JRamsden

I'd started the process of weathering my track in the last entry. I prefer to do this before laying ballast to avoid spoiling the ballast itself and to avoid a uniform colour across the entire trackwork. I start with a good coating of Halfords grey primer, my go-to for any painting project now. In the past I have applied paint direct to the track but it never quite adheres right and looks ugly. Next up is a coat of Railmatch sleeper grime. I mask/cover any areas I wish to avoid getting paint on/in and wipe all paint from the rail heads immediately. A cotton bud dampened with white spirit usually does the job. Although this can have the unfortunate effect of leaving cotton behind as it snags on the gaps between rails courtesy of insulated joiners! Lastly, I paint the rail sides to resemble rust. In the past I have used a Humbrol enamel which is a close approximation to a muted rust. However on reflection it wasn't the most accurate of colours. This time I opted for Phoenix Precision Paints' Rusty Rail paint. On the first attempt I unfortunately put it on too thick. The result was a glaring colour which looked too bright and like I had quite literally painted the track! It also took ages to dry and when it did it was gloss. What a disaster! Luckily I had only tried this on a small section, so I could respray with sleeper grime and start again. On my second attempt I gave the paint pot a much better shake/stir. This has always been recommended to me for any painting project, but I never really paid the advice much heed... until now. After a proper mixing the paint went on a charm, dried quickly and set in its proper matt form. Perfect! I was much more reserved with the paint, almost dry brushing this time. The result was a much more subtle colour that you almost have to look for. I'm pleased with the result. Although not ready to lay ballast, I started to consider what I would use when I did reach this stage. Ballast has been something I've never really been happy with; the size, the colour. It's just never looked quite as I expected it to. So I trawled forums for advice on ballast and found that there are as many options for ballast as there were frustrated modellers seeking a better way! The key appeared to be research of your chosen area/era. Addleford Green may be fictitious, but the line on which it is based was not, so that gave me a starting point. I found this most useful website: https://colourrail.co.uk and was able to purchase a few digital photos of considerable resolution for stations along the Hawkhurst branch - in colour! None of the books I have feature colour photography. Not only will these help me to get a feel for the general "mood" of the area for later into the project, they also showed me the kind of ballast I was looking at. I wanted something that was mostly brown/tan with some grey in it. I looked at the most recent ballasts to be released, hoping things had changed considerably since my last attempts. Hatton's own Constructor range and DCC Concepts Legacy ballast seemed like contenders. Hatton's ballast seemed too grey for my liking, the highland mix being closest to my needs but still too grey overall. Legacy's steam era ballast was much closer but ultimately seemed too dark and better for mainlines that see a lot of use - were I modelling Paddock Wood instead this may have been my choice. It's really very hard to tell for sure from photos but in the end I wasn't satisfied and decided to make my own mix, something that has always felt like a job reserved for "serious" modellers! I had some Woodland Scenics buff and brown in coarse which I had used for another project. I liked the colour of them when mixed so I bought a bag each of the fine variant and poured them together. I also had some leftover grey (possibly my first ever ballast, still going strong) and some black stuff - no idea of its origin! I grabbed a small jar and used an old teaspoon to mix a small amount together. I started with 3 spoons of buff/brown, 2 spoons of grey and 1 spoon of black, mixed and applied to a piece of test track. I was very pleased with the effect and surprised to have something so close to what I wanted so quickly. The only thing I'll change is the amount of grey, as I felt it overpowered the buff/brown mix by virtue of it's larger particles. Oddly I found the black was mostly lost in the mixture and actually gave a pleasingly subtle colour variation. My final mix will be three parts buff/brown, one part grey, one part black. Weathering of the ballast itself will be completed separately, after it is fixed to the track. I'm a long way off laying the ballast for now. I want to get the platform installed first and possibly some of the other railway infrastructure. On reflection I won't be using nearly as much ballast on this layout. In the past I have smothered every track in it. But this time I'm going to try for some more varied and realistic coverings; cinders/ash around the engine shed, tamped earth around the sidings and goods area etc. A lot of new techniques to try and learning curves to handle. All for now, Jonathan Next blog: Installing the station platform.

Thanks for your comments! It's great to hear the different ways people do things. My chosen methods are basically a Frankenstein's Monster - ideas taken from a variety of sources. Someone who actually knows more about electrics would likely do a far better job than me! I'm curious about how you would weather the tracks after the ballast is laid. What method do you use and how would you avoid getting paint on the ballast where you don't want it? I have weathered the track first, my intention being to separately weather the ballast in areas where it will have received discolouration.

When I laid the track for the previous version of Addleford Green I learned a few lessons. I had elected to mount the point motors directly beneath the track, therefore having to cut holes in the baseboard. I had never done this before but felt it might help with the dreaded point motor alignment. Despite my drilling and cutting being somewhat gung-ho, everything worked well. That was until it came to ballasting. I'm not sure if it was due to the over-large holes beneath the track or a lack of track pins, but when it came to ballasting I found that the glue seeped beneath the track, along with ballast itself, and actually lifted it up. This created small differences in height between rails and although it didn't adversely affect running, it was annoying to say the least. I've never had this problem with ballast before. This time around I decided to use PVA glue to hold the track down - no track pins! This should eliminate any potential lifting - I hope. Plus track pins aren't exactly realistic and I'm aiming for a higher standard this time around. The track used on Addleford Green is Peco code 100 streamline with electrofrog turnouts. I'm not overtly fussy about the accuracy of track and tend to be quite clumsy when working around it, so prefer something a bit more sturdy! Besides, with some appropriate weathering and careful ballasting I find code 100 to look perfectly acceptable. This may seem a bit at odds with my previous statement of wanting to build something more realistic but I go by the old tenet of "If it looks right..." and to me, it does! I ultimately always prefer Peco track over the offerings from Hornby, simply because Peco's flexible track is easier to work with. Point motors are Hattons own HAT-PM-01 solenoids which are a far cry from the old Peco ones. The metal arm to operate accessories was insanely perfect for my micro switches. On the previous version I had used insulfrogs because I had little experience with anything else. But because I wanted slow running and were to use mostly short wheelbase locos I soon found the plastic insulated frogs to be a real issue. I also started to have a problem with the blades of the turnouts needing to be cleaned on every operation due to dirt buildup stopping conductivity. Having a complete restart allowed me to review these issues. I read long and hard about the pros and cons of making electrofrogs "electrically friendly"; some said it was a must, some said they could be used as they were, straight out of the box. Wanting to have the most solid possible wiring, I elected to cut the wires underneath the turnout, bond the switchblades to the main outside rails and power the frog from a polarity switcher. There are many articles on RMweb about this, so instead here's a photo of how my switch marries up with my point motors: Here is the entire underneath of the baseboard, currently supported on two bricks! Short legs will follow in due course. Please be kind to my wiring; I'm far from being an electrician but I have tried to be as neat as possible. Continuing with the theme of electrical stability, I have attached dropper wires to every piece of track using 16/0.2mm wire. The power bus wires are stripped from inside a household mains flex cable. Copper adhesive slug tape has been used as a point where multiple wires can join - works a treat! Power comes from an ancient Hornby R965 controller which I have had for a good 15 years. The control panel fascia is a piece of satin white acrylic with a track diagram spray painted on from a homemade card template. I painted the switch levers to differentiate momentary point switches (black) and isolation switches (brown). Micro switches for point polarity switching were bought cheaply from eBay and were far easier to install than I had anticipated. The point motors were a real pain to get lined up - a perennial modelling issue and nothing to do with Hattons' point motors - and I have easy access to both sides of my board. I can't imagine how hard it is for those with bigger layouts! Track weathering has begun on top. I started by masking areas I didn't want painted and placed small pieces of card between the blades of points. This kept the points from gumming up with paint and also maintained the connectivity of the blades by keeping them free of paint. Although this idea is redundant due to my level of wiring, it can't hurt to have a backup - belt and braces! I began painting with a coat of Halfords grey primer from a spray can. Previously I had not used primer first which lead to a poor effect when the actual coloured paint was applied. Paint was wiped from the rail heads immediately after application. It dries pretty darn fast so you have to be quick! After the primer had dried fully it was followed with an all-over coat of Phoenix Precision Paints Sleeper Grime. Used with the primer this had a great effect. The sides of the rails and chairs will be picked out separately with Phoenix's Rusty Rail paint, which I have seen used to good effect elsewhere. All for now, Jonathan Next blog: More track weathering and planning scenics...

Growing up with trains Thanks to my dad’s interests, I was raised on a healthy diet of trains, canals and anything powered by steam. It was therefore inevitable - after receiving a Hornby GWR Mixed Traffic train set for Christmas - that I would develop an interest in modelling for many years after. My first layout was an extension of my first train set, with various different pieces added over time. It was safe to say it kept me busy until my teenage years, when I craved something more. At this stage, I was given access to the extensive loft where – with Dad’s help – I created a two-track loop with some sidings which allowed me to run longer trains. The loft was an ideal space for a model railway and would have been the envy of many modellers! Sadly, no photos seem to exist of that layout, no doubt a result of being a teenager at the time; you don't tend to be too concerned about the future! It was also the case that my attention was taken by all manner of other things and the loft layout ever seemed an endless task. It was never completed and I moved out of the house in my early twenties, taking much with me but leaving the skeleton of my former creation behind. Moving on A year or so into having my own home the modelling itch started again. I dabbled with creating a garden railway in 00 but it never really came together and I didn’t have the experience to make it operational. I soon decided that size was the issue and went for something smaller and more manageable. Layout 3 was a single loop of track with an emphasis on developing interesting scenics. This was where I learned many new techniques, made a few mistakes and had a great deal of fun in the process. One huge mistake was in the materials used to create the baseboard. I ended up using the chunkiest and heaviest wood around and now the whole thing weighs a ton! A new adventure After a few years layout 3 (I’d never really named any of my projects!) reached a stage where it wasn’t fulfilling my operational needs. It was just a loop of track after all. So I started a new project. Layout 4 would also be small but with an emphasis on operational interest this time round. I settled on a baseboard of 5ft by 16 inches, which would fit nicely in my shed and also be reasonably easy to relocate if required. I played with some track and agonised over the design for some time, eager to get it right. I was interested in the idea of shunting puzzles so I settled on a series of sidings with a main through line above them. The through line would have hidden areas at either end, so trains could realistically enter or exit from the “rest of the world.” However, during the track laying stage, it became apparent that to hide even a modest length of train in these off-scene sections, I would waste a lot of the board. The track was modified and the layout became a branch terminus. At this point track was laid and weathered, point motors installed and all electrics wired to a crude control panel. I looked to developing the surrounding scenics. Discovering the Hawkhurst Branch Originally I was going to use a Peco plastic kit for the station building but soon decided to build my own. I had had some success with scratch building structures and really enjoyed it. I am only a novice, so you can judge my efforts for yourself below. This is a half-relief scale model of the house in which I grew up – complete with pets! - made for my parents’ birthday. I started to research station buildings on Kent lines. The only real brief for this (as yet unnamed) layout was that it would be Southern region. Being born in the late eighties I never had any experience with mainline steam and had no connection to any particular railway company. However, having lived in Kent all my life, being only a short drive from Ashford and volunteering on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, I figured Southern was the way to go. If I were to build my own station building, I would require a prototype first. I started looking at Colonel Stephens’ light railways (the K&ESR being one) and soon discovered the Hawkhurst Branch. Although I had heard about this line, I had never put any energy into finding out more, despite having visited the now abandoned Badgers Oak Tunnel on a Geocaching hunt with my fiancee one day! I located some books on a well-known online auction site and started reading. I was fascinated by the history, particularly by the way that so little of the line remains today. I visited a few of the remaining locations; much of this line is very close to home. Addleford Green is born! I went straight back to layout 4 and began to plan around the idea of it being part of the Hawkhurst branch. It was a terminus so the most likely station was Hawkhurst itself but I had no interest in directly modelling a real location. I ultimately decided that layout 4 would represent an alternative history, where the Hawkhurst line was extended beyond Hawkhurst (as was the original plan on the real line) to a fictional station further into Kent. In reality they would have aimed for Ashford or Tenterden; in my world they never reached the main towns, instead falling short somewhere in between. I struggled to fit what I wanted into the existing design and after many weeks of agonising, decided I had to start again. I scrapped pretty much the whole layout so far and came back with a not-too-dissimilar-but-better version that would allow me to do everything I wanted. It had to include the following: A station that could accommodate a loco and two carriages Engine shed Goods shed At least two sidings Enough scenic space for a hop form But I still didn’t have a name for my new layout. I spoke to my long-suffering-but-very-patient-about-trains fiancee. Could she think of a name that sounded like a village in Kent? After a few suggestions she came upon Appleford Green – a portmanteau of two Kent locations. I didn't like the Apple prefix, feeling it felt a little too twee, so I softened the name to Addleford and the rest is history. A very long history, which I'm sorry you had to read! All for now, Jonathan Next blog: A tour of the track and wiring...