Powerhaul 70 Pey

Good afternoon.  Happy fathers day to all.  Here is one of my presents off the missus and kids.

Which inspired me to go in the garage for a hour or so and made some banks from polystyrene covered in plaster cloth.  However, I have run out of plaster cloth.

At last some good luck with DC Rail 60028!  After numerous failed attempts at getting a photo of it, 60028, in the attractive blue Cappagh Group of Companies branding, is photographed at Balshaw Lane Junction running very early on the 6C59 Chaddesden Sidings to Carlisle Kingmoor Virtual Quarry.  Chuffed to bits to finally see it . . . In sunshine too!

Good evening everyone.  Progress on the layout has slowed down somewhat due to work, decorating and lighter nights and longer days meaning I can get out to do some photography.  However, I have put together a short video of a running session I had over the Easter Bank Holiday.  Hopefully I can progress with more scenics soon.

An awesome looking 31128 Charybdis heads the 1Z29 Ashton In Makerfield to Crewe Branch Line Society special, The Sunday Yicker over Carr Mill Viaduct in St Helens.  West Coast Railway Company 37668 was on the rear.  Note the timely water sport action causing some serious ripples!

DRS CATS 68017 & 68005 power the 6K41 Valley to Crewe flask train through Llanfairfechan on The North Wales Coast.  Fortunately it had just stopped raining!

Freightliner 70015 negotiates Hunt Cliff hauling the 6F23 South Bank Tees Dock to Boulby Mine.  

TPE 802 on a Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle service passing over Saddleworth Viaduct.

Good evening.  Today I have finally got round to building my final Metcalfe low relief which will complete the seaside promenade buildings.  So from left to right we now have a fast food shop, Bucket and Spade novelty/gift shop, Golden Sands hotel, a haunted house attraction, Pot Luck amusements, Sea View Hotel, Charlie's Chippy and The Crown and Anchor.

Another new addition is the ice cream van.

Two other shops are Pandora Fashons and King of Rock right at the back.

Here are some photos that some of the day trippers got of  GBRf 50049 on a rail tour today.

Good evening.  I've not done anything on the layout during the week.  I do have some scenic items on order and these Bulkscene Network Rail 1 tonne ballast hippo bags arrived today.  They look quite good placed along the track side and in the compound.

I also have another Woodland Scenics tree armature kit that has arrived.  There are a few other things to arrive next week so I will make a scene and photograph them next week.

Below is Freightliner 70006 heading away from the seaside.

Good evening here is a little video of some freights featuring class 60, 70, 37 and 31.

Good evening.  It's been a busy week at work once again so limited time on the layout.  So below is the seaside area.  Here I have put in some extra vegetation mainly to block the backboard between the tigers and shops.  I've done the curb for the footpath by the shops.

I also turned my attention  to the canal.  The main job here is to raise the bed of the canal as the narrow boat sits too low.  

Jobs done:-

Canal walling.  Decided to use stone as the canal around Wigan Pier is stone and not piling.

Made a Wigan Pier - an old set of tracks.

Made a wooden pier which extends over the water.

Below are some different views.

That river and dock lands look brilliant Russ shown off with some good photographs.  Is the dock edge scalemodel scenery canal piling or did you make it yourself?  If it was scalemodel scenery can you easily cut it down so not as high?

Thanks.

Peter.

Good evening.  The tiger enclosure left me with a isolated pontoon of land sticking up so I had to think of a way of carrying it on.  So I carried on the retaining wall and added some tall bushes with the vision that behind the bushes the small zoo continues behind them.  

The class 56 is in the head shunt for the aggregate terminal.

So jobs on the layout done this weekend are:-

More retaining wall.

More ballasting in this area done.

Filled the gap between 2 backboards (needs painting when dry).

To the left of the tall bushes I think I may have enough room for another small animal enclosure to slightly extend the zoo.

That weekend went too quick, back to work tomorrow.

Good evening.  Had a hour or so on the layout tonight.  Ive done a small section of ballasting.  With my final 2 tree armatures I've added some Woodland Scenics fine leaf foliage.  I cut off some of the low branches on 1 armature and made some saplings with them.

A comment/suggestions  recently was to add a load to each skip in the old mill yard so I trawled through my box of plastic bits and cut a load of bits and bobs and glued them in.

It all adds to the scene!  Other things I can still do in this area are:-

Some Network Rail site compound signs.

Bits of pallets or other items.

More vegetation.

Some tonne bags of ballast in Network Rail bags which would look great.

I've seen some 00 gauge litter too!

Any other suggestions welcome.

2 hours ago, LongRail said:

I have a couple of skips on my layout and over the years as I modify kits and models any little offcuts and unused pieces are put in the skips so over time they fill up with a nice selection of shapes and sizes 

I will do the same!  I used that trick on my skips some years ago and poured watered down PVA over the items but over time the moulds fell out and I lost the skip loads.  I will get round to it again.  

Thanks for the tip and comment.

Good evening.  This weekend I finally did the ground cover in the Network Rail compound and the lane leading to it.  I also applied chopped lichen and glued it to the banking dropping down to the factory yard.

I also finally got some Woodland Scenics fine leaf foliage so i have made a few more trees with the plastic armature i have left and placed them in the same area.  Strategically positioned to try and block off the blank blue backboard between buildings etc.

10 hours ago, Charlie75 said:

I have just read through this thread, and what a great journey it is by train. 

I feel like I’ve travelled from the mill towns of the North, through the countryside of central England, down to the coast of Devon. I love the scene of the railway running past the sea. It reminds me of Dawlish.

 

It’s a lovely model railway, inspirational, and full of character. I shall be following this thread, to see how it evolves further.

Thank you very much for your comment Charlie75!  I am delighted that my layout has given you "a journey".  My whole aim for this layout was to try and capture different aspects of places I've been to without the pressure of trying to model the real locations.  You are quite right, the seaside coast area is roughly based on Dawlish!  I think I should change the layouts title as I believe it is now more than just a station in a northern town.

Once again many thanks for your kind comments, you have completely summed up what I am trying to achieve.

Good evening everyone.  I've been spending some more hard earned cash and snapped up 2 more Network Rail coaches.  So I now have a rake of 3 which I think will be enough.  Here is the rake below.

As I've said before I can probably get away with running my DRS 37 and 68 on the front too.

So this is the front of the tiger enclosure.  I'm glad I added the flower beds and fence supports as it gives slightly more detail and interest.  I will put some benches down too.

Below are a few photos of 31102 on a Branchline Society Railtour on a rake of 4 maroon coaches.

Too cold to do anything else today!

Love the night shot of the DMUs.  Great photos.

Good evening.  Only managed 1 hour after work tonight working on the layout since my last update.

The tiger enclosure wall/viewing glass/metal fence is glued in place.  I've made 2 flower beds either side of the viewing glass for some added interest which you may just be able to make out in the photo.  Also started  add bushes and ground cover on the grassy slope.

I will try to carry on tomorrow night.

Very innovative Jack!  Soon fills a section of that wagon.  Get it finished and at an exhibition, keep people mesmerized for hours watching that!

8 hours ago, LongRail said:

Interesting layout one comment is that the fence at the end of platforms should have a gate and set of steps down for passenger escape in an emergency 

Thanks for the comment.  I will try to modify this in the future by either buying a suitable pack of fencing and gates or by somehow making my own gate.  I have used the same fencing by the sea wall and it is very hard to get hold of on the internet.  Plus local model shops are shut.  I did have a gate but no steps on the signal box platform (far platform by billboards) but it was made from security fencing and I didn't like it so changed it to the back  fencing.

Here is my latest video of Durrington Central with my latest arrivals Hornby 31102 and Network Rail coach getting a run plus some other trains seen running.

Good evening.  A good friend of mine who is a member of this forum gave me a TTS sound class 31 decoder and I have made full use of it by buying Hornby 31102.  It was so tempting to get 31602 in network rail yellow but I went for BR blue as that would look good on a short rake of maroon coaches on a rail tour or on a Network Rail test train.

I also ordered a Network Rail coach, only have 1 so far so I've tried to disguise that in the photos.  I intend to get a rake of 3, maybe 4 max Network Rail coaches.  I can also use my DRS 37 or 68 on the Network Rail test train.

I've not done any scenics this week but I have pulled up the 2 sidings and altered it which pushes the aggregate terminal back towards a corner of the layout which I think will look better.  Plus it does not trap a loco in the Siding with a train.  It will come off the main line to a head shunt then reverse in where it can detach and then leave light engine if needed.  

Also many thanks to another forum member Jack374 who has gave some sound advice recently!