Paynestown

[Barry Ten]

 

I've posted bits and pieces about Paynestown around the forum over the last couple of years, especially in my blog, but I thought it might be an idea to start a topic here. Apologies to those who have seen it all before - move along now, nothing new here!

 

At the start of 2010 I began work on what was meant to be a quickie - a simple, low-tech layout which could be built with the minimum of fuss in time for that year's Lord and Butler open day, normally centered around Father's Day weekend in late June. The idea was to use existing buildings wherever possible, and to make use of Code 100 track salvaged from the layout I tore up when I left Holland. The theme was to be a South Wales terminus in the steam era, and the main part of the layout would be based around two lightweight boards constructed mainly from extruded foam. I was keen to get in lots of levels, which I felt would help convey the steep terrain of the typical valleys terminus.

 

Here are the two boards early in the construction:

 

 

Each was around 3.5 foot long, a shade under 2 foot wide, and faced with 3mm MDF, using wooden locating dowels to align the two pieces.

 

Progress was quick to begin with, but as the months wore on, it became clear that Father's Day was coming up uncomfortably quickly! On a pleasant day in early summer I took the assembled boards out in the garden to photograph progress:

 

 

 

The layout was finally exhibited as work in progress. Over the weekend a number of issues came to light, but I enjoyed the experience well enough that I decided to press on with work on Paynestown, with the aim of taking it again a year later, in the summer of 2011. Rather than let it sit around gathering dust, I made a point of getting on with those improvements straight away - but even so, it still came down to the wire by the time it was due to go out again.

 

Time was divided between about three main activities - fine detailing of those parts of the layout already in place:

 

 

The construction of new buildings for the right-hand side, including this chapel:

 

 

And general work on rolling stock, including this 14xx upgrade:

 

 

That'll do for now, but I'll aim to add some posts covering progress on the layout to date, and plans for its future. Cheers and thanks for reading.

[westerner]

Please do, this brings back childhood memories of visiting relatives in the Swansea area.

[46444]

Brilliant stuff!

 

I've really enjoyed reading about Paynestown in the past and think this is good idea to post this on the layout threads.

 

The layout leaves no doubting of it's setting and is brilliantly executed.

 

I look forwards to regular instalments and inspiration!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Barry Ten]

My old layout in Holland had a line of buildings running down a hill, a scenic arrangement that I was always quite fond of:

 

 

When building Paynestown, I was pleased to have a chance to recreate this scene, albeit with some differences:

 

 

This time the houses back onto a retaining wall, whereas before they were on a rising embankment with the track running at a lower level behind them. However, the basic arrangement is there. The original pub at the base of the hill had been made at an angle to suit the existing scenery on the old layout, so this ended up dictating the angles on Paynestown as well. For that reason the road running under the rail overbridge is not at right angles to the edge of the board, which I think ends up looking more interesting. If I was doing it all again, in fact, I wouldn't make the sloping street parallel to the edge either.

 

 

The Wills tin chapel is a great little kit. This time I added a touch more weathering, and also modelled the door in the outhouse as being open, with a suggestion of an interior:

 

 

The next building down the road is a set of cottages very obviously modelled using the old Superquick kit. The kit had seen some action and for Paynestown I took the opportunity to repair some damage by way of using plastikard overlays, as well as introducing a little individuality.

 

 

I elevated the cottages above the road level, which is a very typical valleys feature - although doubtless not uncommon elsewhere in the country. I also took the opportunity to go to own on the detailing of the rear yards/gardens, inspired by the built-up terraces visible from the railway line through Pontypridd, which also back onto a retaining wall:

 

 

 

I've since added railings to that lethal-looking set of steps - although I wouldn't mind betting there are some worse ones in real life:

 

 

That'll do for now - cheers for reading.

[definate maybe]

Very nice indeed

[Captain Kernow]

Lovely looking layout, Al, and very believeable scene, positioning of buildings etc. Full of atmosphere!

 

You know what I want to ask, don't you?!

[cromptonnut]

Very nice, I particularly like how the Wills "tin chapel" has come together.

 

I bet it won't be long at an exhibition before someone comes up to you and is convinced that they lived in one of those houses as a child, and can remember their father drinking at the pub.

[Barry Ten]

You know what I want to ask, don't you?!

 

Can you have my bank account details to help transfer a large sum of money owing to the relatives of the late Horst?

[Guest oldlugger]

Hello Barry,

 

Very inspired and original; the buildings are especially realistic... imagine this with P4 track and stock!

 

Cheers

Simon

[Barry Ten]

Hello Barry,

 

Very inspired and original; the buildings are especially realistic... imagine this with P4 track and stock!

 

Cheers

Simon

 

Probably end up being about 10' in P4 I suspect - but that wouldn't be a bad thing in a way as I wouldn't mind having more room for buildings.

 

As it is one of the points is a medium radius which in itself causes buffer locking with certain stock.

 

Love the track on your layout, by the way - absolutely amazing.

[Happy Hippo]

Al,

 

Good to see Paynestown again.

 

Being the total pedant, isn't that 56xx pointing the wrong way for a valleys working?

 

Regards

 

Richard

[Danemouth]

Al,

 

Having seen Paynestown in the flesh your photos really do it justice. Atmosphere by the bucketful!

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[Guest oldlugger]

Al,

 

Good to see Paynestown again.

 

Being the total pedant, isn't that 56xx pointing the wrong way for a valleys working?

 

Regards

 

Richard

 

Hello Rich,

 

Sorry to be another pedant! It looks more like a 45xx to me (the chimney is the wrong shape for the 56/66xx) but I could be wrong.

 

Barry, this is a lovely layout and is full of true valleys atmosphere; you've done a cracking job here!

 

Cheers

Simon

[Barry Ten]

Hello Rich,

 

Sorry to be another pedant! It looks more like a 45xx to me (the chimney is the wrong shape for the 56/66xx) but I could be wrong.

 

Barry, this is a lovely layout and is full of true valleys atmosphere; you've done a cracking job here!

 

Cheers

Simon

 

No, he's right about the 56 (the lined green one) - normally they would run front-first up the valleys. As I operate with a couple of 56s I tend to run one facing the other way than the other for a bit of variety. My excuse is that there's a reversal or junction involved somewhere down the line so both directions are possible.

[hoover50008]

Lovely layout, very atmospheric.

 

E

[Barry Ten]

A few shots of the station end of proceedings (and apologies for the lens smudges in one or two spots). This area underwent quite a revision between the layout's first and second outings. Originally there had just been a hill rising above the station, with a rockface on one side. But looking for somewhere to position the chapel, I eventually got rid of the hill, which I hoped would convey a more claustrophobic valleys atmosphere.

 

The station buildings are a mixture of kit and scratchbuilt. The main building, not very well seen in these shots, is adapted from a Hornby Skaledale product, repainted and with added canopies. There was - is - still a lot more to be done with detailing and general clutter, especially at this end of the layout. The point rodding only extends as far as the left-hand board, for instance.

 

Visible in some of these shots are the magnets for the Spratt and Winkle couplings, all supplied by MSE. These allowed run-round moves, adding and detaching vans from trains, shunting the goods yard and so on. I was able to operate the layout from the fiddle yard in totally hands-off fashion, which was very satisfying.

 

 

 

 

At the time of the layout's last outing, I started constructing another block of buildings to go on the lower level, where there's currently a patch of open ground surrounded by a fence. However, that's as far as I got - I still have the sides of the buildings cut out and ready to assemble, if I can remember the order they were meant to go in.

 

Thanks for the kind words on the layout, all.

[Unicorn1]

Lovely layout, You have certainly captured the 'feel' of a Welsh valley. The detail in the buildings is great, and the various levels really lead the eye around the scene. Very nice photos too.

[Intercity125]

Fantastic layout. Ooozes atmosphere and love the adaptions to the Superslow cottages. Can't wait to see more photos

[westerner]

Those cottages raied above the road certainly rmind me of the roads both my grandparents lived. Excellent.

[chrisf]

... My excuse is that there's a reversal or junction involved somewhere down the line so both directions are possible.

 

A couple of thoughts here. First, the Ynysybwl branch, which lost its passenger service in 1952, had a triangular junction with the Pontypridd - Merthyr line between Pontypridd and Abercynon. While most of the service ran from Pontypridd there were odd workings from and to Abercynon. Secondly, from 1953 to 1958 one of the auto trains based at Barry managed to negotiate three sides of a triangle in the course of a day's work. It is true that the 56xx were supposed to work chimney first uphill but there must have been times when the rule was not observed.

 

Those who were not at Members' Day 2011 missed this fine layout. It has been hidden away in a blog for too long and it is so good to see it again.

 

Chris

[Welsh Yorkie]

My old layout in Holland had a line of buildings running down a hill, a scenic arrangement that I was always quite fond of:

 

chapel_street_large.JPG

 

When building Paynestown, I was pleased to have a chance to recreate this scene, albeit with some differences:

 

payne21.jpg

 

This time the houses back onto a retaining wall, whereas before they were on a rising embankment with the track running at a lower level behind them. However, the basic arrangement is there. The original pub at the base of the hill had been made at an angle to suit the existing scenery on the old layout, so this ended up dictating the angles on Paynestown as well. For that reason the road running under the rail overbridge is not at right angles to the edge of the board, which I think ends up looking more interesting. If I was doing it all again, in fact, I wouldn't make the sloping street parallel to the edge either.

 

payne26.jpg

 

The Wills tin chapel is a great little kit. This time I added a touch more weathering, and also modelled the door in the outhouse as being open, with a suggestion of an interior:

 

payne29.jpg

 

The next building down the road is a set of cottages very obviously modelled using the old Superquick kit. The kit had seen some action and for Paynestown I took the opportunity to repair some damage by way of using plastikard overlays, as well as introducing a little individuality.

 

payne18.jpg

 

I elevated the cottages above the road level, which is a very typical valleys feature - although doubtless not uncommon elsewhere in the country. I also took the opportunity to go to own on the detailing of the rear yards/gardens, inspired by the built-up terraces visible from the railway line through Pontypridd, which also back onto a retaining wall:

 

cottage3.jpg

 

cottage4.jpg

 

I've since added railings to that lethal-looking set of steps - although I wouldn't mind betting there are some worse ones in real life:

 

cottage5.jpg

 

That'll do for now - cheers for reading.

The deck chair is the give-away. This layout is certainly not set in the likes of Merthyr!

[Barry Ten]

Paynestown will be coming down to the RMweb member's day in Taunton in just over a week so with that in mind I've had the layout out of storage for a month or two to check running and do a bit more work on it.

 

I mentioned that I'd intended to add a new building or block of buildings to an area of open land on the model. I'd already measured and cut the sides for a new structure but when it came time to make it, I couldn't find the bits so I decided to make it from scratch. Of course, as soon as I was finished I found the old pieces but in hindsight they would have made for a smaller building that wouldn't have been quite as imposing.

 

There's still some interior detailing and exterior weathering to be done but here is the nearly-finished article (the green building with the grocer's sign) in place:

 

 

 

 

It's an oddly shaped building to fill an odd plot of land and to complicate matters I decided to model it with a "fifth" side by having an angled frontage, although not quite in view in these shots. I measured the area before removing the old scenery and didn't quite get the geometry right, which is why it doesn't sit parallel to the pavement's edge, but I'm happy enough and that sort of thing can always be put down to the changing layout in a town - perhaps the road was at a slightly different angle before the railway came along, for instance?

 

Rather than go for a lot of exterior trimmings I decided to keep this model very plain,making the shape the focus. I painted it and then applied talcum powder to the wet surface to suggest a rendered finish but to be honest that didn't work as effectively as I'd hoped. Originally I painted it pale grey but that looked very dull and tended to blend into the stonework and road, so I went back over with pale green. I doubt that there were many buildings painted in pale green in the 1950s but for now it'll do.

 

Other than that, I've reworked the connections between the two baseboards to (hopefully) eliminate track alignment problems. The tracks used to have to be almost forced into alignment using clamps (always a sweaty and stressing process at the set-up for a show) but now they line up without any coercion, so I'm hoping that will be for the better.

 

Cheers, and hope to see some of you in Taunton.

[CourthsVeil]

As already said: this is one fantastic layout ! A really interesting trackplan combined with inspiring levelling, masterly executed details (e.g the Cat on a Tin Roof) – these blend together to a rarely seen quality.

Thank you for sharing!

Armin

[Barry Ten]

masterly executed details (e.g the Cat on a Tin Roof)

 

Thanks, Armin - I do like the cat a lot myself!

[Barry Ten]

Since its last outing, I'd felt that the backscene, with just a suggestion of background hills, looked a bit too empty for my tastes. One of the things on my to-do list was to try to get in a bit more valleys ambience, with a hint of terraced houses, factories, chimneys and mine buildings. Fortunately, there is no shortage of inspiration to be found in old photos, as well as just keeping the eyes open when you drive around. I went for a grey sky, then various warm grey shades for the hills and buildings, offset with a few hints of colour. I then misted over the whole lot with the airbrush, before adding slightly more foreground elements such as the pit wheel, churches and so on.