C&WR

Have a go at scratchbuilding, chaps! The Scalescenes textures are ideal, the only limit is imagination...

As I am now waiting for some lights to add to the tabernacle & seed merchant I bit the bullet & ripped out the stairs on my branch line station & replaced them. Here you can see the results: The stairs are now painted; I need to attend to the rails...

Flashing, gutters and downpipes done:

Makes one wonder if there are amorous couples in those cars, Al! I had exactly the same problem with one DMBSO of my 117 DMU and ended up ordering that laser-cut flush glaing to go in it. Now need to pluck up the courage to put it in...

Was going to say do I spy lighting under the station overall roof? Pictures of it working, please, I'm sure it looks great!

Thanks for comments and ratings! The roof has been done in the usual manner by snipping halfway through the texture at the junction of each slate and also cutting out the odd slate to represent broken & slipped ones. I am, thankfully, back onto some more holiday-like hours at work at the moment, so having been woken by TMSC quite early and thus having time before setting out for the office managed to add some gutters and aluminium foil for the flashing between the two roof elements. Time then ran out & I hadn't painted the latter so no pics as yet...

I was challenged to show the roof done, and as the tiling is something I don't enjoy thought I would just crack on. Here it is: Just the flashing, ridge tiles, some touching in and lighting to get it finished & ready to plant...

Thanks, chaps. The hoist chain is actually glued into the first floor aperture as if attached to the sacks in there. this was partly to hide some of it and partly so it doesn't flop around when attached to the baseboard & when this is then folded up! I've been through my files on the PC and have the resources to do tiling & finishing the frontage so hope to get this near as complete tonight... Edit to add: I did ask TLHC if there was anything suitable in the dressing up box, Al. However she has very little in the way of jewelry as she is very choosy so I wouldn't dare look at it!

Oh, and the wonky shutter is straight from John Ahern. There's also a broken pane to add character, & I hope the bricked-up, boarded-up & shuttered windows do the same. I will adjust the colour settings for the proposed signs. While TLHC thinks they're OK, I think the green should match the other woodwork.

Thanks, Al. I may leave the chain as is, as it is going to be at the back of the railway & not too obvious. I've not found an alternative online, & the finer chain at Hobbycraft was the wrong shape. As for the jokes I have some etches for shop fronts, so Haddock's fish springs to mind, but Castafiore's music shop or Calculus's mathematical instruments might be a bit too much. Mrs Miggins may have a place, though...

Cheers, Neil! Had forgotten I'd made some possible signs for the building: Wonder if anyone gets the gag?

Here's where I have got to today. I am going to have to stop, TMSC keeps tugging at my sleeve asking to go swimming. I've aso had to stop as my sole piece of the stone edging is about 4mm too short for the infill between the projecting part of the store and the main frontage, which is why I've had to photograph from this angle! I also need to print out some tiles for the other job I dislike as much as making lintels and cills!

Many thanks! Here we are with what I achieved today. Modelling time reduced as I took TMSC to the Chiltern Open Air Museum (a great source of inspiration for model buildings!) to see a falconry display and some "Napoleotic" (in his word) re-enactors. Sacks are from the Knightwing set. The chain is from Hobbycraft and I was sure was smaller when I bought it. It looks like it could anchor a battleship, but at least it is good and sturdy for the folding up and down layout...

Wallingford end of the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway, Alf. It runs in past a new-ish housing development & my boy & I have fun waving to children in their gardens when we are having a train ride

Missed your shot from 15 Jun. That looks so like the run in to one end of the preserved railway where I am a member! Newer pictures also great. How did you find making the retaining wall? I had to make six feet of it, & was very glad when done!

Still great stuff. I am at the stage of scratchbuilding my own structures more than using kits, but nowhere near your skill in the complex shapes like that bridge!

Your railway has just been brought to my attention by your post on Sweven's thread. I have just had a very enjoyable time scanning through. I may be biased as I am an out-and-out GWR/Wester Region man (inspired by my Father, who was a Western Region Civil Engineer, and having been brought up in the region myself) but regardless of setting it is absolutely lovely! It all just seems to fit together so well, and you have provided some inspiration for some upgrades to bits of my railway which are complete, and things to ad to the unfinished sections...

I know that, hence the smilie! If anything you're too polite about my efforts Just annoyed now that working day is going to delay me finishing this off. I'm not that keen on cutting lintels & cills, and really don't like tiling, but I want to see this ready to plant!

Just thrown together? Cheers, Al, I may as well give up, I was pleased with this - the windows nearly all line up and everything Anyway, having prepped supper & while waiting for TLHC & TMSC to get in to eat it I threw some more glue, card, texture paper & plastic at the central part to see if it would stick together: Wondering now if I should have built it in random ashlar instead of the brick as it's nagging at me that the quions don't look quite right, and the original inspiration for the person who designed my inspiration was stone. However the architecture at the end of the branch is mainly brick so I'll probably stick with it. The window is some plastic packaging which has a distinct bobbled texture. I painted this with Tamiya Acrylic Dark Iron and then immediately wiped the paint off the raised sections. Cheap, cheerful & says industrial window to me!

Just by chance went to inspect some building work going on here. Just by another chance the carpenter was in the process of disposing of a whole load of 12mm ply in various widths and lengths, as well as a very thick, heavy & strong bit of chipboard worktop material. Not sure if the latter would be of any use, but the former could well be falling into my boot before I go home...

Thanks, Neil! While a railway is rarely complete I really hope to fill gaps on my original one. At least there I have not just a photo plank, but somewhere to run trains in circles & watch them go by. Just about to negotiate some space in new home for a smaller variant. Had been looking at an augmented inglenook, but with the new London Underground S Stock release I may be extending the dream...

TLHC had to work late and had TSC in tow, and I finally managed to get out of the office at something vaguely approaching my contracted time on a holiday weekday. I intended to stretch out on the sofa with the paper, but became restless and reverted to the workbench aka dining table as they were out. I laid out the template for the end of the branch line & stuck some models on. The McKellar model is there to give an idea, rather than as a fixture: Now what is needed is an old-style warehouse. They were out for longer than I suspected, so I got a bit carried away cutting & pasting,but eventually I came up with this. It's mainly held together with Blu-Tack & gravity: Brownie point to anyone who spots the inspiration for the model!

Nearly there on the tin tabernacle. The sharp eyed will recognise a couple of bits from the Hornby Op Build It set: A couple of bits of detritus need to be brushed off, and I thought I'd mitred (pardon the pun) the window frames better, but then again this is going to be the far side of the railway & in the flesh approximately 3 1/2"wide by 2 1/2" tall so the imperfections are almost invisible...

I jump around a bit with models. I know I should finish off the cottages & the branch line platforms (although the latter needs a bit of a test fit in situ) but I have been itching to make a tin tabernacle to go in the village at the end of the branch. Here it is. It only took about 45 minutes to make as the cutting plan was already in my head: Now for an third coat of paint, window frames & a door!

Bah! The Pt Way Dept has just responded to an email with the pictures saying the fence should really be creosoted. He's right, of course, and I will repaint it but I did like the colour scheme!