Garden Railway Forum

Utterly wonderful line, sir.

The island platform at Bishop’s Hutton has looked a bit empty since I installed it. Some sort of platform shelter was called for, and I was thinking about scratchbuilding one. However whilst at the Llanfair show I noticed a kit that looked ideal. Here it is unpainted…

I’ve completed painting and very pleased with how it looks.

Forgot to mention it is a Pendle Valley kit!

Looks very smart. I love the colours also.

Nicely done!

Rik

It has been a few months since my last update. However I have been keeping things ticking along with various projects including adding to my stock of wagons. I’ve built 3 wagon kits over the winter. Firstly a couple of Brandbright vans that I’ve had in stock for a while. One painted in standard light grey BWLR goods livery and hand lettered. The other van finished as a PO wagon belonging to the Bishops Hutton Brewery, again hand lettered and with slightly more elaborate “decoration”. I can’t claim any great skill at sign writing, but I do enjoy trying! Anyway the Branbright kits need no introduction, they are nice solid quality kits that fit together well. They also tend to be some of the best runners I have.

The wagon in the middle is a tool wagon kit from Bole Laser Craft which I think I got at the Peterborough show last year. It’s a nice kit with a mix of 3d printed parts, acrylic mdf for the floor and plywood for the body. I have just one negative comment to make, which is the quality of the plywood is a bitty iffy, being somewhat porous with numerous holes on the cut edges. Easily sorted out with a careful application of wood filler and sanded but noticeable versus the Brandbright kid which had better quality wood.

Anyway, the finished wagon looks good and has some nice features including opening doors and a brake that works. It has been finished in Engineers Department blue and is about to be lettered (with vinyl letters, to fit in with the other departmental stock) I’ve also taken used the winter shutdown to renovate some of the existing goods stock with some new paintwork and lettering on some vehicles.

Additionally I’ve also made an extension to the obscure Claxton Percy branch of the BWLR. This is really just a scenic test track that lives along one wall of the garage but has now been extended to the back wall as a new and relocated gas boiler has allowed the space to extend! It isn’t finished and the last few feet are just a narrow ledge which will eventually sit at the back of a new work bench.Still the extra space has made it possible to operate trains during the winter and I suspect it might get extended again down the opposite wall of the garage to form a horseshoe layout and have some real operating potential.

I’ve also been doing some renovation of infrastructure outside on the garden line as part of a rolling programme to keep on top of maintenance. So all in all I’ve been quite busy despite not being able to spend quite as much time as I would like to on railway matters!

That hand lettering is brilliant. Can I send you some of mine..

Seriously, I think you have a talent that you can enjoy, knowing you have made what can be such a pain to do, it is for me. I tend to either leave well, alone or try and put vinyl on, which can be a disaster most of the time.

More please of you brilliant work.

Satisfying to get the maintenance knocked out, isn't it? Good for another however long.
Love the lettering too, and graphics on the brewery van. Top notch

Thanks for the comments on the hand lettering I’ve lettered the tool wagon using vinyl to match my existing departmental wagons. The above photo taken on the indoor line mentioned before. Here is the end of the layout before the new extension: And now after with the extension going to the to of the garage: Looking back down towards the station:

Full marks on the backscene painting. Looks like the gardener in the second photo is having a crafty kip .....

Rik

ge_rik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 10:32 pm Full marks on the backscene painting. Looks like the gardener in the second photo is having a crafty kip .....

Rik

Exactly what I thought, on both counts.

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 6:11 am

ge_rik wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 10:32 pm Full marks on the backscene painting. Looks like the gardener in the second photo is having a crafty kip .....

Rik

Exactly what I thought, on both counts.

He’d obviously been consuming too much of the local brewery products. Drink on duty, disgraceful!

The back scene was the work of my mum, who is a keen amateur painter. I need to get her to do a bit more for the extension now! I rather like the way that when I’ve curved the original end round the other way to form a double curve, it all blends in nicely!

Thats very neat work on your line. Your mum's painting is superb, she will need to be careful otherwise members will commissioning her to do some painting for them. I would no question if I had an indoor line.

Nice to see your indoor line. It's really nice with the backscenes as so many others have said.
I am 'experimenting' with printing photos for my backscenes.

I also had a first look at a few of your videos of your garden line- it's a beautiful line and yard.

The bits of foliage in the ballast really helps tie the track into the landscape, too.