a useful photo background. 

It's probably now a good time to say thank you for all who contribute on here,  many of whom I learn from, and some  who I unashamedly nick ideas and techniques from. Season's greetings to you all!

[TheQ]

There are some map details on the Swindon's other railway website, though mostly of the Perham sidings that are still used by the military today.

Also the tank depot is in the background of some photos.

 

http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/

[TheQ]

4 hours ago, HillsideDepot said:

 

 

 

Ok ..who's going to arrest the red cap for parking in front of the emergency water supply then?

Edited December 24, 2020 by TheQ

[TechnicArrow]

This is a fantastic micro layout; the Ruston looks right at home shunting the vans around, and the level of detailing is excellent throughout. Well done, and Merry Christmas!

[Kevin Johnson]

You have produced a lovely little micro layout. I like the attention to detail throughout the layout build. Have a lovely Christmas. 

[Turin 60]

Cracking little layout, a marvelous mix of Lugershall and Dinton. I lived in Ludgershall for 21 years and drove past the buildings many times, and I was lucky enough to visit Dinton & Chilmark when they were still open.

 

Well done John Bruce.

[HillsideDepot]

A visiting wagon from another part of the depot. Maybe it's been parked here to have the vehicles properly chocked and chained for onward movement.