David Holman

I must have just missed Killaney, as I joined the Chatham and District Model Railway club in 1986, taking part in the first Dockyard exhibition in 87 and only missing two shows since then. Certainly have no recollection of seeing the layout and clearly missed the chance to meet our Mayner before he headed off to the other side of the world! Shame on both counts. For my sins, I am now club chairman and very much involved in organising this year's exhibition on 2nd and 3rd of June. Having spent much of the morning going over Shannon and test running on Arigna Town, fingers crossed, she will be appearing at the show and hopefully also next weekend, 12/13 at Derby Roundhouse. More about Shannon soon, but she is certainly a tour de force - built in a very different way to how we tackle things today.

Royalty takes up residence at Arigna Following Richard Chown's death last year, his vast collection of models and layouts were made available for purchase. For those of you who don't know about Richard, he built Castle Rackrent in his bedsit in the early 1970s. It is 16' long and eventually was developed into a vast system around 200' long. Various stations have been sold off, including one which will be at Cultra this year and, I believe, then take up residence in the former barber's shop in Enniskillen. Given that I have often said in these pages that, apart from Richard, I seemed to be the only person around doing proper [36.75mm] broad gauge in 7mm scale, it was only right to put in a few bids for locos and stock. It was tempting to go for his model of Lissadell, which ran on Arigna Town at Manchester in December 2016 [when I was privileged to meet the great man], but already having two SLNCR 'Small Tanks', I didn't really need a third - even if it did come in early Sligo livery with a polished brass dome. Instead, I cast my lot for one of the original Castle Rackrent locos: Waterford, Limerick & Western 0-6-0, Shannon - and much to my delight my bid secured this historic model locomotive. Shannon is quite an old lady, appearing in Richard's article in the March 1975 Railway Modeller & have included one of Cyril Freezer's photos from this. She is therefore well over 40 years old and, according to the short article, was Richard's first ever scratch built engine. Given her age, she is in pretty good condition and seems to run well. Indeed, she was part of the regular Castle Rackrent running sessions up to June last year. The photos show her in 'as received' condition - more than a bit dusty and with paintwork a bit scuffed, but not bad for her age! It is going to be interesting to examine how the loco was built. First impressions are there seems to be a high quality motor [maybe and RG7?], plus what appears to be a speaker in the tender. Not sure if the loco is DCC though, it may be something like a Pacific Fast Mail analogue unit. If anyone out there knows, please tell me. Am hoping to include Shannon on the Arigna Town operating sequence. She fits on the turntable [just!] and came with three brake vans. All have Alex Jackson couplings, so it will be interesting to see if I can work these with the magnets I have for my Dingham auto couplings. Any info on the brake vans will also be welcome too, please. Will aim to report on my findings over the next few weeks, but what I would also be interested in is what folk think about possibly updating Shannon? I don't intend anything major to the bodywork, just a general clean up and maybe touch up the paintwork here & there, but there is a gaping space between the frames that is begging for working inside valve gear, as per my Sir Henry 0-6-4T. Is that something I should be doing, or should I respect this historic model's heritage and keep it as it is?

Never seen buildings made with drawers before, but hugely effective. Am now going through all the things one might keep in there!

Great stuff, JB. Always exciting starting a new project - may the force be with you.

Don't know if anyone out there is interested, but am taking Arigna Town to the Gauge 0 Guild Convention at Telford this year on 1st-2nd September. My usual operator is not available, so if you think you might like to help, send me a personal message. The Guild is not exactly generous with expenses, so you'll need to be fairly local [or intending to go anyway]. However you'll certainly get in free and lunch is also included. One or two people for each day. The layout is simple to operate [wire in tube points and signals], analogue control, but does use three link couplings. As I really only need spelling for lunch, plus a chance to look round, there will be every opportunity to enjoy the show. Here's hoping!

Interesting! The monochrome pictures certainly appear to show that the corner plates, side and top ironworks are something much darker, with the anglework on each end the same colour as the body. One would assume the ironwork would rust fairly consistently, so is it indeed dark rust, or black paint? The covered vans show darker colouring on the door hinges, but not so the convertible cattle vans. Vic Welch's painting on the cover of the original Patterson history shows dark grey underframes on the coaches, but the paintings on the later version suggest coaches were the same all over, as per much of the rest of Ireland. Artistic licence? As there appears to be no colour photos anywhere of the CVR, it seems we are reduced to conjecture. Maybe it is the dark rust that Martyn Welch describes? Gunmetal 53, Bauxite 133 and oily black (2000 series)? Either way, that nearest corner plate in the photo shows clear signs of texture, but is it peeling paint or rust? If it was a 16mm scale wagon, I might be more concerned, but as the model is only 10cm long and normal viewing distance is at least 60cm, perhaps I shouldn't worry. It would be nice to know though!

Back to the wagon works The next stage for Fintonagh will be to make sure everything runs as it should, so before that, there is a need to complete sufficient wagon stock. I've probably got enough vans for now, but the Clogher had a fair few open wagons, so these have become the focus of my attention. If I'm honest, it has not been much fun either - a trial of endurance, rather than a labour of love... At first thought, there's not much to making an open wagon - two ends, two sides and a floor - plus an etched chassis kit from Branchlines. Quick and easy, right? Wrong. Norman Johnston's revised version of E M Patterson's history of the CVR has some lovely photos of rolling stock, including a three quarter view of an open wagon which shows all manner of fine detail. Not just things like the strapping, but all sorts of rivet and bolt head detail, plus cleats for tarpaulin ropes, strapping along the tops of the sides and brackets to hold these in place. I considered doing a master for one side and end, to cast copies as per the vans. However, as I want several empty or lightly loaded opens, this meant interior detailing was required and I've yet to master that technique. I guess I could have cast sides and ends, then added an inner layer from plastic sheet, but that would have required an absolutely flat rear, plus the planks and bolt detail would have needed embossing on too. So, instead, I decided to apply the rivets and bolts individually and there are over 200 of the damned things on each wagon! No doubt anyone reading this is starting to question my sanity and I'm not sure I will disagree. I could have floated on squares of plastic strip, I could have riveted inner and our sides, then laminated them together, but in the end, I drilled a hole for each rivet and pushed a piece of 30 thou plastic rod into the hole, before trimming to size. I think it took about two hours to drill nearly 1000 0.75mm holes, then each wagon took an hour and a half to fit and trim the rivets. All in all, each wagon is made up of over 300 individual parts. Was it worth it? I'll tell you when they are finished. At the moment, the bodies have been sprayed with grey primer & the interiors painted as per Martyn Welch's book with a mixture of Humbrol 110 [natural wood], 64 [grey] and matt black. Ironwork looks to have been black on the prototype, with white lettering. The chassis is fairly regulation etched brass, though I've used Slater's 7mm scale wagon bearings instead of the 4mm versions suggested. I drill a 1mm hole in the bottom of each top hat bearing & the 'pinpoint' end of the axles goes in here. Because I'm using Kadee couplings and permanent magnet uncouplers, I've replaced the steel axles with ones made from 2mm brass rod. I cut it to approximate length, then put a pinpoint on each end by simply twirling it between my finger and thumb whilst pressing against a slitting disk in a Dremel. Crude, but effective. So, next time you pick up a simple wooden bodied open wagon, examine the fine detail that has been moulded in place and marvel at how cheap all that work is to buy.

Splendid! Love the way the railway sits firmly in the urban landscape. Such scenes are rare in British models and rarer still in the Irish scene, I'm guessing. Raised tracks, large, complex buildings are not easy, while the artistic skills involved in pulling them all together are considerable. Deserves a wider audience, so very much hope we will eventually see articles in one or more of the major magazines. Definitely one to watch.

Not my scene, but always good to see quality like this. Very classy.

Sounds good to me. Another key factor is to paint with the same sort of lighting you intend displaying under. Flourescent tubes are terrible at leaching out colour if you painted under incandescent bulbs. I have both in my workshop and with just the overhead flourescent on, colours are flat and lifeless. These days, I exhibit with LED lighting, but again, there are various tones. I use a combination of warm and cool white, which seems to work well as a bright cloudy day.

Can only agree with JB, Tony - less is more sometimes, so don't add track at the expense of scenery or the layout will end up looking crowded.

Only just found this and its very useful indeed. However, before anyone gets hung up on colours, remember, not only is everything very much in the eyes of the beholder, males of the species need to be aware that our perception of 'green' changes as we grow older. Unlike females, whose colour perception remains strong throughout like - which enables them to delight in telling us the faults in our dress sense! So, if you want to know if colours look right - ask a lady, especially if the colour is green.

Hiding a hole in the sky A tricky one this, one which I have pondered long and hard over. Fintonagh has two exits to the fiddle yard - the main line, which exits behind the warehouse [so easy to hide] and the track which exits at the front edge of the layout, to the goods yard and exchange sidings. The latter poses problems because it is right on the front edge and though there is 10cm of fascia to provide a bit of screening, the hole in the backscene was all too visible the further to the right any observer will be standing. The solution I've used is in two parts: firstly a large advertising hoarding, and behind that a half relief tree, I'm saying hawthorn. Will now wait for someone to say that the Guinness poster isn't correct - though my defence is that it was cut & pasted from a Google search of 1930s adverts. No worries - it is easily changed, just point me in the right direction - getting such details right is all part of the fun.And, by and large, the two items do a fair job of hiding the hole in the sky. The 'Unit' is bringing a short rake of vans from the exchange sidings, which will then be added to the next departing train.

I have a GW Models rivetting tool that is similar and that certainly works well on plastics up to 20 thou (0.5mm) thick. The MDF table takes it to a new level though. Must remember to make one before I start my next brass kit. So much to enjoy and learn on this thread. Thanks Eoin!

Madder Valley is definitely going to be operated one day this year. Check out the Pendon website for details. Well worth seeing static anyway. As one of the granddaddies of scenic modelling, there as many artistic tricks that still have value today.

Gorgeous!

That may be so, but sinuous curves are naturally very attractive to the eye(!) and straight lines are often best avoided on layouts. Likewise anything parallel to the baseboard edge. On the real thing, track tended to follow contours and natural features, so flowing curves are actually more common than you might think. Hence anything that softens edges, draws the eye into the scene, makes you peer around some feature in the front and so on, all help to make a layout look bigger and more interesting. On a narrow baseboard, it can be difficult to avoid tracks that are parallel to the edge, so going slightly diagonally is an option. Alternatively, small, non structural additions to the baseboard front can do the same thing.

Alternatively, take one Chinchilla, put in a freezer for two days and then put through the coffee grinder - preferably twice. Needless to say, Broithe is correct. Comes in one kilo bags. Fine sand works just as well.

Indeed, JB - I can easily start salivating at the thought! Not enough space to do it justice though.

A couple of pictures for you showing how the scenery has been progressing this week. See the Workbench section for details of how it was done.

Trees and scenics It seemed to take a long time to complete the buildings and back scene, so it is pleasant to report that the basic scenics on board two have been much quicker. I want to produce a 'signature' tree, to hide the liberties I've taken with the back scene's perspective, so out came Gordon Gravett's book on the subject. His take on the twisted wire method for trees is interesting, because instead of unravelling a large hank of cable or wire, he starts with single strands & therefore builds up the model in reverse. It works well too. Using florists wire, you twist two or three strands together for an inch or two below the end of the branch, leaving the rest of the strands straight. You make enough of these to complete the thickness of trunk you want and bind them together with more wire from the base upwards, [creating the branches as you go] leaving a projecting section to go in the ground. On mine, I glued this in a length of brass tube, which then sits in a slightly larger piece of tube set in the baseboard. That is as far as I've got, because, while this only took an evening, the next stage - coating the wire with a PVA/artex mix takes ages, not least because a couple of coats or more are required. I don't have enough foliage material at the moment either! A second, half relief, tree has been made to help hide the front exit to the fiddle yard, past the warehouse. This has a more basic framework, again as described by Gordon in his book. A large advertising hoarding, shown by a sheet of foam board in the photo, will also hide the exit and hopefully suggest there is a road running in front of the layout [but off scene]. Am actually contemplating a front extension that might show this and create more depth - but not yet! So, could then turn my attention to the scenics. My preferred method is to first 'block in' the main areas [a bit like doing a painting], to get a feel for the work, then gradually work up the details. A static grass machine and puffer bottles make short work of tasks that would take many hours not that many years ago. Going a la Gravett again, the first stage is to prepare the ground surface. For me, this included improving the baseboard joint [bit of an earthquake crack up to now], then soften the track and ballast colours with weathering powders. Chinchilla dust was used for the yard surfaces [sprinkled on to gloss paint] and once all was dry, I could start the greenery. Hard to believe that this has only taken about three hours. I put down a layer of ground foam first [so the grassed areas don't look like a lawn], then after wetting with dilute PVA, got to work with the static grass machine. There are 3-4 different shades and two different lengths of fibres to give variety. I hoover up the excess fairly quickly, as it encourages the fibres to stand up better. Then, after this layer has dried, there is further fun to be had adding weeds and flowers. I dip a finger in PVA and wipe it lightly across the tops of the grass. Fine ground foam is then sprinkled on top. I've used Greenscene 'crumb' [light green and slightly larger], Woodlands fine medium green, plus their dark green with some white flower crumb mixed in. This is what really brings the scene to life and provides the all important variety of colour and texture you find in the real thing. So, coming on well, I think, though I want to do a lot more detailing, including a few larger shrubs and [lots of] nettles.

One of those projects that might have been quicker and easier to scratch build, but if it is enjoyable, then why not? Looking good too!

Thanks everyone, as ever - I always value your 'proof reading' of my posts. The main line snaking off stage, as Mayner nicely puts it, is exactly what I want to portray. Would love to have included a full on Clogher scene with a stretch of line running down the middle of the street, with buildings closing in on either side. Sadly, not enough space within the two metres available to me and viewing would be difficult too, hence the suggestion of the line heading for the middle of the road as it goes off scene. I suppose one option could have been the town, forget which one, where the line descends down the street at 1 in 30, followed by a right angle turn at 1.5 chains. That equals 100 feet, so 700 mm in my scale, where 900mm is getting tight! That would produce an interesting set of viewing angles. Could make a neat idea for the 00n3 project on another recent thread.

The Ulster and Connaught has always been an idea worth considering. Never happened of course, but a trans Ireland narrow gauge link from Newry to Clifden offers you a wealth of 'might have beens.' The U&C would have used the C&L as part of its route, so setting your layout somewhere nearby, or just inventing a name would be a decent option. As for track plans, there are plenty to choose from, though Iain Rice has done lots with his latest Cameo Layouts book a good start. A personal favourite is having a 'terminus junction' with the fork just off scene, or a second line trailing in from the fiddle yard that can serve anything from a harbour branch to a standard gauge exchange siding.

Buildings nearly finished! The photos may not at first sight appear to show a big difference from last time, but this has been one of those periods when a lot of work doesn't always translate into great effect. The most noticeable feature is the warehouse. It has been there for a long time, but in 'raw' form - just scribed DAS clay on a foam board core. Work has involved making the doors and windows, adding the hoist girder, guttering and down pipes, then internal floors and the roof tiling of course. After much deliberation, decided it would be a seed merchant & animal feed warehouse. At the moment, the hoist/lucam has little about it, but may well open up one of the doors and add a figure inside, along with a dummy hoist/chain/load. We'll see. Along the low relief back scene, some tidying up has been done to chimneys, trees and the like, then attention transferred to the road and pavements. Found some etched brass drain and manhole covers [Langley Models] and after blackening with gun blue, these were fixed in place. Pavements are cut from sticky address labels [pre-painted with enamels] & then weathered with washes & powders. The road surface was initially talcum powder on gloss paint. Once dry, I sanded it smooth with fine wet & dry paper & this had the interesting effect of making a range of shades, not unlike a road drying out after rain. Hence went over it with Humbrol 'satin cote' varnish to develop the effect. It was always intended to have a low wall separating the main street from the tramway station/yard, so that came next. As on Arigna Town it is made from Wills random stone glued to foam board & topped with capping stones made from DAS clay. A few creepers & grass/weeds complete the effect. Finally comes the yard gate. This is based on the design of the crossing gates at Brookeborough on the CVR main line. The gate is plastic strip and the posts are balsa. Eventually, I hope to make the gates swing open & closed. On a small layout like this, such little cameos help to expand interest - or I hope so! Next steps will involve completing the ground cover on the second baseboard. Two more structures are required - the large tree mentioned previously [to hide some of the liberties i've taken with perspective on the painted back scene, plus a large advertising hoarding to help hide the hole in the sky at the front edge of the layout.