LDM34046

So Sad. A really sad time for the modelling community. It’s been so warming reading all the recent stories of goodwill about Gordon. I never met him but having followed this thread he had a real talent for modelling and was a well loved person both inside and outside of the hobby. My thoughts are with his friends and family at this truly difficult time. RIP Gordon.

The finished trees installed. Definitely starting to look a lot less sparse and it means I get some great photography angles through the foliage.

Gloomy weather outside but perfect inside for a quiet afternoon modelling!

A rather wet and gloomy Saturday.

Yard staff having a quick catch-up this afternoon. Discussing how both Royal Mail and DPD have managed to lose my delivery twice in one week. The latest locomotive addition delayed yet again. Rant over.

A visitor on the layout this morning. 82030 sits in waiting at Lancaster Lane. The local yard crew in conversation with the driver. It’s a shame the 3MT doesn’t get run as much as it should. A lovely model full of details let down by a noisy motor and jerky running. I was hoping a lengthy run on the rolling road would iron out some of the running issues but it’s still proving temperamental.

Enough messing around with hairspray. An evening to play trains! A closer look at the recently installed speed limit signs. A great little detail to the layout. W4 Peckett rests in the merchants siding at the end of a busy day. The local photographer snaps a rare occasion. A busy yard for a change as the driver of 5775 rests before a light engine movement back down the line. 41726 prepares to depart Lancaster Lane on a trip up the line with a rake of empties. Its photos like this that make the layout still look awfully bleak and what's prompted a few more trees, fencing in the background and some longer grass in the recesses. A visitor arrives at Lancaster Lane...

Prior to purchasing I scoured the market for weeks to find the right product. I was actually on my way to the shop intent on buying some Faller trees however the lovely chap at the model shop showed me how effective seafoam could be. But you’re right, the market is very limited for pre-made trees. I suppose the benefits of doing them yourself is they’re finer and trimmed and made to fit the areas

This afternoon’s job. A few more trees for the layout. There were 7 trees that went down the first time around and I thought that would be plenty however having worked on the layout for a few weeks I’ve noticed there’s a few areas that could do with one or two more to take away the uniformity of it all. As ‘random’ as placement can be there’s always going to be some symmetry involved and subconsciously I’ve ended up with 3 rows of two. Picked out from the box of seafoam, trimmed to the right size and removed all the large leaves. A coat of primer followed by a very light spray of brown. (Photo taken into the sunlight so appears darker) Cheap hairspray and a mix of light and dark foliage make up the leaves. They always look a bit odd at this stage but once the hairspray has dried and they’re placed on the layout they look just the part.

The local coal merchant arrived at the yard ready for a days work but is greeted but a rather tired and hungover crew. Something about extra time?

I did think that but I don’t think there’s enough room between the track and the back scene. Unless it was thinned out a little

Ahhhhh, a sign of good things to come! I wait in awe…

Here’s the culprit area from eye level. Going to avoid fencing that is see through as I think that defeats the object of it. Thinking generic gardening fence panels weathered and then with overgrown grass. The other idea was derelict corrugated sheet fencing but I don’t know if that’ll look right. Still want to maintain the rural look. Just something to avoid the horizon going right down to the track level.

Agreed. I think a row of fencing between then two trees and some bushes and long grass to add to it. Need to decide on what fencing would look best

Looking at the previous photos I’ve started to wonder whether the back of the layout is a bit bare. The rest of the layout is occupied with either hills or trees which leaves this stretch along the back of the siding. The siding sits quite close to the back wall so I’m limited with spaces. I think my only options are fencing, either corrugated sheets or wooden, maybe overgrown with a bit of foliage or long grass. Replicating the back of a yard or workshop.

Early mornings at Lancaster Lane. A view from the footpath past the yard hut as the W4 simmers in the sidings.

Looks excellent @NHY 581 as always Always been put off by those Pugs due to the age of the model but with a good service, weather and detail they look just at home as the others Superb!

They’re quite cheap for the packs so I might get a mix of 4mm and 6mm and then go from there. A spot of shopping tomorrow me thinks!

Oh excellent! I’m glad someone else uses them as they look like great products, I just didn’t know how effective they’d be! Yeah, I think if I blend them in with some loose grass they would look good? Which length did you go with?

Thank you Alister for your continued support! Yes, I'm starting to get to a point where I'm happy with. I'm scratching my head with what I want to do next. I thinking a few more trackside details. The scenic areas look a bit to uniform still so I thinking longer tuffs of grass in a few places. WWS Scenics sell adhesive grass tuffs but I don't how effective they'll be.

A sunny day on the layout today. Perfect for a few photos! A busy day for the BR locomotives with mixed goods the order of the day.

This morning’s job of adding coal to the locomotives. After much deliberation of which product to use I realised nothing best the real thing. A quick trip into the shed and a lump of charcoal was found. Broken up with a hammer to a reasonable size before being glued into place with a thick layer of PVA glue. Really happy with the finished result and ties in nicely with the weathering. Nothing beats the real thing!

I’ll keep my eye out for the Model Railway show!

Yes! I used to visit Bredgar a lot as a kid but haven’t visited in recent years. Do you work there? I’m a commercial photographer by trade so waiting for a good event to come along to and shoot. It’s a stunning railway in a great location.

Having lived nearby and visit Medway and Dartford on a near daily basis I’m really excited to see this layout develop. Have you visited the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Medway? That’s a great little railway with a unique industrial setting!