Tullygrainey

Like the river Derek. That water is very convincing.

T H A N K S P A T R I C K

I used Neill’s Hill, just over 2 miles out from Queen’s Quay on the BCDR main line through East Belfast, as the basis for a model of a country station building for this layout. The original building is long since demolished though a number of photographs exist. It had a fairly typical BCDR look but with less of the special brickwork on station buildings like Cultra or Carnalea which make them trickier to model well. It's not a slavish copy of Neill's Hill, more a nod in that direction. The pics are self-explanatory I hope. Brickwork is Slater’s English Bond plasticard, windows, doors and roof tiles came from York Modelmaking and the chimney pots are 3D prints from ModelU. Paint was applied, removed and re-applied so many times in the course of trying to get the effect I wanted that I reckon the brickwork genuinely is weathered.

Re: LED lighting strips. This is sort of thing I've used. It comes on a reel and can be cut to length.

Welcome Adam. You'll find a friendly atmosphere and plenty of support here. No matter what the question, someone will have the answer. If you're planning to take your layout out to exhibitions, it might be wise to consider some form of lighting for it. Some locations can be a bit dark and won't show your work off to best effect. Even a simple wooden batten supported at each end a couple of feet above the layout with some LED strips glued to it will make all the difference. LED strips of the sort intended for under-cupboard worktop lighting in kitchens can be had fairly cheaply on-line and they usually come with a power supply. Go for 'warm white'. Best wishes Alan

Wonderful!

High Level Kits sell a very nice etched chassis kit for the Class 03, designed to go under the Bachmann rtr model. https://www.highlevelkits.co.uk/product-page/br-class-03dm I built one a while back and clad it with the body from a Dapol ex-Airfix plastic kit. It runs beautifully thanks to its typically sweet High Level gearbox and a clever arrangement called "Illusodrive" that gets round the usual difficulty of getting the jackshaft to play ball with the coupling rods. A High Level chassis kit coupled with a scratch built/kit bashed body ought to be viable. I think I've just acquired another project The sharp-eyed will notice that in the pic above, the rear crankpin is missing its nut! Alan

Thanks Derek. Believe me though, I’m not joking. I never feel in control of weathering. I mostly get there in the end but usually by the scenic route, having been round the houses a fair few times.

Very fine modelling Mol! Love the CVR models. I'm guessing the railcar and loco are scratch builds. Tell us a bit more about how they were made please. Alan

Beautiful finish. Looks really well.

Yes Apologies for causing confusion by calling it by every name but the right one! John is right. I used Wills SSMP200 'Coarse Stone'. I always thought the 'Random Stone' sheets looked a bit odd. I understand why now.

Thank you David. I find the Wills random stone very versatile stuff which can be made to look very different depending on what you do to it. It also seems to be equally useful in 4mm and 7mm. I used the filler trick quite a bit on The Stone Yard. It's a pity it comes in such small sheets!

First structure, a bridge. As far as I can see, BCDR bridges varied in style and construction but there is a bit of a house style and they do share one quality - they're indestructible. Witness the number which still stand beside realigned roads, in the middle of fields, in people's gardens or on country roads where they're still in use 70+ years after the railway closed. They never fall down. This one might be a bit less robust being made from foamboard, card, plastic and DAS clay. The Wills rough stone sheets were sanded and filed back to flatten the stonework a bit then coated in filler and wiped with kitchen roll to reduce the depth of the mortar lines. I haven't modelled round the back. This will be buried in the landscape. Paint does the rest. The brick lining the inside the arch has been added since the photo was taken. The bridge will form the scenic break at the left hand end with a country lane over it. Station building is underway. It's been a challenge with a fair bit of back and forward mainly because I struggle with weathering. More pics as soon as it's fit for human consumption. Alan

Thanks David. Yes, Iain Rice has been and continues to be a huge influence.