Captain Kernow's layouts

Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
Mike Garwood said:
sit straight to the downward road
Click to expand...
Thinking about this, Mike, do you perhaps mean, how did I get the railings to sit vertical to the downward sloping road?

If that, I can't quite recall either, but it would either have been to have used a combination of fencing panels designed for platform ramps and the like, together with some intended for horizonal, level locations, or I may have slightly forced each panel into that shape. I certainly don't recall softening the brass beforehand, so it may well have been the former method.

There is one panel, that just manages to straddle a change in downward angle, where I have cut the bottom, horizontal bar and removed a very small amount, allowing the top of the panel to be bent slightly, to accommodate the increase in angle, if that makes sense?
 
Joe's Garage

Joe's Garage

Western Thunderer
Crickey Tim I cannot keep up with your work.....! I really like Callow Crossing as I did with Engine Wood all those years ago. Very atmospheric.

Simon, him of Bath, always said the WT is a fantastic distraction.....now after 11 years I know what he means!

Thanks

Julian
 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
Whilst the Grass Department has paid the site a visit, the Undergrowth Department is yet to arrive:








The factory has to be removable and the cottages are not yet fixed permanently in place, but all remaining gaps between buildings and ground will be dealt with in due course.

These structures form part of the backscene and taking photos of them from where the layout is currently set up is a bit awkward!
 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
I glued the railings in place today and added a small amount of additional greenery.






Sorry this one is a bit skew, it's really quite difficult leaning over the layout and getting the phone camera to sit level!












View looking over the railway bridge. The chip shop will be just off camera to the right, but is attached to the other scenic board, which is currently packed away.


I'm at last starting to get the feeling of how the layout will look, when it's finished (although this is a long way off yet). I've had an idea of how I want it to look for a long time, going right back to around 2005, but it's been a long time before I have been able to put this into practice.

All the main buildings, the main running signals and most other structures were built quite a few years ago, but have generally only ever been taken out of their boxes and placed temporarily on the layout for the various photo sessions, that I have illustrated on here and on RMWeb over the years.

One factor that prevented me from pushing ahead with the scenic work was the lack of permanent and robust layout covers. I didn't really want anything permanently attached, unless there was some means of protecting it, whenever I had to move the layout or pack it away for a while.

There was also a hiatus of a few years, when very little or no modelling was done at all, for other non-hobby related reasons. During that time, I always thought that the 'hard' work was already done (ie. the track, wiring, ballasting, structures etc.) and in a way that was true, but I had overlooked the fact that I hadn't thought everything through. For example, there were gaps in the 'topographical plan' as to where I would glue bits of corrugated cardboard, to create embankments and other raised areas. I am now having fun sorting all that out!
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
This 'oop north' layout is certainly at the opposite end of the bar from your bucolic Bethesda sidings. I've seen depressing terraced housing at lineside locations around Mossley and other places in Cottonopolis and you are capturing the atmosphere well.

We were viewing such a property in 1961 when an Austerity stormed past with coal empties. Sod that!
 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
For the last couple of weeks or so, I've been trying to get all the basic scenic work done on the back edge of one of the boards, so that I can then turn the board around and get on with the bulk of the scenic stuff, which will need to be accessed from that side (which is the viewing side).

This is one reason why I've built the very low relief factory and got the two rows of cottages ready for permanent fitment, also why taking photos with the layout that way round is quite difficult.

One of the last things that needed to be done, before I turned the board around, was to bed the goods shed in and plant some greenery along the back wall, which is immediately next to the running line and opposite the cottages and low relief factory.

The goods shed was built a few years ago and the construction is shown in some of my blog entries on RMWeb.

The goods shed is heavy, being based on the Townstreet plastercast kit. The opening for rail vehicles is also very tight, hence the shed is located using brass spigots, glued to each of the four corners, which in turn locate into brass tubes of the same diameter, epoxied into the baseboard.

Although I could glue the shed to the baseboard, it is so heavy that if it became dislodged, I could not risk having it come loose when the boards are stored vertically and crashing through the rest of the scenery.

The first thing was to wrap a bit of cling film round the base, next to where the plastering for the ground surface will go, so as to avoid 'gluing' the shed to the layout.




 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
Once the plaster had dried, the goods shed and cling film were removed, the area painted and then static grass and weeds applied. This side of the goods shed will not normally be seen by those viewing the layout:







When the goods shed is removed for storage or transport, the weeds and grass are left by themselves:
 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
Now that most of the basic scenic work to the rear of this baseboard has been done, I re-attached the backscene board, putting the two rows of cottages temporarily in place and turned the baseboard. Each board is rather heavy, the woodwork being quite 'old school'.

The backscene hasn't been done yet, hence the bare wood surface.

Now I can take photos 'the right way round!':


 
Pencarrow

Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
I do like the scene with the cottages, wall and railings. So very typical a view.

Edit
Just realised it's a mirror image of the scene (Cornish version) that I've planned to include on Pencarrow.
 
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Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
I now need to install a weighbridge and associated office.

I have a nice etched weighbridge and was thinking of using this rather agreeable Bachmann Pendon brick hut, but I have decided now to scratchbuild one and use the resin model elsewhere.

In the meantime, old school landscaping is taking place in the background:
 
Captain Kernow

Captain Kernow

Western Thunderer
john lewsey said:
Hi Tim
What glue did you use to put the Brick papers on the houses
John
Click to expand...
Hi John,

The cottages in the recent photos are the Howard Scenics kits. The brickpaper comes with the kits and is based on hand-painted, water colour originals, as far as I am aware, although I can't recall who the original artist and designer of the kits was.
 
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