Kerseycleugh

[Ragtag]

I should start by saying that this is actually Kerseycleugh Mk.II. Several of you may remember my first attempt at it, in a boxfile, here: http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=9&t=50017

 

Having decided that a boxfile isn't the ideal setting for a country layout, however, I abadonded the project in favour of other ideas. Recently, however, some renovation work on my girlfriend's house has produced a hefty pile of scrap timber. Seizing the opportunity, I decided the revisit the idea of creating a scenic program track.

 

Given the nice weather today, I spent the afternoon in the drive working on this, and I'm quite pleased with the progress so far - I've managed to get most of the major structural work done and made a start on the cardboard contours for the scenery. There's still plenty more of these to do, though, and plenty of plaster cloth to lay afterwards.

 

Apologies for the photo quality, had to take them with my blackberry.

 

Running total: 6 hours, £7 spent

 

 

The starting point:

 

An overview of the board:

 

The abutments for the bridge which will carry the rail over either a country road or track:

 

The cattle creep:

 

The embankment countours:

[vac_basher]

Running total: 6 hours, £7 spent

Sounds like a familiar phrase to me

 

Looks like my Smugglers Lane may have inspired this B)

One thing I'd do if I were you though, and that would be to move the track slightly further back. As I doubt you'll be able to get good photographic compositions with the track so close to the edge of the baseboard - assuming you will want to take pics of your stock on it that is

I look forward to seeing how this will develop.

[Ragtag]

I've been keeping an eye on Smugglers Lane, waiting for you to weather those rocks

 

It's a little late for the track now, all glued and screwed I'm afraid. One of the main purposes of the board is to practice hillside scenery etc, so I'm more interested in getting a good area to work on that than on the photographs necessarily. That's why the track is so close to the front of the board, although I still wanted an embankment to play with too.

 

As it's all scrap timber, I'm not too worried. If it doesn't work out I can always go back to square one.

[vac_basher]

Patience old chap, patience....

 

If you're not too worried about the photographic potential of your layout then it should be ok.

It looks like a nice size.

What I find great about these small layouts is how rewarding it is to see the progress you're making, and on such small layouts one does make very fast progress....

I've been building my main layout for the past 10 years or so, and it's still nowhere nearly finished . In fact, it looks much the same now as it did after the first two or three years .

Small layouts are also useful to develop ones skills. On a large layout one might be reluctant to try a new technique, or a new product perhaps. But on a small layout it's really not a catastrophic problem if something goes wrong (remember my sleepers ).

I'll be keeping an eye on this topic. It looks interesting.

Is Kerseycleugh a real location?

[Ragtag]

It is indeed, but no longer rail-served. It's in the locale of Kielder, near the point where the Bells Burn and Deadwater Burn join and seemed an appropriate name since I'm testing the scenic techniques I intend to employ on my Kielder layout. The Border Counties line used to pass Kerseycleugh Bridge at one point in time. Other than name or general feel, the diorama won't bear much resemblance though (the real place is a rather barren affair: http://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/kersey.html)

[Ragtag]

Just a quick update showing a little more work done on the cardboard contours. Hoping to get these finished and the plastercloth done by the end of the weekend.

 

 

 

 

[vac_basher]

Looking good.

 

Is that O gauge track beneath? It looks massive

[Ragtag]

It is indeed, the kitchen table was occupied so I was evicted to the garage, that's the entry to my late father-in-law's fiddleyard.

[Ragtag]

It's been a little while since my last update and work has been steaming ahead. The grassmat I'm using as a scenic base layer is now largely applied, just a few corners left to finish off. It's a little untidy in places, but I'll be revisiting these and there's plenty of foliage to go over the top in any case. The next job is to ballast the track and finish painting the bridge and cattle creep before the real scenic work begins. The backscene is actually a photo of Catcleugh rather than Kerseycleugh, but it was the best available in a hi-res format - and is certainly representative of the area. I think this also could use a little tidying, especially at the joins. In future I would mount the printouts on card first, rather than directly to the wood. Despite my best efforts at sanding and filling, I've ended up with some bubbles and creases due to the uneven wood base.

 

A Northern skateboard crosses the cattle creep:

 

153324 crosses the cattle creep. There is still plenty of sanding to be done before the baseboard edges get a final coat of black:

 

153324 approaching the bridge:

 

The view through the cattle creep towards Farmer Bob's place:

[Stevethomas6444]

Looks really good! Any further updates?

[Ragtag]

Nope, wasn't satisfied with a few areas so scrapped it and back to drawing board.

[Stevethomas6444]

Oh dear!