Garden Railway Forum

I'm experiencing a strange sensation of genuinely wishing I was 3" tall so I could put down a deposit on a house in your village and move in...

It'll be a model village in both senses of the word - a miniature recreation but also model "in the sense of an ideal to which other developments could aspire"*, like Bournville, or Port Sunlight... Or Portmeirion maybe? If I do ever wake up one morning and find that my body has shrunk to the same scale to which my brain spends too much time working, I shall pack my inch-long suitcase and head west - although it may take me a while to walk there on miniature legs...

Keep up the good work, it's wonderful!

Andrew



*Sorry Rik, was quoting Wikipedia there, rather than Tolstoy!

Looking all rather fantasic peter

pandsrowe wrote: ↑Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:20 am Not forgetting the necessary clearances and permission from the local council planning department.

It's Carmarthenshire and a brown envelope with folding stuff in it opens many doors (allegedly)

Brilliant Peter,

I have to ask Peter, would you prefer to just build a model village as you seem more into this than railways?

It is all impressive either way.

Interesting question Tom.... but no! Although I have taken a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from building my village it represents just part of the overall package. Whatever I do I like to do with passion and commitment and reach a standard I am happy with. In doing this project I have discovered new methods and materials and let you all know of my experience. Not everyone wishes to go to such lengths but there is always room for new ideas which others can adopt or adapt.
My concern is that before long my railway will be 'finished', something we all dread as I might just stop creating more features.
Today I have worked on my walls again...... pictures to follow.

Impressive stuff Mr B , can't wait for the next round of photos.

The weather here was dreadful this morning but dried up with sunshine PM, so out came the paintbrush and an application of masonry white with acrylic tints was given to the wall sections. This is just a base coat to enhance the mortar courses, at least two further warm brown tones will be added to pick out the separate stones. Although I always use a kneeling pad the ground and foundations are hard on the old knees so I'm really looking forward to that!!!!

Thanks for the overview pictures of the whole site - helps to see how all the bits will fit together. I don't envy you picking out all the indvidual stone blocks on the walls - not just punishing on the knees but the back as well I'd imagine. The map you hold in your head must be incredibly well detailed - I see you have aleady included the steps where alleyways and paths will go.

Rik

Are our railways ever “finished” Peter.
You have given so much inspiration not only to me, but to all that read your threads.So I/We all look forward to any build you do.

Are we going to have a grand opening Peter with beer wine etc looks seriously impressive

When the railway was first running I did have an open day and club members, friends and local neighbours were invited. Looking back at the pictures now it is a surprise even to me to see how it has developed. I wonder if I would have taken on such a project if I had known where it would take me? It would be interesting for the same people to come back and see how it has changed. You would certainly get an invitation too Jim.

I'm defanatly up for that looking great Peter and it's going to look ever better with age/time etc

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Sat Aug 11, 2018 10:26 pm Looking back at the pictures now it is a surprise even to me to see how it has developed. I wonder if I would have taken on such a project if I had known where it would take me?

Magical mystery tour, Peter.
Surely that is a part of the pleasure, not knowing what is around the next corner?
As for what to do when it's finished, surely you have a couple of acres of land to play with???

I would also love to see your brilliant line Peter. It somehow shows, with a little bit of imagination what can be achieved with garden railways.

Well, rain certainly stopped play again this morning but I had some indoor modelling time to catch up with. The entrance to the village from the great uncharted expanse beyond crosses the line so a level crossing, with gates, is a must......
Before..... During..... After..... The wood effect is made from scribed and painted plasticard, the green plasticard is there to raise the outer sections almost flat and level with the rail.

Another addition today are sections of resin walling which I had in stock without any plans for. They have now found a home and I was able to paint them in advance before fixing them in position. This will be my colour scheme for the rest.....
I have a crossing gate but no posts, so that is currently on the worktable ready for me to attack tomorrow.

The last picture, looking down the street, is magical. You are going to get some amazing photo opportunities when you've got a bit further on.

That is a brilliant job on the crossing Derek…..err Peter..

Seriously Peter, I love the crossing. There is one in Formby, which is a Town not to far from me that had a crossing similar for the local farmer to cross and you could see the sleepers were worn down by his tractors, leaving indents by his wheels. You could do something similar with your plasticard couldn’t you Peter.

I love the colour scheme on the walls too. And like Phillipy, you will have some magical photos of the village, even more so when it snows.

Really looking forward to paying a visit soon, to see such a brilliant build.

The street scene is superb Peter.

Thanks for the comments, your support is always welcome. More concrete in place now, that completes the base coat of rough cement/gravel mix which will form a strong and permanent base for the roadway to be screeded on top. I am waiting for a good weather report to do this as it needs to be laid in one visit to prevent joins in the roadway.....
While I'm waiting I think of other things to enhance the village scene and it occurred to me that, with new regeneration schemes, a small percentage of the total investment is given over to 'public art' projects. This is usually in the form of sculpture. So I searched my workshop for items which I could cobble together to represent the location and history of the area. This is the result...... It is, of course...... 'The Angel of the West'
Made from a 'Doctor Who' Angel figure and an assortment of plastic animals, stuck to a plastikard plinth and painted to resemble a bronze cast. All is then raised on a stone effect plastikard base with painted stonework.
She represents the strong historical religious background of the Welsh, combined with the national passion for livestock.
Well, that's my opinion!
I have the perfect location for it on the approach to the village market, sited in the centre of the roadway where it diverges around the Market Hall.
If you look very carefully in the first photograph of the layout you can also see the crossing gate in the distance, which is now in place.