Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #19 (Visual Trickery)

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.

This is fortuitous because they will help block views of the non-prototypical fiddle yard sidings behind the embankment on the model railway. However, not by much because it is only the tops of the trees that are visible from this viewpoint.

My preferred method of making trees is to use natural flora, specifically the wild herb yarrow or sedum autumn joy. These plants, when died back to brown in winter, retain remnants of their flower heads that look like model tree canopies. They are both domed shape so a model tree has to be made by cutting and joining sprigs together.

The normal viewing angle on the model railway is much higher than in the photo above. The trees I made showed too much of their lower parts, including trunk. To remedy this I used a technique that I applied to my Swanage Loco Yard layout. Namely, lay individual sprigs down rather than fabricating a whole tree.

If we look behind the embankment the trick is revealed. This viewpoint is impossible to see in practice without a camera or mirror. 

The sprigs are not even glued down. Just arranged to give the desired effect when viewed from the other side of the embankment.

Next, I needed a solution to hide the non-prototypical tunnel mouth that is employed as a scenic break.

Even though on the prototype there are no trees this side of the embankment, I used 'modellers license' to judiciously place a tree that blocks the tunnel mouth from the normal viewing angle. I also added some dried moss to make it look a bit shrubby. None of it is stuck down.

To Part 1.

To Part 20.

Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #18 (Two Huts)

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.

To Part 1.

To Part 19.

Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #17 (Embankment Grass)

Seems to me the grass was tidier in the 1960s than the scrub evident today. (1960s example here). To emulate the tufty grass of the 1960s I followed WWScenics guidance in this video except, I used inexpensive heavy duty glue spray and firm hold hairspray instead of the two WWS glues presented in the video.

I have applied static grass before but, this is the first time I used the WWScenics method so, a little apprehensive. My main concern was my glue selections. Would they stick well enough?

With buildings and signal removed I masked the ballasted track and embankment surrounds and set to work. The grass finish is not as  spiky as I expected but looks tufty and about right compared to the prototype.

Now, it was time to vacuum up any loose fibres, which would reveal how well the grass stuck. With a fine mesh over the end of the vacuum hose to catch loose fibres for reuse it was slowly moved across the scene about 10 mm above it. To me surprise and delight the grass held with a small amount of loose grass collected. A few bare patches did appear which were easily covered with a brush of PVA and a pinch of static grass pushed into the glue.

This end of the layout is the busiest in terms of lineside objects. There is the repurposed signal box base, wooden lineside hut (1960s Airfix kit), distant signal (part custom, part ratio kit) and a scratch built railway telephone box near the signal.

Behind the embankment is a double track mainline and 3 'fiddle yard' sidings. The scene there is not prototypical (the main line in reality sweeps away from the embankment whereas in the model it is alongside) and as such may not be landscaped, being treated as a service area. I may not tidy up the backscene there either. Whilst it stands out in the photograph when viewing the scene my mind tends to ignore it!

I do need to disguise the tunnel mouth that is there for a scenic break since there is no tunnel at the prototype location. 

To Part 18.

To Part 1.

Project 24 - Battledown Flyover #16 (Repurposed Signal Box)

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.

To Part 17.

To Part 1.