August progress

Here are some pictures taken on a recent get together where we had the scenic part of the layout erected.

These photos show some of the fruits of the last few months labours. One of the disadvantages of choosing this prototype is that the rolling stock will be for carrying coal, coke, iron ore, steel and not a lot else. There will be no glorious rakes of passenger carriages for example. We might operate a limited passenger service, with the possibility of an SLS railtour, but the main operational diet will be filthy wagons. Richard Clayton and Martin have produced the samples on show.

No the snow hasn't come. It's just that the embankments are still in the papiermache phase. Actually cardboard on wooden formers, covered with cheap paper kitchen roll, fastened down with diluted PVA.

The ore train arriving ready to go up the bank should have loaded hoppers (we can't have everything just yet). The ore train running in is made up from Martin's recently painted hoppers. The waterslide transfers were put on using matt acrylic varnish instead of water - a brilliant idea from a book. The Cambridge transfers are very delicate but with this method they apply easily and stay put.

Mark's model of South Pelaw Box, and Martin's signals are beginning to give the layout some character.

Another view of the Box, showing the ramp up to the South Pelaw colliery exchange sidings.

As discussed in an earlier post, one of the compromises we have had to make is to curve what should be straight sidings into Stella Gill yard, so as not to have the layout too wide. This curve has encroached upon the main line up to Consett, which is modelled to its correct radius. This in turn has squeezed the NCB shed that separated the main line from Stell Gill yard almost out of the way. However the gable end of this shed appears so prominently on nearly all photos of Stella Gill so we feel compelled to include it somehow. Reduction in the scale of the building is one option under consideration, and this picture shows our cardboard mockup in place, together with Richard Nice's impressive model of Stella Gill Flatts box.

So what's next? The main job looming large is to make a start on the wiring, so that we can make trains go. Watch this space ...