Longwitton Northumberland in oo gauge

[Clive martin]

Hello guys having been checking out lots of superb model making on rmweb for quite a few years i thought it was about time i started a thread about 1 of my 5 layouts under constuction,i just hope my work is of a good enough standard! Having always wanted to build a model of a real location Longwitton was the perfect prototype ,a simple track plan no signals and just 1 building another factor is the fact that Longwitton can be built to scale in quite a small space,the railway modeller April 2014 article about the history of this simple little station + the scale drawing of its building and the purchase of the December 1977 RM complete with Ian Futers Longwitton layout inspired me to have a go at this long closed prototype,i built just the platform section as a diorama sbout 5 years ago with the intention of one day buildig a proper working layout! Fast forward to Sep 2023 i have just started building a second section of the scotsgap end of the station starting with the B4342 stone bridge that still stands over the old railway track bed at this remote location ,i hope to post some photographs of my progress over the next few days!

 

Above is Longwitton, built as a diorama with its original backscreen. This is being replaced with a new piece of plywood.

 

The back of the station building with maybe the most attractive part the 3 brick chimneys that sadly wont be seen once the back scene is in place.

 

 

Above is looking towards Scotsgap with the new board plus the stone over bridge and showing the progress i have made with the landform 

 

Above is the classic view overlooking the station towards Rothbury from the road bridge. The scenic break at the Rothbury end of the station will also be replaced.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Clive martin
Photos added

[Richard Hall]

I'm working on a 2mm finescale "Longwitton" at the moment.  Early days, only got the wiring finished yesterday. I look forward to seeing your photos.

 

 

[Clive martin]

Hi Richard i was delighted to discover your thread last week, it looks amazing what you are doing, i hope to get some pictures up soon ,those photograhs from North eastern are priceless, Longwitton  seems to have been very camera shy so these photographs are very wecome !

 

 

[Clive martin]

I have just edited my first post to include some photographs of my progress so far,although longwittons track was replaced by concrete sleeper track in the 1950s i have used wooden sleeper track as that was what i had in stock when i built the diorama,the new back scene on the station board will be refitted to line up better with the new board !

[Richard Hall]

Nice work, instantly recognisable building.  It's a shame the real station building didn't survive: photos show it still looking very tidy in the early 70s so I don't know why it ended up being demolished.

 

[Clive martin]

Hi Richard it is a great shame about the buildings being demolished at least they survived long enough for Ian Futers to survey back in the 1970s, looking at the photographs on your thread the photograph of the contractors demolition train hauled by a Fowler diesel locomotive the station looked like it had just been repainted prior to the closure of the line!

[Clive martin]

I have made a bit of progress on Longwitton's station board over the last week. I realised on closer study that the landform from the road bridge went down behind the grounded carriage so, I have extended what I had built. I also decided that my original station building was a bit rough so decided to build a better replacement. This building has proper foundations so that it will sit into the platform rather than being placed on top of the platform the benefit of this method is that their will be no gap underneath the building when it is on the platform.

 

This is the platform with the station footings cut out. I used my fantastic Dewalt multi tool to do this. I don't know how I would manage without it. I have also moved the telegraph pole nearer to the building as after study of the prototype I realised that I had placed the telegraph pole in the wrong place! 

 

 

This is the new building under construction, like the prototype it sits on a brick base that will be sunk into the footings on the platform. The small flower border will also sit on top of the platform. I think this building is quite an improvement on my previous build having spent greater effort on the sash windows. The roof will be fixed in place once the building painted and glazed.

 

This photograph shows the station nearing completion. I have improved all the previous scenic work using hanging basket liner for the embankments.  I am very pleased with the appearance of this as it gives the grass a late summer early autumn look. To add a bit of extra colour I have added the odd bit of course turf. To bring the station forward to its later 1960s condition just before closure of the line I have also moved the fencing forward on the platform, something that happened at Longwitton .I have improved the platforms representation of its ash surface with a coating of grey tile grout applied through a sieve onto a coat of PVA .Once this had set I have given the platform some static grass  to give the station a slightly run down and overgrown look typical of the prototype near to its closure.  The building just now needs to be painted.

 

The backscene board is not yet fixed in place I have given it a coat of sky-blue paint. I am thinking about using acrylic paints to have a go at painting some distant hills and clouds. I am really happy with the outcome so far and looking forward to completing this project.