marc smith

A little bit more track laid over the last day or so, and a suitable tatty piece selected and cut to size for the disused section on the bridge (this will be very rusty and overgrown) Painted up a little (waste?) oil tank, which may sit alongside the water tower. Have I over-weathered / rusted it? The other is a very utilitarian / drab block of a building, the like of which one often used to see at the lineside. I have a similar one I was going to use on a previous project - but it was too large for the setting on this layout. Both these buildings were bare brick - but I decided I wanted a run down, neglected white painted version, with paint fading and peeling off. Again, sometimes I wonder whether I've gone too far with these effects? But it's best judged when sat on a finished layout, I think....

Great progress with this fab little layout Paul, I really like the flow & composition of the scene, and great use of space - really nice Re a fiddle yard - what are your thoughts? Sliding sector plate... perhaps on drawer runners? Just wondering what you now think is the best way forward, after having pretty much finished the on-stage part of the layout It's a funny thing - but this is always how myself, and most of my mates build a layout too A couple of us have even ended up, frantically lashing together the fiddle yard a couple of nights before a show! what you you say, eh @wenlock ?

Hadn't realised you'd been unwell good sir. Hope you're back up to 100% fitness, and if not.... hope that's soon Nice pic of the weathered 37 - I can almost here it, ticking away, and smell the diesel fumes! Looking forward to seeing the photos of those 33's

Dear br2975, As of yet, I have completely failed to "advise" Mrs Smith of......... well anything much at all! Please submit the required request form to her, if you wish to divert my attention elsewhere! lol Thank you for the kind words re my previous efforts - I hope this one reaches a certain standard, and captures the atmosphere I'm hoping for (hope it runs well too, of course) Please keep me informed of the date of the Cardiff (small) show - so that I can commence Brownie point saving exercises with immediate effect, and avoid having to Tippex out Mrs Smith's calendar arrangements PS. At least I'll be able to get tickets more easily for the Championship games, but.... Will it be another relegation battle?

Thanks James - I'm just hoping this little project will give me some focus, and get me back into the swing of modelling Re the point - I must be honest.... I can't recall exactly what make / brand it is. I tend to be a bit of a hoarder, when it comes to useful model railway items. I've got quite a few points lying around, some of which I've built myself (various methods) It looks like it might be a Marcway - but I can't be 100% sure it's certainly too neat for one of my efforts! I would normally be concerned about it blending in with the rest of the track, particularly with regard to sleeper chairs - but I don't think the lack of them will be noticed, as it's sat partly under the bridge and the rest will be mostly behind an embankment.

Thanks for your kind words Barry Ten As for it coming together quickly.... It's certainly not as quickly as I'd like (sadly, modelling time is far too limited for my liking). As you know, I really enjoy layout building, when the scenery starts to take shape, and buildings and structures are added, and when the vision of the plan in my mind, starts to fully come together - and it's some way off that yet.... After reading your reply yesterday, I felt the "need" to do just a little to it yesterday evening.I didn't have much time at all, but decided I had to do something So I laid the start of one of the tracks - taking care to ensure it aligned with the sector plate position, that it flowed nicely, without any excessive double curve, and of course that there was sufficient clearance for stock to pass under the bridge. You will note that as I go along, I tend to add some ballast - even before weathering the sides of the rails. This is quite deliberate, and my usual method. Once i tip the baseboard on its' side, and dust down the ballast with a decorators brush, much of it will come away, leaving just a base layer of ballast. After track laying is finished I will weather the rails, and add further ballast - I find this way gives me a sort of base-layer base-coat and added colour / grime. Once I've finished ballasting and toning it down, it blends in nicely anyway, and this way, my final ballasting takes less time. Not much progress really - but OK for half an hours work. Of course, I will be adding some greenery and weeds etc beyond the bridge and onto the sector plate, to help disguise the transition from on-stage and off-stage areas EDIT: As I'd said earlier in this thread, I'm only now coming to realise how therapeutic railway modelling can be, and just how much I've missed it over the past couple of years. As I type this, It has also struck me that the act of someone else commenting on the thread seems to motivate me even more And I must surely have missed the contact with other RMweb members.....

PS. I have decided that the over-bridge will be host to a disused railway line. I do like to see such things in a layout, and feel we don't see them modelled very often. They were so much an everyday common sight when I were a lad, and many were just left, untouched for many years following closure of a line.

Just a little bit of progress on the weekend. I "repaired" a hole in the backscene (there had been an access point there, for the layouts' previous guise) and then went on to tidy up the unpainted areas which were below the old horizon. It's not finished yet - I will probably give it a complete re-paint eventually - but it does already help improve the appearance, I think I also laid one track on the sector-plate. I did some painting around the area too. I hate seeing bare wood where the layout passes underneath or beyond a view-blocker such as a bridge -so I usually extend my ballasting, scenery and ground cover. I feel it helps blend the offstage area into the layout and helps convince the onlooker that the rest of the world lies beyond, rather than seeing bare wood, unballasted track and glue etc I will next lay the other rails on the layout proper, before I add the other sector-plate track. For now, I have just placed a piece of plastic-card underneath the sector-plate, to give me the correct height, but this is temporary

Last night, I cut the ply sector plate to size. To stop it from warping, I glued some slim offcuts of the same piece of ply. I added two slim "laminations", and will glue and pin a vertical piece to each side, plus of course one on the end, to stop trains falling off. I tend to get rather distracted when I start chatting at an exhibition (as I'm sure many pals and exhibition goers will attest) I don't want anything hitting the floor, whilst I talk meaningless drivel, to anyone who'll listen or while sipping that first cuppa of the morning.... Re the tatty surface of the fiddle area - of course, this is the price you pay for re-using baseboards - tearing up track & scenery can make a real mess. When it was the scrapyard, I had used photo mounting board as my layout surface, because I wanted to inset the puddles (see earlier pic of scrapyard) Fortunately, I could do this again, as the "new" surface is exactly the same material. Re the tatty fiddle area, I intend to line that, perhaps with thin card, or maybe plastic-card Plastic card will create less friction - so I'm intending to use that, to build the level of the sector plate, to match the track level on the layout EDIT: Re the name of this layout, I'm leaning towards johnsmithuk's suggestion "Lazarus Lane" I think this is even more appropriate given that the baseboard was once host to a scrapyard layout I will ponder a bit more.... but please keep your suggestions coming

Yes, I had already thought of that Stu. I should have mentioned that I will probably cut out the chipboard in that position, and glue in a block of wood. (EDIT: Or maybe a metal bracket) I was thinking of also setting a bearing into the block of wood. The temporary pivot just allowed me to more accurately shape the foam board surface, and ensure that I can accurately align my rails in future. I also forgot to mention, that though that piece of hardboard is single track - I will be introducing another factor here.... my final sector plate will be two tracks!

A bit of work on the sector-plate last night (what an exciting life I lead!) Using an off-cut of hardboard, I worked out where the pivot-point would be. Then, I drew the position of a track on that. Fortunately, I have a piece of timber batten, which, as luck would have it, is near enough EM Gauge! I lined this up with the rails of the track I have laid so far, and cut away the top layer of foam board which the track on the layout proper will sit. Once I was happy that this arc was accurately cut, I drew the rough rail positions , ensuring that the sector plate aligned with them..... These positions are not 100% accurate at the moment. I'm now wondering whether I should lay the rails first, and then fix the bridge into position later - or whether to glue the bridge into position first, then lay the rails later. My usual method would be to do the former in the first place. But this time, I'm wondering whether I should do it the other way around? Perhaps this would help me ensure there is sufficient clearance for stock, not to collide with the bridge sides? One bonus I had latterly hoped for, was that I now have room for an added "spur" - an additional offstage track, where I can park a couple of wagons, a brakevan or small locomotive when not in use... I trimmed away a bit of the back of the bridge, to allow space for this spur - this added offstage siding will pass unseen, behind the bridge, behind the high rear wall, and under a little bit of the landscaping.... you can never have too much space for storing wagons, eh? Anyhow, I was quite pleased with the result - even though I was doing this, as I was listening to the commentary on Cardiff City's game against Everton..... Ah well, one result went well

Definitely an improvement with the gates at the far left hand end of the layout I know things like this are a relatively small, simple addition - but it does suggest that there is a world beyond..... Nice touch, and the whole thing is looking good.

Thanks for your comments and thoughts Turin 60 and south_tyne, The good news is, I found the offcut of ply - so Mrs. Smith is in the clear! I've roughly cut it to shape & size, and put an additional bracing piece of wood on the left hand end of the baseboard. There was only a thin shim of hardboard in place there before, as the scrapyard layout had a small fold-down off-stage type fiddle there. This new bracing piece will form the base for the pivot point too. The ply offcut is very thin - so that will need bracing. For that I will glue & pin edging, to make sure it stays rigid, and of course, to help keep trains in position when sliding back & forth on the sector plate. I have heard of Foamex, but not used any yet.... I must seek out a sign writer, and see if I can scrounge some for use in future - sounds like an ideal product, especially if I can get some cheaply, or better still for free Shaping and positioning the sector plate will take a bit of time - but once that has been done, I can get on with everything else south_tyne, I too am a bit of a fan of industrial buildings, and was quite pleased with the building when I first made it - especially as I made and painted it in a weekend (please don't look at the back of it! lol) and whilst I've had it sat there, at the right hand end of the layout.... it has grown on me. This may partly be down to the fact that I have moved the position and angle of the bridge, slightly, and have trimmed & tweaked the stone walling and position of the water tower. Once again, I like to move key items around the scene and see what looks best, or if re-positioning helps improve visual balance. Cheers again, Marc

Looking good so far. You have identified another nice basis for micro layouts. I must admit, I rarely go to Ikea Mrs Smith would like to visit there more often... but so far, my excuses must be working

Not much modelling activity on the weekend. I still need to source a suitable material for my sector plate.... and something either free, or cheap at that (preferably something re-cycled) Mrs S must have thrown out that small ply offcut I had in mind for the job... she must have! I'm blaming her anyway, cos she's not on RMweb Weathered the corrugated roof on the water tower, though I've not applied any of my favoured rusty weathering powders - perhaps I shouldn't, and should just leave it alone now? I'm warming to the idea of using my old dairy building on the right of the layout now. I'm thinking, with a slightly wider piece of board for the "proscenium arch / framing" there, it would make the dairy look not as large and dominating? Also, I thought I might just be able to squeeze in one of my trademark mirrors just at that point? I do think it hides the exit at the right hand side quite well, especially with the odd chimney around there too. I've altered the position & angle of the bridge on the left, from my original position too... It now opens out the space a little more, I feel. One of the key focus points on this little project, is the area the water tower sits in. I wanted a wall at the rear of the scene, where near the middle point, there is a recess in which sits the tower and a hut and some lineside details. I envisaged it as a focal point - but one that doesn't dominate. I picture a locomotive sitting there, ticking away, with the driver having a cuppa in a little shed or bothy, while the Shunter slowly shuffles wagons around at the front of the layout...... Ah, I'm dreaming again BTW. The little corrugated tin hut may not be the hut of choice - I came across it in my workshop, while searching for something else I scratchbuilt it several years back. It is based on a little ticket office, which sat on the halt called "Gwernydomen" near Caerphilly. At one time, I thought about building a really tiny little, bare-minimum facilitied halt EDIT: Apologies for the photos from my mobile phone - they aren't the best (I'm due to change phones soon)

Fantastic layout! Superb modelling. This is very atmospheric, and typical of that era. I've often said, we don't see enough disused trackwork, or torn-up sidings and disused level crossings..... Such features were very commonplace for years.

Morning Merv, Thanks for your kind words re the station building on Ogmore Rd Yes, I scratch built it. It was done from the drawings of Cowbridge (2nd) station building, from the book on that railway Made from Slaters Plastic card. Absolute $0d to paint, with those red brick / yellow brick reveals and quoins / corners... Actually, to do these features correctly, I should have cut the brickwork properly - in the end I just did it with paint, using masking tape cut to give me the edge pattern.... and several attempts I still have it - though it's a little worse for wear and dusty now - I will re-use it though Just 10 minutes or so of fiddling with the current layout project last night - bit if tweaking of positions etc Can't do too much before I get that sector plate in position now - perhaps a bit of scenic contours in the background & foreground.....

Hi Jingling Geordie. I can well recall the name (as I have used mirrors on pretty much everything I've built, over the years) In my mind, "Smoke & Mirrors" I thought was the inside of an engine shed, or roundhouse Perhaps I've got the wrong end of the stick, or more likely, my memory is failing.... once again Was the model I'm thinking of, by a chap called John Dornom? An internet search doesn't help, sadly. Are you thinking of building something similar?

Some nice modelling here Dad-1 You are absolutely spot on - if you don't have the space, it's better to build a diorama or micro layout, rather than just dream about a layout you can never accommodate, or more likely, you will never have time to complete..... Building these little dioramas helps to improve and hone modelling techniques, and if you are unhappy with something... you haven't lost a great deal either. Why not have a go at a really small micro layout now? Perhaps even one without any pointwork, so it can be very small

Great start to this new layout. Yes, the 24 looks at home on it already Four weeks will pass very quickly.... I'm sure you know that - but time does seem to disappear very quickly when you have to be ready for an exhibition... That said, there's nothing like a deadline to motivate you! lol Looking at this, it brings to mind a lovely little P4 layout that appeared in MRJ some years back, called "Croft Depot" which was a small coal depot, based on a real location Stunning little layout that was / is. It featured a crossing keepers cottage in the left foreground, and it hid the entry point really well. Good luck with this - I'm looking forward to seeing it completed

Oooo, nice suggestion John

Hi Dave, Just been catching up with the photos re a possible water tower location, as we were just discussing To my way of thinking, a water tower is such a railway-like structure, I would want one, if Sherton Abbas were my layout But placement of one, without detracting from the sense of spaciousness of the scene, is indeed a tricky thing.... Definitely don't put one at the far end of the platform. To me, it looks "wrong" somehow. I would expect to see one at the departure end of the layout Besides - it does compete with, and dominate the photo of the Abbey, and that works so very well just as it is I'd either opt for a low-relief WT, just beyond the overbridge, or more likely, a photograph of one in the distance, as Mike has demonstrated with his photo-trickery - where one would assume it is alongside the engine shed, coaling stage and ashpit. I think that works rather well, and suggests that more railway lies beyond the bridge nicely. If you have a suitable photo of a water tower you like, or would like to "adapt" - let me know & I'll sort it for you

Yes, I had one of those on my old Hendre Lane layout. It was an ideal size for a small layout. The distressed, rusty look was pretty good too.

Hi Ramblin Rich, Nice to hear from you again good sir Yes, you're quite right, Iain Rice did call it "Elan aka Llanastr Fawr" (the latter meaning Big Llanastr - though the plan is hardly "big" lol) I think we also chatted, sometime back, and you said you'd seen Ogmore Rd at Kidderminster. I never did many shows with Ogmore, sadly EDIT: Oddly enough, Ogmaore was next door to a 4mm scale Hemyock layout at the Kidderminster show! In fact, once I'd built Ogmore, I realised that I could extend it, and improve operating potential by including the extra footage. Funny you should mention the Dairy, reminding you of Hemyock. Having then fairly recently acquired a copy of Paul Karau's book on Branchline Termini, I instantly became a fan of Hemyock. I looked such a quaint, atmospheric and odd little station, and I really liked the fact that the Dairy lay beyond the station. It spurned several ideas at the time... and continues to inspire me. The other day, I was looking at some pics of a class 25 shunting there in the 70's - after the station had closed, and obviously while the Dairy was still rail served. Great photos they are too I think they were in the book "Rail Blue" - is that Paul Shannon? Hopefully, your plans will come to fruition one day Rich - go on.... I've been nagging you now, for how long? 8, 9, 10 years? Hmmm, now can I tear up what I've done so far, and build my own version of Hemyock?

Nice to see such a building being used as a view-blocker Ian. Yes, the ready to plant buildings are really good these days, I agree. A few years back, I picked up a building from the Thomas the tank range - I think it's a blacksmiths building. I got it cheap - because the box was tatty / damaged It needs some toning down here & there, and perhaps a bit of filler in some of the joints between window frames and their surrounds, but it's basically a great little building. It doesn't fit anywhere on my newest project - but it will fit somewhere.... one day! This layout is looking good. It's got a nice sense of space about it. That can be quite tricky to achieve, with smaller layouts. But you're not tempted to try and cram too much in.... which is great, and I think will work here