Nathaniel

Thank you for the food for thought. To help with providing me with more specific advice have provided photos below of both layouts. No trunkated stock anywhere as will not suit either micro layout. Points on Ember Lane depot are set track standard x1 and two set track y points. Where as Earlswood is on streamline points. I guess if the have a issue with the buffers catching I can glue some clear plastic on to the buffers. Hope my further information helps.

Just viewing this companies stock now. Love the Steampunk theme and the people that have available. Not too sure about the locomotives and rolling stock, though I do hope to see that aspect improve.

After reading the latest BRM (April 2020) I really enjoyed reading the article from page 84 to 86 on conversion to 3 link couplers. There after I have tried looking online and only ever able to find the smiths 3 links mentioned in the article. Apart from this setback, I would also like to get some tips from those that currently use these as I think they will be very enjoyable for both my layouts, Earlswood and Ember Lane.

Hello all, hope you are all well. A quick update today after weathering all 3 lock's that current get used. ( The true pug is currently resting as does not have enough clearances for many of the grass Tufts that act to decouple.) Also recent purchased a lovely Hornby collet brake allowing me to create a GWR passenger service from Earlswood to Stratford-upon-Avon. I also on opening the collect from the packaging found this is a perfect fit for the purpose being a Birmingham division coach. Below number 8751 has just arrived with some passengers and offloading some post from Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham.

Another picture of the two pug's one completely repainted from a black be version. The other being a smokey Joey has had a touch up in paint with details also painted. In the same picture even I am struggling to see where the background starts and the foliage and trees modelled began and end. I was not expecting this, knowing my own skill levels.

Hello all, I hope you are all well. I will be trying to locate previously posted photos if you all like. Anyhow, today's post is an update of the layout with newest photos. Some rabbits purchased painted and glued in place. One of the horses has been repainted and weathered more of my rolling stock.

This is a really lovely looking layout, cannot wait to see more.

Hello all, been having fun with both my layouts and recently weathered some of the rolling stock for Earlswood Station. The brake an looks so awesome now instead of looking like plastic. All the weathering powder I have is DCC concepts mid grey, black, yellow clay and red dust. Have recently found if I mix different colours on the paper I use to tap on to remove excess powder and reuse, I can get slightly different shades of the grey and clay.

Have purchased some weathering powders and been getting used to using them. In the process of doing so made a scratch built low relief building and placed it behind the signal box with a chimney stack. Is built from Metfcalfe red brick sheets, with cardboard layers forming the building and the chimney stack core uses a cardboard inner from a roll of kitchen towels, cut in half and down in size.

The lane to the office is a really nice addition to the scene. Really enjoy your photos of your layout.

Really enjoying watching your layout progress, looking forward to more updates.

Thank you all. Another update, with a home signal in place just behind the Signal Box. Also some more greenery in place. Have also applied some new coat of paint to two of my figures from the previous layout, and also painted the coal sacks, including the one being carried. Coal sacks are from Peco. Cannot remember the source of the two coal workers.

A new addition arrived and have repainted it. Is a Smokey Joe R3064, runs surprisingly well at slow speeds. Been giving some consideration to the stations name, and have fallen on naming it Earlswood. In light of this, naming after a village (In the Midlands) where my family is from , I have done some research finding out that the nearby line is the North Warwickshire Line, which was originally independently put forward. However it became taken over by GWR. This has created the idea that my Earlswood station sits north of the lakes, which would be from the view of the layout is behind the viewer. The imaginary freelance company line would go of to the west over the North Warwickshire Line, however it does also have a junction accessible from Earlswood. Thinking that the connection provides allowances of services to Birmingham, or to Stratford-upon-Avon if connected in the other direction.

Hi all, Happy new year everyone. Been tinkering on the layout again, namely wiring up the lights in the buildings, and using my new gluegun some more. Have also painted the cardboard I used to protect the foam formers for the loading dock and the yard, while I also worked on 3 trees. Also spent a bit of time finding the best locations for the static grass to aid in uncoupling. As the height of them sometimes do not push the older Hornby type tension couplers, have put a small bit of plastic onto the self adhesive making sure that most of the self adhesive is still available and placed them on the track. Firstly, pulled out the tree I had fitted in place with an idea to spray it with hairspray and coat it in scatter material. This really worked well and to build it up and to cover as much of the plastic shininess underneath sprayed it again and applied another coat of scatter. Did this again for two more trees and planted them into the scene. The water crane is not yet finished, same as the two buffers seen on the loading dock, also need fitting still. With the buffers, going to make a supporting frame out of sleepers up against the wall that backs on to the street/yard. Also below playing around with filters on my phone after taking some photos. Have also got a tripod coming soon as my hands are generally shaky so hoping to get a video made soon, editing out hand of god for the points.

Thank you for all the likes, it really means a lot to me Especially as am not much of a socially active person. Hope you are all very well too.

Been laying down some greenery over the past couple days and brought out a few bits and bobs from the old layout to be reused.

A new update. Ballast really went down well this time compared to my previous attempts, same as the sand used for the station. In the Brewery yard the sand did not go down well at first, removed the sand and covered the area in pva glue, allowed that to dry then layered another coat of pva glue and covered that with sand. The coal area is the same sand, however treated with paints to give a different appearance. Before placing the pile of coal, had weathered it to match the ballast weathering in the area and to give the impression the coal pile can be sometimes larger. In this regard, I have gone out with the typically modelled staithes for the more typical pile of coal. Have some sacks to place in the area too just need a nice little hut for the coal merchant. Ballast is from Legacy Ballast Sand is from Busch Coal is from Woodlands Scenics I my photos you'll see some clumps of Static grass in straw colour, these are from Tajima1 and being used to uncouple. Looks like I will only need the one on the station, as gives lots of room on each side of it. Also been making some bushes which you might see in the far right corner, formed from lichen sprayed with hairspray and coated in some loose foliage. If I remember rightly, the foliage is from Woodlands Scenics. Have got some more lichen in brown to use, and took this idea from a BRM issue.

Here are some photos showing the recent progress.

Thank you bazzer42, had a look at those, the brown blend seems to be most suitable for my layout, being a lightly travelled fictional line, maybe with small areas of the darker blend where the loco often stops, to help maybe with weathering those kinds of areas. From the Jarvis range have seen they do a JS30 Sand scatter, this I think could be use for the surfaces round the brewery to its access point and also the lower part of the main yard and as the surface for the platform, with dressed stone at the front of the platform. Thinking I'll also only make the platform only go half way up, 1- as a reasonable excuse to use the step plates for the 4 wheel coaches I have, and 2- I am taking an educated guess that many small railway lines, before the big four and if freelance lines were more common thereafter, that the lines would be looking to save on costs, thus not build a normal platform at the typically thought of height.

I would really appreciate assistance on ballast choices, as I unsure what ballast colours are typically used between the Midlands and the north of England. This had been my original plan, but the previous Ballast I used I realise is more common to Scotland. Also what scatter could I use for road surfaces, instead of cobblestones and modern road surfaces. Realised today I need to come up with a new name for the layout.

Layout has now been dismantled and kept as much as I could. Here are a couple pictures of what the layout will be built up as new. A little change has been made from the original plan, with the brewery not being directly accessed to a siding. The new idea is to have it to the right hand side, along with one of the houses as an out building office. This area would be raised, with buffers against the walls to maximise space. At the back will have a station platform and at the front where the old brewery platform is positioned, a loading dock, which can be accessed directly by the brewery, while at the same time can deal with general goods. Siding to the left for coal, and beyond that, to hide the entrance to the layout I could either have a pub, road crossing the line and a low relief house hidden by trees or go for a tunnel entrance.

Looks amazing, really impressive given its size.

Thank you Jerry. Not much has changed this month, have started trying to fit some of the details on to the class 37, with the coupling hooks and the ploughs in place, no glue applied so the hooks and connected couplers easily come out of its slot. Have found it incredibly hard one of the fixings in, not sure what the name is but loops under the buffer on the left (own loco facing) and not tried fixings the other tiny bit yet.

Site Manager likes leaving tire makes when driving off. Later that day he is back onsite with his Mini parked up, While the 66200 is still in the depot being worked on. Hi all, a little update today. Have done a little bit of painting on the layout. First I used Revell rust paint on the sides of the tracks then using the same paint followed by Revell Anthracite in between various parts of the layout. Then using the anthracite I painted some tire marks and marks between the rails in the hard standing area, and darkening parts of the ballast especially around the first point. Have also built up the other 3 buffer stops and with all 4, painted them all up then fitted them in. The depot itself has received a little update to. The visible inner wall has received a section of Metcalfe red bricks, for the inside wall. Hope to fix some equipment against that wall as well. Also the outer wall has received a lick of reddish brown Revell paint, dry brushed over to lessen the shiny red Italian Revell paint I had used. Lastly, the visible door has been painted midnight blue. A couple more photos showing some of the new improvements.

Love the ground cover and now seeing it all in place really gives a great view of looking up to the shunt work of the day.