Railway Research Trip; Liverpewwwlll

This was an interesting research trip- the Museum of Liverpool, mainly to get some decent shots of the Overhead Railway exhibit.

Oh, and the magnificent "Lion"; I actually have one of Hornby's models of this, though not sure what to do with it. It was very much an impulse purchase with some reward points and money from an article a few years ago, so I took the opportunity to get some decent reference pics.

The set-up in this hall is pretty impressive; the recreated section of the Overhead Railway is really very impressive, it's such a shame there's only two cars from the old trains still survive.

There's the potential for a piece for Hornby later in the year, so again, it was all about getting reference pics.

Back to "Lion". The balconies allow some useful angles.

There's some interesting models in this gallery too; I love all these custom-designed, child-friendly interractive exhibits.

Some vintage tinplate, made in Liverpool. Always wanted one of those green tender locos.

A very impressive exhibit; the big model of the Festival site from the 1980's...

...and a slightly gloomily-lit model of the docks.

Mindyou, the real docks were a bit gloomy outside. Still, a useful visit, and at least there's something of the old Overhead Railway preserved. The Museums organisation have quite a few railway artefacts, some very rare, but they're stored out of sight. It's nice that at least some of it is on show though.

 

This Month in British Railway Modelling; Retaining Walls in 00

The second of this months pieces in BRM, and it's an article tied in with the modernised station from a couple of months ago. The build was this time to modify, customise, and personalise some Hornby retaining walls, the resin Ready to Plant ones.

Inspiration... those dark, huge retaining walls around Keighley...

...the sinuous brick around Llangollen Station...

...the overgrown slate walls of the Ffestiniog.

Here's a selection of what I had to work with- quite a lot of the walls, in different sizes. I was wondering what to do with so much ornate brickwork, and decided to turn for inspiration to the Stourbridge Town branch in the West Midlands; hence the choice of the Town station for the modernised steam-era station building article.

Chopping and modifying the walls; I'm quite paranoid about cutting resin, though with the very good reason that the dust will shred your lungs. I was also masked up for this, with the workshop door open.

I did some painting- fairly rough and ready, but these were going to be very heavily weathered.

Limescale deposits and various colour washes; Citadel acrylics, as usual.

Metal security fencing from Ratio platform fences.

Plan for the graffiti; as with the coach graffiti article a few issues back, using my own characters and designs.

This month's Hidden Hallie.

A bit of greenery added to the walls. These are meant to be in use, if neglected, on a barely-surviving branchline.

The diorama; at this stage when this article was shot, the station hadn't been added.

Dumped rubbish from odds and ends in the scrapbox.

A Mystery Door.

...and here it is, the article. I'll admit to not being one hundred percent happy with this one, it turned into a bit of a rush in the end, and there's odd bits I could have re-done, but hey-ho. The eventual plan is to upcycle these walls into a micro layout for the Hornby Collectors Club later in the year, so at least I'll get a second shot at this.

 

This Month in British Railway Modelling; Repurposed Signal Box in 00

Another double-month in British Railway Modelling, and a pair of projects in 00 scale. First-up, a laser-cut signal box kit. This was actually one of the first batch of kits I did for BRM, and I was on a bit of a mission to do projects that stood out; something a bit unusual. I don't know if the Editor expected what I went with, a signal box repurposed as a birdwatching hide.

Wait, what? That sounds a bit unusual Ben, surely you've not seen a real place that you used as inspiration for such a thing have you?

Why yes I have, rambling monologue, here in Penmaenpool, near Barmouth, West Wales, where the old Cambrian Railways/GWR route to Barmouth along the Afon Mawddach, closed in the 60's, has a repurposed 'box doing duty for the bird watchers.

Or at least, it did, though vexxingly it was closed for refurbishment when we visited last year.

Still, I was able to potter around and get some shots around the site for inspiration.

...such as this highly inspiring loo block.

The toll bridge was rather more interesting. A bit long to incorporate into the model mindyou.

So, here's the kit. A rather nice laser-cut affair, with with some very detailed windows. The real 'box this is based on is now holiday accommodation up in Scotch-Land, but I'd just come off the back of doing a summer/beach themed project and was a bit sick of holiday stuff, and decided to go down the Wildlife Preserve route instead.

Test-fitting the components. It had some spare sections, which was good as it provided fodder for modifying and scratch building. But at the same time, that roof was a little disappointing, and would need some modifications.

The roof panels were re-clad in some embossed plasticard; also not the spare parts used to make a locking-room (converted into another bird hide) on the end.

A bit of an experiment; using plasticard channel to make a large, picture window. I thought it would allow me to slide-in the glazing after painting, and it would let me show off the interior a bit.

Primed, needing some fettling and filling.

The glazing was the most involved bit; the kit design provides for various fidelity options, from no glass to pretty much flush-glazed. I used packing materials cut down for the glass in the windows.

In goes the picture window. The paint was dry brushed Citadel acrylics, with some washes afterwards to pick out the plank lines.

A suitably animal-themed name for the crossing.

Also, some custom-made signaege.

For the scenic diorama, it was time, again, to raid the scrap box for something a bit like Penmaenpool. Here, the signal box would (as with the real location) sit adjacent to an abandoned level crossing, and a toll bridge.

For the toll bridge itself, I turned to the venerable Airfix Pontoon Bridge kit, picked up spares/repairs off eBay.

A bit of extra plasticard, and the supports from a Hornby Elevated Track set, did the job.

The rest of the scenics involved some static grass and grass sheets, and lots, and lots, of bits of odd greenery and bushes.

And there's the set; about 30cm by 45cm, a bit bigger than I'd planned but it came out looking ok in the end. 

My favourite view, from the viewpoint of someone getting their feet wet, admittedly. 

The overgrown level crossing, and toll hut (the old Permanent Way shed).

View off the bridge; note the platform of the old station behind.

Trackbed converted into a footpath, with cafe and loo block in a portacabin.

I absolutely loved how this one turned out; something a bit different. I have a thing for derelict and repurposed railways (which are far more common in the UK than active railway lines and infrastructure in most of the places I've lived), and this allowed me to channel some of that enthusiasm into a project. I could have just done a straightforward build, and to be honest, probably should have, but this one really got my imagination going.

And here it is in the mag; the wet-feet view headlining the piece.