Coxheath Sidings goes DCC

[Mike Bellamy]

Our adventure in Canada nearly over, we follow on Monday. Hello again the pleasures of the East Midlands, Great Central Railway and the autumn model rail shows, all of which I`ve been deprived of here in CA.

 

See you next month....

 

Dava

Well what a surprise - I didn't see that coming or did I miss something in a previous posting or another topic ?

 

Will you be all unpacked and ready to bring the layout to Mickleover in January . . . . . . !!

 

Good luck with the move - hope all goes well.

 

Mike

 

 

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[switcher 1]

I think you forgot to mention rain......

[Dava]

Thanks,I prefer British rain to 8ft of Canadian snow!

 

Only keen readers of the Cape Breton Post or Times Higher might have spotted any news of this...let's say Mrs Dava prefers shopping in M&S or Sainsbury's to Walmart or whatever.

 

I start a new job in the UK next week...

 

Our box should be back home around mid November. It'll be interesting to see how the microlayout comes out. If it's structurally OK then yes to Mickleover next January, we can run Terriers on it!

 

Sorry to be parting with our trusty Mitsubishi RVR.

 

 

Dava

[Mike Bellamy]

 

Only keen readers of Times Higher might have spotted any news of this.... yes to Mickleover next January, we can run Terriers on it!

Found it - Congratulations on your new appointment - so back to Lincoln but this time at that other place with the funny name that no one can pronounce !

 

Although it's supposed to be a narrow gauge event, I'm happy for almost anything to be there - with Neil Blair and Andy Young both working on 7mm standard gauge and me buying a few bits second hand (as usual) the 7mmNG might be the minority interest this time

 

Mike

 

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Edited September 27, 2015 by Mike Bellamy

[andyram]

Mid November...just miss out on the Weston show then!!!

[Dava]

I hope to be at Weston this year, but not with a layout - possibly next year?

 

Dava

[andyram]

That would be great Dava. The 2016 show is set as 12th November. The benefit of being deputy I can more influence the diary.

[Dava]

So Coxheath Sidings and a good many other boxes went off in a container end September, not without some trying times. We vacated Canada, arrived in UK with two suitcases and two cats in boxes the next day. 

 

To our surprise the contained made the passage to the UK in 3 weeks rather than 5, and after it arrived lots of boxes came out...so the time since then has mainly been unpacking & sorting. The Cox-box is among many others  in the workshop and actual modelling unlikely very soon...although the promised arrival of a blue Terrier in the next week or so could prompt a rethink!

 

There is little damage to report so far..except the only loco to be unpacked, the little Peckett, well the driver appears to have suffered a gruesome Halloween type industrial accident!

 

 

Dava

[Mike Bellamy]

 

I know I should have clicked on 'Friendly / Supportive' in sympathy with his injury but as I burst out laughing when I saw it, I just had to rate this post as 'Funny'. The fact your container arrived early reminded me of the posting from Chris about the Minerva Peckett which is also arriving early !

 

On a more serious note - pleased that everything seems to be going to plan and that you are trying to return to normality . . . . . . .

 

 

.

[trisonic]

Suffered sticker shock in the UK yet?

Seriously, I’m never moving trans continents again. Too crowded too (?)

 

Best, Pete.

[Zomboid]

You should just add the gore and see if anyone comments...

[Dava]

Boxes & more boxes....by  this evening with  Mrs Dava away at work there was time & space to unbox Coxheath Sidings after its transatlantic journey.

 

 

It seemed pretty unscathed by the  experience. Yet more cardboard packing comes off!   Does anyone want 100 or so packing boxes in a variety of sizes by the way?

 

So I reassembled it, managing to find the buildings & other fittings....

 

One reason for doing this was that at the weekend I'd retrieved the AC Cars railbus from its storage in Scotland, and then today the Terrier from work. So they were unboxed & had some trial running. The railbus is actually a bit big and certainly heavy for the line. It could certainly demolish the buffer stops. So it will need a longer run in due course.

 

The blue Terrier 'Bodiam' is very sweet and is a beautiful little loco, well worth the wait. The layout is again hard to photograph (the workshop still having lots of boxes!) but here is a shot over the wall into  the yard.

 

 

So the plan is to fettle the track, ballast it and finish scenic work  over Christmas. Nice to have a shortline to run again!

 

Dava

 

 

[hartleymartin]

What is the overall size of the baseboards? This looks like the sort of project that I should just copy the track plan and give myself a little diorama layout to shunt a few wagons around.

[Dava]

The baseboards are each 3 x 1 ft, giving 6 ft length. I had one RH Peco point, bought distressed & s/h. It is really a test,photo & amusement track, built as therapy. I will finish it for limited display, but the foamboard construction will limit its life.

 

I ran Jim Read's new Maltby layout at the Weston show this morning and that is more interesting, with durable ply board, two traversers, Barry slip and point all working well & with great slow running. All in about 4 x 1.5 ft.

 

Dava

[Dava]

So with all but 6 of our boxes dealt with, finally time for some modelling after a break of 3 months. One advantage of a micro-layout is that the boring bits don't take as long as on bigger projects...so Friday evening was spent painting the rail sides rusty coloured. After this dried, Saturday early evening was ballasting time.

 

My way of doing this is with mixed flock powders to simulate ash ballast, I don't like granite chippings. So I dissolve PVA in water with brown-grey acrylic paint and a drop  of washing up liquid (I don't know f this is needed but Mrs Dava got very annoyed that the bubbly stuff was in the workshop!). I paint this on three sleeper gaps at a time and add the ballast using a cardboard hopper resembling one you can buy (sorry). Tamp the powder down with a pencil and and move on.

 

This morning I shook, blew and brushed the loose flock off the boards onto newspaper, this material (there was quite a lot) can be re-used. But enough had stuck to make it a relative success. Railheads cleaned. Rest of the scenic work can now follow. It doesn't look too bad.  This may be a relatively short-life layout but its a pity not to finish it.

 

 

Baseboards from above

 

 

From one end, the sector table is to the left

 

 

With warehouse and end wall added for effect.

 

Dava

 

 

[Dava]

I've enjoyed (mainly) adding some scenic touches to Coxheath Sidings after the ballasting work last weekend, most of which actually stuck down.

 

This Friday evening and Saturday were sent applying ground cover. The flock went  down fine but dilute PVA didnt work so well on the Woodlands Scenics and shrubby bits. Anyway it looks better overall.

 

Peckett 1287 shunts a van in the loading dock.

 

 

A blue Terrier  has arrived from the K&ESR!

 

 

The Peckett runs slowly past the timber yard.  That sawdust is genuine - fire hazard?

 

 

The Peckett runs past the Terrier in the siding.

 

 

So there we go. I seem  to remember Copydex works on some of these scenic products. I will experiment with static grass. I can see some of the Christmas break being spent on painting figures & small details. Also it helps me develop ideas for a more 'grown up'  layout project.  All good  fun.

 

Dava

 

 

[NeilHB]

It's all coming together nicely Dave - scenic work looks good and 'Bodiam' looks right at home.

[Dava]

Thanks Neil,

 

Maybe this project may get an outing next year. Like your coaches by the way.

 

Dava

[NeilHB]

I hope so - would be good to see it in the flesh. Thanks.

[marc smith]

Nice small layout!
Sorry, I've only just caught up with this thread

EDIT: I'm not intending to hijack your thread here - so more apologies are due
But I'm really interested in small layouts, in any scale really, but lately I'm even more interested in small O gauge layouts,
and especially low-cost approaches...

Anyhow, my hijack continues;
This is a thread I started ages ago, on my layout "Poynton Sneer" - which actually cost around just £80 to build
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/56443-poynton-sneer-sidings/

.. just in case you hadn't seen the layout before
It's just 4 foot 11 inches, including fiddle yard, and that includes a run-round loop, via sliding sector plate

Edited December 9, 2015 by marc smith

[Dava]

The weekend sessions on detailing Coxheath Sidings continue..

 

I wanted to define the boundary of the railway at the footbridge end visually, and take the eye off the size of the bridge itself, so decided to build a wooden fence.

 

This uses the thin fruitbox wood brought back from Nova Scotia. Here is the framing side which backs onto the rails. The box wood has been scribed and stained, as in the timberyard described above.

 

 

Here is the fence in place. The planks have been heavily distressed, some are missing, others have gaps between them, all the scribed lines have been cut through. There are a couple of tatty adverts on the fence. Static grass around fence posts.

 

 

Finally a view just showing the difference it makes.  Harder for the viewer to see vehicles emerging from the sector table, so a little more intriguing.

 

 

The next little project is a pickup truck in the yard. Small 7mm period vehicles of this type are a bit scarce. My collection of Series 1 Landys probably not suitable. I did find an Airfix Albion truck in RAF 3-point fuelling bowser mode in Gee Dee Models yesterday. This is 1:48 scale but provides a very good chassis & cab for a small truck. But the actual project is another recycled item you'll see next time. 

 

Finally, hoping the Sidings will get a public viewing early in 2016...

 

Dava

[marc smith]

Hi there Dava,
Love that dilapidated, weather beaten fence in the foreground there. It just works so well

I found, switching from modelling in 4mm scale, to modelling O - the entrance to offstage areas is so much harder to disguise
Will you do anything to help disguise this "join"? I personally continue the ballasting into the non-visible area, 
and place a few weeds etc. It's amazing how this can help take the eye away from the offstage bit

Cheers now

[south_tyne]

Have to agree with the comment above, I think the beaten-up fence in the foreground is fantastic. It is great modelling, subtle yet effective and the colours are superb. 

 

I also admire the way your have weathered the trackwork, again the colours are lovely. It is something I have always struggled a little but I think you have executed it really well, highlighting the difference between the rail, sleepers, chairs and ballast etc, rather than one generic wash of colour. Excellent stuff!

 

David

Edited December 14, 2015 by south_tyne

[Dava]

Thanks for kind comments, guys. The wood effect is actually quite easy to do, distressed low grade thin wood stained with dilute arylics on this occasion.

 

The transition to the sector table section under the bridge will be disguised/concealed after some adjustments to the track alignment. Quite a lot of detail work to do over the Xmas break. Also that blue Terrier will not be staying so pristine clean and bright for long! Any ideas on fading the tankside lettering?

 

It looks like the first (possibly only, depends how we get on) could be at Mickleover, Trent Valley Narrow Gauge Group event, Sat 30 Jan 2016. If so it will be the third layout I have debuted there, its a friendly event.

 

More at the weekend hopefully,

 

Dava

[marc smith]

Hi Dava,

To fade the tankside lettering, do you have any paint which is a close match to the colour of the engine?
A thin coat of the loco colour, mainly then wiped away is one method....

Alternatively, a fibreglass brush is another - however....
Not everyone is keen on this, as it can be overdone, or leave fine scratch marks on the surface of the loco
So only do it if you're sure you could do a repaint, if necessary....!
Some people also use T-cut, applied with a cotton bud, but again, it's an abrasive, so you're removing the transfer

Personally, I'd prefer to use acrylic paints, and fade the lettering by overpainting
With Acrylics, if you think you've applied a bit too much, as long as you're quite quick about it,
you can easily remove the paint with a damp cloth or cotton bud.
I would tend to use this method, then apply weathering - again using acrylics with some weathering powders