Yes chaps - not being one of the most adventurous blokes, and given that my scenery career is very short, I will go for a few coats of varnish!  To be honest, there is so little of the stream that a pour was never considered.

I would recommend having a look at the War Games community on You Tube for scenery ideas.  Their produce has a different use of course as its meant to be mobile and it also tends to be isolated pieces rather than large swaythes, but the techniques are intersting - especially the idea of painting plaster/stone/rock to look like stone or rock!!

Bashing on…………

Hi Barry.  Council type housing doesn’t allow for large model Railways with scale acres of farming land or marshalling yards. But, in the 50 odd years that came between my sojourn into Railway Modelling, I was spending my time and money travelling halfway around the world by train across North America and Europe even into the CCCP , which funnily enough was the best place for tea, from a samovar even a type of porrridge. I have given up all the roaming now.   Best wishes. Kevin 

So today, the local builders Bodgett & Blagg called round to sort out the factory loading bay and here is the outcome;



The roof ends were cut off and re-fitted with "RSJ" supports, probably cantilevered across the building.  The roof was trimmed and fitted with a ridge that has yet to be scored into subdivisions.  There is also a lot of painting to be done.

Flipped up (below), you can see the supports made out of Plastruct.  They serve no purpose other than looking pretty.



I'm actually quite pleased with the way this came out.  On reflection, I think that the overall roof could have had a skylight or two.  In real life , this would have thrown more light under the canopy.  A bit late now but if I have a reason to replace or change the roof, I will modify it accordingly.

There is now much to do with detailing - gutters, downpipes, drains, lights*, glazing etc etc.  (*just false ones over the deck - I am not fitting lighting to my buildings as I don't like running sessions in the dark).  I reckon a good morning session will sort these bits out and I can get back to the boiler house which is also architectually challenged and needs some attention.  Luckily I still ahve Bodgett & Blagg's number  

Bashing on….

Hi Barry.   Quite pleased? And so you should be.    Best wishes Kevin 

So a few weekends away, other pressing jobs and a nasty dose of the "flu" (I tested negative so it wasn't the dreaded Covid) have combined to bring progress in the shed to a standstill.  When I finally got back out there, I was back to being somewhat overwhelmed by it all.

I started doing little jobs including a coat of paint on the boiler house.  This is another small project that has come out looking OK and I am pleased with the outcome.  There's more detailing to do and a bit more painting.



I added a top to the platform at Butterbump, made from the picture-framer's card that I acquired……



….then decided that it was naff so removed it.



That was depressing but it actually spurred a rush of activity building platforms at Trinity Square.



My technique is shown here.  17mm high sides cut from 40thou sheet, covered in Slaters 0407 brick card [flemish bond].  The tops will be 30thou with 10thou platform edging laid over.  The top here will be "pavement" whilst the new top at Butterbump will be a paint/plaster/PVA mix with ballast dust to represent ash.



Having made all the pieces for TSQ, I carried on cutting and produced the sides for Yarslow.  Over the next few days, both platforms will be finished.

This recent lack of activity has made me re-think my strategy.  I was going to build out the branch and then move on to TSQ and Yarslow.  Now, I am going to do platforms, bridges and basic scenery across the whole layout.  When I get to that point, I will re-visit the trees for the whole layout followed by bushes, ground cover etc etc.

Now, all I have to do is get rid of this flu!!

Bashing on (between coughs and sneezes)…………..

Coming along nicely Barry. Hope the flu takes a train ride soon.

Hi Barry, it all looks good to me, nothing unusual about that. As for COVID-19 the Postie delivered a package containing tests, but, I don’t know what to do with them, instructions for whatever go over my head, but, as I don’t have any symptoms there is no panic.    Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin

Its worth reading the instructions carefully (or get a neighbour to help) as its important to know if you've got the dreaded.

Peter - funnily enough, as I hate being unwell and having to take medicines etc, I decided to try to ignore the flu and that has led to this burst of activity.  Doesn't stop me sniffing and sneezing though  

Didn't Thomas The Tank say "Cough and Sneezals spread diesesals"?  I had better run some steam engines and leave the Class 20's, 24's and 25's in storage 

Barry

DANG!!
My flu has turned out to be the dreaded!  I tested positive a couple of days ago and so I am now forced into a period of isolation so that it goes before we have house guests at the end of the month ☹️  

I wonder where I can go………?

Hi Barry.  I guess the best place to isolate, would be your shed, provided that you have a “shed bed”, and a fridge . Best wishes Kevin 

In the course of isolation, I decided to break out the polystyrene sheets today and have roughed out the landforms for the UP end at Yarslow.  The framers card represents the road overbridge across the platform ends - partly designed to disguise the tightening radius on the main line from 10ft to 4ft.  Although these numbers are large in terms of SetTrack standards, the transition is annoyingly apparent!!

The blocks to the extreme left will support a ramp down to platform level for road access to the station although the yard itself will be lost behind the station building.  I am in the throes of repainting the Scalescenes building to match the brick colours at Butterbump using Humbrol 62 "Leather brown".  The quoins, doors and rainwater goods will be repainted to suit BR(NE)R colours - pale blue in the case of woodwork and downpipes etc.  The overbridges (one for the main line and one for the loop lines) will use the Wills Cast Iron Victorian bridge pieces.  At 110mm they are just about long enough in this setting.



At the Down end, polystyrene lumps have started to appear to create both the branch line embankment and the exit for the main lines.  Having previously said that Lincolnshire is somewhat flat, once the line goes further North towards South Yorkshire, I can justify a low hill or two so this is my rationale for this lump.  In reality, it is no more than a low "tump" and would certainly not rise to cover a tunnel, but I will add bushes and trees to the top, thus creating that "viewblocker" exit I am after.  The branch will disappear behind the tree line as well.  Having the loco shed in the corner gives me the opportunity to create a little cameo around the coal stage (or something) to draw the eye away from these exits through the backscene.

Just to the left of this scene, there is a gap between the TSQ backscene and the Yarslow backscene that is neccesary to allow access to the Master Cab Control Panel.  As a result of this gap, it is possible to see trains as they approach Yarslow although they are still, at this point, still "off stage".  I shall have to find a solution to this if my efforts of "viewblocking" are not to progress in vain.

Bashing on in isolation  ……………..

Carving complete, loads of mess cleared up (vacuum major clean out required several times!!) and today, I coated the polystyrene with my Polycell textured ceiling paint with a bit of brown paint mixed in - it helps you to see what you've done.

I am now on to the point rodding which much go in before the ballast, which must be done before the rest of the ground cover is painted, which must be done before the flock & static grass goes on.

That should keep me quiet for the rest of my isolation…………. :shock: :shock:

Having covered and painted the basic landform shapes, I moved on to the job I've been dreading - point rodding.

This is the start point - a grid of bases and cranks that will sit outside the signal box.  8 rods go left, 9 come straight out and 19 go right, all serving the points and facing point locks with one exception - one to the right serves as a lock for the lever frame that works the PW yard.  This is needed because the frame also works one of the points on the platform loop and the BoT would not allow local control and the possibility of conflicting movements outside the control of the signalman.

I have today taken delivery of 2 sets of Wills Point Rodding kits that will give me the cranks.  I have made the rods that pass under the tracks from 30thou x 30thou square.  The next task is to make up the cranks for the point tie bars and then the facing point locks (12 of them).  Finally, I have a load of Wills Point Rodding rod kits that give me the straight rods and angled "arms" that join it all together.  I'm doing it a bit at a time to avoid going completely ga-ga!!!

On the bright side, I had a negative Covid-19 test today so can return to the land of the sociable!!

Onwards…………

Hi Barry

So glad your test was negative. Hope you are soon fully recovered. Good luck with the point rodding, I am sure it will eventually be well worth all the effort, :thumbs

Yes, it must be great to see just that single line on the Covid test - fortunately, having it didn't appear to cause you too many problems.

I have to ask - will it be working point rodding ? 


It's something I often used to wonder if it was worth all the effort but then with our own layouts, we take in far more detail rather than with exhibbition viewing where the overall impression is what really attracts.  Good luck with it but don't attempt too much at a sitting !!   :shock:

I hope you've got some hair to pull out Barry.  ;-)

Hi Barry Model Railway point rodding, please excuse my ignorance, but, are they plastic and just sit there and are just for show without-moving. Oh that’s ok then, now you know why I never done any scenery before myself. I had better get the fireman to work the points.    Best wishes Kevin  

Hi all

Thank you for your best wishes.

Yes, the point rodding is only dummy - the points themselves are worked by Peco levers and SEEP point motors.  Its a right faff but worth the effort because once you've seen a layout with it, on those without it, it becomes a bit of an obvious miss.  Luckily, I got my eye in doing the two small branch stations  :shock:

Barry

This photo was taken on the morning of May 4th - the first anniversary of my start in the shed.  On that day in 2021, I moved a load of stuff to be able to get to the walls so that I could insert insulation.  Now I am starting to fit the dummy point rodding whilst each of the train gets a good test run on the main circuit.  What a difference a year makes!!



The basic card shell for the overbridge at the Up end of Yarslow is also complete.  The Wills cast iron girders are very nice and I'm glad I chose them.  Slaters random course stone is being used for the sides and the layers of card will be the butresses either side of the arches.  I plan to use one piece of card for the roadway right across to introduce rigidity to the various elements.  The arches on the far side (over the main lines) need to be skewed ever so slightly and the roadway will help achieve this.

I am not one to be entertaining targets and goals but am glad that I have got this far.  However, I really do need to stop and take a step back as there are a few jobs I haven't quite finished yet.  I was suffering from a lack of motivation after my Covid-19 break and when I got back into the shed, charged headlong into a couple of projects when I should have really gone back and finished what I had already started.  As a result, I am having to force myself back to the branch line to do the factory buildings and the platform which I tore up.  I still need to varnish the river/stream, get the signalling sorted and finalise the scenic "base-coat".  I promised to get all this done in April before April disappeared!  Now I am nursing a very bad back but can get in the shed as I am under instruction to "keep it moving"   .

Then there's the next YouTube video to produce…………

Hi Barry.  All I can say is well done. Your mention of COVID-19, reminds me of myself and that strange after effects one ends up with?  But the Covid nurse came around to give me my booster, 4th jab this week. There’s another thing? I have had so many visits on a daily basis from the @home team I am worried that someone knows something about me, that I don’t know and I hope that they keep it that way. PS you probably have got this job in hand, but model signal box manufacturer’s do not cater for the point rodding where it enters the signal box, which would make it a lot easier to cut out before construction of the kit. Best wishes Kevin