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While all this is going on, I'm taking the opportunity to add some details to the goods shed. Its never had any guttering, and I've been meaning to add a door to the rather plain slab-like end wall. Its entirely wooden construction, plywood floor and false roof, while the walls are very thin ply with stripwood framing, clad in planked basswood sheets. Its in three main parts; roof, body and legs.The legs are glued to a sheet of card thats been ballasted to match the ground cover, and in theory can be lifted out. In practice though its got accidently glued along the edges so has to stay put. I hope the photos show the construction method, and how I've simply cut a hole in the cladding and added some more planked basswood sheet behind it to form the door. The method is probably a bit overcomplicated and unnecessary, but with long bolts holding it together I can detach the main parts and work on them on the bench if needed. The steps are four bits of Obechi stripwood glued together and secured with Blu-Tac while the glue sets. Dave.

Hi Guys, Having planned to put an old sleeper accross the ends of the rails, I think i am going to leave it as it is to keep the siding as long as possible. As it stands, the wheels of a wagon just nudge up against the grass bank, and I like the look. Decided that the hardstanding looked far too smooth so I've already added another layer of sawdust texturing on top. Just means I've got to re-colour it all.... Cheers, Dave.

Lovely photos, and I quite agree, no need to have a train as the centrepiece of the picture. Many thanks, Dave.T

Very good looking layout John, and nice to see Hemyock modelled in its original form. Will you be modelling the various odd weird and wonderful locos that ran in its early days? All the best, Dave.T

Got all the basic ground cover, coal piles etc completed. Needs a bit more clutter, some stacks of sacks etc to be added. Hmm, a bit too tidy? I'm also adding a door to the end wall of the goods shed, as at Llanfair. Cheers, Dave.

Absolutely agree, You've created a perfect look for old/grotty sidings, never an easy acheivement. . The other is too "mainline". All the best, Dave.

Thanks Dave, The ground cover will of course be toned down to a dull dirty dark grey shade eventually. At the moment its just sawdust and PVA over the smooth black surface. Looks a bit strange to me at the moment. Cheers, Dave.

Thanks very much David (and everyone) for such glowing praise. I've always tried to keep within the bounds of reality, and keep it plausible. Thanks again, Dave.

A bit more work on the coalyard; The surface of the hardstanding hard worn a biy smooth and shiny, so it too has had a layer of fine sawdust PVA-ed in place. I've also added some timbers between the rails so that any wheeled vehicles can be backed up to the wharf. I extended the siding (by a full inch-and-a-half!) by removing the buffer stop and adding a couple of bits of rail. This allows me to get another half a wagon in the yard! The siding now ends at the bank so care in shunting is needed. Dave.

Hi Invercloy, Good to see you back on RMweb, and the layout is looking stunning. You would never know that the stock was from three different sources/modellers, it all "fits" the layout perfectly. I will try to keep up with your postings, but I have to admit I don't often venture into the blogs section. All the best, Dave.T

Various stuff, but Mostly Autumn's The Ghost Moon Orchestra is never far away, or off for long. Surely one of their very finest. On tour now, one Westcountry date (Tavistock) at the end of this month. Dave.

Hi Adam, Just had a look and indeed, HMRS do a comprehensive range of wagon lettering. I don't know why I hadn't them before, I've been using HMRS transfers for years! Thanks very much, Dave.

Brilliant work Chaz, not sure what else to say! Those van look superbh models as well, do you have thread running on them? Thanks, Dave.

Thanks Giles, I'll give it a go. The trick is to make it LOOK as though its been there thirty years; not sure if I've got 30 left! Dave. PS This bit of the layout is only 20 years old.

While working on the goods yard area, (part of the layout I had never been entirely happy with) I thought the coal yard needed a bit more about it. It was nothing more than two piles of coal on the ground. So I've added a small bunker. A simple construction in stripwood, its built around one of the piles. Still needs dirt and blending in. The ground needs building up, and more detailing/clutter added, plus quite a bit more coal. Hmm, does it look a bit twee at the moment? Cheers, Dave.

While thinking about a few wagons for the Bridport Harbour Tramway, I decided that Welshpool style would suit them well. Sooo, I dug out the batch of Dorset Kits wagons I built a few years back, and repainted one of the original type opens in a new livery. The later pattern wagons would represent the same vehicles after rebuilding by the MVR. Gives a touch more variety in the wagon department. Does it look ok? Both still need dirtying down of course. The new (old) livery is a darker grey, Humbrol 27, lettered with some Woodhead Transfers that I had from years ago. Woodhead Transfers came and went quite quickly if I remember rightly. They were mainly sets of lettering and numbering for Private Owner Wagons, so you could do your own lettering etc. I've no idea if anybody produces lettering in this style nowadays; white capitals with black shading. Any suggestions? Cheers, Dave.

Hi Alex, There was an article in an early edition of Railway Bylines, not sure if its one I've got though. Dave.T

Hi Stephen, The stuff I've got is the basic "Foliage", third picture down on the left on this page: http://woodlandsceni...maturesFoliages One of their earlier products (I've had mine for donkeys years) its the usual foam granules, fixed to what appears to be a very fine nylon net. You can tear bits off, pull them apart and stretch them till you've got the effect you want, and then lay/drape/glue them in place. Here's the detailed list: http://woodlandsceni...ategory/Foliage I use light, medium and dark green, F51, F52, and F53. Hope this helps, Cheers, Dave.

Foliating the bushes is done with Woodland Scenics products, notably their Foliage Nets. I tear a bit off and then pull it apart/tease it out until its less dense, then spread it over the bush material until it looks right. Its held in place by a very light brush of pva over the bush. Close-up it doesnt look too great, but its the overall impression I'm after. In the wider view it looks more convincing. I had never been completely happy with the hardstanding area in the goods yard; and over the years have had several attempts at improving it. Its bright appearance is the result a layer of very fine sawdust glued down over the painted tile-grout. This gives it more of a hard-packed gravel appearance, and a good dose of weathering powders will tone it down. Next job is to paint the grass. Cheers, Dave.

Yes indeed, I've made the connection....

Very nice indeed, sorry I haven't seen it earlier. All the best, Dave.T

The replacement Peco fence has been planted, looks fine from a distance. I sprayed it with Railmatch Sleeper-Grime first, and gave it a gentle weathering with white powder paint gently brushed on. The fence needs carefull handling as its moulded from a soft shiny plastic with a soapy texture that paint doesnt want to stick to. I've already scraped it off by accident in places. The raw materials of undergrowth: centre, teased-out nylon scouring pad, already with some Woodland Scenics attached (actually a previously used bush recovered from elsewhere) Top and Right, rubberised horsehair pulled apart and torn into bush-shapes. Left, my grass raw-material; some form of underfelt or sound-deadening material. Adding undergrowth to the bank, smearing a bit of Evo-Stick Impact to the material and positioning/pushing it into place. Extra bits of horsehair dabbed on top, with more smears of Evostick, until a suitable look is achieved. Woodland Scenics material will be added later.

Thanks for the info Adam, that makes it a most appropriate choice. Don't ask me how they got it there though! Cheers, Dave.

Prior to its long-overdue outing to Warley this coming Autumn, Charmouth is in need of a little refurbishment and upgrade here and there. I've talked about conversion to DCC on my Workbench thread, but some of the scenery was looking a bit tatty as well. My nice handmade wooden fencing along the front looked very nice, but was continually getting knocked and broken, so I'm replacing it with the Peco plastic stuff. The stretch of grassy bank along the front of the goods yard was so worn and bare that I'm replacing it completely. So I've removed the remains of the fence and built up the new wider bank with bits of old insulation board, messily glued down with pva. Charmouth was built in the 1980s & 90s, when hairy carpet-underfelt was the primary method of representing grass. I did consider trying out the modern electrostatic method, but then I would have to do the entire layout or it would look wrong. So for now I'm sticking with the older method (I've still got some underfelt left) and Noch and co will have to wait for a new layout. First job was to cover the ground with a mix of earth/moss/ground coloured flock: Next job is install the fence, and then I can add grass and bushes (nylon scouring pad, rubberised horsehair, Woodland Scenics foam) around it. Meanwhile, he grounded van body behind the platform has been converted into a running van, (see my Workbench) and will be replaced by this: Picked it up secondhand recently, I don't know what its prototype is, but its handmade. Needs a bit of weathering. Cheers, Dave.

What has happened is that the card has absorbed moisture from the Das and expanded (or contracted ) on one side only. When coating card with anything, its best to do it on both sides to counteract the curling. If you cant do both sides, can you do away with the card completely, and simply fill in the whole depth of the track? This would probably use a lot of Das (never used it myself, so I dont know what quantities it comes in) Using something like this http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/tiles/adhesives-sealants/combined_adhesives___grouts/B-and-Q-Wall-Tile-Adhesive-and-Grout-White-0-92L-Up-to-0-8m-9277200 that comes in a large quantity can be better if you've got large areas to do. Or you may have some left over from the bathroom... this is the stuff I've used for all my stonework. Hope this helps, All the best, Dave