Cows!
Railings
New path
Foliage
Yard details
Laurence had car problems and couldn't make it, so just two this week.
Geoff had purchased a pack of Woodland Scenics plastic cows. Being American, they were 1:48 scale, but they still seemed a little small. However, at the head of the bridge road, augmented with a few 'full-sized' cows and all painted a more demure brown/dun colour, they should work nicely.
NB: They are sold as an 11 piece set which comprises 5 adult cows, 2 calves and 4 dung piles!
Geoff continued with the yard railings, gluing them in place and then painting them.
Finally, he added grasses and weeds around their base.
Stephen gave the new footpath plaster a quick rub down and then gave it a coat of brown paint.
He'd also been experimenting with steel wirewool for use as a base for shrubbery, instead of rubberised horsehair. Teased apart and shaped, then sprayed red oxide, then matt black and finally adding some scatter material fixed with hairspray. Some long strips were formed specifically for the new footpath area.
Geoff moved on to the gas holder railing and planted some strips of light grass. He'll be trying out adding tiny flower heads to all of his new foliage as per an article he's been reading - paint dots added using a toothpick.
The large water tank above the holder was also treated to a few weeds around the bottom of the brick base. Even this little touch softened the starkness of the structures nicely.
It's always odd looking at the tank access ladder from the operators side as it is only 25mm long, being what was left over from when the fuel tank ladder was cut to length - "waste not want not?" It looks fine from the other side.
Stephen finally got-around to making a set of steps for the goods shed - only a couple of years after adding the back wall and dock to John's original open shed.
Stephen took a closer look at the proposed coal area in the yard. It had previously been agreed to discharge coal from the siding (rather than head-shunt) using 4-wheel and bogie wagons. The wagon door hinges are quite low, but something to contain the coal and prevent spillage onto the track, it was still required. We decided to create a shallow staithe structure of sleepers laid flat (rather than vertical). Being a maximum of two sleepers high, the area would have to be larger than first imagined. We also decided to restrict deliveries to 2 bogie wagons or 4 x 4w wagons, as any more coal could not be accommodated in one go. It will be positioned to suit such a deliveries without running onto the access road.
The area will also require scales and bags, the source of which will be investigated.
