Sandhills

I agree James. The backing seems to have become more prominent as they dried out. Only applied 4 & 1 has no backing showing at all so a quick wash over the other 3 like you suggest should do the trick.

'Awaiting PPM, PGA 14375 is shunted out its rake and positioned alongside the wagon shop at Brooke Stone for attention.' ......and a couple of close ups over in the exchange sidings at night.

Proper looking boozer is that James !! Loads of little detail to get stuck into. Dont forget the 2 satellite dishes on the chimney stack mate !! Like the drawing more & more everytime I look at it. So simple but if the modelling is executed as well as Paxton it should be a smasher. Are you going to convert anything else locowise to rumble down to that stop block ?

'A stranger in the camp' - 50015 visits Brookeshire and is pressed into action on the lightly loaded MO 6E77 13.35 Acton Yard - Brooke Stone.

Hi James, Can see what you mean but sealed with varnish now so could get messy if I try and rectify ! Not on the other side so maybe I will just have to be choosy with the side I use under certain angles and light. Cab doors are open on the other side with a tail lamp wedged in the opening at one end. Liking your track plan pics by the way. Is that your Thomas annual under the table I can spot ??!! Happy New Year mate.

Quite right Pete, next time I see him at a show I will pick them up. Question is Red or Black ??

This low & hazy winter sun is a bit tricky to work with but heres one of several captured down at Brooke Stone this afternoon

Not feeling very inspired with scenics and what to do next on the board so settled down infront of the fire & tv with a mug of tea and got cracking on the next 6 PGA's. ECC variants this time so that 2 different rakes of stock can pass through the loading hopper on the top level. Spent alot of time working these exmples in and out of Croft so I knew exactly how I wanted them. A bit haphazard in method but after 5 hours work I have come up with the finish I wanted. Usual coat of frame dirt and sleeper grime taken off with a thinner soaked cotton bud. Several dustings of rust, cement & brown powder and everything sealed with 2 coats of varnish, one satin & a second of matt applied about half an hour apart. I also dusted over them with a soft make up brush before the matt varnish had gone off to create the textured/rough look to the wagon sides. Water slide graffiti applied to several and the transfer background masked with a small dusting of mucky powder. Need a few more of these and I haven't seen any about so 'keep em peeled' for me if you come across any in your local model shops !!

Only went for a bottle of glue & a tin of matt varnish..........honest ! I tried so, so, so hard. I knew I would have to walk past the Hornby cabinet to get to the counter but still I went like a lamb to the slaughter. It was like my eyes had a mind of their own. I couldnt stop them from gazing left as I walked past. ......and there it was, all vac like, dutchy and gorgeous !! By this time I was on my knees, dribbling down the glass in a trance like state with the voices in my head saying 'buy me, buy me, you know you want me, buy me, I would look lovely on Brooke Stone with some Limpets & a brake, buy me, buy me.' So there it was, Hornby's latest sound offering. One of my favourite engines, in my favourite livery and with decent sound built in and ready to go. How could I resist ? Ok, I wasnt planning on running any railtours with 008 into Brooke Stone, Brooke Stone wasnt really supposed to be based on the Western region & money wise, it was steep & I had 28p in my pocket ?! Now for the real shocker and this will show just how much I had to have this engine. Knowing my local model shop owner would do me a part ex or swap I dropped my plans for the afternoon, paid for my glue & departed the shop like Arnie screaming 'I'll be back !' After a mad dash home and several difficult minutes going through my stock I decided, seeing as I hardly ever use them and have no use for them on Brooke Stone, it was time to say bye bye to the Rail Ex DRS 37 twin pack !!!!! After an excellent deal back at the shop an hour later I was the proud owner of the Vac, 6 lush ECC PGA's & a healthy deposit on the Gaugemaster Prodigy. Had fun with the Tractors but with 667 already in the loco box, having 688 & 510 was overkill. Both weathered, detailed & sound fitted, I'm sure they will bring someone else lots of enjoyment not to mention the fact that 510 was a celeb having appeared on the front of Rail Ex ! Now this will shock you all as well.........I have been quite moderate with the weathering on this one !! I even researched several pics of my own & off the internet to get a general idea of how 015 looked from day to day. Too whacked last night to do anything so first thing this morning, I set about my Sunday morning project. Fully detailed with the ploughs & pipes supplied, a light dusting of frame dirt and several dustings of rusty based powders later and my first Vac is captured on the single line on its way to Brooke Stone !

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone. I don??™t really do New Year. I see it as a bit of an anti climax after Christmas and since becoming a dad I don??™t think I have actually been up at midnight for the last 6 years !! Never the less, I trust everybody had a great time the other night and I hope this year will see RMweb go from strength to strength with its new format, hopefully a Member??™s Day to rival last year (hint, hint Andy !) and lots of interesting new creations built for the challenge. With the day off yesterday, an early night under my belt and a promise of a sunny (but cold) day I was up with the hung over skylarks and set about a few jobs on the board before the sun came up. First up was to fit the extension plate on the front of the board for the Guagemaster Prodigy. Not actually purchased the system yet but did manage to afford the faceplate before Christmas. My local model shop will have a system in stock soon, so an Easter time purchase will enable me to start running locos shortly after. Should have the track laid to the fiddle yard and all the wiring done by then ! Further scenics have been added to the front edge around building 3 and weathering has commenced on the walls & panels. The retaining wall from top to bottom levels has furthered itself around the back of the depot and along the front face however this still needs a lot of attention in the form of weathering and I plan to cover a lot of it with foliage & ivy. I??™m not unhappy with it, just feel it needs a bit more work to fit in. Last up was the work to the ballast pile. Why its there, I do not know (!), but it fills a space, acts as a distraction away from the fiddle area and looks ok so far. I may build a small conveyor that protrudes from the building behind. A sort of overflow heap that is cleared occasionally by digger ? After all this I was ready to brave the cold and go enjoy the fruits of my labour with a trip out with the camera. Most of these have been in the gallery for 24 hours due to the delay in posting new blog entries but I will post again here to keep the blog updated with the latest.

....and they say i'm mad !! Great looking project Alex & one I will really enjoy seeing develop. Looking forward to lots of updates & hopefully my family of construction 60's can pay a visit in the future. Just make sure you build it so it can be moved outside. I can see the sun drenched pictures now ! Good luck mate, that is going to be as epic a scratch build depot as Jim's shopping centre !!

Same here Dave. Congrats on quite a spread ! Just about to settle down to all 9 'well deserved' pages.

Sorry if your bored with these. Last one for a while, promise.......

Back to work tmow after 4 enjoyable days off and a spot of modelling. Plenty to get on with next time I get some modelling time with the retaining wall and perfecting the ballast heaps first up. A few more pics below from this mornings trip out. All cropped/clarified and some have been posted in the 'How realistic' thread but I wanted them recording in the blog as well. I will hopefully update with some more progress over the New Year weekend.............

'Having walked across a very muddy field in the freezing cold, Jon was not best pleased at having left his binoculars in the car ! Was that 006 or 008 on the right ?'

'It was a quiet Bank Holiday Monday, the hole in the fence, the lack of security and the thought his last 08 for sight may just be parked inside the shed was too much for the intrepid spotter to take'

'The view from Brookedale Hill on a cold bank holiday morning as Tugs 001 & 006 take the day off'

Put together the last of the 5 structures last night & this morning but then I faced a bit of a dilemma ? Do I place and fix all the structures then build the scenary around them or do I try and put the scenary around the footprints of the buildings then place them at the end. After much debating I decided on the first option and spent this morning sticking everything down ! I realise working in tight spots and around the buildings isnt going to be easy but this is a challenge and I think doing it this way round will result in a much better finish, with the scenary looking more at home around the structures. With all this activity and having the main scene as set as it was ever going to be, it spurred me on (despite the cold !!) to pack the car up, venture off to a random field, take advantage of the hazy sunshine and do a test shoot. Only took a small selection of stock and obviously you will have to turn a blind eye to the un weathered bits and bare wood in places but overall i'm glad I went out and tried a few pics as the results have given me loads of inspiration & a bit of focus on what to do next and where to go with the whole project. Took nearly 150+ shots but I will pick out a few and post 5 at a time over the next few days along with other blog ramblings about stuff thats done & needs doing ! I'm liking stuff in B&W at the minute so both colour & greyscale versions are posted below. A lot of these work better in B&W in my opinion but with both versions posted you can decided what works best for you. Anyway, welcome to Brookestone Quarry folks, work in progess, but officially open for business ! Hope you enjoy the view.................................................................................................................

Hi Chris, Kadee conversion will follow in due course hopefully. May even look into 3 link. A subject I need to do a bit of research on, they cant stay like they are, thats for sure !

Late night session at the workbench last night saw the first 6 Redland PGA's weathered to a grubby state. Time wise on the board the wagons would have been very close to the overhauls that saw them painted white & rebranded with the LaFarge logo so thats my excuse for the distressed Redland look !! Not seen any ballast loads for PGA's before so going to have a crack at filling the inside on some examples with packing, then a layer of fresh grey stone on the top. 9 ECC variants await similar treatment as well as several yellow/grey Seacows which I do have the ballast loads for. Hopefully a big day of modelling awaits tmow............

With the festive season in full swing a new addition to the fleet has arrived joining 60006 as the second Brooke Stone Quarry allocated construction 60. 005, 010 & 100 will arrive in due course to complete the allocation of 5. Another conversion from a Hornby Mainline 077 example, Simon has done a superb job with Hither Green diamonds, cast arrows, re numbering and construction block transfers. The job is completed with 001's signature grey snowplough which it didnt keep for long and was actually a different design & shape to the rest and the one shown but as you all know i'm not picky with minor details & inaccuracies and I will leave it as it is for the sake of it being a little different & something which will identify 001 from the rest. Weathered by myself over a couple of relaxing hours first thing this morning, all it requires now is the sound chip & speaker from SWD which is yet to be unwrapped under the tree !! May get some board work done later this evening and with tmow booked for the big family get together any real progress with Brooke Stone structures will have to wait for the full days modelling I have planned on Monday. 'Nearly 2 years on after its release from Brush at Loughborough, 60001, having undergone numerous CPU mods, testing & alteration, settles into its new home joining 60006 as a revenue earning machine at Brooke Stone Quarry.' 'Basking in late winter sun, 001 awaits a wash down & fuel before its night time run at the head of 6C31 00.23 Brooke Stone Railhead - Radlett' '60001 draws inside the service point for fuel' A couple more B&W views that work ok......

'A work worn EWS Class 56 awaits its next turn of duty at the Brooke Stone quarry servicing facility' -

Family Christmas preperations are in full swing so all things 'Brooke Stone' related have gone on the back burner for a while. I did managed however a job last night and a few pics this morning before packing everything away in the train room until my long awaited 4 day break between Christmas & the New Year. The 'big end' building has been painted, weathered & sealed with just the lighting, signage and roof to sort out. With a can of beans standing in for the 5th un built structure these pics show the progress so far and how things look at the close of the year. Pleased with the views from right to left looking through the small gaps in the buildings. I think come the summer, in the right weather conditions and with a decent backdrop this particular angle could become my favourite. Could'nt resist a few loco shots as well. The 25 & 56 provide a time span of around 15 years and so long as I am careful with the detail the board could run anywhere from late seventies to present day. .....and last up my favourite so far. Dont think the grass is looking to OTT now. The growth in the 4ft was trimmed and everything was dusted with various shades of black & brown powder and after sealing with hairspray i'm a bit happier to continue with its use on further areas of the board. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone & the next update should be post turkey around the 27th !!

Hi Kenton, Totally agree. Trying to show as much work in progress as I can and there is still lots of work to do on the grass including a trim in places and toning down with some weathering. Plan to get it all down first then judge the colour tones with a few photos in different lighting conditions. The stuff in the four foot will be toned down with browns & blacks for sure. It is the 'summer' blend so I expected it to be quite lush & bright and I think in natural light it will look a little more, well, natural !

Looking forward to painting the big building I was rather fed up this morning on discovering it was going to be cold, wet or both for at least the next week, so with the indoor spraying ban imposed by SWMBO any fun with the Halfords primer will have to wait ! Snatched an hour this afternoon between jobs and managed to get a couple more things started, funnily enough, both involving humps ! Laid grass to one of the sections between the cripple road & shed road and it didnt look right being too flat. Up it came and a shaped piece of polystyrene was inserted and the grass re laid. Looks better now and will give some depth to any photos of locos 'on shed'. Using layers of foam board I built up a rough shape to form a ballast/stone spoil pile in one of the small available places left on the board, its quite full/busy with all the structures in place ! A thin layer of plaster repair was spread over and once dry I will sand, layer with glue and sprinkle a suitable scatter product over the top. Further weathering with some yellows & browns and thats another little feature and something to break up any flat bits ! Couldnt resist a couple of snaps next to the back door before packing up. I'm a winter person usually prefering snow, dark nights & open fires to suncream, sand & sweat but I can honestly say I have never wanted the sun to come out so much as I do now. Think the grass with a bit of natural sunlight on it will produce some realistic pics. Oh well, we live in hope ! You watch it come out on Christmas Day morning and the trouble I get in sneaking out to the fields with the board. Me thinks it wont just be the turkey getting a roasting !!!!