N / OO9 Two scales one gauge

Rail rusting is taking place. 

A 000 brush and a mix of Railmatch “Rust” and “BR Bauxite” are the first stage in turning shiny webs into well-weathered ones. Any paint on the rail head is removed with an IPA-soaked cotton-bud. 

Also now in place is the redundant track at the disused platform so we can see where rails once were, where they still are but are unused and, with the 158 in the station, the third track is still in use. 

The effect of rusting the rail webs - and the heads for disused lines - is shown here. Track weathering is yet to be applied but the picture is emerging of a run-down line with redundant bits having been torn up. 


 Derelict wagons remain on an isolated length of track as the class 66 “yings” to itself in Boghouses station.  


 Meanwhile the Hunslet leads empty skips up the mountain from Tŷ Bach towards Mynydd Meghan. 

The layout is to have its first “public” viewing tomorrow. Friends are visiting. Not normally interested in such things as little trains but a special request has been received to “see what it looks like” 


The theme will be the 00-9 Tŷ Bach. It’s a bit more substantial than Boghouses for now. 

All recently-painted rails have been cleaned. All points have been tested and pass current as they should. All blades close firmly against their stock-rails. 


 
All clutter has been removed from the layout and the desk below is as tidy as it gets. 


A couple of staff have appeared as have the scrap skip wagons on the redundant tracks

 

Good luck with the viewing. You have done an amazing job in a relatively short time.

Cheers,
Claus

Looking good  



Ed

Coming on a treat !

Some ground cover is going in. Careful use of sizes and colours means the greenery and stones are visually ok for both scales. 

Boghouses has gained a sign - suitably located!

 Meanwhile Tŷ Bach continues to evolve with platforms now fully covered in sandy gravel. Because I didn’t like the look of half being printed “tarmac” card. 



Edit - there seems to be a site error uploading images. I’ll come back and post them another day. 

Let’s try pictures again ….. no?

breakage

No for me too

Something seems to be amiss with the software as I experienced a problem when I tried to log on

Got an " alert " that the cache was incomplete, but logged on at second try.

Pictures in threads are also pretty slow to load at the moment, could we put it down to heavy Christmas traffic.  :'( .

Gwiwer said

Let’s try pictures again ….. no?

breakage

From “Post #290,764”, 28th December 2024, 9:35 pm

Give it another go Rick

Ed

Let’s try those pictures ….. again

As can be seen from the last image the …. errrr ….. bog-houses have been closed and replaced by a portable “facility”. 

Scalescenes corrugated panels have been glued into the doorways. The building has also been weathered. 

Gwiwer said

As can be seen from the last image the …. errrr ….. bog-houses have been closed and replaced by a portable “facility”. 

Scalescenes corrugated panels have been glued into the doorways. The building has also been weathered. 

From “Post #290,778”, 30th December 2024, 12:33 pm

 Very good 



Ed

I was about to say the Boghouses look a little dilapidated but now you've explained ……………………

Suitable scruffy platform ends - I like the scrap car left there.  The backsecene blends in quite well too given the obvious difference in scale.

You didn't mention the public viewing again after the early warning post - does that mean it didn't impress or are you too modest to tell all ?

Petermac there should be no difference in scales between backscenes, trains and buildings. All the industrial stuff is 1:148, all the mountain stuff is 1:76. 

The difference lies in what is fixed. The platforms, which conveniently allow for both scales in the nearer one (though not the wide-body 009 passenger stock) and the slightly elevated track on the far side allowing those 009 coaches to offer near-ground level access. Or N-gauge locos a berthing facility without looking too high. 

Currently the river / canal is in build which again uses a compromise scale approximating to 1:120 (or TT120). The brickwork sheets from Scalescenes are printed at 63% of OO size which offers a good balance. Unless you are a rivet-counting micrometer-toting bricklayer! 

The “public” viewing, by a few dinner guests, was very perfunctory despite their request to see the layout. All over in five minutes and not spoken of again. They are not railway-minded friends. One teaches primary children, one is a professional musician and the third a Cornish Bard and translator (English - Cornish and vice versa). 

Once the layout reaches a stage of completion it will be possible to offer viewings to small numbers and to set up the DSLR for better videos than a hand-held phone can achieve. 

The very last session of the year saw the final pour of water into the canal / river scene. 



Two colours have been mixed - a mossy green and a slimy brown - to create the base colour. This has also been mixed into the top pour which gives colour and depth. 



A mix of fine greens and browns has been used for the bankside mud and greenery. 



The water is Woodland Scenics “Realistic Water” which has bled slightly into the brick-print paper edging. I don’t mind the effect as it reminds me of slimy riverside brickwork.



Happy New Year from Boghouses / Tŷ Bach

The first update of 2025. Happy New Year 

There is an offset in the main-line track on the approach to the station seen with tge class 158 negotiating it. 

This is because at some point the double-track has been singled. Odd lengths of rail remain to show where the rationalisation took place. 

The main-line would at one time have entered straight and fed to the now-disused island platforms. To the left of where the class 158 awaits time to return from what was once a through station. It has been a truncated terminus for many years now. 

Do I take it the left hand platform in that last photo is now completely disused.  If so, a nice touch for some great scenic work showing both platform and remaining track being reclaimed by nature …………..

Petermac said

Do I take it the left hand platform in that last photo is now completely disused.  If so, a nice touch for some great scenic work showing both platform and remaining track being reclaimed by nature …………..

From “Post #290,812”, 1st January 2025, 9:30 pm

Completely disused, disconnected, excommunicated and with lengths of redundant track left in place and bare ballast otherwise.

The river / canal is on the left in this view which also (just) shows an abandoned 4-wheel van at the end of one closed platform.