David Holman

The last couple of weeks, have been spent tidying up the platform area, something I'd been putting off because of concerns about getting colours and textures right. Salvation came in the form of Gordon Gravett's book on Scenics. At the back is a really useful guide on the effect of talc, sand, chinchilla dust, etc on different coloured gloss enamel paint. First though, I needed to address the 'fill in' pieces of the platform, intended to disguise the baseboard joint as it simply wasn't working. The vertical face of the platform was given a new piece, which when scribed and snapped for the joint hides the crack really well. The platform surface was then relaid, but instead of 20thou paving slabs across the gap, I used filler instead, which has subsequently been sanded smooth and scribed to represent the slabs. This part of the surface was then painted with gloss pale grey, mixed with a small amount of gloss tan, then liberally dusted with talc Once dry, the whole lot was vacuumed clean, then gone over with grey weathering powder, making sure this was worked into the cracks between the slabs. The rest of the platform surface was given a coat of gloss black, then covered in chinchilla dust, which provides a nice gravel effect. The coping stones were done slightly different to the main paving slabs, using a darker gloss grey, with the talc again. Meanwhile the platform wall [Wills random stone] needed filling with DAS clay where the separate sheets join together. All the stone wall sections have been painted with a fairly dark grey, the dry brushed with lighter grey and individual stone picked out in places. Another addition has been the station name board, simply made with the lettering done on the computer, printed and then stuck on a sheet of 20thou plastic. This was then framed with 40x60 strip and the two posts made from 125x60 strips laminated together. The last few pictures have a SLNCR flavour, with Small Tank 'Fermanagh' arriving with a short mixed train. Following Mayner's advice, a four lever ground frame has been placed at the end of the platform, though this still needs setting up properly. You may notice the trees have changed too. For some reason the Woodlands Scenics 'crumb' was refusing to stick to their polyfibre, so removed all the foliage and replaced it with the same firm's scenic matting. Whatever the reasons, this seems to stick much better.

Great atmosphere. Love the b&w pic of the J15.

Many thanks John, much appreciated!

Such a pretty little engine and now a very pretty model. Especially like the hybrid construction, making the most of new and traditional materials/techniques. Perfect for this sort of project and so effective!

Am pondering what, if any, signalling might have been at Northport Quay. One engine in steam would have been the rule, but with a passenger service, at least one point just after the tunnel would have needed a facing lock. The other three points would probably have been worked by hand levers. Am assuming there would have been a home signal, off scene, on the other side of the tunnel, with a starter for a train leaving and a ground signal controlling entry to the loop, probably worked off the point. There's not room for even a small signal cabin, so am thinking maybe a four lever ground frame, on the platform and unlocked by the single line staff, will suffice. Any thoughts welcome.

Nothing is sacred these days and there is a scam currently targeting those who advertising in Peco publications, RM and CM in particular. Looks like a fairly basic affair - you have put a small ad in the magazine and somebody from Peco rings you up to say there is a problem with payment and they need your bank details. Not them of course and all a bit pathetic really, but as ever, beware.

Straight out of the Beaumont/Carse album!

Saw this little gem at Eastleigh today and it is every bit as good as it looks, complete with some subtle and effective weathering.

Full of character.

Splendid. Well done!

Coming on nicely, though would be tempted to ease the ramp up to the bridge. Looks about 30 degrees, which is 1 in 2, or twice as steep as the steepest road in normal use.

Yep, some little beauties.

Think you are safe with the goods shed wall

Always something rather satisfying about drawing plans out full size and there is a nice, spacious look to it. Know what you mean about spraymount, picked up a can the other day in The Range and didn't think about the price till the checkout was asking me a tenner for it. Big can though and, a bit like diesel now, will have to be careful how I use it!

The Puffer does indeed come with a mast and derrick, while am fairly sure the photo shows a 'Vic'. Victualling ships were built after WW2 as tenders to service large warships parked off shore. Vic 96 is preserved and lives in Chatham Dockyard and very fine she is too. Built as late as 1948, she could pass for anything built in the previous 70 years, with her vertical bow. Am eventually hoping my Puffer will look like similar to the ship above. Future prospective operators note that Northport Quay is already booked to appear at the Uckfield Show in October 2023, after which am hoping it will alternate with Fintonagh at future shows. Not saying Belmullet will never go out again, but it is quite an undertaking to move and exhibit, so will probably just be a home layout. NPQuay is very much designed to be easy to move and transport and as all exhibitors know, layouts all get heavier as we get older... As for back scenes, I do a lot of browsing through photos in books [the Beaumont/Carse volumes are excellent for this] to look for ideas, though good old Google can be good too. Often, it is no single scene that gets chosen, instead I tend to bookmark elements that seem interesting and try to combine them into something that fits the space available. The Blue Anchor signal box and crossing is a great example for development by the look of it.

Works for me, though guess it would really as all my Irish projects have been based on a similar premise. Would love to do the Swilly in 7mm scale, or better still 10mm on 0 gauge track. Ain't gonna happen without a lottery win though and as I don't but tickets that limits things even more! Ramelton, with its delightful quayside, definitely looks like it should ghost ave a railway.

Thanks folks! Works better in photos, than reality, because photos are only 2D. However, things like the walls, gates, buildings and so on all help to break up the view. Smoke and mirrors really.

Things are slowly moving forwards, away from the backscene now. The harbour office has been finished & decided it would make sense for there to be a gate to guard against public access to the quayside, so made one from plastic strip and added a couple of hefty gate posts too. The sea wall has been worked on, with representation of large stone blocks scribed on to the Das coating - Donaghadee harbour the inspiration here. Also thought it would be useful for there to be some lighting & found a standard lamp and a wall bracket one in the spares box, which have been added. At the moment, these have been painted red, to match the doors on the big warehouse [based one ones at Rathmelton], the idea being that this is the colour scheme of the harbour company. Saying the public will not be allowed on the quayside is not actually true though, as it is envisaged foot passengers will make their way across the tracks and down steps to a small ferry which will take them to/from a group of unspecific off shore islands. Some thin balsa has been put down to indicate where the board crossings will be & as such mark a major piece of future work, namely the ground cover, which will be a mix of granite setts and larger stone blocks. A fair bit of Das clay and a lot of scribing to be done eventually. One of these days, the temptation of the Clyde Puffer kit is going to get the better of me, though am still looking at ways of adapting it into a small coaster - giving it a high forecastle and moving the funnel behind the wheelhouse is currently favourite. In the meantime my GSWR passenger train has been posed for some pictures to help set the scene.

Haven't used RMWeb for a long time, so disappointing to hear things not going well at the moment. However, size matters, as the saying goes and the larger the forum, the more managing it requires, especially if it becomes prone to more extreme views. IRM is so friendly and helpful, I rarely go anywhere else, unless a wider Google type search is needed. That said, when I do go off piste, looking for something obscure, it is often not long before I find myself taken back to IRM, looking at something I have posted myself, including maps of my fictitious projects, which is a bit worrying. This forum will do me nicely, so many thanks to all those involved!

Great work, Mike. Signals are such delicate, fiddly things to build, but so worthwhile when done as well as this.

Modelling has to be good to poke the camera in that close! Fine work.

Wow. Where to start? No idea really. The vision, the skill, the running, the... oh for goodness sake! Quite possibly one of the finest model railways anywhere. To follow the movie, now needs an album and a novel - though preferably not a musical and certainly a major series in the Model Press. Quite remarkable and to say 'well done' is not enough but thank you and keep sharing.

You've struck a rich vein here, Jb! Wonderful stuff from Mayner, JHB and Galteemore. Knowledge like this is pure gold dust. The Collooney to Sligo line must have been interesting in the early 1900s, with the MGW, WL&W, GS&W and the SLNCR all present. Modeller's Licence is always a good excuse and my early 1900s stock stretches things by assuming the GSW didn't take over the WLW until about 1905, while if the line to Belmullet was built as a joint venture, that also gives me more options, albeit tenuous. For example, my GSW F6 2-4-2T has come North from the Valencia line because the Belmullet route is very similar, so is being tried out there. It would have been a major journey for a Sligo tank from Enniskillen to Belmullet, but Sligo to there would just about have been in range. Based on the Achill line, Wolf Dog and E class would have been at home for the Midland, while my beloved WLW Shannon (built by Richard Chown 50 years ago) would have got to Belmullet because of the Canadian Pacific mail traffic. Unfortunately, none of this solves your stock problem, but Galteemore's idea of concentrating on Midland infrastructure has a lot going for it. The argument that you should be able to identify a railway without seeing any of its trains is a good one, with most having signature items like buildings, signals and so on. Ernie Shepherd's history vital here. Get that right and using the two foot rule, generic stock will blend in well enough. Plus of course, none of us woke up one morning suddenly able to kit or scratchbuild and though it takes time to learn, it is certainly VERY rewarding and folk on this forum are endlessly encouraging.

Superb. Thanks Mark!

Excellent stuff - well worth the effort. Very much what I'm thinking of for Northport Quay.