Model Railway Forum

Few from the freight depot as I've worked on the main buildings trying to make them more 3D looking

Very effective use of low relief.

Some views of my attempts at scenery using scratch built materials.

Banksides including the ramp up to the overbridge are made of polystyrene sheets left over when insulating the room and plaster cloth on the main lengthy one. Painted then grassed using static applicator.

Flats are all packing materials from work such as bent cardboard strips used to protect products.

Brick support walls are painted pre set ones from on line.

Still a lot to make it effective but pleased with the outcome so far, certainly makes a flat train set spring into life!

Thanks

David

Very good. The bank is particularly effective. R-

Well after a few months of indiscision I've bitten the bullet and started afresh.

All trackwork salvaged apart from a couple of casualties and reused.

New layout is double track upper with passing loop, TMD, terminus and through station (a bit like Man Pic), and small freight centre. Lower level is single branch line linked to upper, with island station and goods yard.

Era the same, early to mid 90s.

Still early doors but first major trackwork area nearly done and tested - all in DC. I've made a track panel full of toggle switches to throw power to points and allow sections to be live or dead.

Plenty still to do but pleased with progress so far!

Looks good.

I went through the stage of altering things again and again on my last layout and I enjoyed the thought process of doing so.
My thoughts in the past were along the lines of "I wonder if I can get another track in there" or "If I move this track, it can be made to join to that one"...
Today, after having worked on the railways for a few years and looking at layouts that capture the character of the real railways (Regardless if they are fictional settings or not), there is a fine art to not cramming too much in, but on the same side, not to make it look too sparce and void of detail either (Which can happen if one does a direct copy of the real thing).
Make room for signals, roads and lineside equipment, and of course, scenery!
Some other thoughts. I went on a big spend in the past in trying to first get one example of each class of loco seen down here in the time period, but then I looked at ratios of loco classes seen and tried to get many 37's, 47's and DMU's etc...
But at the end of the day, in reality (If one is modelling "Further down the line but not quite a branch line status" rather than a city junction through route), one will find the same loco numbers turning up again and again as they will be not only allocated to a certain depot, but the same locos will go on a pre-determined rota where they run for the day on maybe back and fore on the one job, or do several jobs eventually coming back in a loop a few days later with a minor checkover and refuel at the depot as part of the loop.
Therefore in reality one does not need to get one of each loco seen in books as some books emphasise a loco which only ever did the one trip and was never seen again! Most areas of the network saw the same "Group" of units going back and fore again and again even though this may be made out of a few different classes of loco, there were not many in reality as traincrew needed training and to be kept up to date on the units they were trained to work.

Enjoying the low relief and the modern range. The track plan is most engaging. Does it have a name yet? I named mine Henley simply because of fond memories of a year spent there back in '66. Fact is, never got Britain out of my system.

Thanks for the comments.

Still no name decided, but plenty of time to think about one!

Think HS2 will be done before me tbh....

More progress, station and TMD trackwork finished, and link down the hill to what will be the low level also done.

Main lines on the curve will have Westhill Wagon Works sections to create the camber, left the slow line on the flat deliberately as this will be used for shunting.

Still plenty to do but nearly at the point of connecting the first lop together.