Booking Hall

Hello Mark, thanks for those kind words. I'm glad it's come together in a way that 'speaks' to others besides myself! The April exhibition is at St Lukes Church in Brierfield on 4/5th April and the November one is at Padiham Unitarian Church on 7th November. Do say 'hello' if you manage to get to either of them.

Thanks Steve. Two so far, in April and November, both local to me near Burnley.

As 'Far Wittering' is virtually finished, I decided to set it up in my dining room and have a play with it, to see if there were any wrinkles that needed sorting out. There are a few things that would benefit from tweaking, and I've time enough to do that before it goes to its first exhibition in April. Meanwhile, it was good fun sorting out interesting shunting moves and the bones of a working schedule of trains.

The last few days have been spent adding small details to the scene such as a few commodities stacked in the yard and general clutter dumped wherever it was convenient!. One thing that struck me from watching an archive film about goods handling on the LMS was the huge amount of straw used as packing in both opens and vans. It was everywhere at the loading dock! It's also something that you don't see modelled very often so I've added a bit to my scene, both in the goods yard and cattle dock. The final few jobs are to add one or two people (already painted and waiting), add the telephone wires, remove the backscene to add some static grass to the bottom of the print where a white line is showing, and to make some small knobs for the point operating wires. Oh, and to retrieve a bicycle from the belly of the vacuum cleaner into which it vanished during a general cleaning up session, then it can be glued in place! After that it's back to painting stock and weathering both it and the locos.

Hi Steve, most likely just a post at the corner with a strut in both directions of the line of fence, and the wire just continuing around the corner.

Steve, your comment got me wondering whether I should turn my Cakebox Challenge entry into a micro layout!

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that the remaining cutting side has now grown grass and sprouted two large trees. The original designer of the layout (Ludus 1) used the common enough tunnel as an entrance to the fiddleyard, but I wanted to get away from that, hence the cutting. I always intended that there should be some trees here to act as a visual 'foil' to help mask the obvious and abrupt change from scenic to 'offstage'. Again, I've made the trees from suitable twigs pruned from the long-suffering shrubs in my garden, lightly draped with postiche and sprinkled with flock. I've tried to keep them a bit 'airy' to suggest that the leaves have not yet fully developed, and so that some of the branch structure can still be seen. As before, I obtained my wife's seal of approval before glueing them in place, and I'm happy with the way they look and work.

Hi Steve, I drew it myself in AutoCAD. I've actually just revised it as strictly speaking there should be at least 5 wires, and 7 was not uncommon with them more closely spaced lower down where animals would be more likely to break through, but putting 7 on in 4mm scale is just too much. I've attached the file as a PDF if you want to try it for yourself. post and wire lineside fencing - timber 5ft spacing 4 wire Model (1).pdf

A railbus is glimpsed leaving Far Wittering on an afternoon service. typically, there's no passengers on it!

Far Wittering now has a sign and some lamps, so if any passengers actually do make the journey, at least they'll know when they've got there!

Just arrived today - couldn't resist one of these GWR 1363 class 0-6-0ST's discounted in the Rails of Sheffield Christmas sale! It will be perfect for use at Far Wittering, and for a future dockside layout I plan to build.

Some of the kits I'm assembling for use on 'Far Wittering' - still no static grass!

The postman delivered a bargain price ready-built Slaters MR brake van today, so I posed it on Far Wittering with the MR goods van and a Hornby three-plank and open cab pannier picked up cheaply from the club second hand equipment store. It has that 'light railway' look I've been after, a concern making do with hired or purchased superannuated rolling stock from a variety of sources. I have to say, that most of my layouts have been planted very firmly in the BR steam/diesel changeover period, and I never thought to model anything else, but this scenario, set perhaps in the late 1930's or mid 1940's, has really caught my imagination, with its adaptability to run all manner of bits and bobs together with private owner and converted stuff.

I'd have liked to have seen it Rodney. Having re-read the article, the author does indeed say that the curves he ended up with were around 9" radius. Paul

Bit late on this one, but in the Railway Modeller for June 1988, in 'Plan of the month', 'Yarmouth Quay', the writer mentioned that it was possible to get a Mainline class 03 to go round a 7" diameter curve of Streamline track, and then proceeded to design a 4ft x 2ft 'U' shaped layout (which I might build one day!) from it.

Three of the telegraph poles are now installed, as are the 'BEWARE OF TRAINS' signs. The 4th TP will have to wait until the final area of static grass is done. I sneaked into my local model shop on Christmas Eve (when I was supposed to be out delivering cards and presents!) to see if fresh stock had come in, but he'd forgotten to order it . The poles were roughened up to give them a bit of texture, and were then coloured using grey, black, white and brown pastel crayons, smudged together with a cotton bud, and then very lightly and patchily dry brushed with Humbrol Gunmetal metallic paint. The result is OK, but I think it could be better. It's an area I will have to experiment and practice with. Since I can't do a whole lot more now until more static grass appears, i think I will build some stock.

And what have I been doing today (in between the final Christmas preparations)? Why, making cowpats of course!!!

As I'm still waiting for further supplies of static grass, I decided I would make a few of the details I will need to complete the scene. Firstly a couple of 'BEWARE OF TRAINS' notices. These are from Scale model Scenery and I've mounted them on some code 75 bullhead rail, with the top rounded as was often done. After a bit of weathering these can be placed either side of the footcrossing passengers will have to use to get to and from the platform. Next up are some telegraph poles. A light railway like this would probably only need one wire, but I'm going to model two just because I like the look of two! Some of you may know that I've a thing about telegraph poles, and the correct modelling thereof!, so for these I've adapted some old Airfix poles. Although the Ratio ones have nicer step irons, the Airfix ones correctly represent the taper on the pole, but otherwise they need a bit more work. The stages are: 1. A pole as Airfix made them (Dapol still make them, but the mouldings are not so crisp these days, and the plastic they make them from is more flexible. As I'm going to add 'wires' the stiffer Airfix ones will be better). 2. The step irons and three crossarms have been removed, and the pole shortened at the top. 3. A chisel top filed is back onto the pole top, the moulded insulators filed off the remaining crossarm, the step irons stumps filed smooth and the spare slot Airfix mould into the pole for additional crossarms filled and filed back to shape. 4. The crossarm drilled, and turned brass insulators from Express Models fitted. On the final pole, the one adjacent to the station building, I will bend the insulator spindle into a 'J' shape as this was common practice where a telephone line terminated to a 'lead in' to a building. I haven't replaced the step irons. The poles will be painted to represent that silvery-grey look that weathered timber acquires. Once installed on the layout one of the final jobs will be to add 'wires' using fine green E-Z line elastic thread.

I got mine from 'The Range', they were 3 for £10, MDF sides with a card lid and base. I think they were called 'Brights'

Further progress, post and rail fencing added along the front of the station area.

Hi Steve, I don't think I mentioned where I got it from. It's an 'N' gauge one from Art Printers https://www.art-printers.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiA__HvBRACEiwAbViuU_kEiFd2YPcJQiPpFkMTNUpxI-4lzU-B77f6mPDRqy8JE8_yrZ4MfRoCTjgQAvD_BwE

Static grassing has now continued along the front of the layout, reaching as far as the stream cutting before I ran out of my basic grass basecoat. Hopefully my local model shop will obtain fresh supplies for me in a day or two. In the meantime I assembled the remainder of my Scale Model Scenery post and rail fencing kit, only to find that I'd underestimated the length required and I am short by around 18". Not wishing to place an order just for one more kit, I realised that by careful cutting up of the fret from which the fence and posts are laser cut, I could double the length of fence supplied, so further supplies were made without recourse to another order. These need staining with wood dye and can then be installed in the previously grassed areas. Other deliveries from the postman included a tin bath, which will be used as a cattle trough, and a ready built Slaters MR 8T van, picked up on Ebay at a bargain price.

Thank you for those very kind words Mark, I'm glad it's helping you with your project. As requested, here are some more photos.

This is the thread I started when I built my first boxfile layout 'Brierley Canal Road' The first three boxes were featured in Model Rail's 'Great British model railways' publication, in May 2019. It was subsequently extended to increase operational interest, and is now over 7ft long!

Latest progress photo. I've fitted the trees against the rear fence line - after checking with my wife regarding the colour. She pronounced them as OK for a springtime scene and who am I to argue with that! They do appear a brighter green in the photos. More post and wire fencing added and the backscene fitted. I did attempt to snip off the windpump vanes supporting ring, but it was really going to distort them, so I took discretion to be the better part of valour and abandoned the attempt. The baseboard is now turned round so i can start the scenic treatment at the front.