Powerhaul 70 Pey

Good evening. Managed to paint the poly filler tonight. I need lots more lichen to finely chop and cover up the majority of the sandstone hillside. Below is a photo of the tracks finally joined up and boards cut. In the distance you can see the aggregate siding. I am hoping to get a nice effect of gradients here as the aggregate siding will be on the level and the 2 main lines are on a gradient from where the 2 tins are up to the set of points. The long trains look quite good on the gentle flexi track curves on the gradient.

Good evening. I have not done too much on the layout recently but I have managed to now connect both tracks so I can finally run trains end to end. So far no real hiccups with locomotives and rolling stock derailing which is good. Here are some photos of some progress on the sea wall. The sea wall has increased in length, the footbridge is made, the colourful seaside houses are set up in the hillside along with the church. The idea is for the hillside to drop down to the left of the yellow house and there will be a hotel and 2 shops. I will paint the Modrock, which has has a layer of poly filler tomorrow night if I get chance.

Great photographs of a brilliant model railway.

Good evening. Here are some photos of the start of the sea wall scene. I will use real sand and this will not be flat, it will gradually slope from the wall to the sea. I have some black fencing that will segregate the footpath from the railway on the sea wall. So far so good I think. I've also connected up one track so the circuit is complete and I am pleased to say that the 1st test train (the 56) has been from end to end light engine, hauling my mixed set of coaches and with 4 KFA intermodal containers without too much of an issue. I need some more flex and set track to complete the other line. I've also put in a set of points to an aggregate terminal where trains will pull past the points and reverse over a crossover and into the aggregate terminal.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Les, much appreciated. I have decided to crack on for now with the layout and see how it ends up.

Good afternoon everyone. Below are some photos showing a little progress on the seaside town. Last night I painted some Metcalfe low relief terraced houses some wacky colours following some Google searches on colourful seaside houses. This morning I've modified a Metcalfe footbridge that I had and this will span from the seawall to the row of colourful houses. I also think the church will look quite good up this end of the layout. Don't worry the beach will be real sand! Ive just painted the board as bare wood is getting on my nerves a little! I broke away from the layout to go and see this at my nearest spot on The West Coast Main Line. 37667 leads the 5Z47 Crewe to Appleby empty stock through Balshaw Lane junction in Lancashire. This is Rail Charter Services who are currently running trains from Appleby down the Settle and Carlisle Line to Skipton.

Thanks for some words of encouragement Jack! You are right I need to get the 2 sets of lines connected so i can run trains properly without reversing them back. I have a few hang ups at the moment and they are:- I have transitioned from farmland to coast, I will then have a sea wall and beach but not sure how to transition out of it as I don't want too much sandstone cliff. I now have a final stretch of track to complete and that will be the 2 sets of tracks joined but I definitely want some sidings to an aggregate yard and maybe a depot. Again, I would like to keep the track work simple as I hate derailments.

Good evening. I am at the stage where I am having doubts about the layout. I did manage to get some lichen so quite reluctantly I went in the garage for an hour or so and this was chopped finely and I have started to cover up the sandstone rock faces. Is it just me that starts a layout and think yeah it's looking quite good so far for a novice then one day look at it and think no, not keen on what I've done!!!!????

Good evening. No work has been done on the layout today but here is a new video featuring Direct Rail Services 37 and 68.

Good evening. I've given some of the sandstone cliff a 1st layer of vegetation. In view are other areas of static grass and foliage at different stages which need blending in. Don't be freaked out by the ghostly figure of my son in the photo above! Here are some photos of Freightliner 70006 on a container working photographed at other spots in and around Durrington.

Good morning everyone. Up n at em early this morning so the modrock has had a coat of paint. With this to be mostly covered in vegetation with some rocky edges showing on the steep sections I think it will look ok. I may get chance to do more later.

Great modelling, locos, rolling stock and photography.

Good evening. Just a quick update. So the sandstone cliff and hillside has been painted. This leads to the seaside area. Looks very orange but this will be covered in most areas by bushes and chopped lichen. As you can see contours of the land have been formed on the left side and modrock applied. A layer of poly filler will go over the top of this and then also painted the same colour. Again, it will be covered with bushes and chopped lichen. I've done some blasting here and mixed some brown ballast with the grey which I hope looks ok as we head to the coast and salty air! That's it for today. Thanks for the views likes and comments and followers so far everyone really much appreciated.

Good afternoon. I have just given the sandstone cliff a coat of orangey brown paint. Whilst waiting for it to dry I noticed that some areas of scenery make a back scene for other areas due to the shape of the layout. Here are some examples below.

Many thanks pal! Thanks for those bits n bobs you gave me too. Keep popping on for a look mate. Also get some photos of these trains ripping through that countryside up there!

Good evening. I've gone off on a slight tangent tonight, the bare wood was getting on my nerves somewhat so I went for some black paint and, with the help of The Missus, set about painting. Below is a photo of where the coast and beach scene will be. It is not a massive space and that's probably best as i do not want to have to try and model too much sea! So to the right you can see what will be the sandstone cliff edge. The train will be running along a short stretch of sea wall. I have an idea of doing a footbridge (just to the left of the cliff edge) which leads to a few pastel coloured houses nestled in the hill side. There will be a sandy beach and then a small representation of the sea! Still waiting for acrylic paint to arrive so I can paint the poly filler cliff then the area may start to spring to life a little. Loads to do over the bank holiday!

Garden wars at the railway cottages. I quite like how the flower pots have turned out on the L/H and R/H cottages. One cottage has a rockery which is just some fish tank gravel glued amongst the flowers and bushes. Some company in the garage tonight! The contours of the land have had a thin layer of poly filler. I am waiting for some acrylic paints to come, some brown and orange as this hillside drops to a sandstone cliff edge on the R/H side of the photo. Then there will be a sandy beach and the tide will be in view. I have a few ideas for the seaside but I will have to have a think and a practice to see if I can pull the ideas off.

That part demolished house looks great. Very fine detailing indeed! The elevation on the track looks good too. Nice one.

A list of some jobs done today. 1. Plaster cloth some contours of the land. 2. Done the gardens of the 2 remaining railway cottages. 3. A bit more detail added to the side of the station. 4. Made and painted my canal narrow boat which is a craftline model. The narrow boat sits too low in the water and it is going to take a fair amount of realistic water to get it up to a reasonable level so I may have to add some wood to the bottom of the canal. The narrow boat has turned out ok, not bad for £6.

A little bit more work done to the station. Definitely looks better with a bit more relief to it. Replaced the side of the platform which was red brick to dressed gritstone which blends better with the station building.

Thank you very much. Hopefully I can make more progress tomorrow night.

Good evening. Here are some photos of the side of the station building to add some extra depth at it was only initially 1/2 inch thick. It is another Metcalfe low relief bank kit that's cut up and adapted. Still not finished and lots to do but that's it for tonight. As the side of the station is level with the end of the boards I had I dilemma about whether to put the doors and windows level with the top or bottom of the platform. In the end I went for the bottom with the imagination of there being a steep set of steps to get up to the platform level once through the doors. I may change the red brick to dressed gritstone to match the station brick and raise it slightly to form a small wall.

Great photos, just watching the video as I type!

Hello everyone. I have had a break from the layout for a couple of weeks but today I went to my local model shop and bought some Metcalfe red brick and cobblestones to carry on with the mill and canal scene. I have also bought a Craftline balsa wood canal narrow boat for this scene. Also bought a Metcalfe low relief bank to make a greater depth to the side of Durrington Central station as it is currently very low relief at 1/2 inch thick. Photos to follow soon.

Nice work. Double headed 37s look good. Do you actually run them double headed and do you have any problems with couples, speed synchronisation etc? I've never actually tried it on my layout yet.