Staple Hill Railway - New Line

[James from Devon]

Hi Everyone.

I am new to the forums and the hobby but after many years of planning I am underway. I built a temporary railway last year to run my locos and and now underway with the permanent version.

I hope this is of interest to you, I found a lot of ideas from reading posts here.

This is the pic of my station with the first platform complete and the tram testing clearances. There will be a second platform on the left.

I built the platform using concrete reinforced with wire mesh. The edge slabs were glued on with no more nails ( I made clay masters for these then cast lots of them in resin, then sprayed and varnished)  the surface is dyed mortar mix. The track on the wooden planks is my temporary line which is now about 10 days away from being removed.

[James from Devon]

Platform under construction


Track base for the start of the station loop in cutting

I am very much looking forward to the time when its less like a building site...as is my wife

[James from Devon]

There was a little more progress last week, not as much as I would have liked but the rain made indoor projects more appealing!

The sidings on the left will house the engine shed



The start of the bridge, sides are underway. There will be a second bridge on the right leading to the storage sidings and lighting up area



Station area



More track being laid



Hopefully, I will be able to post some more later in the week.
Thanks for looking

[Dwayne]

Welcome to the forum. Nice start to your layout. Looking forward to more.

[Joe]

Welcome, looks very good and plenty of space, i like the platform edgeing

[Soar Valley Light]

Excellent work James. I am always in awe of people like you who jump in and get something running, then consolidate on that. I'm also in awe of people who progress at a smart pace (compared to my efforts that's most people!). Please keep the pictures coming to encourage us slow coaches!

[James from Devon]

Thanks for all the kind words!

Soar valley... I can't claim to be working fast...it took me a decade to actually make a start! early last year I bought a Ragleth and was just too impatient to see it run. So I knocked up the raised temporary railway over a weekend. I knew I would have to get on with the proper one as wood in the elements would not be a long term solution.

I am also very lucky that I live a couple of hundred yards away from Graham Wilkins (and work with his wife!) and have run on his South Hams Light Railway and got loads of inspiration and advice - he really has built a lovely railway.

It also made me want to get on with building rolling stock. Which is handy since the winter was so wet it made it impossible to work outside. Here are some pics for you:

Running on Graham's "South Hams Light Railway"
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IP Engineering Penrhyn coach:
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Weathered and repainted Konrad (now with a roof)

Chaloner with my scratchbuilt coal wagons:
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Ragleth "Lady Isabella" with the coal train:
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[MDLR]

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I LOVE that filthy coach!

[Peter Butler]

I agree with Brian, your weathering looks just right and the scratch-built wagons are very impressive too.
Give us an idea of the materials you use please.

[James from Devon]

Thanks Brian

I am very happy with that model...love grubby narrow gauge railways...just as they should be!

[James from Devon]

Hi Peter

Thanks very much for the comments.

The coal wagons bodies are made from Obeche wood which I scribe planking detail into, the corners and strapping are from plasticard with square head rivets individually applied.

Wheels are IP on some and Binnie on others (I like the wagons in the rake to look slightly different) I made a mould for axle holders for the binnie wheels, I use a centre axle tube like swift sixteen.

For painting, I use acrylics and matt enamels and I weather by using a combination of weathering powders, pastels and watered down paint, then a top coat of matt spray varnish.

I am quite new to building these models so am refining my methods by trial and error as I learn! - for me, this is the fun part.

Cheers

Jim

[LNR]

Hi Jim, and welcome from down here. Rather new here myself. Your certainly off to a flying start, the forethought and planning certainly show. Guess your railway will have to feature some tankers! ( for the wine, red I hope )
Grant.

[sstjc]

My goodness me those wagons are stunning. As others have commented you certainly have a good eye for weathering. Any chance of some more detail at some point about how you do it. Many have tried, including me, but few reach that standard I have to say.

Keep us updated. Its very interesting to follow !
Barry

[James from Devon]

Hi Grant

Red wine tankers?? not thought of that...excellent idea!

Hi Barry

Thanks so much for those kind words, so nice of you. Tell you what, I'll build up another wagon at the weekend and take pictures of each stage and post them, that'll be easier than trying to explain. I live quite close to the South Devon Railway's Staverton station and while not narrow gauge, they always have a couple of rusting wagons around that you can get up close and personal with to see how to create the well-used look!

Thanks again guys

Jim

[Andrew]

Hello!

Just catching up with this thread - it looks like it's going to be a lovely railway, I look forward to seeing more soon!

Cheers,

Andrew.

[mightymax]

Hi James, love seeing projects as they are built. Love the station, what are them edging stones you used on the platform, and where do they come from?

[Keith S]

He says he made masters himself out of clay, and then casts them in resin and paints them. The "filling" is mortar dyed black. Clever, eh?

[James from Devon]

Thanks chaps!

The weather in Devon over the last 2 weeks has been ...well...disappointing! it managed to rain or even hail on every day off so progress has been slowed. I did manage to get out yesterday and today for a while so here are the updates and pictures:

The end of the first bridge and the embankment taking shape. There will be rocks and logs at the bottom of the slope to hold back the soil and I think I am going to plant the sides with Chamomile:



Embankment from the other end. There will be a junction here to a short balloon loop back to the station and also a choice of routes around one or both sides of the garden:



The cutting through the rockery at the top of the garden. I couldn't resist posing "Gulliver" with some clay wagon empties for a picture. The plants are in so should start looking nice come summer. The point is the junction for Platform 1 or 2. Just ballasting on this section to finish.



Thanks for looking chaps, hope you like them.

Jim

[James from Devon]

Hi James, love seeing projects as they are built. Love the station, what are them edging stones you used on the platform, and where do they come from?

Hi Mightymax.

thanks for your comments, much appreciated

Keith is right. I used air drying clay to make 4 large and 4 half sized slabs so they were all slightly different, rustic looking. I used chinese takeaway tubs and made moulds from RTV silicone and then cast hundreds from resin. Once set, i used car spray paint primer and once that was dry i sprayed them dark grey. Before that dried, I oversprayed with brown and a little white to get them the colour i wanted. Last step was to spray them with varnish ...a good few coats to make them last.

Platform was made from reinforced concrete ... I made a 20mm high mould. I glued the edge slabs on with no more nails and then as keith said, filled in the gap with cement...you can buy dye from Amazon for about a fiver! It takes some time but I am happy with the results.

Let me know if you want any more info.

Cheers

Jim

[Dwayne]

Great shot of Gulliver.