Beagnach end: A Branchline terminus.

[LNERW1]

Ballast looks better than mine... yours isn't covering the sleepers anyway! Pond looks great too. Congrats on making any progress at all. I know I haven't.

[derek]

22 hours ago, Metrovik said:

I used this stuff,  https://www.marksmodels.com/?pid=46076

purely because it seemed a lot less confusing than All the different types of woodland scenics water and most importantly because it was right beside the ballast glue on the shelf.

Sheesh, never came across that stuff before. It does look a lot simpler than the W/S stuff ok. Oh well, I have it now so I am gonna use it even if it kills me. The W/S water was a lot more expensive too- 33 euro I think. And I am not too sure how much it will cover. Hopefully do my river from one box. Hopefully.............

[LNERW1]

Looking at the schedule, next post will be on my birthday! Quite a nice present tbh.

[LNERW1]

On 16/7/2024 at 2:39 PM, DJ Dangerous said:

 

You're way off with the prototypical sign:

 

 

That went over my head the first time I read it…

[LNERW1]

I'll be seeing you on Sunday anyway, but for the benefit of those not so lucky, any news on the layout?

Edited October 25, 2024 by LNERW1
-looks at typo, sees typo, posts anyway.

[Metrovik]

Oh my god, it was August when I last posted a "monthly" progress report..... 

While it has been a very long time, being snowed in has allowed me to make some very decent progress. Firstly the plan has changed somewhat. The layout is now set firmly on the Waterford and tramore railway and despite looking nothing like either of the stations is a rough (emphasis on rough) representation of a scaled down Tramore station. (New layout name: Trá beag?) 

To reflect Tramore station a bit more accurately, I got rid of that ugly flat roof and added a second storey. 

The real world ain't flat so similarly to the actual station I'll be adding grass behind the platform and beside the running line. Does anyone know can you apply static grass directly to a wooden baseboard?

And finally I have managed to assemble a somewhat prototypicalish W&T passenger train.

Let's hope next month comes a bit sooner eh?

[LNERW1]

30 minutes ago, Metrovik said:

Does anyone know can you apply static grass directly to a wooden baseboard?

It’s probably best to unify the surface below the grass- this is an assumption however and not out of experience. Painting all surfaces that will have grass on them with a dark brown paint should give a realistic base colour that looks like soil and a more uniform texture. Another tip I’ve heard- pretty obvious but still important- is to use more than one colour of grass, and keep in mind what time of year your layout is set. Hope this helps.

[Noel]

2 hours ago, Metrovik said:

Does anyone know can you apply static grass directly to a wooden baseboard?

Yes you can and I’ve done it, but it is better to have base boards primed with undercoat paint or a sealer. Track underlay, ballast pva and static grass bind to it better. Many folks paint a dark brown colour under their static grass which gives an earthy soil look if there are any bare bits and also better bonding for the PVA. Unsealed wood just soaks up vast amounts of PVA. Looking good. Nice project. Frequently folks apply static grass to plaster cloth land scape shapes, banks, embankments, hills, etc, which its white so painting brown before static grass avoid ‘white’ bleed through any bare patches of grass. Baseboard  being wood helps as it’s already brownish.

[Galteemore]

Gordon Gravett also recommends a coating of scatter crumb before static application. This adds body and depth to the grass.

[Mol_PMB]

I use a surface coating mix of artex plaster, PVA and brown poster paint, and then on the final layer I sprinkle on the finest grade of brown ballast to add texture. That gives a great basis for the vegetation.

[LNERW1]

On 7/1/2025 at 5:54 PM, Metrovik said:

Oh my god, it was August when I last posted a "monthly" progress report..... 

While it has been a very long time, being snowed in has allowed me to make some very decent progress. Firstly the plan has changed somewhat. The layout is now set firmly on the Waterford and tramore railway and despite looking nothing like either of the stations is a rough (emphasis on rough) representation of a scaled down Tramore station. (New layout name: Trá beag?) 

To reflect Tramore station a bit more accurately, I got rid of that ugly flat roof and added a second storey. 

The real world ain't flat so similarly to the actual station I'll be adding grass behind the platform and beside the running line. Does anyone know can you apply static grass directly to a wooden baseboard?

And finally I have managed to assemble a somewhat prototypicalish W&T passenger train.

Let's hope next month comes a bit sooner eh?

Next month did not, in fact, come sooner. However you are still beating me on progress. My last update was me whinging about burnout- I think. So again you’re beating me out at least.

[Metrovik]

These progress reports are becoming bi-yearly.....

As you can see, Tramore now has civilization! Obviously still needs painting weathering and detailing, but that's a nice job. 

A small makeshift backscene has also been added in the shape of a painting of Strand Road. While it still looks nothing like the real location, I think it captures the feel. 

Right now I'm trying to choose a colour for the terraced houses. I'm leaning towards the top brown for the main walls and the lighter grey for the sills etc. All I'm certain of is that the yellow is definitely out!

I'm quite happy with this scratchbuilt facade of the "Hotel De Luxe" (formerly the Marine hotel and now the Sands) especially considering the limited reference photos I had to work from.  I'm probably going to paint this in the lighter grey.

All but one came from that faithful day in 1947 when the engine didn't stop. And that one comes from a totally different era....

Anyway enough of that. I now have a deadline on the Horizon. An Exhibition! (well sort of.)

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Metrovik
Typo

[Mol_PMB]

Very nice work on the buildings!

They look like two different incidents to me. 560 and 555 appear to be opposite ways round yet each off the track in the middle of the road.

560 is on my list to build (in post-W&T condition) and I do like a loco that's been in a bit of an incident!

[Metrovik]

6 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Very nice work on the buildings!

They look like two different incidents to me. 560 and 555 appear to be opposite ways round yet each off the track in the middle of the road.

560 is on my list to build (in post-W&T condition) and I do like a loco that's been in a bit of an incident!

Sorry I probably should have zoomed out the picture. 

555 is on a rescue mission!

[Mol_PMB]

2 minutes ago, Metrovik said:

Sorry I probably should have zoomed out the picture. 

555 is on a rescue mission!

Ah, wonderful - many thanks!

[Patrick Davey]

Nice work! Good to see another update!