Somewhere on the County Down

[Tullygrainey]

My Belfast and County Down stable has been quietly growing to the extent that it’s getting a bit crowded at Loughan Quay.

 

I’ve been toying with the idea for a while now of building a small layout for this stuff to run on, something fairly simple that could conceivably be taken out to exhibitions.

What I have in mind is a typical BCDR country through station with a goods siding.  I don’t plan to model an actual location - that’s too constraining (actually too difficult if I’m honest) but places like Tullymurry, Ballygowan and Ballygrainey are the sources of inspiration. The intention would be to select features from various places and bring them together in one layout.

Here’s a rough sketch of the likely track plan. Templot it ain’t but it’s fairly simple.

 

I wanted the scenic area to be a single board but the minimum length needed for the track plan ended up 15 cm too long to fit in the car so it’s now two boards and that being the case, I’ve taken the opportunity to stretch it out to 2 metres.

I’ve made a start on the boards, aiming to make them as light as possible, using plywood in various thicknesses (3.6mm, 5.5mm & 12mm) and MDF for the track bed, all largely assembled with wood glue. The strength of the design lies in the twin longitudinal L-beams on which everything is mounted. As far as I can gather, this approach to construction is fairly common but it’s the first time I’ve tried it. The end product is probably lighter than a traditional flat top with whitewood framing and it’s also considerably more rigid. We’ll see how well it stands up to handling.

 

Landscape profiling from cardboard and cereal packet.

 

I've parked work on the boards now to concentrate on some of the building and structures. I'm still trying to get an overview of how this thing will look and whether it will work. 

More soon

Alan

 

[Galteemore]

How exciting !  Am sure your Midas touch will soon bring this to life. Through station between Comber and Newcastle will allow a nice timetable without having to build loads of commuter carriages ! 

[Dunluce Castle]

Looking forward to watching this progress! 

[derek]

OH Yes , oh yes, oh yes! Can't wait to see this progress, Alan. I will be watching it like a hawk, so no slacking ha ha. In fairness, you have great headway made already. You will have to begin raiding the Costa again for the stirrers.............. Best of luck with it(layout not stirrers)

Derek

[Tullygrainey]

2 hours ago, derek said:

OH Yes , oh yes, oh yes! Can't wait to see this progress, Alan. I will be watching it like a hawk, so no slacking ha ha. In fairness, you have great headway made already. You will have to begin raiding the Costa again for the stirrers.............. Best of luck with it(layout not stirrers)

Derek

[jhb171achill]

WOW! Looking forward to seeing this develop!

[Metrovik]

Just thinking of the stock running on it is amazing!

[Mayner]

Best of luck with the new layout, great to see an open frame baseboard with L girder construction being used on an Irish outline layout.

[David Holman]

Very Iain Rice, Alan and none the worse for it either. Great to know all that lovely County Down stock will get its own bespoke setting.

[Tullygrainey]

1 hour ago, David Holman said:

Very Iain Rice, Alan and none the worse for it either. Great to know all that lovely County Down stock will get its own bespoke setting.

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

[David Holman]

Me too!

[Tullygrainey]

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

 

[Galteemore]

Lovely structure and beautifully observed weathering Alan 

[David Holman]

Magic! Hadn't thought about sanding down Wills random stone, let alone filling the mortar lines, but works really well. There is a clear (and very effective) artistic hand at work, Alan. Only have to look at your other models to see the connection. Proper job.