Marty's Project - Pentrecourt Halt

Pentrecourt Halt was the stopping place on the Newcastle Emlyn branch for Pentre cwrt and the Alltycefn Woollen Mill, some 5 miles and 21 chains from the junction at Pencader and between Landyssul and Henllan.

The single line crossed from the south side of the valley over the Afon Teifi to the north side via a plate girder bridge supported on stone piers.

A farmer�s occupation bridge pierced the embankment a little further on, and then a culvert for a stream before the single short wooden platform and pagoda style corrugated iron hut on the up side of the running line was reached.

The Platform was opened on the 1st of February 1912 but was referred to as a Halt in timetables until its closure in 1952. Something to do with the length of the platform.

From the Halt, the line ran downstream towards Henllan, passing under the minor road supported on the wonderful Alltycefan Bridge before contouring around to the right alongside the steep hillside above the river and then plunging into the 167 yard long Alltycefan tunnel.

The Newcastle Emlyn Layout has a space reserved for this picturesque part of the branch where I hope to capture as much of the feel of the Halt, Mill, River and bridges as possible.


The diorama challenge needed a subject and there was enough prototype information on Pentrecourt Halt to spark my imagination.

Trying to think of a way in which the diorama could be constructed and then placed into the layout is responsible, in part, for the delay in making a start. In the end the diorama will be a totally separate unit used to practice many of the modeling techniques that I have never attempted before.

The major sticking point discouraging me from adding the diorama to the layout was the fact that tracks would have to be joined into the existing line. On the sections of the layout already built, baseboard track crossings have been constructed successfully but� now aware of the trouble taken to get them �right� I felt that it was a hassle I could happily avoid.

The other delay to starting, the Green Grove Milk sidings, have finally been laid and wired up with only the electrics for the point motors to go and shunting of milk tanks, siphons and vans when �testing� the layout is now possible, so�.

� pen was put to paper and this is what you get�

The layout of the section in question sketched out using existing mapping as a guide.


A simplified, compressed plan for the diorama trying to squeeze in the items of interest from the plate girder bridge across the Afon Teifi to the Alltycefan road bridge into the space available.


The Diorama size is approximately 440mm x 220mm and the occupation bridge may have to be abandoned but a cardboard mockup should confirm if the spacing is going to be too tight.

A sketch of the line looking from the south bank of the Afon Teifi over the plate girder rail bridge with the Halt on the right hand side and the Alltycefan road bridge in the distance.


A poor sketch of the same area looking towards the Halt from the Afon Teifi with the plate girder bridge on the right and the Alltycefan road bridge on the left. I couldn�t get the perspective right but hopefully it conveys the concept.


Since the idea is to try out different modeling techniques that will eventually be used on the layout, the diorama has been built with a similar L-Girder, joist, riser and sub-road bed construction as the layout baseboard.

Only the top part of the L-Girder is needed as the diorama will sit on a table.
Below are the main baseboard components before construction�


�and after construction.


Note the nails upright and centre in the top of the risers. The nails act as the centerline guide for the first 3mm mdf spline of the sub-road bed.


The first spline in place� and the second being glued. Remember to spread the glue out evenly.

All of my big clamps are being used on the main layout so clothes pegs have been substituted�.


Bigger clamps purchased as clothes pegs are only good for two or three splines.


Clamp for 20min with PVA glue and then add the next spline, clamp, wait 20min, add next spline and so on until the 5 splines to on side of the centerline have been completed.
The spline will now be strong enough to support itself and retain the curve. Remove centerline nails with pliers.


Add the 5 splines on the other side of the centerline.

Next� contoured end boards, backboard and front fascia I think. End boards, and backboard I�ve done before, fascia is new to me.

Some internal bracing to support the backboard and fascia will be needed too.
I'm happy so far… any comments welcome, although it's early days yet.

Early days, yes, but a fascinating subject for a diorama. The sketches give us a good idea of what you're chasing. I love the old B&W photo in your first pic. I'm assuming that's part of it. Is that the stairs to the halt on the R/H side?

 Mike

Mike, that scene along the top of the bridge will, I hope, eventually be on the main layout, but for now I'm only going to model one wall of the bridge and none of the road surface.

I want to practice getting the stonework right but am firmly convinced that if I model the bridge completely once I'm not going to want to do it a second time.  :wink:    

The stairs down, if there were such, I'm only guessing as I have found nothing yet that tells me how they got from the Halt to the road, would be on the other side of the bridge on the right hand side behind the trees as the Halt is on the other side of the river in that picture.

Marty

I can already see this is going to be a great diorama im am looking forward to watching your progress


cheers Brian.W

Fascinating to see how you worked through it Marty, really looking forward to watching the progress on this.  And I still think you have the most incredibly crafted bechwork I have ever seen, it is an engineering feat in its self.

Marty - the more I see how you do your work, the more I like the idea of the splines for the track bed.  Do you always use this method when you have a raised track bed ?

MDF is a problem here in this bit of France but maybe thin ply would do the job just as well - I'll have to check out the price.

Petermac

I like the job so far, Marty.
You don't realise how much I'd give for just 50% of the talent you show in your bench work :!:  :!:

Love the sketches, they give  areal feeling as to what you're trying to achieve. Such a nice relief in this world of computerised everything :D

Hmmm  …   That's another thing I wish I could do half as good as Marty :!:   

Gwent Rail said

Hmmm  …   That's another thing I wish I could do half as good as Marty :!:   

that would make you twice as good as me!!! he is good isnt he.
 :oops:  :roll:  :roll:        8)

Wow Marty, and I thought I did a lot of planning!!! This is going to be real interesting to watch develop.

Wayne

Looking good Marty.  Well planned and some good sketches.  It's good to know where you are headed before you start off.  Look forward to seeing it develop.

:oops:  :oops:  :oops:
I'm just doing what the little voices in my head tell me to do  :shock:      

The benchwork is actually pretty easy, it's just a different way of doing it.
The spline road bed is great for flowing transition curves and allows for landforms around the line to go up … and down… and I do like building it. Just needs a bit of planning beforehand to work out your heights and gradients.

The good thing about the mdf (or whatever flexible material you use) is that you can experiment with one piece moving the riser supports around and up and down until you get a track alignment that suits you best.

Stations, yards and sidings are built on a normal ply base with 2 x 1 framing. I wouldn't want to try fitting a point motor through the spline road bed.

Glad the sketches helped, they do help me visualise what I'm trying to achieve.

I think that a carboard mockup is next… I'm in the shop on Thursday so I'll get some raw material then…

Thanks for your comments all, I'm having fun      

Many thanks to all those wise heads out there that have said time and time again that making a mock up of cardboard is not time wasted.

You are so, so right and you've saved me wasted ply and time.

The hardest bit of this diorama was always going to be getting the relative heights right.
There is a rail bridge over the river, an occupation bridge under the railway, the railway embankment disappearing into a tunnel in the road bridge and the road bridge itself.
The river level is my ground zero and the rail bridge over the river was used as a rough guide for the embankment height. A rough guide as in "yup, about there".

I should have started with the road bridge.

There is a great photo on my wall of the bridge and mill with a telegraph pole on the bridge itself. A great reference height that enabled the bridge to be sketched out fairly accurately…. at least I think so anyway, and from the bridge the level of the river.

But I didn't and here is the result.

3 cardboard sides have been cut out, the tops contoured to the sketch plan .


and then, with much muttering under my breath, here is the road bridge end… the bridge arch narrowed from 162mm to 120mm to fit on the diorama base and also 40mm higher than it should be. The river and rail arches have been "compressed" together as well to fit them into the space available… but I'm pleased with the concept and potential.


There is still hope for the bridge arch… the occupation bridge is the key and a bit of research and some more cardboard modelling might yet allow me to raise the level of the river thus getting the road bridge height a bit more realistic.

The temporary foam base at current river level installed.


And potential photo shot through the railway tunnel along the embankment.


And I just want to stay at home and get on with it  :shock:         and I'm away this weekend for a wedding too.

Patience, Patience, Patience

Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace and Grace was a little girl who wouldn't wash her face…. as my old Mum always tells me.      

Fascinating watching this develop Marty.

Cheers

Kev

Marty, He who takes advice, is wise himself!

Remind me of this when I start my layout!

Wayne

Well I must say it's about time you got married, Marty  :!:  :)  :)    :wink:

 What will you use for your water? Did I ask that already? Not sure.

 Mike

Not me mate, been there, done that, bought the T-shirt… and lost it again and I've no intention of being caught in the same colour twice.

I think that I'm going to try sealing the foam with PVA, painting to represent depth and shallows with acrylics, add sand, rocks and vegetation and then layers of varnish.

Will the acrylics stick to the PVA? Anyone know?

Yes Marty the acrylics should take to it well, seeing as it's water-based glue.
  
 Don't do what I did on my layout - I used an oil-based varnish and was amazed to see it ate through the foam which I hadn't sealed thoroughly enough. Luckily it was only a small ditch/puddle. It got pretty deep  :)
 I had no trouble at all with the river, but the whole thing was plaster and DAS clay, as well as glue, and was very well sealed.  
 You could also use acrylic binder medium from the art shop to seal it. Chromacryl students quality will work just fine. I seal all my MDF and masonite with it. I guess there are other sealants and sizings that would do the job too.
 I'm really looking forward to seeing a river being created. There's so many features I would've built into mine, if only I'd known more at the time, and had been a bit more patient.

 Mike

Do ya' reckon that a layer of plaster over the river bed will provide a sufficient seal or do I need to seal the plaster too.

I plan on practicing on a piece of scrap beforehand either way.

I was hoping to add a trout or two to the river but I don't know if it's worth it in N scale :!:  :!: