Eyarth - Construction & Operation
Here are some notes on the various construction methods I have used and the rationale behind some of the decisions I made:
Baseboards – are made from 12mm particle board. I have read that good quality plywood is the best timber to use because of its superior strength to weight ratio and its resistance to humidity and warp. But it is also expensive and I find it difficult to work with when using a jig saw. It seems to splinter far too much. MDF was discounted because of real examples I’d seen of warping on other people’s layouts where MDF had been used. So it came down to “chipboard”. Whilst it is heavier than ply, it is also cheaper, is easy to contour with a jig saw and when carefully painted after cutting has, so far, stood up well to changes in humidity.
All scenic boards were profiled to fit the required contours before assembly. This involved much more advanced planning (and some guessing) but in my view, produces a good finish.
Track – Undoubtedly the best looking track is the hand built stuff, using SMP or C&L parts. But that was thought to be beyond my limited abilities and would take too long. So it came down to one of the brands of ready made track. Peco is the most popular and is freely available but I chose Tilig track. This was mainly because most Tilig points can be easily curved slightly to fit a sweeping curve. This seemed important to me as I was building the layout to reflect the sweeping curve on which the real Eyarth was built. Interrupting a lovely sweeping curve with a straight Peco point just wouldn’t have looked right. And their curved points were of too small a radius. Being German, the fixings (of rail to sleepers) aren’t prototypically correct for a British model – but did you notice that before you read this? Track is laid on strips of 3mm cork in order to get the correct profile. Ballast is real stone, sieved by my good friend, Stuart Westerman and laid dry with the help of a fine paint brush, then fixed in place with PVA glue diluted to 50% with water – and a few drops of washing up liquid added to break the surface tension so that the glue flows easily.
Scenery, Basic Contours – Two slightly different methods are used, depending on whether the scenery is above or below rail height. When above rail height, scenery is built up from baseboard level using expanded polystyrene or building insulation foam (depending on what’s available). This is then covered with a thin layer of cornice cement. Prior to mixing with water, the cement was coloured by adding dark brown concrete colouring powder. That way, if the plaster ever chips, it will still be brown below. Cornice cement was chosen because someone told me that as it hardens, it is more resistant to cracking than other plasters. But it “goes off” (starts hardening) quickly so you have to use small amounts at a time and apply it quickly.
When below rail height, the baseboard has been cut away. These parts are covered with chicken wire and the chicken wire is then covered in “chux” style cleaning cloths that have been soaked in the coloured cornice cement. (When doing this, make sure that anything below is well protected from drips of cement!). Also be aware that once soaked, they stretch considerably in one direction and this needs to be taken into account when cutting pieces to be the correct size. Test this process somewhere else before trying to use it on your layout.
Scenery, Finishing – Extensive use has been made of a Noch brand “Grassmaster” for much of the ground cover. They are quite expensive to buy but in my view, produce excellent results. They work by applying a static charge to the grass fibres so that they stand on end when shaken over the layout.
Using a Grass Master requires a bit of practice. Here are a few tips I have learned from my own experience:
Although the grass master gives any grass covering more depth and texture, I have added further depth and texture by extensive use of grass tufts. I sourced these initially from Mininatur but later found a good range of tufts on eBay (seller “Tajima1”). They have a range of colours and lengths as well as some more colourful items, such as gorse bushes, which I have also used. They are also very reasonably priced.
Here and there I also used various Woodlands Scenics scatter materials to add further variety and texture. Larger clumps were attached with PVA glue while finer materials were attached with hair spray (spray on hairspray before and after laying the scatter material. Also, spray gently so that you don’t blow away what you’ve laid!).
Rocky outcrops are made from Plaster of Paris and are moulded in Woodlands Scenics rock moulds. These pieces are painted with Woodlands Scenics paints, in various shades of brown (burnt umber, sienna etc).Ideally they are just pushed into newly laid cornice cement but if that is not possible they are just glued to the polystyrene contours (PVA glue is usually enough to fix them in place if they are left alone for a while for the glue to set) and then blended in using a small mix of cornice cement later on.
The fence posts have been the subject of much discussion as they are individually made and I have often been asked why I don’t just buy them. My answer is that bought plastic ones always look like bought plastic ones! Instead mine are made from match sticks (bought from a $2 shop). The sticks are cut in half and sharpened to a point at one end. Four holes are drilled with a pin vice and the posts are then primed grey and finally dry brushed in brown. Single strands of wire are unwound from multi-strand electrical wire and the posts are threaded onto the wires before being put in place. Posts are then glued into small pre-drilled holes and left to dry. Once the glue is dry, the wires are tensioned as much as possible from either end. Now you know why my wife thinks I should just buy them!
Trees are from several brands but particularly Woodlands Scenics and I have tried to buy as many different ones as I could find. Obviously there are repeats but I have tried to hide this as much as possible. I find that the Woodlands Scenics trees are a good compromise between realism and cost. There are some really exquisite trees on the market nowadays but with so many trees needed on the finished layout, I couldn’t justify the cost. And after the fence post experience, making them myself was out of the question! Also, given the number of trees required, I had to buy some cheaper ones but wherever possible these have been used in areas where they are obscured by others. (In my view, the old adage that you get what you pay for couldn’t apply more than with model trees). The better quality trees are placed where they are most obvious to the viewer.
Irrespective of where they come from I try to tart up all trees before they are planted. My main process is to provide some variation in the colour of the trunks and branches, taking away the uniformity of the moulded plastic colour. First I try to paint as much of the trunk as I can with grey primer. It doesn’t matter if I don’t cover everything as that already leaves me with two colours. Then I come back and paint over both the primed areas (where paint adheres well) and un- primed areas (where only a little sticks) with various shades of brown. I don’t always wait until each shade of brown is dry before adding another as this tends to mix up the colours more. The end is, hopefully, more realistic and varied coloured tree trunks/branches.
Bushes come from a range made by “Polak”. I source them from the Modeller’s Warehouse in Australia but I would imagine there are other sources. They come in packs of about 20 bushes, which are stuck to a basic ground cover mat. I actually pull them off the mat and stick the roots into a small pre-drilled hole after dunking the roots in PVA glue.
The ground cover under the trees at the Eyarth Cutting end was a “Forrest Floor” mat from Busch. In my view it looks very effective, almost to the point of being a shame that it is obscured by the trees! The mat is just placed directly onto the basic contour shell, after covering with cornice cement. It is self adhesive and only needs to be peeled off its backing sheet. But this was tricky to do because it sticks to itself like stretch film – but unlike stretch film, is then very difficult to pull apart again. I lost some of the first sheet as a result. For the second sheet, I got my wife to help keep it taught as I unpeeled the backing sheet. The mats come as a rectangle and I rounded some of the edges before I took off the backing sheet so there would be a more natural transition to normal grass. I kept the off cuts and applied them here and there to aid the transition/blending process.
Baseboards – are made from 12mm particle board. I have read that good quality plywood is the best timber to use because of its superior strength to weight ratio and its resistance to humidity and warp. But it is also expensive and I find it difficult to work with when using a jig saw. It seems to splinter far too much. MDF was discounted because of real examples I’d seen of warping on other people’s layouts where MDF had been used. So it came down to “chipboard”. Whilst it is heavier than ply, it is also cheaper, is easy to contour with a jig saw and when carefully painted after cutting has, so far, stood up well to changes in humidity.
All scenic boards were profiled to fit the required contours before assembly. This involved much more advanced planning (and some guessing) but in my view, produces a good finish.
Track – Undoubtedly the best looking track is the hand built stuff, using SMP or C&L parts. But that was thought to be beyond my limited abilities and would take too long. So it came down to one of the brands of ready made track. Peco is the most popular and is freely available but I chose Tilig track. This was mainly because most Tilig points can be easily curved slightly to fit a sweeping curve. This seemed important to me as I was building the layout to reflect the sweeping curve on which the real Eyarth was built. Interrupting a lovely sweeping curve with a straight Peco point just wouldn’t have looked right. And their curved points were of too small a radius. Being German, the fixings (of rail to sleepers) aren’t prototypically correct for a British model – but did you notice that before you read this? Track is laid on strips of 3mm cork in order to get the correct profile. Ballast is real stone, sieved by my good friend, Stuart Westerman and laid dry with the help of a fine paint brush, then fixed in place with PVA glue diluted to 50% with water – and a few drops of washing up liquid added to break the surface tension so that the glue flows easily.
Scenery, Basic Contours – Two slightly different methods are used, depending on whether the scenery is above or below rail height. When above rail height, scenery is built up from baseboard level using expanded polystyrene or building insulation foam (depending on what’s available). This is then covered with a thin layer of cornice cement. Prior to mixing with water, the cement was coloured by adding dark brown concrete colouring powder. That way, if the plaster ever chips, it will still be brown below. Cornice cement was chosen because someone told me that as it hardens, it is more resistant to cracking than other plasters. But it “goes off” (starts hardening) quickly so you have to use small amounts at a time and apply it quickly.
When below rail height, the baseboard has been cut away. These parts are covered with chicken wire and the chicken wire is then covered in “chux” style cleaning cloths that have been soaked in the coloured cornice cement. (When doing this, make sure that anything below is well protected from drips of cement!). Also be aware that once soaked, they stretch considerably in one direction and this needs to be taken into account when cutting pieces to be the correct size. Test this process somewhere else before trying to use it on your layout.
Scenery, Finishing – Extensive use has been made of a Noch brand “Grassmaster” for much of the ground cover. They are quite expensive to buy but in my view, produce excellent results. They work by applying a static charge to the grass fibres so that they stand on end when shaken over the layout.
Using a Grass Master requires a bit of practice. Here are a few tips I have learned from my own experience:
- Use plenty of PVA glue. It should be spread thickly enough that it is in a noticeably white layer.
- Lay grass when the PVA is still fresh. So do small areas at a time or have someone paint the PVA on for you so you can follow quickly behind with the grass master.
- A second layer of fibres is also good if you want to add longer fibres to give even more texture to untended ground.
- No matter how much glue you use, there will be some areas where the grass fibres just don’t stick and a second layer is required. Model rail magazines suggest laying a second layer of glue and then applying more fibres but I find this really flattens the first layer of fibres. So try experimenting with the following two options:
- Spray on a coat of diluted PVA rather than painting it on “neat” – but protect areas you don’t want to be sprayed!
- Spray on a good covering of (unscented if possible) super hold hair spray
Although the grass master gives any grass covering more depth and texture, I have added further depth and texture by extensive use of grass tufts. I sourced these initially from Mininatur but later found a good range of tufts on eBay (seller “Tajima1”). They have a range of colours and lengths as well as some more colourful items, such as gorse bushes, which I have also used. They are also very reasonably priced.
Here and there I also used various Woodlands Scenics scatter materials to add further variety and texture. Larger clumps were attached with PVA glue while finer materials were attached with hair spray (spray on hairspray before and after laying the scatter material. Also, spray gently so that you don’t blow away what you’ve laid!).
Rocky outcrops are made from Plaster of Paris and are moulded in Woodlands Scenics rock moulds. These pieces are painted with Woodlands Scenics paints, in various shades of brown (burnt umber, sienna etc).Ideally they are just pushed into newly laid cornice cement but if that is not possible they are just glued to the polystyrene contours (PVA glue is usually enough to fix them in place if they are left alone for a while for the glue to set) and then blended in using a small mix of cornice cement later on.
The fence posts have been the subject of much discussion as they are individually made and I have often been asked why I don’t just buy them. My answer is that bought plastic ones always look like bought plastic ones! Instead mine are made from match sticks (bought from a $2 shop). The sticks are cut in half and sharpened to a point at one end. Four holes are drilled with a pin vice and the posts are then primed grey and finally dry brushed in brown. Single strands of wire are unwound from multi-strand electrical wire and the posts are threaded onto the wires before being put in place. Posts are then glued into small pre-drilled holes and left to dry. Once the glue is dry, the wires are tensioned as much as possible from either end. Now you know why my wife thinks I should just buy them!
Trees are from several brands but particularly Woodlands Scenics and I have tried to buy as many different ones as I could find. Obviously there are repeats but I have tried to hide this as much as possible. I find that the Woodlands Scenics trees are a good compromise between realism and cost. There are some really exquisite trees on the market nowadays but with so many trees needed on the finished layout, I couldn’t justify the cost. And after the fence post experience, making them myself was out of the question! Also, given the number of trees required, I had to buy some cheaper ones but wherever possible these have been used in areas where they are obscured by others. (In my view, the old adage that you get what you pay for couldn’t apply more than with model trees). The better quality trees are placed where they are most obvious to the viewer.
Irrespective of where they come from I try to tart up all trees before they are planted. My main process is to provide some variation in the colour of the trunks and branches, taking away the uniformity of the moulded plastic colour. First I try to paint as much of the trunk as I can with grey primer. It doesn’t matter if I don’t cover everything as that already leaves me with two colours. Then I come back and paint over both the primed areas (where paint adheres well) and un- primed areas (where only a little sticks) with various shades of brown. I don’t always wait until each shade of brown is dry before adding another as this tends to mix up the colours more. The end is, hopefully, more realistic and varied coloured tree trunks/branches.
Bushes come from a range made by “Polak”. I source them from the Modeller’s Warehouse in Australia but I would imagine there are other sources. They come in packs of about 20 bushes, which are stuck to a basic ground cover mat. I actually pull them off the mat and stick the roots into a small pre-drilled hole after dunking the roots in PVA glue.
The ground cover under the trees at the Eyarth Cutting end was a “Forrest Floor” mat from Busch. In my view it looks very effective, almost to the point of being a shame that it is obscured by the trees! The mat is just placed directly onto the basic contour shell, after covering with cornice cement. It is self adhesive and only needs to be peeled off its backing sheet. But this was tricky to do because it sticks to itself like stretch film – but unlike stretch film, is then very difficult to pull apart again. I lost some of the first sheet as a result. For the second sheet, I got my wife to help keep it taught as I unpeeled the backing sheet. The mats come as a rectangle and I rounded some of the edges before I took off the backing sheet so there would be a more natural transition to normal grass. I kept the off cuts and applied them here and there to aid the transition/blending process.
Locomotives and Rolling Stock – Sourcing and Liveries All locomotives and rolling stock on the layout were bought “ready-to-run”. The extensive range and high quality of British outline models nowadays means there is really no need to construct kits or “scratch build”, especially in the case of diesel locos. All of the rolling stock comes from the UK and the vast majority from a company called Bachmann (it’s all made in China of course). So pretty much everything you are looking at is from Bachmann, the main exceptions being:
Locos: Class 56 (Hornby), Class 17 (Heljan).
Wagons: Engineers train – seacow ballast hoppers and brake van (Hornby), other wagons (Dapol). CCT utility vans (Hornby). Continental Ferry Vans (Hornby).
At the beginning, all locomotives were in BR Corporate Blue livery, which was applied rigorously to BR diesel locomotives from 1965 to 1977 and with some minor variations until the mid 1980’s. More importantly, it is the livery that I remember and love from my youth. More recently, the odd loco has been bought in more recent liveries including Large Logo Blue and Engineers “Dutch” Livery.
Rolling stock types that I use are those that existed around the same time, or might have done had the line survived until the diesel era, as I have explained elsewhere. For the sake of variety and viewing interest, I have stretched the time limits in a few areas, again largely in line with my “line survival” theory. For example, transport of cattle by rail ceased in the 1960’s and Railfreight branding did not start until the 1980’s. But you might see these two trains on the layout at the same time.
Locomotive Selection – Classes and individual numbers – Again at the beginning, my rule was that to be included on the layout, it had to be that the locomotives might actually have visited the line, had it survived until the BR Blue diesel era. But I have stretched this rule a bit in a few areas to fit my favourite classes. Some of the stretching is accommodated by my “line survival” theory, as I will explain below.
Class 08 – These shunters were found all over BR throughout the period in question. So there’s no doubt some would have visited the DR&C. I have used 08 907 because according to my Ian Allan motive power book of 1980, it was allocated to Holyhead in North Wales and 08 490 because it was allocated to Chester and often worked at Mold Junction, where trains for the DR&C would have been marshalled.
Class 17 – The Claytons were a short lived class, principally because they were unreliable and because the local and trip freight work they were intended for, dried up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They made it to the BR Blue era but not to the TOPS numbering system. So there was never a Class 17 numbered 17 092 or 17 012. Also, when they were in service, they were not common in the North West. But they were one of my favourite classes (they were common in the North East) so I wanted one or two on my layout. So this is where my line survival theory kicks in. If you refer to it, you will see that the local and trip freight work did not dry up so BR had to find solutions to their poor availability and the class survived, long enough to get TOPS numbers.
Class 20 – This class did visit North Wales but I wouldn’t say they were common. But I have assumed that lower powered classes such as the Class 20 would have been used on a quiet branch line such as this and since I quite like Class 20’s, I have included two on the DR&C. 20 192 was bought on eBay because I thought the extreme weathering looked good and I thought that an engineer’s train was the ideal sort of work for them. The other I had renumbered to 20 181 as I had photos of the real thing on a MGR train at Point of Ayr Colliery. On a future layout I might have the two of them double heading a MGR train but currently I can’t accommodate a MGR train of realistic length.
Class 24 – This class was common in the North West and North Wales, especially towards the end of their careers. So these locos would have been prime candidates to haul the short freights that run on my layout and under my line survival theory, would have survived longer than they actually did, despite being generally underpowered. Hence there are quite a few Class 24’s on the layout. In each case, I have photographic evidence that the loco in question (24 023, 24 035, 24 072 etc) ran in the Chester/North Wales area. The fact that they are one of my favourite classes is an added bonus!
Class 25 – Same story as the Class 24’s. Had the line survived, it would have only supported lighter freight traffic and this would have been ideally suited to Class 25 locos, with their relatively low power classification. This is indeed what happed to those branch lines in the area that did survive, such as the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Class 25 locos handled much of the freight on this line. And being my absolute favourite class, there are plenty on the layout! I have photographic evidence that most the Class 25’s on this layout actually ran in the North West/North Wales, although one or two interlopers have crept in (25 239 was a Scottish based loco – you can tell because of the different positioning of its numbers).
Class 37 – The more powerful classes travelled further afield and so whilst Class 37’s were less common in North Wales, I have included a couple from another of my favourite classes, on the basis that they might have conceivably come from further away, bringing, for example, steel trains up from South Wales and then hung around for a while. 37 256 was a South Wales based loco so it fits the theory. 37 003 is a bit different. It is a model of a Class 37 that still survives (on the Mid Norfolk Railway) and I bought one of them to help in their fund raising efforts. It was actually a Stratford (London) loco most of its life.
Class 47 – This class was reasonably common in North Wales and was a favourite of mine so there had to be a couple on the layout, even though they would have been unlikely visitors to such a small branch line. 47 404 was chosen because of the link between “Hadrian” and my North East roots. 47 148 was just bought on eBay because the weathering looked good! 47 975 was a bit the same – bought on eBay because of its weathering but I trained originally as a Civil Engineer so its name meant something to me too.
Class 55 – To be honest, I can’t imagine how the Deltics could ever have made it onto the DR&C. But being another favourite class and sounding so distinctive, I had to have one. And of course, I chose 55 011 because of its name, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. Given the outrageousness of including it at all, it only ever travels light engine.
Class 56 – Another class that travelled far and wide and was common in the North West/North Wales. It was also another favourite class of mine but much too big, heavy and powerful to fit the layout concept really. So inclusion of 56 022 (a random number choice) and 56 006 (preserved at Barrow Hill) is just a bit of indulgence on my part.
Locomotives and Rolling Stock – Weathering - The problem with the latest ready-to-run items is that they come in an as-new, shiny, bright finish, whereas my recollection of the real thing in the 1970’s is that pretty much everything was grimy and dirty. So my general philosophy is that all rolling stock (locos, coaches and wagons) on my layout have to be “weathered”. Although one or two exceptions may still exist, they are few and far between.
But I admit straight away that none of the weathering is my work. I am an engineer at heart so building something that is straight, square and level is not too big a problem. But weathering is an art that requires considerable skill, certainly more than I possess. And even if some of that skill can be acquired, where do you start, especially given that the financial consequences of ruining a good piece of rolling stock are quite high! So instead, I accepted my limitations and decided that I would pay other people to weather my stock for me. Also, as the manufacturers have started offering “factory weathered” items for sale, I have bought them rather than the pristine ones – although my view is that factory weathering is not nearly as good as customised personal weathering.
That challenge that this has presented for me is to find someone that I am completely happy with to do all my weathering. When I look back, my criteria were:
Separately, I have also bought some weathered items on eBay and have bought consistently from the ones whose work I like (you have to be selective here because the work is already done so No 3) doesn’t apply).
So in summary the major suppliers of weathering are as follows:
David Briggs (“Whistlestop Weathering”): Several locos, including 20 181 24 063, 25 221, 25 245, 25 278, 37,003, 37 035, 47 404, 56 006, 56 022, Class 108 DMU in BR Blue, oil tankers, empty mineral wagons, Seacow and Grampus engineers wagons, brake vans, ventilated vans, OBA and OCA open wagons, VAA, VBA and VDA vans, newspaper and parcel vans, passenger coaches.
Clair Clark (“Linesideandlocos”) – eBay purchases: 20 192, 24 035, 47 148, brake vans, oil tankers, 21tonne mineral wagons, sundry others.
Olivia’s Trains: 17 012 and 17 092.
Tony Eastwood (Wealistic Models): loaded mineral wagons, cattle wagons, brake vans, ventilated vans, Presflo cement wagons, parcel vans, CCT utility vans.
The Model Centre: 24 023, 37 256, 37 427, 55 011, cattle wagons, Presflo cement wagons.
David Taylor: 21T mineral wagons, brake vans.
Interespray: 08 907, 25 156, 25 291.
Moray’s Models: 25 043, 24 072.
Express Models Derby: 47 975
Locos: Class 56 (Hornby), Class 17 (Heljan).
Wagons: Engineers train – seacow ballast hoppers and brake van (Hornby), other wagons (Dapol). CCT utility vans (Hornby). Continental Ferry Vans (Hornby).
At the beginning, all locomotives were in BR Corporate Blue livery, which was applied rigorously to BR diesel locomotives from 1965 to 1977 and with some minor variations until the mid 1980’s. More importantly, it is the livery that I remember and love from my youth. More recently, the odd loco has been bought in more recent liveries including Large Logo Blue and Engineers “Dutch” Livery.
Rolling stock types that I use are those that existed around the same time, or might have done had the line survived until the diesel era, as I have explained elsewhere. For the sake of variety and viewing interest, I have stretched the time limits in a few areas, again largely in line with my “line survival” theory. For example, transport of cattle by rail ceased in the 1960’s and Railfreight branding did not start until the 1980’s. But you might see these two trains on the layout at the same time.
Locomotive Selection – Classes and individual numbers – Again at the beginning, my rule was that to be included on the layout, it had to be that the locomotives might actually have visited the line, had it survived until the BR Blue diesel era. But I have stretched this rule a bit in a few areas to fit my favourite classes. Some of the stretching is accommodated by my “line survival” theory, as I will explain below.
Class 08 – These shunters were found all over BR throughout the period in question. So there’s no doubt some would have visited the DR&C. I have used 08 907 because according to my Ian Allan motive power book of 1980, it was allocated to Holyhead in North Wales and 08 490 because it was allocated to Chester and often worked at Mold Junction, where trains for the DR&C would have been marshalled.
Class 17 – The Claytons were a short lived class, principally because they were unreliable and because the local and trip freight work they were intended for, dried up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They made it to the BR Blue era but not to the TOPS numbering system. So there was never a Class 17 numbered 17 092 or 17 012. Also, when they were in service, they were not common in the North West. But they were one of my favourite classes (they were common in the North East) so I wanted one or two on my layout. So this is where my line survival theory kicks in. If you refer to it, you will see that the local and trip freight work did not dry up so BR had to find solutions to their poor availability and the class survived, long enough to get TOPS numbers.
Class 20 – This class did visit North Wales but I wouldn’t say they were common. But I have assumed that lower powered classes such as the Class 20 would have been used on a quiet branch line such as this and since I quite like Class 20’s, I have included two on the DR&C. 20 192 was bought on eBay because I thought the extreme weathering looked good and I thought that an engineer’s train was the ideal sort of work for them. The other I had renumbered to 20 181 as I had photos of the real thing on a MGR train at Point of Ayr Colliery. On a future layout I might have the two of them double heading a MGR train but currently I can’t accommodate a MGR train of realistic length.
Class 24 – This class was common in the North West and North Wales, especially towards the end of their careers. So these locos would have been prime candidates to haul the short freights that run on my layout and under my line survival theory, would have survived longer than they actually did, despite being generally underpowered. Hence there are quite a few Class 24’s on the layout. In each case, I have photographic evidence that the loco in question (24 023, 24 035, 24 072 etc) ran in the Chester/North Wales area. The fact that they are one of my favourite classes is an added bonus!
Class 25 – Same story as the Class 24’s. Had the line survived, it would have only supported lighter freight traffic and this would have been ideally suited to Class 25 locos, with their relatively low power classification. This is indeed what happed to those branch lines in the area that did survive, such as the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Class 25 locos handled much of the freight on this line. And being my absolute favourite class, there are plenty on the layout! I have photographic evidence that most the Class 25’s on this layout actually ran in the North West/North Wales, although one or two interlopers have crept in (25 239 was a Scottish based loco – you can tell because of the different positioning of its numbers).
Class 37 – The more powerful classes travelled further afield and so whilst Class 37’s were less common in North Wales, I have included a couple from another of my favourite classes, on the basis that they might have conceivably come from further away, bringing, for example, steel trains up from South Wales and then hung around for a while. 37 256 was a South Wales based loco so it fits the theory. 37 003 is a bit different. It is a model of a Class 37 that still survives (on the Mid Norfolk Railway) and I bought one of them to help in their fund raising efforts. It was actually a Stratford (London) loco most of its life.
Class 47 – This class was reasonably common in North Wales and was a favourite of mine so there had to be a couple on the layout, even though they would have been unlikely visitors to such a small branch line. 47 404 was chosen because of the link between “Hadrian” and my North East roots. 47 148 was just bought on eBay because the weathering looked good! 47 975 was a bit the same – bought on eBay because of its weathering but I trained originally as a Civil Engineer so its name meant something to me too.
Class 55 – To be honest, I can’t imagine how the Deltics could ever have made it onto the DR&C. But being another favourite class and sounding so distinctive, I had to have one. And of course, I chose 55 011 because of its name, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. Given the outrageousness of including it at all, it only ever travels light engine.
Class 56 – Another class that travelled far and wide and was common in the North West/North Wales. It was also another favourite class of mine but much too big, heavy and powerful to fit the layout concept really. So inclusion of 56 022 (a random number choice) and 56 006 (preserved at Barrow Hill) is just a bit of indulgence on my part.
Locomotives and Rolling Stock – Weathering - The problem with the latest ready-to-run items is that they come in an as-new, shiny, bright finish, whereas my recollection of the real thing in the 1970’s is that pretty much everything was grimy and dirty. So my general philosophy is that all rolling stock (locos, coaches and wagons) on my layout have to be “weathered”. Although one or two exceptions may still exist, they are few and far between.
But I admit straight away that none of the weathering is my work. I am an engineer at heart so building something that is straight, square and level is not too big a problem. But weathering is an art that requires considerable skill, certainly more than I possess. And even if some of that skill can be acquired, where do you start, especially given that the financial consequences of ruining a good piece of rolling stock are quite high! So instead, I accepted my limitations and decided that I would pay other people to weather my stock for me. Also, as the manufacturers have started offering “factory weathered” items for sale, I have bought them rather than the pristine ones – although my view is that factory weathering is not nearly as good as customised personal weathering.
That challenge that this has presented for me is to find someone that I am completely happy with to do all my weathering. When I look back, my criteria were:
- Top quality work
- Reasonable turnaround time – given the long term nature of my layout project, this is really a reflection of risk minimisation. Given that the weathering experts I know are all in the UK, there are two lots of postage to worry about and difficultly in communicating because of time differences, on top of the usual risks. And the longer the turn around time, the longer you have to worry about the various risks.
- Personalised service – Everybody has different views as to the ideal level and style of weathering. And I have found that the bigger the business that you are dealing with, the harder it is to have a dialogue with them to discuss and agree what you want.
Separately, I have also bought some weathered items on eBay and have bought consistently from the ones whose work I like (you have to be selective here because the work is already done so No 3) doesn’t apply).
So in summary the major suppliers of weathering are as follows:
David Briggs (“Whistlestop Weathering”): Several locos, including 20 181 24 063, 25 221, 25 245, 25 278, 37,003, 37 035, 47 404, 56 006, 56 022, Class 108 DMU in BR Blue, oil tankers, empty mineral wagons, Seacow and Grampus engineers wagons, brake vans, ventilated vans, OBA and OCA open wagons, VAA, VBA and VDA vans, newspaper and parcel vans, passenger coaches.
Clair Clark (“Linesideandlocos”) – eBay purchases: 20 192, 24 035, 47 148, brake vans, oil tankers, 21tonne mineral wagons, sundry others.
Olivia’s Trains: 17 012 and 17 092.
Tony Eastwood (Wealistic Models): loaded mineral wagons, cattle wagons, brake vans, ventilated vans, Presflo cement wagons, parcel vans, CCT utility vans.
The Model Centre: 24 023, 37 256, 37 427, 55 011, cattle wagons, Presflo cement wagons.
David Taylor: 21T mineral wagons, brake vans.
Interespray: 08 907, 25 156, 25 291.
Moray’s Models: 25 043, 24 072.
Express Models Derby: 47 975
Loco Operation and Control – This layout uses a digital (often called DCC) system, from the manufacturer “Digitrax”. Digital systems can be expensive to buy but have several advantages over traditional analogue systems, especially for someone starting from scratch. Firstly the amount of wiring required is much less than a comparable analogue system (see further notes below). Then once trains are running, they can be programmed to run in a more prototypical fashion (such as maximum speed, acceleration). At the other end of the scale a digital system can be run from a PC if you have the required software. But for me, the main attraction was the availability of sound with DCC. Most of my locos are fitted with a small chip (generally called a decoder), on which have been recorded sounds from the real locomotive. These are replayed through a hidden speaker at various times depending on what the loco is being asked to do (tick over, accelerate, decelerate etc). The first time I heard DCC sound, I was smitten for ever!
The plan is that eventually, every loco on the layout will have a sound decoder fitted. But a sound decoder costs around £100 per loco – as much as a loco with weathering itself – so the process is not yet complete.
Wiring (DCC) – As noted above, the layout is wired for DCC. This allows for much simpler wiring than in traditional analogue systems – but not to the extent that you might have heard. The idea that you “only need two wires” is a bit of a simplification. But here’s a bit of an explanation as to why DCC is simpler, first by explaining how traditional analogue (direct current, or “DC”) systems work.
In both cases, locomotives have a small electric motor inside them and they take electricity from the rails. In a DC system the amount of electricity in the rails is adjusted from a controller held by the operator and when the power is turned up, every locomotive on a live piece of track will move. So if you want to run a number of locomotives on a layout, you have to divide your track into sections into which power can be switched on and off, so that only locos in live sections move. That means that a separate wire needs to be run from each section back to a switch on some sort of central control panel. The more sections you have, the more wires you require and the more complicated it gets, especially as you cross from one baseboard to another.
In DCC, there is no need for sections and section switches. All rails are live all the time but the power from the rails passes through the decoder and is not fed to the motor unless a separate signal is sent from the controller to the decoder (it’s a high frequency signal that passes along the same wire as the power). Each decoder can be programmed to have a different “address” so that each loco can be communicated with uniquely. On our layout, the address of the layout is a 4 digit number and corresponds with the last 4 digits of the loco number. So the address of loco 55 011 is “5011”, 24 023 is “4023” etc. So most parts of the layout are powered from two “bus” wires (+ve and –ve) that run around the layout from the controller to dropper wires attached to the rails.
Because the power in the wires is always on, it can be used for other applications. So for example, my point and signal motors also run from the power bus. In a similar way to locos, stationary decoders are inserted between the bus and the point motor and each has a unique address, so that signals can be sent to each motor when we want it to operate.
Sounds so simple then! But here are a few limitations of this concept:
The amount of current drawn by a DCC loco is quite high and with multiple locos on a layout, the overall power requirement is much higher than for DC. So a much heavier duty wire is needed for the bus than for DC.
With DCC, the need to maintain constant electrical contact is paramount (stalling a loco has a much greater impact with DCC, especially when using sound - because the sound drops out and when it kicks back in, it goes through an engine start up routine again). So in all but the shortest of rail sections, each one has at least two dropper wires from the rail to the bus. That adds to the wiring requirement.
Again because of the constant power requirement, rail cleanliness is critical. Some would argue that it is the same with DC but believe me, a stuttering loco with DCC sound is much more obvious than a DC one without sound.
In theory, other applications such as electromagnetic uncouplers, can also take their power from the bus. But electromagnets draw a lot of power and I was concerned that this might affect loco performance so I have actually run a separately earthed bus around the layout for uncoupler power. As a precaution, I have done the same for ancillary equipment such as cooling fans, and model lights. So the “two wires” advantage has been compromised a bit!
Even so, with only 6 wires running around the layout, simple colour coding (red and black for DCC, yellow and green for uncouplers, blue and brown for ancillaries) makes initial wiring and later fault finding pretty easy. And these coloured wires are readily available from electrical shops.
Wiring (Other) – connections between baseboards are made using “banana” plugs and sockets for the higher load wires (DCC bus and electromagnets power). These are available from electrical shops (such as Jaycar) in red, black, green and yellow, maintaining the colour coding that is used for the wires. For the lower current ancillary wires, I have used 5 pin DIN plugs and sockets.
Signals, Point Rodding etc – The signals were all made from Model Signal Engineering brass parts. They are all variations of the MSE Upper Quadrant LMS home signal, for which MSE provide a comprehensive instruction sheet. Although they require some basic soldering skills to complete, the end result is much stronger than an equivalent plastic model. Point rodding and signal posts and pulleys also come from MSE. Again, a little bit of soldering is required here but mainly its just patience that is required. Point rodding and signal pulleys are only cosmetic of course, to provide a general impression of what would have been there. If you follow them closely, they peter out just before they get to the point or signal!
Point & Signal Control – Points and signals are all operated by Tortoise slow action point motors. These are in turn wired to decoders (circuit boards) that are controlled by the Digitrax system. So points and signals are effectively controlled by the press of a button. In order to protect the signals from potential damage caused by excessive throw of the point motor, small clutch mechanisms, made by Modratec (intended for their wire-in-tube signal operation system), have been inserted between the motor and the signal.
Station Building and Other Buildings – I felt right from the start that the aim of making the layout look something like the real thing was going to stand or fall with the buildings. So I have spent quite a lot of time trying to make the station buildings look as authentic as possible.
Before starting the layout I had done quite a bit of research and had built up quite a library of photographs. I had also been several times to the Clwyd Record Office and had obtained some old (late 19th Century) plans of the station building. These were plan views only.
Before I started any actual building I copied the one of the plan views of the building, scaled it to 1:76th on the photocopier and then drew by hand the elevations, using the tried and tested technique of counting brick courses to estimate dimensions. (My school technical drawing skills from 35 years ago came in handy here!). Only once I was happy with the resulting set of plans did I start constructing the model.
During my research I had found a few good articles in model railway magazines on building construction and my construction techniques were greatly influenced by these. Generally speaking, the walls are made from a three-layer sandwich of plasticard, the outer layer being Slater’s embossed brick sheets and the others being 1mm plain plasticard. The three layer concept adds strength and rigidity to the walls and according to one of the articles I read, produces a warp resistant structure in the same way as 3-ply plywood. This is also why I have not generally mixed layers of card with layers of plasticard, as they react differently to changes in temperature and humidity. It made sense to me anyway! The multi-layer concept also has the advantage of adding depth to the window openings.
One of the distinctive features of the stations on the DR&C is the use of quoins and so these had to be incorporated into my model. Plastic quoins are available from Wills but they seem to be intended as overlays and I thought that would make them too prominent. Instead I cut back the embossed brick plasticard sheets to fit the profile of the quoins so that they would look more integral to the wall. This proved quite time consuming and fiddly and ended up with the use of quite a bit of filler but has, I hope, achieved the desired effect.
The style of windows at Eyarth and other DR&C stations was quite distinctive and I couldn’t find anything readymade that looked the part. So windows are individually made from Evergreen plastic strips of various thicknesses. These are mounted onto a small backing piece of plasticard, which has an opening in it the same size as the opening in the wall. It turned out to be a very fiddly job and if I had my time again, I would look into the cost of having some bespoke windows made professionally!
All brickwork was painted after the main walls were assembled to make the shell of the building. First, an all over coat of mortise coloured paint was applied. Then a second coat of brick coloured paint was “dry brushed” over the mortise coat. Dry brushing effectively means painting very lightly and with very little paint on the brush. That way, the embossed brick surfaces are painted but paint does not flow into the mortise joints, leaving the original colour showing. Finally, individual bricks were picked out in various different brick shades.
Chimneys are made in a similar way to main walls but on a smaller scale and only a two layer sandwich. Roofs are also a two layer sandwich, overlayed with self adhesive tiles from York Modelmaking. This is a move away from my principle of not mixing plastic and card but was forced on me by the limited size of Wills embossed roof tile sheets and my dissatisfaction with the profile of the larger Slaters embossed tile sheets. I have been very impressed with the York Modelling tiles. They are easy to cut and remove the backing and adhesion is very good. A little bit of care is needed to get row completely straight but any minor deviations are not apparent from normal viewing distances. Flashing around chimneys is just cut from sheet of grey photocopy paper that has been printed with a darker block of grey. I have used Wills and Ratio building detailing packs for gutters, chimney pots, downpipes and decorative chimney brickwork. The downpipes look to me to be a bit over scale but a reasonable compromise in terms of cost and availability versus accuracy.
The platelayer’s hut was built in the same way as the main building but on a smaller scale. The hut was still in place when I visited the station a couple of years ago so I took some photos and was then able to draw up some simple plans by brick counting. The main structure is the same three layer sandwich of plasticard but this time the roof is a single layer of wills embossed tiling. Interestingly, even with that small area, there is a little bit of sag – a validation of the 3 layer sandwich concept I have used elsewhere! Also interestingly, the real hut had no windows so neither does the model.
I did quite a bit of experimenting before I came up with a solution I was happy with to the peeling white wash that can been seen in photos of the line when it was in use. In the end, I painted all the brick work in the same way as for the main building and then, using some Humbrol “Maskol” masking solution I painted some small amounts onto the brick work before applying two coats of white matt enamel paint. Then I picked off the Maskol with tweezers and the white paint came away with it, revealing the original brickwork. But I found with my experiments that after two layers of white paint, the areas where Maskol had been painted was hard to identify. So when I did the hut I applied Maskol to one side at a time and then took a picture of it with my mobile phone while the Maskol was still wet and quite bright. I referred to the photos once I was ready to locate the Maskol to pick it off.
Other Structures – The road overbridge at the Ruthin end is a Wills kit, painted and weathered to better show the brick courses.
Telegraph poles are Ratio items. They are plastic and so are a little bit too flexible. Look particularly at poles at extreme ends, where tension is only in one direction. Perhaps hand made ones with brass poles would have been better. But I liked the level of detail that the Ratio poles have, so have stuck with them. The “wires” between each pole are actually Oingo-boingo wire, a soft of stretchable plastic. It was bought from an on-line modellers shop, “Modeller’s Warehouse”. After the poles had been painted, they were placed into pre-driller holes on a long piece of wood. The holes in the wood were closer than I intended to place the poles on the layout. The oingo boingo wire was then glued to the poles, with no tension, allowing for some sag. I decided it would have been too difficult to wire them up once they were on the layout. When the poles were placed on the layout, the wire stretched out to give a nice uniform finish. Prototypically, the wire should still have some sag in it but after experimenting I found it very difficult to get the same amount of sag and to stop the wires getting tangled. Hence the taught nature of the wires on the layout.
“Finishing” Items:
Station lights – are from DCC Concepts. I bought a value pack of LMS lights. Eyarth didn’t have nearly such extensive lighting but when I saw the DCC Concepts product I just had to have some on my station so I am assuming they were fitted later – but with a retro look.
The lights inside the station building are wired up LEDs and resistors, which came with the DCC Concepts lighting pack. LED’s seemed like a good idea as they don’t emit much heat – a factor when the building is made of plastic.
Flowers in the station gardens are from two sources. Lupins and Dahlias were from Busch. From close up they are quite plastic looking and are fiddly to put together – flower heads have to be cut from a sprue and attached to the stalks – but from normal viewing distance I think they look quite good. The other flowers are from a Gaugemaster pack (ultimately Noch I think).
Station fencing is from Ratio. It is branded GWR fencing but looks pretty similar to what was actually at Eyarth.
Figures are from a few sources. Some OO gauge ones but mostly Noch – slightly undersize because they are actually HO scale but since people’s heights do vary, its not too obvious. But I have made sure they are not placed too close to any OO scale ones.
The LNWR station seats are brass etches - from Shirescenes. So is the BRUT trolley.
The post box in the station forecourt is a Hornby Skaledale item.
The plan is that eventually, every loco on the layout will have a sound decoder fitted. But a sound decoder costs around £100 per loco – as much as a loco with weathering itself – so the process is not yet complete.
Wiring (DCC) – As noted above, the layout is wired for DCC. This allows for much simpler wiring than in traditional analogue systems – but not to the extent that you might have heard. The idea that you “only need two wires” is a bit of a simplification. But here’s a bit of an explanation as to why DCC is simpler, first by explaining how traditional analogue (direct current, or “DC”) systems work.
In both cases, locomotives have a small electric motor inside them and they take electricity from the rails. In a DC system the amount of electricity in the rails is adjusted from a controller held by the operator and when the power is turned up, every locomotive on a live piece of track will move. So if you want to run a number of locomotives on a layout, you have to divide your track into sections into which power can be switched on and off, so that only locos in live sections move. That means that a separate wire needs to be run from each section back to a switch on some sort of central control panel. The more sections you have, the more wires you require and the more complicated it gets, especially as you cross from one baseboard to another.
In DCC, there is no need for sections and section switches. All rails are live all the time but the power from the rails passes through the decoder and is not fed to the motor unless a separate signal is sent from the controller to the decoder (it’s a high frequency signal that passes along the same wire as the power). Each decoder can be programmed to have a different “address” so that each loco can be communicated with uniquely. On our layout, the address of the layout is a 4 digit number and corresponds with the last 4 digits of the loco number. So the address of loco 55 011 is “5011”, 24 023 is “4023” etc. So most parts of the layout are powered from two “bus” wires (+ve and –ve) that run around the layout from the controller to dropper wires attached to the rails.
Because the power in the wires is always on, it can be used for other applications. So for example, my point and signal motors also run from the power bus. In a similar way to locos, stationary decoders are inserted between the bus and the point motor and each has a unique address, so that signals can be sent to each motor when we want it to operate.
Sounds so simple then! But here are a few limitations of this concept:
The amount of current drawn by a DCC loco is quite high and with multiple locos on a layout, the overall power requirement is much higher than for DC. So a much heavier duty wire is needed for the bus than for DC.
With DCC, the need to maintain constant electrical contact is paramount (stalling a loco has a much greater impact with DCC, especially when using sound - because the sound drops out and when it kicks back in, it goes through an engine start up routine again). So in all but the shortest of rail sections, each one has at least two dropper wires from the rail to the bus. That adds to the wiring requirement.
Again because of the constant power requirement, rail cleanliness is critical. Some would argue that it is the same with DC but believe me, a stuttering loco with DCC sound is much more obvious than a DC one without sound.
In theory, other applications such as electromagnetic uncouplers, can also take their power from the bus. But electromagnets draw a lot of power and I was concerned that this might affect loco performance so I have actually run a separately earthed bus around the layout for uncoupler power. As a precaution, I have done the same for ancillary equipment such as cooling fans, and model lights. So the “two wires” advantage has been compromised a bit!
Even so, with only 6 wires running around the layout, simple colour coding (red and black for DCC, yellow and green for uncouplers, blue and brown for ancillaries) makes initial wiring and later fault finding pretty easy. And these coloured wires are readily available from electrical shops.
Wiring (Other) – connections between baseboards are made using “banana” plugs and sockets for the higher load wires (DCC bus and electromagnets power). These are available from electrical shops (such as Jaycar) in red, black, green and yellow, maintaining the colour coding that is used for the wires. For the lower current ancillary wires, I have used 5 pin DIN plugs and sockets.
Signals, Point Rodding etc – The signals were all made from Model Signal Engineering brass parts. They are all variations of the MSE Upper Quadrant LMS home signal, for which MSE provide a comprehensive instruction sheet. Although they require some basic soldering skills to complete, the end result is much stronger than an equivalent plastic model. Point rodding and signal posts and pulleys also come from MSE. Again, a little bit of soldering is required here but mainly its just patience that is required. Point rodding and signal pulleys are only cosmetic of course, to provide a general impression of what would have been there. If you follow them closely, they peter out just before they get to the point or signal!
Point & Signal Control – Points and signals are all operated by Tortoise slow action point motors. These are in turn wired to decoders (circuit boards) that are controlled by the Digitrax system. So points and signals are effectively controlled by the press of a button. In order to protect the signals from potential damage caused by excessive throw of the point motor, small clutch mechanisms, made by Modratec (intended for their wire-in-tube signal operation system), have been inserted between the motor and the signal.
Station Building and Other Buildings – I felt right from the start that the aim of making the layout look something like the real thing was going to stand or fall with the buildings. So I have spent quite a lot of time trying to make the station buildings look as authentic as possible.
Before starting the layout I had done quite a bit of research and had built up quite a library of photographs. I had also been several times to the Clwyd Record Office and had obtained some old (late 19th Century) plans of the station building. These were plan views only.
Before I started any actual building I copied the one of the plan views of the building, scaled it to 1:76th on the photocopier and then drew by hand the elevations, using the tried and tested technique of counting brick courses to estimate dimensions. (My school technical drawing skills from 35 years ago came in handy here!). Only once I was happy with the resulting set of plans did I start constructing the model.
During my research I had found a few good articles in model railway magazines on building construction and my construction techniques were greatly influenced by these. Generally speaking, the walls are made from a three-layer sandwich of plasticard, the outer layer being Slater’s embossed brick sheets and the others being 1mm plain plasticard. The three layer concept adds strength and rigidity to the walls and according to one of the articles I read, produces a warp resistant structure in the same way as 3-ply plywood. This is also why I have not generally mixed layers of card with layers of plasticard, as they react differently to changes in temperature and humidity. It made sense to me anyway! The multi-layer concept also has the advantage of adding depth to the window openings.
One of the distinctive features of the stations on the DR&C is the use of quoins and so these had to be incorporated into my model. Plastic quoins are available from Wills but they seem to be intended as overlays and I thought that would make them too prominent. Instead I cut back the embossed brick plasticard sheets to fit the profile of the quoins so that they would look more integral to the wall. This proved quite time consuming and fiddly and ended up with the use of quite a bit of filler but has, I hope, achieved the desired effect.
The style of windows at Eyarth and other DR&C stations was quite distinctive and I couldn’t find anything readymade that looked the part. So windows are individually made from Evergreen plastic strips of various thicknesses. These are mounted onto a small backing piece of plasticard, which has an opening in it the same size as the opening in the wall. It turned out to be a very fiddly job and if I had my time again, I would look into the cost of having some bespoke windows made professionally!
All brickwork was painted after the main walls were assembled to make the shell of the building. First, an all over coat of mortise coloured paint was applied. Then a second coat of brick coloured paint was “dry brushed” over the mortise coat. Dry brushing effectively means painting very lightly and with very little paint on the brush. That way, the embossed brick surfaces are painted but paint does not flow into the mortise joints, leaving the original colour showing. Finally, individual bricks were picked out in various different brick shades.
Chimneys are made in a similar way to main walls but on a smaller scale and only a two layer sandwich. Roofs are also a two layer sandwich, overlayed with self adhesive tiles from York Modelmaking. This is a move away from my principle of not mixing plastic and card but was forced on me by the limited size of Wills embossed roof tile sheets and my dissatisfaction with the profile of the larger Slaters embossed tile sheets. I have been very impressed with the York Modelling tiles. They are easy to cut and remove the backing and adhesion is very good. A little bit of care is needed to get row completely straight but any minor deviations are not apparent from normal viewing distances. Flashing around chimneys is just cut from sheet of grey photocopy paper that has been printed with a darker block of grey. I have used Wills and Ratio building detailing packs for gutters, chimney pots, downpipes and decorative chimney brickwork. The downpipes look to me to be a bit over scale but a reasonable compromise in terms of cost and availability versus accuracy.
The platelayer’s hut was built in the same way as the main building but on a smaller scale. The hut was still in place when I visited the station a couple of years ago so I took some photos and was then able to draw up some simple plans by brick counting. The main structure is the same three layer sandwich of plasticard but this time the roof is a single layer of wills embossed tiling. Interestingly, even with that small area, there is a little bit of sag – a validation of the 3 layer sandwich concept I have used elsewhere! Also interestingly, the real hut had no windows so neither does the model.
I did quite a bit of experimenting before I came up with a solution I was happy with to the peeling white wash that can been seen in photos of the line when it was in use. In the end, I painted all the brick work in the same way as for the main building and then, using some Humbrol “Maskol” masking solution I painted some small amounts onto the brick work before applying two coats of white matt enamel paint. Then I picked off the Maskol with tweezers and the white paint came away with it, revealing the original brickwork. But I found with my experiments that after two layers of white paint, the areas where Maskol had been painted was hard to identify. So when I did the hut I applied Maskol to one side at a time and then took a picture of it with my mobile phone while the Maskol was still wet and quite bright. I referred to the photos once I was ready to locate the Maskol to pick it off.
Other Structures – The road overbridge at the Ruthin end is a Wills kit, painted and weathered to better show the brick courses.
Telegraph poles are Ratio items. They are plastic and so are a little bit too flexible. Look particularly at poles at extreme ends, where tension is only in one direction. Perhaps hand made ones with brass poles would have been better. But I liked the level of detail that the Ratio poles have, so have stuck with them. The “wires” between each pole are actually Oingo-boingo wire, a soft of stretchable plastic. It was bought from an on-line modellers shop, “Modeller’s Warehouse”. After the poles had been painted, they were placed into pre-driller holes on a long piece of wood. The holes in the wood were closer than I intended to place the poles on the layout. The oingo boingo wire was then glued to the poles, with no tension, allowing for some sag. I decided it would have been too difficult to wire them up once they were on the layout. When the poles were placed on the layout, the wire stretched out to give a nice uniform finish. Prototypically, the wire should still have some sag in it but after experimenting I found it very difficult to get the same amount of sag and to stop the wires getting tangled. Hence the taught nature of the wires on the layout.
“Finishing” Items:
Station lights – are from DCC Concepts. I bought a value pack of LMS lights. Eyarth didn’t have nearly such extensive lighting but when I saw the DCC Concepts product I just had to have some on my station so I am assuming they were fitted later – but with a retro look.
The lights inside the station building are wired up LEDs and resistors, which came with the DCC Concepts lighting pack. LED’s seemed like a good idea as they don’t emit much heat – a factor when the building is made of plastic.
Flowers in the station gardens are from two sources. Lupins and Dahlias were from Busch. From close up they are quite plastic looking and are fiddly to put together – flower heads have to be cut from a sprue and attached to the stalks – but from normal viewing distance I think they look quite good. The other flowers are from a Gaugemaster pack (ultimately Noch I think).
Station fencing is from Ratio. It is branded GWR fencing but looks pretty similar to what was actually at Eyarth.
Figures are from a few sources. Some OO gauge ones but mostly Noch – slightly undersize because they are actually HO scale but since people’s heights do vary, its not too obvious. But I have made sure they are not placed too close to any OO scale ones.
The LNWR station seats are brass etches - from Shirescenes. So is the BRUT trolley.
The post box in the station forecourt is a Hornby Skaledale item.