This is the last posting in this series.
Research, Design and Build of the layout was achieved over about six months during 2024.
Key chapter links are listed below:
Chapter 2: Flyover bridge design and build (3D print)
Chapter 9: Thoughts on layout design
Chapter 11: Layout Build
Chapter 25: Photo Shoot
Click the 'To Series Part 1' link below to follow the project from the beginning.
THE MOVIE
I have taken the modelling as far as I can for now. There is just one anomaly concerning the signal box plinth. I caught a glimpse in a video of stone steps in the alley way that I have not modelled. It raises a question as to where the door is in that side of the building? Clearly the steps lead up to the signal box cabin before it was removed but where is the entrance for the plinth/store that remains? Until evidence materialises I cannot complete the building.
One of the great joys for me is to recreate and photograph prototypical scenes on the layout. Below is my new portfolio with references to the prototype. Smoke effects have been added and the railway room background wiped. Head codes (white disks) have been manipulated for the correct route. Everything else is the actual model railway layout. (Click images to enlarge).
One final posting (#26) to come.
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1. West country class with an up Bournemouth train (1962)
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Following on from the last post about adding objects to an otherwise open landscape for extra interest I have included photographers and train spotters who have trespassed on to the railway.
This is not a fictional event because I have seen such activity in enthusiasts cine films from the 1960s. I don't think these people would get away doing it these days.
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| Waiting for the next steam train |
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| Figures are by Scale 3D except my scratch built camera on tripod |
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| Here is that brave (or stupid) photographer about to capture a train hurtling over the bridge |
Figures were painted following the technique shown in this tutorial video.
One of the aspects of modelling a real scene, especially countryside, is that the scene is generally open and uncluttered. Sometimes it is a good idea to add some objects for extra visual interest.
Battledown Flyover is a case in point. Except, when works are being carried to the bridge or permanent way a lot of equipment can be seen laying about and some of it remains when the work is finished. We have already seen on the model, sleepers laid against the bridge arch and a length of rail buried in the grass but, Look at this photo. What is that laying in the grass next to the wagon wheels?
I have seen about ten photographs aimed at passing trains that also show the object. It seems those wheelsets and the object in question were in place from about 1961 to 1965. An earlier photograph from the 1950s shows them closer to the bridge and a later photograph from 1967 shows a similar arrangement further up the line near the now demolished Worting signal box. None of the photos give a close enough view to determine exactly what it is.
I thought it may be a pallet or the body of a permanent way trolley. I decided to investigate trolleys and came upon three photos of railway flatbed trolleys. A character of these was the unusual spoke design of the wheels. There are seven spokes, each one curved. Closer examination of the Battledown photos revealed that the wheels also had seven curved spokes. That sealed it for me. We are looking at a flatbed trolley with its wheel sets removed.
Furthermore, the trolley seemed to be upside down but, why are the wheels separate? Perhaps it is to dissuade trespassers from using it on the track since this place in the 1960s would often be swarmed with enthusiasts and photographers. Some even climbed the embankments and at least one stood by the track on the embankment next to the bridge to film a train coming through it at speed!
Another photograph showed an oil barrel nearby that was only there for a short time (I guess). All these objects have now been modelled.
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| What is that laying in the grass? |
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.
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.
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| Moors View (N) depicting a wintry season |
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| Buggleskelly (00) A diorama accurately depicting the station from the film Oh Mr. Porter |
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| Brief Encounter (00) All monochrome. Based on the 1944 film Brief Encounter |
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.
This is the view under the model bridge; pretty much as it was in the first half of the 1960s including, sleepers laid against the wall, the single rail buried in the grass, the fences, the trees on the far side of the embankment and the tree line in the backscene.
The field fence was particularly troublesome to install, mainly due to the bridge and embankment hindering access.
The fence is an unusual design. Unusual because I could not find any other examples of the post on the web. The post comprises T section metal posts with sloping sides supporting five wire runs. Wire stays fit between the posts.
The posts were installed first and then bare electrical copper wires fed through them followed by fitting of the stays. The fifth wire at the base was not installed as it would have been buried in the long grass! I roughly painted the parts a rust colour.
All, except the wires, were resin 3D printed by myself. They are small, thin and with the holes make them fragile. Several broke during installation but, thankfully, I had just enough spares to replace the damaged ones.
My CAD design is shown below.
I thought that the north west embankment in the early 1960s was just grass, turning into shrubs and trees just beyond the wooden hut.
Take a look at this photo at flickr. I had missed the fact that trees are evident between the bridge and signal.
If you saw the huts today at the prototype location you would find that they are heavily weathered - taking on an earth brown appearance. Further more, the window glass and doors are gone.
In the early 1960s they looked almost new. So, that is what I depicted on these models for the period of my layout.
They are made from commercially available card kits. Web link top right of this Blog.
Before continuing the embankment on the west side of the bridge I needed to work out the position of this odd building and make it.
There are a few photos on the web of it, all viewed from this side only. Here is an example. I could see from a 1909 map that the embankment meets this side of the building and on the other side there is a gap/walkway before the embankment continues. I assume there was a door in the building wall that side.
Originally, towards the end of the 19th century, this building was a tall signal box. By the 1960s the box had been demolished leaving only its plinth. A gabled corrugated roof was installed on this. I assume the building was then used as a permanent way store.
The prototype photograph shows a beam sticking out from the front. I assume this was a hoist. Today the building is gone and the embankment continues across the alcove. It is still possible to see the rear brick wall poking above the top of the embankment.
The model is made from card with decorative paper overlaid. The hoist was knocked up from scrap plastic bits. Looking back at the prototype photo the modelled brick is too red and the depth of the building a little short. Never the less the essence of the prototype is captured in the model.
On the other side of the track a little further west there was a tall distant signal and a wooden hut. These need to be accommodated as well.
Yearning to see some model railways in the flesh, so to speak, I visited this 1 day exhibition on 31st August 24.
30 exhibits of layouts and traders spread over 2 halls. Arriving half an hour after opening and during the morning the footfall was IMHO lower than previously experienced at such shows. Therefore, no jostling needed to get good views of the exhibits. Maybe the low turnout was due to the time of year as later or earlier in the year is the main exhibition season.
My top three layouts were:
Maritime Lane VMF (00 gauge)
Now this is small. However with seven sidings it has plenty of operating potential, which is why it appealed to me.
Old Parrock (00 gauge)
Penworth (N gauge)
The modelling of this GWR branch line is a feast for the eyes and I make no excuse for showing three scenes from the model. This type of layout that captures real life in finely detailed miniature is right up my street and I was excited to see it.
Talking about detail and authenticity, look closely at the second photo (click for larger image) and spot the picnic setting and the man laying a roof.
The method I used to set the gradient was to first cut two supporting blocks of the required height for each end of the embankment. Lay across them a length of straight wood and measure the heights for intermediate supports.
The embankment itself is made from shaped polystyrene packaging blocks covered in two layers of plaster of Paris bandage. Stores where I found the bandage were 'The Range' (£1.50 for two rolls. Not clear whether the size stated is for one roll or two (coverage is either 0.4 sq. m or, 0.2 sq. m?). But, beware that whilst their website may show 'in stock' at your local store in my case there were none! Second stop was Hobbycraft who had a large stock of single rolls at £2.00 each (coverage: 0.3 sq. m). They call it Plaster Moulding Roll.
BTW, I determined the slope of the embankment from measuring the angle of the wing wall on a photograph of the prototype.
I decided to fit the grey girder bridge loose so it can be removed for maintenance or reuse and the brick pillars are also loose being held in place by the landscape.
The layout comprises three independent baseboards, meaning track and landscape do not span the baseboard joins, thus making it easier to separate them in the event of removal.
Drop wires are soldered to the track at each end of a baseboard and pass through the baseboard to 'chocolate' terminal blocks. Wires from these connect to bolts that hold the baseboards together and these also convey power between baseboards. At the two ends of the layout are 'D' type connectors that complete the power circuit of the oval. 'D' connectors are also hidden in the bridge pillars allowing the bridge to be disconnected easily and removed if necessary. 'D' connectors are an overkill as only two terminals are required. 'D's are what I had in stock.
To recap, this is roughly the layout plan for Battledown Flyover (top half of photo). Note that the flyover west and east tracks in red, are dead ends. Therefore the bridge scene is almost a static diorama. Almost because a train can run across the flyover from west to east (up line) but, it would need to be a short train.
Since the track does not need to be the steep gradient (1:30) of a model railway in order to join other tracks at ground level I can make the gradient prototypical. But, what is the gradient of the prototype?
Foolishly I did not initially search the web for the answer. Probably because as the bridge is within walking distance of my home I can go and look where the gradient starts, relate this to google maps to measure the horizontal distance and from this calculate the gradient.
Problem is I have not used trigonometry since school days!
Using Goggle maps I measured the horizontal distance of the gradient to the bridge to be approximately 7376 mm (4 mm scale). I new the height of the model to be 80 mm. Now I needed the angle. I remembered from school the acronym SOHCAHTOA to help remember when to use sine, cos or tan but, I choose the easy path of using the web to do the calculations for me!
An angle of 0.621 degrees was calculated here.
and the gradient of 1:92 here.
Only then did I search the web and found in this forum posting stating the gradient to be 1:90.
I was impressed that my calculation was pretty close to that!
Now I had to work out the rail height at the extremities of the gradients on the model. I measured the track lengths to be 1300 mm on the west end and 1400 mm on the east end.
Recalculating using the same angle and subtracting 1300 from 7376 etc. gave heights of 65.8 mm and 68.5 mm respectively.
Now I can proceed to build the bridge embankments.
Track and cork underlay are reused from the previous layout. Both are glued down using 'Copydex' since they will peel off easily for reuse if required.
About halfway through laying I realised that I did not have enough track because two turnouts from the previous layout are omitted from the new plan.
From the previous post in this series you will see that I put myself under some pressure to complete track laying for the west of England mainline before a visitor arrived to play trains next day. This would not be possible without obtaining track from somewhere. Buying online was not an option due to the shipping timescale.
Fortunately, the town in which I live has two model railway shops (a rare occurrence). A quick dash to one of them to buy a length of Peco SL100F and some rail joiners enabled me to complete the track work in time. The pressure is now off and I can continue modelling at a leisurely pace.
The turnout in the photo on the far left will connect to a small, three road storage/fiddle yard that will be hidden by a bridge embankment in due course.
I am so grateful that my town still boasts model shops. I wonder how long they will last since many modellers buy online these days to get the best deal.
What is important just now is to lay the double tracks to complete the circuit so that trains can run all round the oval. In fact I only have a day and a half to do this before another visitor comes to play trains.
The tracks on the right hand board were already in place, being from the previous layout. Just had to swing the straights slightly towards the front to line up with the track plan on the middle board.
BTW the boards are bolted together and fixed to the wall with metal right angle brackets. The back scene is loosely fitted, slotting between wall and baseboard.
This is baseboard #2 that cost nothing to build. It looks a right bodge and it is but, once the bridge and scenery is added no one will know.
One of the boards was my son's school artwork project that he did not claim when he left home (he is a dad now). Don't tell him I sanded away his picture.
The other odd shaped board is from another abandoned project. Two corners needed filling with triangular offcuts. One was cut too narrow so the gap was filled with another offcut that awaits sanding down.
The boards are 3/8 inch ply and frame 2 x1 timber to match the adjoining boards.
What is important in this bodged approach is to ensure the top is flat throughout and the assembly not twisted.
For the back story of this baseboard see post #10.
The plan is to embed the bridge in landscape and join the West of England tracks to my existing Misterton layout. To achieve this I need to replace my Hewish Gates layout with the bridge layout.
Buildings, trees and lineside furniture were not stuck down so lifted off easily. Some fences and hedges were stuck with PVA but peeled away easily without damage.
It is my practise to lightly stick paper all over the baseboard and build the the scenery upon it. When it is time to break up the layout the scenery is easily removed by breaking the bond between paper and baseboard thus leaving behind a clean baseboard. I can't remember what I used to stick the paper down but it came off extremely easily taking the embankments and tunnel with it (I remember on Misterton I used small blobs of PVA here and there to fix the paper in place).
Ballast had been set in place with 50/50 PVA and water. Using bradawl and small chisel the ballast was loosened and hovered up into a clean bag. The bag was then emptied and ballast sieved to remove dust and large lumps with the sieved ballast ready for reuse on the new layout.
The new layout baseboards will be in three parts instead of the two here. I plan to modify the existing baseboards for sections 1 and 3 and make a new baseboard for section 2. Section 2 will contain the bridge.
The rolled up paper in the photo is the track plan for Section 2. This will be stuck to the new baseboard for track positioning.
Never an easy decision to break up a layout after spending considerable time building and admiring it. To settle my mind I broke it up in stages over several weeks for a job that could be done in a day. What also helped was the ease of disassembly that resulted in parts being undamaged and available for future use.
Here are some views of Hewish Gates before the axe fell.
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| Embankment |
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| Crewkerne Tunnel |
On the face of it, a small heritage station and 3 miles of track suggests there will be little to see. On the contrary, there is plenty there to satisfy the enthusiast.
I knew that David Shepherd, the wildlife and railway artist was associated with this line because two locomotives he owned ran on it but, I did not know he had founded this heritage railway having acquired and initiated development of the site.
What came as a great surprise to me upon visiting this railway was that he was also a railway modeller and had created a 3mm scale layout, part of which is now displayed at the station.
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| Our ride was on the lines Class108 DMU |
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| Ivatt Class 2 46447 |
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| A small selection of their extensive stock |
