A Model Railway - Embankment & Grass

A grassy embankment continues the high level of the station forecourt. First, I stuck down corrugated cardboard to make the lower ground level with the top of the railway sleepers Next, the high level area was made up from 5 mm foam board, as for platform construction. The sloping embankment was made from sculptured polystyrene packaging and covered with Wickes wood filler for a hard surface.

The sloping embankment was then covered with a mix of 2 mm static grass, predominately mid green. The high level is 6 mm buff brown with a dash of green.

The idea is that the slope is cut regularly and the top left alone, the whole area being unused railway land with the boundary fence being off stage.

To Part 11.

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A Model Railway - Coaling Stage

The loco coaling stage is made using the same method as the station platforms and coal staithes.

I thought about a coal retaining wall around three sides but found that this was not always applied, e.g. Okehampton shed. The coal was simply heaped up on the stage and presumably a lot of clean up went on for the overspill.

Some sites had an ash pit in the track alongside the coaling stage but at smaller yards, like Seaton and Lyme Regis, only an inspection pit was provided inside the shed. I have not modelled this as it would be barely visible from the normal viewing position outside the model shed.

The Engine Shed and Water Tower* can now be placed to complete the locomotive yard. The location of the loco yard next to and at the end of the station platforms is based on that at Seaton, Devon.

*The standard card kit has been super detailed with lamp, tap and other fittings.

To Part 10.

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A Model Railway - Coal Staithes

The coal yard is located at the end of the goods siding. The coal staithes design is based on those at Edenbridge Town (LBSCR) including the nicely rounded coal heaps.

It is a sleeper built facility. It could be made from card, styrene, wood and even Peco sleepers cut from track. I opted for plywood as I already had some abandoned plywood sleepers to hand. For authenticity they should be 1.66 mm thick. My uprights are too thick and the horizontals too thin! but it looks OK. The sides are 6 sleepers high and the rear 5 sleeper for ease of wagon unloading into the bins.They are painted acrylic brown and then weathered with white and black pastel scrapes.

The coal heaps are blocks of polystyrene packaging formed with knife and sandpaper. A layer of real coal dust is glued over followed by a sprinkling of 1 mm coal chips.

With the goods siding complete the Goods Shed can be placed.

To Part 9.

To Part 1. 

A Model Railway - Ballast

Ballast is Woodland Scenics Medium Grey B82, being 2.9 to 4.3 scale inches in size. This is mixed with ground up and sieved* cork, just enough to give a little colour variation.

Areas of the track where locomotives stand are ballasted with ground up and sieved coal to represent oil and muck dropped by  locomotives over many years.

The ballast is spread between the sleepers and the lot sprayed with 50/50 PVA glue/Water with a drop of washing up liquid to reduce surface tension.

* sieved through a 1 mm mesh strainer.

To Part 8.

To Part 1.