ManofKent

I think if you can lighten it slightly the vertical scenery will blend in well. Nice work.

Waiting for the cork layer to dry, so took a walk across the creek to take some reference photos. Structures are going to be loosely based on local preserved warehouses/workshops from when the quay was railway fed. The track was raised in 1966 and no traces remain, although there are some repurposed sleepers from the branch still in evidence.

Pillars that line the quay wall? Around 10 inches diameter for round ones - about the same width as a sleeper:

Looks realistic. I think the smoother side has the edge. It should take paint well if you want to add any oil stains well too.

Spray adhesive sounds a good option, for the backscene but I've not tried it - I can't see why it wouldn't work well. I've been using gorilla glue to build up three layers of foam to my foamex base which bonds well, but still have a cork layer to add.

Shed looks good. I'm trying to work out how small and simple a structure I can get away with for mine and have ordered some Wills corrugated sheet, Your option deals with the visible interior well, something I'd not thought of...

Even with NEM pockets I understand you can have issues with with differing heights. I'm only going to be running half a dozen wagons so the cost shouldn't be too great, but I think the fitting and alignment could still prove challenging. I do like what I've seen of them in operation though...

Track density is very subject related - quiet branchline you probably want very low density, but some busy major good yards were very track dense as were some mainline termini. It's the same with curves - industrial facilities sometimes used track with a tighter radius than even set-track 1, but you want sweeping curves for mainline operations. I'm not brave enough to try wiring double slips or three way points, but then I'm a DC dinosaur. What couplings are you using?

I decided as the quay and track are going to be in the same position regardless of the chosen front the answer was to lay the foam, lay the track and cut out the quay void. I can try a bit of card as a backdrop to give me a better idea before I decide on building placement, but I'm leaning towards quay at front. First layer of foam glued down and drying ('bluefoam' and Gorilla Glue). Weights to improve the bond will be consumed as project progresses.

Guns on the Roof - The Clash

Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield

Still one dilemma though - Arun Quay stye with Quay at back or Quay at front? The Quay will be very very narrow - will that still work with the Arun Quay style or is the gap (1.5- 3cm) just too narrow? The timber store is semi-transparent by the way. Quay at front will need an extra building or two - too crowded...? Thoughts appreciated!

Track plan finalised! Enough room for structures, not an inglenook but playing around with wagons there's enough shunting interest to keep me happy, albeit pretty much one wagon at a time. I might substitute the odd bit of set-track with flexi and even up siding lengths (buffers are going to be beams fixed to walls to save track length and be more prototypical for this sort of location).

Go with Swanscombe as a prototype - if you attempted to accurately model the trackwork there you would never get anything to run

I've mainly spent the last few days looking at other peoples layout plans. It was useful in that I realised my plans looked too square on - I needed some curves and flow to the track to make it more visually pleasing. I also realised that I just hadn't left enough room for structures - I don't want a heavily built up feel - no tall warehouses, but the track needs to appear to serve some purpose. I've got to imply some outside connection with the world - it's too small a space to make sense for a site to have their own loco if that is all there is - at the minimum it would need a connection to exchange sidings. Any way ponderings done I finally got the track out, building floor plans and had a play.

I'm no expert but that looks like a W4 Peckett to me - The pipework is slightly different, but the Hornby Charity Colliery Peckett wouldn't need much work to be a pretty good likeness. I look forward to seeing the layout develop. Are you adding a section of the narrow gauge tramway?

I think with small modules ply really isn't that heavy. I'm trying 10mm Foamex braced with additional strips, which is nice and rigid, but the weight saving over ply isn't that significant (it was more a case of not being able to get decent ply cut o size locally). Rural industrial grot is always appealing - there seems to a fair few South West rural industrial scenes of late (I'm sure there must be other prototypes from different areas though). There's always the exchange sidings for coal/ironstone etc.

You're not the only one who has decided not to get sucked into Line of Duty, as to Steps thankfully I couldn't tell you what they sound like or name a song let alone tell you who was in the group

I dread to think how much house prices are in such a desirable village! Lovely modelling.

I struggle with painting figures in 4mm. A dark wash to hopefully bring out some face detail is the best I can manage and am in awe of those who can paint in eyes or lips.

Nice plan for the space. I'm no wiring expert but if you're going DC wouldn't feeds on both pairs of track on the left negate the need for switches (assuming you're only running one loco at a time)? The SL97's are a major space saver.

Yes - that's the one I've got. It was whether there were any photos included in more general books on the SECR/SR/Southern Region that I wondered about.

I'm looking for any photos of the Faversham Quay Branchline (opened 1866 ish and closed almost exactly 100 years later). Photos from any period are useful. I've got the Middleton Press book which has a few, but was hoping other photos may have made it into other more general books. Being a freight only branch it doesn't appear to have been much photographed. Unfortunately the local history society remains closed for the time being. Any pointers welcome.

Track and second Peckett collected, will have a play with track over the weekend. I kept toying with a mini-Swanscombe cement pits layout - Pecketts would have served instead of the real life Hawthorn-Leslie's - I could have used a tunnel entrance based on prototype, maybe 'the bothy' and the coal stage, but the chalk cliffs put me off. They'd need to be hand inscribed as all the commercial moulds are for rocks with a completely different strata, and I'm not sure I find it that scenically appealing. In the end I've decide to go with a fudge. I live a few minutes walk from Faversham Creek which was once an important quay for timber imports (particularly pit-props) and rail served until the mid 1960's, having been decline since the 50's. It was SECR / SR /BR served rather than a private quay like Strood and Rochester up the coast, but in my world... Effectively it's going to be a quayside timber merchants. Old photos are few and far between, but enough structures remain to give me ideas. It's not a big warehouse type place - Gordon Gravett's superb Arun Quay is much closer (yes I'm incredibly envious of his talent, expertise, artistry etc. and if I could reduce his plan to 4mm and squeeze it in I'd be tempted). I think I shall shamelessly steal his idea of the quay at the rear of the model (the opposite side of the creek is low-lying farm/marsh). I want to retain a sense of spaciousness even in my tiny area, so buildings will be sparse, but Steve /Sb67's superb https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135217-pecketts-wharf shows how inset track can work wonders. Rob's various Sheep layouts (although a little larger) are also giving me lots of ideas. It's a tiny area, but about the same length as the wonderful https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/155256-garnswllt from Locksley.

Some wonderful beasts in this thread.