Bridge over lumpy polystyrene

I knocked up a girder bridge from the sides of a Dapol turntable and a load of evergreen styrene. I put the bit over the top to try to stop it looking so much like a turntable. Not sure it worked but it is a nice solid structure.

I've been painting it this evening, Codex Grey, only done the first coat but it is a big improvement. I wish I hadn't stuck the track down as it would be easier to paint the bearers without it there. I might rip it off and have a scrape.

I've also finished the Full Truckle cheese rail lorry so I now have a pair that can run back to back. Pictures to follow. Part of my finishing things off before starting anything else plan... however while I was looking for chassis and bits to sell on evilbay to pay for Christmas/car exhaust/vet bills/tesco etc I found the Fleischmann 0-8-0 that I have been hoarding. So then it set me wondering what would look good on it... and then I found the remains of a Hunslet WD 4-6-0 kit and I seem to have started to build another loco... Doh! So far it looks like Doris but with more wheels, I'll have to do something to make it look different but still from the same factory.

Back scene

I got up with the lark this morning and sneaked out to the garage while the family were still asleep. I've attached the backscene mdf and added some more contour forming polystyrene foam to lighthouse hill. I want it to look as though it is a natural hill which has a cutting in it rather than two bits of layout nailed together as an after thought. Which of course, it is.

I've also found my railway river bridge. I'm going to use the main girders from the Dapol turntable. It is just the right length and with the addition of some styrene girders will do the job nicely. I also added some wood which will form the basis of the bridge abutments.

The road over the bridge will just have to vanish into the backscene, the landscape will rise up to pass through the gap in the hill so if there is enough depth to do it I will make the road start to drop down at the back.

This is the finished signal box which will sit at the station throat. Very pretty I think.

Digging a ditch

Thank heavens for celebrities and their skating, it means I get an evening in the garage to continue with the construction of the new bit. I've roughly hacked and glued a pile of polystyrene foam into the shape of the other side of Lighthouse Hill and the estuary.

I'm quite pleased with the water course, next phase is to smooth it all over with plaster. Where it goes under the hill I will disguise with greenery, the bridge effectively hides it from one perspective and the buildings will do the same from the front.

The hill is rather cubist at the moment but will do for now, I will use my usual combination of newspaper and mod roc to smooth it out.

I'm going to do the basic plaster work next and then the track and electrics.

Solid ground

I've finally found some time to go to the lovely B&Q and purchase a fresh sheet of mdf and cut it up and glue and screw it to the frame of the new bit. The idea of the estuary has grown on me and so I modified (bodged) the 2 x 1 framing and added a lower sheet of mdf so that the tidal area can be constructed.

I thought I'd bought enough mdf to make the backscene but once again my supreme measuring skills come to the fore and I find yet another sheet... also it would have been easier to attach it while I could still get to the back. Doh.

One unforeseen structure that I now need is a river bridge, not sure what sort of thing to go for. I've always like NWNG bowstrings but this may be a bit long for that so a plan B may be required.

While I've not been getting on with the layout I've been trying to finish off some of my huge pile of part finished rolling stock projects, several have progressed to the spoiling with paint phase including the Full Truckle cheese lorry which will live in the cheese factory siding. I've also painted the bridge, numerous times and I'm still not sure it looks right, I'll attack it with weathering powder and see if it improves. Time for bed said Zebedee!

Round the front again

Having woken up at the crack of dawn and everyone else in the house still sleeping like babies I made an early start on the layout. I just managed to turn it back round the right way on my own without dropping it and started on the woodwork for the next bit of St Ruth. I knew what I was going to do and have had the wood in store for ages so it didn't take me long to get this far.

Only the softwood frame is complete the rest is just perched on top to give me an idea what it would look like. The river is something I've wanted to do for a while, it will be a section of estuary as St Ruth is next to the sea.

As soon as I get some more free time the next thing to do is add a back scene and then on with the track laying and electrics.

Round the back

Having been mainly armchair modelling/working/snoozing I haven't done anything to the layout for a while, however today I've turned it round and made the modifications to the track layout.

This is the remains of the round and round loop and the sidings and junction of the branch line. I've managed to salvage 4 pairs of points but most of the track is a bit knackered. It was tricky getting at the pins holding it all down to remove it and it was then even trickier laying the joining section of new track. However it is now done and I think should all run smoothly. It will be nigh on impossible to get at this section once the extension is built so derailments will be a nightmare; I've tried to find a way to build an access from above but have totally failed.

After I took these pictures I have added some bits of wood so that if anything does come off the tracks it won't be able to get itself stuck anywhere inside the layout.