Booking Hall

This is truly lovely.

Hi Steve, thanks for mentioning it. It's always good to have another opinion, especially as I'm a bit colour blind (a LOT colour blind, according to my wife!!) I was going for a late spring/early summer season, hence the sprinkling of white 'blossom', so the leaves would be a brighter green, but the choice of what I put on was dictated more by what I had in stock than anything else. I'll get my wife to look at it and follow her advice .

Thanks Nick. I did wonder about that. The instructions didn't mention removing it, so I looked at some picture of the real things. Most of them seem to have a supporting hoop to keep the blades at the correct angle, although not external to the blades as on the model, so I left it on. Cutting it off now might be tricky without distorting the 'fan', but thanks for mentioning it. I'll make a final decision just before I fix the backscene in place.

Thanks Steve. I made a few more trees last night and temporarily placed them at the front of the layout this morning. Although I still like the idea, I think they're maybe a bit too much, even at the wide spacing. Also, if 'Far Wittering' ever attracted the attention of a photographer from one of the magazines, they would seriously cut down the available views. So I think, at least initially, I'll just put post and rail fencing along there (the Scale Model Scenery type I've already used, not the crude Airfix stuff on the picture). I can always add the trees later if I have a change of mind. So these trees will go along the rear to help blend the backscene to the foreground.

Looking again at the photo which provided the inspiration for the ungated level crossing, in real life at Kingsley Halt on the Bordon Light Railway from Bentley to Bordon in Hampshire; I wondered if my model would be enhanced by two lines of trees like in the picture. I've no idea what sort of trees they are but I had a go at making one from wire and static grass. This wasn't very successful, so I had a rummage around in my 'landscaping raw materials' box and came up with a bit of real fir tree. I added some teased out postiche and dark green static grass, followed by some fine green and white flock. The end result looks OK to me so I braved the freezing temperatures today and gave the fir tree in my garden a bit of a haircut! I reckon I'll need about 25 'trees' to form lines on both sides of the railway, and it's a bit of an act of faith placing them right at the front of the layout so that trains will be glimpsed passing behind them, but I think it might add to the 'theatre' of the piece. They won't be as closely spaced as at Kingsley Halt, so there will be decent gaps through which to see the trains, and from the elevated viewpoint normal to layout viewers, they will be able to see over them as well.

Summoned up the courage to stick the backscene to the back board. This is an 'N' gauge one as I wanted the illusion of greater distance.

Hedges grow quickly around these parts! And a kissing gate has appeared too.

It's the early 1950's, and the depot has sent one of its new 204hp shunters on a trip working up to Far Wittering. There's no traffic for the military depot today, so 11222 contents herself with pushing a few wagons around the yard, before ambling back down the branch.

Working my way around the layout, I've now fixed the station building down after weathering it and adding some signs and a timetable board. I also added a stovepipe from the ticket office. Although I could see no photographic evidence of the prototype station ever having had one, it seems to me most unlikely that they would not have had some form of heating in there. Anyway, it adds a bit of interest to the roof. I still need to do a little more blending of the building base into the landscape. I've used real soil again for the station yard. Moving on, as the road crossing will be an ungated one, it needs some anti-trespass grids and I've made these out of 30x30thou plastic microstrip. Only one done so far, another is needed on the station side of the road. The fields either side of the railway have also had a first coat of static grass applied.

I've now made some post and wire fencing to close off the back of the layout. This is made in my usual way from shaped matchsticks coloured with a dark wood stain, positioned over double sided adhesive tape on my template, then E-Z line elastic thread (fine, green) stretched over the posts and secured with a drop of superglue. The line of completed fencing can be stretched out to suit the space available (subject to not over-stretching it or having the intermediate posts too far apart), and it will easily follow curves or land contours. Once glued in place, straining post struts are added.

I'm happier now, the scenic treatment is beginning to soften and tone down the overall dullness of the ash coloured ground cover. Having looked at some reference photos of the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway, I'm going for a rather weedy appearance.

Thanks Steve. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye . . .

All ballasting is now complete, and a start has been made on some of the scenic treatment. I'm a little disappointed with the way this has turned out so far, I think that overall I've made it too 'dark' and the texture of the ballast and ash material I've used is too coarse. I hope I can overcome this somewhat by the use of scatter and static grass to break up the monotony a bit.

Ballasting and ground cover to the loco stabling area have continued slowly, and the coaling stage and water tank have been glued in place. As a break from this, a Cambrian LBSCR 5-plank wagon with rounded ends has been constructed. It is hoped that this ancient looking vehicle will add to the air of impoverishment i want for the layout - a railway backwater that had to make do with hand-me-downs and cast-off's.

Signals now installed on the layout. The home starter is a Ratio LNWR square post LQ. Both signals operate, but I won't be adding any linkage below the layout. Also installed is the retaining wall (more scribed pizza base styrofoam) and the MSE etched brass ground frame.

Before putting the finishing touches to the point rodding and signal cabling, i thought I'd better build the signals. This is the bar signal to protect the road crossing. It uses a few Ratio components but is otherwise scratchbuilt.

Point rodding nearly complete, phew!

I wanted to replace the wheels on a Triang DMU motor bogie. This thread shows how I did it, but I have access to a lathe. may give you another option however.

Thanks Steve, yes, it will add something to the layout. If I hadn't done it I know I would have regretted it! Sorry, no; I didn't document the building of 'Weydon-Priors'. I assume you saw the feature on it in 'Model Rail'?

Thanks for the encouragement Ade, taking it slowly and it's actually (sort of) enjoyable!

I think I've just remembered why I'd vowed I'd never do this again . . .!!

Sorry it's been a while since the last update, I got distracted assembling and detailing a parcels train for the club layout which was going to an exhibition, then holidays got in the way and finally I've made a start on a sewage works for another of the club's layouts. But I have progressed 'Far Wittering' a little. I stuck down the platform and loading dock modules and made a start on the ballasting. I didn't get far with it before wondering whether or not to add some point rodding and a signal or two. I never intended this to be a highly detailed layout, in fact, as you will know if you've read from the start, I never intended to build this layout at all! But, I couldn't help myself, and so an order was placed for some whitemetal point rodding stools, etched brass cranks and other whatnot's and a small lever frame. This is the state of play at the moment. The stools have been cut down in length and glued to 'sleepers' and await painting. There will be two main point rodding runs to the main 'Y' points at each end of the loop, and a short run to the turnout giving access to the goods platform/coaling stage road. The remaining turnouts will have hand levers adjacent to them. A single signal will act as a starter from the loop to the fiddle yard with a further signal (an ancient looking crossbar type, yet to be built) controlling the road crossing. This will have its own separate lever. Once I get these in place ballasting can re-commence.

Thanks Steve. The 'bag' is simply a tube rolled up from kitchen foil and painted with acrylics!

Well, that's the replacement water tower finished!

Made a start on the replacement water tower. I still liked the idea of a concrete framed one, and after doing a bit of on-line research, came across this one on the Warwickshire Railways website, at Whitacre Station https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/mrwj1174.htm It's just the right size and has an interesting frame design, so I drew one up and cut the frame out of balsa wood.