Cromford Wharf Shunting layout - structures and scenery

[MarshLane]

Hi Rich,

 

Thanks very much, would love to see some of your photos, if you want to post them on here?

 

Al.

 

 

Hi Al,

I've just uploaded a range of detail shots of the buildings and adjacent water tower to my Modelling Inspirations thread, so do have a look at those.  In addition, these are extras!

 

Apologies for the copyright watermark - I ran them all out for the other thread without thinking.  If you need a high-res for modelling purposes or closer view of anything, let me know - they're all taken on a Nikon 36MP DSLR, so can usually pull up detail elements if needed.

 

Rich

 

The adjacent bridge on the opposite site of the canal to High Peak Junction Workshops - hard to believe this was once a double track Midland Main Line to Manchester!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General views of the buildings (more on the Modelling Inspirations thread)

 

 

 

 

The stones adjacent to the water tower, behind the buildings

 

 

Detail views of the the building:

 

 

 

 

 

[Alister_G]

Those are great Rich, thanks very much for posting them.

 

There's a couple there of angles I forgot to take when I was there, as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Al.

[MarshLane]

Those are great Rich, thanks very much for posting them.

 

There's a couple there of angles I forgot to take when I was there, as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Al.

 

 

Hi Al,

Glad they are of some use - I've a few others, specifically close-ups so if there's anything you need, just shout.

 

Rich

[Alister_G]

Well, I'm back off my holiday, so it's about time I did a bit of modelling!

 

I've made a start on adding the landscaping, with a bit of hanging basket liner, and some stone walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And  of course things look better with some rolling stock on show:

 

 

 

 

 

There you go. Just to prove I've done something

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

[Mikkel]

Really good stuff Al, the atmosphere is really beginning to kick in.

 

I was wondering about the workshops being so close to the track, then went back and saw that photo by John Evans! 

[Alister_G]

Thanks very much Mikkel.

 

Indeed, there is very little room between the track and the buildings.

 

This image:

 

 

was an attempt to replicate this one:

 

Courtesy of Geoff Plumb

 

Which shows how close the buildings are.

 

I reckon that's a good match!

[Enterprisingwestern]

Thanks very much Mikkel.

 

Indeed, there is very little room between the track and the buildings.

 

This image:

 

the-cromford-build095.jpg

 

was an attempt to replicate this one:

 

Cromford-Bottomcropped.jpg

Courtesy of Geoff Plumb

 

Which shows how close the buildings are.

 

I reckon that's a good match!

 

Health & Safety eat your heart out!

 

Mike.

[Signaller69]

Thanks very much Mikkel.

 

Indeed, there is very little room between the track and the buildings.

 

This image:

 

the-cromford-build095.jpg

 

was an attempt to replicate this one:

 

Cromford-Bottomcropped.jpg

Courtesy of Geoff Plumb

 

Which shows how close the buildings are.

 

I reckon that's a good match!

Looks spot on Al, the stonework looks just the right shade of grotty looking at the prototype pic.

 

Half a dozen Steel Highs full of enthusiasts (fitted to removable false floors) would make an interesting train I suspect!

 

Martyn.

[Alister_G]

So, a bit more progress this evening.

 

Firstly, I have built some more of the retaining wall which goes along the back of the layout, and also made a start on the lane that leads up to the main road:

 

 

 

However, the majority of my time has been spent on starting the ground cover.

 

From the contemporary photographs you will have seen on this thread, taken by John Evans and others, it is obvious that there is no "ballast" as such anywhere on the site, if by ballast we mean loosely laid stone. Instead, nearly everywhere, there is a compacted ash surface which is mostly at sleeper-top height, and sometimes even over the sleepers, and is quite a smooth surface apart from a lot of weeds and grass.

 

To replicate this, I decided not to use any of the available modelling ballast products, and, instead, thought I'd try an idea shamelessly stolen from Chris Nevard's blogs.

 

So first, I chose an area to start on, and applied neat PVA in a thin coat:

 

 

 

On top of this I then added DAS clay, pressed down and stippled with a stiff brush:

 

 

I used the Terracota version of the DAS, as I thought the white one would be difficult to disguise. It will of course be painted in dark greys and blacks later.

 

 

 

That's as much as I've done so far. Once this has dried, I will scrape away the unwanted clay from the rail sides and sleeper chairs etc.

 

 

The other thing I've done is to cut out and paint the base for the canal. This has been sprayed with a number of different rattle-cans, in grey, brown and green.

 

A number of coats  of ship's varnish will be applied over the top, which I hope will give a muddy brown tinge with the other colours showing through.

 

 

 

That's all for now, thanks for looking.

 

Al.

[westerhamstation]

Hi Al, coming along very nicely,just make sure that the water doesn't run out of the canal onto the floor. All the best Adrian.

[Signaller69]

Hi Al, coming along very nicely,just make sure that the water doesn't run out of the canal onto the floor. All the best Adrian.

I can second that, I thought my canal was sealed until a drip of varnish appeared on the kitchen floor, requiring rapid action! :-)

 

Martyn.

[Andrew P]

Superb work Al, I need to find room for the Oxford Canal on KM, but I do like your Track Work / Ballast Ash treatment, that should come out rather well I recon mate.

[Alister_G]

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

Today I've managed a bit more of the DAS clay:

 

 

 

 

And I've also completed the basic shell of all the workshop buildings now, and weathered the stone work.

 

More detail to be added of course, and all the windows and doors, and a whole world of roof tiles... but it's beginning to look like the prototype:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

[vulcan product fan]

excellent work Al 

[Alister_G]

Another update.

 

I've done various bits to the buildings in what time I've had this week.

 

First, I tiled the roofs of the smaller buildings:

 

 

 

you will also see that I replaced the chimney on the end building, as I felt it was too wide, and I've added the chimney to the longer building.

 

Having tiled the roofs I then detailed and weathered the chimneys:

 

 

 

I made the doors for the large workshop:

 

 

 

and added a stone interior, painted white:

 

 

 

Then I painted the roofs, and weathered the doors:

 

 

 

 

Compare the last with the prototype:

 

 

More soon, thanks for looking.

 

Al.

[Andrew P]

I don't know Al, you and Larry / Coachman / Carrog seem to put normal people like me to shame with your endless ability to copy Buildings with such perfection, well done matey.

[Alister_G]

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks very much mate, that's very kind of you. Larry's making a brilliant job of Carrog, just as he did with Greenfield.

 

Al.

[Andrew P]

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks very much mate, that's very kind of you. Larry's making a brilliant job of Carrog, just as he did with Greenfield.

 

Al.

And you did with Bakewell matey.

[Alister_G]

This evening, I built the final major building for Cromford, and one that no longer exists.

 

The engine shed, which was located at the back of the site, right on the canal edge:

 

Copyright John Evans - used with permission

 

Copyright John Evans - used with permission

 

 

You can tell from the last picture that it was originally built as a goods shed for unloading the canal boats, but was taken over and used by the railway as the engine shed in later years.

 

So I started, as usual, with a basic shell cut from 80thou black styrene sheet:

 

 

 

 

This shows that a  loco just fits inside:

 

 

and this is a similar view to the black and white photo above:

 

 

Having built the shell, I clad it in Slaters 4mm Dressed stone, as the majority of the other buildings are:

 

 

At the back of the stone built shed, there was a corrugated iron and timber extension, as seen in this photo:

 

 

So this was next to be built:

 

 

 

I then took the extension off to be painted, the corrugated iron sheets in Gunmetal Grey, and the timber rear face and doors in Matt Black:

 

 

 

Then, using a mix of colours, and both washes and dry brushing, I applied a nice rusty weathering:

 

 

 

 

 

Next job is to paint and weather the main shed, which I'll do in the morning.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

 

[Joe MCMLXI]

Great modelling work Al.

A fascinating set of photo's you've shared..... never seen those before, or realised that there was so much more at the wharf...

 

Joe

[Alister_G]

Great modelling work Al.

A fascinating set of photo's you've shared..... never seen those before, or realised that there was so much more at the wharf...

 

Joe

 

Cheers Joe, yes nothing now exists of the Engine shed, and it's location is all overgrown, now.

 

When I visited earlier in the year I especially wanted to see if I could find some traces of it. This photo shows it's approximate location, on the right where the trees are:

 

 

But there's nothing much there except some random stone, which may or may not be what's left of the building:

 

 

There's no clearly defined structure, and the ground level rises immediately after this location.

 

It's hard to envisage the position of the sidings or shed, from what's left.

 

There's an RCTS archive shot of the shed and sidings in the thirties:

 

Copyright RCTS

 

But even in the Sixties, it was disappearing, as this shot by John Evans shows:

 

Copyright John Evans - used with permission

 

The new retaining wall for the development on the left seems to be built over one of the sidings, and you'd never guess there was a canal to the right!

 

Cheers mate,

 

Al.

[Stubby47]

When using corrugated cladding, remember the wall is made from several sheets of a regular size. These will have bolt heads evenly spaced along the timber supports behind.

Each sheet will rust at it's own pace, rather than the whole wall as one.

Look for some local examples to give you some reference material ( or look online).

[Alister_G]

When using corrugated cladding, remember the wall is made from several sheets of a regular size. These will have bolt heads evenly spaced along the timber supports behind.

Each sheet will rust at it's own pace, rather than the whole wall as one.

Look for some local examples to give you some reference material ( or look online).

 

Thanks very much Stu, I did know that, but I'm afraid I rushed it a bit last night and just did the single sheet.

 

You are quite right, and I'll revisit it and see if I can do a better job.

 

Al.

[Alister_G]

I've been a bit busy with one thing or another today, but I managed to get the engine shed painted and started the weathering:

 

 

 

I created an RSJ out of microstrip, and added it to the front of the shed:

 

 

 

and having been suitably bollocked by Stubby, I've made a better job of the corrugated iron extension:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

[toplink@()1989))((]

I've been away for a couple a three weeks and when I get back you've done more than I've achieved in the best part of a year, wow! well done!

 

 

Pete.