class26

Appropriately we will have to wait until the spring for the colour to appear unfortunately ! Much to do underneath the base boards in the way of wiring etc first

One final shot crossing the bridge

Some work over the weekend on the lattice bridge abutments as seen in these photos. It needs a little tweaking yet and painting, the abutments only have received a coat of primer so far.. In the photos 37025 heads north from Georgemas with the Thurso portion from Inverness

Many thanks, that all makes complete sense and no need for a drawing. I may well use this idea. Much appreciated.

Thanks, The idea with the Flow Country is that it is sparse. Everything will be taken from my travels on the line so an abandoned croft, lots of falling apart snow fences, some stags, very few trees and the very individual lattice bridge. I have 24 x 12 feet available and are using every inch of it !

Many thanks, it all makes sense and much appreciated. The boards I have up are only old ones, I will be cutting new ones so can make them whatever length I feel is best. Some need to curve so I thought hardboard might be best as this curves reasonably ok.

Hi Nick, A photo would be helpful please if you have one. Many thanks

Yes, I always knew that but typically go charging in as it`s not a job I wanted to do but then regret it later ! I don`t think it`s too late though, Problem is I thought I had it worked out and maybe I have but i don`t think my idea is the best way of securing the backscenes which Is why i`m asking for ideas. Yes, I have them in front of the sidings and that`s the problem. The hidden track is all down. When you are next in this part would be grateful of assistance.

This afternoon I was looking at the backscenes and how to get them to stand upright. I thought I had worked out a system but now am not so sure. May I ask anyone with experience how you have achieved this please ? Any advice will be gratefully received The back scenes can be seen in these photos. These are not the actual boards I will use but they will be the same size (1 ft high) Behind the boards is a hidden line going around the entire perimeter which makes securing the backscenes upright more difficult (at least to me !) Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer suggestions.

Yes, baseboards have dried out and warping under control . it was very localised and I don`t think it will be a problem but it was a little scary when first discovered ! . Kept the heating on for 48 hours and that seem to have done the trick !

Thanks ! From the (non existent) buffers up to the bridge on the entrance to Thurso station site it is exactly 9 feet in length by 30 inches wide increasing to 54 inches at its widest which allows the loading sidings to achieve some spaciousness It is remarkable how little space Thurso takes and it was this very point, made to me by Ben Alder that persuaded me to include Thurso There may not be too much more scenic work now until the spring as the weather turns colder it is making drying things out almost impossible. The next job ought to be wiring the layout up properly but my electrical skills are severely lacking.

A few photos from today. Firstly 26027 arrives at Forsinard from Inverness. At last a box of Peco bullhead track arrived this morning (minus the points) so I managed to crudely lay out Thurso with some old Code 75 points used for guidance Finally I received a weathered mk 1 from Richard Dockerill who just happens to live half a mile from me. The photo isn`t great but the weathering is exquisite and not done justice by my photo. If anyone wants Richard`s contact details please ask.

Don`t zoom too closely ! My modelling always has rough edges. The tufts of grass are placed at strategic points on the platform for a reason ! The coping stones by the way are from Scale Model Scenery. https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/ They are the Steam era ones as the Network Rail modern ones would not look quiet right (to me anyway.) They are as supplied and simply painted with diluted Humbrol acrylic primer. In places I may have used a little too much primer but this does give a non uniform appearance.

It comes from Skytrex of Loughborough https://skytrexmodelrailways.com/ It is their model barn which is actually 2 floors high but I just cut off the lower floor and it made a very good abandoned croft. You will find it on their site under rural buildings

Thanks The gravel platform surface is a mixture of Gaugemaster N gauge brown ballast (which isn`t very brown) put on first then a light dusting of 4D Models sand as the Gaugemaster alone is not quiet right The Flow Country I intend to model in autumnal colours, not much green, more yellow and heather. Just working out exactly how to get the mix right ! My original track plan was to be a roundy roundy with no terminus station and would have entailed a larger desolate moor section but my concern was storage as this would have entailed maybe too many behind the scenes tracks and the hassle that goes with them so in exchanges with Ben Alder (FNL) the idea of Thurso came about which will act as on scene storage as well as allowing for shunting.

Some small advances on the layout over the last few days but still handicapped by the lack of Peco Bullhead track and points so the Thurso section is very rudimentary at the moment. Starting with a couple of photos the Flow Country section south of Thurso. For those not familiar the Flow Country is a beautiful but desolate area of peat bogs mainly in Caithness with little in the way of population. Forsinard lies here, an oasis and the only passing place between Helmsdale and Georgemas Junction. There are few trees (save for recent plantations) and those that have dared to grow are often bent over due to the wind or have given up on life completely . There are even fewer houses and those that exist are often abandoned such as the derelict croft featured in the second photo. Also there are many snow fences (seen in the distance on photo 2) which these days are rather dilapidated but I think really set the scene. The bridge in the distance on the first photo shows the entrance to Thurso station and civilisation ! Photos 3, 4 & 5 sees 26046 passing south through Forsinard with an empty freight Please bear in mind that all trees are just plonked on for effect at the moment and the signal boxes are not the final ones, the actual ones are being scratch built at the moment . The boards for the backscenes are also old ones, again just for effect. that`s a job for the New Year and a visit to Caithness to take some photos for this purpose, C 19 allowing

Wouldn`t it be the Holyrood government in Edinburgh that would close Stranraer and not the DFT in London?

Sounds a bit like China now !

and of course when our railways were built mid 19 century the population was far smaller.

Try White Rose, their Helix is well made and works.

Here`s the kit as supplied so you can see the individual parts

Here`s the full dimensions for you which might help Lattice Bridge Drawings (3).pdf

You will be pleased with the bridge from York. I should add that at first Julie sent me the decking which i thought was too wide so she cut a new one 15 mm less in width which looks better. Your choice of course or perhaps you will keep your existing base ? Again obviously your choice. Good luck and do let us see the result if you go through with it.

Hi It is 413 mm in length It looks better in real life than in my not very good photo. I now have a dedicated post on the layout forum so will place some pics there, probably after the weekend. Hope that helps.

No, just at an elementary stage. Static grass to come