Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #22 (Change to Plan)

I did not intend to accommodate the down Basingstoke to Southampton line because it would be another dead end like the up line but, featureless. After all it is the bridge on the (dead end) up line that is the main point of interest on this layout. 

When I came to consider landscaping the east end of the layout I discovered that the baseboard is wider than expected here and that prototypically part of the omitted down line would be visible as it sweeps in to join alongside the west of England main lines.

So, I have now added a short length of the down line. There is only enough baseboard width to run the track to the bridge and you can see from the inset in the photo how it meets the edge of the baseboard.

I decided not to power this track. It is therefore, simply part of the scenery. With hindsight I wish that I had widened the baseboard to accommodated a full run of track. The baseboard only needs about 75 mm more width at the west end. Also, I could run the track onto the non-scenic lifting section for even greater length (although the curve would be too tight for some locomotives). 

It would be possible to increase the baseboard width at the west end without too much trouble (if I feel like it in the future). For now, the short piece installed is essential to be true to prototype and it may be useful for photographic sessions.

To Part 1.

Farnham & District 49th Model Railway Expo

I remember when entry to a model railway exhibition was £5 before Covid and after Covid it increased to £8 and today it is £10 and if you have children in tow it will be more. I don't blame the club exhibiting for the rise. It is just the rise in costs generally, probably brought on by geopolitical influences.

The poster at the entrance boasted over 50 layouts on show but I counted less than 30. In fact the number of layouts and traders seemed little different to previous years although an extra room was opened this year indicating a larger exhibition.

The quality of layouts was extraordinarily high, leading me to abandon my usual thoughts of choosing a personal best in show. Instead I'll highlight three layouts that depicted unusual scenes not normally seen at a model railway exhibition.

Moors View (N) depicting a wintry season

Buggleskelly (00) A diorama accurately depicting
the station from the film Oh Mr. Porter

Brief Encounter (00) All monochrome. Based
 on the 1944 film Brief Encounter

I made one planned and two unplanned purchases from traders. A bag of static grass to complete my Battledown Flyover layout, a 'morris minor traveller' car that took my fancy and the book 'Main Line To The West - Basingstoke to Salisbury' which has detailed historical information of the line, including Battledown Flyover.

Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #21 (Embankments Completed)

 The east end embankment:

The split line between two baseboards is clearly visible in the above photograph but that lighter coloured line sloping right on the embankment is a grass worn path that is evident in early 1960s photographs of the prototype.

The rusty fence, made from bullhead rail, was originally painted white on the prototype.

See that bush by the brick pillar in front of the fence. It started life as lichen on a broken tree branch that I found during a countryside walk.

I carefully removed a piece by cutting away a slice of tree bark that it was attached too. The lichen was glued down on the layout via its tree bark foot. It was then covered in static grass and scatter for a convincing looking bush.

To Part 1.

To Part 22.