4mm Llanfair

[simond]

Hi Simond, I guess Shellac would have been the answer. I used it when preparing wooden furniture at 'Elizabeth Ann' back in the mid 1960's. Time passes and we forget the old tricks....

Hi Larry, I remember my mum being very proud of her new fitted kitchen, with pale blue and white Elizabeth Ann units. About 1965?

small world!
best
Simon

 

[LarryG]

Practically a whole day just putting some platform fencing in place. The GWR Spear fence was sprayed 'Rubber Black' before being cut and glued together. There is a wider gate beside the Gents toilet so that platform trolleys of parcels can switch between the goods shed and the station's parcels office...

This end of the station showing the Llanfyllin influence...


Llanfyllin...


The station nameboard is now in position, made for me by Intentio a few years ago...

 

[Andy P]

Absolutely stunning work Larry, absolutely love it like this, it looks so spacious and therefore more realistic. Nice one Larry.

 

[Flaxfield]

Nice one Larry.

" Nice one Larry, Nice one son. Nice one Larry, let's have another one" ........oh, hang on...NOOOO!

Rob

 

[LarryG]

Station platform security fence now completed. The local bus would draw up alongside the long fence for passengers to disembark before reversing to park up behind the bufferstops. Passengers would catch the bus from here to local villages...


Early morning sun at Llanfair. Much to be done here with lamp posts, benches, bushes and a tree...


Gates were generally painted white in GWR days, but some were light stone. Its a spear gate and so, being metal, I've painted it with light red oxide. In case anyone is wondering, only the signalbox received attention from BR's painters, hence the choc & cream colours. The station and shed remained in GWR colours...

 

[Captain Kernow]

Much as I enjoy building laser cut buildings, they have not fared well over the years in a garden shed. It is to be expected when the wood is exposed to winter moisture and summer heat. Spraying them inside and out hasn't made much difference. Long term, the station building and goods shed will be replaced with suitable resin structures.

Larry - re the laser cut wood buildings, have you considered keeping them inside the house when you're now using the layout?

 

[LarryG]

Larry - re the laser cut wood buildings, have you considered keeping them inside the house when you're now using the layout?

It's a thought that's for sure. They're still liftable even though they look bedded in with grass.

 

[LarryG]

Moving down the yard, the evolving layout continues. The kick-back siding was removed because it served no real purpose and so the water tower was re-sited. However, I was never really keen on its appearance beside the running line...


It was then photographed from numerous angles and ended up as part of the yard complex instead of sticking out like a sore thumb...


I'm happy with it here. In place of the kick-back siding, there is an embankment made from old pieces of Vinyl Grass sheet hence the differing greens...


An aerial view showing how things ended up. This takes care of the basic layout. It had to develop as construction progressed, as I couldn't have designed it like this...

 

[LarryG]

Building this layout has taken 5 weeks. I re-started posting on 23rd March after the winter break. It started off with Peco Code 100 track, but two days after laying the track, PhilH bought me a lovely birthday pressie, so I re-laid the track with Code 75 points & bullhead to show I was serious.

I can now throw away all the scenic waste and actually see the floor once again. The DC Small Prairie has tested the track and clearances throughout these few weeks and deserves a drink...

 

[simond]

And does the coal stage make a comeback?

 

[Osgood]

Stage - stage a comeback.

 

[LarryG]

And does the coal stage make a comeback?

No.

 

[LarryG]

Shrewsbury sent a big loco down today. No one knew why. That's how it was back in the day...


Meanwhile, the daily 'corridor' arrived from Oswestry...

 

[simond]

Stage - stage a comeback.

I feel a bit like Walkace, who reputedly responded “D’oh, why didn’t I think of that?” when On the Origin of Species was published.

 

[LarryG]

In the mid 1950's, Llanfair's local bus company was running this pre-war Leyland TS8 bought second-hand from a Lancashire operator. I seem to recall the EFE model started out as a post-war Leyland PS1. I reshaped the front wings to pre-war styling and fitted one of my own whitemetal radiator castings...

 

[LarryG]

Not seen a fiddle yard for 8 years. It just need straightening up and nailing down here and there. It all works electrically...

 

[LarryG]

The fiddle yard has been nailed down although reduced from 7 to 6 sidings to keep stock away from the baseboard edge. This baseboard has been a useful storage shelf for so long that I was reluctant to loose it! Anyway, a work space has been found near the doorway...



The points have been connected to square section brass rod so they can be manually activated from the baseboard edge...


I had to go through countless railway photos looking for point-rodding. It's virtually invisible! I'm going to repaint mine rail rust...

 

[LarryG]

From memory, none of my 00 layouts ever got as far as having signals. A standard Dapol, but I've painted the white band wider on the arm. Still needs wiring and weathering...

 

[LarryG]

While grubbing around in the 'plastics' box for fencing, I came across a plastic kit for point-rodding, which I quickly discovered was from the golden age of kits designed by people who never built them! Stub-joining 1mm square rodding and adding minute angle brackets easily put me off, and so assembling a length sufficient to reach from the signal box to the nearest turnout was quite an achievement. That used up more than half kit already.

The kit cost £11.15 when I bought it, then I checked todays price and it is currently £22.00....! Noooo way..!

Fortunately, it never reached the shed. The Flymo will pick it up in a few days time.

 

[AJC]

I assume it’s the Will’s/PECO one? It’s much nearer 7mm scale anyway.

Adam