The GWR in South Devon.

[Chris M]

Looking great.

 

[kirtleypete]

Due to the wind and rain I've been working in the house again so this board is pretty much finished. 

 

 

Ball games on the beach. I probably need to add a couple of blokes to even things up! 

 

 

 

 

 

The forecast for tomorrow is better (it could hardly be worse!) so I should be able to put up this board with the two new ones and get the track down on those. 

 

Peter

[kirtleypete]

The next two boards are up; I need to let everything harden off before I clamp them and start track laying so that will be tomorrow. I've got room to put up the next board too which will have the tunnel on. Thankfully all the boards from now on are nice simple flat surfaces.

 

 

It's impossible to model the actual location accurately here, we just don't have enough length.

 

 

The tracks will curve round at the end and there will be a tunnel to separate the two parts of the layout. 

 

 

I should get all the track down tomorrow and it will begin to look like a station.

 

Peter

[David Bell]

That is lovely work Pete. A good last major project to lead into retirement I'd say.

Cheers

David

[kirtleypete]

Almost David- I've agreed to build the Ophir loop on the Rio Grande Southern in 1/20.3 scale. Then I can retire!!

 

I've been tracklaying this morning:

 

 

First it was a case of laying it out loosely to see how it fits.

 

 

This is the same view with the track fixed down. The branch doubles as the headshunt....I know there was no branch at Dawlish but it allows trains to Ashburton to run away from the main line.

 

 

On the right will be a dairy.

 

 

Next job is to wire it all in, then painting and ballasting. 

 

Peter

[David Bell]

7 hours ago, kirtleypete said:

Almost David- I've agreed to build the Ophir loop on the Rio Grande Southern in 1/20.3 scale. Then I can retire!!

 

I've been tracklaying this morning:

 

 

First it was a case of laying it out loosely to see how it fits.

 

 

This is the same view with the track fixed down. The branch doubles as the headshunt....I know there was no branch at Dawlish but it allows trains to Ashburton to run away from the main line.

 

 

On the right will be a dairy.

 

 

Next job is to wire it all in, then painting and ballasting. 

 

Peter

That sounds interesting. As you know I do like a large scale model!

[kirtleypete]

Things have moved on again.

 

 

I've put in the platform, retaining wall and promenade using 2mm plastic sheet, and then added the rocky area using Sculptamold. Imagination has to take over at this point, the sea wall at Dawlish goes on for miles.

 

 

The rocks have been sprayed and a low hill put in beyond them.

 

 

I've added the wall along the promenade and then the beach could be modelled. I'll add the platform surface when all this is properly dry.

 

 

Clumps of rubberised horsehair have been stuck in place with the hot glue gun.

 

 

Then the areas between the clumps have been treated with static grass fibres in three different colours and lengths.

 

 

Then the clumps were sprayed with Photomount and scatter in various shades was sprinkled on. More was added on the rocks to suggest undergrowth. A facia will be added to tidy it all up in due course, probably when the boards are in place and screwed together.

 

 

The area in the corner was originally planned to be a dairy but it occurred to us that no one in their right mind would build a dairy at Dawlish! Now it will be a coal yard with the dairy at Totnes as on the real thing. 

 

The next job is to paint and ballast the track, but I need to finish the platform first and can't do that until the beach is dry. I'll make the buildings for the coal yard while I'm waiting.

 

Peter

[kirtleypete]

I've painted the track by spaying it a matt brown;

 

 

 

Once that was dry I put the brick paper on the platform edges and then laid the ballast, which is Woodland Scenics medium grey. 

 

 

 

The great temptation now is to keep fiddling with it but I've learned over the years that it just needs leaving alone so I've shut up the garage for the rest of the day and I'll have a look at it in the morning. It will probably need longer than that to harden off properly, but we'll see.

 

Peter

[John Besley]

Very interesting you've captured the flavour of the area (I live in Paignton) ... Do you use a static grass applicator with the photo mount spray? If so what make?

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by John Besley
Schpelling

[kirtleypete]

Hi John,  no, I use my hands! I spray the area, put a clump of fibres between my hands and roll my palms together so the fibres drop onto the glue, repeat with a different colour/length and generally a third time as a top coat in a brighter green. 

 

I've been working on the scenery again today:

 

 

 

 

 

I still need to add more trees to the backscene.

 

 

The new Peco track really is the dog's whatsits!

 

Peter

[kirtleypete]

I've pretty much finished these boards now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next job is to fit the next baseboard which has the tunnel on and build up the scenery around that. However I've run out of track and there's no point ordering more until tomorrow. 

 

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a coal merchant's lorry in 4mm scale, suitable for the 1930's? I've looked everywhere and can't find one.

 

Peter

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, kirtleypete said:

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a coal merchant's lorry in 4mm scale, suitable for the 1930's? I've looked everywhere and can't find one.

 

Peter

 

The [poor] best I can come up with is a horse-drawn version in 3.5mm scale - https://www.artitecshop.com/en/sedan-with-horse.html (and it's OOS there, though some other supplier may have it) 

 

They also do some old trucks, though I'd hesitate to describe any as obviously coal lorries. I've nothing in my remaining stock, sorry. 

 

Langley have a kit which is towards the end of your time-frame - https://www.langleymodels.co.uk/awd1/index.php?route=product/product&path=193&product_id=5755 which might be adaptable? 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by The White Rabbit
add Langley reference

[Graham T]

Maybe give Oxford Diecast a look?

[kirtleypete]

Oxford Diecast are useless for lorries Graham, for any period. They do all sorts of exotic stuff but no ordinary ones. I e-mailed them about it a while ago but got a very negative response.

 

I'll have a look at Langley, thanks for the tip.

 

Added later - I've had a look at Langley, but there's no way I'm paying £30 for a 4mm scale lorry! We'll have to assume he's away on his rounds.

 

Peter

Edited April 18, 2022 by kirtleypete

[DCB]

It looks great, as a freelance GWR station, but Dawlish is probably my favourite Network Rail train spotting location and without the cliffs crowding the railway and the sea wall stretching to the horizon that don't look like Dawlish to me...

[kirtleypete]

I know, but we've got 22' to play with not 40' or more which it would need to scale. You do what you can. We were going to use fictitious names but have changed our minds about doing that.

 

I've found a lorry which I can use in the coal yard on Ebay, by a firm called Gilbow which I'd never heard of.  

 

Peter

[Thorness]

There may be a suitable small lorry in this lot:

http://www.autocraft.plus.com/page33.html

 

Cheers

Don

[AlfaZagato]

I've seen someone else on here do a coal trader with the Autocraft Morris flatbed.

[Neal Ball]

Re: 1930’s lorry

Have a look at Springside, they used to do quite a range of different vehicles.

 

I’ve no connection with them and to be honest the website is a bit rubbish! 
 

https://www.springsidemodels.com

[kirtleypete]

Thanks chaps - as an 0 gauge modeller myself I'm not familiar with some of these firms. I love the little Austin lorry, I'll certainly be ordering one of those. 

 

Peter

[John Besley]

12 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Re: 1930’s lorry

Have a look at Springside, they used to do quite a range of different vehicles.

 

I’ve no connection with them and to be honest the website is a bit rubbish! 
 

https://www.springsidemodels.com

 

They did a nice 1929 Thornycroft dropside which I used to build in batch's for their sales stand back in the 80's

[kirtleypete]

The new board is up but the track won't arrive until tomorrow.

 

 

I've put a facia along the front of the beach section and it looks much tidier. 

 

 

The higher backscene is because I'll want the hillside to go as high as possible to make the tunnel look plausible. We should have room to accommodate the extra height as it's on the end.

 

 

I got the curve of the baseboard on the corner wrong so that needs sorting out. The fact that the line curves to the right where the sea should be will just have to be put down to modeller's license.

 

While I'm waiting for the track I can be building the four tunnel mouths. 

 

Peter

[Chris M]

Nice to see this layout progressing Pete. Keep posting.

 

Compromise when modelling based on a real location is always going to be the big issue. Its all about what suits the builder/owner, what works for one person won't work for another. I certainly think you have captured the feel of Dawlish station.

[kirtleypete]

Thanks Chris. 

 

I've been working on the end baseboard this morning.

 

 

I've spaced out the tracks inside the tunnel to avoid any problems with 70' coaches passing each other. This area is really there to give a scenic separation between Dawlish and Totnes.

 

 

I use corrugated cardboard for as much as possible in a situation like this; apart from anything else I've got to be able to lift the baseboard, not to mention getting it into a loft when it's delivered! 

 

The inside of the tunnel will be sprayed black and then the walls covered with brick or stone paper. I won't bother ballasting the part that can't be seen.

 

 

The top of the backscene board needs to be cut back as I've made it too high to fit but that will be done when I take the board down. 

 

 

I've put in the basic contours, all from corrugated card stuck using a hot glue gun.  I want to have a road running along the top with a lay bye so I can have some parked cars and people enjoying the view. Hopefully then the eye will stop at the road from whichever side one is looking, forming a natural break.

 

 

The tunnel mouths look a bit odd so close together but there's no real alternative. I've made the main line one in blue engineering brick and the branch one in the same stone as I used on Ashburton to emphasise that they were built at different times. This end will have more of the red rock outcrops to fit in with Dawlish, and the other side will be more pastoral to blend in with Totnes.

 

 

This is the Totnes side, and once this board is finished I can take down Dawlish and begin work on this section. It won't take as long as all the baseboards are flat which makes life much easier.

 

My aim is to have this section pretty much complete by the end of tomorrow so there will be more pictures then.

 

Peter

 

 

 

 

[kirtleypete]

I've added gas lamps and the station nameboards:

 

 

That nasty gap will be sorted out when the layout is erected.

 

The coal yard now has a lorry and a couple of lamps, though the lorry is a bit big and might be better in Totnes goods yard in due course. 

 

 

I've been working on the hillside:

 

 

 

The road is a piece of 2mm plastic sheet.

 

 

 

The next job is to put on the Sculptamold rocks to make it match the ones around the station.

 

Peter