Rusper Road - LBSCR Micro Layout

[Northroader]

You, sir, are starting to reveal yourself as a person with emerging good taste and perspicacity. I like the new signal box,too.

[Ben B]

I'm awful for seeing boxes, crates etc. and thinking "can I fit a micro layout in there" ;)

 

I think the biggest difference with the layout is the tree backscene, it has terrific visual impact. Have you thought about having a few low-relief at the back? I'm trying some on a build I'm doing, to disguise the end of a flat industrial unit on the backscene. A couple more up front too, for 'peering through the trees at the railway' type shots, though I don't know if your layout has space for that at the front. I think you kind of nail that anyway with the view through the open gate onto the platform though :)

[Matloughe]

57 minutes ago, Northroader said:

You, sir, are starting to reveal yourself as a person with emerging good taste and perspicacity. I like the new signal box,too.

That is very kind, I have to confess that although I consider myself reasonably articulate but I had to look up what perspicacity means. I think with the process I have in my mind I have thought and designed what I want in my head for so long that its now a matter of getting to what I can see in my minds eye.
 

1 hour ago, Artless Bodger said:

I do like the EMU view - shades of the Ardingly line. That and the O gauge progress induce pangs of longing in me. BUT, must get on with the project in hand, no side tracking!

I was very tempted to put a '36' headcode on the 2-BIL. Sadly Rusper Road is too short to run a proper EMU - the non driving end of this unit is actually against the buffer stops and the Driving Trailer is still in the box. I did manage to take it to the club a few weeks back and allowed it to stretch its wheels - it looked really great gliding along.
The baseboards in the Garage were built in 2013! For an enlarged copy of Halstead but I ended up putting Ifield Green on it and now its come full circle and I've decided that its going to be used for its original purpose - its going to be a slow burning project I've got some items along the way some LB&SCR pattern Buffer Stops, some laser cut 3D buildings it'll come together slowly - its track I need to buy first I'll need another point at least and maybe another yard or two of track.

4 hours ago, Irish Padre said:

Lovely stuff. Had a few runs behind the real Fenchurch last week - and saw Withyham box ! 

Fenchurch is great, I still can't get used to it in Improved Engine Green - I always remember it being in Umber, but to be fair the last time I had to opportunity to visit the Bluebell was in 2009! I'm tempted to pick up preserved locomotives, I really fancy a model of the Spa Valleys Jinty 47493.

4 hours ago, burgundy said:

The wooden crate looks ideal for a stock box, if you are taking the layout to an exhibition. Get a big piece of thinnish foam, line the inside and cut some strips to go between the rows of rolling stock. 

The layout looks good and what a difference a backscene makes! The milk churns are a nice touch but might look best as a group, opposite the point where the guards/luggage van would stop, ready to be loaded.

Best wishes 

Eric 

Thats a good idea Eric; I don't know if I am going to be required - I am deep down hoping that I am but I know it'll be stressful getting everything cleaned and ready to go.
Yes I am thinking of congregating the churns by the station name-board as that's roughly where the doors on the luggage van are and I am going to glue some of the crates and barrels onto the wooden goods platform.

3 minutes ago, Ben B said:

I'm awful for seeing boxes, crates etc. and thinking "can I fit a micro layout in there" ;)

 

I think the biggest difference with the layout is the tree backscene, it has terrific visual impact. Have you thought about having a few low-relief at the back? I'm trying some on a build I'm doing, to disguise the end of a flat industrial unit on the backscene. A couple more up front too, for 'peering through the trees at the railway' type shots, though I don't know if your layout has space for that at the front. I think you kind of nail that anyway with the view through the open gate onto the platform though :)

You're not the only one! I often joke to my Partner 'You could fit a model railway in that!' Not just yesterday we saw some floating shelves in Home Bargains and I said I could fit Rusper Road on that and she replied perhaps I should get the shelf and put it above my computer desk and make that Rusper Roads 'home'.

I've got a couple of small trees at the left-hand side, I really wanted one at the front between the platform and front of the boards but I couldn't get them to fit. I am always on the lookout for some foliage as I think it needs a bit more greenery for sure!

Kind Regards,
Gary

 

 

 

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

 perspicacity

Did he have a brother called Hopalong?

[Matloughe]

Evening All,

 

I hope everyone is well - its been an eventful week or so; its been revealed that Rusper Road will not be attending the Ilfracombe MRS show as a reserve or spare as I don't think we can spare myself to operate it even if we're short of a visiting layout so the tempo has been reduced somewhat and I have throttled back with the work on the layout - this is helpful as I have been suffering since mid December with a severe bout of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my dominant hand, finally got a doctors appointment next week so will be investigating further.

Also on Friday, Rusper Road featured on Hornby's Feature Friday on their social media with a small blurb and some photos I provided.

Today was a great day at Rusper Road the sun was shining and I took the opportunity to shuffle some bits and pieces around and indulge in the sunlight before it was overtaken by the oncoming bad weather. It was a nice change after being in the limelight and the relaxation of trying to get the layout looking good for a deadline.

A1 Terrier #40 'Brighton' enters the loop at Rusper Road heading towards the freight siding.

 

Shunting the latest brew - courtesy of Dapol and the late Hattons model shop a Harvey's Brewery wagon is providing supplies for The Plough Inn.

 

The mundane duties of the day, the local heading towards Horsham with some passengers who have business in the small market town. I think a change of motive power might be a good idea for future posts and let Brighton have a rest.
Something that I can safely say is I have secured the funding for a Rapido E1 in Goods Green to join the line-up for Rusper Road and am actively now saving for another in Umber; I am hoping to pickup a selection of pre-grouping wagons either as kits or RTR with a lofty goal to have a wagon from each pre-grouping company. Permissing has also been actively granted for a replacement for Rusper Road in future - but this time I have a space of four and a half feet by one foot, which is something like three times the area of Rusper Road.

 

Stay Safe, Keep Modelling!
Kind Regards,
Gary

 

[TechnicArrow]

Looking lovely in the sunshine! The first and second shots are especially atmospheric, and your modelling really shows what can be done with simple ingredients and a bit of care.

 

I'm looking forward to what the next layout will be!

[Matloughe]

On 25/02/2024 at 14:28, TechnicArrow said:

Looking lovely in the sunshine! The first and second shots are especially atmospheric, and your modelling really shows what can be done with simple ingredients and a bit of care.

 

I'm looking forward to what the next layout will be!

It depends which scale we're discussing - the plan is for my 00 stuff to slim down and keep just the LB&SCR items and work on that - I might relent and keep some Southern Railway exLBSCR items so I could show a progression and run a layout in the grouping era. So things like my model of Birch Grove and Terrier 2644 are both safe. I have a SR Hornby M7 & T9 and am considering rebodying them to be a D3 and B4 respectively - but not decided for certain I have the body kits just not sure I want to modify the originals or buy replacements specifically to rebody.

 

As for other scales, in O:

I may have taken advantage of Rails of Sheffield's offer for a Stroudley 3-Set. They worked out at £59 per coach, which is only £16 more than the RRP of the Hornby Stroudley next to it - and you get a lot more model for your money!! And in N Gauge I am considering selling the lot off to pay for the O Gauge coaches.

In other more related news:

A 'really useful' engine helped me clean the layout and test all the track work - they layout hasn't run since December really so all the track needed a good clean and I had to repair a wire going to one of the point motors. After which the E2 here helped me find bits of track that needed a spot clean with some helpful sparks from the rails and sudden loss of movement where a dead spot was encountered. After which it was used here with the push-pull coach under construction.

Some more detailing was undertaken, I bought from my favourite online market place some 3D printed Barrels and crates for a princely sum under £1.50 - including free postage! So I set about cleaning them up - there was some swarf and bits from where they were obviously attached to the print bed. The barrels came with lids - but as you can see I forced one in and it cracked the barrel so I didn't bother fitting the rest.


Having painted them all up; I tried them on the goods platform and realised that the brown of the goods platform planking was the same as the barrels and crates! So out came the darker brown paint I have and I attempted my first ever dry brushing of details on and weathered down the goods platform - I deliberately left the space infront of the sliding door with less weathering to represent the fading of colour wood has when walked on quite frequently. The sliding door does open - I made sure to place the barrels etc apart so I could pose it - I also only used a few items as I thought it would look strange with lots of goods piled up outside the goods shed!
You can also make out the paper interior here with the black and white bricks/tiles through the window.

 

Sorry not much work has been undertaken, finances are being funneled towards the purchase of two Rapido LBSCR E1's (one in Goods Green, the other in Marsh Lined Black) as well as an assortment of pre-grouping wagons. I think later on this year once things have died down and things are paid for I will be looking at replacing Rusper Road with something else. I have been given full permission to use the whole length of the piano top which is five feet by just over a foot deep. Rusper Road has a floating shelf prepared for it so it can be slotted above my computer desk on its own shelf in due course. 

Kind Regards,
Gary

Edited March 18 by Matloughe

[burgundy]

For those who would like another episode of Rusper Road, it features in LB&SCR Modellers' Digest Issue 19.

Best wishes 

Eric 

[Matloughe]

On 18/06/2024 at 22:11, burgundy said:

For those who would like another episode of Rusper Road, it features in LB&SCR Modellers' Digest Issue 19.

Best wishes 

Eric 

Thank you for the ability to post my ramblings in the Digest Eric, I appriciate it.
If anyone is interested please follow the link Eric has provided, if you're interested in previous editions here is the index page for all copies of the LB&SCR Modellers Digest.

I myself have been very naughty and printed it out, bound it as I have a few people who are not online I'd like to show it to.

 

As for Rusper Road itself things have been quiet, we're having a few inspections and some work done by the Landlord to our house so in actual fact last weekend it was packed up to be stored in the garage:

I've had a comment or two saying that the layout is more dimunitive than they were expecting when looking at this photo - and I can see why, I usually carefully try and choreograph the photos so you cannot see the beyond the backscene and regularly get down at 1/76 scale eye height to take the photos so zoomed out shots are a rarity. Don't worry Rusper Road will be perfectly safe in the garage - it is my workshop so it will be regularly checked up on - as for further improvements I'm not sure. It needs some people, perhaps a starting signal and some shunt signals but realistically I cannot see much further development on the layout.

My club is considering a 00 Gauge Modular layout and I am considering making my own module to the standards we agree upon to replace Rusper Road here.
Its all a bit up in the air at the moment.

Kind Regards,
Gary

 

 

[Matloughe]

So I thought a small update would be helpful; today was the first time I have been able to spend some time in the Garage for quite a while - I was tidying up and putting bits away.

Out of curiosity I decided to dust off and connect up Rusper Road for a test, the O Gauge items went away to make a nice flat surface:

 

Recently I have purchased from eBay a LBSCR E5 kit, already built and in Southern Olive Green Livery - the idea to give it a repaint and change the couplings etc for some different motive power - I am not looking forwards to painting Improved Engine Green on it however!

I took it to the club and stretched its legs it ran rather well considering it was of an unknown when I bought it - it has newer finer wheels than those originally on the Dublo chassis - there is some cosmetic damage such as the Westinghouse pump, some foot steps are bent or snapped off. But I think it'll be a nide project to work on - I do quite like the 'face' of it - its chimney is at a slight jaunty angle but you know what - I kind of dont mind it as much as I thought I would!

She just needs some TLC to make her look loved again!
A short video of her running on Rusper Road; I might be making a 'day at Rusper' video soon as I have been inspired!

 

I have another E5, in a much cruder form - again an ebay purchase:

She also had a run at the club, but is missing a buffer, the chassis seems much cruder by comparision - she really didn't like pointwork despite it being Code 100. But after a loop or two she at least stopped growling like a Class 20. And settled down a little. She seems to be coated in a thick gloss paint and has much less detail.

 

Plenty to be getting on with! I have the money pur aside for one of the Rapido E1's I have on order, and the other one will have the money put aside for it over the coming months - to try and wean my modelling off of the credit card and saving up for items.

Kind Regards,
Gary

[Artless Bodger]

Nice. Brings back memories, I built a Wills E5 when I was still at school, around 1972. Dublo stuff was still available 2nd hand readily, a club member who worked in London would take orders for a certain SH emporium, and got me I think an N2, the chassis went under the kit, very badly built (I used evostick and plastic padding  - whatever Dad had in the shed). By any standards it was rough, but the chassis ran ok. I hand painted it in ieg, mixed the colours according to the swatches in a book from the library (was it Evans?* Red covers, British railway liveries). Not sure what happened to it as I no longer had it when I sold off the remaining OO when I got married. Now I have difficulty painting N gauge wagon chassis black without getting paint on the body, so no chance to do any pregroup livery (except perhaps SECR battleship grey).

 

*Edit - strange how things occur to you when you least expect, brushing my teeth this morning the name Ernest F Carter sprang to mind - this being the author I recall, confirmed by a web search.

Edited July 9 by Artless Bodger
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