Anthony Ashley

Lez, Thanks for the encouragement. I have a few more photos of recent work on the rock/embankment wall. Rock face on the mountain. Most of the mountain is scree slope but there is a very rocky area. I experimented in this area with a reasonable result. The plaster rocks were blended with brown red, grey and black water acrylics More to be done. The two roads are visible with the rail at the bottom of the mountain but out of view. The jumble of walls is very unusual but I have tried to replicate the actual area. I have used a pipette to fill in the gaps with plaster of paris. No paint has been applied to the walls. Next I need to clean the plaster out of the mortar lines, Paint the wall a mortar colour and then dry brush the stone in the walls a variety of colours Next series of photos will be the stone work having been painted and the walls finished. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear all, Although I have not posted much over the last few weeks there has been some progress. The higher mountain road has been done to the left side of the viaduct. The early photos are below. The first photo is the actual area. it is a crazy hotch potch of walls and rocks. I have not recreated exactly the wall face but elements have been included. These are the earlier stages of the area. Later photos will show more development. I have also added more concrete dust to the mountain . One of the more interesting jobs was filling in the gaps with plaster using a really large pipette. More photos in a day or so. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, I have returned from my holiday in North America. A few of the trail highlights included two trips on the Rock Mountaineer from Seattle to Vancouver and Vancouver to Banff, A trip from Skagway to White pass in Alaska and New York to Washington DC. I may post a few photos on those trips later. The finale of the holiday was spent at the home of John Dew with his wife Doreen. Sarah and I had a fantastic day enjoying demonstrations on John's layout "Granby" and a lovely lunch. Most of the demonstrations were some fantastic examples of how the TC Gold train controller system can be incorporated into a DCC layout using computer control for complex operations involving a number of schedules. John was very generous with his time in both preparing and setting up the demonstrations and the time to actually show me a great range of TC Gold operations. I have much to apply to my own layout when I have got enough of it laid to run a few trains, and the demonstrations provided me with much insight and knowledge on the versatility of the system. I would like would to acknowledge and thank John and Doreen for the generosity shown to Sarah and I. It was a very special day and one I shall never forget. I have been given approval by John to post some of the pictures taken on the day of "Granby". John's attention to detail in the scenery and small viginettes he has created is second to none, and is a brilliant recreation of a historical past in Britain. It was great to see such a detailed and comprehensive layout, which of course will never "quite be quite finished", but has little need or room for further improvement. Some of you may have seen many of these scenes on John's RM Web site, but I am very privileged to have approval to add a few more on mine. This is the view as you enter the layout room looking at the right side of the layout. Tenement houses on the right side and a storage yard behind them. The other side of the top of the layout features an engine shed and operating computerised turn table . One of a number of factory buildings requiring deliveries. Track to the coal loading shed. Detailed photo of the coal loading operations on the layout. Three bridge scene over a canal and factory on the right of the photo. Lock in the fore ground. There is so much detail in the layout it is hard to take it all in on a single visit, as I only noticed the loch on the photo!! Entrance to the beautiful train station completed with an eye to great detail. It looks like a busy period at the station!! Soldiers lined up outside the station. Perhaps ready as an escort or maybe due for a train trip. Officers appear to be standing around. Local cafe "Great Eastern" serving lunch dinner and bar snacks. Tenement houses with a window cleaner. Milk storage Signal box with the signalman having a short break. As you can see from the quality of the scenic areas and track the day was a treat in seeing such remarkable workmanship in the construction and finishing techniques. Thankyou again John and Doreen for a fantastic day!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

Simon, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. My condolences and best wishes. I hope you and your family have celebrated her long and wonderful life. My thoughts are with you. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, I am continuing a holiday in the US and Canada. Be back in a month to continue modelling!!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

Ed, I agree that the lines are emphasised with the white snow and thanks for the comment. Unfortunately there has been a sudden heat wave in North Wales and all the snow has melted suddenly, leaving barren brown mountains!! I addition I have started the longer avalanche shelter. It was much more difficult that the first due to the curvature of the shelter and the uneven height of the roof. Nevertheless it has worked out OK so far. Just nee the add the rafters and roof above the false ceiling which was required to stabliise the structure. Photos below. The curved avalanche shelter in the fore ground. Rafters and proper roof still to be added. I think this gully will be very interesting to scenic. I have temporarily attached the piers, but they each need to be extended by a further 4 ml. The closest pier has part of the extension added. The foam bits holding them up are temporary as well, but it gives an idea of the final effect. I shall need to plasticard the whole ply section of the viaduct. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear Scotty, Thanks for the comments. They really inspire continued efforts. It is obviously a long process, with having to get satisfaction from incremental achievements, particularly as most of my work is alone in the shed. I have primed the maintain in white, so there has been a sudden snow storm in North Wales. Pictures are below. Next is a coat of brown paint. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Work has been continuing on the mountain. I have 7-8 layers of paper mache on all areas of the mountain, which seems to be sufficient for strength over all. I think I shall focus on the road viaduct piers once I have painted to the mountain to protect form moisture. Thanks to Simon for the original idea on the use of paper mache. For anyone who has not read all of the entries I was originally going with plaster, but I found it did not have enough rigidity over the chicken wire and was prone to cracking and movement. The paper mache has the flexibility to provide an excellent base for the dirt and scree slopes/grass and vegetation and does not crack. Thank you again Simon for your contribution. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, A little more paper mache round the middle section of the mountain and around the back!!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Simon Thanks for the post. I had a look at Heaton Lodge and it is very large. Is it really 160 feet in length. Where doe he store it? I have stabilised the wire around a lot of the mountain, down to ground level. Every road has to be stapled with wire. I have commenced the top section of the mountain with paper mache. I am happy with the result, given this is the first cover on this section apart from the wire. I shall do the 2 lower sections with paper mache and then move around to the back of the mountain. The curve of the base boards means that I have a back to the mountain. It is a huge area and the pape rmache is a slow task. I will probably need at least 8 layers Photos are below. The back of the mountain is evident in this photo. More paper mache tomorrow.!!! Anthony Ashley

Simon, I agree the layout does appear to be a little large. Each of the main scenery areas seems to be a mini layout of its own. The mountain section has taken all of this year but I nearly have all of the supporting structures completed, It seems to me that building a really strong support structure is a very slow process. particularly where there are complex shapes such as tunnels rocks faces and avalanche support shelters to put into the mix. The left side of the rail viaduct as you look at it is the area currently under construction. I added ply to stabilise the wire behind the rail avalanche. I then needed to find a way to stabilise the wire going around the rail avalanche shelter on the rock side of the second shelter. I made a 30mm tunnel to staple the wire to. This little "tunnel" required further stabilisation. Pictures are below. Plan of the area under consideration. next to the number 45 on the top left is an open area. This leads into the Avalanche shelter numebr 2. Next is the rock face and the Avalanche shelter number 2. Second avalanche shelter in position. I have primed only some of the surfaces. I wanted to check how the rafters looked with some paint. The shelter is removable for track cleaning. The shelter still needs plasticard stone to complete. Next is the tunnel at the start of the rock face. I needed a solid ply surface to attach the wire. The rock face is not removable but qwill be cleaned form inside the layout.On the left of the shelter in the second photo you can see ply running on the outside of the base board. This is also to ensure the wire is well clear of the train line. The 3 elements together (rail avalanche shelter, rock face tunnel and track ply support. Over view of the area. Next easy job is to staple the wire to the track ply support running around the edge of the track base boards. Once this is done the whole of the mountain is ready for paper mache. I think it will take a week or so to do. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Some good progress with the road section cut and fitted. The road viaduct fits into the gap very nicely. Work still to be done on the piers. Photos are below. I have started stapling the chicken wire to the top d lower roads. More stapling required to secure the wire and then a huge area to add paper mache!!! I also have a lot of plasticard to add to the viaducts and roads leading up to the viaducts. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, A little more work on the mountain. I needed to sort the height of the road viaduct in order to cut the joining road section. This road goes back to Penmaenmawr and is needed before I mould the part of the mountain leading to Penmaenmawr. Photos are of the technique I use to get the approx shape of the road using flexi rail track to get one edge. Once this is drawn on the piece of paper it is then a matter of measuring the width of the road. Using the same curve of flexi track to draw the other side on paper. I the cut it out on paper and check it on the layout for accuracy and then use it as a template to cut the ply to the right size. So far it has worked really well. Photos of the road section under construction area on the layout are below with the area in which it will be inserted shown in other photos. Paper has been cut for one section with the flexi track laying on the edge of the paper. Another piece of flexi track is another section to be marked on paper and cut, then transfered to ply. Penmaenmawr end of the road section with the end of the road section visible and the road viaduct off in the distance Looking back from the road viaduct on the same area. Road viaduct on the right foreground. I just need to cut these sections and then I can progress the rest of the mountain with paper mache etc. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John, Thanks for the comment. Yes I think they look very good. For the ones I need they are almost exactly the right height for the first section of the pier. At the bottom section of the pier they are further supported by a reinforced wider section of the same stone work. This will enable me to overlap slightly an additional 32 mm section on the bottom, making them pretty close to the exact Pen-y- clip viaduct. The Slater's fine stone plasticard matches very closely that of the ratio piers. It should be a good combination. I like the capping stone work on top. Regards, Anthony

Rodney, Thanks for your kind comments. I do intend to take life a little easier, but I have my first job in a Reserve capacity tomorrow. Hopefully the job will be finished by lunch time and I can back to the train modelling by the afternoon. We have a very hectic social schedule this week end that I have to get prepared for. Work has progressed a little with the ply components of the road viaduct having been glued together. I am now cutting the dividing sections that slot into the plasticard piers. Photos below will help explain. The plasticard piers are below with caps sitting unglued on top. I need to finish the dividers before I glue the caps. The sides of the road viaduct have been glued to the road surface on the pictures below; One divider cut and 5 more to go. The plastic capping has been slotted onto the divider. a little glue should secure everything The viaduct sitting upside down with the one pier sitting on top. I shall need to do some surgery to bits of the capping as it is designed to fit into other plastic viaduct components. I will need to use clamps to attach the dividers as the viaduct needs to taper a little to match the piers. The piers need to be extended by 32 mls. I have matching resin stone work to attach. All comments are welcome. More work tomorrow!!! Regards, Anthony

Dear Gentlemen, Thanks for the great comments and ideas above. I am not sure how muvh "leisure" I shall enjoy as I am by nature a busy person. Simon I would love to adopt the option you mentioned but have no idea how to do so at this stage. I am thinking of getting a laser cutter, but unsure what to get. There are many options. I have resorted to the tried and true technique which is highly dependent on my wood working skills. I cut the channel in the viaduct to hold the road base (8 ml crossed ply is the material) using a router. Cut the viaduct walls to size, marked the arches on both viaduct sides lying them next to each other to ensure consistency. I have cut the first side and am really happy with the outcome. The jigsaw worked very well and was quite accurate. I wasn't sure I could be accurate enough. Only another side to cut, then cut the spacers to fit under the road to the piers. Once side is shown below. Plasticard to follow. Shows the height of the viaduct I think with the plasticard to cover they will look good. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, It eventually comes to us all but I have retired from the permanent work force!! This now means I have a lot more time for the train layout and hope for considerable progress over the next month. The photos below show more of the mountain with scree and dirt added. I have also added rocky outcrops which still require a coat of paint wash to get more realistic colours. The brown area in the fore ground requires grass. I have ordered a RTS Greenkeeper which is now on the way from Germany. I have to build the road viaduct to get the right height before I proceed with more of the paper mache around the other side of the mountain. The curve of the arches on hte road viaduct vary and I have tried to create a template to replicate the seven arches I need to install. I am using the same material as for the rail viaduct except the piers are plastic N gauge form ratio, I am not sure how well I can cut the arches using the template. Does anyone have any ideas for creating an accurate arch apart form the jigsaw. Arch to be drawn and cut 14 times on 8 mm play to create the 7 arches for both sides of the viaduct. I have cut the road base and one side without creating the arches. Will try to complete the ply cutting tomorrow with arches complete. That will give me the height for the scenic areas a oining the road viaduct. Thanks for your interest. I should be posting regularly from now on. Regards, Anthony

Dear All The mountain scenery process continues with further scree being thrown at the mountain vertical surfaces and then vacuumed up. The technique appears to be working well. Further photos for those interested. Still more areas of scree for completion!! Regards, Anthony Ashley

5 Bar, Thanks for the comment. My daughter works at McDonalds, so if I needed more coffee grounds I have an almost unlimited stock. A little more scenic work on the mountain. I have some reddish scatter(sand or similar) which I shall add as a highlight later. More photos below. On the photo below you can see the scree piled up on the track. I need to hoover the excess up once the glue has dried. I tried this technique prior to adding the last lot of scree and the vacuum cleaner work very well. Just made sure I cleaned it out before vacuuming and all of the scree can then be tipped back into the container. Of course a lot of the area needs a lot of vegetation added, mainly low bushes and long grass. More scree to be done. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John, You have no idea how much coffee grounds I have stored away. We have been saving it for the last 3 years!! The mountain actually will use very little as it is mainly scree slope. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Scotty, Thanks for the comment. Although it is only a tiny patch the results above were promising!! I have done a little more, using my coffee ground technique for the dirt. With a sprinkle of rubble over the top of the coffee it blends the scenery nicely. I have also added a small rock fall in the gully shown. I have also covered the track above the ares with scree added a few days ago. I will need to fill in hte brown sections poking through the dirt with more scree to blend the scene further. Happy with the results. It is quite a slow process as any section needs to dry off before touching any where near it. Will continue the process. I have also got a sand section to complete. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear All, Some work on the mountain in terms of scenery. I am happy with the result. Much more to go as I am only experimenting. Regards, Anthony Ashley

John, The last time I said I was retiring I had not reached my statutory retirement age. Now I have !! Reserve work only soon as I have to retire unless the law changes. Regards, Anthony Ashley

Dear Simon, DP Gibbons and Scotty, T%hanks for the encouragement. Work has been flat out but only just over 2 months to go to retirement. I have painted both sides of the mountain, underneath and on top. Painting underneath was interesting with the wire catching most of the paint as it was not always resting on the paper, I enede up with a completely white arm and hand painting upside down for an extended period. The top of the mountain was obviously much easier. Results are below. Wagon shows the scale of the mountain. View from the viaduct. View from the other side of the layout. Underneath the layout. I need to find enough sand and gravel to cover the layout. I think I have the right colour but need more. Regards, Anthony Ashley