Bratton Lane - Sold

[jamest]

Hi all,

 

I've been experimenting with layout designs for a small terminus in my garage lately. I was going for an Inglenook layout but it inevitably grew to something different and has been put to one side for now. One of the reasons I was going to use the garage was that I had a ready made 6'x1' board hinged to the wall with a shelf fiddle yard. But this is too much space to use for an inglenook and I wanted to be able to set something up inside the house quickly over the winter to play with.

 

So I went through my offcuts of ply and softwood and came up with a baseboard just over 4' by 1' wide. I recently got some furniture from some neighbours to burn in my wood burner over winter and salvaged some of the 6mm ply from that to create the back-scene and box effect that I have previously used on my other layout Braybridge.

 

I plan to use the standard 5-3-3 siding capacity using two good Peco short radius points I picked up for 8 quid from my local shop. I have left enough room in the head shunt to use a small diesel (class 20, 24, 25 etc) as well as an 08 or a 57xx. The plan might also lend itself to a more modern application with larger wagons and a 3-2-2 layout.

 

I was searching for inspiration on buildings and noticed scalescenes were currently working with the Hornby magazine in producing some card kits with a warehouse, boiler house, workshop etc. I bought the warehouse and got the boiler house with the latest mag - all designed to keep the costs down! I really like the scalescenes kits and I think I'm getting some very good results after years of learning to improve my assembly techniques.

 

So here are some pictures of the initial track positioning and laying - I glue Wick's cork floor tiles down as a base for my track. The first shots look weird as the board is positioned on top of the garage fold down board:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And with the free backboards fitted and painted:

 

 

I plan to operate this from the front and use wire in the tube to operate the points. They are insulfrog but I solder feeds to the middle of the point joining the common inside and outside rails to ensure good electrical conductivity. I also feed every section of track to ensure I'm not relying on rail joiners for power transfer. I've tested the running with the 57xx and it runs like a dream.

 

I have a lot of 'kadeed' stock but I was going to use magnets under the track combined with bent staples on the tension lock couplings. But after experimenting I decided to stick with kadees and live with the fact that the magnets will be between the sleepers.

 

I think thats it for now - I hope to move reasonably quickly with this one as I have the stock ready to go and, in the small amount of time I've had to play with the shunting puzzle, I'm hooked!

 

Regards,

James

[jamest]

Hi all,

A bit of progress to report.

I've sprayed the track and ballasted. I've simply sprayed the track with sleeper grime in the past but because there is lees track on this layout I decided I could take a little more time and try something different.

First I sprayed it all over with Humbrol flat earth 29 acrylic paint:

 

 

 

 

Then painted the rail sides with Tamiya acrylic hull red - I like the darkness of this as I personally think it shouldn't look too rusty:

 

 

I then dusted over the previous work with the usual sleeper grime with my airbrush - acrylic again thinned 50% with Tamiya acrylic thinners:

 

 

Then added the ballast - woodland scenic's fine grey:

 

 

 

I will dust over it all again to mimic dirt and grime from everyday use - and the sidings will have to look less 'main line' ballasted and more random but that's it for now.

Regards,
James

[jamest]

Hi again,

 

Here is some more progress with the layout. I've decided to go for the same back scene I've used before. I've always had grief with bubbles, and this one was no different, until I thought about only gluing the outside of the back scene and not all of it (like wallpaper). This has worked brilliantly and I'm really pleased with it - although I did trash a back scene set finding this out! There are still some odd bumps over the glue but these can be hidden.

 

 

I've also built some of the free kits in the Hornby mag produced to compliment my warehouse. The large one is supposed to be the boiler house and the small one a workshop - but I've decided to swap them around and make the smaller one the boiler house. The chimney isn't attached yet as I'm still not sure how the final arrangement of buildings will work.

I like this format although it is probably too thin a plot in reality - I have limited space and in my world there will be a yard area between the warehouse and workshop - with double gates in the back scene wall behind it. The boiler house is effectively reached thro' the workshop and the water tower will sit behind. I will add a fence against the head shunt in-between the buildings to guard against people not looking what they are doing. I might yet join the two buildings together to create one.

 

 

 

 

And some other shots for the hell of it!

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

James

[jamest]

Hi all,

Bit more progress to report.

I've decided to remove the end wall from the boiler house and join it to the workshop - it fits a lot better and looks more realistic. I've also added the last details to the buildings. I was going to buy a scalescenes bridge but remembered I had one somewhere in an old magazine. A rummage in the 'storage' later and hey presto a free(ish) bridge!

So this will hide the end of the line:

 

Here is the 'combined' factory unit, with a sneak preview of my new loco:

 

So I saved a couple of quid......and then spent nearly fifty quid on a new loco from a well known auction site. I already have a blue one, which has a decoder, but I can leave this one DC for now and just plug in my combi. Thats the beauty of a small layout with only one loco:

 

 

 

As you might be able to see, I have also painted the factory side of the track with some textured tarmac paint. I like the effect but I will need to bed in the buildings well to hide the gaps. On the front side of the track I will have a raised grassy bank flowing down to track level with a tree or two on top to break up the view.

Regards,
James

[class"66"]

Very nice little setup you have!!

looking forward to another update now..

 

cheers neil.

[jamest]

Hi all,

Made a bit more progress over the last week.

I've completed the walls around the bridge and added some railings from another kit I'll never make! I think they fit in nicely. Prior to this I completed the front fascia board - this was one of the last jobs on my previous layout but I wanted to make it out of one piece of mdf, and The front hill and bridge need this fascia to be in place to enable me to fit everything nice and snug.

With that done I could then glue in some polystyrene blocks for the 'hill' and cut them to the contours of the front panel when everything dried. I plan to cover this with plaster bandage this weekend some time:

So here is the front fascia in place and primed (it will be black eventually):

 

And the finished bridge:

 

And the cut out hill - clue polystyrene balls everywhere!

 

 

I've also used the lights from my other layout Braybridge - I have two sets of clips to hold them so I can swap the lights between the layouts:

 

Lights on! It looks better and will help when working on these dark winter nights.

 

I have the last building to build - a water tower free in the latest Hornby mag. Then I can add the walls to hide the join to the back-scene.

Cheers,
James

[jamest]

Hi all,

Must be time for an update!

I've coated the polystyrene in plaster bandage and painted it brown ready to accept static grass.

 

 

I wasn't really happy with the uniform grey of the tarmac or the neat ballasting so I bit the bullet and scattered some sieved wood-burner ash about. I should have decided this before permanently gluing the buildings because they don't like being sprayed with water, even after varnishing them. But I bashed on and decided to treat the rails as if I was ballasting again - I sprinkled on ash, moved it about (a lot messier than fine ballast), sprayed it with water (protecting the buildings) and flooded it with 50/50 PVA/water with a little fairy liquid.

I decided on a different approach around the buildings in the vehicle part of the yard. I painted on PVA to the current tarmac and sprinkled on ash. I let it dry out and hoovered off the excess. I then rubbed in what was left to hide bare patches and sprayed the lot with cheap hairspray. I'm really pleased with the results - A lot dirtier and random - and less of a definite line between the rail and road. I will need to clean the sleepers and track off a bit and maybe dry brush them again.

Rail:

 

 

 

Yard, you can see the contrast to the original darker tarmac against the back scene:

 

And I've also made up some yard gates out of my warehouse kit spares - I'll set it off the back scene a little to provide a bit of depth. They still need wall and buttress caps:

 

Regards,

James

[brossard]

Cracking job you've done James, very inspiring.  Thanks for showing the details of how you did things - I like the track colouring especially.  Those buildings look familiar - Scalescenes from Hornby mag?

 

John

[jamest]

Cracking job you've done James, very inspiring.  Thanks for showing the details of how you did things - I like the track colouring especially.  Those buildings look familiar - Scalescenes from Hornby mag?

 

John

 

Hi John,

 

Yes, I only bought the warehouse with the unloading platform (which I think was in the mag but I missed it). All the rest, including a water tower not seen yet, were free from Hornby.

 

I really like Scalescenes stuff and I've now got a good range of bricks and structures to make my own stuff like the gates.

 

It helps when you can laser print at work!

 

Regards,

James

[jamest]

Hi all,

I've had a good week spending time on the layout and made some good progress with the greenery....

I've grassed the bank and added the walls around the buildings. I'm lucky enough to have a Noch grass-master and the effect you get is great - even if I'm still learning the best mix of ingredients! The walls and gates are 'kit-bashed' from my stock of scalescenes kits and spares - I've tried to leave a gap to the back scene where possible to help me blend in the gap with bushes. The buffer stops are basic painted (sleeper grime) but need dry brushing and finishing.

The photos aren't perfect as they are taken with my phone:

 

 

 

 

 

An overall view - the fascia will be painted black

 

 

I'm still fine tuning the kadees on my stock which is proving a little frustrating. I know experts out there will tell me to permanently fix 'proper' kadees and avoid NEM plug ins, but I like a challenge. Its also a good excuse to play trains.

 

Some of the stock is out of the box clean mixed in with some home and factory weathered vans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still need to add some fencing to stop workmen blundering out in front of trains - and I plan to add a GWR style fence posts and wire along the grass bank about half way up.

There are also a few other 'gaps' to fill under the buildings and walls - but I'm pleased with how its turning out.

Regards,
James

 

 

[jamest]

Happy new year to you all,

I've made a good bit of progress over the last month but I've not been very good with updates on here as I've had some problems uploading pictures.

I'm going to update you on the progress in steps over the next few days.

I added the ratio fencing separating the field from the yard - I painstakingly drilled two holes in every post (all 35 of them) and glued them into drilled holes in the bandage base. I then threaded the wire through the holes and glued the end posts to the wire. I've also added the security fencing to the back of the factory and a lower barrier at the front to stop people stumbling onto the track!

 

 

 

 

 

Almost immediately I decided that two 'wires' on the line-side fencing was not enough and it didn't look right. But the thought of pulling them up and re-drilling two more holes in each post did not fill me with enthusiasm! So I summoned up some guts and ripped it up - drilled more holes and replanted them - it was certainly worth the effort, I want to put some sheep in the field and two wires would not have kept them very secure. I also took the opportunity to paint the posts in sleeper grime.

I've also added the mesh to the security fence, this was tricky to keep taut and there is a kink where it was folded in the pack. I think I've mostly got away with it even though these photos are quite cruel - viewed from the front it is very difficult to notice. You might also notice some bushes sprouting between the fence and track:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures to follow.....

All the best,
James

[mudmagnet]

Hi James,

 

Good to see that you've been making progress.

I've also dropped you a pm.

[Andrew P]

Evening James, this really is a bit inspirational, lovely work, I've just worked through and thought the bridge on the left looked a bit strange but now its blended in its superb, excellent workmanship, love the wall around, it sort of holds it all together. 

 

All the best.

[jamest]

Thanks Andy/mudders,

 

The bridge entrance has evolved a bit - I was going to shoe-horn in a water tower behind the factory, in front of the brick wall alongside the bridge. But I was not happy when placing the structure in several positions and decided that I was trying to fit something in for the sake of it.

 

I'm really pleased I went for the small grass bank and the gate in the wall - it blends with the back scene well and hides the glaring tall brick wall against the bridge face. I'd agree it did not look right in the earlier posts without the greenery.

 

Regards,

James

[class"66"]

This has realy come on!!!

Great work bud....

 

 

cheers neil..

[jamest]

Hi again,

 

Time for update number two.

 

I've added some more grass around the sidings and buffer stop area, painted the buffer stops in sleeper grime and then dry brushed on white and dark rust:

 

 

 

I then dusted over the area with sleeper grime:

 

 

 

 

I've also weathered my 5 pound second hand wagons bought from my local shop. Nothing too technical about my technique - I brush on a wash of enamel matt black and then rub it off with cotton buds - I then airbrush the frame, wheel and lower body with acrylic sleeper grime. I also dry brushed the container to bring out the detail:

 

 

 

 

So I've got a good selection of eight wagons for the 5-3-3 sidings - but I'm always on the lookout for a bargain. I had a lot of trouble getting the uncoupling reliable but its not rocket science really - the more attention I pay to getting them the right height and secure, the better the results!

 

Update number three to follow.....

 

Regards,

James

 

 

[class"66"]

Grass looks very effective!!!

[ess1uk]

Looks great.

Like the buffer stop area.

[35005CP]

Superb Work James for such a small layout!! Looks absolutely suberb!

Nice one mate

Cheers

Andy

[Module00]

Realy beautiful layout. 

I like it very well.

Fantastic work. 

[1722]

This is simply stunning, James. Mind you, I shouldn't be surprised as Braybridge is one of my favourite layouts on here and this is just as high a quality build.

 

Looking forward to more updates.

[RAY NORWOOD]

Hi James

      Just come across this one, It looks fantatic, Know I now whey you won'ted to put Braybridge for sale, is this one for exhibitions.   

[jamest]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the kind comments.

 

Yes Ray I do intend to exhibit this (when invited) - I've already got a inquiry from Dave to go to Minehead later this year. This one will be a bit easier to transport.

 

Time for another picture update to bring you all up to speed.

 

I've now added some sheep to the field - now the fence is up to it!

 

 

I've dusted over the rest of the track, ballast, security fencing and walls with sleeper grime.

 

 

And I took advantage of the sunny weather the other day to paint the layout surround black - something I always enjoy as it really has a great effect and brings the layout to life:

 

 

The layout looked great in the sunlight - even though some of the shadows gave its secrets away!

 

 

 

All the best,

James

[RAY NORWOOD]

Hi James

      Wow love that layout James and the pictures make it look fantastic you have done a cracking job.

Keep up the good work.

[Mike W2]

Love this layout. Nice n simple but it just looks good. I might try to do something similar on my 5ft by 1ft layout.

 

thanks
Mike