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Our new Sentinels are now available!

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THE ’16XX’ IS HERE!

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HOW TO: MODEL A SHINGLE BEACH

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HOW TO: CREATE A REALISTIC EMBANKMENT

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HOW TO: MAKE A LIGHTWEIGHT BACKSCENE FROM ALUMINIUM

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LONDON BRIDGE PROGRESS UPDATE

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A weekend wonder

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HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN GRAFFITI TRANSFERS

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HOW TO CUSTOMISE A SIGNAL BOX KIT

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HOW TO: KEEP YOUR RAILS CLEAN

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HOW TO: USE PLASTER TO CREATE LIFELIKE ROCK FACES

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Detail on a deadline

A legacy layout

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HOW TO: SERVICE LOCOMOTIVES

HOW TO: DISTRESS PRIVATE OWNER WAGONS

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With the weather getting a bit warmer, **Peter Marriott** turns his attention to summer and describes how to make a beach with a difference.

Think ‘beach’ and you immediately picture smooth, sun-kissed sand. Perfect for building sandcastles (or digging holes if you prefer!), playing football or cricket or simply relaxing on a towel. Yet there are dozens of beautiful beaches around the UK where you can’t dig, play or relax because they comprise more shingle than sand.

From Scotland to the South Coast, East Anglia to North Devon, there are shingle beaches galore. Some are mixed with sand whereas others are nothing more than acres of smooth stones that make that distinctive clonking sound when you walk on them.

A sandy beach is quite easy to recreate in model form, but a shingle beach presents some challenges. Woodland Scenics offers the solution in the form of its bags of Talus– essentially small stones – which come in three grades: coarse, medium and fine.

Another good find from the Bachmann/ Woodland Scenics range was re-purposing the Scenecraft Sleeper Retaining Walls as groynes, the distinctive feature that you find on a beach that acts as a barrier to long-shore drift.

In fact, you can get pretty much everything you need for a pebbly, shingle beach from Bachmann/Woodland Scenics. That made modelling this small scene a very quick affair. Within a few hours, I had a scene where, with a bit of imagination, I could hear the waves washing over the stones, smell the salt of the sea and feel the breeze blowing my hair.

All I needed was the taste of fish and chips!

◆ Woodland Scenics • WC1274 Fine Brown Talus • WC1275 Medium Brown Talus • WC1276 Coarse Brown Talus (£6.50 each) • WA1937 ‘HO’ Windy Day Play (£13.25) • WA1939 ‘HO’ Outdoor Dining (£13.50)  
◆ Bachmann Scenecraft • 44-0153 Lifeguard hut (£15.95) • Wood Sleeper Retaining Walls (£13.95)  
**◆ Availability:** Bachmann stockists  
◆**Web:** _:a[www.bachmann.co.uk]{href='https://www.bachmann.co.uk' }_

◆ Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue  
◆ Craft knife with sharp blade r Bowls r Paint brushes r Plastic pipette

**1** I used a piece of white foam to provide a lightweight base and then used plaster cloth to make the profile of a beach. Cut out small pieces of the base foam to make rock pools.

**2** The surface was covered with a thin layer of plaster, coloured with a little brown paint. Set the Scenecraft retaining walls into the plaster. A little Scenic Glue helps to fix them into place. Leave to dry.

**3** It’s worth studying pictures of real beaches to get a feel for where to place the different grades of Talus. I used all three sizes – fine, coarse and medium. Be careful to maintain depressions within your rock pools.

**4** Use a plastic pipette to spread Scenic Cement over the loose Talus. Once the first coat has dried, cover the whole area again to ensure a permanent bond. This has worked well and the beach has remained stable.

**5** Line the edge of the baseboard with masking tape to prevent the water solution from leaking all over the place. I used Woodland Scenics’ Realistic Water for the first layer. Apply using the supplied instructions.

**6** A layer or two of Realistic Water will leave a nice, flat, glossy water surface. In order to create waves, I used Woodland Scenics’ Water Ripples. You can use the supplied ‘lolly stick’ to whip the fluid into waves.

**7** Woodland Scenics’ range of surface water products includes this white paint, which has been formulated to create ‘white horses’ on its Waves and Ripple products. Dab on to the dried waves.

**9** I used 7mm static grass towards the rear of the diorama to represent marram grass, fixing it into Woodland Scenics’ Static-Tac adhesive. Some Woodland Scenics Peel ‘N’ Plant tufts bring a little variety.

**8** Don’t forget the rock pools. Use poster paints to colour the bottom of the pool – study the real thing first. Then fill with a little Realistic Water. Allow each layer to dry before adding another.

**10** Woodland Scenics offers some useful packs for a beach scene, albeit in ‘HO’ scale. Fix with Scenic Glue. I felt the scene needed a fish retailer – but that particular Scenecraft model is no longer available new.

**Peter Marriott** employs some useful modelling aids to produce convincing scenic contours and lifelike vegetation, offering some vital hints and tips along the way.

**I**t cannot be stated enough how important it is for us modellers to take the time to study the natural landscape around us. This helps us to reproduce what we see more effectively, resulting in better looking scenery.

For example, on looking at an area of grass and weeds it soon becomes apparent that sometimes the shorter grasses are darker than the longer strands. Therefore, the challenge is how to best employ different shades of grass fibres to make the most realistic landscape.

We see many different textures and shades of green in real life which means that, to make the best scenery, multiple layers of scenic covering and a range of different materials are necessary.

Go out for a walk or study photographs of your chosen location, making notes on what you see. When browsing products, you’ll be able to seek out the most appropriate colours and lengths of grass fibres to suit your subject, considering the scale you’re working in and also which season of the year you’re looking to reproduce.

I always suggest veering towards more subdued colours for scenic work, rather than bright vivid colours which can look garish on a scale model. Pay attention to seasonal colours too, as there’s more likely to be paler shades of grass and vegetation in autumn than in the height of spring, for instance.

The use of static grass on model railway layouts has become popular because modellers love the realistic three-dimensional effect that it creates, especially compared to traditional scatter materials. That said, simply covering an area in white glue and planting layers of static grass fibres is not the answer to realistic scenery.

As I demonstrate here, we can create more compelling textures by building up the fibres in layers, varying the length and colours with each application, while complementing grass fibres with scenic foam pieces, tufts and Poly Fibre material. And yes, those traditional fine scatter materials do still have a role to play, adding fine leaf texture to bushes and hedges.

◆ Woodland Scenics Shaper Sheet, Poly Fibre, fine scatter materials, Static-Tac, Tuft Tac and Scenic Glue  
**Availability:** Bachmann stockists  
**Web:** _:a[www.bachmann.co.uk]{href='https://www.bachmann.co.uk' }_

◆ Static grass fibres (2, 4, 6 and 7mm length in various colours), sand  
**Availability:** WW Scenics  
**Web:** _:a[www.wwscenics.co.uk]{href='https://www.wwscenics.co.uk' }_

◆ Tweezers  
◆ Scissors  
◆ Paintbrushes  
◆ Electrostatic grass tool

**1** The trackbed was raised 2in above the top of the baseboard by using Woodland Scenics foam risers. I also added a strip of 1mm thick mounting card to the top of the riser (bonded with scenic glue) to provide an underlay for the track. The card was painted black.

**2** A bridge was scratchbuilt from Styrofoam and card (see MR337) and, once this had been fixed in position, it was time to turn my attention to the creation of the embankment around it.

**3** Woodland Scenics Shaper sheet holds its form without the need for underlying support. The sheet was cut into long strips wide enough to treat the height of the embankment with a little excess for bonding to the baseboard surface.

**4** The Shaper Sheet strips had to be wide enough to create a gentle landscape profile, and cut to a suitable shape to cater for the abutments and wing walls. Cuts were made gradually after test-fitting the material in place.

**5** After testing the fit of the Shaper Sheet strips, and feeling happy with the shape and contours of the embankment, the material was bonded to the leading edge of the trackbed and held in place with removable nails or drawing pins.

**6** The Shaper Sheet was tucked behind the walls of the bridge and bonded with glue, gently stretching the material to achieve the desired contours. Note that the Shaper Sheet was laid with the metal foil side facing down, and the ‘fluffy’ side upwards.

**7** Glue was spread along the lower edge of the embankment and the Shaper Sheet formed to the desired contour before pressing it down into the adhesive. Woodland Scenics Foam Nails are handy for holding parts while the glue sets, when they can be removed and reused.

**8** Having repeated the process along each side of the embankment, and once the glue had cured, I painted the Shaper Sheet with a coat of earthy brown acrylic paint (Woodland Scenics Earth Undercoat), which soaked readily into the material.

**9** The first coat of paint tamed the rough texture of the Shaper Sheet and, once dry, I touched up any areas that were missed. I was impressed how the sheet maintained its gentle profile, in contrast to plaster cloth, which has a habit of sagging unless stretched or supported.

**10** I teased out pieces of Poly Fibre and glued them to certain areas of the embankment. I then misted over a layer of extra-hold hairspray across the scene before sprinkling a range of fine scatter materials to create a leaf effect on the vegetation.

**11** Rather than cover the entire embankment in static grass, I wanted areas of exposed stony earth, so I brushed on some cheap PVA and sprinkled a layer of fine sand into the wet glue. The track was then ballasted, bonding it in place with a thin PVA-type glue.

**12** The next step was to run beads of PVA glue along the top of the embankment, along the edge of the ballast, and along the lower edge of the bridge and retaining walls. I sprinkled on a mixture of green scatters into the wet glue.

**13** Static-Tac glue was spread with a round paintbrush around the areas of exposed rough ground, dabbing it into the surface. I wanted to create the impression of random plants of a gravelly embankment, being careful not to paint the entire slope with glue.

**14** To plant static grass fibres, I used an electrostatic applicator tool, loaded with a mixture of lengths and colours. The contact cable was clipped to a rail track, the tool activated and gently shaken over the wet glue.

**15** The process was repeated a second time, blowing away any loose fibres to reveal ‘bald’ areas of sand, then dabbing on a little more Static-Tac adhesive, especially towards the base of the embankment.

**16** More static grass fibres were applied from the tool. My aim was to create the appearance of random weeds rather than a uniform layer of grass. For this ‘OO’ scene, I used a blend of 2mm, 4mm and 6mm long grass fibres.

**17** Once the glue on the first layer of the fibres had dried, the next day, I added dots of Tuft Tac in random places, prior to planting taller and darker static grass fibres.

**18** The clumps of taller, darker grasses provide greater visual variety and texture, contrasting nicely with the visible areas of rough earth (created with the sand scatter material). I was really happy with the results so far.

**19** Behind the track I needed a strip of dense vegetation to form part of the backscene, so I started first with some pieces of hedging salvaged from a previous layout, fixing these to the mounting card using scenic glue.

**20** Gaps between the hedgerows were filled with teased-out pieces of Poly Fibre. These were leftovers from previous projects, so it was quite random. The Poly Fibre clumps were bonded to the base with PVA glue.

**21** More layers of hairspray were misted on, followed by more fibres between the trackbed and the hedging, plus a few coloured bits of foam to add some attractive wildflowers. Use the hairspray to seal everything in place.

**22** After spraying the teased-out Poly Fibre and Hedgerow Scenics vegetation with extra-hold hairspray, a mix of fine scatter materials were applied, unifying the appearance and providing leafy texture.

Woodland Scenics Shaper Sheet is a very useful product, consisting of a strong and pliable sheet that holds its form without the need for extensive support. It can be shaped and re-formed to create the desired landscape profile and can, if desired, be covered with wet plaster (matching Shaper Sheet Plaster and Plaster Cloth products are also available), to create a wide range of effects, such as rock faces. The wet plaster bonds securely to the fibrous coating of the Shaper Sheet’s upper surface to form a hard, permanent shell, while the metal foil of the underneath is what helps keep its shape.

To link flat sections of Shaper Sheet together, tease the fibre mesh away from shaper foil along the connecting edge, thus exposing the tacky surface. Pull off the gauze backing on the fibre mesh from the shaper foil and press the section of Shaper Sheet onto the tacky surface and cut away any excess material.

Like real grass and vegetation, static grass fibres stand upright when applied with an electrostatic tool. Using static grass is a great way to model areas of vegetation, whether that be fields and meadows or even patches of weeds around rail tracks or concrete aprons.

It helps to employ different lengths and colours of grass fibres to mimic different kinds of vegetation and phases of growth. For example, the Woodland Scenics Field System range includes four lengths of fibres – 2mm, 4mm, 7mm and 12mm – in four different colours – light green, medium green, dark green and straw.

For this project, I used a Woodland Scenics Static King electrostatic tool, which is good for covering large areas and, thanks to its clever design, it can be placed upside-down for easier filling. It comes with various sieve sizes to suit different fibre lengths, while a divider allows the use of multiple colours and lengths at the same time.

Another welcome feature is the clear hopper that ensures you always know how much Static Grass you have left. An indicator light makes it easy to know if the Static King is turned on or off. Power is supplied via a 9V battery (not supplied) or, to ensure more consistent operation, by using a mains power supply (available separately).

Like all electrostatic tools, it’s necessary to create a static field between the applicator and model surface. Often, a cable and crocodile clip are provided which can be attached to a nearby rail or a nail temporarily pushed into the scenery. With the Static King, a four-pronged metal anchor provides an effective ‘ground’ connection.

Thanks to the kind folks at The Airbrush Company, three lucky Model Rail readers can each win a pair of LifeColor acrylic paint sets worth £37. Produced by Italian firm Astromodel, and aided by Model Rail’s George Dent, the paint sets provide essential, authentic shades for the steam and diesel eras of British Railways.

Set one covers the 1948-1959 period, containing Standard Locomotive green, signal red, coaching stock crimson and cream, plus grey and bauxite wagon colours. Set two includes Rail blue, Rail grey, warning panel yellow, Railfreight red and grey, plus coaching stock blue-grey. Water-based, non-toxic and formulated for easy application by brush or airbrush, the paints are supplied within 22ml plastic jars with screw-top lids, with each six-jar set packaged within attractive boxes.

Enter the form below for your chance to WIN!

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One of the stars of Model Rail’s June issue is ‘Cley-on-Sea’, a fabulous room-filling ‘OO’ gauge layout by Russ Pigott. Based on the premise that a once-prosperous port on the East Anglian coast, which fell out of use in the 1700s, was instead developed into a major source of traffic for the railway. Although fictional, the layout features many recognisable nods to the region, with a terminus station that resembles Norwich Thorpe, and a stretch of the Norfolk Broads spanned by an archetypal swing bridge. Together with a host of vernacular architectural styles, the layout makes for a hugely convincing composition.

For history buffs, we take a deep dive into the story behind Drummond’s almost-forgotten – and capricious – ‘T14’ 4-6-0s, nicknamed ‘Paddle Steamers’ due to their unusual appearance, while Alex Rockey combines 3D printing with some good old-fashioned cut-and-shut work to create an attractive miniature replica.

Along with details of Bachmann’s all-new ‘OO’ Class 66 project, we also feature developments in ‘TT:120’ from Hornby and Heljan, while running the rule over new model releases, including Dapol’s hugely impressive ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST and Hornby’s hotly anticipated Class 755 ‘FLIRT’ units… and a tasty array of Irish wagons too.

It's all in the latest issue of Model Rail, on sale now!

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**Paul Bambrick** reveals how he employs made-to-measure sheets of thin alloy sheet to form curved backdrops to his layout projects.

**I**f you’re thinking of starting a new layout project, or re-doing your backscene rear panel, here’s an idea that might be worth a try. Most of the backscenes that I produce now, even on permanently installed layouts, use 0.9mm thick, soft alloy sheet to do the job. This material has a great many advantages over inflexible wooden panels, as it’s lightweight and strong, but also very easy to curve into shape. The material can be mail ordered, already pre-cut to your chosen size (see panel).

In order to establish the dimensions, it’s best to set up the rear panel as a temporary mock-up using mounting card. or even regular corrugated cardboard with white paper spray-mounted onto the surface. Follow the line of your new rear panel around the back of the layout keeping it as far away from the model as you can allow, while also keeping the curvature as gentle as possible.

Once you have a temporary rear panel mocked up into place, you can determine where any joins might occur, factoring in the maximum panel length available, which is generally 2.5m. With smaller layouts and dioramas, this maximum length will sometimes allow the entire rear panel to be free of joints.

Always keep any panel joins as far away from curves as possible, as it’s much easier to locate a joint along a straight section. As usual, set up the baseboard viewing height to your optimum, usually dictated by an average sitting or standing position; 1.3m is an ideal standing height for an exhibition type presentation.

Pencil your distant horizon line onto the white surface of the mock-up, as well as any cut-outs required to cope with structural elements of the layout or for scenic breaks, where the trains need to pass through the backscene to hidden sidings or fiddleyards. Also mark out the locations of any joints between backscene panels, then remove the card panels for measurement. Once you have a series of rear panels correctly dimensioned, you can place your order for aluminium sheet to be cut and delivered to your door.

In the meantime, you may wish to use your mock-up panels to begin planning any colours, self-adhesive, photographic backscene images that you’ve chosen to use, remembering to always register the photographic image to the horizon datum rather than either the top or bottom panel borders.

Once your alloy sheet is delivered, ensure there is no damage to the consignment, peel off the protective film from both sides, which you won’t be needing, and transfer any markings from the card mock-ups for apertures that require cutting.

The aluminium sheet can be neatly cut using a steel rule and a good quality trimming knife (such as a Stanley knife) loaded with a fresh blade. Although you won’t be able to cut straight though in one pass, you’ll find that after a few deep scores the panel can be rested over the edge of a hard-edged table and the excess material folded repeatedly until it snaps away. To cut apertures for scenic breaks, trace the outlines from the mock-up card and follow the vertical scored lines up from the base with heavy scissors or tinsnips.

Whichever way you cut the material, always run around the cut edges with a medium grade abrasive paper, removing sharp edges, and rounding the corners as well.

The treated panel can be laid flat, outer face up and scuffed with a 120grit flat disc in an angle grinder and gently roughed up in long sweeping strokes, making sure not to dwell too long in any place, creating hotspots. Note that this process is extremely noisy, so you will need some ear defenders. Naturally, you can also abrade the surface by hand, rubbing with abrasive sheets wrapped around a cork block, if you fancy a vigorous workout.

The objective is to eliminate any remaining shiny surface, so make sure that everywhere on the front surface of the panel shows abrasive marks and feels slightly rough to the touch. The panel can be dusted over with a cotton cloth (not kitchen tissue) dampened to pick up dust, then allowed to dry before spraying a light coat of white aerosol primer.

If there are any curved sections that need to be formed to follow a pathway around the rear of the scene, these can be done by transferring the curve’s start and finish points from the card mock-up onto the alloy sheet. Next, the sheet is placed over the edge of the workbench, over some thick padding (such as cushions or pillows)

Ensure the panel is at a right-angle to the bench and gently bend the panel down until the required contour is achieved. It takes a few attempts to get right and always move the position of the panel relative to the bench’s edge when bending, so you don’t get a ‘threepenny bit’ effect. The idea is to get the smoothest possible curve, by doing it in stages.

The panel is now ready for its sky base coat which can be applied to just below the horizon line, with a mini gloss roller for an even colour, or two mini gloss rollers for a graduated sky blue, obviously with the darker more saturated colour above and the lighter desaturated, and atmospherically diffused base colour down to the horizon datum.

Joining the panels neatly on exhibition layouts can be done by adding an overlapping strip behind one of the panels, mounting it vertically with the joint line halfway between. This can be fitted and located into position using a series of small 2mm size countersunk pop rivets drilled and countersunk from the panel front

The panels stand up pretty well if you have already gently curved them to follow the pathway of the card mock-up, but along any straight sections you will probably find there’s a need to vertically support the panel every so often to keep it at 90º to the rails. It helps to provide uprights at intervals along the rear, formed from wood battens or 20mm by 10mm rectangular aluminium tubing.

There are many combinations of joining methods for aluminium panels, such as small diameter nuts and bolts, countersunk self-tapping screws, and countersunk pop rivets. The material can also be glued to a rear support framework with MitreBond or similar fast-acting trade adhesives (see your local hardware store) for additional strength, but the metal needs to be scuffed with a coarse abrasive (such as 60grit) to ensure adequate adhesion.

The upper blind of a window-type layout presentation case can also be done very successfully in soft aluminium panels, pre-cut to size, and ordered along with the rear panels to save delivery costs.

The same recommendations apply for this job, with the jointing of multiple sheets only along straight sections. Furthermore, for exhibition layouts in particular, it will need a lightweight framework to support the weight and keep everything supported. The fixing and preparation methods are the same, with a scouring with 120grit abrasive before priming and subsequent painting or addition of a printed photographic backscene. Adhesive and rows of small countersunk fasteners, duly concealed and smoothed over with auto filler, is fine, and this also applies to any brackets for nameboards, support posts, or attachment points for lighting fixtures and clips.

◆ Made-to-measure alloy sheet. Aluminium sheet (0.9mm thick) can be cut to size and delivered to your door. I obtain my stock from Orion Alloys in Harlow, which offers nationwide delivery, and orders can be placed over the phone or online, specifying your required dimensions and quantities. A free information brochure can also be downloaded from the company’s website.  
**Availability:** Orion Alloys  
**Tel:** 01279 434422  
**Web:** _:a[sales@alloysales.co.uk]{href='mailto:sales@alloysales.co.uk' }_

◆ Trimming knife and blades  
◆ Tinsnips/heavy-duty scissors  
◆ Steel rule  
◆ Tape measure  
◆ Cutting mat  
◆ Stable work table/bench  
◆ Abrasives  
◆ Angle grinder/power sander (optional)  
◆ Drill and bits (including countersink bit)  
◆ Riveting gun and pop rivets (optional)

Introducing a warm light source, emitted through a gap between the three-dimensional scenic landform and the painted backscene, creates an authentic sunrise or sunset effect, making for a very dramatic appearance. It helps to graduate the shades of paint on the backscene too, for a more harmonious appearance. If you fancy something a little out of the ordinary, this is certainly something worth experimenting with.

Thin aluminium sheet is lightweight and flexible, making it ideal for curved layout backdrops that follow the contours of a scene.

Provided that the aluminium sheet is prepared correctly, it can be painted with an impression of a landscape and sky, as seen on this superb three-dimensional diorama, which Paul described in MR327.

Hand-painting a backscene may not appeal to everyone, but a simple pale sky effect can be achieved with a mini gloss roller, or a printed photographic backscene can be fixed to the aluminium panel.

Painting a backscene like this allows the modeller to create a hazy, distant appearance to the background detail, as well as playing with perspective to exaggerate the sense of depth.

Various segments of his layout have featured in _Model Rail_ over the past few years, but **Grahame Hedges**’ mission to recreate London Bridge station and its environs in 2mm scale is really beginning to take shape.

**L**ondon Bridge is my long-term ‘N’ gauge layout project. It is not the first 2mm scale layout I have built, but it is the first to be permanently based at home. Previous layouts, ‘Hedges Hill Cutting’ and ‘Stoney Lane Depot’, were both portable and taken to several exhibitions over the years. However, age has crept up on me and I’m no longer comfortable in lugging layouts around, setting them up, dismantling them a day or two later and taking them back home.

For me the layout is a major project and is taking time to progress. The slow progress is due to a few factors. Firstly, it’s a one-person project and I’m undertaking everything myself. Also, with the layout being based on an actual location, all the structures and buildings (and there are plenty of them) have to be researched and individually scratchbuilt. Indeed, the processes involved in creating several of the key structures have been described in various issues of _Model Rail_ over the past few years (see panel).

My aim in building the layout was to have commuter trains from the 1970s and ‘80s, that I used regularly, running at an elevated level, winding through a recognisable landscape of commercial buildings, industrial structures and residential roof tops, all based on a real urban location. I appreciate that a gritty urban scene is not everyone’s cup of tea, but hopefully it is something different and provides interest and contrast to the more common bucolic rural idyll setting.

The planned period that the layout conveniently falls between are the two major rebuilds that the real station has undergone in the last half-century – firstly, the infamous 1972-78 rebuild under British Rail, and then the 21st-century redevelopment in 2012-18 under Network Rail. I’ve reduced that intervening period a little with an added backstop of the end of the Network SouthEast period in 1994 and the start of privatisation.

The plan was to include the most important features of the station and locality to capture the overall character, despite many buildings having since been swept away in the most recent rebuilding of the station and nearby redevelopment. Such has been the speed of change that it is very difficult to pin everything down to specific dates.

The layout is housed in a professionally built garden room in my small garden. The internal dimension of the shed is a fraction under 11ft 6in (3.5m) by a bit over 8ft (2.5m) which is not too bad for ‘N’ – double that to 23ft by 16ft for a ‘OO’ equivalent.

The limited space available has demanded significant compression and simplification. For example, the number of planned platforms is reduced. Instead of three high-level through island platforms the model has two, and there will be fewer terminating low-level lines.

Platforms are all reduced from scale length, track-work has been simplified and there are fewer approach roads. Buildings have also been similarly reduced and compressed. But I hope that the overall look, when the layout is finished, will be redolent of the real station and captures the appropriate atmosphere.

Track and points consist of Peco Code 55 on the scenic section and Code 80 set-track in the fiddle-yards. Although only a few lengths of plain track have been laid so far, the track plan is basically a traditional ‘dumb-bell’ type with the main running lines through the high-level station curving around and returning in loops off-scene with the terminus station lines branching off. These loops will also effectively provide storage and fiddleyard lines. This allows for continuous running for trains passing through the upper station and ‘out and back’ operation for the lower-level terminus.

Just about all the buildings are made from scratch and based on real examples. There are only a few kit-built structures, such as Portacabins from Knightwing and the gas holder, which is an American Walthers Cornerstone kit. However, the latter has been modified to represent a British-style column guided holder with a below-ground water tank and three ‘lift’ sections.

London Bridge station is located at the west end of a viaduct that begins at Deptford Creek in Greenwich. It’s a Grade II-listed structure, built between 1834-36 at a length of 3.4 miles, making it the longest run of arches in the UK, one of the oldest railway viaducts in the world, and the earliest example of an entirely elevated railway line. It was widened in 1842 for almost two miles between Corbett’s Lane and London Bridge on the south side to accommodate trains of the London and Croydon Railway and London and Brighton Railway, and also for 2.6 miles on the north side to accommodate the South Eastern Railway main line in 1850.

Consequently, the viaduct is an iconic and dominating feature for the layout which means I’ve needed to pay due deference in modelling it. The signature viaduct arches that run along St Thomas Street, at the front of the layout, were made from acrylic resin panel sections, cast in home-made RTV silicon rubber moulds formed from scratchbuilt masters. I made three different sections that could be cast in multiples and joined together; the lower three-arch section, the upper parapet wall and the taller train shed wall panel. The non-standard sections, such as the road underpass entrance arches, are scratchbuilt from embossed plastic card.

At the rear of the layout is Tooley Street which basically runs the length of the layout behind the viaduct. The buildings and structures on the north side of the road, in front of the backscene board (shed wall), are all low-relief types and modelled on actual buildings. Many of these buildings were warehouses and shipping offices for the wharves behind which directly backed on to the river Thames and were known, along with Shad Thames a little further east, as the larder of London.

There are some buildings that are missing and others reduced in width to help provide necessary overall compression. The buildings at the right-hand end, where the layout adheres less closely to the prototype and is of a more freelance nature, are based on those from other local areas of South East London so as to maintain a coherent feel. St Thomas Street and Crucifix Lane run along the front of the layout roughly parallel to Tooley Street but on the south side of the viaduct. On the layout there are several roads running northwards from the foreground, under the viaduct and bridges that offer many interesting vignette views.

Two major ongoing projects are the lower level terminus station with its overall train shed roof, and the huge forecourt canopy and myriad pyramid shaped skylights covering the ticket offices, travel centre and concourse, and extended over the station approach road to cover the bus and taxi stands.

The layout is unlikely to be finished anytime soon, but these ‘in progress’ views provide a peek into the current status and show how the various modules featured in _Model Rail_ fit within the overall setting. Work is required on the roads, to complete the pavements, add kerbstones, road markings and ironwork (drain grids and manhole covers), while most of the structures and buildings are not yet fixed into their final locations, so please excuse any leaning walls or subsidence!

##### ‘O’ GAUGE LAYOUT **WEEKEND YARD**

Building a layout over two days is challenging enough, but to do so in an exhibition hall takes things to a whole new level, as the Gauge O Guild discovered.

Words: **Chris Gadsby** Photography: **Chris Nevard Artwork: Andrew Mackintosh**

**This layout isn’t about putting in thousands of hours of painstaking modelling to accurately render a location. Rather, it’s an exercise in showing what is possible in the larger scale in a short time, and it plays its role perfectly.**

Question: is it possible to build a fully functioning layout over one weekend while at an exhibition with hundreds of people walking past you, wondering why your baseboards are bare when everything else is a completed layout with moving trains? Answer: yes, if you’re the Gauge O Guild. We’ve proven in the pages of _Model Rail_ before that building a layout in a matter of days is possible, but building one over just a weekend takes speed building to a whole new level. Tasked with proving to the public that a space the size of Lake Victoria is not required for an enjoyable ‘O’ gauge layout, members Nigel Smith, Neil Podbery, Paul Bambrick, Kevin Wilson and Thomas Hoy set about planning how they could draw people into the scale and the Guild, with a bit of a different exhibition to the usual handing out of leaflets. We spoke to the now custodian of ‘Weekend Yard’ Kevin Cartwright and the Gauge O Guild’s Chairman of Events Jackie Kneeshaw about how the layout came to be, the build, and life after that first exhibition in 2023.

“The idea was first developed at Warley 2022 when I was talking with Peco Sales Manager Steve Haynes,” outlines Jackie. “He mentioned that people still believed ‘O’ gauge was only for wealthy people who have plenty of space and a wide range of engineering skills. I wondered if the Guild could help dispel this myth to show that a modest ‘O’ gauge layout could fit within the room of a family home, and be constructed from products offered off the shelf. Of course, for a challenge such as this, the Guild needed a superb team of modellers to pull it off, so I approached Nigel to lead the team, and he recruited others to join him. We then approached several companies to see if they would support the build.”

As well as the team, companies rose to the challenge. The baseboards were supplied by White Rose Model Works, the track by Peco, point motors from DCC Concepts, wiring and scenic materials by Squires Model & Craft Tools, a range of lineside items by Skytrex, figures from Northumbrian Painting Services, paint from Omen Modelling Paint and a warehouse, bridge, retaining wall and water tower from L-Cut creative. Dapol and Ellis Clark Trains both provided models for the exhibition from different eras, but these were being weathered at the time the photographs were taken, so Kevin used some stock of his own. One key aim of the build was to show that any aspiring ‘O’ gauge modellers could go out and buy the components themselves if they wanted to build the same sort of layout, so the Guild made that clear on the front of the layout while it was being built where all the parts had come from.

> “One key aim of the build was to show that any aspiring ‘O’ gauge modellers could go out and buy the components themselves if they wanted to build the same sort of layout”

#### THE BUILD

“Each member was tasked with making sure elements were ready to go onto the boards on the weekend of the show. It wasn’t a case of pre-building most of the items, but ensuring they would fit on the baseboard and have enough time to sufficiently dry throughout the weekend. Although all the preparations went smoothly, the week leading up to the event threw a few challenges into the mix we hadn’t prepared ourselves for. Neil was caught up in an Air Traffic Control system failure and had to get home from Portugal via Switzerland, and Thomas had become unwell with Covid so was unable to attend. Fortunately, Kevin Wilson was able to jump in at the last minute to help out. The show went off without a hitch and the layout was well received by those who viewed it. We even had the idea of letting the public name the layout, and the name ‘Weekend Yard’ was pulled out of the hat towards the end of the weekend. A nice final touch was that Ron Connor of Totem Signs was able to create us a custom totem that we could place on the layout before the end of the show, when the layout went into Kevin Cartwright’s possession.”

With the show complete, the layout needed a home, so Kevin took custody of it for some much-needed TLC.

“Because it was built with speed, some of the solder joints weren’t as good as they could have been and the layout got knocked about a bit as people moved around it quicker than they usually would have done. Gordon Humphries was a great help with the re-wiring and firming up the woodwork, while I’ve redone all of the greenery with products from Green Scene and have been working my way through the rest of the layout, touching it up where required and making general improvements. The backscene is a prime example. Paul Bambrick expertly painted it onto aluminium so that it could be bent around the corners, but some of the paint got chipped as we were packing it away after the show, so I’ve had to go back and blend the two areas together again. The focal point of the shed still needs to be mortared and weathered and I’m hoping to knock a hole through the right side of the board so that I can attach a cassette fiddleyard to that end, allowing trains to run right through the layout rather than stopping and going back into the hidden sector plate. I think this would make it much more fun to operate.”

Kevin has also been able to add additional small details to ‘Weekend Yard’ that would have been too time-consuming to do during the build, such as adding suitable road vehicles and additional figures.

“I find that road vehicles are often a neglected part of model railways, as people spend hours getting the locomotives and the rolling stock looking just right, and then shove a pristine, ready-to-run car or bus on there. All of the ones now on ‘Weekend Yard’ have been heavily weathered to match the locomotives and stock.”

Although the build is now done, ‘Weekend Yard’ is still popular on the exhibition circuit, with an increasing number of people remarking that they have switched to the larger gauge. The price of ‘O’ gauge is decreasing all of the time and often people are buying the models before making somewhere to run them. If you’re one of those people, then the Gauge O Guild offers plenty of tutorials and advice to its members, with membership costing from £30 a year. Why not join today and benefit from the knowledge and support the Guild provides?

> _“All of the road vehicles now on ‘Weekend Yard’ have been heavily weathered to match the locomotives and stock”_

For further information about the Gauge O Guild, including details of membership and future events, visit the website: _:a[www.gaugeoguild.com]{href='https://www.gaugeoguild.com' }_

## Model Rail Accurascale Class 31 Diesel - 116 _RAIL_ Celebrity - from £169.99

First announced in late 2022, Model Rail’s first collaboration with Accurascale has now come to fruition, with the arrival of our exclusive ‘OO’ gauge Class 31 31116 _RAIL Celebrity_, in its unique British Rail Infrastructure livery. **:a[SHOP NOW]{href='https://www.modelrailoffers.co.uk/c/1855/Class-31-Diesels?utm_source=model-rail.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=modelrail_offers&amp;utm_content=promo_article' }**

The hitherto anonymous Brush Type 2 was chosen to mark the first decade of our sister title _RAIL_ magazine, while wearing BR’s ‘Dutch’ grey/yellow civil engineers’ livery. Initially, the locomotive was named _RAIL 1981-1991_ in October 1991 but, two years later, it famously gained a one-off Union Pacific Railroad-inspired scheme of harbour mist grey and armour yellow, with twin red bands, with the colour scheme being applied at Derby Etches Park and sponsored by Pete Waterman.

To mark the occasion, 31116 was re-dedicated as _RAIL Celebrity_, and soon became a cult favourite with enthusiasts, turning up at depot open days and events around the BR network over the following few years.

In between its celebrity outings, Bescot-based 31116 was kept busy hauling engineers’ trains, plus the odd parcels and passenger service, and it carried this striking livery until withdrawal and eventual scrapping in 2003. Thanks to your votes, Accurascale’s Class 31 recently scooped first prize in the ‘OO’ Diesel and Electric Locomotive category in Model Rail’s Model of the Year awards for 2024, and our model of 31116 forms part of the follow-up production run focusing on later BR and post-nationalisation era prototypes.

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## BR Class 26/1 26043 in Rail blue with DCE stripes and Haymarket depot logos - only £210.00!

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