Fordbank

Time to start the messy green stuff Since starting this thread the local Peak Dale landscape has been bathed in a mysterious lime green glow. What was meant as a temporary coat of poster paint to cover the brilliant white of plaster of Paris has long outlived its usefulness. And a year of studying the art of Gordon Gravett ( "Modelling Grassland and Landscape Detailing") and the achievements of 2ManySpams on Black Country Blues means the time has now come to try some more scenic modelling for real. My excuse for procrastinating for so long has been the recognition of the complexity and subtlety of modelling even the smallest section of railway embankment as the photos below well illustrate:- So out with the practice boards:- These boards provide not only a reference point the finished appearance of different techniques, but also a way of playing around with different layers and combinations before committing to The Layout. And its cheap fun, too - especially when using tea leaves and old carpet felt rather than pricey static fibres. Sometime in the past, whilst rummaging in local skiips looking for firewood, I stumbled across a roll of soaking smelly old felt carpet underlay. I had read about such bounty; another treasure to be secreted away in the garage. A year later and the underfelt is dry and ready for the trials. A lifetime of scenic modelling left lying in a skip. They know not what they do My commitment to a base layer of felt underlay can be traced to the embankments on Black Country Blues - inspiration for depth and complexity which if recreated would do justice to the prototype at Peak Forest. 2Many Spams may have a lot to answer for...

New Year - New Motivation Galvanised by the results of fellow modellers of the Peak Line - by the fabulous model of the former lime kilns at East Buxton Lime Firms on Wormdale (see above thread), and by the romping advances of Marcus on Peak Dale Wood - I returned to The Garage for the first time in 12 over months Spring like temperatures - 10 degrees - provided further encouragement. Dylan, too was pleased to get back to playing trains, although I rather suspect he may not be a great fan of the modern era. So back to the quarryface......

Hi Nick, Just been introduced to your thread by your posting on Reflections on Peak Forest. And what a privilege and inspiration. The East Buxton Lime Firms kilns are fabulous and we clearly share an interest in the way in which the Peak Line melds into the limestone scenery. Marcus, through his Peak Dale Wood thread, has shamed me back into the chilly garage and now Wormdale will clearly set new scenic standards for me to aspire to. Enjoy your trip abroad, Look forward to future postings, Andy

A Merry Christmas to all followers of the Peak Forest Revived thread

Hi Marcus The area opposite the fuelling point alongside the old retaining wall is now looking really good. I really like the shot taken at rail level and looking towards the road bridge. It just screams Peak Forest to me. On the prototype the bit of ground in front of the retaining wall has a different use everytime I visit. As such it provides a huge variety of different detail to model. I think you have captured it superbly. Attached are a few photos of some of the varied building works should you want to ring a few changes. Wishing you a Merry Christmas! Andy.

The Fueling Point Why we love Peak Forest - the view from the road overbridge towards the fuelling point. The backstory to my model of Peak Forest has it that the campaign to keep open the old Midland main line was successful so the station building never became available for use as offices and driver rest rooms for the stabling point. Modellers license has therefore been used to import the portacabins to the rear of the fuelling point to provide the necessary accommodation. The model is still in need of some heavy fuel oil weathering, and the addition of all that lovely clutter.

Starting Small. This charming little structure - a privy by the look of it - was the prototype for my first attempt at scratchbuilding. It only just qualifies as a building, but it remains a favourite. These odd and unique little structures and details contribute to the sense of a particular place. It still awaits a good dose of foliage to meld it into its setting.

Thanks RBE. I'll give it a try.

Help required to improve my thread. Can anyone advise me how to insert photos into the ongoing text of a post as opposed to attaching a series of somewhat disconnected photos at the end of the post. Thanks in advance Andy

Depuytrens - A Digression: No not a new Dutch model manufacturer, but the inherited condition causing the fingers to curl, sometimes referred to as Trigger Finger. What's it got to do with Peak Forest? Well it is my latest (and perhaps most genuine) excuse for slow progress on the layout. Just had an operation on my left hand to release the tendons but it struck me that given the age of people most likely to succumb to depuytrens (mostly older men with Viking ancestry) and the demographic of railway modellers it is almost certainly a problem that quite a few modellers encounter. A search on RMWeb revealed very little discussion of depuytrens per se, which got me wondering about the whole topic of railway modelling and disabilities. Is there a place where such a topic resides and if not would it be helpful to start one? In the meantime an excellent opportunity to mess with some old layout photos, update some posts, and explore the limits of one handed modelling.......

The Old Lime Kilns. Two more recent shots. But still awaiting foliage from the Grass Master.

Old Limekilns at Great Rocks Limeworks, Peak Dale One of the most attractive features of modelling Peak Forest are all the archaeological remains of Peak Fores's previous industrial history. One such ruin is the old limekilns which border the 'main line' on the east side of Peak Forest South signal box.I so liked the look of this ramshackle stonework and its reference to the huge limeworks which once bordered peak Forest Station that I employed modellers licence to transpose the structure to the west side of the line beside the sidings where it now appears on my model. The stonework will eventually be softened and part hidden by the encroaching scenic work of grass, brambles and assorted undergrowth. Just like the real thing. .....Only time seems to progress even more slowly on Peak Forest Revived than on the real Peak Forest! Old Limekilns at Great Rocks Limeworks, Peak Dale One of the most attractive features of modelling Peak Forest are all the archaeological remains of Peak Fores's previous industrial history. One such ruin is the old limekilns which border the 'main line' on the east side of Peak Forest South signal box.I so liked the look of this ramshackle stonework and its reference to the huge limeworks which once bordered peak Forest Station that I employed modellers licence to transpose the structure to the west side of the line beside the sidings where it now appears on my model. The stonework will eventually be softened and part hidden by the encroaching scenic work of grass, brambles and assorted undergrowth. Just like the real thing. .....Only time seems to progress even more slowly on Peak Forest Revived than on the real Peak Forest! Old Limekilns at Great Rocks Limeworks, Peak Dale One of the most attractive features of modelling Peak Forest are all the archaeological remains of Peak Fores's previous industrial history. One such ruin is the old limekilns which border the 'main line' on the east side of Peak Forest South signal box.I so liked the look of this ramshackle stonework and its reference to the huge limeworks which once bordered peak Forest Station that I employed modellers licence to transpose the structure to the west side of the line beside the sidings where it now appears on my model. The stonework will eventually be softened and part hidden by the encroaching scenic work of grass, brambles and assorted undergrowth. Just like the real thing. .....Only time seems to progress even more slowly on Peak Forest Revived than on the real Peak Forest!

Hi Marcus, Really liked your use use of PIR fpr the modelling of the old retaining wall. The old wall is such a great feature that on my Peak Forest Revived I have moved it to the other side of the line behind the sidings so that I could try modelling it. I'll put some photos on my thread. I spent ages looking for some plasticard that gave the texture of the stonework. I must try your PIR technique. In fact the wall is the remains of the old lime kilns belonging to Great Rocks Works. The arches are the fallen in remains of the bottom of the kilns themselves. The kilns were fed with lime and coal from above by a narrow gauge trackway - all now sadly lost under the smoothed out landflll above. You can see the location of the kilns on the attached map. Regards, Andy Hi Marcus, Really liked your use use of PIR fpr the modelling of the old retaining wall. The old wall is such a great feature that on my Peak Forest Revived I have moved it to the other side of the line behind the sidings so that I could try modelling it. I'll put some photos on my thread. I spent ages looking for some plasticard that gave the texture of the stonework. I must try your PIR technique. In fact the wall is the remains of the old lime kilns belonging to Great Rocks Works. The arches are the fallen in remains of the bottom of the kilns themselves. The kilns were fed with lime and coal from above by a narrow gauge trackway - all now sadly lost under the smoothed out landflll above. You can see the location of the kilns on the attached map. Regards, Andy Hi Marcus, Really liked your use use of PIR fpr the modelling of the old retaining wall. The old wall is such a great feature that on my Peak Forest Revived I have moved it to the other side of the line behind the sidings so that I could try modelling it. I'll put some photos on my thread. I spent ages looking for some plasticard that gave the texture of the stonework. I must try your PIR technique. In fact the wall is the remains of the old lime kilns belonging to Great Rocks Works. The arches are the fallen in remains of the bottom of the kilns themselves. The kilns were fed with lime and coal from above by a narrow gauge trackway - all now sadly lost under the smoothed out landflll above. You can see the location of the kilns on the attached map. Regards, Andy

A couple more photos of the layout so far 'Lightly loaded 37419 passes Peak Forest with the daily trip from Warrington Arpley, as 60077, Canisp, exits the tunnel with a rake of RMC hoppers returning to Dove Holes. March 1997'

Re Use of iPad in modelling: Yes I have found it increasingly useful. Now that digital photos are virtually free it is possible to build up a sizeable library for modelling reference. I remember a time when my then partner, an illustrator, used to get me to pose my hands for taking photographs from which she would do drawings. Now it is so simple to have half a dozen plus photos of exactly what you are trying to copy. I use the iPad both for modelling structures, but more importantly for painting. On Peak Forest Revived I took a lot of pictures of dry stone walls before trying to reproduce their complex colours. I find that flat colours don't capture their look at all. The iPad was also used to model the shape and colour of the limestone rock faces, as well as the colouring of the stonework of Peak Forest Station. Andy

Great work with your station building, Marcus. Once in situ it really marks out your layout as Peak Forest. You should be delighted. Time to get out my box of bits and start gluing. Regards, Andy

Well I've got my eye on Great Rocks Junction. Definitely my next signal box. With a low relief of South Works. I think it would be just over four foot long in 4mm! This is what seeing Calcutta Sidings has done to our inflated imaginations. Andy

Hi Marcus, I used the pipe bridge as the prototype for the road overbridge at Peak Forest Station. The real bridge is too long for its setting on my layout. It has three eqal arches whereas the pipe bridge has one central arch similar in size to the Peak Forest brdge but two smaller arches on either size. I'm happy with the way the pipe bridge looks in its new role. All part of creative license! The photo of the pipe bridge was taken 28.08.2010. It had been demolished and removed by the date of my next photo reconnaissance visit in November 2011. Note how the tracks did a little swerve through the end arches to give clearance. A nice feature. They were re-aligned after demolition, and all traces of this bridge have gone. So worth the modelling effort. Although the pipe was very high - hope you have ceiling room. Regards, Andy

I remember it well. I think it was a Railway Modeller Plan of the Month. It was before the 'pipe bridge' was demo;ished, and is in the archive somewhere - too deep down for easy reference. Andy

Thanks for all the encouragement; I've followed your 'suggestion' and started a thread - 'Reflections on Peak Forest'. You'll see from my cumbersome post above that I may be in need of plenty of technical assistance! I'll be following Peak Dale Wood for motivation. Regards, Andy

Hi Al, Peak Forest Revived is very much roundy-roundy. In theory it could be exhibited (although there is still much to do scenically) as it is built on nine separate plywood boards on freestanding legs and joined with standardised fittings. Pretty much like many exhibition layouts. Even the wiring is modular and any board can be unplugged from its neighbours using Din plugs. Not sure now why I went to such trouble! Maybe I realised that my pathetically slow build rate would mean the layout would need to outlast its present home in the (freezing) garage. The boards are very lightweight and the diagonal cross bracing has been particularly effective in preventing diagonal warping over time which can occur using easier-to-construct longditudinal or cross bracing. Learning from painful experience. Regards, Andy

I day dream about writing an all inclusive blog about my efforts to construct a layout inspired by the ever evolving railway around Peak Forest on the now closed Peak Line. This blog even has a name - Peak Forest Revived - but the blog remains in its inception. In reality a thread would be more fitting to my somewhat sporadic modelling efforts. Moreover a thread would allow contributions and creative discussions from the many other modellers who continue to be stimulated by what the railway through Peak Forest has to offer. So to kick it off some photos of my attempt to model Peak Forest South signal box, one of the defining railway buildings on this part of the Peak Line.... {NB The photos below have been inserted following The Great Photo Outage 2022 and may be dissimilar from the originals}

Hi Marcus, The station plans in the photos are in fact not of Peak Forest but are of Great Longstone which is further south on the Peak Line and was built to the same plans as Peak Forest Station. The plans were taken from Bill Hudson's wonderful Book, 'Through Limestone Hills' which has been a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the Peak Line. The station at Great Longstone differed from Peak Forest only in the more ornate decoration which it displayed (doubtless to satisfy the fine tastes of the aristocracy visiting the nearby Chatsworth House). For us modellers of Peak Forest it fortunately means we don't have to worry about cutting out those ornate barge boards beneath the roof! I fear I have been the victim of a cunning plot by those who urge me to start my own thread: if I share more photos I will be guilty of abusing the hospitality of your own thread. Like a guest who has outstayed their welcome. Time for me to bite the bullet I fear. I may be coming back to you for some advice about setting up a thread on RMweb. In the meantime two more photos. Regards, Andy Hi Marcus, The station plans in the photos are in fact not of Peak Forest but are of Great Longstone which is further south on the Peak Line and was built to the same plans as Peak Forest Station. The plans were taken from Bill Hudson's wonderful Book, 'Through Limestone Hills' which has been a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the Peak Line. The station at Great Longstone differed from Peak Forest only in the more ornate decoration which it displayed (doubtless to satisfy the fine tastes of the aristocracy visiting the nearby Chatsworth House). For us modellers of Peak Forest it fortunately means we don't have to worry about cutting out those ornate barge boards beneath the roof! I fear I have been the victim of a cunning plot by those who urge me to start my own thread: if I share more photos I will be guilty of abusing the hospitality of your own thread. Like a guest who has outstayed their welcome. Time for me to bite the bullet I fear. I may be coming back to you for some advice about setting up a thread on RMweb. In the meantime two more photos. Regards, Andy Hi Marcus, The station plans in the photos are in fact not of Peak Forest but are of Great Longstone which is further south on the Peak Line and was built to the same plans as Peak Forest Station. The plans were taken from Bill Hudson's wonderful Book, 'Through Limestone Hills' which has been a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the Peak Line. The station at Great Longstone differed from Peak Forest only in the more ornate decoration which it displayed (doubtless to satisfy the fine tastes of the aristocracy visiting the nearby Chatsworth House). For us modellers of Peak Forest it fortunately means we don't have to worry about cutting out those ornate barge boards beneath the roof! I fear I have been the victim of a cunning plot by those who urge me to start my own thread: if I share more photos I will be guilty of abusing the hospitality of your own thread. Like a guest who has outstayed their welcome. Time for me to bite the bullet I fear. I may be coming back to you for some advice about setting up a thread on RMweb. In the meantime two more photos. Regards, Andy

Thanks for the kind comments. I know there is a lot of interest in the Peak Forest area and I've built up a sizeable photo archive that it would be nice to share with interested parties. I have thought about a thread. There's a start on MRL Forum ( can we mention that?) but it stalled - a bit like my sporadic modelling. My snail's pace is put to shame by Marcus's obvious drive. Here are a few more photos whilst I ponder the idea of a new thread.....

Hi Marcus, I recently stumbled across your blog. Hugely impressed by the pace of your progress on Peak Dale Wood. I too am building a layout based on Peak Forest. Peak Forest Revisited also imagines that the fight to keep the Peak Line open in 1968 had been successful. Many of modelling interests and projects are very similar to your own - the attached photos will speak for themselves.